Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Kayla
Agirl had to eat, and as much as I wanted to stay in my makeshift nest I’d thrown together, I knew I needed to clear things up. It was stupid to even think for a second they’d put me down on their match list.
When Beckett had said my sister’s name, something in me had broken a little, and my instinct was to run and hide from it all.
I hadn’t given a lot of thought to the fact that maybe they had put Kara, and there’d been a mix-up.
Although, now I knew, it still didn’t change that the whole thing had happened in the first place.
Someone had fucked up, and for once, it wasn’t me.
As I followed Kane, I couldn’t stop myself from checking him out during the trek to the kitchen. He had a muscular back I could catch outlines of through his shirt and an ass that was rock solid under his jeans. Added to his entire appeal was that he was barefoot and sipping coffee.
I looked down at my pajama shorts and tank top. “I should go get changed.”
“Your stuff is in Beck’s room, isn’t it?” Kane looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes immediately falling to my breasts before he looked forward again. “I’ll give you my shirt.”
I wasn’t nipping out that hard, was I?
Kane set his coffee on the island once we were in the kitchen and reached behind his neck to pull off his shirt. He was trying to kill me, wasn’t he?
A knowing smirk graced his plump lips as he handed me his T-shirt, his chest and abs on display. I was blatantly checking him out because there was no use in hiding it after he’d not so subtly looked at my nipples showing through my tank top.
“Shut up.” I snatched the shirt from him and pulled it over my head, his campfire scent making my toes curl into the cold stone floor.
“I didn’t say anything.” He laughed and went to the refrigerator. “You look good in my shirt, Kayla.”
Was he flirting with me even after finding out I wasn’t who he expected? I guess I had expected more anger and not him giving me his shirt so everyone wouldn’t be greeted by my nipples.
I sat at the island as he pulled eggs and cream out. “Do you like French toast?”
“I love French toast.” I should have been the one cooking for him, but I needed to remember my goal was to be myself so they’d ship me back. But they’d be doing that anyway, and I probably wouldn’t get any money because it was an error.
“Your thoughts are loud.” He got a griddle out and a dish to mix the eggs.
“Yeah, well, things aren’t exactly going to plan.” I slid off the barstool and went to the coffee maker that had a carafe half full to pour myself a cup.
“And what plan is that?” Kane finished mixing up the egg and cream mixture and turned on the stove. “Do you want cream for your coffee?”
“Yes.” I grabbed the pint from him and poured it in. “I opted out of Omega Match but instead got a nice surprise.”
“Why would you opt out when your biology pushes you toward having a pack?” He put butter on the griddle, and it sizzled. “Even with the heat suppressants you guys are on, it has to be uncomfortable.”
“It’s manageable.” I didn’t want to get into specifics with him about my dildo collection that satisfied my needs just fine. Was it ideal? No, but the alternative of having a pack and being expected to go through a full-on heat made me sick to my stomach.
When omegas first emerge, there is no suppressing the first heat because it would inhibit our bodies from adjusting to being an omega.
It’s beyond painful, and it made me feel so vulnerable and needy that even with reassurances from my mom that it was great when there were alphas involved, I didn’t want to experience it again.
Plus, it could be several weeks long, and with me wanting to run a business, dealing with raging horniness and out-of-control slick and perfume was out of the question. I couldn’t be scent marking other omegas’ nesting quilts.
“You didn’t answer my question.” I’d hoped with Kane focused on putting the egg-covered slices of bread on the griddle, he’d forgotten he’d asked me why I didn’t want a pack.
“There are things I want to accomplish for myself before being tied down to a pack where I might not be able to explore those things. Being expected to be at a pack’s beck and call, spread my legs multiple times a day for whoever wants their turn, and dealing with a heat that might last weeks at a time every few months isn’t my cup of tea.
” I’d never expressed myself so clearly before, and it made me sit up a little taller.
Something about Kane made me want to spill my soul to him. “I want to start my own business.”
He put the last piece of toast on and went to the sink to wash his hands. I’d expected an immediate response telling me all the reasons why omegas and alphas were meant to be together, but instead, he was silent as he lathered his hands and rinsed them.
“Is that the type of environment you grew up in? A pack that didn’t support their omega?” He grabbed a spatula out of a drawer and turned to look at me. “I know a lot of packs are like that, but this one isn’t.”
“You say that now... And no, I grew up in a pack that was supportive, but there was no time for my mom to explore her interests beyond being an omega. She got pregnant with me and Kara pretty early on, and we have six dads.” I sighed and rested my cheek on my fist. “I don’t even know if I want children.
It doesn’t seem fair to match into a pack that definitely wants offspring when all I want is to make quilts and freely eat chocolate. ”
“I think it’s hard to imagine children running around when you’re so goal-focused. There’s no law saying packs have to have offspring, and ultimately, it’s the woman’s choice.” He turned back to the stove to flip the toast, and I tried to calm the beating of my heart.
If the pack felt that way, maybe they weren’t so bad after all.
“But what are you doing quilting? Isn’t that for... you know...” He turned back to me, his plump bottom lip between his teeth as if he were biting back what he wanted to say. I knew a lot of younger people didn’t talk about quilting, but that didn’t mean we didn’t do it.
“Say it, Kane.” A smile broke free as he shifted from one foot to another. “Just know that I know where you lay your head at night.”
“Are you threatening me, sweet cheeks?” He grinned, his entire face lighting up.
“Me? Threaten you? Never.” I nodded to the griddle. “Don’t burn my breakfast.”
“Shit.” He turned back to the stove and turned it off. “They didn’t burn, thankfully.”
“Good morning.” I stiffened at the greeting coming from Beckett as he walked into the kitchen. “Kara-”
“I’m not Kara,” I blurted, deciding to rip the Band-Aid off in one fell swoop. “I’m Kayla.”
It was like my body could sense his sudden shift in mood as he stopped abruptly and did a pivot to stare at me from across the island. “What do you mean you’re not Kara?” His tone was a partial growl, and my heart nearly stopped.
I’d been on the receiving end of many angry alpha growls in my younger years, and I hated it. I preferred Beck’s I’m going to fuck you senseless on this counter growl.
“I told you, I’m Kayla. By some horrible twist of fate, we matched.” I was starting to feel the same sass I had at the Alphaball meet and greet coming out. “I knew calling you a shrimp dick would turn you on.”
His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed as he put his palms on the counter to lean toward me aggressively. I sat taller because he didn’t scare me. I’d braced myself for his wrath to be the strongest given our first interaction.
I just hadn’t expected to shove my tongue down his throat the night before.
“You will not speak to me that way when you so clearly are involved in some kind of deception with your sister. I almost fucked you last night thinking you were her!” His voice was starting to rise, and I bit inside my cheek to stop from whimpering.
“Pack your bags. You’re going right back to where you came from. ”
I didn’t move or take my eyes off him. He couldn’t just boss me around like he owned me. “Is your poor alpha ego bruised? I’m so sorry, but I barely passed Submission 101.”
His hands fisted on the counter. “That’s an actual fucking class?”
Kane made a disgruntled noise in his throat and slid a plate of delicious French toast across the counter, along with some syrup.
“Don’t act so surprised. The academy’s whole purpose is to prepare omegas to roll over on their backs for their alphas.” That wasn’t necessarily true, but it did feel like most of my peers would do just that if that meant they could live a life of luxury.
“If that’s the case, then how the hell did you make it past the first semester?”
I shrugged because I honestly didn’t know. “Fake it ‘til you make it.”
“Is that what you were hoping to do here? Fake being your sister until we bonded with you?” My mouth opened in shock at his accusation. I’d tried to tell everyone it was impossible for me to match with this pack.
“Beckett,” Kane growled in warning. “You don’t have to be an asshole. It honestly seems like a mistake on Omega Match’s end.”
“That’s enough,” Rio barked from the entry of the kitchen. I hadn’t even realized he’d been watching the whole exchange. “Let’s go call Brian and discuss this as a pack in private. Tossing accusations around isn’t helping anyone.”
Beckett pushed away from the counter and left the kitchen without another word. But he didn’t need to say anything for me to know he was thinking about wringing my neck.
“Eat your breakfast. This shouldn’t take long. I’m sorry he’s the way he is.” Kane tapped the counter as if that was going to comfort me any and followed Rio and Beckett.
I heard them yell for Rylan, and a minute later heard him ask what was going on. The French toast was calling to me, but the need to know what was happening was strong, so I jumped up and quickly went toward their voices coming from downstairs.
From the kitchen, I wouldn’t have been able to hear them, but I was able to sit about halfway down the staircase without them seeing me from where they were.
“Brian isn’t answering his fucking phone,” Beckett said. “What does the paperwork we signed say?”
“You don’t list your matches on it. That’s just to agree to all of the government’s rules about using Omega Match... which we broke by letting Brian take care of it all for us.” Rio sighed. “Let me call them and see if it was a mix-up.”
“Even if it was, we aren’t sending her back,” Kane grumbled. “Just because Beck has his panties in a knot doesn’t mean we all have to suffer.”
“We could send her back, but then what? We’d have to wait a whole year to match again. I don’t know her well enough yet to say what we should do, but shouldn’t we give her a chance?” Rylan said.
“Look at the mess she’s already made and imagine this next week during playoffs or the championship.” Beckett seemed to only care about his precious Alphaball, and I clenched my fists in my lap.
“Omega Match, this is Brandie. How can I help you?” I was so grateful for speakerphone.
“Hello, Brandie. This is Nazario Perez, part of Beckett Thomas’s pack. I wanted to check to see who we put on our match list.”
“Let me see... I see here you matched with Kayla Sterling, and she was marked as moved into your pack house. Was there an issue I could help you with?” Brandie sounded confused, and I couldn’t blame her.
“Was she the only one we put on our match list?”
“Yes, and it looks like your pack is the only one she put on hers. That’s fantastic that you liked each other enough to only put each other. Romantic, really. Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. Just some confusion is all. Kayla tells us she opted out of matching but somehow still matched with us.” Rio was doing a good job of not bringing up Brian, but maybe he should have.
“That’s impossible. Hold on just a moment while I look at her file.” There was silence, and it seemed to stretch on forever. “Her signature is on the forms as accepting the match as final along with your pack being the only one listed.”
Impossible.
“Thank you so much, Brandie. We really appreciate you answering our questions.” I heard the tone of the call ending and held my breath.
“She lied about opting out.” Beckett sounded smug as hell, and if I’d been downstairs, I would have smacked it out of him. “I know it’s going to cost us, but let’s start the paperwork now to send her back. We don’t have the time to deal with this.”
“Now, wait just a fucking second. You don’t just get to decide this.” Rio’s voice was louder now and coming closer to the stairs.
I moved like my ass was on fire and ran back to the kitchen, nearly falling over my own feet as I got on the barstool and started shoveling French toast into my mouth.
This was exactly what I wanted. So, why did it make my chest hurt to hear it?