Page 24 of Altius
Jacobi drummed his fingers against the side of his glass. “What’s his half-sister’s name again? The beta.”
“Heather.”
“Yes, Heather. While it royally sucks that she isn’t good enough for ye olde moneybags because of her designation, it’s not your problem—unless she’s planning to make ityourproblem.”
“I don’t know. Dr. Sethi’s always been harsh but reasonable, but today… I feel like Heather must have saidsomethingto influence the tone of the meeting. Maybe she misled Dr. Sethi about what happened at the ballet?”
“Oh, I don’t like that. I don’t like it at all.”
“Me either.” I took a sip of chamomile tea. “This whole inheritance thing is a nightmare.”
He shrugged. “That’s because you’re a weirdo—a rich bitch without an ounce of materialism. If I were in Cal’s position, I’d say fuck the family, forget the nephew, I’m playing to win. The dictionary definition of merciless.”
“Even if it meant giving up on your ideal pack?”
Jacobi’s expression of exaggerated disapproval was absurdly amusing. “Like Cal hasn’t already? Sure, it’s noble to stick to your principles, but from where I’m sitting, he’s a lot lonelier and a lot less wealthy than he needs to be.”
“Fair point,” I said, then raised a finger in objection. “However, you haven’t experienced their dynamic in person.While Cal’s powerful, Owen’s dominance is…in a league of its own. There’s no way he could ever be subservient enough to let someone else be the head alpha, not even for Cal’s sake. Their pack name couldonlybe Redmond.”
“Or maybe they just hadn’t met the right omega yet,” he said with a suggestive smirk. “Maybe your brilliant wiles will convince Cal and Owen—and shrub boy—and all the rest to join Team Van Daal. I know it prompted a lot of pearl-clutching back when your parents did it, but taking an omega’s surname is very on trend.”
I sneered at him over the rim of my mug. “Settle down. One boyfriend is more than enough.”
“Nope, it’s not enough,” he said in a tipsy singsong, draining his glass. “More boyfriends, we need more boyfriends, we should have all the boyfriends! But no girlfriends for you. They’reallfor me.”
I studied Jacobi’s face, wishing he still lived across the hall so I could fix everything with an impromptu visit and a tray of Kelsey’s extra-spicy black bean nachos.
Unable to embrace my best friend, I channeled my stymied affection into petting Tenny’s back while he slept. “What happened?”
Jacobi huddled tighter, chin digging into the pillow. “Hugo has a new boy toy—an investment banker, barely out of college. And I’m notsupposedto care because I agreed to play by his stupid rules. Agreed willingly, recklessly, like a pompous shithead, high on his own supply, even though you tried to warn me… Because how could I—theJacobi Zeldin—how couldIpossibly lose?”
He threw his hands up and collapsed against the cushions with a heart-rending sigh, avoiding eye contact by looking out the window.
“When Kels texted that you’d passed out, my first thought was that I needed to go pack your overnight bag for the hospital. As if I could open my bedroom door, and my loft would still be there, exactly the way I had it—my piano and all my other shit arranged just so. But I can’t. It’s gone. And he doesn’t love me.” Jacobi deflated against the cushions. “I lost the game, Morgan. Lost it badly.”
“Northport’s still home, Jacobi,” I whispered.
Jacobi deserved better than Hugo. So much better.
To be adored and pampered by a stable, dedicated pack. A group of genuine individuals who could admire his artistic sensibilities and nurture his many talents.
Who would love Jacobi in all the ways I couldn’t, filling the voids my friendship failed to reach.
“You almost sound serious,” he scoffed into his glass.
“I am. This weekend sucked, and I missed your stupid face the entire time.” Frustration bled into my tone, verging on a whine. How very mature. “Put on a show at the gallery with everything you’ve created during your residency. We’ll find you a new renovation project. I promise I won’t complain about whichever pile of bricks you fall in love with, no matter how overpriced it is.”
“So that my shitty love life can be your excuse to keep avoiding Wyatt?” He shot a dark look at the camera. “Don’t think so.”
“Wyatt has nothing to do with this.” I sounded harsher than I meant to, accidentally jolting Tenny awake.
“Bullshit.” Jacobi stared at me, refusing to back down, saying things we’d agreed never to mention, pushing me, testing my control. “He rejected you. At a moment when you were incredibly vulnerable. Unstable. Because you told him to fuck off, even though you didn’t mean it. Couldn’t remember doing it the next day. And itwreckedyou. Completely.”
The expression on Jacobi’s face was so cold and unforgiving that it almost upset me more than his words.
“I’ll never forgive myself for letting that cat piss bastard move in next door to you.”
“It’s not your fault.”
