Since I woke up on the couch with Timber leaning over me, looking at me like he was going to fuck me so hard I’d stay in his bed forever, I’ve been thinking about leaving him. But seeing the number of zeros on that bill was a harsh reminder of our real situation.
My omega side is still soaring, flying sky-high at how close Timber was and how much I still need him to see me as his match. The problem is, I don’t know him well enough to know how he’ll react when he finds out the truth. I’ve never been the kind of person who sticks around for the hard stuff. Kane was right when he said I was a ‘bolter’.
Leaving Timber and bouncing out of his life is the easier option. But Luke’s already been in the hospital for three weeks. The doctor says it will be another week until he can move to crutches, and the cost is no joke.
If I knew I could support us, I’d take him out of the hospital straight away and look after him in our third-floor apartment, a building with no elevator and annoyingly narrow stairs. Luke wouldn’t be able to escape, but I’d have to put up with him complaining for months until he could walk properly.
Or we admit we can’t do this and move back to our grandparents.
All answers point to continuing to lie to Timber while we wait for the paycheck at the end of the month, before we make our next move.
Luke laughs again. “Nu-uh, no way. There’s no way you need to go on a date with Kane Moretti to save our business.”
“No, I’m pretty sure your doctor prescribed me two hot alpha males. One is a daily dose, and the other is a hit a week to keep me juicy.”
“Blergh!” Luke pretends to gag. “Noa, help me out here. Tell Ollie to stop using me as an excuse.”
“It really does seem like you just want to see him again,” Noa says. “You don’t have to go on that date to do that, though, do you? You could do something else together?”
“Ugh,” I sigh. “Fine, yeah, I want to go out with him. Quiet, you.” I glare at my brother as he snickers.
I do like the idea of going to a fancy restaurant where Kane can spoil me. I won’t have to cook, and I’d have a chance to learn about Kane in a more public setting, so I don’t tear my clothes off like King Kong and smash him.
I turn to Noa. “Do you have anything that won’t scream ‘I put loads of effort into this’? The restaurant has three Michelin stars, but I don’t want to look desperate or anything.”
“But he’s your scent match,” Noa says. “Don’t you want to make an effort?”
I blow air into one side of my cheek, puffing it up as I hem and haw about it.
Do I want Kane to think I’m sexy as fuck? Absolutely. But I want to do that while feeling like myself. And La Vie Bleue wouldn’t appreciate me turning up in ripped jeans and piercings.
So maybe I’ll go commando under my dress. Even if I look all fancy, I can still rebel.
“Hey, can you teach me how to do my face up properly? All pretty, like you do. Not like the paint I do for raves, but the formal stuff. More…” I circle my face with zero make-up and still look damn fine. “But that can also hide my piercings.” I want to hide who I am while still being me.
Our grandma thought omegas shouldn’t coat themselves to attract alphas, so I never learned that skill.
“Yeah, I’ve got some putty, and we can use sponges for your earlobes,” Noa replies.
“You’re honestly so cool!” I gasp as I throw my arms around her. She squeaks when I rub my face against hers.
I pull back quickly, worrying that her hair will get caught in my piercings. It’s happened before, but Noa is a great person to be stuck to.
If there are going to be more people shooting videos and grabbing photos of Kane for their socials, then I want to be unrecognizable while being hot as fuck.
“Maybe I can borrow a wig,” I say to Luke, and his eyes sparkle.
“Which one? I got a new brunette shoulder-length wig that I was going to try on for Noa’s next photoshoot. Though blonde will probably work, so you don’t look like you.”
“Kane is going to know it’s me, anyway. I just don’t want other people figuring it out.”
Luke hums while both of them stare at me.
“What? What is it?”
“Maybe it might be better to show your alpha who you are? Is it really that important to hide yourself?” Noa asks.
I twist my lips, knowing that she’s right, but I don’t have a choice. “I’m already mixed up in something awkward with them. I don’t want it to get any more complicated than it already is.”
