33. Zoe
Zoe
By the time Cameron and I were done talking, it was the wee hours of the morning, well past dinner time, so that will have to happen some other time.
I'm exhausted, but at least it's Friday, which is my light class day. I skip lunch with Viv, choosing to head back to my room to get a little bit of rest before Calculus.
My eyelids are heavy, and I'm close to nodding off when a knock on my door startles me enough to make me yelp. The sleepy haze over my brain is banished, and I stomp to the door, whipping it open.
Warren stands there, arms crossed, glowering.
We haven't had the chance to talk since he saw me kiss Cliff. I wasn't expecting him to seek me out, but I haven't made the effort to find him, either. I'm not sure I'm ready for whatever bullshit he's going to spill.
That's unfair of me. Maybe he needed some time to cool off, and he'll be happy for us. This is Warren. He's been my best friend forever.
"So that's it? You weren't even going to tell me that you're fucking my roommate?"
There goes that hope.
"Hi, Warren, how are you? I'm fine, thanks for asking." He shoulders past me into my room. I'm getting tired of him acting as if he belongs here, but we've got enough to argue about right now. "I was going to tell you."
"When? It's been two days."
"It was yesterday morning."
He huffs, waving my words off. "All day yesterday, and most of today! You should've told me when it happened."
I get the feeling this is going to be a long conversation, so I make myself comfortable on my bed. "It's new, Warren."
"It's a mistake. You don't know him like I do."
Maybe this will be short.
"I'm not going to sit here and let you trash Cliff, so if that's your plan, you can leave. I know Cliff better than you think."
Warren stalks across the room and glares down at me. At one point, the way he leers over me might have made me nervous, but my dragon is writhing beneath my skin, ready to jump in and protect me if I need it.
"I'm not going anywhere."
The tone of his voice is unlike anything I've heard from him before.
"Why the sudden change, Warren? Why is it now, after all this time, that you're concerned about who I'm with? And don't say it's because we're inevitable or whatever."
He huffs, white-blond hair puffing away from his face. "You've changed since we got here."
I gesture up and down his body. "So have you. You're being a real dick."
"That's not what I mean. You look different. You're acting different."
I wish I trusted him enough to tell him that he's right, a lot has changed, but I don't. Warren used to be my confidant in everything, and now I'm not sure if he will be. What's to stop him from taking that secret from me and holding it over my head to control me?
A year ago, hell, three months ago, this wouldn't have even been a thought in my mind, but now it's all but certain.
Warren and mine's relationship may never recover from my designation.
Was it always going to end this way? If I were a Beta, a true Beta, would we be falling in love instead of apart?
It doesn't do any good to dwell on that, because that isn't an option. This is the life I've been given, and I can't go back.
Would I turn back the clock and be just a Beta if I could?
Would I still have my relationship with Cliff and Cameron?
"This is what I mean!" Warren's voice jolts me out of my thoughts. "You act like you don't give a shit when I'm around."
"Do you ever consider I'm dealing with bigger things than you, Warren?"
"What could you possibly have going on?" He scoffs and holds up his hand, ticking off his fingers. "Hooking up with my roommate? Fucking the Alpha Aide? Flirting with Viv's brother? Oh yes, you are so busy."
I've given Warren a lot of grace, but it's run out. I'm on my feet, pushing his chest and making him stumble toward the door. "You don't know shit about me anymore. Get out of here. Leave me the hell alone."
He grabs me by the wrists, his handsome face twisted into something grotesque. "If everyone else can get in your pants, why not me, huh? Don't pretend that you've never thought about it."
Of course I have thought about it, but whatever Warren it was that I fantasized about in the past, it is not this man in front of me.
"Let me go, Warren."
Did I ever know this man? How can the boy who kissed my scraped knee be the one who's looking at me as if I am his next meal?
His long, bony fingers tighten around my wrist, almost to the point of pain. "You're mine, Zoe. Always meant to be mine, always will be mine."
"Childhood promises aren't real, Warren! Our mothers wanting us together isn't enough to build a relationship on." My head is spinning, my skin growing hot, and I feel myself losing grip on my dragon. "You need to let me go now."
My words only make his fingers tighten, and I swear I can feel my bones rub against one another.
The manic gleam in his eyes is enough to trigger my fight-or-flight response, and my dragon has decided she's done letting me run the show.
My teeth sharpen into points, and I can feel the skin on my wrists growing thick and hotter, as if my scales are starting to burst to the surface.
Warren looks down at his hands, then back at me, genuine fear on his face.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He drops me and stumbles backward. "You– Your teeth."
My dragon gave up control as soon as he took his hands off me, and I'm grateful for her assistance, but now I have to do damage control with Warren to keep my secret under wraps.
"What about my teeth? Stooping to physical insults now?"
He shakes his head, pointing a shaky finger at me. "Your teeth were sharp."
I force an eye roll and an indifferent tone into my voice. "Wow, you're more delusional than I thought. Now you're seeing things."
"I know what I saw!" His voice is a loud shriek at this point, and I know someone is bound to hear him.
"You should go, Warren."
He shakes his head, sweat-drenched hair clinging to his cheeks. "No. You were—"
"She asked you to leave. Now leave."
The deep voice behind me simultaneously assures me and makes my shoulders stiffen. I look over my shoulder to see Ray, dressed in loose pants and a casual shirt, looking as handsome as ever, with a cup of coffee in each hand and a dark expression on his face.
"This is a private conversation." Warren seems to have regained a little of his composure in the presence of another man.
I step to the side and angle my body so I can look at both men. Warren may not realize it, but he's flinching under the Alpha's glare.
"Can't be too private. I heard you yelling at her down the hall. Get out of here, Warren."
Warren huffs and shoulders past us both, mumbling under his breath.
Always one to get the last word, he pauses in my doorway.
"I know what I saw, Zoe."
I got him off of me, but at what cost?