Page 13 of Clawless

I washed my face in the little ensuite attached to my room and changing into the pretty rose-colored sweater I’d worn before the assembly. Pulling my hair back into a tight ponytail, I gave myself a long look in the mirror, then went in search of Penny. I found the Head Omega on her way to dinner, but she gave me a polite smile when I asked her if she could spare a moment.

I decided to leap in the deep end. “I really don’t know much about the Marshall pack. Or being an omega, for that matter. Is there some kind of pamphlet I can read?”

Her smile tipped up into something more genuine, and she steered me over to the guards’ office. “There is, actually. Well, for the omega part. Being a Marshall is a bit more instinctive.” She introduced the guy sitting behind the desk as Anthony, but he barely glanced up from his laptop. Grabbing a binder from the shelf behind him, she led me back out and over to one of the comfy chairs. The binder was neatly marked with little colored stickers and she flipped open to the first section. “Every omega feels like you do right now, Vail,” she reassured me. “None of us are born knowing our rank. We have to learn from other omegas, and it can take a while to come to terms with what our new role means. And what our future holds.”

She turned the binder around and I saw it was a contents page. I skimmed the topic headings and even though I had to guess at half of them, I gave her a nod. “Thanks. Looks like it will be a big help.”

She gave my arm a pat. “Anything you want to discuss, you come to one of us and we’ll help. But you’ll probably get the best feel for it all tomorrow, at the dinner dance.”

I blinked at her. “Excuse me?”

“The annual Alpha and Omega Dinner Dance is tomorrow. It’s held off-campus at a fabulous hotel in Huntington. It’s a great chance to mingle with the other packs and to learn a bit more about alpha-omega relations.” She mustn’t have understood the frozen look on my face, because she stood and asked, “Are you coming to dinner?”

“Um. I actually want to get a start on this…” I held the binder in front of me like a shield. A good metaphor, since my plans to avoid Jasper and fade into the background were clearly at war with attending a goddamn dinner dance.

“Well, there are ready meals in the breakfast room if you want to pop one in the microwave.”

I gave her a stiff nod, and still clutching the binder, retreated to my room.

Tomorrow, I vowed. Tomorrow I’ll be a good Marshall omega. But tonight, I’m just going to bury my head under a pillow and pretend I’m Vail Chance, and a million miles away from Hunter Moon Academy.

Eleven – Vail

The next morning, Omega House was vibrating with a frantic energy. It didn’t take much to work out it was because of the dinner dance that night, since all anyone could talk about was their dress and shoes, and which alpha they hoped would ask them to dance. Nadia and Jasmine were a little more low-key, since they were obviously concerned about where my head was at, but by the time we’d finished breakfast they’d morphed into a pair of omegazillas.

“You have to come, Vail!”

My plans to stop fighting the way things were had dissolved in the night. I could not face Jasper across a crowded dance floor and pretend like nothing was wrong. “I don’t have a dress. Or shoes.”

Jasmine made a rude sound as we headed across campus towards our morning classes. “Oh, please! Both completely fixable.”

I kept ticking the obstacles off on my fingers, toasty warm in a pair of crimson gloves I’d found in the dresser. “Zero table manners. Two left feet. The reason the Arras pack lost their last alpha.” I gave them both a cool look. “I’m not going.”

Nadia just shook her head at me. “This is one battle you won’t win, Vail. Can’t you just come along with us and try to have a good time?”

I stopped abruptly and really looked at the two girls. They were both pale, with dark circles under their eyes, and I suddenly felt like the biggest asshole in the world. They’d only been nice to me, even though I’d screwed with their alpha, and dragged them into endless drama. And now I was ruining what was obviously an important night for them. “Shit. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a drag.” I sighed and studied the building in front of us. I had to stop worrying that Jasper was going to appear around the next corner. Avoiding him was never going to work on a campus this size. So maybe it was best to rip the plaster off and see him tonight. He would be with his lieutenants, no doubt busy with pack duties, and looking as beautiful and remote as the moon. He’d probably completely ignore me, and my stupid heart would finally get the memo.

“Okay,” I said quietly. “But I’m not dancing.”

Jasmine squealed, while Nadia patted my arm. “Of course not. Who wants to dance at a dinner dance? Now, about your dress…”

I had a new schedule to go with my new omega status. I wasn’t sure how my previous month of grades would be tallied with this revised program of classes, but I was in no hurry to go back to the Councilor’s Office to find out. It was one of the few advantages of the academy – the academic excellence expected in other high schools didn’t really exist here. As long as you completed the courses that went with your rank, the teachers left you alone. Of course, I would have preferred a schedule packed with AP classes over scrapbooking and the culinary arts, but I’d decided not to fight the system, right?

“Cheer class?” I stared at Nadia in horror. It was bad enough the gym was the setting of my downfall on Hunter Moon, but now they expected me to leap around with pom-poms? “Have you any idea the damage I could do to a pyramid of omegas? Did you not hear me this morning? I wasn’t kidding when I said I had two left feet!”

“You’re overreacting,” Nadia told me as she slipped into her cheer outfit with the grace of an Olympic gymnast. “You’re obviously athletic. You’ll do fine.”

I pumped my bicep and pushed it in her face. “These are wrestling muscles. Not toss-me-in-the-air-so-I-can-flash-my-panties muscles.”

The locker room was busy with pre-practice primping and Nadia gave the other omegas a placid smile. But when she turned back to me, there was a bit of steel in her eyes. “Vail, this is a compulsory class for omegas. And it’s fun. If you don’t want to flash your panties, we’ll keep you at the bottom of the pyramid. How does that sound?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Fine. But I’m not wearing the skirt.”

“Sweats will be fine for today, but you’ll have to wear the uniform when we’re performing.” She must have seen how fast the blood drained from my face, because she gave me another of her pats. “Just think. Cheer will help you with your rhythm and flexibility, which will let you enjoy all the future dinner dances a whole lot more. It’s a win-win.”

“That’s not the definition of a win-win, Nadia,” I told her through my teeth, but retreated into a cubicle to change into the sweats.

It was still the most painful hour of my life, but when we finished with the individual stretches and got into the group routines, I had to admire the other dancers. There were three guys in the group, and although there were sideways looks when I told them I’d be joining them on the bottom row, they didn’t complain. Ah, the beauty of omegas. Even the males didn’t bother with back-chat.

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