Page 12 of Daughter of Garnet

Warren’s roommate turns a little to the side and addresses me. He's handsome, and his pretty smile captivates me. “You enjoying yourself yet?”

“Not particularly. I went for a run last night and got chased by a sabertooth tiger.”

Warren gapes at me. “You didn’t tell me that!”

I’m not sure why I told Cliff. It just popped out. I don’t want to have to explain the Omega accusation, and I don't like keeping things from Warren. I want to tell him what happened at the ceremony, but if that voice wasn't a hallucination, I don't want to risk pissing off a Goddess.

“Sabertooth? That’s gotta be Dominic Bradly. He's the only sabertooth I've ever heard of, and was one of the Alpha Aides for my class last year.” Clifford reclines in his chair, resting his palms on the back of his head. The movement stretches his plain black shirt over his broad chest, making the hem ride up a bit and revealing a hairy strip of flesh above his pants.

He’s a mountain of a man, and I wonder if he knows how attractive he is.

I flip the name of the man from the woods over in my mind. “He chastised me for being out there after dark, so he chased me out. Not something I want to happen again, so I suppose I’ll stick to the residency circles.”

“There are some people here who don’t have great control over their beasts, but I didn't think he was one of them, so that’s a little surprising.”

“Do you spend a lot of time with Alphas?” Warren asks Cliff.

Cliff makes a clicking noise with his tongue. “Nah, but I work in the library. I see and hear things people think are private.” His eyes widen, and he holds both hands up. "Not on purpose, I swear. People forget that there are others around when it's so quiet."

“I haven’t been up there yet, but I’ll need to soon. I have some catching up to do on the curriculum.” I push the bowl of soup away, surprised to see I managed to eat most of it.

“Well, come find me when you do. I’ll show you around.”

I fight back a pleased smile. “I’d like that.”

Warren looks between the two of us with an odd expression on his face before a handsome mask falls into place. “What is there to do for fun around here when we’re not in class?”

“Not a whole lot. I think there’s a chess club that meets on the third floor.” Cliff stands up and gathers his trash, even wiping up the crumbs off the table with the side of his hands. “It’s not much different than the university I went to, except now people tend to keep to their designations. Alphas don’t want to be seen slumming it with Betas. And Gods forbid they allow an Omega to leave their comfy little nest.”

He says that last bit with derision, but I don't think it's toward the Omegas. A not-so-tiny part of me feels sad for them. I wonder how many of them were like me, dreading becoming one, terrified of being locked away?

Warren and I clean up our things and follow Cliff out of the Hub. I scramble to catch up to him.

“Do you see the Omegas often?”

He glances at me and shortens his stride to walk abreast of me. “Only twice a year. There’s a presentation where the Omegas are paraded before everyone so the Alphas can see whether any of them have appealing scents and apply to court them. They say it’s also meant as an opportunity for the Omegas to see if they have a Beta match, but that never happens.”

A few sentences, and now I have so many questions. I don’t want to ask Cliff, though, in case he gets curious about why I’m showing so much interest in Omega affairs. Plus, Warren is stomping around behind us like he’s angry that he’s not in the middle of the conversation, which is strange.

Cliff heads into his and Warren’s room, but my friend follows me into mine.

“You and Cliff seem to hit it off.”

I kick my shoes off and put my bag in the corner. “I guess?"

“Whatever. Anyway. Do you want to try to find an Alpha to ask to be our Aide?” He flops onto my bed and props himself up against the headboard. “I think we should try to find someone Blessed by Aenella.”

“I feel like that would be weird. It’s not like we just run into Alphas around campus. You planning to go hunting?”

A predatory smile stretches across his face. “Maybe. I bet there are a few that wouldn’t mind taking on a Beta.”

Thinking about Warren being a part of a pack gives me an odd feeling. It’s not jealousy, but it’s the closest feeling I can compare it to. It's uncomfortable and weighs heavy in my gut.

Warren has dated. So have I. But when you're told your whole life you'll end up together, you start to believe it. We did make out one time when we were drunk, but we never spoke about it again.

It was good, though.

Our mothers would be thrilled if we ended up together. They used to joke that we’d get married when we were children, chattering excitedly about how they’ll basically be sisters when we do.