Page 48 of Begrudgingly Yours
Stacia grimaces. “A few days ago. Atlas said that Dax was running through the house telling everyone. He was screaming ‘We’re pack! We’re pack!’”
I imagine Dax, who’s always bubbly and positive, running around their pack house, not caring who hears or sees, and it makes me want to smile. They’ve just found out that they’re allpack mates, afamily, something that they kept hoping would happen with each other but it never did. Now it has, and it’s happened with my scent match that’s been lying to me for years.
My omega nudges me, and I see the three alphas in my mind. There’s practically a link there, and it hits me like a ton of bricks. “Oh fuck.”
Stacia watches me come to the realization, her eyes both sympathetic and worried.
“They’re my pack, aren’t they?” I ask out loud, feeling mixed on the revelation.
“I think so, yeah. It makes the most sense.”
Now I’m really going to be sick and not just because we’re hiding behind a trash can. “Three alphas… I can’t be with three alphas. What if they gang up on me?”
Stacia snorts and I whip my head, scowling at her. She puts her hands up in surrender. “Sorry, it’s not funny. But do you really think that’s possible? If you’d let them, they’d worship the ground you walk on.”
“I don’t want or need them to worship me,” I say even as my omega growls at me from inside my chest, arguing with me. She obviously doesn’t agree.
Stacia gives me an understanding look. “Rory, please don’t let your control-freak of a mother prevent you from having an amazing partnership. They’re alphas, yes, but you deserve to be happy.”
I know she’s right, but I can’t fully accept it. My example of an alpha wasn’t positive, and my father suffered through his entire marriage because of it.
“Rory, my parents are betas and they’re the worst kind of betas. But Ciro is the best kind of beta. Can you imagine if I hadn’t pursued things with him all because my parents give the designation a bad name?”
I know what she’s saying makes sense, but something insideme is still fighting it. The idea of being tied to an alpha for the rest of my life makes me feel itchy.
There’s movement to the side of us before I can respond, and the trash piles up higher as someone places their food inside. When I look up, I’m met with very striking and veryfamiliarblue eyes.
“Hey,” Dax greets us as he raises a brow. A playful smile curves on his lips. How the hell did he sneak up on us? His dark cherry scent is as potent as ever. “Why are you guys hiding behind a trash can?”
Oh fuck me. We are both still slightly bent over, so it totally looks like we’re hiding.
“Stacia got her period,” I blurt out. Dax’s eyes widen and Stacia looks at me like she could literally kill me.
Yeah, that wasn’t the best save. Dax points over his shoulder. “Do you need me to go get you something, Stacia? Or I could get Atlas, he’s right over there.”
Stacia is still glaring at me as she says, “No, I’m okay. Just thinking about committing a crime.”
I shake my head, feeling officially like the shittiest friend ever. “I’m sorry, Stacia,” I say to her before looking over at the blond alpha. “Dax, I lied. I’m just not feeling well. It’s my issue, not Stacia’s.”
His brows lift again before he takes a step closer. His scent dulls slightly as his anxiousness shows. “Is there anything I can getyou, then? I think the campus store has some meds on hand.”
Despite her irritation with me, Stacia flashes me the most annoying and obvious smile. Luckily, Dax is looking right at me and completely misses her teasing. “I appreciate that, Dax, but I think maybe I just need to eat something. You can go on with your day.”
I wish I could push him away, get him to go back to hispack. They might see he’s missing any second and come looking for him, and I donotwant them to know thatIknow. You know?
God, they’re a fuckingpack. What the fuck do I do?
“Are you sure?” Dax looks defeated, like he actually wanted to help me any way he could. It makes something in my stomach clench. Maybe I’m actually going to be sick.
“Yes,” I respond, my voice small. I don’t trust myself to say too many words. My omega whines inside of me, but I swallow it down when it comes up my throat. I look over at Stacia. “Could you take me home? Please?”
I think she can tell by the look on my face that I can’t take another joke, because she gives me a sympathetic nod. “Yeah, let’s go.”
We turn to walk out of the dining hall, saying one last goodbye to Dax. He’s watching me, and I can see the yearning in his eyes. I can feel my heart fracture, and I think he can see it reflected as our eyes lock. There’s a deep want lodged inside me, one that I’ve never felt before. It calls to him, and for the first time, I think about what it would be like to let him answer it.
TWENTY-FOUR
Playing: Waiting Room by Phoebe Bridges
