Page 61 of Scheme
Nico and Violet sat either side of me at one end of the table, stalwart pillars of support, and I’d never appreciated them more.
Rajeev was at the head of the table, his mate on one side and Beckett on the other, leaving Coleman and Jocelyn to take the seats opposite me. Without Kit there, Coleman’s expression reflected the obvious dislike he felt for me—no veneer of politeness in sight.
I imagined it was my dad sitting there instead, eyes full of disappointment, and found it was quite easy to sink into that place of disassociated ambivalence. I wasn’t going to let myself care about Coleman’s opinion. If I could learn to shake off the disdain of what had been the most important alpha in my life, I could certainly disregard this guy.
“You don’t smell like your heat is approaching. You don’t smell like anything,” Coleman said bluntly.
“Watch it,” Nico growled, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on the table.
“Come on, Nico. We all just want what’s best for Kit. I’m just making sure everything is all as it should be—he’s saying she’s going into heat, and I’ve only got the faintest whiffs that she’s an omega at all. I’m just checking it’s all above board.”
“It is,” Violet replied, her voice cooler than I’d ever heard it.
“You have to admit, you’re a little biased,” Jocelyn countered, observing Violet over the rim of her wine glass in a way that strongly reminded me of omega catfights in the schoolyard from my teenage years. “Since she’s your friend and all, and we all agree that Kit is more susceptible to Nico’s word than any of ours. We just want to make sure she really is the right fit for him,if, as she claims, her heat is approaching.”
“You tricked me.”
I was never going to escape those words, that accusation. Even when I diligently covered my scent, even when I presented myself without the only thing that made me alluring.
Except I didn’t really feel as though I could defend myself because this whole thing was a lie anyway.
“What are you even accusing her of?” Nico asked with a dismissive snort. “Ensnaring Kit with a non-existent heat? I’m pretty confident he’d have some suspicions if it never showed up. He doesn’t need you white-knighting to the rescue, Coleman.”
“You can hardly blame us for thinking she duped him somehow,” Coleman shot back harshly.
“Why’s that?” I asked calmly, tilting my head to the side and pinning him with my most politely curious look. One thing I’d found in my years of dealing with obnoxious people was that nothing flummoxed them more than being asked to explain themselves.
“What?” he asked, blinking at me, immediately thrown off-balance.
“Whyis that? Why do you think I ‘duped’ Kit? It’s obvious you don’t like me, but what is it about Kit that makes you believe he’d be susceptible to mind games? Is he a particularly fragile, weak-willed man?”
Coleman opened his mouth. Closed it again. Opened it. Changed his mind. It was like watching a goldfish in action.
“Because,” I continued, leaving him to his gaping. “That’s not the impression I have of Kit at all. Kit has forged his own path in life, pushing past the expectations put on him by his mother and his closest friends. It isn’t easy to ignore the hopes and wishes the people we care about have for our lives. It doesn’t strike me as the actions of a weak-willed man.”
“Kit isnotweak-willed,” Coleman snapped, finding his voice, his face turning an interesting shade of puce.
“Oh, I know. I’m glad we’re in agreement.”
My adrenaline was pumping, and the people-pleasing side of me was rioting inside my head, but it felt sogoodto stand up to an elitist prick like Coleman. When Fraser had hurled his accusation at me while I stood next to the pool, shivering with just a towel wrapped around me, and all of my dignity washed away with my makeup, I’d said nothing. I was no longer the frightened omega I’d been that day, and I was proud of that.
Unfortunately, Coleman wasn’t finished with me yet.
“But I still think you tricked him somehow because I can’t think of any reason why he’d be interested in you otherwise.”
Ouch.
“Enough.” Nico’s hand came down on the table with a bang, making everyone jump. “The sooner Kit realises what a drain on him you all are, the better off we’ll be. If he spent more time at home, he’d have learned long before now how much he’s outgrown you.”
“You may think you’re too good for us, but Kit isn’t a snob like you,” Coleman growled. I swallowed thickly, the alpha aggression in the air an oppressive blanket over all of us. While the other omegas look discomfited by it, they were all mated and secure in the knowledge that their alpha would keep them safe. Without that added layer of protection, my fight-or-flight instincts were going wild.
“Come on,” Violet murmured, half dragging me out of my chair by my elbow and tugging me toward the house as Nico snarled a response that I couldn’t hear over the buzzing in my ears.
I’d heard plenty of worse things over the years from people who meant significantly less to me than Kit’s shitty friends. This shouldn’t get to me. I shouldn’t care about their opinions. Irefusedto care about their opinions.
“I can’t think of any reason why he’d be interested in you otherwise.”
Violet didn’t pause, pulling me through the hallway and up the stairs, hesitating at the door to her and Nico’s room before opting for my door instead.
