Delilah is quiet for a few moments as she registers what I just said. It’s a minute or so before she asks, “What did this alpha look like? What color suit was he wearing? If I can find him—”
“No,” I cut in with a shake of my head. “He doesn’t want me. He took one look at me and made that clear. I… I just want to go home. Can I? I don’t have to stay for the entire mixer, do I?” You’d have to be deaf not to hear the desperation in my voice. I’m so ready to leave, to get out of this stupid dress, and crawl under my sheets in the darkness, where I can pretend tonight never happened.
She sighs. “We can get you home. I can’t leave, though, and I really should get back in there to oversee everything. Let me make a few calls and see what I can do for you.” Her hand squeezes mine in what I assume is meant to be a comforting gesture, but it doesn’t do anything for me.
The only comfort my body wants is from that alpha, and it’s clear he’ll never give me anything. We probably won’t even see each other again.
A good thing, since he rejected me. Depressing, but maybe with time it won’t hurt as badly.
Delilah pulls her hand off mine and stands, giving me her back as she whips out her phone and starts calling whoever she trusts to bring me back to N.O.A. I watch without saying a word, while struggling internally something fierce.
So much for a happy Valentine’s Day, huh?
Chapter Four – Redd
The room was too full. Too overwhelming. Everyone talking, the band playing, not to mention the alpha musks and the omega scents all mingling together—I’m not used to it. I don’t like it. It’s too much for me. I need somewhere quiet where I can reset, where I can breathe in and out slowly and count to ten, tap my fingers on my thumbs and settle those frayed nerves inside me.
It’s just too much. There’s no other explanation for it.
Monroe and Lev are chatting about what to do, which omega to try to pull and talk to first, but when I tell them I need some air, they don’t try to stop me. I think Monroe knew this whole time tonight would be a challenge for me, and though I tried to play it cool—I was excited, I still am excited—it’s just too much, and when things are too much, I tend to shut down.
I know. An alpha who shuts down in situations he’s not used to isn’t the definition of a prime alpha. I’m not what some people would call normal or neurotypical. I have my quirks, but as far as I’m concerned, so does everyone. Mine tend to get in the way sometimes.
Monroe and Lev have always been accepting of me. They might not be blood, but they’re as good as brothers to me. My pack. Without them, I honestly don’t know where I’d be right now, what I’d be doing. Heck, maybe I’d be on the street begging, although I’d drive myself crazy in the process. I need my daily showers.
But anyway, back to the present, back to me trying to zigzag my way around the crowds to get to an exit so I can step out and calm myself down.
I’m not expecting anything. Why would I? I have one singular goal in mind as I walk, frowning to myself, and that is to relieve the overwhelming sensation filling me—the last thing I expectis to come across an omega on the outer rim of the ballroom, sitting all alone, with nothing but a bowl of overflowing candy to keep her company.
And I sure as hell don’t expect her scent to stop me in my tracks, even from twenty feet away.
Fruity. Raspberries, maybe? Or strawberries, topped with warm sugar. Sweet and tasty, her scent fills my lungs and makes me instantly forget what I was doing in the first place.
And I know it’s her. That scent is coming from her, not from any of the other omegas in the room. The others smell nice, yes, but this one… this one has me on the hook just like that.
My head spins. The world stops. We lock eyes, and even though there’s twenty feet between us, it’s like she’s right there in front of me. Within touching distance. I want to go towards her, touch her, grab her hand and run my fingers over her knuckles. I want to pop one of those candies into her mouth and watch her eat it.
And that’s not even mentioning all the inappropriate things I’d like to do to her, too, thoughts that came to my mind so naturally they shock me.
I know what she is. I know what this means. Just like that, the thing that’s overwhelming isn’t this room or the amount of people in it. It’s not the strange mixture of scents and musks. No, now the only overwhelming thing is the omega sitting twenty feet away, with pretty pink hair and a matching pink dress, with beautiful dark eyes that are so wide it’s clear she’s as shocked as I am about this whole thing.
If I was anyone else, I would probably go right over to her table, sit down, and bask in her presence. But I’m me, and I’ve never been in this sort of situation before, nothing close to it. I don’t know what to do, and I’m too overwhelmed by the sheer gravity of it all to do much of anything.
What do I do? I turn around and march away from her, almost mechanically, like I turned into an emotionless robot when I wasn’t looking. Hell, being a robot would probably be easier than being me at this point.
Damn it. What am I doing?
Walking away from her hurts, but I think I’m so overwhelmed at this whole thing, at the sudden turn of events, that the pain inside doesn’t really register until I find Monroe and Lev again.
“Dude,” Lev says, his eyebrows furrowing as his hazel eyes study me up and down, “what happened? I thought you were going to find somewhere quiet for a while.” Lev is our beta, and thus he’s a good six inches shorter than me. Nine inches shorter than Monroe. Still much taller than any of the omegas in the ballroom, though.
“I was… I am, but…” It seems the words would not come out. I feel so… out of sorts. Like I stepped into an alternate reality when I wasn’t looking and now I don’t know how to get back home.
“Let’s find someplace to sit down,” Monroe says, taking on his über alpha tone. As our pack leader, he wants to take care of me. He always has. Even though he’s four years older than me, when we were at the academy together, he always made it a point to watch out for me and make sure I didn’t get into trouble.
And Lev? We knew each other before we presented as our designations, and promised each other we’d be pack.
“No,” I quickly say, and my outright refusal makes Monroe look at me strangely, like I sprouted a third eye or something when no one was looking. “I can’t. It’s…” Even now, even after the shock of it all worn off somewhat, I still can’t get the words out.
