Page 71 of Daughter of Garnet

It's amazing.

"Because we aren't friends, Ray. Why are you even here?"

"I told you. I thought you could use an afternoon pick-me-up."

"Why are you thinking about me at all?"

He sighs, broad chest heaving, before setting his cup on the floor by his feet. "I want to get to know you, and for us to be friends. That's why I apologized for the way I treated you before."

I'm trying not to let the lingering adrenaline and frustration from my conversation with Warren bleed into this interaction, but it's hard. I'm on the defensive already.

"But why do you want to be friends?"

A soft blush dusts his cheeks, and he ducks his head. "I don't know, you seem like a great person. Viv speaks highly of you."

There are worse friends to have than an Alpha with a massive, prehistoric shifted form right now, I suppose.

"Oh, okay. Well, thanks for the coffee. And the assist with Warren."

Tension leaves Ray's shoulders when I accept his olive branch. "What's his issue, anyway?"

"How much time do you have?" His tentative chuckles set me off, and I'm laughing at the absurdity of the situation. "It's ridiculous. He's jealous that I'm with Cliff and thinks he and I are supposed to be together. We've been friends our entire lives, and he threw it away because what, he wanted to fuck me? I always thought he was a brilliant man, but this is so stupid."

Ray snorts in surprise in the middle of a sip of coffee and sputters. "That's what the fight is over?" I nod tightly. "That's stupid. Polyamory is very common."

"Not as much with Betas. Sure, the ones that are in packs practice, but most Betas are monogamous."

"Still. He could've asked if it was something you'd be willing to practice." He twirls his cup between his hands. "You are, aren't you?"

I never thought much about it. I never entertained the idea of being part of a pack, and a pack of polyamorous Betas is unheard of. I always assumed monogamy was my future. Now that I'm scent-matched to two Alphas and bonded to a Beta, that's out the window.

Even if I'm planning to reject Dominic and ignore him forever, I won't choose between Cliff and Cameron.

"I am, yeah."

"So Warren had a shot and lost it, then."

"I guess? That's not how I would put it. I hate that he put me in this position. We have history that is going to be hard to let go of." It strikes me, then, how awkward it's going to be to go home and see his mom. She's been another mother figure to me, and I know my dad has been the father figure Warren doesn't have. His dad left when his mom was still pregnant, or so the story goes.

Maybe I was too harsh on Warren. I have changed, and I'm sure some part of him has picked up on it, which is why he's being so odd. Both Viv and Cliff told me that even Betas are drawn toward Omegas in ways they don't understand.

Perhaps, after we both cool off, I could sit down with him and hash this out like adults. Is that a naive hope for me to have?

"I owe it to him to try to work this out, don't I? He's been my person forever. I cannot imagine not having him in my life."

Ray makes a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. "He may be your person, but are you his?" I go to speak, and he holds his hand up to stop me. "You don't have to answer me. But think about it."

It doesn't feel fair to Warren to discuss this with Ray, but he's a fairly neutral party. Viv and Cliff would take my side without question, and I don't even want to think about what Cameron would do.

With my Alpha on my mind, I switch gears. "Have you ever gone to one of the services at the chapel?"

He doesn't seem to care much about my rapid change in subject. "Yeah, once. Didn't care much for the priest, though."

That gets my attention. "Why not?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but there was something about him that was off. He's an Alpha, but it's like his beast is dead. It's hard to describe. He didn't feel very much like a holy man." Cameron said others just assumed his beast was too large to shift. He never mentioned someone thinking his beast was dead. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. My family has never been very religious, but I've been considering going, just to see what the fuss is about."