Talia and Her Three Alphas

Coward

TALIA

"Get in."

"No."

"Get the f**k in, omega."

I rolled my eyes, almost clawing Tres annoying gaze. What is he doing here anyway? His presence is making my classmates so loud I could tear my ears. It's the end of our class and I preferably wanted to go home.

His matte black SUV idled at the curb like it owned the entire school parking lot. Tres leaned against the driver’s door, arms crossed over a chest that stretched his black t-shirt in all the right ways.

"What the f**k do you want?"

"You."

Every classmate was staring now. Phones out. Whispering. “Is that Tres?” “He’s so hot.” “Lucky omega.”

Heat flooded my cheeks.

“What?” I snapped, trying to sound unaffected.

Tres pushed off the car and stalked toward me. The crowd parted like he was royalty. His scent grew stronger with every step, making my knees want to buckle.

“I said get in the car. Jarrick asked me to pick you up. Now."

The alpha command laced into his words made my body want to obey. I fought it, clenching my fists until my nails dug into my palms.

“I can walk,” I muttered. “Or take the bus. Like a normal person.”

His jaw flexed. Those stormy gray eyes narrowed, the look he always gave me when I was being “difficult.”

“You think I drove forty minutes for fun? Get in. Or I’ll put you in myself.”

The threat sent a dark thrill straight to my core. Shame burned through me… but it only made the ache between my legs throb harder.

I opened the passenger door and slid inside, heart hammering against my ribs. But why is Jarrick asking this asshole to pick me up?

The realization dawned on me but it was so late because he already locked the door.

"Damn it! Let me out, asshole!"

Tres only started the car, watching me with that merciless stare. "We need to talk."

"I don't have anything to talk to you about!"

Shit.

I need to get out of this car.

What if he kills me?

My eyes widened and I thought I was going to be sick.

I was probably thinking of the worst case scenario when I felt him drop a bag on my lap.

"It's 200, 000 dollars."

A what?

"You can use that to start your life somewhere. I can contact some pack in Europe to send you over. They will accept you--"

"What the f**k do you think you're doing?"

Tres stopped the car, grabbing my chin with rough fingers and forcing my head up so I had to meet his furious gaze.

"I want you gone, Talia."

My breath froze in my lungs. The thick envelope of cash sat heavy on my lap — 200,000 dollars, crisp and real and insulting.

Enough money to disappear.

Enough to start over in some quiet pack in Europe where no one would know my name or my shame.

I stared at the money, then up at him.

He didn’t look sorry. No. Not at all.

My mate.

The one the Moon had chosen for me.

“I never asked for this bond,” he said flatly, voice low and cutting. “I didn’t want a fragile little omega who looks at me like I hung the moon.”

“So yeah, Talia. I want you gone. Take the money. Start over somewhere no one knows you’re mine. Live a normal life. Forget me.”

My lower lip trembled. I tried to pull my face away, but he wouldn’t let me.

“Why are you so cruel?” I whispered, tears slipping free now, hot and humiliating. “I never did anything to you. I didn’t choose this either.”

His thumb brushed my bottom lip — almost gentle — and my breath hitched. My tongue darted out without thinking, tasting the salt of my own tears on his skin.

The air in the car thickened instantly.

Tres’s jaw flexed again. His gaze dropped to my mouth, then lower, to where my thighs were pressed together so tightly my muscles trembled.

I could feel how wet I was. How my body was reacting to his anger, his closeness, his rejection. Shame flooded me so hard my cheeks burned.

“I don’t want your money,” I whispered, voice breaking. “Jarrick wants me. Malrik wants me. So if you don’t want me, that’s your problem and not mine, Tres.”

The second the words left my mouth,Tres’s eyes flashed with something feral.

He can hurt me right now.

I know that.

“You’ll regret this,” he growled, voice dark and dangerous. “Keep pushing me away, little omega, and I swear I’ll make sure you feel exactly how much you need me when I finally snap.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I turned my face to the window, biting my lip hard to keep more tears from falling.

The car lurched forward as he slammed on the gas, tires screeching against the asphalt. He sped through the streets like he was trying to outrun the bond itself.

The drive felt endless. Neither of us spoke.

When we finally pulled up to the grand iron gates of the alpha’s house, I was a trembling mess. My eyes were swollen, my lips bitten raw, my uniform skirt wrinkled and damp at the hem.

I reached for the door handle the second the car stopped.

Tres’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, stopping me cold.

“Not a word,” he warned. “Not to Jarrick. Not to anyone. You keep your mouth shut about this, Talia.”

“You’re such a coward,” I whispered, voice cracking but sharp with everything I couldn’t hold back.

I stepped out on trembling legs,slapping the envelope back to his chest.

Jarrick and Malrik were already waiting on the front steps.

But I could still feel Tres’s eyes burning into my back.

And I hated how much I wished he would pull me back in.