Page 15 of Clawless

Which goes to show how omegas and alphas looked at things differently. It would never occur to Penny that Vail might be shacked up with her dud friends – or have left the campus entirely – because that went against her own notions of responsible behavior. But Vail Marrow had proven on numerous occasions she wasn’t a big fan of the rules. “Leave it with me. You go ahead and get things set up and I’ll make sure she’s on the last coach. If we miss that, I’ll grab a service car.”

She was quiet for a beat, which was as close as Penny got to insubordination. “Perhaps we should just let her sit this one out, Alphason. She seems a little out of her depth with her new status. And all those rumors about her and the Arras Alpha…”

I cut her short. “Best way to squash gossip is diversion. Tonight’s her debut as a Marshall omega, and she’s asked to do it as my date. That’s all they’ll be talking about tomorrow.”

I let the doors close, effectively ending the conversation, and headed over to Omega House. It was deserted by the time I arrived, except for the beta guard on duty. He was a Sawyer wolf I didn’t know well, but he told me the only senior omega still on premises was Vail Marrow. I didn’t share my theory with him about her potentially skipping out; in less than twenty-four hours Jay’s paranoia had put all the guards on high alert. I’d wait to see if she’d really snuck out before I came back to shove his log book up his ass.

She was still assigned to the temporary room on the first floor, and I felt the guard’s gaze on my back as I knocked. I didn’t wait for her to answer before I said, “Vail, it’s your alphason. You need to let me in right now.”

I almost took a step back when the door opened. I hadn’t used any alpha power to force her, so she’d done it of her own volition. Which didn’t go with the angry face staring back at me. It took me a moment to realize it wasn’t mottled with emotion. She had some kind of rash all over her forehead, and when I looked down, she had a wet cloth clutched in her hand. “Are you okay?”

She gave me a shrug and walked back over to her mirror. “I’ve been trying to get this shit off all afternoon.” She proceeded to scrub her forehead with the same energy I’d use to strip paint. “Who knew permanent marker was actually permanent?”

“Hold up!” I snatched the cloth off her before she drilled down to bone. “What the hell happened?”

“Makeup mishap.” Her tone was snarky, but she looked up at me with a mixture of frustration and weariness. I turned her chin towards the light and studied the red-raw skin. I could still see the imprint of the words, and there was a small cut near her hairline that looked like it had come from the sharp edge of a door. My jaw clenched as I realized what this was – and who the likely culprit was. I was suddenly glad she was still clueless about shifter scents, because mine was heavily laced with guilt. But she just sighed and took a step back. “Sorry, Reed, but I might have to skip the dance. Maybe I can make the next one.”

She sounded less than enthused, but if I’d been determined before, now it was non-negotiable. “You know, an attack on one wolf is an attack on the whole pack, Vail. You need to stop thinking of things as personal. They’re almost always political.”

She screwed up her delicate nose. “You and the alphasons tag each other’s faces when you’re having a political argument?”

I smirked. “No, we usually beat the hide off each other in packball. But we know if we overstep the line, we’re giving the whole pack an excuse to retaliate.” My thumb brushed the red-raw skin on her forehead. “This is over the line.”

She’d gone still under my touch, but I couldn’t tell if it was discomfort or more denial that had her watching me so closely. But when she finally spoke, I felt her words like a jolt to the groin. “Are you going to lick me now?”

I must have betrayed my surprise, because she suddenly blushed so hard, her whole face took on the same raw hue. “Sorry,” she muttered, dropping her eyes. “It’s just when I was injured before, Jasper said it was the fastest way to heal.”

Well, wasn’t Jay the sly fucker. I knew the guy had been in pretty deep with her, but this was a whole other level. The healing properties of shifter saliva was almost always reserved as a treatment between mates. It was an intimate thing and only really worked if the wolves were deeply connected. Vail was so clueless she wouldn’t have known that asking a strange male to lick her was the equivalent of slipping between his sheets before the entrée. And asking your alphason… Well, that was the same as dropping to your knees in the dining hall.

I tried to feel annoyed with her. This was exactly the sort of shit that proved she didn’t belong. It blurred lines and made people act out of character. Jasper Arras was a case in point. He’d always been an impulsive asshole, but only in a harmless, cocky way. Laid back, coasting on his charm and looks and always surrounded by panting females, he’d never needed to break the rules. But a month with this girl, and he’d not only been mate-intimate, he’d challenged his prick of a father to a blood claw challenge and won.

I realized I’d been staring at her so long she’d started to fidget, finally reaching out to grab the cloth back. I held onto it, suddenly fascinated by the color in her cheeks. Because she’d been just as lost in memories as I had. And when her blush refused to fade, I had to wonder exactly where Jasper had licked her…

The jolt was now a full-on tug and I realized I could smell her desire. It curled around her like a heady mix of damp earth and crisp sunlight, and my wolf was suddenly right at the front of my awareness, his fur rippling at the tantalizing scent. He was usually only roused by fear or blood, and I held still, waiting to see what he would do. I’d taken a step forward and leaned down to sniff her hair before I put a pin in that shit. “I’ve got a gel I use for chafing,” I muttered. “I can swing past my room and grab it.”

She shook her head. “Thanks, but if you’re not comfortable using your alpha voodoo, I’ll just have an early night.”

My fucking wolf was suddenly side-stepping my blocking tactics and making another run for her hair. He was all for using our alpha voodoo. And consent was strange with wolves. It was all tied up in the aggressive nature of the beasts. To his ears, her defeated little statement was a blazing green light. As if to ram that home, he flashed an image of me pressing her up against her dresser, the way he’d done in the bathroom after the Potter fuck-up. He liked her neediness almost as much as he liked her fear. Which was all kinds of wrong, since I was all about rules and lines and not licking some female who literally had trouble written across her face…

I must have hesitated too long again, because she gave a sigh and walked over to her bed. As she slowly lowered herself to the edge, I realized two things. She had injuries worse than the visible ones on her face, and she was also wearing a pair of high red heels with her sweats. When she caught me looking, she tipped her toes up, half-embarrassed, but mostly admiring. “Jasmine got these for me. I feel ridiculous, but she said I had to break them in. Wear them down, teach them who’s boss…”

She snickered a bit, and I was glad she was keeping herself amused because my wolf was doing backflips. He wanted all those things. To see her broken, worn down, and needy for her boss…

Fuck me. I quickly licked my thumbs and before I could think about it too hard, walked over and pressed them to the edges of the raw skin. She gave an almost silent gasp, and I forced myself to stare at the inflamed skin, and not her parted, pouty lips. Which pissed my visually obsessed wolf off, but someone had to try to keep this car wreck on the road. “It probably won’t work,” I muttered. “This is high-level voodoo…”

“No, it’s good,” she sighed, her relief so strong it permeated the air between us. “Oh, that feels amazing, Reed.”

My hand shook a little as I licked my palm and pressed it right across the wound. It probably looked like I was taking her temperature, only I was the one who was starting to sweat. Because her eyelashes were fluttering and her hands were clutching her comforter. And those damn red heels were pressing into the thick carpet as her toes curled…

I took a rapid step back, rubbing my palm on my thigh. It was too close to the hard-on in my pants, but what the hell was I meant to do? Even if I scrubbed my hand the way she’d attacked her face, I knew I’d be wearing her scent all night. And as she lifted her dazed eyes to mine, I saw she wasn’t just better. She was glowing… Like I’d done a hell of a lot more than soothe that scrape on her head. “I can tell you’ve got a few bruises,” I said abruptly. “Any cuts?”

“No,” she said a little shakily. “I’m okay.”

I glanced around the room, trying to pull my blank mask into place. Only everywhere I looked there were little Vail-scented things winking at me. I wrenched my gaze away from the black lacy bra looped over the same hanger as her long, crimson dress. “Then I’ll wait outside for you to change. Five minutes, Omega.”

She didn’t get a chance to reply before I was out of the room. The guard was way too fucking close to her door for my liking and I turned my wolf on him. “She’s not your concern, shifter. Get back to your post.”

He went, and though he was in his office with the door shut before I’d drawn my next breath, it wasn’t quick enough for my wolf. He growled, his claws raking against my stupid dick. Forcing him back took more effort than I wanted to admit.

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