14. Roman

Chapter 14

Roman

My fingers drum across the tabletop as I sit in the dining hall for breakfast. I've been in a foul mood ever since yesterday's volleyball game, and it hasn't let up even a little. I normally consider myself very even-tempered, but that loss hit me hard. Harder than it should've.

Much harder.

I lift my eyes toward the door and catch sight of Oliver as he enters the hall with Theo and Lucas close by. The three of them look happy, cheerfully wading through the crowd to the front of the room where the food is laid out on a big buffet table.

A growl rises in my throat, threatening to spill from my lips. It's a struggle to suppress it, but I manage.

I clench my jaw in annoyance. My wolf is never this aggressive, especially not toward my packmates, and even less against the ones that have been my best friends since we were pups. Even when I was pissed at Lucas for being lazy and skipping out on his shift during our hunt, I never would've growled at him like this.

But right now, I want to launch myself across the room and attack them both.

Thankfully, my self-control is more than enough to keep things under control. But if I weren't…

"Theo, Lucas!" Sebastian's roar from the front of the room snaps me out of my self-reflection.

Speaking of wolves that don't have a lot of self-control…

"Get your flea-bitten tails outside where I can kick your asses properly," Sebastian demands, pointing emphatically at the two alphas standing on either side of Oliver. "We've got a score to settle, and I'm not giving up until you accept."

Lucas and Theo look at one another and then back at Sebastian with amused grins.

"You wanna settle the score?" Lucas chuckles. "Alright, Seb, what've you got in mind?"

"Rematch at the volleyball pit?" Theo suggests with a light laugh.

I rise from my chair, moving slowly across the room. If someone doesn't intervene, this isn't going to end well. Lucas and Theo don't seem to realize how serious Sebastian is right now. They didn't see how defeated he looked after yesterday's game. They don't know that I'm feeling just as low.

All because of Oliver.

The omega is standing beside them, looking a bit confused and unsure about what's going on. He shrinks back behind them a few steps when Sebastian starts to charge forward.

Thankfully, by then I've reached his side, and I manage to restrain the hot-headed alpha with a hand on his shoulder. My grip is tight enough to bruise, but it's the only way I can be sure I'm getting his attention. Otherwise, he'll just keep fighting me. This isn't the first time I've had to pull him back from an unnecessary conflict.

"Come on, buddy," I tell him as I turn him toward me. "Let's go get some air," I suggest, guiding him back through the door he'd just entered.

I can tell he wants to argue, but to my complete surprise, he falls silent as we walk back outside.

"This isn't the way things were supposed to go," Sebastian whines as we get out onto the wide grassy lawn that spreads out before the dining hall. "We were supposed to win yesterday, Roman. We were supposed to win, and I was going to ask Oliver to become my mate. I-I've never been more certain of anything in my life."

My nostrils flare as he speaks. Somehow this is what I'd expected, though I hadn't imagined that he'd just volunteer the information that easily. He's definitely not feeling like himself today.

"We had a good game, Seb," I say, trying to calm him down. "Sometimes things just don't work out how you plan. That's the way it goes."

"You don't understand, though." Sebastian looks up at me. "Like, you saw them, right? All three of them? They fucked him, Roman. Lucas and Theo both fucked Oliver last night. Which means that's it. There's no way he'll want to be my mate now. The only thing I could think to do was if I beat them both in a fair fight. Maybe that would help, but…"

"That's a stupid idea." I exhale, trying to ignore the alarm bells ringing in my head about Sebastian's accusations toward Theo and Lucas. "Even if the three of them did sleep together, why wouldn't he be interested in you? You don't know anything. Maybe it was just casual? Maybe he's just being polite and it was ridiculously boring sex."

I try to smile, hoping it will lighten the mood a bit and ease some of Sebastian's concerns. It doesn't really help. Especially because I don't believe it myself. I can't stand the thought of Oliver having sex with anyone. Not even two of my best friends.

"You feel drawn to him too, don't you?" Seb asks after a moment as he studies my face. "You want him as your mate as well."

"I didn't say that," I counter.

"Didn't have to," Sebastian replies with a shake of his head. "I can tell just by looking at you. You can't get him out of your head either. You just want him, and you don't care what's standing in the way."

"I'm not the one that charged into the dining hall ready to beat up Theo and Lucas. Who would've absolutely kicked your ass if they'd worked together."

"It's not funny, Roman. We're fucked." Sebastian sighs and plops down onto the ground. "I found the omega of my dreams, and suddenly there's way more competition than there ever was before. Why couldn't you and the others have just left me to it?"

"Sebastian, it's not like we planned this. It's not like we did this to upset you." I shake my head. "Plus, who says I'm even going to act on these feelings?"

"But they did." He sticks his lip out in a pout. "And now I've lost my chance. They won. He's theirs now."

"Look, Seb, he's not something for you to possess. They can't control him like he's a pet or something. He's a wolf just like us. Yeah, he's an omega, but that doesn't mean that he'll just stay with the first alpha to fuck him." I raise a brow at him, but I'm starting to feel more like this pep talk is for myself than anyone else.

"How can you be so sure about that?" Sebastian asks, looking up at me with an incredulous look.

I shake my head. "I can't be certain, but there are certainly patterns that you can see if you look," I explain. "If you care to try, I'm sure you still have a chance to earn his affections."

Sebastian straightens slightly. "So, what you're saying is that we've just begun a new competition." He looks at me with a sparkle in his eyes. "Then let the games begin!"