I Can Hear You, Alpha

02: The Meeting

AVERY:

"Alpha Echo, when will be the next time?" the voice of a woman asked.

Echo. He was with a woman again? He was notorious for having a lot of women. Rumors said that he had already taken ALL the women in this pack. Excluding me. Did he even treat me like a woman?

My cheeks burned in embarrassment.

Why would I even think of that? I did not desire him. I will only desire my mate and I hope he will accept me regardless of my messy family history.

The best thing to know if you have a mate or not is to attend the party this evening.

Attend the party? How? I do not have any dress. How will I find an outfit at this rate? Besides, I don’t have the confidence to face the crowd.

Maybe the alpha wanted to marry him off because he thought that having a wife would make him responsible. I did not think that would make him accountable for his actions.

"I will call you if I need you, babe."

I leaned on the wall, waiting for the two to step outside.

Goodness.

I never wanted to have an interaction with Alpha Echo.

"Babe? You always call me babe," the woman muttered. “The last time I remember, you also used to call that cheerleader babe. Are you doing this so that you won’t be caught cheating on me?” the woman inquired as if she was going to cry. ‘I saw the kiss marks on her neck. Did they kiss?’

That was the real reason, dear. Another reason for that was Alpha Echo was not fond of memorizing all the names he had bedded.

I waited to hear anything from Alpha Echo’s mind, but again, it was only silence. Just pure silence. Something which always made me think. Why could I not hear anything from him? Was he not thinking at all? Was he always using his d**k instead of his brain?

Dick? Really, Avery?

I felt my cheeks flashed.

Maybe he does not usually think in his head.

"Don't you like it? It’s because you are my baby." An alibi. Having s*x with women was one of his pastimes.

Silence.

"Okay. Weird, but I will accept it. Especially if it came from your sinful mouth. You’re always a flirt, Echo. Be thankful you’re handsome." In her mind, she added, ‘And you are the alpha. I will be your Luna whatever it takes. You are mine, Echo. I will be your only mate.’

As if that was easy to say.

"No, no, no. We cannot have another round. Father is looking for me."

He knew?

Did Alpha Leo call him?

A couple of minutes and the two step out of the room.

The redhead woman was surprised to see me waiting for them while Alpha Echo scratched his head.

"An omega?" the redhead spat. Her eyes darted to Alpha Echo. 'Did Echo like this woman? Is she one of his women?’ The woman looked at me from head to foot and back to my face. ‘She is not that bad. If she showers...No. Echo would never pick an omega. He dislikes disappointing his Father. If he takes this woman, Echo will disappoint Alpha Leo. Geez. Why am I thinking about that? It’s clear as a sky that Echo won’t even touch this woman or even bed her.'

This woman failed to realize that if I would open my mouth and tell the alpha that Echo was her, he would be disappointed again. How much more if I tell her the alpha was planning to marry Echo off to someone else.

Forcing myself to look at Alpha Echo's eyes, I regretted it instantly. His gray eyes which looked like blue at first glance and changed now and then depending on lighting, the color of his clothing, and mood, drew me in.

He could be imprisoned for having such beautiful eyes and a sexy body.

He suddenly sniffed the air and a low guttural growl emitted from his throat.

'f**k. This woman is my mate? An omega? Father will be upset if he finds out about this.'

Mate.

My world spun. That was the reason why his scent was appealing to me. An alpha for a mate?

If I could see the look of my face in the mirror, then I would see how the color of my face drained.

It felt like the air was knocked out of my lungs.

Being a hybrid made me the cause of laughter among the pack.

An alpha for a mate?

I internally panicked.

This should not happen. Why did it have to be him? He will reject me. That was usually the case whenever an alpha was paired with a slave or an omega. They cannot accept the pairing.

'I must reject her. But no. This is too soon. I must think of ways to do this. Maybe I will know later.'

Alpha Echo looked at me hard. "What's your name?"

He wants to know my name so that he can reject me when he knows it's already time to reject me. I was not asking for an alpha as a mate. Having an omega mate was enough for me as long as I had someone to be with me and wouldn’t leave me for the rest of my life.

The chances of Alpha Echo leaving me were high.

'Will I reject her?' Alpha Echo asked in his mind, oblivious that I could hear everyone's thoughts.

These were some of the times when I did not want this ability. Hearing their thoughts was like an invasion of privacy. If the alpha and my mate knew I could hear their thoughts, they would consider me a freak.

Was this the day I'd been dreading to happen? The alpha's rejection?

I shifted my weight from foot to foot.

'It will be good for the pack.'

I held my breath. It may be good for his image. Alpha Echo would likely choose the arranged marriage than me as my mate.

I need to take something from him if he ever rejects me. I did not want to be alone for the rest of my life. I must seduce him.

Yes. As embarrassing as it was, I needed to do it.

"A-Alpha?" I asked, stammering. As if I did not want to know what he was about to say, I asked, "Y-Your Father. H-he is looking for you."

He looked at me hard and sighed. 'Too bad. Her looks are not that bad for a mate.'

I felt the temperature of my cheeks rise. A compliment from the alpha. From my mate who did not even want me. I was always asking if I could read his mind, but now that I had, it was only bad news. Hearing him constantly thought of the rejection was already bad enough.

Still, I need to get something out of him. What could it be? And how will I do that? Could I do it?

'No. This is not good. I must not desire this woman. I had my fair s*x earlier. But why am I having a massive erection?’

I gulped hard and refused to look down there between his pants to see if he was telling the truth or not.

Why would he think of something like that?

Boys will always be boys, Avery. You know how their mind works especially if you could hear them.

‘I must reject her. For good.'

The colors drained from my face.

"No!" I cried out. Do not reject me!

Alpha Echo looked at me in disbelief. As if thinking something was wrong with me or that I was going crazy.

"You okay?"

My cheeks burned in embarrassment. I forgot he did not know I could hear his thoughts.

Without meeting him in the eyes, I said, "I'm sorry, Alpha Echo. But I have to force you to come with me. Y-your Father needed you."

'Damn. What does that old man want again? He always scolded me as if I were a child. He forgets he is no longer the alpha of the pack. I am the alpha now.’

"For what?"

I played with my hands while biting my lower lip. I must hurry. I've been talking to Alpha Echo for so long that my social battery was already draining. Even if he was my mate.

Mate.

How lovely would it be if this man wanted me as his mate. Then, there would be no problems. No repercussions. Just pure happiness like what the others were experiencing at the moment.

“You’re spacing out, slave.”

I blinked a couple of times and felt the temperature of my cheeks rise.

"F-for this evening's meeting, Alpha Echo, and for the party which would take place after the meeting. Your Father needed you there. H-he said that maybe y-you will find your mate there."

'Sorry, Father. I have to disappoint you again. The Moon Goddess paired me with an omega.'

"Really? Give me a second."

He was an excellent actor in pretending he did not know we were mates.

My chest tightened when he continued lying with a straight face. How unlucky I was for someone who did not even want me to begin with.

“I will be quick.”

Alpha Echo entered the room and a few seconds passed and he was back with a fresh pair of t-shirt and pants. This is why the women loved him. He was handsome and sexy. He was worth drooling.

He won't hesitate to reject me because I was no one. Not worthy to be looked at. Not someone whom he could use for his alpha position. He was constantly thinking of making his father happy and I was the one who would make the previous alpha disappointed.

I stared at the ceiling to stop myself from crying. How long will these bad events keep on happening?

If there was no happiness in this world, maybe dying would be better.

"Come, omega," he ordered when he was back again.

My eyes darted to his neck.

He was wearing the woman’s hickey.

“A-Alpha…you have a—”

“What?”

I pointed at his neck. “A kiss mark. Y-your father will be mad if he saw you like that.”

‘Damn, that woman. I told her not to give me a hickey. I’ll be avoiding her from now on.’

My heart soared at his decision.

But it did not mean that he would stop seeing a lot of women, I reminded myself.

“Stop gawking at it,” he scolded. “Follow me, omega.”

Like a lost puppy, I walked after him.

Our pack's eyes were looking at the two of us as we walked to the hallway. I wanted to make myself as small as possible, the sudden attention making me fidget. Why were they looking at me? I would melt if they continued looking at me like this.

'What is he doing with that freak?'

'Maybe she is being punished for failing her duty. Served her right. I saw her earlier gawking at Alpha Leo.'

Using my long hair, I covered my face using my hair. I envy Alpha Echo. How could he face the people even if he was an asshole for taking almost all the single women here? He was a prick for f*****g some random girl wherever he goes?

"Are the preparations complete?" Alpha Echo asked out of the blue.

I halted.

Alpha Echo glanced over his shoulder and saw me no longer following him.

"Hurry up!" he barked.

I jumped on my feet and hurriedly went after him. "M-my apologies, A-Alpha Echo."

"Don't always say you are sorry. It's getting on my nerves."

'An omega for a mate, huh? This is ridiculous. How could I face Father now? He will never stop feeling disappointed if I have an omega as a mate. I need someone from a powerful family. To strengthen the pack. If I take this weak woman, the pack will crumble. The pack will laugh at me and question my authority over them.'

That's enough. I can hear you loud and clear.

I wanted to cover my ears, but even that attempt to not hear anyone was futile.