Chapter 2 – Zale
Chapter Two
Zale
I don’t know why, but looking at Shiloh Vos makes me feel…uncomfortable. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s like a tugging beneath my skin. Is it the way he seems to see straight through me, as if I’m worth nothing? Or how he looks so much like Millie…but also not?
After the lecture, the brash beta packs his bag and leaves without so much as a backwards glance, and I feel as though I can breathe a little easier. He wouldn’t be such an easy target if he just learned to smile a little more. Maybe be friendlier instead of glaring or pretending we don’t exist. I don’t know.
A buzz in my pocket reminds me I still haven’t replied to her text. It’s not that I’m ignoring her. Millie is…perfect. Beautiful and smart. But she can also be a little intense and today I was already running late for class when she wanted me to call her. A flurry of texts came through and instead of replying, I found myself ignoring them. I just needed a little breathing room, that was all. I’d call her after training tonight. She’d make me grovel, but I didn’t really mind that.
“God, I don’t know why he even keeps coming to class. I would die of shame.” Sadie chuckles as we leave the lecture theater and walk to one of the coffee shops on campus before afternoon classes. “Maybe he should drop out. Save his family any more embarrassment.”
“Isn’t Millie your friend?” Blake, one of my teammates, asks, glaring at Sadie. I know he doesn’t like her attitude or the way she tears down others, but usually he’s pretty good at keeping his feelings to himself.
Sadie lifts a brow, nudging another omega, Sage, as they share a look. “And?”
“That’s her brother.” Blake frowns as we reach the coffee shop and enter. It’s busy today, the aroma of coffee strong as we huddle together by the counter waiting to order.
“I don’t say these things to her.” Sadie tosses her hair and gives him a look. “Duh.”
A burst of her sickly-sweet scent surrounds us, an edge of bitterness making me clench my jaw. She’s trying to use her pheromones and omega nature to calm Blake, but I’m not sure it’s working as he grimaces.
“Yeah, my girl knows better than that.” Evans, another teammate, chimes in, wrapping an arm around her waist, inhaling deeply as he presses his nose against her hair.
They’re not exclusive…yet. But if Sadie gets her way, she’ll have a Claiming mark before we graduate. Especially since Evans plans to join his family’s real estate firm. Evans gives Blake a wink and a smirk. “Besides, Blakey boy, why’re you defending the little beta. I thought you were meeting up with that cute omega from Charleston.”
“It’s not like that…” The pink blush on Blake’s cheekbones seems to say otherwise.
Does he like Shiloh? For some reason, that thought makes my gut clench. He’s Millie’s brother. And he’s a beta. Why would he like him?
I mean, he wasn’t ugly. He had this tortured poet look, as if he’d been staying up late into the night writing sonnets about sunbeams or some shit. And he did have nice eyes, a mossy kind of green. But he was…well, he was Shiloh Vos. He was just as likely to bite your hand off as he was to ignore you completely. Those seemed to be his two default settings.
With a low growl, I push past them both and place my order with the barista. “Let’s just talk about something else.”
“Look at who’s defending his girlfriend's family again. The perfect little knight in shining armor, aren’t you?” Sadie teases, nudging me with a coy smile as I pretend to watch my coffee being made intently, as if I’m trying to memorize the process. “Does this mean Millie is your Chosen Mate?”
Chosen Mates.
That’s what they call it when you bind yourself to an omega who isn’t your Fated Mate. Fated Mates are incredibly rare, but I know she’s hoping that during her next heat, I’ll suddenly realize that she’s my destined partner, but I already know in my bones that she isn’t. That doesn’t mean I don’t like her. I think I could even love her, maybe one day in the future at least…
I’m not rushing to Claim a partner—I think my fathers would kill me if I did. Evans isn't the only one expected to go into the family business after graduation. The only difference is Evans is happy to fall in line behind his parents…me, less so.
“Are you ready for training later?” Blake asks, changing the subject as we collect our drinks and find an empty table.
“Ready? Always.” I grin at Blake, ignoring Sadie’s little pout because I haven’t confirmed nor denied exactly what Millie is to me.
Playing football has always been my release, my dose of fun amongst the future mapped out for me. A way to blow off steam that brings me benefits at university like grants and partial scholarships, but my parents have always treated it like a hobby rather than the foot in the door it could be for me.
I do everything they ask, take the course modules they approve of, watch how much I drink in public and when I attend our weekly Wednesday night dinner, I give them updates on everything else. I thought I could last four years and then freedom would be within my grasp, but every day, I feel the noose of responsibility tightening around my throat.
Be who they want.
Do what they want.
“You okay, man?” Blake taps his sneaker against mine and I realize I’d zoned out.
Lifting the corner of my mouth into a wide grin, I let the mask slide back into place. “Yeah, just thinking about whether we’ll be doing drills or strength training later.”
Rubbing his stomach, Blake groans before taking a sip of his iced Americano. “I think Coach said we were doing drills, but I don’t really care. I just need to work off the burger I ate last night.”
Evans taps him round the back of the head before joining us at the table with Sadie and Sage in tow, clutching their sugary coffees with the whipped cream. “I told you the carbs were going to make you sluggish today.”
“Yes, mom.” Rolling his eyes, Blake bats him away before asking, “Who’s turn is it to cook dinner today?”
“Hunter’s.” Evans and I answer in unison, with a distinct lack of enthusiasm for our housemates’ culinary skills. We were teammates, friends and we lived together in a house just off campus specifically for sports majors.
Blake rubs his face with a sigh. “So, rice and beans.”
“Yep. Rice and beans.” I chuckle as my phone buzzes with a new message. I don’t even look.
Evans drops his head down onto the tabletop with a grunt. “Urgh. Remind me why we let him cook again?”
U sing the spoon, I stir my coffee. I’d ordered a toffee latte for some reason. I didn’t even like sweet drinks, but when I saw it on the menu, I’d impulsively chosen it. “Because everyone should take turns. He isn’t getting off the hook because he refuses to learn to cook.”
“I know, but seriously…rice and beans. Again. Like at least add a gravy or something.” Blake grumbles. None of us were particularly skilled in the kitchen, but anything was better than the dry dish Hunter served up each week. At this point, I was beginning to think he was doing it out of stubbornness to see who would cave first. The joke was on him, because I would eat beans and rice until I died if it meant he still did his fair share of the cooking and meal prep.
“I would be more than happy to come over and cook you boys something,” Sadie says as she strokes Evans' dark hair, her long nails running through the strands as he sits up.
He glances at me and Blake nervously before placing a hand over hers. “Babe, you almost killed us with the chili you made last time. I think we’ll pass.”
Blake murmurs, “I like my taste buds not on fire.”
Sadie clicks her tongue, glaring at him. “The recipe said to add like four peppers.”
“Yeah, bell peppers. Not those scotch bonnet fuckers or whatever they were.”
Evans chimes in with a wince, “And you added extra.”
“And the chili powder.” I remind her with a small smile. My tongue seems to tingle at the memory like it's traumatized.
It’s not even that the food was bad, it’s simply that it was way too hot to eat. So spicy that Hunter cried a little and Evans polished off almost an entire carton of milk while panting like he was in labor. We’d decided, unanimously, that Sadie was banned from making us dinner again.
“Whatever. Eat your rice and beans then.” She huffs, getting to her feet. “Sage and I have Social Studies after lunch and I want to get a book from the library. I’ll call you later.”
She shares a kiss with Evans that’s not entirely appropriate for public viewing as his hand slides up her skirt to grab her ass, but we just ignore them, used to their little displays by now.
With one last wave through the window, they head back towards the campus library, and as soon as she’s out of sight, Evans whips round to face us. He taps the table, looking stressed, before taking a gulp of his coffee. “I need help. She’s trying to get me to have dinner with her parents this weekend.”
Blake and I share a look before he lifts a shoulder with a lazy shrug. “And?”
“And…we aren’t exclusive.” Evans eyebrow lifts as he crosses his arms. “I’m not her boyfriend or her Chosen Mate. Why do I need to have dinner with them?”
Blake pats our housemate on the shoulder with a wry smile. “I mean, you’re pretty exclusive.”
“No, we aren’t.” The denial is strong with this one.
Blake and I share another look. Sadie was over at our place most evenings and she stayed over on weekends. When she wasn’t around, she was blowing up his phone. They went out for food, to the movies, and studied together occasionally. They fucked like rabbits, and he’d seen her through her last heat and his last rut…if that wasn’t a relationship, what was?
“How many other Omegas have you been seeing lately?” Blake asks with a knowing tone, trying to lay it out for our clueless teammate.
His brown eyes narrow as he tries to think back, grasping at threads of memory, desperate to prove us wrong. “Well, there was that one cute omega boy a few weeks ago…”
“The one who ghosted you?” My words are pointed, heavy with implication, but it’s clear to see Evans still isn't putting two and two together.
Evans nods with a frown, still clearly confused. As an alpha, omegas seem to flock to us naturally, driven by their natures and pheromones. beta’s also find themselves drawn to us, not for the pheromones, but because of who we were and what we represent. We are, according to some, the top of the food chain and those survival instincts are strong, ingrained in the fabric of our DNA.
“My money is on Sadie getting wind of it.” Blake clicks his tongue as he shakes his cup, the ice rattling against the plastic. “She’s definitely been cockblocking you, man.”
“No. That’s not possible. I mean, I’d know if she was…wouldn’t I?”
Anyone who showed even the slightest hint of interest in him soon vanished, ghosting him or outright rejecting him before anything could progress. I doubted that Sadie was spreading rumors, but Blake was convinced she was using her connections and networks to do the dirty work. He said he’d seen her at a club once, and while he wouldn’t tell me what had happened, he was positive she was the type to use every tool at her disposal.
Evans drops his head back onto the table with a groan that has the group on the next table looking over at us, alarmed. “This isn’t happening. We need to go out this weekend and I need to get laid by someone who isn’t Sadie.”
“That’s your solution?” I mean, it was his relationship he was playing with, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least try to get him to think about what he was about to do?
“Why? What would you do?”
“Talk to her. It’s not that complicated.” Hypocrite, I think as I ignore another vibration in my pocket. I would reply. Later. Eventually.
“No, no way. What if she cries? I swear omega tears are my kryptonite.” Evans sits up, as if he’s been struck by an idea, and I know before he even opens his mouth that it’s going to be a stupid one.
“There’s a party on the edge of town.” He begins, his eyes lighting up. “It’s being hosted by that guy on the baseball team. What’s his name? Chase or something? Anyway, there will be Omegas ripe for the picking and no Sadie. That’s what I need.”
Slapping both hands on the table, he pushes to his feet with a smug grin. “Problem solved—we’re going to a party on Saturday.”
“I don’t think—” Blake tries, but it’s no use. Evans has latched on to this little scheme of his, and there’ll be no stopping him now. It looks like we’re just being dragged along for the ride.