When my shoulders shook because I kept them so tense for far too long, Arctic was beside me. The shifter grinned with a shake of his head before he knelt beside my desk. When I relaxed while leaning towards him to ask what he was doing, the sneaky bastard stole a quick kiss. My cheeks burned while I fell back into my chair out of surprise. Laughing under his breath, Arctic switched to sitting on the floor beside me, humming with happiness much to my annoyance.
While I read what Miss Kida assigned, a poke to my back startled me, and I jerked in my chair to warily glance at Kyler. He held his hands up, and my eyes narrowed on their own. What the hell does he want? I returned to my reading, even though Kyler looked like he wanted to say something. I didn’t want to hear his poisonous words.
Once the bell rang, I burst out of the classroom, Arctic laughing while he kept pace. He took my backpack to sling over his shoulder while he pulled me into his side to throw his arm around my neck. “This is even more fun than I thought it would be,” he confessed with a wink, and I raised my brow but didn’t dare ask. Knowing what I did of Arctic, his answer would make me roll my eyes and regret asking.
Riff waited for us outside choir, and I barreled into his open arms. With a shuddering sigh, I hugged him as tight as I could. My conversation with Tyger played through my head, and I wished Riff was an alpha. Even though Arctic stood a few feet away. Cursing myself, I tried to pull away only for Riff’s arms to tighten, thus halting my retreat. “You have five seconds to explain, or I will tickle you. If that doesn’t work, I’ll confer with Matty to find something that will,” Riff declared in a voice devoid of emotion.
Swallowing nervously, I pushed his chest with all of my strength, and he moved his foot when I knocked him off balance, but that was all I accomplished. Still, I was proud of myself for forcing the werewolf to take a step at all. Arctic did not share my hesitance to share what caused my sudden despair. “While Ryker was gone, Angel learned that while she has a mate chosen by fate, any alpha can petition to be her mate,” Arc chuckled with a grin full of mischief. When I looked at him, tears clinging to my lashes, he shook his head with a chuckle. “Angel, you hurt him by not explaining. While the thought of telling him what’s going on in your head pains you, his soul aches because he fears he did something wrong. You tried to abandon your friend, don’t forget.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Riff asked after a moment in response to Arc’s explanation. The shifter burst out laughing, shaking his head at us, and I closed my eyes while trying to fight the tears filling them.
“Oh, I see why she’s so upset. You are quite the duo. Poor little mite. I agree, he’d be good for you, and you would make an adorable couple. Pity he’s not an alpha, eh? But, hey, I’ll be your consolation prize,” Arctic chortled, pulling me from Riff’s slack arms. I didn’t dare look at him when the shifter pulled my numb body into the classroom. My cheeks burned when I risked a glance only to discover the choir listened to our conversation.
I expected pity, which there was a little of that in their eyes, but they appeared exasperated. “I swear, you could hit that boy in the face with a dictionary, and he would still be a dunce,” Rebel declared with a roll of her eyes. A soft snicker escaped before I could withhold the sound, and she grinned as did her twin Dare.
“Well, I’m sure anybody you hit in the face with a book that thick will be a bit, oh how do I put this,” Drake mused with a wicked grin. While I stood there, glancing at them from beneath my lashes, Drake approached to pull me into a gentle hug which I returned with a shuddering sigh of relief. I knew they wouldn’t judge me, but it still was nice to be reminded that this group of teenagers were the first to see me and decide I was worth getting to know. Even if it was because I’m an omega, they still asked, and cared. They didn’t fake it, and that was priceless.
“Dumb?” Jazlyn offered with an innocent expression, albeit her eyes were full of laughter. She hugged me too, before kissing my forehead while Drake refused to release me. “You’re not an alpha either,” she added with a scoff.
“Meh, see, I can be Angel’s side toy, and I’m okay with that. When she gets bored with putting domineering alphas in their place, Angel can have some genuine fun playing with me,” Drake declared with a shrug. My eyes met his, and he grinned with a wink. Dissolving into laughter, I trusted the teenager to keep me upright while I expressed my mirth for his ridiculous statement. Once I realized I trusted him and didn’t agonize over it, I froze, the last of my laughter dying on my lips.
“Let me
