5. Chloe
CHAPTER 5
CHLOE
The next day everything went normally. I turned in my short essay on the nutritional content of semen, and studied for a quiz that I’d have to take on Friday. None of the other omegas treated me any differently, like they heard the news that I was a member of a mildly famous pack. I shoved my textbooks into my bag and breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.
I headed past neat rows of desks, frowning when I heard a chorus of giggling up ahead. That didn’t sound like the—haha your joke was very funny—laugh. No. It was the—Oh Em Gee, there is a really hot alpha in close proximity, is he looking?—kind of laugh.
As soon as I stepped out the door…
Ugh, what was it now?
“Hey!” An alpha who I’d never met before, with all the bouncing and infectious energy of a golden retriever, was smiling at me like I’d just told him the winning lottery numbers. “You’re Chloe Stryker?”
Fuck. He did not have to say that so loud.
Most of the girls had already left the class, so maybe I could… No. Nope. That curly haired brunette was whispering to the other girl. I’d forgotten her name, but I did remember that she was some kind of gossip magnet. Seriously, she had all the best tea. Basically, the drama coming out of her mouth was the only thing distracting enough to get me out of study mode. Which was great. Except that now, it seemed like I was going to be the subject of it.
“Yeah… you’re here because of that thing for my brother?” I was trying to keep it cool. Downplay it enough to bore gossip girl’s attention and hopefully get through this day with my anonymity intact.
“Yeah! Your brother Titus said that anyone who wants to get into his elite pack needs to go through an interview with his sister, Chloe. That’s you right? Daughter of the Stryker pack? Like the ones with the dads who literally stopped terrorists and everything?”
With every word, I found it harder and harder not to press my hand against the alpha’s mouth to force him to shut up.
I could practically feel the brunette’s eyes bulging at the news. She looked torn between writing it all down, and running off to tell everyone the good news. Instead, she paused, pulling out her phone, typing away furiously.
Double Fuck.
“Yup. Okay, let’s get on with it.” I turned and marched down the hall towards the nearest entrance. Just stopping short of dragging this alpha after me. As if getting out of here ASAP would do anything to mitigate the damage already caused.
I mean, my brother had already sort of ripped the floodgates wide open. I was just kinda hoping that I’d have a day or so more before they utterly drowned me.
I didn’t stop until I was sitting at my favorite table, and pulling out a notebook. If I was going to suffer from the embarrassment and the publicity that my brother was putting me through, I would at least do a good job. Who knows? Maybe with my help, my brother would actually end up with a decent pack after all.
“Alright then. What’s your name?”
“I’m Noah Reid.”
I nodded, jotting it down. Then I paused, drumming my fingers against the table. I never did figure out exactly how I was going to do this. Honestly, I’d hoped that I’d have a little more time before all the men started coming after me.
I figured that I’d just ask them some simple questions and see if the men ended up merrily swimming in a sea of red flags.
So far, I wasn’t getting any weird vibes from this guy. Nothing creepy or sociopathic yet. At the very least I was in a public space in the sunlight, so I probably wasn’t going to be murdered or anything like that.
Honestly, Noah the alpha seemed perfectly nice, and only a little bit stupid.
I leaned back at the table, getting comfortable.
“So tell me, why do you want to join my brother’s pack?”
It was only the first day of Titus’s ridiculous plan, and already I was stuck interviewing three alphas. It was starting to cut into my study time.
How was I going to prove my academic potential if I didn’t ace my quiz on the erogenous zones around the anus and within the anal valves?
What about the geometry homework that I had with my online classes? What if this little project pushed back my timeline to graduating?
It was fine. This was fine. I could handle it. I would just have to shuffle things around.
Skimming over my notes, I decided what exactly I would include in my text to Titus.
Me: Interviewed Jagger. Nothing technically wrong with him, besides being fucking annoying.
Titus: Really? You thought he was annoying?
Me: The guy wouldn’t stop talking about what he found hot & not, and THEN started giving me suggestions.
Titus: You think he’s going to piss off other omegas?
Me: He’s attractive sure, but I’d rather eat glass than hook up with him.
Titus: What about Blade? What did you think of him?
Me: Blade is the first guy I’ve spoken to who wasn’t trying to get into your pants.
Titus: Really? He wasn’t into me?
Me: I think he’s just straight
Titus: You think he’d be good for my pack?
Me: Well, he’s not a psychopath. So he’s got that going for him.
Titus: That’s high praise, coming from you.
Me: If you want me to say nice things about the guys I’m interviewing, pick better guys .
I hit send just before realizing that what I’d texted was probably the worst thing I could have told my brother if I ever wanted to be free of all these stupidly attractive men.