Chapter Two
Kai
Friday
“Wake up, we need to get going,” a voice said as something hit me in the face.
Groaning, my eyes cracked open as sunlight flooded me. Auntie Kiki threw open the curtains.
Last night after dinner, she, my uncles, and some cousins had made very quick work of moving all of my things out of my apartment and into her guestroom.
She’d also had me removed from our campus lease–I wouldn’t get a refund, but I wouldn’t be held responsible for our place, and if a single room opened up my payment would transfer over.
Logan had been taken off my phone plan, my car insurance, and some of the streaming services, which I paid for. I removed myself from the others.
Given that his car was actually in my name, my cousins moved it to Auntie’s. They were also going to change the locks on the car, so he couldn’t use his keys and take it.
We’d filed fraud charges with the bank too. One of my cousins had snooped on Logan’s laptop and found the entire plan for leaving me off the trip. Which included Logan telling Drea he made a withdrawal from my account so that she could have a good time. My cousin had gotten receipts.
This had been planned. My boyfriend and our friends had orchestrated this.
“What are you doing?” I moaned, putting my pillow over my face. “Aren’t you leaving for Nashville?”
“We are leaving for Nashville. Do you think I’m leaving you here to wallow? There’s a doctor convention at the hotel. We’ll find you new alphas. Better ones.” Auntie opened my suitcase for Bali and started going through it.
“Money isn’t everything.” I sighed. Go to Nashville on the auntie trip? Not sure I was up for that.
“It’s not. Earning potential is. Because gainful employment leads to stability. You want a stable alpha. Kinesiology is not earning potential,” she replied. “There’s lots of good professions. Dentist. Lawyer. Investment Banker. Billionaire. Philanthropist. Acupuncturists.”
Sighing at her antics, I sat up and realized she was repacking my suitcase.
“But it is. Kinesiology is what you study in undergrad when you want to be a physical therapist. You need a doctorate for that.” I put the pillow back over my head.
“Is that how he met her? Did he physical her therapist?” She held up a T-shirt of mine. “You might be a non-binary, bi-sexual, disaster, but do you have to dress like you were assigned trash panda at birth? How are you going to find a new alpha?”
It might sound mean, but it wasn’t. Auntie was very supportive of my life choices and would beat anyone who wasn’t with a slipper. She even helped me legally change my name to Kai and coached me how to tell my parents I was non-binary, bi, and that the two of those things could co-exist.
“I don’t need a new alpha and I was assigned trash panda at birth, thank you very much. I even have a T-shirt that says so.” I removed the pillow from my face as she held up a bathing suit and put it in a pile.
While I often dressed more femme, I’d rather get extra sleep than fuss about my appearance. Some days I just dressed like a preteen boy at summer camp, and I was okay with that. Also, I was in the field a lot, for the conservation research I was doing at the fish ponds. Why dress up?
“Also, you’ve met my mom. Being a disaster is genetic,” I added, remembering my mother. My heart twisted. If she was still alive, Logan would be a dead man. She might have been an omega disaster, but she was fierce when it came to my brother and me.
“You’re an omega. While you don’t need to rush, you're going to need an alpha eventually,” she added.
Unlike a lot of my relatives, she wasn’t constantly asking me when I was going to pack up and have babies. She encouraged me to finish my degree, earn my own money, and choose alphas that would give me a good life and support my dreams.
I’d thought I had one. I’d been wrong.
“Don’t remind me. Is it a nice hotel?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Very. You can get a massage, a facial, and a pedicure. I’ll buy you new clothes and cover everything.” Wrinkling her nose, she put something else in a pile.
Hmmm. Was traveling with four nosey, Asian aunties who’d spend the whole time trying to set me up worth a free vacation?
However, they knew how to live it up. Every year they went on a trip together to Nashville, to country line dance, listen to country music, eat in nice restaurants, go to the spa, and shop.
Why not? Given I was newly single, and not going to Bali, I should do something.
“I want a manicure, too.” I sat up.
She eyed me. “Fine.”
As we ate breakfast, my phone started buzzing with texts. I’d only blocked Drea and Logan, not everyone else.
“Auntie, what did you do?” I looked over at her.
“The hotel reservation was in your name. I canceled it, along with the activities you paid for. They don’t get a free vacation.” She smirked. “You probably won’t get everything, but hopefully you’ll get some of it.”
That would be nice. Especially if I could get my deposit back. The activities were all non-refundable.
Raven
Hey, where are you? Logan said you were meeting us here. The confirmation number for the hotel isn’t working.
I sent my former bestie a screenshot of her post, along with Drea’s message about the free vacation.
Me
You can’t ditch me and expect me to pay for it.
Raven
We just wanted a drama-free vacation.
Me
And I want new friends. I found your conversations. How could you? I thought we were friends. I canceled it, since it was in my name. Enjoy Bali.
Block. Ow, that hurt. We’d met freshman year and became good friends. Like ride-or-die friends.
So I thought.
Most of the activities, the hotel, all that had been chosen with her.
But I didn’t need friends who treated me badly.
Her boyfriend, Rowan, had also texted me.
Rowan
Can we have the hotel info? Guess we beat you to Bali? Also, I think we’ll need your credit card number so we can check in.
Me
Have Drea pay for it. Logan also stole enough from me to cover it. Ask him.
Block. While Rowan was a nice guy, and I didn’t see him on the different email threads, I didn’t want Raven texting me through him.
Logan’s bestie also texted me.
Seth
You can’t cancel this trip. Stop being a drama queen. Also, Drea’s just kidding, you know how she is.
Me
Yeah, I know how she is. She’s not kidding. You let my boyfriend erase me from the trip I paid for and take another omega. None of you even paid me for it. I have every right to cancel it.
Seth
Logan didn’t steal from you. Stop saying that.
Me
He took money from my account without permission. That’s the very definition of stealing. Logan is a cheating thief.
Block.
Aaron
Logan said his phone’s not working. Can you fix it?
Seriously?
Aaron
Um, Logan said we didn’t have to pay you back. It was your graduation present to us. He said you were coming later because of class.
Me
The reservations were for six people, and he literally canceled my ticket to buy Drea’s.
Block. Like Rowan, I didn’t see any nastygrams or planning to squeeze me out of my trip from him, but he also would text me anything Logan asked.
A dm from Logan popped up.
Logan
You need to take that post down. How could you? You’re stressing Drea out. You know how sensitive she is.
Post?
I went to my socials. On my account were screenshots of Drea’s text, the comments, other screenshots, and detailed the entire saga of my betrayal–calling everyone out and tagging them on the post with a caption saying, When people show their true colors.
“Auntie, how could you?” While most of the comments were supportive of me, not all of them were.
“You fuck around, you find out.” She shrugged, completely unabashed, as she drank her tea.
While I should be mad, I honestly wished I had the balls Auntie Kiki did.
Me
It’s fine for her to steal my boyfriend and vacation, but it’s not okay to call her out? Also, we’re over.
Logan
Why doesn’t my phone work? I’m on wi-fi right now.
Me
Because we’re over. I’m breaking up with you. I took you off everything and took back what was mine. You can have the place. We are done.
Logan
I didn’t steal from you. You gave it to me.
Me
I gave you money to take your sidepiece on vacation? You used my phone yesterday to steal it.
I added a picture of his message to Drea about taking it.
Me
How long have you been cheating on me?
Logan
If you weren’t too busy to be a proper omega I wouldn’t have to.
What the fuck did that mean?
Auntie took my phone. “Screenshot. Block.”
“Yes, Auntie.” As I finished breakfast, I blocked all six of them on everything I could. That also stung. Most of these people were my friends. My best friends. We’d been through so much together over these four years. Even Seth who was an asshole.
Apparently, it meant nothing.
Proper omega? What the fuck was a proper omega? What century did he think it was? No longer was I sad. No, I was angry. How dare he cheat and blame me for it?
Was it his mom? She had issues with my pronouns and sexuality–and thought Logan was better than me. Called me a mistake.
“Come on, we need to go soon.” Auntie took away my bowl. “We’ll have so much fun that you’ll forget him–and find someone new. Don’t take it down. Dirty cheaters face consequences.”
“True.” While he had a few supporters, people were piling on him online.
Drea had taken her profile down. Good thing I had screenshots.
“The more fun you have, the more you win. Especially since they no longer have a hotel. Or return tickets.” She smiled evilly.
She was right. Then again, she usually was.
Fine. I’d go and have a great time in Nashville with the aunties. Maybe I’d even post about it.
No. I would post about it. It might not be Bali. There might not be any surfing. But I could still have an amazing time.
Though I wasn’t going to find a new alpha or let them matchmake me, even though they probably already were. I’d be just fine without an alpha. That’s what vibrators were for. They didn’t talk back. Cheat on you. Or steal.
I was done with alphas. Done. Done. Done. It didn’t matter how nice they were, what they looked like, or what they did for a living. From now on I was focusing on myself, my degree.
Who needed alphas anyway? Certainly not me.