Page 5
Maya
Monday morning hits me before I know it, my unorganized self rushing around my dorm, slipping on my last tennis shoe while trying to shove Friday night out of my head. It felt like my heart cracked open when it ended—Dakota pressing a soft kiss to my forehead, his phone buzzing and him slipping out the door. Half the bed went cold without him, but that’s what I’d insisted on.
One night. No more.
And then all weekend I was warring with myself, fighting the urge to march over to Frostbite Hall and demand just a little more of him. I had no clue how touch-starved I’d been until he and Brogan lit me up, leaving my mind a chaotic mess, my body warm and restless, my pussy throbbing around nothing. Even my fingers in the shower this morning couldn’t touch what I really want—him, them—but that’s not an option. Not if what’s shifting in him comes true. Not if Dakota’s an Omega. God, even thinking it feels surreal, like a puzzle piece I can’t fit.
I grab my bag and bolt out, slipping into my first class just as the professor starts droning on. It’s just as boring as I remember and yet, a piece of normalcy that I so desperately need. Focusing hard, I let my mind run with every bit of anatomy and medicinal information the professor spews, my pen flying across my notebook like it used to. This time around, I’m not going to waste time searching for love and packs and a forever.
Degree first, Maya.
But by mid-morning, all of my resolve is cracking, unraveling, leaving me raw and wanting. My stomach growls as I head for the cafeteria, but my phone buzzes in my pocket and I snatch it out, growling at the screen. Nox.
We need to talk.
My thumb hovers over the dismiss button, ready to ignore him, when another text follows.
Parking lot. Five minutes.
Panic flares in my chest as I shove the phone into my back pocket trying to breathe through it. I’m not doing this—not today.
I turn the corner, running through scenarios on what to say to Nox to make him go away when I slam into Brogan halfway down the hall, his hands catching my arms to steady me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry, I just wasn’t watching where I was going.”
He quirks a brow, a low chuckle vibrating through his chest. “That’s an understatement, Maya. I’ve been standing here the whole time.”
I groan, rubbing my forehead. “Were you watching me?” I accuse, half-teasing, half-mortified.
He shrugs like it’s nothing. “Well, we had a class together and something seemed off so I waited behind. Just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
My nose scrunches up because I know this is that mate biology bullshit Dakota dropped on me Friday—stuff I’m missing out on thanks to the surgery dulling my senses. My hand drifts to my neck, rubbing the scar beneath my hoodie as I force a small smile.
Brogan tilts his head, sniffing the air, his expression twisting just a little. “You smell distressed, love. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, just a little frazzled.” I deflect, voice tight. My phone buzzes again and I whip it out ready to rage, but it’s not Nox this time—it’s Dakota.
Lunch together?
My heart drops into my stomach, a tangled mess of want and dread. I don’t know how to separate my feelings, how to just be friends with him after Friday—his hands, his mouth, his confession. Has he told Brogan about what’s changing in him? They’re on the same team and they were both with me on Friday. Have they talked about the whole mate thing?
Instead of letting myself spiral, I fumble a quick reply to Dakota and shove my phone back into my pocket.
Got an appointment.
I manage a hurried goodbye to Brogan before scrambling down the hallway, the weight of his attention still on me as I bolt toward the parking lot. The rumble of a fancy red sports car pulls into a space, my steps quickening so as to catch Nox before he pushes his way onto campus. The last thing I want is an altercation where I’m trying to further my future.
The worst part isn’t even the flashiness of his arrival but the fact that I used to love that damn thing. He bought it for me when he first claimed me as his Beta, one of the shiny toys he dangled to make me believe he loved me. Back then I’d run my fingers over the hood, grinning like an idiot, thinking it meant forever. Now it just mocks me, a relic of promises he never meant to keep.
Nox steps out of the driver’s side, looking posh as ever—fitted suit hugging his frame, hair slicked back like he’s auditioning for some Wall Street asshole role. But there’s something off in his expression, a flicker of unease in those sharp blue eyes that I haven’t seen before. I stop on the sidewalk several feet away, refusing to let myself get sucked into whatever bullshit he’s peddling. Time’s been kind to him—too kind. He’s broader now, sharper, almost better than I remember, and a bitter part of me wonders if that’s the Omega’s doing. If she polished him up while I was left to rust.
I lean back, folding my arms across my chest. “Showing up at my goddamn school is a bit of a low blow.”
Nox smirks, that infuriating tilt of his lips growing as his gaze runs up and down my body. “You wouldn’t answer calls or texts. I thought this might get you outside and it did. We need to talk.” He steps forward, polished shoes clicking on the asphalt. He always tries to intimidate me, moving toward me, cornering me but none of that is going to work today.
“We are talking,” I retort, planting my feet. “What do you want? We split ways years ago. We’re no longer mated. What could you possibly want from me so bad that you’re showing up where you aren’t wanted?” My words sharpen with every breath, anger bubbling up hot and fast.
My ex-Alpha laughs, a short harsh sound that sends a shiver down my spine. “Watch your tone Maya.” His voice carries that old Alpha edge but it doesn’t scare me anymore. “I’m here because we have a situation,” he continues. “I get that things didn’t end the way we needed them to but I always told you you’d have a space with me. It just so happens that space is ready now.”
I frown, brows knitting tight. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose like I’m the one being difficult. “Don’t be stupid about this. You know what the requirements were for my trust fund and the Omega doesn’t cut it. So, she’s out and you’re back in.”
My brain scrambles to catch up because while I understand all of those words, I don’t understand them together, in that order. Requirements? Omega not cutting it? I never heard a whisper about a trust fund or inheritance when we were together. It was just us—two orphans against the world—or so I thought.
“Are you saying our relationship was because of money?” I can’t help but reach up to the scar left from the surgery, wondering if every step I took four years ago ruined me for nothing. “That you left me for access to some kind of inheritance?” My voice shakes with disbelief, pieces clicking into place I don’t want to see.
“That’s such an ugly way to put it.”
But I press harder, stepping closer now, fury overriding my caution. “But that’s the truth? You left me for an Omega and now that whatever requirements are needed to get to that money haven’t been fulfilled you came crawling back to me?”
“I don’t fucking crawl Maya.”
“But you do ,” I spit, jabbing a finger at his chest. “Because I got your bite surgically removed, asshole. I would never be so stupid as to take your bond again.” My voice cracks on the last word but I hold his gaze, daring him to argue.
His jaw clenches, eyes flashing with something dark—anger, maybe shame—and he steps back running a hand through that perfect hair. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be,” he grumbles, like I’m the problem here. “I’m offering you something Maya. Stability. A place. You used to want that.”
“I wanted you!” I snap, voice breaking. “Not your money or your fucking games. But you chose money over me, your image over me. You don’t get to waltz back in and act like I’m some backup plan.” Tears sting my eyes but I blink them away refusing to let him see me crack. The sweetness of those early days—him gifting me that car, promising a future—sours into ash in my mouth.
He’s silent for several minutes, just glaring at me when I let slip a smirk of my own. A growl tears from his throat as he charges forward. The old me would have cowered, curled into myself and prayed that he wouldn’t hit me. Nox never had but he also never will. The past me submitted because of that stupid bond, my instincts driving me to cave, to placate this monster.
But that’s gone now, carved out of me with a surgeon’s knife and all I feel is rage boiling hot and pure. When he’s close enough, I swing hard, catching him in the lower jaw with a crack that jolts up my arm. His eyes flash, darkening to near black as he rears back his hand, ready to strike.
But the blow never lands. I blink and Brogan’s there, stepping in front of me like a wall, his hand clamped tight around Nox’s wrist. He snorts, voice dripping with disgust. “Don’t you dare fucking hit her and for the record non-students are required to sign in before they set foot on campus.” With a flick of his arm, Brogan throws Nox’s hand down, muscles flexing beneath his jacket.
Nox stumbles back glaring at the both of us before settling on Brogan. “This is a domestic matter.”
“Great, then I’ll make sure to take it up with administration that there’s a domestic dispute on campus.” His tone is all steel, no give, and I feel a rush of something—gratitude, maybe something more—warming my chest.
Nox leans around Brogan’s shoulder, locking eyes with me. “This shit isn’t over,” he spits. “Next time I catch you, you won’t have a little boy toy to protect you.” He storms off toward that flashy red sports car, the engine roaring as he peels out of the lot, leaving nothing but exhaust and silence.
My shoulders sag at the inevitability of another meeting where Nox won’t be as nice. And knowing now that he won’t hesitate to enact violence means I’m not safe anywhere near him.
Brogan turns to me, his gaze softening as he searches my face and that’s when I realize he probably followed me out here. I meet his gaze wide-eyed. “How much did you hear?”
He shrugs, hands sliding into his pockets. “Enough to know he’s a bastard and you’re stronger than you look. Are you okay?”
I groan rubbing my temples. “I really need you to stop asking me that,” I mutter, half-exasperated.
“Next time he’s on campus, report it,” he advises.
“I’ll deal with it. Thank you for this. Really.” I wave my hand to the parking lot before a heavy sigh falls from my lips at the fact that my phone is buzzing again. It better not be Nox and I don’t want to disappoint Dakota. It’s neither of them, an email notification from the dean telling me that I need to meet him after classes making me sigh again. “I can’t win,” I grumble under my breath.
Managing yet another awkward goodbye, I shuffle up the sidewalk to my next class. However, this time, it feels like I’m leaving something behind. Someone behind. If I don’t deal with this mate thing sooner rather than later, I might end up falling apart.
Because not even avoiding Nox seems to be working.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5 (Reading here)
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38