Chapter 13
“You have got to be joking.” Huntley stops and spins around, her eyes wide. The bag on her back slaps against the wooden railing. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
I give her my best unimpressed stare and tuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans. A bicyclist rides between us, offering a short apology without slowing down. Grabbing Huntley’s hand, I guide her down the stairs of the pier.
“Oh no you don’t,” she says, stopping on the first stair. “You are not going to use the beach as a way to distract me from this.”
She crosses her arms and leans against the railing, and I tilt my head back, forcing a swallow to try and alleviate the heavy lump taking up most of my throat. Not even two hours ago, it was Rylan making me swallow. I can still feel the phantom press of the metal piercing against my tongue.
I force the thought away, not needing my body to get involved any more than it already has.
“He actually made a move, and you said you had lessons today?” Huntley doubles down, despite it being clear I don’t want to talk about it. I shouldn’t have brought it up at all except she looked at me with that look, and I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to convince her to just let me sulk in peace.
“I panicked, okay?” I run my hands through my hair before messing with my necklace. “It was all instinct. I’ve never seen an Alpha so up in a rage when there wasn’t an Omega involved somehow. It started with a kiss and just… just happened, Huntley.”
“So he obviously liked it,” she says.
I cut her off before she can get some twisted idea in her head. “He wants to register with the Council.”
She shrugs. “He already is, right? He works part time at the heat facility downtown.”
How she manages to know everything about our coworkers still amazes me.
I shake my head and start down the stairs. I need the sand just as much as she does today. Huntley sighs, but I hear her footsteps a half-stride behind mine.
“Is there a different way to be registered?” Huntley asks as we get to the bottom of the stairs and head toward our favorite lounge spot. “Because I really only thought there was the one way.”
I nod, and she curses under her breath.
“They should really offer classes to Betas,” she mumbles.
I don’t disagree. A lot of things would be more straightforward if they extended us the same knowledge and education they do to Omegas and Alphas.
Huntley grabs my elbow and forces me to stop. “What way do you mean, then? Why is it something that you feel is insurmountable?”
“He wants to register to be matched.” I spit the words out and twist out of her hold, continuing down the beach.
“Oh,” she says.
It’s an impressive moment, seeing Huntley at a loss for words. It just drives the reality even harder. Rylan is completely out of my reach.
“I shouldn’t even be bothered by it. I’m already seeing someone else,” I bite out, turning. She stumbles into me, not anticipating my sudden stop. Behind her, a flash of black hair grabs my attention.
No way.
I adjust her, trying to see around the small groupings between us and the ocean. Where had it gone, that flash of hair I knew better than my own? A redheaded woman about Violet’s age tosses her head back and laughs, the sun catching on her freckles and a small gold piercing in the upper part of her ear.
“Couldn’t you register with him?” Huntley asks, forcing my attention away from where I could have sworn I’d seen Violet.
I twist back to her and sigh. “If I want to continue with Dominic, no. He doesn’t want to register.”
Huntley’s lips twist, and I shrug even as her grimace deepens.
“You like him that much?” she asks. “After avoiding Alphas for years?”
“Yeah, H, I do,” I whisper, the admission both freeing and gutting. How could any person, especially a Beta like me, be able to hold such space for two men—two Alphas? Omegas are naturally wired for this type of thing. I am not. And yet it’s the reality: I desire them both.
Huntley tucks her arm into mine and starts us walking again, leaning her head against my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jas.”
I lean over, resting my head on hers.
“I’ve never wished to be anything other than I am,” she says after a while.
In front of us, the pier stretches into the ocean, the Ferris wheel spinning in its slow jaunt like it has no care in the world. Young kids run around, their laughs audible even over the sound of the tide and the call of the gulls.
“Being a Beta has always just…” She hesitates before shrugging. “It’s always made sense to me. I wish I had something to offer you.”
I manage a small laugh, though mostly my chest just hurts. “It’s all right, H. I didn’t really mind not designating until Violet did.”
She nods. Her hair scratches against my arm, but I don’t say anything.
“I know. But still…” She trails off, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders, offering the world’s most awkward side hug since our other arms are still linked. “I’m sorry you feel like you have to choose between parts of you.”
I don’t have a good answer, so I just give her another awkward hug and let my arm drop, tucking my hand into my pocket. Huntley doesn’t let the silence linger for long.
“Invite him to the concert,” she says. At my hesitation, she elbows me in the side. “I know you haven’t used your friends and family tickets. See if he’ll come see you play. And when you guys join us for drinks after, we can see if he’s worth the trouble of giving up Rylan.”
“I don’t think you can call it giving up Rylan when we’ve never even been a thing,” I mutter.
She shakes her head. “You know what I mean, Jas.”
I pull out my phone and send the text before I can reason myself into something more safe—and lonely. It’s only a few minutes before he replies.
Love to. May I pick you up?
Huntley leans over and giggles. I shove her, pulling my arm free of hers, but she just laughs harder.
“He’s just so polite. I really expected him to be more… I don’t know. Dominant or something.”
I cock an eyebrow, but she’s the definition of innocent, her eyes wide and her smile saccharine. I stare at her in unspoken question, knowing she’ll break eventually. It doesn’t even take a full minute.
“You have never once let your partners leave marks when you won’t be able to hide them easily,” she says. “And yet I can see three hickeys in full view and another two under your collar when you turn just right.”
I can’t stop my cheeks from heating, so I focus on responding to Dominic instead.
I have to report an hour early. You’d end up sitting for a while.
I don’t mind.
All right.
Huntley stays surprisingly quiet during the exchange, only looking over my arm to see the conversation. Once we’ve settled on timing, I tuck my phone away and start down the beach again, grabbing Huntley’s hand as I head toward our favorite spot. She pulls a blanket from her bag and spreads it on the ground before sitting cross-legged and tilting her head back, a small smile on her lips.
“Don’t do anything with him there.” I sit next to her, toeing off my sandals in favor of digging my toes into the sand. She gives me an impressive side eye that I don’t believe for a minute. She cracks a moment later, shrugging. “Seriously, Huntley. Don’t do anything overbearing.”
She purses her lips but nods. “Promise.”
I lean back on my elbow and close my eyes, settling into the familiar sounds around us. She adjusts to lay her head on my stomach, and I can’t help but smile.