“You didn’t see him, Sabs.” The bitter taste of rejection sits sour on my tongue. Even though the more intense emotions that came with my heat have tapered off, his earlier tirade still stings. “He was furious.”
“I saw how he looked at you at the costume party.” Delilah nuzzles into my shoulder. “A look like that doesn’t lie. He wants you, even if he’s not ready to admit it.”
I flop back onto the blankets, staring up at the ceiling while wondering what the Silverwood Pack is thinking right now. Are they feeling as lost and confused as I am?
SIXTEEN
Damon
Our scent match? They can’t be serious. Sure, Faye smells amazing—the type of amazing that means I’d tear off anyone’s limbs who so much as looked at her in the wrong way—but we don’t even know her. And she doesn’t know what she’d be getting into, especially with me.
I’m dangerous.
Walking into the pack house and being confronted by the smell of her slick filling the air, consuming every part of our space, practically knocked me off my feet. Seeing her snuggling into Ren and Cole, rubbing her face into my sweaty gym shirt, was enough to make me almost come in my pants.
I had to use every ounce of my self-control to stop myself from launching across the room and sinking my teeth into her delicate little neck.
Someone like Faye—so attractive, fragile, and vulnerable—isn’t safe around an alpha like me. I’d ruin and destroy her. She deserves better. Someone who isn’t a total fuck up. Someone who won’t hurt her.
Still, physical distance doesn’t stop her from haunting my thoughts. Like the group chat, it feels like my brain is blowing up:
COLE
She’s back at Stella House.
LAZ
Do you think she’d like blueberry or chocolate muffins best?
Chocolate, obviously. I don’t respond, though.
REN
I could send her a bouquet of forget-me-not’s? She’ll appreciate the meaning behind them.
Across the street, an argument breaks out between two rival, first year packs.
“Break it up,” I roar as I flash them my security badge.
I’m off-duty now but carry my badge everywhere. I work as a campus security guard part-time. Collectively, the Silverwood Pack has plenty of money, so I don’thaveto work, yet I choose to. I didn’t come from wealth like the others. Where I grew up, you had to work your ass off to get anywhere in life, so I’ll always want to pay my way. Plus, my security job counts toward extra credit, and I sleep better at night knowing I’m helping keep omegas on campus safe. Omegas like Faye.
“What’re you gonna do about it, grandad?” one young buck calls back.
I’m only a few years older than them, but it feels like decades. And cocky little fucks like him get my back up. Teaching him a lesson he won’t forget would be the ideal way to release my frustration.
“What am I going to do about it?” I charge at him, grab him by the scruff of his shirt, then throw him to the ground like the piece of trash he is. “I’ll show you what I’m going to do?—”
“Damon!” Lucky for the punk buck, Rook, a fellow security guard, steps in. He yanks me back before addressing the cowering alpha on the floor who’s suddenly lost his bravado. “Scram, kid. And next time, behave yourself. Okay?”
Cursing under his breath, the young alpha jumps up and smooths down his shirt, trying to pretend he’s not fazed by me putting him flat on his ass. I don’t bother trying to stifle my growl. If he wants more, then I’ll show him more.
“Easy, pussycat.” Rook grabs my jacket to hold me back. “Let him go. You want to keep your job, don’t you?”
Our boss, Orin, has a zero-violence policy. Much to my dismay, that means we have to use the bare minimum amount of force to maintain safety, and we have to keep our noses clean in order to stay on the team.
I shrug him off roughly. “Get off me.”
“What’s going on?” Rook’s unruly, dark eyebrows lower, transforming his usually relaxed expression as he rubs his beard. “You look like you wanna kill someone. If I hadn’t shown up…”
