Page 15 of The Devil Takes

I knew that.

I looked at guys like Tommy—who were all smiles. Pretty. Small-framed. Whip smart, and full of charisma, and I knew, deep down, for omegas like him being what we were could only be a blessing. But for me? Fuck no.

That’s why I’d been avoiding him.

He wouldn’t get it.

He couldn’t.

We weren’t the same, even if we were.

“How did you know where I was?” I asked, trying to break the silence. My soda sat heavy where it stretched the limits of my pocket, and I shifted uncomfortably on the worn leather seat. I’d had to duct tape the edges last summer when they’d finally popped free, but otherwise good old Bessy—my Honda Civic—was in pretty damn good shape considering how old she was, and how many owner’s she’d had before I came along.

Most would call her junk.

I called her my best girl.

“Wasn’t hard to figure it out,” Tommy told me with a huff. “When you avoid me, you always go stuff your face somewhere, and I already checked the cafe on campus and you weren’t there.”

I wanted to argue but he was right. About both things. “You noticed?”

“Course I fucking noticed, Percy.”

I could feel Tommy’s glare and I shrank in my seat, attempting to make myself smaller even though that wasn’t physically possible.

“You didn’t watch The Terminator with me even though we had it planned for like over a month. You leave the room whenever I enter it—and you’ve got this shifty look on your face—like always.” He sniffed. “I don’t know what I did to offend you, but the least you could do is tell it to my face.”

That was one thing I liked about Tommy.

He didn’t beat around the bush. In some ways, he was more straight-forward than my brothers—or even I was. Even though he admittedly had a lot more complicated emotions.

Maybe I was being stupid by keeping what had happened from him.

Maybe.

But that night had felt like a dream and I wasn’t sure whether or not it was a nightmare yet.

My neck throbbed with the memory, and without thinking, I reached up and rubbed the sore bond bite.

Tommy’s gaze immediately snapped to where I was rubbing, and his eyebrows flew up comically fast.

“Turtlenecks,” he said, realization dawning. “Turtlenecks!” He slapped his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes narrowed as he stared me down.“Um. Percy? Please tell me that’s not a bond bite you’re hiding.”

I grimaced because I knew I’d done this to myself. Stupid. If I’d just…not touched it, he wouldn’t have noticed. God. Now I had to explain what happened? Or maybe…maybe I could lie.

Except, I knew I was a shit liar.

But maybe I could make this work anyway.

“Some asshole bit me. That’s why I’ve been avoiding you.” A half-truth. Enough that I could see the way Tommy’s green eyes lit up with evil glee and revenge began to brew behind them as surely as I’d known it would.

“Who was it? I’ll chop his balls off.”

Ew.

I thought about Haden’s lovely purple balls. Then I thought about them chopped off. And my whole face scrunched up with disgust. “No, thanks.”

“Seriously.” He took a left toward the dorm a little too abruptly and I had to cling to the door frame for much needed support. I really shouldn’t let him drive my car considering what I knew about his driving abilities. But he always asked so nicely…and I was a sucker for those big green eyes.

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