44

KYLIAN

“Stop fidgeting,” Ridge snaps. “You look fine.”

“Awww. I knew you thought I was a sexy man beast, my little boo bear,” I coo dramatically, pushing up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He swats me away with a scowl.

“I don’t know why you’re so nervous,” Ridge continues as he folds his arms across his chest, then unfolds them, then folds them again. He’s going to wrinkle his tux. “She’ll say yes.”

“Says the guy who changed his clothes not once, not twice, not three times, but four times,” Luka deadpans from where he stands on the other side of me, in a vintage suit from the 1950s.

“She’ll say yes,” Ridge repeats, ignoring Luka entirely. Then, in a softer tone, he adds, “She’ll have to say yes.”

The three of us—minus Colter, who’s still primping and preening in his room, in an unexpectedly fantastic mood the last few days—stand just outside of Darling Academy. Ridge holds a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a satiny jewelry case in the other. He couldn’t decide what to give Brylee when we asked her to the ball tonight.

Me? I decided to buy her a cute stuffed animal. I think it’s a husky, but it could be a wolf. Either way, it’s cute and has a little bow tie around his neck. I named him Sir Snuggles-a-Lot. Of course, Brylee can feel free to change the name if she desires.

Kylian Junior has a nice ring to it…

Ridge pauses abruptly and spins around to face us. His expression is similar to the one he wears when he’s leading us into battle—all taut lines and fierce determination, his eyes molten steel. I imagine, in some ways, this is very, very similar.

Tearing down Brylee’s defenses…

I think I’ll have an easier time storming the Nóthos castle.

“Okay, is everyone aware of the plan?” Ridge asks seriously, his gaze sweeping over the two of us.

Luka clears his throat and straightens his tie. The lucky bastard won the coin toss and is going to be the one to verbally ask Brylee to be our pack’s date.

Though I did consider cutting out his tongue so I could ask her instead. He would be fine without a tongue, right? And if we put that fucker in a bag of ice, then the doctors could reattach it at a later date. Maybe. Hopefully. Probably. Either way, talking is overrated. At least for him. He’s boring.

“I’ll inquire about Brylee’s availability for the ball tonight?—”

“Dude.” I give my pack brother a droll look. “Don’t use the word inquire when trying to ask out a girl.”

Luka’s frown deepens, cutting deep grooves into the skin of his cheeks. “Just because I’m not a blatant man whore like you, Kylian, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to ask out a lady.”

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.” I lift both hands in the air and wave them back and forth. “Let’s rephrase that, shall we? Ex -man whore. Ex. I haven’t been a man whore since I first smelled my sweet little omega.” Honestly, a part of me is ashamed of the way I used to be before I met my scent match. Yeah, yeah, I know retrospect is a bitch and all of that, but a part of me wishes I hadn’t slept around as much as I have. I never settled with anyone, of course, but my history is tainted by senseless hookups, one-night stands, and flings that lasted a couple of weeks at most. I wonder what Brylee would say if she ever discovered my illicit past.

I need my sweet obsession to know that, from now on, I’m a one-woman type of guy. There will be no one else but her. Hell, there hasn’t been anyone else, not since I first smelled her and tried to chase that enticing scent. No one could compare.

Luka’s still chatting away—something about “presenting the offerings,” like Brylee is a goddess we need to pay tithes to—but I tune him out. Movement near the side of Darling Academy captures my attention.

A shadowy silhouette races down the stone steps, something large bouncing against their legs.

What the fuck?

Instantly, I’m alert and ready to pounce. A voice in my head screams, “Threat!”

Is this a Noth? Did one of those bastards break into the school?

Fear for Brylee grips my throat in an iron vise. I’m only belatedly aware I’m moving, my feet carrying me toward the intruder, every one of my senses honed and sharpened and?—

Her scent reaches me first. Sweet. Addictive. Fruity, but not in a way that’s overwhelming or sickly. It’s utter perfection, just like she is.

I instantly relax, my shoulders drooping, before curiosity prickles at my awareness.

What the hell is my little obsession doing sneaking out of Darling Academy the night of the ball? The dance is inside the school.

Unless…

Unless she’s meeting someone.

Images of Brock’s smug, smiling face flit through my head. The guy used to be my friend, but now, I want to kill him. Painfully. And with a variety of really sharp weapons.

What other explanation could there be?

Luka and Ridge must notice Brylee too, because they both stop talking and turn in her direction. Ridge takes a single step forward, his gold hair catching in the moonlight snaking through the canopy of tree branches.

“Brylee!” he calls.

She stumbles, and the large bag she’s carrying almost sends her careening onto her face.

This far away, I can only see her silhouette, but I know she’s not dressed for the ball. Instead of a gown, she’s wearing a pair of sweats and a baggy T-shirt. She looks beautiful all dolled up, but my obsession appears almost ethereal like this—natural, uninhibited, and free.

“Where are you going?” Ridge’s voice is practically a bark, which will not go over well with the princess. She may look like a cute kitten, but she claws and bites like a fierce tiger.

Ridge and Luka immediately stalk toward her—well, the former stalks, anger painted across the lines of his face, while the latter glides gracefully, his hands in his front pockets. Brylee is frozen, a deer in the headlights, and her mouth opens and shuts repeatedly. No sound escapes.

While the two idiots move to stand in front of her, I slink along to the back, a shit-eating grin on my face.

Does my little omega actually believe she can go somewhere where I won’t find her? Silly, silly girl.

Soon, she’s surrounded by the three of us, and I can hear how hard her heart pounds in her chest. I imagine that if she turned to face me, her pupils would be dilated as well, pure, unbridled lust reflected back at me.

Or maybe they would be flaring with irritation. Ridge seems to elicit that particular emotion from her.

The asshole in question is scowling down at her, his arms crossed over his chest, flowers crumpled and the jewelry box all but forgotten. He couldn’t decide on a bow tie—since we didn’t know what color dress Brylee would have on—so he refused to wear one, and his tux looks incomplete.

“The party’s that way,” Ridge snaps, jerking his chin in the direction of the ballroom.

Because while Eros Academy has fighting arenas and makeshift battle rings, Darling has an entire fucking ballroom.

Not fair.

“I’m aware of where the ball is.” Brylee hefts her chin in the air, her voice turning flinty.

Instantly, my cock hardens. There’s something about hearing my little obsession talking back to Ridge that makes desire cloud my mind. I want nothing more than to throw her to the ground, rip those sweatpants off of her, and fuck her sweet pussy until she’s screaming for my knot.

I’ve been perpetually hard since Colter decided to release omega-heat grenades during training the other day. Didn’t even see the fucker do it.

God, that smell…

It almost reminded me of Brylee, and I’ve been desperate for her ever since.

Her taste.

Her touch.

Her kiss.

I want it all, in a way that’s impetuous and unhinged and borderline manic. My therapist would have a field day if he knew the extent I would go to in order to win Brylee.

“Then why aren’t you there?” Ridge growls, his biceps flexing and straining his jacket. I’m not even sure he realizes he’s doing it. Fucking peacocking alpha. “It’s not safe to be wandering the forest at night?—”

“I need to stop at Eros for a second.” She folds her own arms over her chest and cocks her hip to the side. She’s the epitome of pure sass right now, and I fucking love it. Especially when that vein on Ridge’s temple begins to pulsate.

“Why?”

“Does it matter?”

“What’s in the bag, Brylee?” Ridge says, apparently trying a different tactic.

Brylee instinctively takes a step backward, unknowingly bringing herself closer to me. I inhale deeply and nearly come in my pants when her sweet fragrance overwhelms my senses. Fuck yes.

“My…dress,” she stammers out, some of her bravado failing in the face of Ridge’s question.

“Your dress,” he deadpans.

“I’m getting ready at Eros.” Brylee’s hands tighten around the straps of her heavy backpack. I swear the thing is half the size of her. How the fuck is she standing upright?

“Why?” Ridge’s scowl deepens.

“Because my brother is being honored, you overbearing brute,” Brylee barks, her patience fraying. “It’s a…twin thing.”

One of Ridge’s eyebrows touches his hairline. “A twin thing for you two to change in front of each other?”

“Dude,” I gripe, wrinkling my nose at the bastard. Could he be any more tactless?

Even Luka looks a little annoyed, the furrow between his eyebrows deepening.

“We don’t change in front of each other!” Brylee seethes. “What’s wrong with you?”

Luka steps forward to take control of the situation before Ridge can make it worse. A feat I’m not sure is even possible, given how far his foot is in his mouth. I’m surprised he’s not choking on it.

“Ridge didn’t mean it like that,” Luka tells her gently, a soft smile on his face. “He’s just…being a little overprotective.”

“And possessive,” I pipe up.

“And idiotic,” Luka adds with a grim nod. “It’s an alpha thing. You’re our unmated scent match, and, well…it’s hard for us to think clearly. Why don’t we walk you to Eros and help you find Ted?—”

“No thanks,” Brylee blurts out, and I can see a flush of red creeping up her neck.

“It’s not safe,” Ridge manages to bark out through gritted teeth.

Brylee shuffles from one foot to the other, her hands once again flexing around the straps of her pack. She doesn’t want to tell us something—I can see that clear as day in her tense posture. But what could she want to keep a secret?—?

A horrible thought occurs to me, and it suddenly feels like I’ve been physically kicked in the nuts.

Is she being weird about all of this because she’s meeting up with Brock and his pack? Is that why she doesn’t want us to walk her?

Does my little obsession have a date?

With a different pack?

A strange roaring sound echoes between my ears, and the ground seems to shift beneath me. The need to maim, tear, rip, shred, and kill reverberates through me.

Maybe her parents organized for her to attend the ball with Brock and the others. That would explain everything—her strange behavior, her evasive answers, and the nervous fluttering of her pulse.

“Let her go.” I don’t recognize my own voice. It’s not a growl—not really—but it certainly sounds like one. I never felt jealousy before I met Brylee, but now, I’m experiencing it in spades. Just the thought of some other alpha pawing at her, commenting on her beauty, spinning her on the dance floor… It has me seeing red.

“Excuse me?” Ridge gives me a look that dares me to repeat myself, violence simmering in his blue eyes.

I simply meet his gaze with an unreadable one of my own.

“I said, let her go. We should head inside.” I pivot on my heel and make a beeline toward the entrance. All of the other alphas are heading through the front door—they have to sign in with the staff—but since we’re professors, we have clearance to go wherever the fuck we want, whenever.

Except for the omega dorms, of course, but what they don’t know won’t hurt them.

“Wait…what?” Ridge throws his hands in the air. “What the fuck is happening?”

Luka gives me an odd look.

“We’re heading inside. Brylee is going to Eros Academy.” I don’t spare her a glance, keeping my attention instead on my brothers. “Come on.”

Brylee lowers her hands from her straps. “I’ll…um…be seeing you. Later. At the dance. It just depends on how long it takes me to help Teddie get ready, you know? And my stomach has been hurting all day. I thought about skipping, but we’ll have to see,” Brylee rambles, already backing away. Then, as if she’s afraid we’ll change our minds, she turns on her heel and races into the forest, that damn pack bouncing against the back of her thighs with every step she takes.

I watch the darkness engulf her completely before turning toward my packmates. Ridge appears incredulous, that damn vein on his temple damn near close to bursting, but Luka is contemplative.

“We’re following her, aren’t we?” He tilts his head to the side.

“Hell yeah, we are.” I rub my hands together with an evil smirk. There’s no way in hell I would allow my omega to traverse the forest on her own at night. Especially not after the Noth attack.

And if I happen to catch my omega meeting up with those other alphas?

Well…

Who’s to say a party can’t end in a little bloodshed?