Chapter 5 Kady
FIVE
Kady
“I’m home!” Sabs bumbles into the house, wearing her volleyball attire—skin-tight tiny navy shorts and a little crop top that shows off her incredible abs. “And we won!”
“Congratulations!” Delilah choruses from the kitchen, where she’s currently elbow-deep in a giant pumpkin. “I knew you would.”
“You guys will have to come see me play a real game in a few months. We’re going to kick serious ass.”
She just played an away game at Knottsville University. Although it was just a scrimmage before the official season starts, they’re SVU’s biggest rivals, so she’s been talking about it nonstop.
Sabs pauses as she reaches the bottom of the stairs where my bag of dirty laundry lies on the floor. She draws in a deep inhale then whips her head around in our direction.
“Why can I smell an alpha?”
Damn her ridiculously good nose. I purse my lips, continuing to tap away on my laptop and pretending not to hear her.
I’m sure Del has already smelled Ezra on my clothes too, but she hasn’t broached the topic—probably because she was waiting for Sabs’s return and knows she’d ask.
That or she knows better than to speak to me until I’ve finished my morning coffee, which Delilah insisted that I add some pumpkin spice to for the spooky season.
When I woke up this morning, I almost questioned whether yesterday happened, but with Ezra’s smell burrowed deep into my pores, there was no denying it. I had to spend over an hour, scrubbing my skin and washing away any trace of him. Right now, I can’t afford any distractions.
“Del?” Sabs wiggles her eyebrows. “You didn’t say anything on the group chat.”
“Don’t look at me.” Delilah stares pointedly in my direction. “I was at the Tea House with Faye and Ren for a spoken word night. There were no alphas of interest there. Sadly.”
“Kady!” Sabs gasps. “You dark horse! I thought you were pulling an all-nighter at The Valley Voice.” A smirk spreads over her face as she drops onto the stool next to me and grabs a plate, helping herself to a gargantuan portion from the spread of pastries Delilah set out earlier.
“Hey!” Delilah flicks a lump of pumpkin flesh in her direction as Sabs reaches for the jumbo triple-chocolate-chip muffin. “I made that especially for Faye.”
“Fine.” Sabs opts for a thick slab of banana bread that’s drizzled with blueberry frosting to look like cobwebs instead then winks at me. “I take it you found your fake pack, and they threw in a knot to sweeten the deal?”
“I did find a fake pack.” I shudder at the thought of letting the Blandon Pack anywhere near my naked body, feeling sorry for the omega who eventually ends up with them—if they’re lucky enough to find one. “But…” I shuffle around in my seat. “That’s not who you can smell.”
Stella House would need to be fumigated if the Blandon Pack scent infiltrated the premises.
Delilah’s eyes widen. “But I thought—”
“Okay, spill!” Sabs cuts her off. “We want all the details!”
From the looks on their faces, they’re not going to let this rest, so I give them a quick rundown of yesterday’s events—my deal with Tyler, drowning my sorrows, and my chance meeting with Ezra in the bar that might’ve gotten more than a little out of hand.
“Holy shit, girl. I’m jealous!” Sabs fans herself dramatically with her hand. “Tell me about him. Was he hot?”
“That’s seriously what you’re asking?” Delilah shakes her head. “Kady—the same Kady who makes alphas sign a contract before her heats—just told us she fucked a random and made a deal with the biggest jerks on campus, and you’re asking if the fuckboy was hot?”
“I’m a sunshine gal, what can I say?” Sabs is completely unapologetic. “We have to focus on the positives, starting with this mysterious alpha from Forestville. Whenever I’ve been over there, I’ve only seen old dudes.” Sabs leans forward. “What was he like?”
“He was… pleasant to look at.”
Pleasant isn’t an adequate descriptor for the way he set my skin alight with his touch, but that’s all I’m giving her.
“And?” Sabs probes. “I’m here dying for some alpha action, and you’re robbing me of all the fun!”
I keep my eyes glued to my keyboard. “He was more than adequate.”
She cackles. “Only you can make steamy sex sound more boring than an essay.”
The doorbell rings, and Delilah goes to answer it. Hopefully, whoever it is distracts Sabs from continuing her interrogation. She and Faye return a minute later. Faye clutches a small glass jar in her hands.
“You still have a key, don’t you?” Sabs frowns. “You can let yourself in whenever you like.”
Faye nods. Her shoulders slacken in what appears to be relief when she sees me. “I made you this special tea blend, Kady.” She carefully places a glass jar in front of me. “It’s one of my Gram’s oldest recipes. It helps to relieve stress.”
“Thank you.” I eye the herby mix with skepticism. “But I’m fine, honestly. As long as I have my black coffee, everything is under control.”
Delilah’s nose wrinkles as she dishes pancakes onto plates for all of us then passes Faye the muffin. It’s so large she has to hold it in two hands. “I don’t think fake courting the Blandon Pack means that everything is under control.”
“What?” Faye’s eyebrows shoot up, obviously remembering her encounter at the start of the semester. “Isn’t Kyro one of them? If yes, I can see why they were trying to rig the speed scenting now.”
“While it’s not ideal that they’re the pack who have agreed to my arrangement.
” I clear my throat. “Our fake courting is just for my father’s benefit.
As soon as he calls the wedding off and Timothy Oakwood finds himself a new omega to bond with, I’ll stage a fake breakup with the Blandon Pack and feign heartbreak to buy myself more time. “
“But the Blandon Pack are assholes,” Delilah points out, returning to her pumpkin and aggressively carving out a mouth. “There’s a reason why no omega on campus wants them.”
“Do you need any help with that?” Faye nervously glances at the knife in Delilah’s hand.
“Leave her to it, Faye,” Sabs chimes in. “Delilah’s very particular about her pumpkins.”
Delilah continues to butcher the future jack-o-lantern. “Do you really want that association following you around?”
“I’m a Sinclair, remember? I’m used to stuff being published about my family.
Besides, a small blip like this still beats marrying Timothy Oakwood.
” I sigh. “All we’ve got to do is make a few appearances together to help convince my dad’s people that our courtship is real, and we’re all set.
Our first official outing will be tonight at Club Knotty. ”
“Seriously?” Sabs groans. All her earlier enthusiasm over winning her scrimmage has vanished. “They’re going to crash Halloween?”
Faye pats her sympathetically on the shoulder. “We’ll still have fun.”
“It’s just one photo.” I roll my eyes. “It’ll be over with quickly.”
“Why couldn’t you have asked the alpha you hooked up with last night to be your fake pack?” Sabs questions me. “You clearly liked him enough.”
I swallow thickly. “That’s not the point.”
“Wait.” Faye looks at me in confusion. “You hooked up with someone?”
“She seduced a sexy alpha in Forestville last night,” Sabs fills her in. “And she’s totally playing it down. I bet it was a total slick fest—”
“Sabs is making a big deal about nothing.” I cut Sabs’s speculations short, even though she’s totally correct. I already ordered extra-strength scent blocking panty liners this morning to avoid being caught off guard again. “It was just a casual hookup.”
Studying me, Faye tilts her head to the side. “Are you going to see him again?”
“No.” At least that’s something Ezra and I are on the same page about. “No strings.”
“Pity,” Sabs says. “You could have at least used him as a heat buddy. For a campus crawling with alphas, you know the pool is pretty limited.”
“I don’t need a heat buddy.” I snap my laptop lid shut. I’ll never get any work done with the girls around. “Suppressants have my heat firmly under control.”
“Does the Blandon Pack need tickets for tonight?” Sabs asks. “Drax got us and the Silverwoods VIP tickets, so I could see if he can get them—”
“No.” The word bursts past my lips much louder than I’d intended.
“They already have tickets, and an upgrade to VIP won’t be necessary.
” I texted Tyler earlier to check and arrange a time for us to meet.
It’ll be nice to have the VIP room to escape to if I need to get away from them.
“All I need is a photograph, then I’ll make sure it gets featured in The Valley Voice.
” I grimace. “I ordered us matching costumes.”
The theme of the Halloween party is “Monster Masquerade.” Nothing says a courting pack more than coordinating outfits.
“What did you order?” Faye asks.
“Skeleton outfits,” I reply. “A dress for me and matching suits for them.” I cover my face with my hands. “With crowns.”
“While Kady’s going to be dressing as skeleton royalty, have the rest of you got your outfits yet?” Delilah asks. “I just need to finish off my mask. I’m making it myself.”
“You’ll look great in whatever you wear.” Faye tells her. “Laz bought us all costumes to go as Mario characters before he found out it was a masquerade party. I’m sure Ren will find a way to make us look spookier.”
“Typical Laz.” Sabs shakes her head.
“Cole’s not too happy about it.” Faye giggles. “I’m pretty sure Laz wants him to dress as Toad.”
I snort at the thought of a jacked alpha like Cole dressed as a tiny mushroom.
“You’re still coming here to get ready, though, right?” Sabs flutters her eyelashes at Faye. “It’s Stella tradition.”
“Of course!” Faye grins. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“I’ll need all the moral support I can get,” I add grimly, the buttery pastry I just grabbed turning to ash in my mouth.
Usually, I’d be excited about a night out with my Stella sisters, but letting the world think I’m hooking up with the Blandon Pack will definitely put a damper on the evening.