5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Beth

Two Years Ago

The Alpha's house is a mansion, because of course it is. Sapphire Valley is the latest Beta town to have caught a property developer's eye. Luxurious estates are starting to pop up around the previously undeveloped areas. This was one of the first to be built, and I can't even believe we're going to get to see what it looks like.

Carla slows to a crawl on approach, and it looks like she's about to find a place to park outside of the property, in the muddy, completely undeveloped land close to the forest.

"What are you doing? Park inside the gates," Annie tells her, motioning toward the open gates of the well-lit driveway.

"Uh, are you sure?" Carla asks, clearly still nervous about this whole thing.

"Of course, I'm sure!" Annie says, "I don't want to get axe-murdered on the way home just because you were too scared to park in a rich guy's well-lit driveway."

"The gates are open," I add. "I'm sure it's fine."

Carla sighs before she reverses back slightly and gets on course for the gates.

The driveway is more than big enough for several dozen cars, and I don't think there are even that many drivers invited. Carla parks as far away from the front entrance of the house as possible, while I check out the cars that are already parked.

One of them belongs to the stoner who sells test paper answers that he steals from his mom's home office. He's probably brought the guys he hangs out with at school. The other car I think belongs to a friend of a friend of the most popular cheerleader in school. She's a little geeky, and so are her friends, but she has just enough popular connections to avoid becoming a real target for bullies.

"This isn't looking like much of a party," Annie says as Carla stops the engine.

"Well, we're kind of early," I remind them after I check my phone. "And the party's probably out back."

"We could still go home," Carla says, sounding hopeful.

They look at me, and I realize they're both a little anxious.

I take off my seatbelt. "We came all the way up here. We might as well go inside."

"I'm leaving if those stoners hit on us," Annie warns me.

"I'm pretty sure this place is big enough that we won't need to go anywhere near those guys."

She sighs at my response before she gets out of the car.

I put a hand on Carla's shoulder. "We can leave if you hate it."

She turns. "Promise?"

"I promise."

I mean it, completely, and it makes her smile.

I know she'll be fine once we're inside, and I hope we don't have to leave, but if she really isn't comfortable, I'll make our excuses and I'll handle any fallout from Annie.

Carla's my best friend. I wouldn't make her do something she really wasn't happy about, but she's also so meek that sometimes she needs a little nudge to do stuff before she realizes there was really nothing to worry about.

We get out of the car, and I get a thrill just looking at the mansion in front of us.

We're about to get a taste of what it's like for the insanely wealthy of this world.

Rourke's father is an Alpha, and his mother's an Omega. They're both billionaires in their own rights, with Mr. Mariner making his fortune with a diverse investment portfolio and a host of profitable companies under his belt, and Mrs. Mariner is a retired icon who tried her hand extremely successfully at modelling, acting, singing, photography, and painting.

The buzz around town was supercharged when word got out about who was moving in here.

Everyone I know would love to get the chance that we're getting right now.

I can't help but smile.

"Well?" Annie asks at my side.

I see she's wearing a short skirt that shows off her long legs, with cute ankle boots and an oversized mid-blue sweater that matches her eyes. This is her cutest outfit, beyond a doubt.

She must have spent a couple hours getting her long dark hair that perfectly poker straight. The silky shine it has is as eye-catching as the flicks she's made lining her eyes with an inky black liner.

She's just as excited as I am. There's no doubt about that, even if she's getting a little anxious now that we're here.

"Well, we all look amazing, so let's get moving," I tell her, taking Carla's arm in mine and moving across the driveway, toward the mansion's front entrance.

I hear an engine getting closer, and I turn to find out some of the popular kids have just arrived.

Annie lets out a groan. "Great. Here comes the bitch squad."

I grab her arm and get us moving.

The last thing we want is to be caught standing around when Chelsea and her crew get out of her car. Those girls are brutal to anyone who isn't part of their circle.

Carla gives me a nervous smile as we make it to the front door.

We're both in little black dresses, but hers is hidden a bit under a cream cardigan, and her shoes are flat as usual which makes us look like we're around the same height. She has that hidden hotness vibe that clearly gorgeous girls in movies have before their makeover montage.

A little bit of confidence is all that's missing with Carla.

I can hear the popular girls exiting their car now.

Ugh. I hope we get inside before they get up here.

Letting go of my friends' arms, I use the old-fashioned door knocker.

Wow. It's heavy, and it's loud .

I'm not sure what I expect, but it's Rourke who pulls the door open.

And, double-wow , he's even hotter up close than I thought he was from afar.

Those come-to-bed eyes have seriously devastating powers, and that sexy little smirk his lips form into …

He leans forward, his gaze drifting over our heads for a second, then he moves back, pulling the door open wider. "Quick, get in before the bitch squad realizes I'm home."

Annie snorts in surprise and I smile back at him as I take the invitation to step inside. It's kind of dark in the hallway. There are lights on in another room, but none out here for some reason.

"So, where's the party?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him. "Because this is feeling more like a weird horror movie trap right now."

He laughs. It's a seriously dirty sound and I have no idea how he does that.

Everything he does is so damn sexy.

"I'm trying to be discrete about this," he admits. "My parents might kill me if they find out I had a party."

I'm a little surprised by that, and I can tell my friends are, too. Well, he might be hot and rich, but he's still only seventeen like the rest of us, I guess. Even Alphas have to deal with curfews and homework.

He closes the door, and his gaze moves straight back to me.

He takes a step closer, and my stomach fills up with butterflies.

His arm slips around my waist. "This way to the massacre … I mean party ."

"Ha ha," I murmur, knowing my cheeks are flushing with color.

How can it feel so good to have his arm around me?

Are Alpha arms that much better than Beta arms?

The couple of random dates I've been on in the last year were just seriously awkward, and any touching felt like a mandatory obligation for the situation. It didn't feel like this.

The butterflies in my stomach multiply as he walks me down the dark hallway.

The source of light is coming from the kitchen.

He leads me inside and drops his arm.

Damn. I was just getting used that.

"There's food and drink on the table," he says, as he moves a hand through his hair. "Everyone's sitting out back."

The sound of the door knocker makes him groan.

"Do I have to let them in?"

"You made the mistake of inviting everyone," I remind him.

He pulls a face. "Yeah, well, the popular crowd usually don't appear if I do that."

"You've done this before?"

"A couple times. I guess valley kids are different from city kids."

He shrugs and excuses himself to go get the door.

I watch him go with a pang of jealousy.

He'll be ushering the bitch squad in next.

I have no doubt that Chelsea will touch back when he puts his arm around her.

He'll probably be her new boyfriend by the end of the night.

"Are you okay?" Carla asks me.

"Huh?" I ask, looking at my friends.

Annie's already making her way over to the table.

Carla's leaning against the counter, watchful eyes on me.

"He's hot, right?" She gives me a wry smile. "But he's an Alpha. They're always bad news for Betas."

"Not always," I find myself saying, knowing I'm being crazy.

There's no way a guy like Rourke picks a girl like me.

I'm the class clown, always doing something weird or embarrassing and playing it off as a joke.

Chelsea's the girl all the boys' chase. She's the trophy girlfriend, and probably the only girl who can come close to matching Rourke's level of hotness in this town. She's as close to an Omega as he's going to get.

"Beth …" Carla starts, sounding worried.

"I'm not going Alpha-crazy," I assure her, not sure that's true. "Let's see what snacks we've got over here."

I walk over to the table where Annie's standing with a red cup, staring at the bottles of booze.

"This stuff is all so expensive," she tells me. "Like seriously. It's the kind of booze you can drink without a mixer."

"You're not drinking without mixers."

"Of course not, but I could," she murmurs, as she picks up an unopened bottle of vodka and uncaps it. "Wow. I can't believe I get to drink this stuff."

I make sure she doesn't go to crazy with her pour.

We might never have gone to a party before, but Annie and I have had more than a few nights in her bedroom with stolen sips from a bottle of hard liquor.

If she goes too hard, she'll puke.

If I go too hard, I get klutzier than usual.

It's never a good combination.

Carla puts a couple sandwich triangles on a paper plate, while frowning at Annie.

I pick up a red cup and let Annie pour for me, only looking up when I hear Chelsea's abrasive laughter just before Rourke steps into the room.

The butterflies in my stomach race back, batting their wings even harder.

He doesn't have his arm around her.

And his gaze goes straight to me now that he's back.

I know in that moment. I don't care how unlikely it is. Any chance I get with this guy, I'm going to grab hold of with both hands.