by J. L. Wilder
“I like being connected to my nature,” she said, after thinking it over for several minutes. “Being an omega means being close to the shifter community and having a strong connection to my animal self. I can only imagine that it isn’t the same for betas. And that’s something I would miss if I were anything other than what I am.”
Jasper nodded. “That’s it exactly,” he said. “That’s exactly how I feel.”
“Well, I like being a beta,” Dean said, stretching out on the bank of the river and trailing his hand in the water. “There’s more freedom in it. I can do whatever I want with my life. Alphas have too many responsibilities.” He smirked. “I’m glad I never had to worry about becoming one. Sounds terrible, if you ask me.”
“You could be a little more sensitive, you know,” Tom said mildly.
“So, you’re here looking for an omega to compete in the games with you?” Haley asked Jasper.
He nodded. “I don’t suppose you want to try it.”
For a moment, she was tempted to say yes. At least I could finally be involved in something. And wouldn’t Clarisse and her bitchy friends be shocked to see me show up!
But she couldn’t. Despite everything, she still hadn’t given up on the idea of finding herself an alpha of her own. It wasn’t going to happen in time for the Games. That much was clear. But it could still happen.
And if she competed in the Games with another guy...that would be a hard thing for any alpha to overlook. Especially if they were to win.
“I can’t,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you already mated?” he asked her.
“No,” she said.
“You’re not going to compete with that guy we just chased out of here, are you?” Tom asked, concern etched across his face.
“No,” Haley said. “Definitely not. He’s a creep.”
“Yeah, he is,” Tom agreed. “I know him a little bit. He has a girlfriend, and he treats her like garbage.”
“He’s cheating on her,” Haley said.
“Wouldn’t surprise me a bit.” Tom sounded disgusted.
“He’s had his eye on me since the last social,” Haley said. “But I’m not going there. I’m holding out for an alpha who respects me.”
“But definitely an alpha?” Dean said.
“I’m an omega,” Haley said. “You know the rules.”
“The rules are only on our end,” Dean pointed out. “Betas aren’t allowed to date omegas. Omegas are only discouraged from dating betas. You wouldn’t be kicked out of school for getting it on with one of us.”
She laughed. It was clear from his expression that he was only kidding. “Good try.”
“Can’t blame a guy,” Dean said, shrugging.
She turned to Jasper. “I’m sorry I can’t help you out,” she said. “I think I really would if it didn’t mean putting my future on the line. I admire what you’re doing. And I’m not going to tell anyone that you were over here, so don’t worry about that.”
“I appreciate that,” Jasper said.
“I owe you one anyway,” Haley said. “For saving me from Zach.”
“You don’t owe us anything for that,” Dean said. “That guy deserved what he got.”
Haley nodded. He had deserved it. But she couldn’t agree with Dean that she didn’t owe them anything. Payback was owed. They had saved her.
She gathered the reeds she had collected. “It was nice to meet you all,” she said. “I should really get back to my dorm now. I’m already skipping class, and I’ll have to stop and apologize to my professor before office hours are over.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I skipped class.”
“Have you never done that before?” Dean asked.
“Never,” she said.
Dean whistled.
He doesn’t think I’m a joke or a teacher’s pet. He’s impressed that I don’t cut out.
Haley got to her feet. “Maybe I’ll see you around sometime,” she said to them. “If you make it into the Alpha Games, Jasper, I’ll be cheering for you. I really hope it all works out.”
He smiled at her. His smile changed his whole face. He had been dark and unfriendly looking, but now it was as if the sun was rising behind his eyes. “Thanks, Haley,” he said. “I hope we see you there.”
“Good meeting you,” Tom said.
“If you know any single omegas who might want to get into the Games, send them this way,” Dean said. “We’ll probably lurk around here for a while and see if we can find anyone.”
Haley nodded. “I’ll do that,” she said, even though she couldn’t imagine sending anyone to meet with them. She didn’t know anybody who would be willing to put herself on the line by trying to enter the Alpha Games with a beta.
As she crossed the campus, heading toward the building where her professor would be sitting in his office, she found that, for the first time since the social, she wasn’t thinking about Margaret or about the fight they had had. Those thoughts and worries had left her. She and Margaret would make up in time. She was sure of it. There was no need to dwell.
Instead, it was the three betas by the river who took hold of her imagination.
She found herself hoping she would be able to see them again.
Chapter Ten
DEAN
“She was perfect, if you ask me,” Dean said.
“She wasn’t perfect,” Jasper murmured.
“What the hell was wrong with her?” Dean demanded.
“Weren’t you paying attention?” Jasper asked. “She didn’t want to do it. That’s kind of a deal-breaker.”
“But we didn’t even try to talk her into it,” Dean said. “You didn’t even remind her about the money.”
“She wasn’t stupid,” Jasper said. “You saw her. I’m sure she was smart enough to remember about the money without us pointing it out. And she was smart enough to know what she wanted. I’m not going to badger her into trying to compete if she doesn’t want to.”
“You’re not going to find anybody else that good,” Dean said.
Tom stared at him. “What’s with you?” he asked. “We meet one girl, and you’re already sure she’s the only one who can get the job done? There are hundreds of omegas on this campus.
Dean frowned. Now that he thought about it, his conviction was a little strange. They had had one conversation with Haley. She had seemed cool and smart, for sure, and definitely like she would be a worthy competitor. But why had he latched on to her as the only solution to their problems?
She’s hot as hell.
Well, what did that have to do with anything? They were looking for someone to enter the games with Jasper, not someone for Dean to hook up with.
Honestly, it’s probably better that she’s gone, he thought. I wouldn’t have been able to stop looking at her the whole time, and that’s a problem. Whoever they chose was going to have to bond with Jasper, and the two of them would need to be focused solely on each other. Dean couldn’t afford to get a crush on his brother’s Games partner. Not if they were going to win.
And he definitely couldn’t be hooking up with an omega, no matter how hot she was. He knew how fertile omegas were. That was why they weren’t allowed to have sex until they were both mated and out of school. Nobody wanted a bunch of little babies running around the campus.
That was why so many omegas—and alphas—left school without having graduated. They couldn’t hold themselves back anymore. It was a common problem. In fact, Dean’s graduating class only had sixty-eight alphas in it and over two hundred betas.
It’s for the best that we’re not going to be around each other anymore, he thought. It would be way too hard to keep my hands off her if I had to see her all the time.
Laurel would have made fun of him mercilessly for that. She would have called him a total player and told him that he was incapable of being around any woman without wanting to get into her pants.
But it had felt different with Haley. He had been much more attracted
to her than he ever had to Laurel, even when their friends-with-benefits arrangement had been new and exciting.
Probably because she’s an omega. They were supposed to be shockingly alluring. It was part of what defined them.
Hell, that’s why we’re not supposed to be on their campus.
But it wasn’t as if Dean was going to jump on one of them against her will and try to claim her. He wasn’t like that Zach guy. He knew he had broken Laurel’s heart, and that sucked, but he would never intentionally hurt a woman.
He sat up. “Well, she’s gone,” he said to his brothers. “And we still don’t have an omega match for Jasper. What now?”
“We keep looking, I guess,” Jasper said.
“I think we should go back,” Tom said. “I don’t think we’re going to find anyone.”
“You’re ready to give up already?” Dean said incredulously. “We’ve only talked to one omega.”
“Yeah, but this was never my mission,” Tom said. “I’m only along to keep the two of you out of trouble.”
“Which you’re not going to be able to do if you go back across the street now,” Dean pointed out. “We’re staying.”
Tom turned to Jasper. “Jasper? I think we should go.”
“You don’t need his permission,” Dean said. “He’s not our alpha, remember? If you want to leave, just leave.”
“What are you getting pissed off about?” Tom asked.
“Because I thought we were in this together,” Dean said.
“Never once in our lives have you ever wanted the three of us to do anything together,” Tom said. “You’re the one who always pushes the two of us away. So don’t expect me just to believe you’ve discovered the magic of our brotherly bond.”
“You don’t have to be a fucking sap about it,” Dean said. “I just think we’ve got a better chance at succeeding if we work together, that’s all.”
“But why do you care about this?” Tom asked. “You’ve never wanted Jasper to be an alpha.”
“It doesn’t matter to me now if he becomes one,” Dean said. “He won’t be my alpha. We’ll be free to go our separate ways after graduation. And we’ll each have a share of the prize money from the Games.”
“That’s if I decide to share my winnings with you,” Jasper said.
“You will,” Dean said. “If there’s one thing you are, and always have been, it’s fair. We’re helping you pull this off, so you’ll split the take. You know you will.”
Jasper sighed, and Dean knew by the sound that he had been right.
“I’ll stay one hour longer,” Tom said. “After that, I want to go back home. We’re putting ourselves at risk by being over here.”
“Are you scared?” Dean asked.
“It’s not about being scared,” Tom said. “It’s about being sensible. If you were capable of any kind of advanced logic, you would realize that if they catch us over here, we definitely won’t be able to enter the Games.”
That was true. “Fine,” Dean said. “One hour. I’m sure we can find someone by then.”
TOM
In hindsight, Tom had no idea why they had all believed that finding an omega to compete alongside a beta in the Alpha Games would be easy, or even possible.
Jasper and Dean had been bickering fiercely when they’d crossed the road back to Shifter U, and Tom had been thoroughly sick of both of them, so he’d separated himself and wandered off on his own. Instead of going to the library, as he usually would have done, he had gone to the river that ran behind Shifter U’s campus. He sat there now, thinking through the events of the day.
It had been a particular relief to him to meet someone who knew Zach, who understood the kind of person Zach was. After seeing the way the alpha had treated his mate at the social, Tom had wondered whether he was the only person who had a problem with that sort of thing. Was that what all alphas were like—eager to push their omegas around, only interested in what they could get out of the relationship?
It was good to see that Haley, an omega herself, didn’t think that was normal.
Of course, it would be better if she had never had to meet that creep at all.
His own reaction, when Zach had put his hands on Haley, had taken him by surprise. It had even scared him a little.
He couldn’t remember when he had last lost control like that, shifted without even knowing he was going to do it, leaving a pile of torn-up clothes in his wake.
The anger that had swept through him at that moment had been larger and more powerful than anything he had felt in years.
I didn’t realize I had such powerful rage inside me.
It frightened him a little to know that he did.
But it also felt good. Had it not been for his quick intervention, things might have gone much worse for Haley today. Neither Jasper nor Dean had responded to the situation as quickly as Tom had. He wasn’t used to being the fastest or the strongest of the three of them. He was the most studious. That was all he had.
But today, he had been the first to enter the fight. He had been the one who had saved Haley from danger.
He wondered whether it was possible that his actions had forged some kind of bond between the two of them. It was a strange thought, but he felt as if he knew her much better than he did. As if they had met for the first time, not just this afternoon, but weeks or months ago.
She doesn’t have an alpha, he thought. I wonder what she’s planning on doing after graduation.
She would almost certainly want to look for an alpha, for a pack of her own. What omega didn’t want that? And she had said herself that she was interested in shifter lore and culture. She didn’t seem like the type to strike out on her own.
She would be looking for a pack, and he would be looking for a pack.
Maybe we can look together.
He laughed out loud as the thought occurred to him. What was he thinking? Could he really be considering basing his future on this girl he hardly knew? He was giving serious thought to the idea of separating from his own brothers after graduation. How could he be thinking of sticking with Haley?
Well, I have to stick with someone. I don’t want to be on my own.
Was he choosing her merely out of loneliness? Maybe he was just so used to having his brothers in his life that he couldn’t contemplate being on his own.
But he didn’t think that was it. There had been something about her. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Tom had never had a best friend outside of his own family. He had never been close to anyone other than his brothers.
And now, school was ending. They would go their separate ways, perhaps forever.
But if Haley and I joined up, we could become the start of a new pack. Even without an alpha, we wouldn’t have to be alone. And someday, we could find an alpha to lead us.
He would see her again, he knew. She would be at the Alpha Games, cheering on her mated friends.
He would find her there, and he would suggest this to her. See what she thought.
It’s probably crazy. She’ll probably laugh me right off the bleachers.
But maybe she wouldn’t. And if she didn’t, Tom would finally have a plan for the day he left school and entered the real world.
JASPER
Jasper had gone directly to his room after leaving the campus of Omega University, and now he lay on his back on his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking.
He had been a fool to let Haley go.
Dean had been right. He should have tried to persuade her.
Yes, she was smart, and she knew what she wanted. He couldn’t deny that. But that didn’t mean that her first answer had to be her final one.
She heard Dean talking about splitting the money, he thought. Maybe she assumed she would only get a quarter of the profits instead of the half that would be due to her. Because, of course, Jasper fully intended to give any omega who competed with him in the Games half of the reward if they were to win. It would be a
crime to do anything less.
Or maybe she just didn’t know enough about the Games themselves to realize that she could be competitive. She had been gathering reeds today. Basket weaving might be a part of the competition. If it were, someone like her could prove useful.
And she had no way of knowing that Jasper himself was a contender. She had no way of knowing that he was strong and that he would be able to hold his own against the alphas. Maybe she thought that entering with him would be fighting a losing battle.
Maybe she agrees with Dean. Maybe she thinks there’s no way I’ll come out of this as an alpha.
He rolled out of bed, pulled on his jacket, went to the door, and headed out onto the darkening campus.
It was strange to walk around there after the day he had spent on the campus of Omega U. He didn’t have to be stealthy. Across the road, Jasper had been violating the rules just by existing, and if anyone had taken notice of him, the consequences would have been dire. But here on his campus, he was practically invisible.
Because betas don’t matter. Betas are nothing.
He had been born to power. He was the oldest male in a long line of alphas. That power, that authority, should have belonged to him.
He had to believe that the Games would give him something he hadn’t been able to claim on his own. This, he knew, was his very last chance. If he went through the Games and emerged on the other side still nothing but a beta, he would have to accept that a beta was all he would ever be. He would have to accept that he had never been intended to have power.
He didn’t know how he would be able to bring himself to let go of that dream.
He walked to the very edge of campus, beyond the tree line, and stood by the side of the road, gazing over at the obscured lawn of Omega University and wondering whether the girl who could help him achieve his birthright might be over there right now.
But when he closed his eyes and tried to imagine that person, all he could think of was Haley.
It isn’t her, he reminded himself firmly. You missed the window with her, and she wasn’t very interested anyway.