Chapter Fifty-Four
Hale
“Do you feel better now?” Professor Clemson asked as we sat in his neighbors’ open garage, drinking beers and holding the puppies, as the kids played under the streetlights, unbothered by the cool evening.
“Yeah, I feel much better, thanks. I let the parents in my head, and things not working out just doesn’t help,” I confessed.
He was a younger professor and had only arrived at Briar my first year as a student. When Mom got arrested, a lot of people gave me shit. He’d asked me how I was doing and invited me to a study group he was running.
When Dad left suddenly and I was scrambling for tuition, he’d convinced the department to increase my scholarship and helped me get work study. He always made the effort to include me on things.
“You’ve got this, you really do,” he encouraged. “Lots of people balance a new pack with a PhD and even kids. Also, it’s okay to let your famous mates support you for a semester or two. Once you make some sort of massive discovery and sell it to your sister, you can buy them a boat as a thank you.”
I laughed. “Or an island.”
He made me feel so much better about everything. About accepting help, even though I was an alpha. How it was possible for Fiona to start having all her babies while I was still studying. That I did deserve love–and wasn’t a total fuckup despite what the parents told me.
Professor Clemson had heard a lot about my parents in the past year and a half. It felt a little odd at first, but he also hadn’t known Dad and Mom the way a lot of the other faculty had.
“Which puppy are you going to bring home?” his neighbor asked.
“I like this guy.” I pet the chocolate Lab puppy in my lap.
“Good choice.” The neighbor nodded. This was a cute neighborhood near the university and not far from where I’d lived with my parents.
Professor Clemson and I had spent the evening eating roast chicken and pie, going over everything, and coming up with a way that I could still get away with only spending a couple of days on campus even if I had to do my research.
Part of me still hoped that I’d manage to get a lab. Professor Clemson sent out a lot of inquiries. Maybe Grace found something.
My phone hadn’t gone off lately. I’d turned it back on when I changed trains and assured my pack I was fine.
Oh shit. It was off again? Out of power maybe? I didn’t have a charging cord with me, but there was one in my room.
“Thanks for believing in me,” I added.
“It’s too bad that people as brilliant as your parents can’t see everything you’ve accomplished, but that’s their loss.”
“I should probably get going. I’d like this one. How much are you asking?” I didn’t want to assume the puppy was free.
“You can have him. He’s had his checkup and is ready to go home with you. Do you want to take him tonight?” the neighbor asked.
“Sounds good. Hi there. Tomorrow we’ll go to New York and meet my mates.” I kissed his nose. “They are going to love you so much.”
“Hale, you’ll want to see if there are procedures for taking a dog on a train. You might need a pet ticket or a carrier,” Professor Clemson added.
“Oh, we have a spare carrier you can have.” The neighbor left and returned with a puppy carrier along with some food and toys.
“Thank you so much,” I replied. Later, I’d ask my professor what I could do for them, since I probably shouldn’t give them drugs.
Professor Clemson, his kids, the puppy, and I returned to his place.
My professor said his mate would make them a pie on my behalf.
I thanked her, said goodbye to his pack, and accepted some leftovers.
Getting in my old truck, I drove over to Briar University, parking in the lot closest to the science building.
Using my codes, I went into the building. Nobody would think anything of it if they checked the log, because I often came and went at odd hours. Plenty of us did.
My main stash wasn’t in my usual lab locker. There was a ‘hidden’ lab and locker room in the basement. It was part of the old science building and now could only be accessed from a door behind the radiator. Mercy and I found it when we were kids. She was really good at finding hidden shit.
I wasn’t the only person who used it. Though being let in on the secret had some prestige to it.
We’d also added locks and improvements over the years.
The faculty knew it was there. As long as no bad shit happened, everyone was fine with us using it.
Sometimes we’d even find some of them down there.
In the locker room, I found my beautiful stash.
I put it all in my bag. In the lab, I unlocked my lab station and took the rest. I’d used up most of my raw ingredients amassing this stash.
Originally, I had planned on selling it to Clegg, and maybe some other people, to help cover this semester’s extra expenses.
The puppy watched curiously. I’d let the pack name him.
We got back in my truck and drove to the little house I rented a bed in.
This neighborhood wasn’t nearly as nice as where I’d grown up, but close to the university.
There were nine of us living there, all guys, all alphas, and all science majors.
It could be a lot. But I’d needed a place to live, and they were my friends and classmates anyway.
The house was empty. More than half of the house went home for winter break. I found the new key exactly where Tad told me, and let myself inside.
The place smelled like nobody had cleaned the bathrooms since I’d left.
Going into my room, I opened the window and plugged in my phone. The drugs went under the floorboards of my bed in case the party bandits came back.
I let the puppy explore in an area where he wouldn’t eat anything of consequence as I put the leftovers away.
The kitchen made me groan. So gross. I did the dishes, wiped down the counters, cleaned out the fridge, and mopped the floor.
Then I cleaned the bathroom I used, because I wanted to take a shower later.
My phone had turned on and was full of messages, including my mates–and Tad inviting me to the party.
I called Carlos.
“Hey, how did everything go? I was getting worried,” he said.
“My phone wouldn’t power on. I might need a new one.” I sighed.
“Oh, okay. Are you feeling better?” he asked.
“Yes. My professor made me feel better about everything.” I opened my closet. I didn’t have a suitcase, because it was in New York. Oooh, I had a big army duffle from my uncle.
There was some noise and Fiona picked up the phone. “Hi, where were you? I was worried.”
“Sorry. Phone’s giving me problems. I talked to my professor. A private rental lab won’t work unless there’s some sort of supervision.”
“That makes sense,” she replied.
“I emailed my nursing professor,” Carlos added.
“Thanks.” I scrolled through my phone. It looked like Grace was looking at working on it–so was Verity.
“What are you doing now?” Fiona asked.
“Packing. In the morning I have a meeting with my advisor, to make sure everything is set for my other classes, and I need to get my parking permit.” I surveyed my closet.
“You’re not leaving us, right?” Fiona’s voice went small. Which made me feel like shit.
“No. I even have a surprise for you. I admit, my mom made me feel really shitty today. I did consider how your lives would be so much better without me. But don’t worry, my mentor talked me down,” I assured.
“I can’t believe your mom said things like that. If I ever meet your parents, I will punch them,” Fiona declared.
“Well, according to Verity, Grace nearly stabbed Mumsy with a plastic fork once,” I replied. “Punching Mom seems completely realistic.”
“You don’t need them, you have us now,” Fiona added. “Just stay.”
“I will. Would you feel better if I bought the ticket back now and sent you the information?” I asked.
“Yes,” Fiona stated.
As I packed, I talked to them, reassuring them that everything was fine. When the call ended, I bought my tickets home and sent them a screenshot. While I didn’t need a puppy ticket, I did need a carrier. Which I had.
When I finished packing, my little puppy was asleep on my bed. So fucking cute. I smiled at him. “Yeah, I’m going to take a shower and then join you.”
“Hale, you’re going to be fine,” my academic advisor assured. “You’re on track for graduation, the changes went through.”
“Okay. Thanks for meeting with me,” I added. Maybe I hadn’t really needed to meet with her, but it made me feel better to know everything was set besides this whole research thing.
I left her office and went to get my parking decal. My phone buzzed.
Professor Clemson
If you’re in town still, can you come to the lab?
Me
Sure.
I had time.
When I arrived at the chemistry lab that I was assigned to, I sucked in a breath. Not only had someone broken in the door, it was ransacked. Tad looked near tears.
“I’d already started this semester’s project and they wrecked it,” he sniffed. Big Tad was a giant alpha from Tennessee. We were the same year.
“Oh, fuck.” I went straight to my station. Nothing had been lost because I hadn’t started anything and didn’t have any long-term projects other than my drug. But it was a mess.
“Does anyone know what they might be looking for?” Professor Clemson looked worried. “They’re trying to pull the security footage.”
I shook my head. “No idea.”
This wasn’t the lab where the long-term secret shit was happening. Also, it was winter break and a little early for project sabotage.
“Wait, Tad, what are you working on in the broadest sense, considering first the house and now the lab?” I blinked. “Were they after your notes when they stole all our booze?”
Tad frowned. “No one knows what I’m doing other than Professor Clemson.”
Professor Clemson’s eyebrows rose. “Someone broke into your place?”
“Yeah. I hope they don’t do it again, the puppy is there.” I couldn’t bring him to campus.
Tad looked relieved. “The puppy in our room is real? Good, I thought I was still high. Awww, is it for your omega?”
“Yeah, well, for my pack,” I replied. I checked the time. “I have time to help you clean up a little before I leave.”
Though I really should stop at the club and quit in person. After figuring things out with Professor Clemson I knew that I couldn’t keep my job and keep my being in the Circle to a minimum. It made me a little itchy to do it, but I had to trust in my mates–and there was only so much time in a day.
Also, the sooner I quit, the sooner they could hire someone else. I should be respectful and do that in person. They’d always been good to me.
Tad nodded. “I can help, too.”
“Thank you.” Professor Clemson looked around and sighed.
Poor Tad. We cleaned up the best we could.
“I’ve got to get going if I’m going to make my train, I’m sorry,” I finally said.
“Thanks for your help,” Professor Clemson replied.
Tad nodded. “Are you going home to get the puppy?”
“Yeah, I’ve got to stop at the Titty Tank first, then I’ll get the puppy and my shit,” I replied.
It was weird that someone had broken into the house and the lab. My stomach twisted and I went down to the basement and into the secret lab.
“Oh, hey Hale.” One of the PhD students looked up at me as she worked.
“Hi. Just making sure no one broke in. Someone broke into one of the labs upstairs,” I told her.
“Shit. The one you use? So sorry. Were they after research?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing was taken except for a couple of chemicals from the supply closet, it was just ransacked.”
Huh.
Going back to my truck, I affixed my new parking decal. As I drove to the Titty Tank, my eyes fell on the boxes of honey buns I’d bought yesterday at Pig-E’s. I couldn’t forget those.
The Titty Tank was open, but pretty empty.
It wasn't the classiest place, and smelled of cheap booze and French fries, but everyone was kind–unless you were an asshole, then you got smacked down. A number of the dancers said they felt safest here, because the staff wasn’t afraid to piss off customers who harassed people.
“Hey, Hale, you’re back,” one of the bouncers said. “I heard the craziest story that you ran off to Europe and mated with a rockstar?”
I laughed. “It’s kinda true. I’m not mated to the rockstar, it’s the hockey player, but the rockstar is in our pack.”
“Shit, man. Life is never boring with you.” He laughed. “Working today? I didn’t see you on the schedule.”
“Here to quit, I can’t handle commuting back and forth from New York, a pack, class, research, and work.” I sighed as I looked around at the worn booths and the brightly lit stage with several poles. Honestly, I liked working here.
Waving to some of the dancers, I found the boss doing paperwork in her office.
“There you are. I can put you on the schedule for tonight if you’re looking for hours,” she told me.
“I’m here to resign, sorry I can’t give notice,” I apologized as I explained what was going on. Unlike some of my friends’ bosses, she cared about us, and would always let us take extra food, and try to get people the hours they needed.
“Wow. I heard the dancers talking about it, but didn’t think it was true. Congrats. Bring them to see us sometime,” she replied.
“Oh, I should.” Maybe we could borrow Lucky. I knew the perfect dancer to give him a lap dance, too. He might like a tour of the secret lab.
Would Lucky like my puppy?
I talked to a few of the dancers and servers, and took one last look at the place. My phone buzzed with the reminder about my train. Shit. I still had to go to the house, get my puppy and stuff, and call a ride. Unless Tad was home and could drop me off.
Hurriedly, I walked out to the nearly empty parking lot and went to unlock my truck. My spine prickled again, like I was being watched.
“Finally,” a male voice grumbled.
Before I could turn around, someone hit me and everything went black.