Page 7 of Knot So Perfect Omega

“What about the Thomas pack? They said they were going to list me at the top of their selections and I... I must have forgotten to put them.” Kara sat up taller, scooting to the edge of her chair. She reminded me of a golden retriever begging for a treat.

We both knew she didn’t put them at all because I talked her out of it. There was a slight twinge of guilt in my stomach, but I shook it off. She deserved a pack thatwantedan omega, not just one that was doing it for a gain or to tick off a box for their manager.

The dean looked over at me with a frown, and I squirmed in my seat under her stare. “I’m afraid that’s impossible. They matched with Kayla.”

“What?!” Kara and I both screeched at the same time.

I jumped to my feet, my heart thudding so hard that I wondered if I was about to have a heart attack. Looking back and forth between Kara and Ms. Monroe, I tried to find my words, but they were stuck in a lump in my throat.

Kara found her words, though. “You lied to me! You told me they were assholes, and I trusted you!”

“Kara, I swear to you, I opted out!” I tried to reach for her as she stood and headed for the door.

“You’re dead to me.” The door slammed shut behind her, my heart shattering at her words.

What the fuck had just happened?

* * *

I staredup at my ceiling through a small gap in my blankets so I could breathe, my phone lying on my chest. There were twenty missed calls from my mom and dads, and texts asking me to call them. They’d undoubtedly heard about what had happened and wanted to rip me a new asshole for deceiving my sister.

Only I hadn’t deceived her.

I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was set to leave in two days, my sister hated me, and there was no backing out of going since I’d supposedly signed a contract when I submitted my online form.

There had to be a mistake because I was certain I checked the opt-out button and didn’t even pull up the pack names to select any.

Pushing the blankets off me, I jumped to my feet and grabbed a tote bag that was hanging on the back of my door. I shoved my hidden stash of emergency chocolates and tiny bottles of liquor into it. I was of legal drinking age, but alcohol was banned on campus. No one wanted to deal with a bunch of drunk omegas making bad decisions.

It was nearly midnight, which was our curfew to be in our rooms, but luckily, Kara’s room was right across the hall from mine. I knocked softly before using a copy of her key to go in.

The room was dark besides the faint glow of a nightlight she had plugged in under her bed. I could see her in her bed, a million blankets and pillows piled around her and on top of her.

“Care Bear, I brought chocolate and rum,” I whispered, not sure if she was asleep.

“Go away,” she said through a whimper.

Setting the bag on her nightstand, I pulled back the blankets and slid into bed next to her. She scooted over, making more room for me, but turned to give me her back.

“I swear to you, I didn’t put them or any pack. You have to believe me.” My voice caught in my throat, and I cleared it. “I’m certain I opted out, and even if I hadn’t, I didn’t even open the search to select any packs. I don’t know how this could have happened.”

I turned toward her and put my hand on her arm, hoping she wouldn’t lash out at me more than she already had. It could have been a lot worse; she could have smacked me or gone to my room and trashed it. Not that Kara had a bone in her body that would allow her to be violent or vindictive.

But maybe I’d changed that and set off a spiral.

A whimper escaped and tears sprung to my eyes. I rarely let that side of being an omega come out, but I couldn’t help the pain it was causing me to see my sister hurting because she thought I wronged her.

“They picked you.” I could hardly hear her because her face was buried in a pillow she was hugging. “They picked you and you picked them.”

“I didn’t. I swear on everything.” I moved closer to her and nuzzled my face into her back. She didn’t shrug me off, which was a win. “Ms. Monroe called the Omega Match office and they told her that there wasn’t an error, but there has to be.”

She turned over, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew it was red and puffy from crying. “Call them or message them on social media.”

“I don’t have their numbers. I did message them, but the last time I checked, they hadn’t seen them. They probably get thousands of messages.”

“Did you try their manager or whoever that guy was? Maybe he can get the message to them.” She pushed the blankets off of our heads and leaned over me to grab the bag I’d put on her nightstand. “But even if it was a mistake, it’s not like it changes the fact I didn’t match.”

I turned on the small bedside lamp and we both squinted as our eyes adjusted to the soft light. “They probably just got our names mixed up... but that doesn’t explain how I got a match.” I took a small bottle of coconut rum from her and opened it. “Are you still mad at me?”

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