Prologue #2
We’d been at a house party recently where I’d been flirting with Bell, a non-binary omega from one of my classes.
They were cute, and while I’d never looked at anyone besides women, I’d been curious.
They were pretty and fun, but like Sadie said in the cold morning light the next day, it would only bring scandal to my father’s doorstep.
I’d be shamed by the people around us. I’d be all alone. Again. I didn’t want that.
“C’mon. I don’t like that look on your face. It seems like you’re sobering up.” Placing a hand on my back, Hunter pushes me towards the end of the street where we make another turn and walk until we end up outside a dive bar.
It doesn’t look like the usual places we tend to go to. Oakley University is an elite school, it’s where all the wealthiest families send their children in the hopes of making connections that will last a lifetime. The entire cohort is the crème de la crème of society so we don’t visit dive bars.
We’re nepo babies, used to drinking champagne and Negroni on yachts. Not lukewarm beer in back rooms with sticky floors and a dartboard but that’s exactly what we’re faced with as we push through the doors of Six Shots.
It’s the weekend so the place is busy, which is good because it means we don’t draw any attention as Hunter manages to snag us a table and some stools.
“Sit your ass here and don’t move,” he leans in to shout over the music, his hot breath brushing against my ear and down my neck. “I’m going to grab some drinks and then we’re going to get you outside your own head.”
I swear he mumbles something about not liking the expression on my face before he makes his way to the bar.
When he returns, it’s with a tray full of drinks. Six Shots isn’t just the name, apparently, it’s also the specialty here. He’s also ordered beers and a bottle of whiskey. Whatever he’s got planned he doesn’t intend on us remembering the next morning. And I’m fine with that.
“Let’s do this,” he laughs, handing me the first shot. It’s a strange pink colour. Then we do the second, which is clear and bitter. Then the third, which is blue and tastes like caramel.
After that he hands me a bottle of beer and tells me that he’s managed to snag some space over by the pool table. Taking the tray with us, we make our way over and play a few awful drunken rounds where I lose every time.
Hours seem to pass this way, and by the time the crowd starts to thin out, there’s a delicious buzz underneath my skin and my brain has switched off.
Sadie who?
Loneliness? I don’t know what that means.
Haven’t heard from my father in two months? Well, I don’t care about it now, not while there’s a cute omega across the bar sending me flirty smiles and my housemate is offering me another drink.
I noticed the omega a while ago, our eyes meeting every now and again before one of us would look away, but it’s only as the night has begun to wind down that she’s gotten bolder with her interest. She’s pretty, with long dark hair and blue eyes, almost like Hunter’s but a shade darker.
I can feel her gaze on my skin as a lean across the table to take my next shot and miss disastrously.
Throwing his head back, Hunter laughs, and there it is—a strange whisper of jealousy in the back of my mind because he is so comfortable in his own skin he doesn’t give a shit that he laughs like a hyena when he’s drunk.
Glancing back at the omega, I check to see if she’s watching. She is. Leaning back in her booth, eyes trained on me. Her hair is braided on one side, and her beautiful bronze skin shimmers, seeming to shift colors under the flashing blue and purple lights near the dancefloor.
“She’s cute,” Hunter says, moving closer to me. “Don’t you think?”
“Hey hands off I spotted her first.” I push him away with my elbow, but that does nothing, the man is on me like glue.
The corner of the omega's mouth lifts, and she leans back giving us a good look at her low cut leather halter neck. Fuck, I can see the outlines of her nipples from here. Big tits have always been one of my weaknesses.
“There’s nothing that says we can’t share.”
A shiver runs through me because he’s breathing against my neck. “Not everyone is a freaky boho artist like you.”
“I’m not freaky,” he shrugs, stepping away and it’s like a sliver of tension in my chest releases. “I’m a hedonist. I like pleasure and fun and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
We try to play another round, but my head is all over the place. Between the alcohol, the omega and Hunter, I can’t concentrate.
“Why don’t you ask her to dance?” he says as a song I recognise comes on.
Ask her to dance? Sober me would be questioning everything right now and I can feel that version of myself trying to pierce the hazy veil.
An anxiety ridden voice whispering in the back of my skull.
Who is she? Does she know who I am? Would she even want to dance with me?
Will I regret it in the morning? Could she somehow ruin my family‘s reputation?
Then the doubts would set in.
Am I alpha enough? I’ve only ever had sex with two other people, what if I’m a disappointment? What if that’s why all the others left? What if they could tell by looking at me that I wasn’t good enough? Never enough.
Swallowing, I shake my head. “Nah, I’m good.”
We both watch as the omega lifts her drink and sucks on the straw suggestively.
He quirks an eyebrow at me. “Well, your loss…”
With that he hands me his pool cue, pushing it against my chest and I watch, mouth open, as he walks past me and straight towards the omega’s table. He isn’t about to do what I think he’s about to do, is he?
Fucker. Yes he is.
I watch as he places his hand on the table, leaning in as he introduces himself. At some point during the evening he’d rolled up the sleeves of his shirt so his ink was exposed on his muscular arm. How the fuck were his arms so muscular? I thought he was just a painter?
The omega glances at me, but it’s only for a moment before her attention is fully on Hunter as if he hung the moon. And I can’t blame her. He is handsome in an alternative looking arty kind of way, I guess.
He slides into the booth next to her and they laugh at some joke or something witty he said.
I doubt it’s actually that witty. Hunter had a habit of coming out with these random facts that weren’t even true, like the time he told us alphas could form bonds or that bananas are radioactive.
It was either that or some philosophical line spewed up when he was high.
Omegas seemed to lap it up though, and he was never lonely.
A few moments later, he’s linked his hand with hers and he’s leading her on to the dance floor.
Fuck him. An odd sensation bubbles up inside me, not quite anger and not quite jealousy, but whatever it is, it spurs me on.
Before I know it and before I can overthink, with the whiskey swirling around in the pit of my stomach, I’ve joined them on the dancefloor.
Over the omega‘s head, Hunter grins at me.
“This is Shelby,” he shouts over the music as he turns her to face me.
She smiles, placing her hands on my chest as she continues to sway to the beat.
“Evans.” I yell, as I try to find a rhythm.
“I know,” she says as her hands move up and around my neck. There’s a soft heat on my hands, as Hunter pulls them onto her hips, bringing the three of us closer. He must have told her my name. I wonder what else he said while he was at her table?
“You’re really pretty.” My words are lost in the noise, but she seems to understand as she grinds against me. Fuck, when was the last time someone other than Sadie showed me attention like this?
Hunter doesn’t seem as uncomfortable as I am, as he moves his body to the music, lost to the melodies as his hands explore Shelby‘s body. He has no problem leaning in and kissing her neck, grabbing her hips or swaying her in time with him. He’s an alpha in control.
As the song morphs from one into the next, I finally relax and let myself lean into the way I’m feeling right now. I’m free, there's nothing holding me down. I’m a balloon, floating in the air as I move in time with these two. My head spins, but it's in the best way. I’m invincible. Untouchable.
Our bodies are pressed against one another in sync, as sweat begins to roll down my spine and it's as if their heartbeats were my own. That steady thrumming, moving between us, connecting us.
The whiskey is like fire in my veins, and Shelby kisses me, with her mouth pressed against mine there’s no space for words or doubts between us.
She smells like cotton candy as her scent starts to permeate by drunken fog.
My body instantly reacts to the pheromones she’s emitting, and I swallow back a groan as she reaches down and strokes my hard cock through my trousers.
Her kiss turns into a grin against my lips.
“Someone’s enjoying themselves.” she teases, giving the tip of my dick a gentle pinch.
Fuck, I want this. Want her.
My alpha brain has taken over, raw desire is all that’s fueling me right now.
“But we can’t forget about your poor friend.” With that she leans back away from me turning ahead so she can kiss Hunter.
His hand comes up and wraps around her neck possessively as he devours her mouth and I can’t tear my gaze away. He must know because his eyes crack open and although he kisses her, he’s looking at me, the threads between us snapping together tighter.
We stay like this a while, moving bodies, grinding, rubbing, touching as the music and the pheromones wash over us in a haze of sensations and needs.
Hunter’s hand lands on my hip, anchoring me to the moment just as I think I’m about to float away. His heat soaking through the fabric and searing me so that my attention is focused back on him.
I lick my lips, and just as I open my mouth to say something, anything, Shelby lets out a squeak and pulls us around her tighter.