Chapter 57
ACE
“You can’t be serious?”
Wren’s elfin features tighten as she stalls in the middle of the room, discovering me ready and waiting for her at the kitchen island with keys in hand.
It’s been an agony since yesterday, when I had to force myself to walk away from her.
And yet, her scent calls to me, lures me back to her side, ensuring that I simply cannot leave her alone. Especially not if I know she’s about to leave the house.
So, here I am, shoving aside all the ways I felt hollowed out and shredded yesterday, making sure to watch over her.
Different.
She said it herself. Wren Murphy has no idea who I am to her. I’m starting to think she might never know.
There’s no point moping around, being crestfallen that this girl still doesn’t sense that we’re scent matches.
Unless that bond decides to blossom into life in her awareness, if she doesn’t recognize it, then I truly won’t ever exist in her eyes.
Not compared to them. Not compared to a fully formed, two-way scent match.
Regardless of whatever stupid notions of what it might feel like to be part of a budding pack life, or whatever the fuck is going on between Renfro and me.
“Cancel that ride you ordered.” I get to my feet, throat feeling raw after how little sleep I got last night. “We should leave, otherwise you’ll be late.”
“Are you for real?”
“Yep.” My chest tightens.
“Now I’ve got you following me to campus? I only just got rid of Connor trying to make that a habit.”
“Coffee.” I thrust the cup into her hand, exchanging it for her bag. Some might call it stealing her bag, but I’m preferring to look at it as my insurance policy that she has to stick by my side.
“Really? You’re gonna be my bodyguard all day, every day? No. I’m not buying it,” Wren huffs in disagreement behind me, having to almost jog to keep up. “This is insane. And do not try to hit me with some weak excuse that you have another day off, I don’t believe you.”
As we reach my truck, I try to avoid looking at her directly in the process of opening the passenger door. If I don’t stare at her, then I’m just ticking off the primal part of this need—the drive and urgency pounding in my blood that has only a single-minded goal. Take care of your Omega.
“I’ve already been to the gym, had my conditioning early.
All I have to do before our captain’s run later this afternoon is watch tapes.
And I can watch clips of match footage from anywhere.
If I’ve gotta sit around at the Acorn, then I’ve got my homework to do while I’m there.
” Most of the guys will be lazing around with one hand down their pants or grabbing a meal together to swap notes anyway.
This is only a slight adjustment to my usual routine to accommodate her. It’s nothing.
“Why? I don’t understand.” Wren eyes me as I get into the driver’s seat. Her stare drills into the side of my head, more interrogation-mode than curious inquiry. “I know Connor is meeting with Finch to watch tapes. Why aren’t you doing the same?”
I wish she’d drop it.
“I offered to stay back today.”
“But… why?”
“Less cause for suspicion.” We start driving in the direction of campus, and on one hand, I’m addicted to being in such close proximity to her scent; on the other, I need to go run for miles until my lungs give out.
Wren doesn’t say anything, just looks out the window, and I can practically hear her thinking. But, of course, I’m shit with words and have no idea how to talk about anything. So, I clamp my mouth shut and stay that way for the rest of the drive to campus.
We pull up into the same parking spot I scoped out yesterday. One that is down a quiet back street with minimal foot traffic and mostly seems to be service entrances for scattered college buildings.
“What did you mean before when you said that thing about cause for suspicion?”
Jesus. I tighten my knuckles around the wheel. “Your brother was asking around about Renfro. We figured it was best to play it safe that he wasn’t so preoccupied outside the team.”
“Preoccupied. Got it.” That makes her snort, unimpressed, before undoing her seatbelt. “Typical Alphas,” she mutters to herself.
“You could go into heat,” I say the words through clenched molars.
“Well, it doesn’t matter to you. Does it?”
Wren is out of the vehicle and moving before I can do anything.
I let out a ragged grunt of frustration as I watch her shut the door and start to walk away.
Every tendon and muscle is activated, primed, thrumming with the type of tension I feel in the height of a game.
The Alpha in me demands that I go after her, to chase her down, to pin her against the wall and kiss her senseless until she realizes.
She thinks it doesn’t matter to me? Wren Murphy is the only thing outside of rugby that has mattered to me for years. Rugby has been my refuge from this awful feeling of failure and longing and the constant desperate need to touch her.
I fucked up by kissing her that night, but if I had the same opportunity, there’s no doubt in my mind… I would do it all over again.
If I have to survive on scraps and crumbs of her scent, if the only part of her I get is occasional scowls and personally chauffeuring her around, then that will have to do.
Just as I’m about to drive off, something catches my eye from the narrow walkway between buildings leading to the heart of campus. Wren’s blond hair sways as she backs up against the wall, and I’m out of my seat, slamming the door without a second’s pause.
“—gonna be late to class.” My girl’s voice is high-pitched, nerves taking over.
“Relax, Wren. No one cares when you’re on an Omega scholarship.”
Oh, fuck no. Brett stands in her way, and at his side is that slithering excuse for a reporter. I recognize the face of the douchebag standing beside her ex-boyfriend.
“Yeah, honestly… it’s all just noise with those rules they love to wave around.” The other guy has a leering grin on his face that makes my blood boil. Both Beta idiots crowd her space, blocking any way past, and I’m busy shoving my hands in my pockets so that I don’t immediately start swinging.
“Well, I care about my degree. It was nice to bump into you, but you’re going to have to let me get past. I really need to go.”
I can hear her clearly, as though my senses are attuned to her and her alone.
My long strides eat up the distance to where my scent match is, and I can’t contain the growl that leaves my throat. Shielding Wren with my body, I turn my focus on the two pricks who have absolutely no business even looking at her.
“She said she needs to get to class.”
They pale a little, shrinking back when I come barreling in out of nowhere like a freight train.
I’m head and shoulders above both of them and know that they’re absolutely no contest for me physically.
Something about being able to act as Wren’s protector right now just feels right, like this is exactly what I’m supposed to do.
I have no doubt she could handle both of these turds on her own, but she shouldn’t have to.
As I continue to glare, staring them down silently, I feel Wren shifting her weight from foot to foot behind me. Then the shit-stain reporter shakes off his initial surprise, and I see the exact moment the wheels start turning as he glances from me to Wren to her ex.
Fuck.
My jaw flexes, shoulders squaring like in the height of a match. There’s no way I’m backing down from whatever fucking bullshit he wants to start. Wren has done absolutely nothing wrong, and I’m here to defend the hell out of her.
“I’ll be damned. One of the Willow Falls very own Wolves, right here on campus?
Atlas Palamo, if I remember correctly?” He brushes a palm over his hair to smooth it down and then extends that hand as if I’m going to even consider shaking it.
I simply glance at it, then lift my glare back to him and narrow my eyes.
“You’re the reporter,” I say.
“And I’m Brett,” her ex pipes up. “Wren and I go way back. Don’t we?”
Inside my pockets, my hands ball into fists.
“Isn’t this quite the coincidence?” The jerk-off drops his hand but still looks pleased as all hell. “Oh, yeah, you two were quite the cute pair at the dog shelter, and then that charity benefit the other night, too.”
“Wren has class,” I say slowly and carefully, still making sure to keep her behind me.
“Apparently so. I have to be honest here, consider my journalistic interest piqued… there’s more to this story than we got a chance to cover during the dog shelter interview, I’m guessing?” He pumps his eyebrows.
“Nothing more than an Omega trying to go about her day on campus.” My voice is gruff. I don’t fucking care if my tone comes across more like I’m telling this asshole I’d rip his nuts off given half a chance. He should certainly heed that warning.
“It just strikes me as odd how you seem to always be in the same place at the same time. Care to elaborate, Wren? We did start having a good old-fashioned chitchat during our dance the other night, before we got interrupted.”
My hackles are up, and I’m forgetting any reasons why I shouldn’t be here, in public, potentially causing a scene. All it will take is some motherfucker on their cell phone to catch a video of me.
“Ace, it’s fine. We’re all okay here. I’m going to go to class, Brett and his friend are leaving, and I’m sure you’ve got places you need to be,” Wren pipes up softly. The last thing she should feel the need to do is defend me somehow or have to stand up for me.
But the look on Gareth’s face is anything but ready to drop this and walk away. The way he pounces on the opportunity is like a vulture at a carcass.
“Is this why we’ve never seen you publicly admit to dating anyone? There has been a rumored rift between you and Connor Renfro… is this Omega the cause of your sudden move from the house you’d both been living in?”
“Wait a minute. Is that true, Wren?” Her ex folds his arms and attempts to join in the questioning. “At the same time as us? Were you and him—”
“I suggest you both keep moving, or else you might find there’s a complaint filed with WFU for harassment of an Omega scholar.
” My words grind out with barely leashed rage at the way they’re attempting to corner Wren and wrench some sort of confession out of her.
He thinks he can dare imply that she was cheating in some way?
“And as for you, Brett? You should know better than to be associating with someone who would be so quick to disparage the Wolves. Theo Brennan is a good man and has done his best to be a good father. He’s given you every opportunity, everything you’ve ever asked for, and you’d be so willing to throw it all in his face. ”
As soon as I spit the words out, I realize my mistake. I’ve been too quick to bite at his taunts.
Gareth’s eyes slide from me to Wren before a sneer takes over his expression.
“All makes sense now, huh.” He laughs humorlessly. “A rugby player? Your brother’s teammate?”
“I’d watch your tone if I were you,” I warn.
“This is priceless. Atlas Palamo… no wonder you’ve kept things quiet. Now it’s obvious. Maybe this whole time you’ve had a taste for Omegas after all, and that’s why no one has ever had any details to share about you. It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?”
Wren makes a disgruntled noise. “Brett. Stop it. You’re being rude and downright ignorant. Finch asked him to look out for me when he’s been unavailable with vice-captain duties.”
“Oh, I bet he’s been more than happy to step in.”
My teeth grind, and a giant band compresses my chest. I’m torn, standing stock-still with every nerve ending frayed and ready to snap. These bastards are nothing but slimy excuses for Betas, and I want nothing more than to scoop Wren up and get her away from them.
But now I’m second-guessing what to do. I make one more wrong move in front of them, and it’s likely to be blown out of proportion.
Some fabricated story will be blasted everywhere about my inappropriate behavior, all because I’m a rugby player, and pieces of shit like this will refuse to give me privacy.
They’ll treat me like I’m suddenly sleeping around and abusing Omegas, or worse, they’ll go beyond dragging Wren into this, they’ll start going after Connor, too.
“So, is that how it is, Palamo?” The asshat reporter gives me a gleeful look. It’s like he’s already written the headline in his mind’s eye.
If he’s already intent on alluding to the fact that I’m pursuing her?
That very notion makes me freeze. Fuck. It’s all too easy for this piece of shit to paint me as the problem, and after everything we’ve done to make sure Wren is safe and her position with the scholarship isn’t compromised, I’m certainly not gonna stand by and let her end up in the crossfire.
“Come on, Wren. I’ll make sure you’re able to get to your class safely.” I give Brett a look so menacing that he takes a step back and looks like he’s finally swallowed his tongue. “Without undue harassment from an ex-boyfriend.”
I don’t wait to hear their responses; instead, I steer Wren back in the direction of my truck. They’re left watching on as the two of us storm away. I feel my girl following close behind, but it’s cold comfort.
This just landed us in hot water.
I’m certain we’re sunk.