45. Ray
Ray
The door slams in my face, and I'm pretty sure my chest cracks open. My Omega is behind that door, in need, and doesn't want me with her.
My Argentavis is losing his mind inside me. He knows that our mate needs us, but I can't go in there.
She doesn't want me.
I know I was a manipulative bastard. I kept the fact that we were scent matches a secret to give myself time to get in her good graces and show her that I would be a good mate to her. I didn't consider that she'd see it as me only being kind to her to get in her pants, but I can see why she does.
Fuck, Viv may actually murder me when she finds out what I've done.
Even though I am locked out of the room when Zoe needs me most, I don't regret coming here tonight. When Oren whispered in my mind that I needed to go see Zoe, that she was in trouble, I was just getting back from an Alpha mixer. I don't know why I bother going to them anymore.
There's no need to try to find a pack. My pack will form around Zoe, and I'm okay with that.
I ran as fast as I could, and when I saw Warren in here, my vision went red.
I wanted to rip him limb from limb. I thought they were friends, but over the past few weeks, they've been keeping their distance from one another.
I assumed it was because of the Omega secret Zoe's been keeping.
After this and the incident where I found him in her room trying to force himself on her, it's clear that there is nothing left to salvage there.
I was fairly certain that Cliff was her bonded Beta when I found out they were together, and this cements it. He's a part of my pack. I'm not disappointed, either. He's a good man, and a soft place for Zoe to land. She's going to need that.
What is her beast? There has to be a reason she's keeping her designation so close to her chest. It's killing me that I don't even know who Blessed her.
The sound of a pleasured moan from behind the door nearly takes my legs out from under me. Maybe I'm a masochist, but I am going to stay here all night if I have to to protect her. Even with the door locked, a desperate Alpha could break into the room.
I knocked Warren out cold, but that doesn't mean he won't wake up and try to get back to her. I refuse to leave her vulnerable. If he does come back, I will take pleasure in laying his ass out again.
Fuck, Zoe smelled so amazing. How could I ever think her decadent pomegranate and honey scent was a pheromone perfume? It's laughable now that I've been treated to the full force of it.
Before I came here, my dad took me aside and warned me about Betas who would try to trap an Alpha with the perfume.
A woman can get pregnant by an Alpha, which gives her an immediate place in his pack.
Though Beta men can't get pregnant, some still wear the perfume in hopes of receiving a pack invitation.
It's why I was so pissed when I thought she was wearing it. The one Beta my sister was close to was one trying to manipulate Alphas, just like my dad had warned me.
Instead, in the end, it was me who manipulated her.
Cliff's groans should be turning me off, allowing my rigid cock to deflate, but they're not.
I can feel my knot expanding for the first time, and it's a sensation full of both pleasure and pain.
The fact that her scent is so noticeable that I can pop a knot from outside her door would've been enough proof that she's my scent match if I didn't already know.
We don't have knots when we're with other Alphas, Betas, or Omegas we aren't scent-sensitive to. I wish the first time I grew a knot I was inside her, but this serves me right, honestly.
I'm going to have to figure out how to earn her forgiveness.
I didn't mean anything bad by withholding that we were scent matches.
I just knew that if I told her as soon as I found out, she'd deny that she was an Omega altogether, so I wanted to give her a chance to learn to trust me, to confide her designation in me, and then I'd tell her we were scent matches.
I had pictured it as a beautiful moment, maybe with some candles or on a nice date, not when she's in the throes of a heat spike and in pain.
She's not in full-blown heat. If she were, I don't think she would've been able to turn me away.
The sounds of pleasure from behind the door reach a fever pitch and then are replaced by panting breaths and sweet murmured words.
I don't know when they fall asleep, but I'm still here, sitting on the floor with my back against the door. Her scent is starting to fade, but I still don't trust anyone not to come near.
Fuck, I'm exhausted.
If I take a light nap, I'll still be able to protect them and keep anyone from coming into the room. I would need to be out of here before they wake up, though. I doubt Zoe will take kindly to finding me waiting outside her door.
My body is heavy with exhaustion, and I'm still wearing last night's clothes as I park myself in my usual spot in the dining hall. The cup of tea warms my hands, and my plate is heavy with sweets. I don't have much to do today, but I need the sugar and caffeine if I'm going to function at all.
A plate hits the table in front of me, and I wince at the sound.
Viv sits down, oblivious to the pounding headache I'm nursing. "How was your Friday night?"
"Long," I mutter, ripping a piece of a chocolate danish. "Yours?"
"Well, I couldn't convince Zoe to come out with me, not that I blame her or anything, so I just had a chill night in to read." She cuts into her omelet and shoves the bite into her mouth, talking around it. "You okay? You look like shit, not gonna lie."
"Didn't sleep much, is all."
Does my sister know about Zoe's designation? It's hard to believe that she doesn't, with how close they are, but I don't want to be the one to spill the beans if Zoe is still keeping it a secret from her.
Though I should probably be the one to tell her we're scent matches, right? I don't need her to be pissed at me, too, if Zoe tells her first.
But how do I figure out if she knows? Zoe will hate me even more if I reveal her secret to Viv.
Who am I kidding? She's going to be pissed regardless.
"Have you noticed any… changes with Zoe lately?"
My sister's back goes rigid. "No. No changes. What changes?"
I have always been able to read Viv like a book. We may not be twins, but she's still my other half. None of my friends growing up were close to their sisters like I am. Viv is my best friend.
That closeness is why I'm almost convinced she knows. Not enough to say it outright, but I think I can probe her a little more and get confirmation.
"She seems different. And the Hierophant seemed very interested in her."
"I mean, she's an interesting person." Viv's cheeks turn bright red, and I know I've got her.
"Yeah. But she's different, right?"
Viv locks eyes with me, and there is a knowing glint in them. "Yeah, she is."
"Almost like she's got something to hide. Something big."
The silence stretches between us. Viv breaks first, smacking her hands on the table and nearly crawling across it to crowd me. "What do you know?"
"What do you know?"
She slaps the table again. "Do you know?"
"I know. Do you?"
Done with the back-and-forth, Viv sinks back into her seat and rubs the bridge of her nose. "Are we talking about the same thing?"
"I sure hope so."
"She told you?"
I know I need to have this conversation with her, but I am dreading it. She's already given me a lot of grief for hanging around Zoe and made a couple of quiet threats when I've tried to get Zoe to go to coffee with me. I think she knows that I'm interested.
But she doesn't know just how much.
"I figured it out. She's, uh," I gesture for her to move closer, and we both lean across the table, close enough for me to whisper, "she's my scent match. I've known for a little while, but she just found out last night."
I expect Viv to rage. To be pissed that I'm 'taking' her best friend away, like this is the Bianca situation all over again.
I came into this conversation bracing myself for her to yell at me, smack me around, anything other than the way she sinks into her seat, eyes watery and cast down at her lap.
"Fuck."
I can't stand to see her so upset, so I move around the table to sit beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "I didn't do it on purpose."
"I know. It's not that, Ray. She's in danger, and being her scent match means you are, too."
My heart stops beating for a moment. "What do you mean, she's in danger?"
Viv pushes away from me to scan my face. "Do you not know her beast yet?"
I blush and duck my head. "No. We haven't gotten that far yet."
"Ray, think about that sermon we went to for a moment."
The church service, where the Hierophant gave a lecture to just four of us about the lost Goddess, Ilota, and we shared theories around what happened to her, has been on my mind.
It was so odd and impromptu. People don't talk about the Fire Goddess, and the sermon felt pointed. I couldn't figure out why.
Now I know.
"No."
She nods and wipes some tears that escape with the back of her hand. "Yeah, Ray. She is."
"That's not possible." I don't know if my denial comes from disbelief or fear, but I refuse to accept the idea that my Omega has been Blessed by Ilota. The implications of that, after what we learned in the chapel, make me sick to my stomach.
I don't know how I'll handle her being in so much danger for the crime of existing.
"It is possible. She is."
Viv wouldn't lie to me, not about this. I can feel the truth in words like a knife to the gut.
"Which one is she?"
It's not safe regardless of whether she is a dragon or a phoenix, but I imagine one of them is considered more of a threat than the other.
My sister grabs my hand and squeezes. "I think you know."
Fuck.