by J. L. Wilder
She was supposed to be my best friend, but she’s ruined everything.
At that moment, Haley forgot the years of friendship that she and Margaret had shared. She forgot the fact that she had never had any luck at finding an alpha for herself. The only thing she could focus on was tonight. It had been her last chance. She had gambled on Margaret’s strategy. And look where it had gotten her.
I’m just lucky Zach didn’t decide to have his way with me regardless of how I felt about it. That would have really ruined my life.
She couldn’t stand to be at the party anymore. She had to get away before the night got any more horrible. And she didn’t want to risk running into Margaret—or worse, Zach—on her way out.
She stripped out of her flashy clothes and threw them down in the dirt.
Then she closed her eyes and went deep inside herself, wrapping her mind around the very center of her heart and pulling forth the animal that dwelled there.
As a wolf, she was safe.
She ran home, breathing the aromatic forest air, stretching her body with long, strong strides. Leaving the pain behind her.
Chapter Six
TOM
“Holy shit!”
Tom looked up from his notes as Dean burst into their shared dorm room. “Do you have to make so much noise all the time?” he asked mildly.
“Do you have to be so annoying all the time?” Dean shot back. “Look at this.” He pushed a flyer under Dean’s nose.
“The Alpha Games,” Tom read aloud. “What’s this all about?”
“You’ve never heard of the Alpha Games?” Dean asked. “I can’t believe that. You’re such a study-bot. How do I know about something and you don’t?”
“Where did you hear about it?” Tom asked.
“Laurel,” Dean said. “Her older brother competed five years ago. But they haven’t had one since. I didn’t think we were going to get one.”
“What is it?” Tom asked, scanning the flyer. “It says it’s some kind of competition?”
“An end-of-year competition,” Dean said. “Senior alphas pair up with their omega mates from across the street and compete together in a bunch of different events. The idea is to foster cooperation and see which pair is most ready for the new life they’re going to be starting together. It’s a huge honor to win, and you get a bunch of prize money from the Shifter Council to help set up your new life.”
“Cool,” Tom said, pushing the flyer to one side.
“Cool? That’s it?”
“Well, what do you want me to say?” Tom asked. “It’s not like we can compete.”
“We can watch,” Dean explained with exaggerated patience. “It’ll be a bloodbath! Think about it. All those massive egos slugging it out for the prize. It’s going to be awesome. And we’ll have a totally legitimate excuse for staring at a bunch of hot omegas, too.”
Tom laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”
“You can’t seriously expect me to believe you’re not at all excited about this.”
“Okay,” Tom conceded. “I guess it could be kind of fun.”
“I knew you’d think so,” Dean said. “I’m going to get a front-row seat to every single event.”
“How many events are there?” Tom asked.
“Don’t know,” Dean said. “I think it varies from year to year. There’s a board of professors and a few beta students that organize the whole thing, and they come up with the events.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t try to join the board,” Tom said.
“No way,” Dean said. “This is a spectator sport. I don’t want to organize it. I want to watch.”
“You probably want to take bets on it,” Tom said.
“You know me too well,” Dean laughed. “What do you say? Want to lay down a few bucks? I bet that kid Terrence will do well.”
“I’m saving my money,” Tom said. He would need it after graduation. There was no skill-based competition for betas to prove themselves. There was no cash reward from the Shifter Council that he could take advantage of.
And after what happened at the social, it doesn’t seem likely that any alphas are going to want me.
“If you place a smart bet, you could earn money,” Dean pointed out. “You could get rich on something like this.”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay,” Dean said with a shrug. “Just don’t think I’m going to split my take with you when it’s all over.”
“I wouldn’t.” They had never had that kind of relationship. It had taken all the machinations of Tom’s mind to try to figure out ways to convince his brothers to even remain in his life after graduation, and he had all but given up on that project now. He certainly wasn’t expecting Dean to give him any money.
He also wasn’t expecting Dean to successfully earn any money, but that was another matter.
“Jasper’s going to love this,” Dean said, tacking the flyer to the wall in a prominent place. “He’s the most competitive guy I know. He’ll go wild when he hears the Alpha Games are happening this year.”
Something heavy and unpleasant settled in Tom’s gut.
“He’s not going to love it,” he said quietly.
Dean turned. “You don’t think so?”
“He won’t be allowed to compete, Dean,” Tom said. “And he’s going to want it more than he’s ever wanted anything. You know how intolerable he can get when he’s pissed about not being an alpha.”
“Oh, God,” Dean said, laughing. “He’s going to try to sneak his way into the competition, isn’t he? Enter under a false name or something?”
“We can’t let him do that,” Tom said. “We have to make sure he doesn’t.”
“Why not? It could be good for a laugh.”
“Are you kidding? It wouldn’t be good for anything. I know they’re lenient about rule infractions at the end of senior year, and I know you’ve always gotten away with doing whatever the hell you wanted, but this isn’t sneaking off to smoke in trees. This is a prestigious competition with a big cash award. If Jasper tries to sneak into it, they will absolutely kick him out of school.”
“That’s his problem,” Dean said dismissively.
“You really care that little about him? He’s our brother.”
“Yeah, well, we’re all leaving school in a few weeks, and then who knows when we’ll even see each other,” Dean said. “As of the end of this year, he might as well be a stranger.”
JASPER
“Are you going to enter?” Olivia asked.
Jasper had been dreading this conversation from the moment he’d arrived at Wildlife Skills class and taken his seat next to Olivia. He had known, based on the way they’d left things at the river, that she would want to confront him.
There was no avoiding her, not without leaving class, so he turned toward her. “What are you talking about?” he asked, feeling irritable and tired.
“The Alpha Games,” she said. “Haven’t you heard?”
Of course he had heard. The whole campus had been buzzing about the Alpha games since the signs had been posted. Shifter University hadn’t hosted an Alpha Games in years.
“Why would you ask me that?” he asked her.
“You want to be an alpha, don’t you?”
“Are you taunting me?”
“You don’t want to be with me because I’m not an omega,” she said. “But you’ll never actually get an omega. You know that.”
“Stranger things have happened,” he said.
“Really?” she asked. “Because I heard you struck out with some girl at the social the other night.”
Jasper sighed. “Did you ever consider that maybe the reason I don’t want to be with you is because you’re mean to me?”
“I don’t believe that would stop you if I were an omega,” she said.
He wanted to argue the point, but he had to admit that she was probably right. It was true that he just didn’t feel that way about Olivia, but it was also true that he was holding
out for an omega.
And it was also true that he had struck out at the party. How could she know about that?
There was only one possible answer to that question. People must be talking about it. Gossiping about him.
Great. This place is such a fucking fishbowl.
Jasper couldn’t wait to get out.
“So?” Olivia pressed. “Are you going to try to get into the games?”
“You know I can’t,” he said. “I can’t even register. The games are for alphas and omegas. Mated couples. Not random betas.”
“You don’t think you could get past the panel?” she asked. “You are almost an alpha, aren’t you?”
“Stop it, Olivia.”
“Stop what? You always say you should have been an alpha, right? Well, this is your chance to prove it. Go to the panel and tell them that you think your rank is wrong. Tell them you want the chance to prove yourself against a field of alphas. And if you win, no one will ever be able to deny what you are. Your brothers will have to submit to you.”
He blinked, surprised. “Why are you saying this to me?” he asked. “You don’t want me to be an alpha.”
“It’s what you want, isn’t it?” she asked.
“You know it is.”
“I want you to be happy,” Olivia said. “You say I’m mean to you, and I guess that’s true. And you don’t like me the way I like you, and I’m going to have to live with that. Don’t worry. I’ll get over you. But we’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” Jasper said, softening slightly. “We’re friends.”
“Then take my advice,” Olivia said. “Ask the panel if you can enter the games. The worst thing they can do is say no.”
“I don’t even have a partner.”
“Which is perfect,” Olivia said, “because you’ve been looking to claim an omega. I’m sure lots of them will be willing to work with you when they hear you’re competing in the games.”
“But we’ve already had our last social,” Jasper said. “How am I supposed to ask someone? They’re all across the road, and we won’t see them again until the start of the games.”
“You’ll have to sneak over,” Olivia said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Sneak over,” Jasper repeated. He wasn’t above breaking a few rules now and then, but this was a pretty big one. Shifter U students definitely weren’t allowed to go over to Omega U without express permission. There had been incidents, in the past, of alphas harassing or even threatening the omegas. If you were caught at Omega U without permission, you were basically asking to be expelled.
“It’s worth the risk,” Olivia said. “Don’t you think?”
“This isn’t some kind of plot to get me kicked out of school, is it?” he asked.
She stared at him. “Seriously?” she asked. “That’s what you think of me? It sucked that you weren’t into me, but do you really think I’d do something like that?”
“No,” he said. “I’m sorry, Liv. I don’t know why I said that. I know you wouldn’t.”
“I want you to be happy,” she said.
“I know.”
“So give it a try. Sneak over there and see if you can find a girl to compete with you.”
“Maybe I will,” he said.
But there was someone else he had to talk to first.
DEAN
Dean could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Are you serious?” he asked.
“Is that yes or no?” Jasper asked brusquely.
“It’s neither one yet,” Dean said. “I have to get my mind around this. You want me to help you sneak into Omega University?”
“Not into the buildings or anything,” Jasper said. “Just onto their grounds.”
“Oh, not into the buildings. Okay. That’s fine then. I thought you were fucking insane for a minute there.”
“You’re being sarcastic, right?”
“Of course, I am!” Dean said. “You know how strict things are over there. You know how closely they watch those girls. And if we get caught, we’ll be expelled for sure.”
“So, we won’t get caught.”
“We absolutely will get caught,” Dean said. “We’ll stick out like a sore thumb on that campus. It’s an all girls’ school, Jasper. We’ll be the only guys in the place. I think they’re going to notice.”
“I thought you would be up for this,” Jasper said. “You don’t usually have a problem with breaking rules.”
“Small-time rules,” Dean said in exasperation. “You’re asking me to throw the rule book out the window entirely. It’s the equivalent of asking a litterbug to participate in grand theft auto because you didn’t think he cared about the law.”
“I’m going with or without you,” Jasper said.
“Then you’re going without me,” Dean said. “It’s a pointless exercise. I can’t understand why you want to go over there anyway. We were just there for the social. What, you didn’t get enough rejection that night?”
“Who’s spreading that around?” Jasper asked.
“Don’t know,” Dean said. “I heard it from Tom. He said some girl laughed at you when you tried to get her to submit.”
“That’s not even what happened,” Jasper said.
Dean shrugged. “Whatever. It’s got nothing to do with me. So, what, you’re trying to track her down and see if you can change her mind?”
“Not her, necessarily,” Jasper said. “Any girl.”
“If you couldn’t get one at the social, what makes you think you’re going to get one now?”
“The Alpha Games,” Jasper said. “I’m going to enter.”
Dean burst out laughing. “Tom called it,” he said. “He knew you’d do something like this. You’re on a mission to get yourself expelled, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to tell the panel I was the firstborn in our family,” Jasper said. “If I explain the situation, and if I have an omega to team up with, maybe they’ll let me enter.”
“Oh my God,” Dean murmured. “You actually think they will, don’t you?”
“I think it’s worth a try,” Jasper said.
Dean shook his head. He didn’t know whether to laugh or curse. “All right,” he said. “I’ll help you sneak into Omega U.”
“You will? Really?”
“Yes,” Dean said. “But for the record, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m only helping because it’ll be fun to watch if, by some miracle, you do get them to let you into the games. The alphas will absolutely destroy you. You must know that.”
“Maybe they will,” Jasper said. “But maybe I’ll win. And if I do, it’ll be proof that I was right all along and that I am supposed to be an alpha.”
“Jasper,” Dean said, “if you win the Alpha Games, I will personally submit to you right on the spot and join your pack.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Sure,” Dean said. It wasn’t like it was a promise he would ever have to keep. There was no way Jasper could win the Games.
But I hope they at least let him compete. The Games will definitely be a lot more entertaining with an underdog like my brother in the mix.
He imagined sitting in the front row and watching as all the school’s alphas took the field, their faces serious, ready to compete. He knew how much the Alpha Games would mean to every alpha at this school. It would be a chance for them to prove their superiority. Everyone would like to be known as the strongest and best alpha at Shifter U.
Jasper wouldn’t be able to beat them in the competition at large. But if he could do better than even a few of them, it would drive them mental. Dean couldn’t help grinning at the thought.
And if he could manage to place highly in even one event, the alphas would have to admit that they weren’t as superior to the betas as they thought they were. And the school would have to admit it too.
It would disrupt the whole structure of this place.
Dean grinned at the thought. Disrupting things was w
hat he did best.
I’ll do whatever needs to be done to get Jasper into those games.
Chapter Seven
HALEY
Campus was buzzing with news of the Alpha Games, but Haley couldn’t bring herself to care. The only things she had been able to think about since the evening of the social were the way she had been duped by Zach and the fight she had had with Margaret.
Though they shared a room and were enrolled in most of the same classes, Margaret hadn’t spoken to Haley since the night of the social. Haley hadn’t even managed to tell her friend what had happened with Zach in the woods. She had come back from the party, pulled on a nightshirt, and gone right to bed.
The following morning, and every morning since, she had gotten up and snuck out of the room before Margaret was awake. It was too awkward to try to be around her friend.
Haley knew she should apologize for the things she had said. Margaret had only been trying to help her, and Haley had allowed her fears and insecurities to get the best of her. She had taken her pain out on Margaret when none of it was Margaret’s fault.
It isn’t her fault I went to the party dressed in flashy clothes. I knew what I was doing, and I agreed to it.
Besides, it was a strategy that could have worked. It had worked for Margaret, after all.
The problem hadn’t been what Haley was wearing. The problem had been the fact that Zach was an asshole. It was that simple.
But knowing that didn't change the fact that Margaret had told Haley her personality was driving alphas away.
I can’t unhear that. I can’t pretend that I don’t know that’s what she thinks. I could apologize to her for taking my anger out on her, but I’ll never be able to trust her the way I used to.
Haley had spent four years thinking that her inability to find an alpha was just bad luck. Now she was forced to wonder if she was the problem. Maybe all her hard work could never amount to anything. Maybe she was just defective in some way.
Because she could no longer meet with Margaret to eat lunch, she had been forced to find a private spot. She had begun to frequent the grass under the broadest pine tree on campus, on the opposite side of the lawn from the place she had eaten with Margaret. Today, she sat with her back against the tree and a copy of Shifter History and Lore in her hand as she ate her sandwich, allowing the voices around her to flow over her.