Fourteen - Jasper
She came in on Reed’s arm, wearing a red dress that made my eyes bulge, and enough of his scent to make my wolf howl. I’d tried to prepare myself for this moment, but telling yourself something and seeing it in the flesh were two very different things for a shifter. More than half on me was controlled by a beast’s instinct. And those instincts were screaming at me this was wrong. Not just the corsage on her wrist – no doubt from Mrs. Marshall’s hothouse – or the crimson dress, but the whole damned picture. It had only been a couple weeks since she’d been on my arm, smiling at me like I hung the moon. So happy she’d been glowing…
My claws popped out so suddenly, they raked my ribs, and I hissed. “What is it, Jay?” My mom gave a delicate sniff, no doubt detecting the smell of blood under my suit. With a frown, she placed her glass of champagne on a nearby table, and tried to unfold my arms. “Are you hurt? What’s going on?”
“Stop, Mom.” I stepped out of range of her fussing, my gaze still drilling into Vail. She was being greeted by Reed’s parents, and while she had a polite smile plastered on her face, she seemed overwhelmed by the attention. Mrs. Marshall was flushed with happiness as they discussed the corsage on her wrist, but my gaze slid to her mate. Nathan, the Pack Alpha, looked like he’d just opened a box of cereal and found the queen of all chess pieces in his Cheerios.
But I didn’t care about the politics. She could pick any damn dress she wanted. And she could walk into the ballroom on the arm of any wolf in the school. But wearing an alpha glow to a function like this was way out of line. She might not have known what it meant, but Reed sure as fuck did. This was a statement. And a personal fuck you to yours truly.
“Is that her?”
I snapped out of my spiral to find my mom glaring across the ballroom at Vail. “Is that the female who got your father killed?”
“ I got my father killed,” I told her for the hundredth time. “I challenged him. He didn’t back down. It’s done.”
She turned her glare my way, but as always it softened when she looked at me. “You could have been killed, Jay. She put you in harm’s way.”
I straightened my spine, hating the same words coming out of her mouth that I’d heard repeatedly from both my lieutenants and Pearl. The morning after the Hunter Moon Formal it was all they could talk about, until I’d banned them from mentioning her name in my presence. I now gave my mom a cold look that was at least half my wolf. “Maybe she inspired me. Remember, he’s the one who sent her to the pack lab to be tortured and broken. It’s not like the asshole didn’t have it coming.”
My mom made a rude little sound, but was all grace and dignity as she took her seat at the table. She instantly started talking to Callum’s mom, a reserved omega who looked like she carried the world’s problems on her slight shoulders. Her husband had died of a rare blood disease that affected shifters, and her brother was Acting Alpha until Callum came of age. Cal’s uncle was a hard, silent male who avoided the academy like the plague, forcing Mrs. Sawyer to step up and represent the pack at these events. She was as quiet and distant as my mom was direct and opinionated, and I had no idea what they found in common to discuss. But my attention quickly went back to Vail.
We were on a raised dais, as befitted the pack alphas and their mates, and it gave me a clear view of the ballroom. The principal was moving through the crowd, directing everyone towards their assigned seats, and I watched as Reed and his parents approached our table. His mom was still talking Vail’s ear off, but she sank back into their circle when she saw me watching. It was an instinctive gesture and said more about Vail’s feelings towards me than her new pack leadership. But when Alpha Marshall put a steadying hand on her shoulder, I felt my eyes wolf out. Alpha gold, only summoned in times of extreme emotion. Or when your inner beast wants to claw its way out and maim your closest ally.
I pulled on a little of my alpha power to contain him. I’d already committed to a forest run as soon as I could escape this nightmare. Until then, I was in charge. Or as in charge as I could be when Reed steered her over to the table below ours, and settled her beside him like the glow-wrapped spoils of war.
I watched her look around at her dinner companions and gulp. It was the alphasons’ table, and since I’d ascended, Baron and Felix were taking turns keeping my old seat warm. Tonight, it was Felix, and he stared Vail down like he wanted to drive his dinner fork into her chest. Pearl, as senior female, was seated on Felix’s left, her date’s seat empty. It was a deliberate move, announcing herself claimed by another wolf, and I knew she was hoping everyone would assume it was me. I watched my alpha male and female, waiting to see if they’d break their promise and start something with Vail, but the attack came from another corner.
Callum and his live-in fuck mate were the last into the ballroom, clearly off their nut on booze and pheromones. Neither of them was fully dressed, and I could see half the males in the room watching his den mother’s tits fight over the little scrap of fabric she’d given them. Cal tapped the end of Vail’s nose as he stumbled into his seat, but Tilly paused long enough to lay a sloppy kiss on her cheek. “Just getting me some of that red alpha sugar, Sugar!”
Vail flushed the same shade as her dress, leaning as far away from the other female as she could manage. Reed looked pissed, but Callum was watching me, and when he caught my stare, he winked.
What the fuck?
“Alpha Arras, are you ready to begin?”
My wolf stared right through the principal for a moment, before remembering I was supposed to have a handle on my beast. The male was a tough old bastard, but for a moment he couldn’t meet my eyes, and I knew he wasn’t the only one watching me wolf out. Forcing myself to take my seat, I kept my gaze on the wall behind him as he welcomed everyone and ran through the night’s agenda. He called out the names of the five new omegas, and proclaimed himself eager to hear from each of them later in the evening.
As he wrapped up his speech, my mom said something about the entrée they’d set down in front of us, but I was riveted again on Vail. She was looking at Reed in shock, and I could almost see the glow melting off her. He gave her one of his typical blank looks, and when Cal leaned over to tap the purse she was clutching, she rubbed a hand against her forehead, then sprang to her feet. I was out of my chair and following before Reed even realized she was gone.
She was fast. Even in her fuck-me heels. But she was moving blindly, and I nodded Liam into position as she headed for the main door. He had it open as she reached him, and closed it smoothly behind us a second later. He put one of his guys on the door, then trailed us at a distance as I took her elbow and steered her down the corridor. In less than twenty strides we were at the restroom I’d set up earlier. She stared blankly at the discrete Out of Order sign on the door, but didn’t argue as I led her inside. She even leaned on me a little, and I had to fight to keep my distance, settling her instead on the edge of a frilly sofa.
When she finally glanced up, there was such a look of relief on her face, I felt it like a blow to the balls. Another thing I had to shut down quick. Pushing a little of my alpha power her way, I demanded, “Why are you running, Omega?”
Renewed panic wiped the rest of the glow from her face, and she shook her head quickly. I could see a bunch of thoughts tangled behind her large green eyes, but all she said was, “I can’t go back in there.”
“Why not?” I stepped towards her, using a single finger to tip up her chin. I tried to keep the anger out of my voice, but it just came out sounding bitter. “Isn’t this what you wanted? A pack of your own? An alpha at your side? His glow all over you so everyone knows you’re taken?”
She was staring at my mouth, but her brows were now knotted in confusion. “The pack? Yes, it’s nice to think I could belong somewhere. But there’s no alpha.”
I clenched my fists, wanted to both shake her and drag her into my arms. “Cal’s female was right. You’re covered in Reed’s sugar. And you can’t fake shit like that.”
“Sugar?” She scrunched up her nose, like I’d grossed her out. “You mean his spit? That was just his alpha voodoo.” When I stared at her, too dumbstruck to speak, she tapped her forehead. “I had an accident. Hit my head. He fixed it, like you did that time…” Her voice trailed off. And I couldn’t tell if it was because she was reliving how he’d healed her, or how I’d taken it way beyond healing. Her scent was so chaotic, I couldn’t work out what she was feeling, and my wolf thrust himself at her in frustration. She no doubt saw the alpha gold in my eyes, but instead of looking scared, she leaned back against the chair and gave a sad huff. “It wasn’t like that, Jasper,” she said quietly. “Not like it was with you.”
My lip curled, my anger and bitterness now just plain hurt. “Did he force you? Or are you playing him, too? Why did you run, Vail?”
“No! It’s not like that! And I wasn’t running! I just… needed some space for a second. ”
“Why? This is what you wanted on Hunter Moon, isn’t it?” She flinched, but I pushed on. “Or now you’re a Marrow princess, are you setting your sights higher? Why have an alphason, when you can have the Pack Alpha?” She all but rolled her eyes at me, and I felt my claws pushing against my fingertips. “I saw the way Reed’s dad looked at you. And how you let him put his hands on your back like you’re his shiny new toy. Is Reed just the latest stand-in until you can get yourself claimed by the Pack Alpha?”
“What?” She gaped at me, anger sizzling in those bottomless green eyes. “Are you insane? I’m not setting my sights on anyone . And certainly not some married guy I don’t even know!”
“Then tell me why you ran out of that ballroom like your ass was on fire.”
She flinched again, and maybe the whole Wolf Fire thing was still playing in her mind, too, because she suddenly looked sick to her stomach. I thought she was about to confess all, but when the words burst out of her, her scent was heavy with self-doubt. “I can’t… I can’t do what the principal said. No one told me there’d be a presentation. And I can’t stand up in front of all those people and tell them why I love being an omega.” She sniffed and opening her clutch, pulled out a bunch of white cards. “I only got the binder last night. I was making study cards, so I could learn a bit more about it. But none of it feels right. And I haven’t got a fucking clue what most of it means, anyway.” She was the picture of dejection as she flicked through the cards, her fingers shaking a little as she pulled one loose. Blowing out a helpless breath, she held it up to me. “What in the misty mountains of mystery is an alpha knot? And why does an omega have to prepare herself for it?”
And damn if my heart didn’t clench at her misery. And my dick leap to attention at the way her mouth puckered around the sexy-as-fuck words. I pretty much flooded the room with musk before I could get my next question out. “You telling me this is all a case of stage fright?”
She lifted a shoulder, still dejected. “I hate feeling like I’m clueless…”
That fucking word. It had attached itself to her from the moment she’d strolled onto campus, wide-eyed and unaware. I thought I’d helped her work through that bullshit. And then after Hunter Moon it was obvious I’d been played by a master. But she was back to scrubbing her forehead again, as if she was trying to rub away an unhappy thought.
The thing was, even though it was harder to scent a lie on wolves who’d never shifted, I knew she was telling the truth. About this, at least. Which made me crowd in on her, both my wolf and my own need to touch her overpowering my frustration. “I don’t like seeing you this way. Which means there’s only one solution here.” She blinked up at me, and I felt my wolf start to hum deep in my chest. She might have had no clue what was driving me, but he was fully on board. I held out a hand. “Come with me now.”
Hope shone in her eyes, but she was clearly bracing herself to return to the ballroom. “You’ll tell me what to say?”
My wolf tipped his head back and howled. “Better than that, Omega. I’m going to make it all go away.”