Page 59 of For What It's Worth

Enzo laughed, his arms rubbing against mine. I glared at the alpha who was sitting in the back seat with me. We were all carpooling together since the males wanted to be with me for as long as possible. Jen drove and Aidan was stuck in the front seat, apparently having lost the game of dibs to sit in the back with me. The sun wasn’t even up, so I couldn’t fathom playing any sort of game.

“Tell me about what classes we’re sitting through today,” Aidan said from the front seat. I wasn’t sure how they decided the days, but Aidan was coming to class with me today and Wednesday. Enzo on Tuesday and Thursday.

I glared at the more awake alpha, taking another sip of my coffee, but obliged. “I have Jen’s in the morning, which is quantum mechanics. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Jen added. His eyes meet mine through the review mirror, and I stuck my tongue out.

“Then it’s a little break before Intro to Solid-State Electron Physics.”

Enzo whistled. “That’s impressive.”

“It’s a lot,” I admitted. “But I’ve made it this far.” Even if I still had pretty far to go.

****

I wasn’t sure what surprised me more. The early time for the meeting with the chancellor, or the fact his secretary was already in. Just the thought of how early she had to wake up had me gulping down my coffee.

“Welcome, welcome,” the secretary said with a chirp. The little name plate on her desk said Anne Wallen, and a single inhale told me she was a beta. It was impressive that a beta was a secretary for the chancellor, especially since we weren’t allowed to attend or work at this academy a few years ago. “You must be Miss Tucker. Mr. Kelly is looking forward to meeting with you. I’ll go ahead and let him know you’re here.”

Instead of calling on the intercom or something more typical, Anne continued typing away on her computer. I watched her long nails rapidly moving along the pink mechanical keyboard, occasionally reaching for a bright pink thermos with the words, “World’s Best Secretary” written in a pretty font. I was definitely seeing a theme. After a few moments, she told us to have a seat, motioning to the little waiting area to her right.

Honestly, I had no idea how the chancellor could be anything other than ready at this time of the morning, but I kept my lips busy working on my coffee. Each inhale brought me the scents of my alphas, delicious coffee, Anne’s beta scent, and a strong scent of cut wood which I assumed belonged to the chancellor.

Five minutes later, the door to the office finally opened. Chancellor Kelly smoothed down invisible wrinkles on his vest that already look pristinely ironed. I wasn’t sure what I expected from the chancellor, but the intimidating alpha in front of me was not it. His whole body screamed that the alpha worked out, and not in the lithe way like Jen. Oh no, this alpha was jacked, his pants and shirt working overtime to stay intact around his bulging muscles. He didn’t have any hair on his head, making his features seem more pronounced but without any ounce of kindness. Which was a harsh description, but he did make me wake up before the sun.

The stereotype for omegas was to want alphas like Chancellor Kelly. Muscles were supposed to intrigue and invite us. Something about virility and fertility—according to erotica—but the only emotion I got from the large alpha in front of me was fear.

Jen reached for my hand, squeezing my fingers and bringing my awareness back to my body. If I thought the scent of wood was strong in the waiting area, it was nothing compared to now.

“Hello, Miss Tucker,” the chancellor said on a drawl, his eyes immediately narrowing in on the grip Jenson had on my hand, the disgust evident in the tightening of his lips. He didn’t smile or make any attempt to put me, or my alphas, at ease, at least until Jen growled at the Chancellor.

He quickly cut the sound off, squeezing my hand in a non-verbal apology. “There’s no need to stare,” Jen said through gritted teeth.

Anger flashes in the chancellor’s eyes but, in this, my alpha didn’t back down. His confidence was evident in his strong posture—almost challenging in its presence—and I had to fight back the urge to remind Jen not to piss off the male that controlled whether I continued getting my education here. And his employment status.

Instead, I cleared my throat and stood up. “Yes, um, that’s me. It’s nice to meet you, Chancellor Kelly.” Everyone in the room knew it was a lie, but I maintained the formality. He couldn’t kick me out for perceived lies, right?

“Come into my office. There’s no need for us to have this discussion out here.” Kelly didn’t wait for us to answer, turning sharply on his heels and marching back into his office.

I followed Jen, Enzo behind me. Aidan was last to enter, closing the door behind him. The tension in the smaller, enclosed space was borderline choking. Like smoke but somehow even less pleasant. Maintaining my beta status meant pretending the scents didn’t affect me as strongly as they truly did.

Just like Anne’s desk, there was nothing on Chancellor Kelly’s desk to make it personal. The only decorations on his walls were his diplomas and other certificates he was obviously proud of if the expensive looking framings were indicator.

“So,” Chancellor Kelly started off, “this rumor is true?”

I almost snorted at the phrasing—and would have if Kelly wasn’t glaring at my bonded alpha—because I knew there was no rumor. Or there wasn’t until Knox directly told the chancellor. For some reason, I liked to believe the betas in my dorm wouldn’t spread rumors about me being in a pack for no other reason than some preconceived designation solidarity. Although, was it technically a rumor if it was true? Either way, I didn’t think the betas were behind Chancellor King demanding this meeting.

“I’ve bonded with Koda, yes,” Jen said.

“And the others?”

“No. Just me.” Chancellor Kelly seemed to relax, slightly, before Jen added, “For now. As soon as Koda is ready, she’ll take on Enzo and Aidan’s mark.”

Those dark brown eyes took in Enzo and Aidan, and both alphas nodded in agreement to Jenson’s words.

“You marked a beta?” I couldn’t tell if Kelly was disgusted or interested, but either way, this wasn’t a good line of questioning to go down. His scent was skillfully under control, giving me no hints to the way this conversation was going to go.

Jenson seemed to agree with my inner thoughts, because he responded in a tone that said he refused to expand on the question. “Yes.”

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