40. Kennedy
Chapter 40
Kennedy
B efore I started living with the guys, I felt guilty every time I went to class and left Charlotte at day care. Even though she liked day care, I still felt bad.
Now, I could hardly remember the last time Charlotte even went to day care. Every time I had class, one of the guys was usually home and offered to keep an eye on her. My baby was getting more quality one-on-one time with the pack than I was, and I loved it.
Most of my classes were fascinating, but the Criminal Theory class was boring, to say the least. For some bizarre reason, it was mandatory for master’s students, but it was also a class offered to undergraduate criminology majors. The result was that the class wasn't that challenging, and it was full of a variety of people.
I much preferred classes that were full of fellow master’s students who were serious about their studies. Classes with a mix of students often had a few noisy and pretentious freshmen.
Four weeks of this class was all I needed before I graduated, so I made my way to the lecture hall early and took a seat. Sure enough, after sitting down for only a few minutes, a gaggle of girls came in that looked horribly familiar.
At least two of the girls in the group of five were from the rink, the ones who had to be kicked out because they couldn’t behave themselves. Sighing, I checked my phone and smiled as I saw a photo of Charlotte, her face covered in mashed banana. She and Storm were clearly having fun.
Before I could reply to Storm, the doors opened, and the teacher came hustling into the room. Respectfully, I closed my phone and turned to the front.
“Hello all, I am Professor Franks, and this is a short course on Criminal Theory. I hope you’ve all done the reading…” he said in a no-nonsense tone as he fired up the projector and started his lesson.
I was so focused on making notes and listening to what he was saying, I hadn't realized that the girls had been looking at me until halfway through class. Because my life was so focused around Charlotte, when I got a chance to study and learn, I put everything into it and became very narrow minded. Everything around me would cease to exist, other than the subject I was trying to study.
So, it wasn't until one of the girls slid into the seat next to me at the end of class that I noticed them. I was almost finished gathering my books and belongings when she and two of her friends surrounded me.
“Hey! Kennedy, isn’t it?” the blonde asked in an overly sweet voice that made me want to hurl.
I didn't bother to open my mouth and respond. Instead, I simply nodded. How did she know my name? Had Storm mentioned it when he was defending me? It had been a few weeks since the incident at the rink, so I wasn't sure.
“I can't believe we finally have a class together. That's so nice,” she simpered. “I've been wanting to catch up with you for ages. Girl, you need to teach us your ways.”
“Teach you my ways?” I asked dumbly.
“Yeah!” They all nodded enthusiastically. “How you managed to wrap Storm Sanderson around your finger. That man was impossible to lock down. I should know. What did you do to convince him to be loyal to you?”
I cocked my head. How could I respond to that? “I'm not sure, honestly.” I shrugged.
“Look, no offense, but there's no way in hell that Storm Sanderson would be dating a single mother unless you had some truly epic moves. No alpha wants to play daddy to a baby that isn’t his.” The grin never faltered as she spoke. Did she think she was being friendly? Weirdly enough, I thought she was, in her own warped, twisted way.
“Look, I can’t tell you how I did it. I was just myself.” I desperately wanted to get out of there, but since they surrounded me on both sides, the only way to escape would be to shove one of them out of the way. If they didn't move soon, though, I wouldn’t be opposed to doing exactly that.
The blonde’s grin dropped. “Why? What do you have that we don't?” she asked, pointedly raking her eyes over me.
I shrugged again. “I can’t tell you. All I know is that my pack and I are happy.”
“Wait, the entire pack?”
One of her friends snorted. “Right there is what she's doing. She's fucking the entire pack because she's an omega and they like that.”
I glowered at her. “So?”
“I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t fuck that nerdy one. He’s just not my type.”
Was she talking about Eli? My Eli?
I snorted. “Are you fucking blind? You're calling him nerdy, simply because he wears glasses? That man has a better body than half the hockey players.”
I didn't think Eli would be mad at me for complimenting his body in front of these women. Plus, for a brief moment, I wanted to make them jealous.
Her face fell, and anger replaced it. “Look, you're more than welcome to him. We just want to know what you did to get Storm. We all know you're not going to keep his attention, so why can't you be nice and let us know what you did? Is it because you're knocked up?”
The blonde nodded. “That explains it. If that’s Storm’s baby, he’s probably staying out of some fucked-up sense of duty. Gosh, that’s horrible of you to do to him.”
I resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. All I wanted to do was get home to my pack and my baby.
Had I done that to Storm? He wasn't only with me because of Charlotte, was he? Several times, he had made his thoughts about me quite clear. Even then, my relationship with Eli and the other guys was solid. I had never felt so loved and adored in my whole life.
“This baby isn't Storm’s.” I smiled serenely.
The blonde broke out in another grin. “You've managed to get him to take credit for a baby that isn't his? God, you must have a magic pussy!”
“Well…” I said, tapping my chin thoughtfully. “It could be Storm’s. That's the thing about being with a pack. We do everything together.”
“But you aren't part of that pack…”
“Yet. They’ve asked me, and we decided to wait until after the baby.” I grinned, liking the way her face cracked at my words.
“You can't join that pack. Once you join the pack, there’s no going back.”
What she meant was that, once Storm was bonded to me, there was no way in hell he would ever want to sleep with her.
“You can’t. I won’t let you!” she said, her voice rising.
“I know this may be a hard concept for you to grasp, but you have no say in me and my pack bonding.”
“I do, considering Storm and I are a thing!” she growled.
My stomach dropped. They couldn’t be, could they? I didn't want to doubt Storm, but I knew the way he’d been before he found out about Charlotte. There was still that little niggling doubt in the corner of my mind.
The blonde noticed my slight wavering and jumped on that. “Look, I'm just trying to be a girl’s girl, but Storm and I see each other pretty regularly. I think it's noble that he wants to take credit for your child and look after you, but he's not a good guy. Incredible in the sack, but not a good guy.”
“That’s bullshit,” I growled. There was no way, especially after the way Storm had dismissed her at the game.
“It’s not.” She smirked proudly while her friends all nodded and muttered in agreement.
I took a deep breath. I needed to shove the worry aside. While having faith in someone was difficult, I did have faith in Storm. He had explained his logic about giving me a wrong name, and I had seen the way he had crumbled after he found out about Charlotte. There was no faking that kind of self-loathing.
“Look.” I sighed, grabbing my bag and standing up. People were already starting to mill into the lecture hall for the next class, so I needed to get this over with. “I can tell that every word coming out of your mouth is complete and utter bullshit. Storm and I are together. We share a child, and when the time is right, we are going to bond. For the love of God, have some self-respect and go after a guy who’s actually interested in you. Desperation isn’t a good look on anyone.”
Her face fell, only to be replaced by fury. It didn't even faze me; I simply smiled serenely at her. What could she really do to me? I had a few weeks left of class, and soon, she would be a blip in the rearview mirror.
“I am not desperate!” she growled.
“You are practically throwing yourself at an alpha who is taken. If that’s not desperate, I don’t know what is.”
“I slept with Storm last week!” she rushed to say.
It was so desperate, it was almost comical.
“Oh, really?” I asked, my grin never leaving my face.
The blonde nodded. “Yes!”
“Okay,” I said, pulling out my phone.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Making a call.” Looking for Storm’s contact, I pressed video call, shoving past her and making my way toward the exit.
He answered on the second ring. “Hey, baby!” He had Charlotte on his hip, and he looked like he was in a locker room.
“Where are you?”
“Team meeting. I decided to show off my daughter and bring her with! Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I just wanted to let you know the blonde girl from the game—her name was Lorna, I think—just informed me you slept with her last week.” I giggled. I wasn't completely out of the room yet, so all the girls could hear me. More importantly, they could hear Storm’s response.
“Oh, god, really? Guys! You have to hear this! Some girl is claiming to Kennedy that I slept with her last week.” He laughed.
“I know!” I giggled as I exited the hall, catching a glimpse of the girls as I turned and left.
They looked furious.
I, on the other hand, just felt victorious.