Chapter 8

8

I was going to throw up. Actually throw up all over the plush area rug with little white daisies in the middle of the dorm. Panic flared violently inside me and I felt my wolf stir, pushing against my mind. She whined, sensing danger.

Wanting to fight.

This had to be the biggest fucking joke of my life. A mistake. No way in hell did I escape Long Mesa to be shoved right back into the same situation.

This is the omega floor.

Her words rang in my head like a freaking marching band parading through, jarring and loud and impossible to ignore.

Larkin looked at me, her face worried and then... ashamed?

She shuffled back, hands clasped in front of her. She fixed her eyes firmly on the floor. “I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s a mistake. You don’t have to stay here. I mean, of course you’re not an omega. Obviously.” She swallowed, still not meeting my gaze. “I can sleep downstairs in one of the couches, or bunk with another omega tonight so you can have the room.”

Wait— what ?

I blinked, my panic attack loosening its stranglehold on me as I processed her words. It took a second for them to fully penetrate the fog of my mind, but when they did, I was stunned. “What are you talking about?” I flinched, my tone raspy and harsh. Larkin visibly shrunk.

From me.

“I’ll go. It’s fine.” She hurried to sidestep around me, fully intending to cede ground to me. She was all but running to the door. She didn’t have to be in wolf form for me to see her tail firmly tucked between her legs.

Thinking fast, I blocked the door.

Larkin yelped and skittered backwards, nearly falling. She tripped over her feet in an effort to put maximum distance between us.

“Wait, stop!” I cried, holding up my hands. “Please, please stop. I didn’t mean... It’s not. Shit. I’m so sorry. This is on me. Please don’t leave.”

Larkin looked up, her chest heaving. Her big brown eyes were wide, scared. Freaking terrified. My heart ached. I knew that look so well. Too well. The idea that I made her look like that had my stomach roiling all over again.

I ran a shaking hand over my face. “I didn’t mean to freak. It was a... reflex.”

“Reflex?” Larkin echoed softly, licking her lips. “I don’t understand.” Her body was still tense, poised to run.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to figure out the most tactful way around this. How much could I tell her that made my reaction understandable without getting into the entire mess that was my life story?

“You said this is an omega floor,” I started slowly, measuring my words carefully. I leaned against the door, trying to put more space between us to show I wasn’t a threat to her.

That I wasn’t a threat. That was fucking ironic as hell.

“I don’t have anything against omegas,” I said quickly when she frowned. “In my old pack... I was an omega.”

She cocked her head, eyes narrowed. “No way.”

“Yeah,” I said, looking away. “And there being an omega... was a bad thing. A really, really... bad thing.” My jaw clenched, teeth grinding together.

Her expression softened as she sat down on the corner of her bed. “You mean, like, you were bullied or something?”

“Yeah,” I whispered, swallowing hard. Now I was the one unable to meet her gaze. “Or something.”

“Wow,” Larkin replied. “I mean, I’ve heard of that happening, but...” She crossed her legs and leaned her elbows on her thigh, resting her chin in her hands. “It’s not like that here, Skye. I mean, some of the omegas get picked on or whatever, and sometimes it’s pretty nasty, but nothing really bad. The teachers and the alphas step in before it can get too far.”

“That’s good.” Unable to support my weight anymore, I slid down the door and sat on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest.

“Sierra—you’ll meet her, she’s part of the Blackwater pack,” Larkin explained with an eye roll, “she made me do her history paper last year. I guess I could have said no, but she made it hard to. But then Remy found out and went off on her. Sierra apologized.”

“Remy?” I asked.

Larkin nodded. “Remy’s our campus alpha here. He’s Gabriel and Mallory’s oldest. Since we’re not in Blackwater, Remy’s technically in charge.”

I frowned. “Is he one of the teachers?”

She laughed loudly, throwing her head back. “Oh, no. Remy’s a senior. He’s in line to be Alpha after his father.”

My heart sank.

Remy was this pack’s version of Cassian.

Larkin leaned back, watching me curiously. “How much do you know about the school?”

I shrugged, glad we were moving past the omega issue. “They told me the school is about thirty years old, there’s twelve packs that run it, there’s like two hundred and some students.”

Larkin rolled her eyes. “Leave it to the adults to just talk about the numbers.” She stood up and walked to a mini fridge by her desk. She reached in and pulled out a can of cola. “Want one?”

“Sure.” I accepted the can she offered, cradling the cold aluminum in my hands for a beat before opening it.

She sat back down in her desk chair, straddling it backwards as she took a long drink. “Okay, so there are twelve packs. Each pack has ten to twenty-five students in it, depending on the pack.”

“Blackwater has twenty-two, right?”

“Twenty-three, counting you,” she corrected with a grin that made a dimple appear. “Each pack has an alpha. Not a full alpha, but someone who is likely to take over as alpha for their generation. It’s usually pretty clear cut, like us. Everyone in our generation knows Remy will take over after his dad.”

“What about the teachers? Shouldn’t they be in charge?”

“They are when it comes to school and stuff like that. None of the teachers are alphas or even betas. When GPA first started, they tried having alphas and betas as teachers, but it basically turned into a giant pissing contest so they decided that unranked pack members made the best instructors.” Larkin waved a hand. “The teachers do just that—they teach. Some of the security guards at the gate are betas and deltas, but there’s always a campus alpha who handles all pack issues. Remy is ours, and he also happens to be one who is going to eventually be an actual Alpha.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay, so what keeps the alphas from—”

“—starting their own pissing match?” Larkin grinned. “For starters, no more than two of the alphas have classes together. They all rotate so they aren’t in the same class. They also have individual housing.”

“They aren’t in the dorms?” That sounded freaking amazing. I cracked the top of my soda and took a long pull, loving the combination of sugar, caffeine, and bubbles.

“Each pack has their own cabin around the lake. The alphas stay there. Sometimes their beta lives with them. Depends on the pack. Rhodes is one of our betas and since he’s best friends with Remy, he stays at the Blackwater cabin. The cabin is also where we have pack meetings. Like tomorrow. Remy called a pack meeting so everyone could meet you.”

I groaned with a long sigh. “Fabulous. Sounds awesome.”

Larkin chuckled. “I swear it’s not that bad. Our pack is pretty close. We don’t have a lot of the infighting and stuff other packs deal with.”

“Infighting?”

“You know,” Larkin replied, waving a hand, “betas who think they can be alphas, alphas who are too busy trying to get laid than watch out for their pack mates.” She rolled her eyes. “Remy keeps everyone in check, but he’s a good guy.”

I stretched out my legs, crossing them at the ankles in front of me. “You said this is an omega floor—so only omegas are here?”

She took another drink. “Yeah. This is the female omega floor. The other dorm has a male omega floor. Guys in one dorm, girls in the other. It’s like they think we’re like horny teenagers or something and we need to be separated.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that, but I was slightly glad to know this was a girls’ only dorm. It gave me a layer of protection.

“Betas all have a smaller dorm on the other side of campus. That’s coed, but there’s like special key cards to get onto each floor so the guys can’t go onto the girls’ floor and vice versa.”

“I’m sure that’s a foolproof plan.”

She laughed again. “Exactly. Half of the alpha cabins double as party pads. For the most part, the teachers and advisors leave us alone. Hell, we all know half the reason this school exists is to play matchmaker.”

“Matchmaker?” I asked.

Larkin stood, tossing her now empty can into the recycling bin. “Oh yeah. It’s the best place to spot potential marriage alliances. You’ll see. Some of the girls around here treat it like a season of The Bachelor .”

“ The Bachelor ?”

Larkin frowned, confused. “Yeah. The TV show? Brainless bimbos throw themselves at a hot guy, hoping that while he’s dating the other umpteen chicks that he’ll fall madly in love with them?”

She tapped a finger on her jaw. “But I guess here it’s more like The Bachelorette since it’s multiple guys trying to impress one girl.”

I was still confused.

She cocked her head at me. “You still don’t know what I’m talking about?”

I shrugged. “I never really watched TV.”

Her jaw dropped. “Not even Netflix?”

I made a face. “What’s that?”

With a gasp, Larkin pressed a hand to her chest before falling backwards onto her bed. “Dear Lord.”

I got off the floor, setting my drink down on the empty desk. “Sorry?”

She propped herself up on her elbows, looking at me sternly. “Tomorrow we’re starting with Stranger Things .” She motioned to the TV. “We’ll binge watch in here after the pack meeting.”

“Binge watch?” I echoed. It was like she was speaking a different language.

Closing her eyes, she sniffled, pretending to wipe her eyes. “You poor, sweet child. I promise I’ll make it better for you.”

A laugh burst from me, catching me by surprise. The smile that stretched my lips felt oddly natural. “Okay. Tomorrow you can make it better.”

“We should get to bed,” Larkin admitted, glancing at the clock. “Remy wants us at the cabin before breakfast so you can meet everyone before you meet the rest of the school.”

I groaned again. “I’m guessing there’s no way to avoid this, huh?”

Larkin grinned at me, her eyes sparkling. “You probably won’t be saying that tomorrow when you see Remy.” She arched a brow. “There’s a reason the females all act like bitches in heat around the alphas, especially Remy. He’s definitely hot.”

Now I arched a brow. “Does someone have a thing for her alpha?”

Blushing, Larkin looked away. “No. His beta, however, is another story.”

I smirked. “Rhodes, right?”

“Ugh. Yes,” she cried, throwing herself back and covering her face with a pillow.

“Have you told him?”

“No!” she said quickly, eyes huge. “Rhodes is... he’s been one of my best friends since we were little. We live next door to each other back home, but he sees me as, like, a little sister or something else that’s completely unromantic.”

I bit my lower lip. “Are you sure he doesn’t like you back?”

“I’m sure,” she said firmly as she looked at me with pleading eyes. “Please don’t tell him.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” I swore. Something warmed in my chest.

I was a girl who was keeping someone’s secret. Someone who might be a friend. It was a fascinatingly wondrous feeling.

L arkin and I were the first ones to the Blackwater cabin the next morning. Apparently, Remy had asked her to bring me early before the others arrived so he could speak with me privately.

My stomach clenched and churned the entire walk to the cabin, our warm breath fogging into the crisp fall air as the sun started to rise in the east. By the time we reached the cabin, my hands were shaking. I couldn’t appreciate the clean A-frame of the wood cabin, the curl of smoke coming from the white stone chimney, and the open porch.

My gaze was firmly fixed on the boy leaning against the railing post in a pair of ripped black jeans and a black t-shirt stretched across his wide chest. His head lifted as we approached, golden eyes assessing us. He ran a hand through long dark hair as we reached the steps, his forearm flexing and showing off a tattoo I couldn’t quite make out.

“Ladies,” he greeted with a smirk. His eyes fell to Larkin and he winked. “Hey Lark. How’s it going?”

“Good,” she stammered, looking from me to him.

I forced my shoulders back and head high, shoving my hands into the pockets of my own jeans to hide the trembling. It was hard not to let my past experiences with alpha teenagers color this meeting. They couldn’t all be as cruel and sadistic as Cassian.

“It’s Skye, right?” he asked slowly, coming down the steps slowly. His black boots thumped hard against the wooden planks. He stopped in front of me and smiled suddenly. The smile transformed his face from brooding to boyish in seconds.

I stepped back on instinct. He was a good five inches taller than my five-six height, and my brain was already sizing up all of the ways he could overpower me.

His gaze flickered to Larkin for a second before coming back to me. He extended a hand. “I’m Rhodes.”

Wait—this was Rhodes ? The guy Larkin liked? He wasn’t the alpha. He was the beta, and, according to Larkin, the alpha’s best friend.

I realized he was still standing there with his hand out while I was processing the situation. An awkward stretch of time passed and as I was starting to recover, he dropped his hand and looked at Larkin.

“Is she okay?” he whispered loudly, eyes dancing.

“Yeah,” Larkin said quickly, nudging my shoulder. She smiled at me encouragingly. “You’re good, right?”

I shook my head, trying to focus. “Yeah. Sorry.” I attempted a weak smile at Rhodes. “I didn’t sleep that great.”

He rolled his eyes and nodded. “I bet. And now you have some asshole telling you that you have to wake up at this ungodly hour and entertain the pack with stories of your life.”

“That’s alpha asshole to you,” a warm voice said above us, clearly amused.

I looked up to see another guy had stepped outside onto the porch. He was dressed in jeans, brown boots, and a red flannel shirt open over a plain white tee that stretched across a wall of muscle on his chest and torso. He held a steaming mug in one hand. His warm brown eyes were the color of melted chocolate, his hair had the same shade of brown but I saw golden highlights as the sun caught it. It was shorter and styled in messy spikes, like he had been running his hands through it or just woken up. He was wider and slightly taller than Rhodes.

My breath caught as my wolf woke up. I braced for her usually violent reaction, but instead she settled after a moment of curiosity. Almost like she was content.

Rhodes snorted at the newcomer. “You wish, dude.”

The new guy leaned against the railing, his gaze intense on me as he studied me. “You must be Skye.”

My entire life, I had always dropped my eyes in submission out of a need to survive. My mom taught me early that holding the gaze of a pack member could quickly be viewed as a challenge, especially with an Alpha and upper pack members. A lifetime of training had me constantly averting my gaze to survive.

But it was always an act until this moment.

Submission for wolves wasn’t just about strength, but about respect. And something about this guy demanded respect.

The longer he stared at me, the more I felt my wolf moving inside me. She was just as conflicted as me, torn between wanting to take in every detail of him and yield in deference. I wanted to look away, but there was something hypnotic about his gaze that I couldn’t break.

His dark eyes narrowed for a second, still locked unblinking on me. Slowly, a smile spread across his handsome face. “I’m Remy.”