CHAPTER 2
1379 Words
Aurelia's POV
"Are you actually serious right now?" I stared at Cecil like she'd grown a second head. "Caesar Kane? As in, one of the seven Kane brothers? The most powerful Alphas in the entire university?He's the captain of the Nightwalkers hockey team."
Cecil's eyes gleamed with mischief as we walked toward the science building. "Why not? You saw how he looked at you."
I snorted, clutching my textbooks tighter against my chest. "He looked at me like I was a clumsy i***t who crashed into him. That's hardly the foundation for a mating bond."
"You're selling yourself short, Aurelia."
"I'm being realistic." I sighed, the weight of my situation settling back on my shoulders. "The Kanes don't get involved with nerdy omegas. Especially not Caesar."
My dream job remained tantalizingly out of reach, and Cecil's wild suggestions weren't helping.
"Besides," I continued, "I don't even know him. None of us really do. The Kane brothers keep to themselves, rule the hockey team, maintain perfect GPAs, and look unfairly gorgeous doing it all. They're practically campus royalty."
Cecil bumped my shoulder playfully. "All the more reason. Think of the powerful wolf you could manifest with genes like that."
"Can we please drop this?" My voice came out sharper than intended. "I need to focus on finding another way to get this position. There has to be some precedent for an omega without a wolf working for the royal family."
Cecil's expression softened. "I'm just trying to help, Auri."
"I know." I squeezed her arm. "Let's just get to class before—"
My words died in my throat as we rounded the corner into the lecture hall foyer. Standing by the water fountain was the last person I wanted to see: Sasha Miller, flanked by her ever-present entourage of omega girls who thought proximity to her gave them status.
"Too late," Cecil muttered.
I instinctively tried to turn around, but Sasha's predatory gaze had already locked onto me.
"Well, if it isn't the defective omega," she called out, loud enough for the entire hall to hear. Her perfectly styled blonde hair framed a face that was beautiful but cruel, her red lips curving into a smirk. "I'm surprised they still let you into these advanced classes. It's not like you'll ever put the knowledge to use without a wolf."
My cheeks burned with humiliation as heads turned our way. Sasha had been tormenting me since high school—cutting my hair while I slept during a field trip, "accidentally" spilling red punch on my white jeans during Moon Festival to make it look like I'd bled through, and countless other humiliations.
College was supposed to be different. But her father, Gregory Miller, was the Gamma of the Kane pack—the third in command and personal advisor to the seven brothers. His position made Sasha practically untouchable.
"Ignore her," Cecil whispered, but I could see her hands clenching into fists at her sides. My friend had always been protective, but I'd begged her not to intervene. We couldn't afford to make enemies of the Miller family.
"Must be nice," Sasha continued, stepping closer and circling me like a predator, "pretending you belong here among real wolves. Do you practice howling in the shower, Aurelia? Since that's the only place you'll ever get to do it?"
Her friends giggled on cue, the sound setting my teeth on edge.
"We have as much right to be here as you do," Cecil snapped, her beta status giving her more confidence than I could muster. "Aurelia's grades are higher than yours will ever be."
Sasha's smile didn't falter, but her eyes narrowed dangerously. "No one asked for your opinion, Cecil. Or are you her mate now? Is that how she's hoping to get her wolf?"
I placed a restraining hand on Cecil's arm. "Cecil, don't. She's not worth it."
"Listen to your little friend," Sasha said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Daddy told me how the Kane brothers handled the last beta who disrespected our family. It wasn't pretty."
Cecil bristled but remained silent, and I felt a rush of gratitude. My friend was loyal to a fault, but this wasn't her battle.
"We're going to be late," I said quietly, trying to sidestep around Sasha's group.
"Not so fast," Sasha moved to block my path, her gaze falling to the coffee cup I was clutching. "Did you hear the latest news? My father is hosting a party for the Kane brothers for their hockey match win this weekend. All seven of them will be at our estate." She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a mock whisper. "Maybe I'll ask Caesar to officially recognize me as his potential mate. Daddy says it's only a matter of time."
The thought of Caesar and Sasha together sent an unexpected pang through my chest. I didn't even know him, shouldn't care—but the idea bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
"Congratulations," I said flatly. "Now if you'll excuse us—"
"You know," Sasha interrupted, stepping even closer, "I saw you bumping into Caesar earlier. Pathetic how you throw yourself at him. As if an Alpha like him would ever look twice at a wolfless omega."
My temper flared. "I didn't throw myself at anyone. It was an accident."
"Sure it was." Sasha's smile turned vicious. "Just like this is an accident."
It happened too fast for me to react. Sasha's hand shot out, shoving my shoulder hard. The hot coffee in my hand sloshed violently, and as I stumbled backward, the lid popped off.
Time seemed to slow as I fell against something—someone—solid behind me. Hot liquid arced through the air, splashing across not one but two sets of broad shoulders.
Horror washed over me as I regained my balance and turned to see exactly who had been caught in Sasha's cruel prank.
Two identical pairs of piercing blue eyes stared back at me—different from Caesar's green ones, but unmistakably Kane. Drake and Jaxon Kane, the twins of the seven brothers, stood before me with coffee dripping down their expensive-looking jackets.
Drake, distinguishable from his twin by the small scar above his right eyebrow, looked down at his soaked shirt with an unreadable expression. Jaxon, the slightly taller twin with a silver ring in his left ear, raised an eyebrow.
The entire foyer had gone dead silent. Even Sasha looked momentarily stunned, clearly not having anticipated catching two Kane brothers in her petty scheme.
"I—I'm so sorry," I stammered, mortification washing over me in waves. My hands trembled as I fumbled in my bag for tissues, napkins, anything. "She pushed me—I didn't mean—"
"Did you just dump coffee on my brothers?" A familiar deep voice cut through the silence, and my heart sank even further as Caesar Kane stepped up behind the twins, his green eyes taking in the scene with calculated precision.
Great. Just great. Not one, not two, but three Kane brothers witnessing my humiliation. My chest tightened with panic. This could get me expelled. The Kanes practically owned the university with their family's donations. And if Gregory Miller, Sasha's father, got involved...
"It wasn't her fault," Cecil stepped forward, her voice steady despite the tension. "Sasha pushed her deliberately."
Sasha's face had already composed itself into a mask of innocence. "It was clearly an accident. Aurelia's always been clumsy—probably because she has no wolf to guide her reflexes."
I stared at the coffee stains spreading across the twins' clothing, feeling sick. These weren't just any students—they were Kane brothers. Two of the seven most powerful wolves on campus. Sons of the pack that controlled most of the territory surrounding the university.
And I had just doused them in scalding coffee.
"I can pay for dry cleaning," I offered weakly, knowing full well my part-time job at the campus bookstore wouldn't cover what their designer clothes likely cost. "Or replace them—"
Jaxon Kane's lips quirked up at one corner as he shared a look with his twin. Drake's expression remained impassive, his blue eyes scanning me from head to toe in a way that made my omega instincts quiver.
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