27. Maddock
Maddock
“What the hell was that?” I growl at Jaxx, who just shrugs.
We’re right on the grid, free from our cars, and there’s no one else around us yet. But the cheers and shouts of our team as they wait for us on the barrier to my right echoes in my ears.
We’ve never done so well. We’re on the fast track to winning every single fucking thing this season, but we’re not going to manage it if I feel like this.
“That was a fantastic race, you really shone there,” Jaxx says with a smirk.
“Don’t fuck with me,” I say. “That wasn’t a win.”
“You got across the line first. That counts as a win. Come on, Maddock, you won the Texas Grand Prix!” He spreads out his arms like he’s about to hug me. “Do you know how jealous I am?”
I’m two seconds from punching him when a shout booms out from behind me.
“Harrison!”
He glances over my shoulder, already laughing.
“Guess I’ll leave you to it then,” he smarms, giving me another one of his fucking salutes as he escapes.
“You piece of shit!” the young alpha female I knocked into the gravel snarls as she runs at me. Right in front of the cameras as well.
“I was in for third there!” Runa yells as she tries to leap for me.
Her partner, another young alpha female, Aster, grabs her shoulders, digging her fingers in to hold her back.
She glares at me as well as she snatches her red-faced partner’s helmet.
They both have a habit of throwing them when they get riled up.
“It's just part of the race,” I growl, not giving a shit as I scan the area, looking for the ginger hair that I wish was still familiar.
“Suck my dick, Harrison!” Runa snarls, giving me the middle finger, going to shout some more abuse. But she yelps as her Principal whacks her over the head with a roll of papers.
“Hey, what the fuck?” she snaps at the finely dressed older alpha female, who tuts at her.
“Enough of that,” Marie says in her heavy French accent. “Apologize. Now .”
Jacob squeezes through the barrier and runs over to intercept. It isn’t the first time the alpha female team has had beef with me.
Jacob claps me on the shoulders, like there’s a chance I might kick off as well. A small smirk rides his lips as he nods to Marie, and she returns it.
The Valkyrie drivers have just turned eighteen, and they act like it. They fade into the background, snapping and snarling, blocked off by Marie’s imposing figure as she and Jacob talk, ignoring them as well.
None of it matters, because I finally spot Harmony in the crowd… Talking to and smiling up at Jaxx.
“Jacob, you sort it out,” I growl.
“Sure, I always have fun with you three,” he says cheerily to the imposing group, earning him another snarl from the girls.
“I’m going to get you back for that!” Runa shouts after me.
I wave my hand behind me as I dash off. They are erratic drivers, but Marie keeps them in line. I just have to make sure to stay away from them in future races in case she keeps her promise.
The bigger problem is the way Harmony smiles up at Jaxx, how she curves her hip, that shine in her fucking eyes as he gives her a soft look. They shouldn’t be looking at each other like that.
I'm the only one who she should look at like that…
But I messed it up too long ago, and I need to show her I can be the alpha she says she needs—and not fucking Jaxx.
“Maddock! How does it feel to win your second Grand Prix of the season!?” A reporter from one of the bigger stations is waiting with her cameraman behind her.
The second I meet her eyes, she flinches back.
But she doesn’t let it stop her, picking up speed with me as I make a beeline for them, holding the microphone steady.
“It’s good. I’m happy. Go away now,” I growl. Thankfully she gets the fucking hint and goes to bother the Cuba Libre in the burnt caramel car who came in P3.
Jacob’s going to chew me out for that later, but hopefully Marie will distract him for long enough that I won’t have to deal with it until tonight. But I can already hear him complaining about my image and how the sponsors will react.
But none of that’s important as I get close enough to hear Jaxx’s deep purr and see the way she hums as she talks to him.
“What are you two doing?” I cut in, trying to be as casual as possible.
The second Harmony turns to me, her light dims, and my heart clenches. And Jaxx just keeps fucking grinning.
“Congratulations Maddock,” she says. “That was really amazing.”
“Just two more firsts and you could win the championship!” Jaxx laughs, slapping his hand on my lower back.
“Don’t try to cover it up,” I growl, batting him away.
Jaxx shrugs like he’s totally innocent. But that isn’t a real win. Even if I get the points for it, it can’t count in my mind because of the way he drove.
If I end up winning the world championships because Jaxx keeps dropping back, I’ll never fucking forgive him.
“It looks like you have things to talk about,” Jaxx says, looking between the both of us.
“Or do you just want us to talk?” she asks, quirking a brow.
“Who knows? Maybe that’s another one of life’s mysteries.”
She smiles in a way I really don’t like.
Another thing that pisses me off is that he’s tall enough that he actually needs to bend down as he smooths his hand over her waist to pull her close.
“I’ll see you later,” he hums, pressing a kiss against her cheek.
And, when he pulls back, she’s looking at him exactly how an omega will look at her alpha.
She sighs softly as he lets her go, swanning off in that annoying relaxed way of his. The reporter from before finds him, and he’s dropped into his element as he becomes the center of attention. And hopefully Harmony’s out of his mind.
“What are you doing with him?” I say the instant he’s out of earshot.
Her gaze hops around, focusing on all the people surrounding us. But I’m too pent up for this, and my alpha senses are telling me to step closer to her so I can scent mark her.
“Let’s not do this here, Maddock. There are cameras around. People are waiting to talk to you.”
“But you’re happy to have photos with him and not me?”
“It’s not about that. Can we talk somewhere else?”
“So, you’re actually willing to have a conversation with me?”
“Only if you stop acting like this.”
If she really wanted to separate from me, she would have rejected me when she left.
She doesn’t even need to be with me to reject me. There’s always a fear that one day I’ll feel the break out of nowhere, and our relationship will be gone.
But as she folds her arms, shock ricochets through my body as I see a semi-circle mark on her hand.
I choke, my arm shooting forward to grasp her wrist, pulling it straight towards my face.
Harmony cries out as she tips forward, and I catch her, my arm going straight around her back like I used to. I hold her close, her body presses against mine, and she doesn’t fight me or try to pull back.
Instead, there’s a gasp, but I can’t tell from who as my gaze bores into the bite mark on her hand.
“What the fuck is this?” I hiss, my heart exploding as pure panic rips through me. “Who the hell did this to you?”
Fear barrels through me as I suddenly realize I might have missed my chance. All those years of telling her to wait until we were ready for a bite, and she bonds with someone within weeks of showing up again.
Her eyes widen and her face pales as she yanks her arm back, pushing at my chest. And I hate that I let her go.
I can’t breathe, I can’t think. A rage bursts in me as I realize she’s already mated with someone else, and she hasn’t told me. That bite mark is too fresh. And there’s only one person who I know has been with her for sure in the past few days.
“Was it Jaxx? Did he—” I break off, pain plunging through me and twisting my insides. “Did you bond with him?”
“No,” she whispers, still glancing around. “I did this to myself. But we can’t talk about this here. Please, Maddock. Can we go somewhere else?”
I’m willing to do whatever she wants as long as I get a fucking answer.
Fuck the podium, fuck the stupid trophy. It’s Jaxx’s win, anyway. They can spray champagne over each other and pat him on the back for a good fucking job while I find out why my omega had teeth marks buried in her hand.