"I don’t think so," a voice sounds from behind them.
It is Bashir again. He clearly has been paying attention.
"Guys, your betas are waiting at your table. I doubt they would approve of this. I suggest you head back there. There is nothing for you here," he says firmly.
"And what is it to you? Stay out of things that are not your business," one of them snaps.
"While his alpha is absent, I am his protector," Bashir says, his tone sharp.
A deep silence falls.
The two alphas do not try to argue. They turn around and leave.
Bashir looks at me, his face expressionless.
Honestly, I should probably say thanks, but I’m still low-key pissed that I even have to be protected. Still, I also havenodesire to deal with horny alphas whose betas have bored them and who are looking for a free hole. So I just keep my tongue in check. Fine, I’ll survive this. And my pride will too.
When Bashir walks away, I listen to the music, and it slowly dawns on me that, as infuriating as Eliano could be, he didn’t just leave me on this island to fend for myself without caring what might happen. He still gave a damn, even after all the hate-yous I threw at him. Somehow, that just makes it harder to accept he left for good.
But anger mixed with gratitude is the worst possible combination. It leaves me with a two-day moral hangover.
The second week sucks even more.
The only thing that got better is that after I gloomily told Bashir that alphas were giving me a hard time by knocking on my walls at night, he started doing random scouting trips near my unit and scared them off. So yeah, I get more peace and quiet now, but that doesn’t mean I have any peace inside at all.
Interestingly, my anger at Eliano starts to change, slowly turning into deep sadness and hurt.
At the same time, my body’s acting all weird too. Something’s definitely up with me. I feel hot all the time, always tired, not really hungry, and food doesn’t make me happy like it used to.
Then, one day, another turning point rolls around.
It comes with a chat I have with Roman and Evan.
During dinner, we join Bashir and Fred at their table. The conversation flows easily, and for the first time I learn why Roman is here.
It turns out that, wanting to earn money for a luxury vacation, he accepted an offer from a friend to carry a suitcase full of drugs across the border. Since he had no priorconvictions, the chances of being stopped and searched seemed slim. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side that day. Among the border protection officers at the checkpoint was a purple alpha, and he sniffed out the drugs with his super-strong sense of smell.
As Roman tells the story, Evan says at one point, "If we had known each other back then, I would have talked you out of it. That was madness. People can seriously fuck up their lives that way."
Roman lowers his head, a flicker of embarrassment crossing his face. "It really did sound good, and the money was big…"
Bashir, who has been listening closely, adds in a firm tone, "I would have tried to stop you too. Dealers look for suckers for jobs like that. It rarely works!"
Roman keeps his head down, scratching at his food with his fork, clearly feeling uncomfortable.
For some reason, the way both alphas reacted together irritates me.
"What is it with you, patronizing alphas?" I blurt out. "It’s not your life, so don’t judge. You weren’t in his shoes."
Yeah, it's pretty obvious why it bothers me. It’s me who feels judged and patronized by proxy.
Everyone turns to look at me, clearly surprised at my tone, and I usually stay silent at dinner. But now suddenly it all just spills out of me.
"This attitude pisses me off so much! Eliano is exactly the same. He blocked my plan to escape the island and get revenge on my brother’s killer. You have no clue what we’re dealing with, and yet you want to decide for us!"
A heavy silence continues, all eyes on me. I have never told anyone here about my circumstances before. Though they surely heard gossip about my Alpha Slayer past.
Bashir finally speaks, calm and firm.
