Claimed by Two Alphas

Chapter 8

"Hey girl," I kiss Laura on the cheek the next morning in school. "Where's Bree?"

Laura rolls her eyes as she takes books out of her locker. "She's got a stomach flu. I went to pick her up this morning, and her mom told me she was puking her guts up the whole night."

I make a face and pull out my phone to send a quick "get well" message to my friend.

"I will throttle her if it's something contagious," Laura continues, voice filled with venom.

I look up at her in question.

"We hung out last night," she explains. "A couple of seniors invited us out," she rushes to add.

I guess I was too slow to hide the hurt I felt from being left out.

"We wanted to invite you but thought you were probably with Darius. With your mom out on patrolling duty, we guessed you guys wanted to use the extra time alone." She wiggles her eyebrows at me suggestively.

I force a smile on my face. "Yeah, you guessed right. But my uncle came over, so our plans were cut short," I lie smoothly.

"Damn. Darius must have been pissed. At this rate, he will marry you in a month just so he can f**k you whenever he wants." Laura says, sudden poison in her words catching me off guard.

Umm. "What?"

She sneers at me. "Well, he's been pretty loud about wanting a second round with you. If you don't give him what he wants soon, he'll either kidnap you and lock you in his room or take someone more available instead."

I was still reeling from the fact that my friends had been going out without me—without even telling me about it—but these words felt like a knife in the back.

But there's still some of the warrior spirit left in me, thank god, because, without a second thought, I lift my shoulders and turn to face her. I stare down at her, face void of emotions, putting every bit of Beta into it, and watch her shrink in front of me.

"If you ever say something like that to me again, I will forget you are my friend and rip out your tongue."

Without another word, I turn around and go to class.

***

The PE is quiet as I push myself to cross the obstacle course twice. Alone.

Laura stayed behind with other girls, giggling and gossiping. Their laughter grates on my nerves, so I do my best to ignore them.

When I'm finally done, the locker room is almost empty.

I take my time in the shower, not really sure how to feel. My friends have been one of the constants in my life, but for some reason, I felt that was about to change.

I walk to my locker in my underwear, cussing at my wrinkled uniform—Darius will not like that—when suddenly I feel a movement on my left. I immediately go on alert, and as my eyes adjust to the lack of light at the end of the row of lockers, I see a girl.

But it's not just anyone.

It's the Omega girl from the cafeteria. And she is eerily staring at me again.

"What do you want?" I ask, not even bothering to play nice. Her flinching face, however, makes me regret it the next second.

"Sorry. It's been a long day," I apologize, suddenly feeling like a jerk.

"It's okay," she replies softly, her voice so melodic it makes me straighten up and look at her more closely. "I won't bother you for long. There's just something I think you should know."

My gut twists at her words, so I quickly put on my clothes and walk two steps towards her, straightening my shoulders. "Go ahead, then."

"I can see the mark on your neck. I can smell him on you, too. You two had mated, right?"

There is no need to ask who she is referring to. Darius and I are not a secret by any means.

"So?" I ask stiffly. "We are true mates."

She shudders slightly, but her gaze remains soft, sorrowful even.

"I thought he would wait until you got your wolf so you could decide for yourself. Otherwise, I would have approached you sooner. I thought he loved you. After all, he… because of you," she finishes awkwardly.

I was getting confused and beyond annoyed. "Listen. I don't care about your opinion on my mating. If you have something to tell me, then spill it. Otherwise, stop wasting my time."

The girl's nostrils flare for a second, but she quickly reigns her temper in. She looks at me with something akin to pity.

Omega with an attitude? This is a first.

I can't help but notice that she is beautiful in a sort of underestimated way. Her brown eyes are deep and kind, and her features are delicate and feminine.

"He is lying to you. You are not his true mate," she says in a firm voice.

"What?" I laugh incredulously. "You have got to be kidding me! This is what you wanted to tell me?" Relief floods me. "And here I thought it was something important."

"It's true!"

I laugh in her face, already done with this lunatic. I have no idea what her game is, but I have no intention of playing it.

"I think his wolf recognizing me as his destined mate is proof enough. Not that it's any of your business. Please leave me alone. I need to dry my hair before my next class."

I turn my back to her, but she grabs my hand. That surprises me enough to make me halt. Wasn't she supposed to be submissive?

"It's true. Please just listen to me."

Is she for real? I put my hair in a ponytail angrily. Drying my hair was not worth having to deal with her crazy ass.

Not even bothering to look at her, I grab my stuff and turn to leave again. This time, she doesn't move to catch me.

Instead, she shouts after me, "I am his true mate!"

I freeze.

"Well, was. He rejected me on sight," she finishes quietly.

Pain slices my chest at her words, and I feel a wave of nausea, even though my brain refuses to accept what she is saying. Or the implications of that statement.

She is lying. She must be.

Before I can say anything, the door bangs open, and Darius appears in front of me, looking livid. His eyes scan me briefly before they turn to the Omega girl standing behind me. I can tell he is beyond furious.

"What the f**k did you do?" He yells at her.

I expect the girl to run away scared or at least deny doing anything. So, I startle a bit when I hear her firm and unwavering voice behind my back.

"What you should have. I told her the truth."

Darius's features turn feral. I take a step back from him.

"I am going to kill you!" He growls at her, his eyes flashing black, indicating his wolf is about to take over.

"She has the right to know!" The girl starts shouting at Darius, and I look at her in surprise—not many are brave enough to do that. "How could you not tell her? I thought you loved her."

"Shut the f**k up!" Darius screams and starts towards her, but still, she is not backing down.

At this point, my brain managed to catch up with what is being said, and I feel blood draining from my face.

"Wait," I turn to Darius. "Is she telling the truth?"

Before this moment, I did not even entertain the thought. But then, a small part of my brain that wasn't shocked by this ridiculous confrontation realized something: He never denied her claim.

Darius does not bother to acknowledge me at all. He is now in the girl's face, his huge body towering over her.

"One more word, and I will f*****g end you!" He shouts, and I can see he is losing control. If the girl doesn't stop with the bullshit soon, her will rip her into shreds.

"Oh, shut up. You can't hurt your mate. Your wolf won't allow it."

"You are not my mate! I rejected you!"

I feel Darius's words like a physical slap. For a brief moment, there's only ringing in my ears, and then my legs give out, and my knees hit the floor.

"You are a real piece of trash, you know that. If this is how you treat someone you love, I am glad you rejected me." Without another word, the girl walks away, leaving my entire world in pieces.