Chapter Nine – Mason
This fucking sucked.
I could not get that single thought out of my head. The moment I pulled up to the house and saw my brother’s car, I knew something was going on, but I never would have imagined it’d be Asher with the little omega he used to be friends with way back when.
I mean, how long has it been? Ten fucking years? Since when did they rekindle their relationship? Not that I care, because I don’t, but I swear my brother tells me nothing.
Just as well, I guess. I don’t really tell him anything, either. Only three years apart, and yet it’s like we were born in different worlds. Asher is all for the life our parents have, learning and shit, while I…
I just don’t want it. I don’t want to pretend. I don’t want to play nice with the shareholders and the media. Those skills were never mine, and I never cared enough to practice, which our parents noticed early on—hence why they pushed Asher so much to follow in our dads’ footsteps.
Asher doesn’t know I’ve been here for a few weeks. Neither do our parents. I thought I’d have the place to myself the entire time, so I’m still pretty ticked off I have to share it not only with my brother but also with Jessica fucking Dryers.
Yeah. An omega who’s planning on having her first heat here. An omega who’s apparently also planning on going through that shit alone.
Whatever. I don’t care. If she wants to suffer, then she’ll suffer. I want abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with it.
Most people steered clear of me when I make it obvious I don’t play nice or give a shit about them, but not Jessica. No, she gave it right back. Last night she joined me on the couch, and she didn’t seem to care I didn’t want her there. Not one bit.
The next day I stick to my room until hunger overpowers me and I’m forced to venture out and grab something from the kitchen. We’re fully stocked now, thanks to my run to the nearest grocery store and all the food Asher and Jessica brought with them.
I make it to the kitchen, catching faint whiffs of the omega, although I don’t see her. Asher is in the living room on his laptop, and I don’t know where the girl is. I don’t care. She’s not my problem.
Still, what bits of her scent I catch fall over me all too easily, much as I hate to admit it.
The girl smells good, even though I’m fairly certain she wears some kind of scent-blocking cream.
I throw a pizza pocket in the microwave and grab a plate, and then I wait impatiently for it to be done.
All the while, I hope my brother doesn’t sense the opportunity and come join me in the kitchen.
The last thing I want to do is talk. It’s why I came to the cabin in the first place. Read the fucking room.
Alas, Asher does sense I’m in there, or he hears me.
Either way, before my food is finished, he comes strolling into the kitchen, all perky and happy, like he always is.
Him and I have always been opposites, but the past few years it’s become more and more obvious what plagues me does not haunt him in the slightest.
And what plagues me, you might wonder? I’d rather not talk about it.
“Hey,” he says.
All I do is grunt in response.
“Jess said she talked to you last night.”
Another grunt from me.
“She said you were pretty mean.” Okay, that earns a roll of my eyes, but my brother went on, “But she found you funny, so, I guess it’s not all bad.
” When I still don’t say anything to him, he taps his fingers on the counter.
“Can you please try to be nice to her? At least while we’re here?
I’m not asking you to kiss the ground she walks on, but…
she’s going to go through a pretty rough time here soon enough.
She doesn’t need to be constantly on-guard when you’re around. ”
“This is our family’s place,” I hiss out the words. “I don’t give a shit about what she’s about to go through.”
Asher groans. “Come on. I know you’re a dick, but you don’t have to be such a big one with her. She’s an unmatched omega about to go through her first heat—”
“Yeah, and she’s in a house with two unmatched alphas,” I throw back. “You really think it’s all going to be fine? That she’ll have her heat and go home and that’ll be that? Don’t be so fucking stupid. Something’s going to happen. She’s going to try pulling you in there, or worse, both of us.”
“That’s not what she wants.”
“For now, but when she’s on the floor, crying out in pain, what then? Do you seriously think you’ll be strong enough to stay away?”
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but that’s what she wants. She doesn’t want an alpha’s help through it. She wants to do it herself.” The way he says it, I can tell he genuinely believes it, and yet…
I ask even though it’s none of my business, “Why the hell does she even want to go through it alone? Why not get matched?” It’s not the same for omegas as it is for alphas. Typically omegas are matched with plenty of time before their first heat.
The microwave beeps, signaling my food is done, but I don’t go for it. Instead I wait for my brother’s reply.
Asher is quiet for a few seconds, as if he’s mentally debating on telling me.
Eventually he must decide to, for he says, “You remember her parents got into a really bad accident, right? Her aunt and uncle became her guardian after that, then when her uncle died a few years later, it was just her and her aunt. I don’t think they get along at all. ”
With a shrug, I mumble, “What does that have to do with this?”
“She went snooping in her aunt’s office and found the will her parents left. If she’s matched to a pack before her first heat, her aunt will receive half of her inheritance, while her pack gets the rest.”
None of that screams out of the ordinary to me, so I shrug again. “So what?”
“There was a clause that said if she’s unmatched by her first heat, the entire inheritance will go to her.” My brother explains, “She doesn’t want anything to go to her aunt.”
Seriously? This whole thing is for money? I want to laugh, but it’s so damned stupid I can’t. “Why the fuck does it matter that much? They’re well-off. Why can’t she be fine with half?”
“I don’t think she wants her aunt to get anything, and I mean anything. And besides that, I don’t know that she really wants to match with a pack. She’s… it’s not like we talked about it lots during the drive here, but I think she’s pretty closed-off when it comes to matching with alphas.”
An omega who is closed-off. It’s kind of funny; you never hear about omegas who resist being matched.
All you ever hear about is the stories of matching, or the arranged matches that used to be common years ago.
Now, omegas and alphas have more of an equal ground when it comes to being matched—though I’m certain there are still plenty of unscrupulous dealings happening.
But none of that interests me. Not really. I don’t care that Jessica wants to be alone. If anything, it’s something I understand. Sometimes people aren’t meant to be in a pack. Sometimes certain people are better off alone.
Asher says, “I’ll leave you to your food. Just, uh, please try to be nice, okay? I’m not asking for the world here. Just… don’t be a dick.” He taps the counter a few times before he leaves the kitchen, presumably to return to his laptop.
I retrieve my food from the microwave and carry it to my room, shutting myself in and eating in peace.
Here I thought coming to this cabin would let me have some time to myself. Here I thought I’d be uninterrupted. This isn’t the first time I’ve come here, and it probably won’t be the last. Truly, the only place I feel at ease is here, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Some people are made for that kind of life. I’m not one of them. I’ve never been one of them, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot change myself. I am who I am, and most of the time… people don’t like it.
They don’t like me.
I don’t make it easy for them. I’m well aware it’s my fault, but I’ve come to the realization that it’s easier to keep people locked out than to let them in. If I let them in, if I really, truly let them see inside of me…
They might not like what they see.
I am an alpha, an über alpha, who doesn’t want to be alive half the time. How pathetic is that?
It’s not something I ever discussed with anyone before, because I knew what they’d say, even when I was young. It was easier to be the mean, vicious alpha they expected me to be instead of the hopeless, depressed alpha I was.
I’ve never met another alpha who struggles like me. Really, it’s much better for me to stick to myself and be alone.
That depressed cloud hangs over me while I eat, and it lingers long after I’m finished.
My phone sits untouched on the nightstand next to the bed.
Hell, I don’t think its battery is charged anymore.
If anyone has tried calling or texting me while I’m here, I haven’t gotten it.
I don’t want any calls or messages. At this point, I don’t even know if I want to exist.
Just my fucking luck that my brother would show up with an omega in tow. What were the odds?
I don’t know how long I lay there, staring at the ceiling above my bed. Time is a strange thing. You’d think it acts the same all the time, but it doesn’t. Sometimes it crawls by with an agonizingly sluggish pace, while other times you blink and suddenly two hours have passed.
Maybe that’s not time acting up. Maybe that’s a bit of dissociation on my part.
Eventually someone knocks on the door and pokes their head in. “Dude,” Asher says, “why is your phone off?”
“It’s not off. It’s dead,” I answer him without looking at him, but I can tell he’s anxious.
“Jess went for a walk,” he pauses, “over two hours ago. I’m worried she got lost or something bad happened to her. Can you help me look for her?”
“You brought her here. She’s your responsibility—”