Miles and Rowan stopped chewing. “And?” our alpha asked.
“She smelled incredible. She works at the bakery. If you stop by, I thought…”
Rowan scoffed. “You thought what? She might be our scent match? It was probably just the honey cakes you love so much.”
I did love honey cakes. A lot. I should be offended that they questioned my judgement on this, but we’d exhausted every option and our odds grew less the older we got. Plus, we weren’t a rich or famous pack. We got by and would be able to provide for an omega, but we didn’t live in a fancy high-rise or a penthouse. Some omegas wanted that—and that was their choice.
But we would love our omega with all our heart.
“I know the difference between the scent of an omega and a piece of cake, I’ll have you know.” Okay, that came out a bit snappier than I intended. Maybe I was offended.
Miles put his sandwich down. “Tell us everything that happened.”
I told them what happened but left out some details. The magenta of her hair. The way her hips curved out, perfect for holding onto. The pertness of her breasts. The way she might’ve been the most adorable thing I’d ever seen with the flour on her face.
I also left out the part where I wanted to hug her and make everything okay for her.
It was too soon for that kind of talk. Too soon for me to even be thinking about that.
Didn’t stop me.
Chapter Five
Harper
I lay in bed as long as I possibly could. Sometimes, I felt so out of my depth with this new life, it took a stern self-talking-to to keep from running back to the pain I already knew. Being told for many years that I should be grateful that I had a place to sleep and whatever scraps of food remained after they ate their fill. Rags for clothes. Plenty of hard work to keep me busy despite my clumsy incompetence. On bad days, I believed them, and despite my boss’s kindness, I sometimes wondered how long she could keep trying with me.
But if I did not force myself out of bed in the next five minutes, I’d be late for orientation, and that would be a disaster. The paperwork I’d signed stated that even though most of my classes would be online, the school required all students to attend an orientation before they could log in to those classes.
No time for a bath, but my fancy tub also had a handheld showerhead, which I used for the quickest cleanup in history. No time for hair care, so I twisted it up into a messy bun and pulled on the jeans and soft, blue sweater I’d picked up along with a few other things at the thrift store with what I could spare from my first paycheck. Gently used, they called it, but it was nicer than anything I’d ever owned, and I wanted to look nice today.
I dashed into the bakery for a cup of coffee and mixed-berry muffin. My employee discount made it more affordable than the grocery store and also conveniently on the way to school. My stomach was a little flippy with nerves, but the muffin helped settle it. When I walked onto the campus, my second visit, I looked around at the other students and faculty and staff running here and there. They all seemed so confident, while Iclutched my phone, GPS showing me where I needed to go. The phone wasn’t fancy, but it made my life so much better.
Orientation was taking place in a large auditorium with theater-style seating. I didn’t know what I’d expected. Probably something with traditional desks in a classroom, but as I looked around at the huge number of students, I recognized how impossible that would have been. This way, the school could have all the new arrivals oriented at once. Whatever that actually meant.
I found a site along the center aisle and settled in, watching the others arrive, mostly in groups of two or more. Maybe they’d already gone to high school together or something. If they were already all friended up, it wasn’t going to be much fun.
But then, I wasn’t here for fun, was I? The purpose of attending college was to get an education. There’d be time for friendships later. I’d gone without them for a long time, and I could wait a while longer.
“Is this seat taken?” I looked up to see a young girl, probably about my age, actually, smiling down at me. She pointed to my left.
“Oh, no, looks like it’s available,” I said, standing to let her take the seat next to me. “Your first day too, huh?” Duh.
“Yes, and I’m a little nervous.” She giggled and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Maybe a lot. You don’t seem to be anxious, though. You look so calm, cool, and collected.”
“I do?” I held up my hand, trembling a little. “At least it doesn’t show too much, but I’m anything but calm.”
“Everyone take your seats.” A deep, smooth voice came from the back of the room. “We’re going to get started now.”
I started to turn, wanting to get a look at the person who went with that voice, but before I could, he was next to me, brushed my arm as he passed. The scent of pine filled my nostrils, and my wolf awoke and howled inside me. By the time Igot hold of myself, he was already at the front of the room, facing us. Many of the others had not managed to settle into their seats, and the professor’s jaw was set.
I wanted to jump up and tell them all to sit down, be quiet, pay attention, but fortunately my innate shyness overcame that impulse. He didn’t say another word, just waited, and after a couple of minutes, the others finally seemed to get the idea and quieted. Finally.
The professor introduced himself then explained some things about the campus. A bit about the history of the school. Parking permits and where to get one. What hours the library was open. How the bookstore worked and where online we could find all the syllabi for our classes. I frantically scribbled notes on a small pad I’d stuffed into my backpack, recognizing even this, notetaking would take more preparation.
The girl next to me was tapping away on her phone, and at first, I thought she was not paying attention to what the professor was telling us, but then I realized she was also making notes. Of course, there’d be an app for that. Maybe I even had it in my phone already, or there would be a free one to download.
I had a lot to learn even besides the classes I’d signed up for, if I was going to survive and maybe even thrive. It would have helped if I wasn’t so fixated on watching the professor talk. He smiled and frowned then looked serious, his expressions so mobile. Also, he walked back and forth, seeming to make sure everyone had his attention at one time or another. Me? I wanted all his attention, and nothing I could tell myself could make me feel different.
