Chapter 12 Kady
TWELVE
Kady
LINDSAY
I emailed over the photos. Let me know your favorites ASAP. Article will go live tomorrow.
I groan as I set down my phone and drag myself over to my desk to power up my laptop.
After the photoshoot from hell, even Delilah’s delicious enchiladas didn’t improve my mood.
She, Sabs, and Faye rallied around me, cozying up together on the sofa to watch Schitt’s Creek until I made excuses to go to bed early.
“Not avoiding me anymore, huh?” I stroke Larry’s head as he hops up to peer at the screen.
He hissed at me for the first time yesterday, probably because the Blandon Pack smell had rubbed off on me.
I open Lindsay’s email then scroll through the photographs. Larry’s squashed face contorts. He yowls at a close-up of Kyro before jumping down and retreating to his snug corner underneath my bed.
“I wish I could join you, Larry.”
My stomach churns at seeing me with the Blandon Pack. The photographs are tasteful, high fashion, and exude a don’t-mess-with-us-because-we’re-a-powerful-pack vibe. I’ve got to hand it to her, Lindsay did an amazing job. But there are only so many ways to polish a turd.
I look pretty much the same in all the shots. Lindsay advised us to go for the “we’re above everyone else” look, which helped as I at least didn’t have to fake a smile.
I select the least offensive of the images—one where Kyro’s face is half-covered by a hat, and Tyler doesn’t look like he’s straining on the toilet. None of them are photogenic, but the editing has made them look somewhat passable.
My breath catches in my lungs when the next photograph fills the screen.
It’s him.
The hot delivery guy who waltzed in halfway through the shoot. A tall, dark, handsome stranger with dazzling green eyes. He was sweet, kind, and he smelled fucking divine—a mix of sandalwood and cashmere with a deep masculine undertone that I couldn’t quite place.
While I remained professional yesterday, keeping one eye on the Blandon Pack, I can enjoy the moment now—the warm rush that flooded my bloodstream when our knees touched, how his voice sent a tremble of longing through me, and how his green-eyed stare made my lips tingle.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”
He was only there to drop off the stupid statue, yet he seemed to actually care.
It sucks that a kind alpha like him would get totally eaten alive in my world.
Someone so nice wouldn’t be able to cope with the pressure of the media and the expectations that come with my family name.
That’s why it’s better for me to steer clear of romance completely.
I take another peek at the photos before slamming the laptop lid down. Nope. Time for a freezing shower to blast any thoughts of the mystery alpha away.
By the time I’ve washed, blow-dried my hair to perfection, and selected my outfit, it’s time to head to class. As much as I’d like to, I can’t hide in Stella House forever. Plus, I have an important lecture on civil procedure today, which I’ve been looking forward to all semester.
I shoot Tyler a brief text to confirm when the article will run, again emphasizing that he should not speak to the press.
When I step outside, I almost jump out of my skin to see Margie sitting on our porch, nose buried in her latest true crime book.
“Sorry, hon. I didn’t mean to make you jump.” She glances up from the pages. “Your father spoke to the dean, who requested that you have extra security.” She smiles apologetically in response to my grimace. “I’m sure he’s only doing it because he cares.”
“He cares too much,” I grumble. Surely I’m capable of walking across campus myself?
“Faye’s alpha, Damon, will meet us at the gates to escort you to class.” She jumps up, tucks her book under her arm, then falls into step with me. “He’s already waiting.”
“Great.”
I guess having Damon for company is better than someone I don’t know. He’s not a big talker, which suits me just fine.
“We should have got all the reporters off campus now,” Margie chatters brightly. “You can probably go about your day as normal, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Perhaps I should be thankful that I’ve made it this far without an incident like this. It’s easy to forget about my life in New York when I’m away at SVU, but I guess my two worlds were bound to collide eventually.
“Cheer up!” She swats my arm. “It won’t be for long.”
“You don’t know my father.”
“Dads and their daughters. You know, when I was your age…” She launches into talking about her own father.
I nod politely but only half-listen. My neighbors whisper as they pass me, shooting me pitying looks.
Being the Blandon Pack’s omega has made me gossip target number one.
From what I’ve seen on social media, people either feel sorry for me, question my sanity, or are downright confused as to why I’d choose them.
Despite people’s judgment, I keep my chin held high, reminding myself why I’m doing this. It’s for the greater good.
Damon’s waiting for me at the gates, offering me a black coffee. “Faye said to bring you one of these.”
I accept it with a begrudging sigh. Coffee doesn’t fix anything, but it’ll hopefully make this morning more bearable. “She knows me too well.”
“Have a good day now, Kady.” Margie waves. “I’ll be here when you get home.”
“Looks like you’re my babysitter for the day, huh?” I grumble as Damon and I set off.
“Apparently.” Damon smiles wryly, leading me to a waiting golf cart. “I’ll take you to your first class and wait there until you’re done. I’m under strict instructions not to leave your side all day.”
“Come on, Damon,” I glower. “Is this really necessary?”
“Just following my boss’s orders.” He shrugs. “I’ll be discreet.”
“No offense, but you hardly blend into the background.” I harumph, slinking into the cart. “Though I know you’re only doing your job.”
We speed through campus. At least driving spares me the humiliation of being gawped at.
“Why don’t you grab food or something?” I suggest as we park. “You don’t have to escort me into the lecture hall. I’m not going to run away.”
“Nice try, but no can do.” He follows me into the building. “I’ll wait outside your classroom. Although we think we cleared all the reporters off campus, we’re still on high alert. You know how they can be.”
“Unfortunately, I do.”
I march past a group of betas, overhearing their snickers and comments including, “She must be desperate to be fucking Kyro Cockburn.”
My teeth grind together, but I keep my cool. I can’t lose my composure. Not until my father’s appeased and this is all a distant memory.
After saying goodbye to Damon at the door, I waltz into class and take a seat at the back.
Despite my excitement for today's lecture, I take half the amount of notes than usual and only partially-answer a question fired in my direction. I need to get back to the library as soon as possible to finish up the extra reading.
When the bell sounds, I head out to find Damon standing right where I left him.
His shoulders straighten. “Where to next?”
“The library.”
We walk through campus in silence, passing Nia and her friends from the Feminist Society who are handing out omega rights wristbands. We trundle past a line of food trucks.
“You should get Faye one of those.” I point at a truck serving colossal waffle sandwiches stuffed with various sweet treats, everything from fruit to fresh brownies. “She’d love one.”
His face lights up when I say her name, but he won’t be thrown off his mission. “Maybe I’ll stop by after my shift. I swear, I’m spending half my cash at the sCream Queen truck lately with all the midnight ice cream runs.” He suddenly stops mid-step.
“Everything okay?”
“I feel…” He doesn’t finish his thought, pulling his ringing phone from his leather jacket. “I wouldn’t usually take a call when I’m on shift,” he frowns, “but it’s Cole.”
“Take it!” I wave my hand toward his cell. “What if it’s important?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose before he answers, his eyebrows lowering as he listens.
“Is she okay?” His fingers tighten around the phone, worry clouding his features. “Uh-huh. Tell me what you need.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask when he hangs up.
“Faye’s having a heat spike.” Worry flits over his face. “Cole’s with her right now, but Laz and Ren have come down with stomach flu.”
“You should go,” I urge. “Really.”
Since Faye came off suppressants, her body has been going through an adjustment period. It can take some time for an omega’s body to fall into regular heat cycle patterns.
“What about you?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m fine. You need to be with your omega.”
If Faye goes into full heat, she’ll need him, especially if two of her other alphas are sick.
“I guess I could ask Rook to meet you at the library.” He drags his hand through his long hair. “But I also promised Faye I’d drop her assignment off at the greenhouse when my shift ended.”
“Give me her assignment.” I hold out my hand. “I can stop by the greenhouse on my way.”
“But—”
“I’m perfectly okay walking a few minutes alone.” I point at the glassy panes of the greenhouse poking over the trees ahead. “See? We’re pretty much there anyway. Faye needs you.”
He scans the area. There are no signs of rogue reporters, only students stuffing their faces with giant sweet waffles leaking strawberries, cream, and gooey chocolate.
“I’ll call Rook now, and he’ll make sure you get home safe.” He rifles around in his oversized pocket to retrieve Faye’s paper then hands it over. “This is an exceptional circumstance.”
“Text me to let me know Faye’s okay?”
He nods before jumping into the closest golf cart and peeling off at the speed of light back to his beach house.
With Damon gone, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief as I head to the greenhouse.
I don’t have a pass to enter, but I arrive at the same time as another student, so I casually sneak in behind them.
It’s my first time inside, surprised by the humidity in the air, which has me instantly peeling off my blazer.
I don’t know the names of many of the plants, but the explosions of color are dazzling.
I follow the path, seeing a few students kneeling in the dirt repotting plants, while others hover around with misting bottles.
It’ll be nice to meet Professor Brackenwood, Faye’s new health botany professor, especially after the way she was harassed by the last one. While I’m here, I could also try to get him to comment on his views on omega rights for an article.
“Kady?” Amora—one of Faye’s friends—who was busy snipping leaves off a tall plant that creeps up the wall blinks at me in confusion. “What’re you doing here?”
“Just handing in an assignment for Faye,” I reply. “Is Professor Brackenwood around?”
“He’s not teaching this morning, but he should be in his office. I’d offer to take it for you, but…” She holds up her muddy hands. “Follow the path around to the right, then follow the signs from there. He’s probably hiding in there because he has a few admirers who keep asking him for help.”
After thanking her, I continue in the direction she pointed.
I don’t know how Faye spends so much time here—it’s roasting.
In these conditions, my blowout will be starting to frizz any second, so I pick up my pace, intending to make sure this is a hasty visit.
I come to, what can only be described as, a ramshackle shed.
My law professors have grand, oak-paneled offices lined with bookcases, while this gives me The Hobbit vibes.
There’s no answer when I knock on the door, but I can hear motion from inside—the jangling of what sounds like glass jars and papers getting thrown around. I try again, but no response. Figuring he probably can’t hear me over the noise, I push the door open and step inside.
“Hello?”
His smell hits me like a ton of bricks. It engulfs me, licking around my ankles then swallowing my body, like an uncontrollable fire. It’s a familiar smell, the scent of a man I never thought I’d meet again.
A tall, dark, handsome alpha rises to his full height. His nostrils flare as a spade slips from his fingers and hits the stone slab below. “Victoria?”
It takes a second to remember that I used a false name when we last met. I feel like an idiot, holding Faye’s paper in my shaking hands. He looks down at it then back to me, his mouth agape.
No… It can’t be…
Over his shoulder, I spot various Health Botany Degrees framed on the wall, all made out to “Ezra Brackenwood.” My heart slams against my ribs as realization hits. The alpha I fucked in Forestville is Faye’s professor.
His brows furrow in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
“Y-you never told me that you w-work at SVU.”
“Technically, I didn’t,” Ezra replies. “Then.”
Sleeping with students is definitely against college rules, but if it happened when he wasn’t a faculty member, it doesn’t count. Right?
He takes a step closer, swiping Faye’s assignment from me. “Why do you have one of my student’s essays?”
Coupled with the stuffy greenhouse, his presence makes it hard to get a full breath.
“Um…” Usually, I’m a quick thinker, but right now I have nothing.
He rakes his hands through his locs, making the beads threaded through them dance and giving me a delicious whiff of his scent, which draws me in, even though it shouldn’t. My skin hums, as if my body remembers his touch and longs for more. “Are you a student here?”
“I… Uh… Maybe.”
“Maybe?” He frowns. “But you said you were a reporter.”
“I am,” I say quickly before adding, “for The Valley Voice.” I smooth down my blouse, trying to gather myself. “In my defense, you didn’t mention that you had a teaching job.”
The memory of what happened between us in the alleyway lights a fire in my belly that morphs into pain, my skin prickling like I’m being attacked by an army of fire ants. I grab the corner of his desk to steady myself, wobbling on my feet, vision swimming.
Learning that Ezra is a professor is bad enough, but this? This is even worse.