I felt the blood drain from my face as I stared at her. Fuck, if I don’t convince her it wasn’t Hale, it won’t take much for her to puzzle out the rest.
“Why would someone from a popular band be hanging out here Valerie?” I try my best to school my panic, but my heart is beating rapidly. “I’m leaving now, have a good night.”
I almost make it inside the diner when she calls out, “I heard everything you said to him, Oliver; your daddy isn’t gonna be happy if I stop by and mention it.”
I clench my fists at my side as I turn to face her. “You were eavesdropping?” I hissed.
“I got lucky I guess,” She shrugs and walks closer to me, resting her hand on my chest.
I let out a warning growl, hating her touching any part of me, and she’s smart enough to take a step back. “What do you want Valerie?”
“Shane and his pack left me for another omega, saying it was taking too long for me to present. I’m looking for a new pack. I think yours would be perfect.”
I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out of me. “You got dumped and now what? You want to blackmail your way into a new one? Valerie, you can’t be serious. If you want to be part of a pack so badly, go ask Shane to take you back. A lot of packs have betas in them.”
“I’m not a beta,” she whispers at me.
“You’ve got to be kidding me right now,” I stare at her in disbelief. “Valerie, aren’t you almost twenty? You had the same classes I did; there would be signs even if you haven’t presented yet. Unless you’re on some industry-level suppressants, your scent alone tells me you’re beta.”
“Fuck you!” She screeches, stomping her foot on the pavement. “My mom said I’m just a late bloomer; it’s not my fault.”
I look at her incredulously. “You and your mom are both in denial. The sooner you accept who you are, the happier you’ll be. You can’t magically turn yourself into an omega; life doesn’t work that way.”
She rolls her eyes at me like I’m the fucking problem here. “We will see, I’m sure being around the right pack will help awaken her.”
“Yeah, okay, whatever, Valerie,” I am so done with this conversation. “My pack is not the right pack and throw in the fact that I don’t like you, and this will never be a thing. So please tell me what I can do to keep your mouth shut.”
“I don’t really care if you like me, just the other three.” She gets an evil glint in her eyes, and I feel my hackles rise. “You can convincethem to court me and accept me into the pack, or I'll tell your dad everything.”
“I can pay you to keep quiet, but I have a scent match, Valerie; the pack is taken.” I try my best to make her see reason, hoping she’ll just take the money and fuck off.
“You haven’t bonded with them yet, so it doesn’t matter.” She points out. “And no amount of money would beat the perks of being the omega for a group of celebrities, so I’ll pass.”
She taps her foot on the ground impatiently, and the sound grates on my nerves. I have never wanted to hurt anyone in my life, but Valerie is testing my patience. I begin pacing in front of her, trying to calm myself before I actually hurt her.
Would it be so bad? She is a threat.
I shake my head at the thought. It would be bad; I’m not my father; I don’t hurt people, even if they deserve it. Not even Valerie deserves violence, even if she’s being horrible.
I know I have to speak to the guys; they’re my pack now, and they’ll know how to handle Valerie. In the meantime, I need to give her something to keep her satisfied.
“One date,” I grind out, hating that I have to give her this. “We can take it from there if everything goes well.”
“It will.” She claps her hands in glee, and a real smile spreads across her face. I might even find her beautiful at the moment if I didn’t know how rotten her insides were. “Friday night, I’ll text you the details, what’s your number?”
I reluctantly give it to her, and a few seconds later, my phone dings with a notification. I don’t bother looking, knowing it’s from her.
“You should go shopping for some new clothes,” She wrinkles her nose at me. “You won’t get into the place I have in mind looking like that.”
“Pick somewhere else then.”
“I don’t want to,” She shrugs one shoulder, looking at me like I’m beneath her. “Oliver, I don’t really care what you want, and unless you want me talking to your dad, you will do what I say.” “Just - fuck you, Valerie.”
“You’ll never get to fuck me, but your pack will. Poor Oliver, always the outsider looking in, you’ll never truly belong anywhere.”
With that last blow, she takes off down the street, likely on her way to torture another poor soul. I send a quick message in the group chat, asking the guys to call me when they’re home, before heading back into the diner. Luckily, Jane is on the phone, and I gesture that I’m going to head to the office.
My phone starts ringing before I even close the door, and relief washes over me when I see it’s a call from Hale. I take a deep breath before answering. “Guys, I hope you were serious about this whole pack thing and having each other’s backs. I have a huge problem, and I need your help.”
