He had a really nice smile. 

I hadn’t noticed it before, always keeping my eyes averted when Alphas were near, but something changed. Something about him.

Maybe it was the kindness, or the familiarity, or maybe it was just the moment of weakness that clouded my judgment, but something shifted. I could no longer deny my curiosity as I watched him, any chance I could get. And the moments that he caught me…which happened more often then I’d like to admit, he smiled. 

“Does Pyka know?” 

I darted my eyes away from the Alpha across the lake and to Galen who had kneeled beside me on the grass. Eyes searching in a way that made me uncomfortable. 

“Does Pyka know what?” I asked, uninterested in having this conversation. 

“That you’re dating his brother.”

I snorted a laugh, grabbing a few blades of grass and tossing them into the masses before repeating the process over. 

“I’m not dating Phil.”

Galen’s eyebrow rose in disbelief.

“You’ve been seeing each other a lot, sneaking around all the time, and I’ve seen the secret smiles. You guys are clearly interested in each other.”

I shook my head, my mood growing dim. “You’re seeing things. He’s just a friend.”

This time Galen snorted. “Cal, you hate Alphas. In all my years knowing you, not once have you befriended an Alpha. Goddess knows Jordan has tried. So what’s up?”

I sighed. “Phil is already betrothed. I am not dating him.”

Galen didn’t say anything after that, just sat with me. It was fine. I had already accepted that I could not be with him. But I still enjoyed his kindness. I still enjoyed the warmth he brought, the safety. And I’d take whatever I could get.

Besides, Phil and Nina seemed happy. I didn’t want to get in between that. The look in his eye when he was with her was nothing like when he was with me. There was always love, but no passion. I knew this from the start and made sure to steel my heart from those sort of affections. 

Not that it was necessary. I’m fairly certain I wasn’t capable of feeling that. My fear and hatred of Alphas always won out in the end. 

My heart had long since died, only a fire could wake it up again.

Raised voices caught our attention as we watched a crowd of Alphas, Phil included, gather. Just between their heads, I caught a glimpse of the cause. 

Drew Lyall.

His expression was calm, uninterested, but still perfectly docile. He and his best friend, Melrose, stood side by side as two Alphas faced off in front of them. 

The air grew hostile as pheromones were released and growls chorused in the air. We didn’t dare get any closer, choosing to watch the chaos play out from our safe distance away.

“Lay off it, Miles. You were out of line,” someone shouted. 

Miles, an Alpha I spent the most of my middle school years avoiding, was standing in the middle of the circle, teeth bared and practically snarling with rage. He had shot up over the years, puberty hitting him like a brick. And it wasn’t just height, but mass. It only made him more intimidating. 

He wasn’t a nice Alpha. He was the type to force dominance, throw an Omega around, punish them when he was having a bad day. He was even worse than how Mother treated Mama. I would know, I’d seen it happen so many times and was even a victim of it myself whenever I couldn’t manage to get away. He was the type of Alpha I feared the most. 

The type I was destined to be mated to.

And before him was another Alpha, one I wasn’t all that familiar with. She was several inches shorter with dark brown skin, curvy, and had sharp angular features. She had the most striking blue eyes that almost seemed to glow with their intensity as she glared up at Miles. There was no fear in her. No…that look was one I knew all too well.

Bloodthirsty. 

I had no doubt in my mind that she could beat Miles bloody and not even bat an eye. It was that cool, calculated gaze that sent shivers down my spine and made me sure of one thing, she was absolutely stunning.

“Brynn!”