His broken omega mate

Chapter 3 - Do I, or don't I?

Aries’ POV

“Son, you need to find a mate.” This subject was becoming tiresome!

“Mother, I’ve tried. Besides, the university frowns upon teacher-student relationships.” I glared at my mother over dinner. I should have moved into the teacher's dormitories when I got the damn job!

“They won’t if I have to say something about it!” She rolled her eyes in a way only she could, with the whites of her eyes showing they almost looked as if she was having a fit. It used to scare the living daylights out of me when I was younger, but it no longer had any effect.

“MOTHER!”

“Son, I have to agree with your mother on this.” My father’s calm voice broke the tension that was starting to boil up between my mother and me. “I think it’s time you left university. Maybe if you take over as Alpha, you will be able to find a mate when you visit other packs. It will give you a wider net to cast.”

“Dad? Not you too!” The food had lost its taste and was now getting lodged in my throat, making me take bigger gulps of wine. Fine, so I was almost too old in wolf years to still be single, but what was the damn rush? “Guys, why is this so urgent? I mean, I still have so much I want to accomplish before I get tied down taking care of the pack, a female, and pups.”

“Being Alpha is an honour!” My father’s voice echoed through the dining room and I sighed. I have heard this speech so many times over the past couple of years that one more time might just make me barf!

“Okay, okay. I’ll think about it.” I lifted my hands in defeat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I slammed my hands on the table to get up. “I have an appointment.”

“With a girl?” My mom rested her chin on her palm and fluttered her eyelashes.

“With a library. I have a lesson to prepare for.”

My words made her huff and pout, but it wasn’t as if I could tell my mother the truth. An appointment with one of my favourite submissives was not the kind of “date” she would approve of. I doubted my mother even knew that my kind of lifestyle existed, or she might even be one of those people who thought that was abuse.

Valerie’s POV

“What?” Melody’s usually shrieking voice was so soft I almost didn’t hear her. Now I really wished the earth would open up and swallow me whole. I scanned the faces who were all staring at Ruston and then noticed the angry and astonished ones looking at me.

“You better think carefully about what you just said, son.” The Alpha softly growled. It wasn’t completely illegal for our union to take place, but it was definitely frowned upon.

“And you? Do you have anything to say for yourself?!” Alpha turned his intense attention to me and I was so shocked I couldn’t break eye contact with him or lower my eyes.

“I …”

“She didn’t know I was planning on making the announcement today.” A slight blush crept over his cheeks.

“So?” The Alpha demanded and I was stumped. “Are you going to accept this?” His hand was pointing in Ruston’s direction and I felt my chest start to ache.

“NO, she can’t!” Melody cried out. “You can’t!” She looked at me as her face contorted in disgust.

“I believe she can, Melody.” Luna’s calm voice cut through the tension. “She is of age. If anyone in the pack asks her, she can decide for herself.”

A small smile formed on the corners of Luna’s lips and I could have sworn I saw pride in Luna’s eyes. I looked from one person to the next and felt my throat close up.

“Son, you can’t be serious. She’s an omega. As a future Beta of the pack, you will need someone strong in rank to stand by you.” His father touched his arm and Ruston ripped from his grip.

“I didn’t expect you to answer right away, Valerie.” Ruston stepped forward and his hands slid down the sides of my arms and I felt sparks fly. It had to have been static electricity, surely!

“I …” I swallowed hard to try and get the knot out of my throat and my fear took over as I turned and ran. This was the last thing I needed. This was not part of my plan. To be the mate of the future Beta would certainly change my current circumstances, but was that really the life I wanted? I never even gave myself the chance to think about such things. I always thought that I would finish my degree and get the hell out of there!

The chance existed that I would turn rogue if I left, but I was willing to take that chance if it meant I would be free. Now what?

“Valerie, please, stop!” The blood rushing through my ears slowed down as I reached my room and heard Ruston’s voice behind me. “Didn’t you hear me calling?” He caught up to me and pulled me into his arms. “I’m sorry. I know I should have talked to you about this first, but I couldn’t allow him to harm you. I just couldn’t bear it.” He frowned and I was still in such shock that I didn’t know what to say.

“We don’t have to rush anything. I promise. I won’t mark you or claim you until you tell me you are ready. I just …” He let me go and pulled his fingers through his long curly hair, looking frustrated. “I just want to get to know you. I just want to be near you.”

“Getting to know me and declaring me to be your future mate are two different things, Ruston!” I finally found my voice, but it sounded a bit like a squeaking toy. “Do you have any idea how difficult this will make things for me?” My arms were flying all over the place and I would never have acted this way under normal circumstances. “Melody will make my life a living hell, even more than usual! Not to mention the damage it will cause to your reputation. I can’t!” Tears sprang to my eyes as I tried to catch my breath while trying to calm my racing heart at the same time. My world felt as if it was spinning out of control and it might never stop! I felt the heat from his hands spread over my upper arms and looked at him in astonishment.

“If Melody so much as looks at you in the wrong way, she will have to deal with me. As for the rest of it … I … All I’m asking is that you think about it. Look, I have a couple of things to take care of tonight, but I want to see you in the morning.” I was confused and feeling utterly lost and hardly noticed when he left me standing alone in front of my room.

When I walked into the kitchen the next morning, he was waiting for me. He took my hand and simply led me out of the kitchen and into the dining room, holding a chair for me to sit down. The glare from the omega who had to take my breakfast order wasn’t missed by Ruston’s hawk eyes, but he thankfully didn’t say anything. He just glared right back.

“What do you want for breakfast?” He asked me when I didn’t say anything. I mean … Seriously! I never sat in the dining room to order food! I was waiting for him to tell me to leave, or tell me that this was all just a cruel joke!

“I, uhm …”

“What do you normally have for breakfast?” He smiled and put his hand over mine and I hated the fact that a bright red blush crept over my cheeks.

“I … I don’t eat breakfast. Between making and serving it, there is never time for me to eat before I have to catch the bus for class.” My hand slapped over my mouth. I was in such a state that words were just flowing out and that was not me! I was usually so composed!

“Okay, what have you always wanted to try?” He looked amused and I could tell that his words had a hidden meaning behind them.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, pulling my hand from his and placing them on my lap as I realized I said that a little too loudly. He winked at me and ordered pancakes and bacon.

“You will love it. I noticed that you have a bit of a sweet tooth.” He was right. I did love it. In the kitchens, we were allowed to cook all the brilliant dishes, but we were never allowed to taste any of them unless they were the scraps left over after a meal. The butter was salty and the syrup sweet as it touched my tongue and I fought back the urge to moan at the first bite. But swallowing the food was proving to be nearly impossible. I kept taking sips of water to try and get it down. After breakfast, I was about to rush back to my room to grab my books, but he grabbed my hand and walked with me, seemingly not wanting to let go. He took my books from me and took my hand in his free one and we walked back to the pack house parking lot. Opening the door for me, he dropped my books on the back seat and slid into the driver’s seat. I couldn't remember ever having been inside a car before. There were so many buttons, I would probably drive it off the road if I had to drive. He pressed one of these buttons and the top started moving backward as Ruston carefully pulled out of the parking lot. Before we hit the road, the top was down and the sun was brightly shining down on my pale skin.

Dammit! I was going to be completely sunburnt by the time we got to class! Dumbstruck was the only word I could think of to use for what I was feeling. I didn’t look at the scenery and nearly jumped right out of the car when he placed his hand on my leg before returning it to the shifter to change the gears.

“Why are you interested in me?” I kept my hands on my lap and picked at my nails. “I know we aren’t mates. Why would you pick me over Melody?” I frowned and glared at him. This had to be a cruel joke! No right-minded ranked male would pick an omega unless they were fated mates!

“I find you interesting,” He smiled at me and then turned his attention back to the road. “And smart, and funny as hell. You are nothing like those bratty-ranked girls. You are you.” My attention turned to the road and I realized that there would be no use in trying to look at the scenery because we were racing past it so fast you couldn’t see a thing. “I appreciate your honesty; I find you open and a breath of fresh air.” I noticed the slight dimple in his right cheek when he smiled and swore at my body as I felt butterflies form in my stomach. I didn’t have anything more to ask him or say on the ride, and frankly, I was finding the speed a bit too much to handle.

We pulled up to the parking lot at the university, and I felt my heart sink. Melody was waiting for us and furious as she waved her hands while talking to her friends. When Ruston opened my door for me, all eyes were focused on us. For someone who was used to moving about unnoticed in the background, the utter scrutiny I was being viewed with was almost enough to force me to go back home and hide in my room for the rest of my life, but I felt the heat of his fingers interlink with mine and it calmed me.

“Seriously!” I heard Melody’s shrill voice from down the passage and my heart skipped a beat. I would never ever be able to go to the bathroom alone again, and adrenaline rushed through my veins, cooling down my skin to just above freezing! Ruston must also have heard it because he slowed his pace a little and I looked at him as fear rose in my stomach.

“She doesn’t deserve him! She must have opened her legs. It’s the only explanation.”

“Yeah,” Someone laughed. “There is no way Ruston would choose her over you. He is probably just going to sow some wild oats before he proposes to you. You don’t have anything to worry about. She’s no match for your beauty.”

A soft growl escaped from deep inside Ruston. Why, goddess, why? Why couldn’t I just live my life in peace? We stepped around the corner and a gasp escaped from the silly girl who had just spoken. As far as I knew, she was ranked by association and therefore just an omega like me. If her father wasn’t a close friend of the Alpha, she would be stuck in the omega's house with me, but because of this friendship, she was allowed to stay in the house of her parents until she met her mate.

Silence fell over the passage for a moment before Melody turned around and her face turned ashen, then bright red. Her eyes zoomed in on me for a moment as she glared at me before she put on her doe-eyed expression and turned her attention toward Ruston.

“Ruston, please.” She rushed up to him, leaning in and putting her hands on his chest while pouting. She was blatantly ignoring the fact that he was holding my hand. “You can’t be serious. She’s not worthy of you!” She whined and I could feel his hand slightly tighten around mine.

“Oh, and you think you are?” He took a step closer to her and her eyes widened a little with fear.

“Of course, we are destined to be together. We are both ranked.” Her hands fell next to her perfectly dressed body.

“Melody, I’m only going to say this once. I’ve chosen Valerie. That’s it. End of story. I don’t give two shits whether you and your little group of hags think it’s right or not, because it’s what I want. If I catch you so much as looking at Valerie in the wrong way, I will make sure you find out what it really means to be an omega!”

“Excuse me?!” I stifled a giggle at the look of sheer shock on her face. If I wasn’t mistaken, those were the exact words she spoke to me the first time she “warned” me not to speak to a ranked boy.

“You heard me. Now move! We are going to be late for class.” He pushed past her and smiled at me. “I’m being serious, if she gives you any problems, any at all, I want you to tell me, okay?” He made sure to say it loud enough for everyone in the passage to hear. I was still in a state of shock and simply nodded. Was I really going to do this?