Page 4 of Knot Your Basic B*tch

Should I blame society? And the way that it just shoved omegas into the same category.

Until it felt like I had no other choice. I was placed neatly into my box, simply because of my designation.

Why should I have to take classes at the Institute when I’d been a straight A and B student? What sort of information did they decide that omegas need to learn? Why should I put offmycollege classes? Who decided that it was necessary for me to learn about alpha and omega biology?

It made me want to grit my teeth, and prove them all wrong. All of them.

“Fine. I’ll go to the Institute.”

CHAPTER 3

CHLOE

I had openedup to an entire chapter that was literally titled “Testical Play.”

How the fuck was I supposed to take myself seriously, while reading about the nerve endings on a ball sack? This so-called ‘textbook,’ came complete with diagrams that I’m sure did their best to make testicles not look like wonky meat sacks.

It’s not like I don’t find men attractive—I do. But that didn’t mean that I wanted to read an entire fifty pages on balls—the different angles to stroke, the rhythms, rolling them, tapping them. Who knew they were so complicated?

Why did balls need all of this attention?

I don’t know. Maybe if they were attached to someone I cared for, I would be more motivated to learn about the benefits of manual versus oral stimulation, and various kinds of lube. But right now, none of this information was all that appealing.

Luckily, the ball research was the only homework assigned for tonight. It gave me plenty of time for myreallearning.

My moms had relented and helped me sign up for anonline college. All it would take was a few online classes each semester. I should be able to finish my online degree at the same time that I graduated from the Institute.

I cracked open a book and got to work.

Though the Institute hosted far more omegas than it did alphas, there were still entire facilities dedicated to alpha bonds—both the clinical and social aspects necessary for forming them. There were designated sections for alphas to meet, and decide which members they wanted to include in their packs. The alphas had event calendars and meeting areas for them to work out bond formation. The Institute also had all the medical clinics and registration offices that alphas needed to make their packs official.

Though it was never meant to be an area for alphas and omegas to intermingle, there were some areas where it just happened. The cafeteria tables were a major unofficial meet-up spot.

I texted Titus which table I was sitting at. I’d picked a spot outside of the cafeteria, near one of the willow trees. There were clear blue skies, and relatively comfortable picnic benches. There was a nice breeze, and it was far less crowded out here.

Titus was a bit older than me and had been busy with training, so I hadn’t gotten much time to hang out with him recently. He was at the Institute to start sorting out forming a pack of his own. Being here might be absolute crap, but I was looking forward to hanging out with one sibling, rather than a freaking dozen or more at a time.

I’d loaded a tray with a caesar salad and an apple turkey sandwich that looked pretty good. The food in the cafeteria wasn’t bad, but it came with the potential luxury of getting to eat it at a table that wasn’t already over-crowded with six orten of your siblings. Especially when it was one of my brothers who got to lunch late and would then ask me mid-bite if I was planning on finishing whatever it was that I was eating. Utter lunacy, eating with siblings.

I dug my textbook out of my bag, opening it to the reading for the day. I’d probably be able to knock off half of my homework before Titus got here. Even though staring at my sandwich, I could already tell which side had the most perfect bite. It was tempting to start without him, especially since Titus might ask to ‘try’ some of my food, and end up taking a monster bite out of it. But wehadagreed to meet for lunch.

I’d just gotten into the flow of reading when a shadow fell across my picnic table. I frowned at my sandwich. Titus said he wouldn’t get here for another fifteen minutes. So who…

“What’s a pretty little redhead like you doing out here all by your lonesome?” I looked up to see a bro-ey looking guy. I could just tell by the look on his face that his idea of the pinnacle of an intellectual conversation was about the exact content of his protein shake, and the optimal time to drink it in order to get the most gains. By his orange cream scent, I could tell that he was an alpha.

The alpha had a wide smile on his face like he’d said something incredibly charming.

If only he’d said something charming… something at least interesting enough to make it worth losing my train of thought as I was working on my studies.

I smiled wanly back, hoping for the right combination of polite and disinterested.

“Homework.”

“Learning about alphas? I could give you a hands-on lesson. Help you learnexactlyhow to please a man.”

Was there a polite way to tell a guy that he was a giant cheeseball and I was suddenly lactose intolerant?

I had more important things to learn than how to please aman. Is that the only thing people thought I was going to learn here?