Mason frowned. “Is that even English? And you’re here on a sports scholarship. Why would you need that?”
“Because sports won’t be my life. My folks wanted me to find a career that would support my family, and they don’t believe sports is the way to go.”
“Are you kidding? No one is better than you.”
I gave him a wan smile. “In high school I was good. In college? There are guys who arewaybetter.”
“So what profession are you thinking about?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t made up my mind.” A lie, but it wasn’t as if I could tell him the truth.
You see, I’m expected to be the head of my family.
No, there were some conversations that were off-limits. The wholebuckling downthing meant dates were in short supply. Who was I kidding? They were non-existent. I could see my future, and it looked both boring as fuck and daunting as hell.
And I couldn’t breathe a word about it to my best friend.
It seemed Mason had other ideas.
“Can we go back to the ‘adult responsibility’ part?” He frowned. “What exactly are we talking about?”
Maybe itwastime to share a little.
The truth was, I had no interest in my father’s position. I’d watched for years as he would get calls and have to rush out of the house at all hours because of a perceived ‘emergency’, or how people would come to him and ask for the most inane things. Of course, Dad would have to drop whatever he was doing to help them. Honestly, I was surprised Mom handled it as well as she did.
When I was younger, maybe seven, they sat me down and explained what my life was going to be like. I was going to take over Dad’s job, and everything he’d been doing would become my life. At first I was excited, because I would have been a big shot like he was, but then I started going with him on calls and realizing how sucky his life was.
I explained to Mason as best as I could, telling him why I had to buckle down now, and why I needed to make something of myself that would ensure my parents were proud of me. When I finished, he sat quietly, staring at his hands.
The expression on his face had my stomach clenching.
“What’s wrong?” I asked gently.
“Can I tell you about my life?”
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like this conversation at all.
Mason
And I thoughtmylife sucked.
Well, it did, but apparently I wasn’t the only one. Kip and I had been friends for six years, and never once did I realize he was suffering too. Now my stomach knotted as I understood that even though I was an Omega, the one who was supposed to be there for my people, I hadn’t been there for the one person who trulywas‘my’ people.
“My family… Well, more than just them—we’re talking about most of the original people who settled the town… They practice an older religion.” I tried for a smile, but failed. “We’re not followers of any of the newfangled ways you young’uns got. We generally keep it pretty closed off, because most wouldn’t understand it.”
Kip blinked. “Give me a for instance.”
I took a deep breath. “One of the things our elders believe in is arranged marriage.”
He scowled. “Like they canforceyou to marry someone?”
“Yeah, exactly. I have no say in who I marry, and my station means I would have to be submissive to them.”
Kip barked out a laugh, then his expression grew incredulous. “Oh my God, you’re serious. I thought you were joking.”
“I wish.”
“But Iknowyou, Mason. you aren’t submissive toanyone.”
