by J. L. Wilder
It was all he could think about. He would be sharing a room with her. He would look across the classroom and see her face.
And, he remembered suddenly, he had ordered her to sit in the front row the last time their class had met. Which meant she would be just feet away from him
How was he going to teach with the distraction of the woman upon whom he had imprinted right in front of him?
It had already been next to impossible to get anything done over the past few days. All he could think about was her. Her body, and the way it felt in his hands. The way she moved against him. The way her face looked in the midst of her orgasm. The way she cuddled up against him when they were finished as if he were her port in a storm.
“Grant!” Jim said.
“What?” Grant asked.
“Seriously, where are you today?” Jim demanded. “You’re not sick, are you? I always worry someone’s going to get sick after that excursion you do. You know, there are people in the administration who want to cancel it.”
That was news to Grant. “Why would anyone want to cancel the excursion?” he asked. “It’s good for the girls. For some of them, it’s their first real exposure to their shifter nature. Some of the girls who end up here have been living human lives, and they have no real idea what they’re capable of in the wild.”
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Jim said. “I’m not the one who wants to call it off.”
“But you’re a part of the admin team,” Grant said. “If it’s something they’ve talked about, you’ve been in on those conversations. So what’s the reasoning behind it?”
Jim sighed. “You already know, man,” he said. “It’s the usual thing. An alpha alone in the woods with a bunch of omegas. There are plenty of people who think it’s sketchy that you even want to teach here. But taking them off into the woods like that, where no one can see what you get up to—”
“What do they think I get up to?” Grant asked, offended. “I don’t get up to anything.”
Although I can’t really justify feeling offended, can I? he thought to himself. After all, I did exactly what they were afraid of. I took one of the omegas off on her own and mated with her.
But he had imprinted. It was different. It was outside his control. Cait had been right when she’d said that the same rules shouldn’t apply after imprinting. He should be able to make some kind of appeal.
Besides, he thought, she wants me too. It’s not as if I’m preying on a helpless omega. Shouldn’t that make a difference?
But he knew that it wouldn’t.
The omegas were a valuable resource. Everyone wanted an omega, especially one who had been educated at Omega University and taught the ways of pack life. Graduates of the university were obedient and compliant. They were ideal omegas.
And there were so few of them.
The competition was fierce. Every alpha over at Shifter University felt that he was entitled to an omega of his own upon graduation. Many of the alphas who worked at the school harbored a secret hope that one day, a graduated omega would find her way to him.
If anyone knew that Grant had laid claim to even one omega before graduation day, he would be cast out of Omega University forever.
It isn’t fair, he thought unhappily. She’s not a resource. She’s not something anyone should feel entitled to. I didn’t take her away from anybody else by imprinting on her, because she didn’t belong to anybody else.
But, of course, that wasn’t how anyone would see it.
Especially that alpha from her pack. The one who was currently attending Shifter University.
Bart.
He thought she belonged to him. He would never tolerate what Grant had done.
Grant had no doubt he could handle the kid in a fight. But he didn’t expect that Bart would come over and challenge him to hand-to-hand combat if he found out that Grant had imprinted on Cait. More likely, Bart would file a complaint with the school, because he would be assured of winning in that arena.
He got to his feet, grabbing his tray. He was being rude to Jim, he knew, but he couldn’t sit there and have this conversation about the suspicions of the administration any longer. He was already stressed about the prospect of facing Cait in class today.
I just need to do it and get it over with. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as I’m imagining.
He was fifteen minutes early to the classroom, and at first, he was glad—being early meant that he had time to settle in and relax before the students started to arrive. But soon, his anxieties began to trouble him again.
This seat is going to be Cait’s, he thought. This is where she was last time. So where should I stand to put the most possible distance between the two of us without looking like I’m trying to put distance between us?
He wished he could write off his concerns as paranoia. He wished he could believe that no one would be analyzing them that closely, that no one would be looking for any change in the chemistry between himself and Cait. But he knew he couldn’t be assured of that.
Some of these girls are hoping I’ll take an interest in them, after all. They’ll definitely have an eye out to see whether I get interested in any of their classmates.
He went to his desk at the front of the room and leaned up against it, waiting.
Some minutes later, the girls began to arrive. They came in from breakfast, talking and laughing, some of them still finishing granola bars or pieces of toast. They found their seats and pulled out their notebooks, ready for the lesson to begin.
Grant didn’t move. He couldn’t move. Not until he saw her. Not until he knew what kind of reaction he would have.
All I need is for all these girls to see me get an erection. That would give the game away in a hurry.
Cait was one of the last to arrive. She ran lightly down the steps of the classroom to the front row and slid into her seat.
And he saw at once that she had no intention of making this easy for him.
He could have killed her right then and there.
She was dressed to provoke, in a bright red skirt so short that he was sure it violated the Omega University dress code. She had worn a long-sleeved cream-colored sweater, but it hugged her body so tightly that Grant couldn’t help remembering what she had looked like without her clothes on.
She caught his eye and winked.
He turned away from her. They had talked about this. He had warned her of the need for secrecy. How could she come to class so obviously ready to seduce him?
For a moment, he contemplated sending her back to the dorms to change. She was in violation of the dress code, after all.
But he couldn’t. The last thing he wanted to do was let on that he had noticed the way she was dressed. He couldn’t risk drawing anyone else’s attention to it, and he certainly couldn’t let the other girls realize that he was looking at her.
He would just have to get through this lesson.
But he’d be damned if he was going to let her get away with it.
He put his lesson plan for the day back in the folder he had brought with him. This called for a change of plans. “Today’s lesson is about the disobedient omega and the ways in which she can damage her entire pack,” he said.
Somebody snickered. A few whispers went around the room. And Grant noticed that several of the girls’ eyes had gone to Cait.
There’s just no getting around the fact that she has a reputation. She had singled herself out as the troublemaker in his class. There wasn’t much he could do to protect her from that now.
But he noticed that the girl sitting next to her, Georgette, wasn’t joining in on the laughter. Maybe Cait had someone on her side. That would be a good thing. A sense of community was vital for an omega. The more isolated she felt, the less likely she would be to put the good of a pack before her own individual needs.
Georgette nudged Cait with her elbow and tilted her notebook toward her. They were writing notes to each other. Grant would have recognized that behavior anywhere
, and yet each new class of students seemed to think they were the first to have invented it. He decided to ignore it for today.
I can’t be seen paying any kind of special attention to Cait.
He spent the rest of the lesson talking about rebellious omegas who made a sport out of trying to defy the orders of their alpha. He explained that when an omega rebelled against her alpha, she was really asking him to demonstrate his authority. “Omegas who rebel are afraid,” he said. “They want to see that their alpha has full control of them. They want that control to be demonstrated.”
“Always?” one girl asked. “Don’t some of them really just want their freedom?”
“They might think they do,” Grant said. “But they really just want to know that they’re safe and taken care of. They want to see that no matter what happens, no matter what they do, their alpha will be able to keep them firmly in line.”
The bell rang, and the girls packed up and moved toward the door.
Grant tapped Cait on the back of the hand. “Stay a moment,” he said quietly, out of earshot of the others.
She took her time packing up her things. Grant returned to his desk and sat down, making a show of organizing his papers. If any of the girls looked back on their way out, they wouldn’t see that he was waiting to talk to Cait. He would look like he was waiting for her to leave.
Finally, the classroom emptied, and Cait approached the desk. “You wanted to see me?” she asked, her voice velvety and seductive.
He refused to look up at her. “What do you think you’re doing, Cait?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” She feigned innocence.
“You do know what I mean,” he said. “Showing up to my class dressed like that. Is that how you dress for your other classes?”
“Well—”
“You’re in violation of the dress code,” he said. “I should have sent you back to your dorm to change.”
“I just wanted to look nice for you.”
Now he looked up at her. “Don’t pout at me like that,” he said. “I know exactly what you’re doing, Cait.”
“I missed you,” she said, drawing closer to him. “Didn’t you miss me?”
Grant sighed. “Of course I did,” he said. “You know I did.” God, he had missed her every moment since the last time they had been together. Just being in her presence again was electrifying. He wanted to grab her and throw her down on the desk. That skirt was so short. Deliciously short. He could tear away her panties and be inside her in a matter of seconds.
She bit her lip. “Are you angry with me, I made this skirt last night for you?”
“Cait,” he murmured. “Don’t do this here.”
“I’m not doing anything.” She met his eyes, then slowly ran a hand down the length of her neck and over the top of her breast. She cupped it gently, breathing in as she did so, arching her back slightly.
He stood abruptly, shoving the chair back from his desk and grabbed her in his arms, spinning as he did so, backing her up against the wall. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and he felt himself grow painfully hard as he crushed his mouth against hers.
She smelled so good. She tasted so perfect.
He fumbled with his zipper. With a quick shift of clothing, his cock was free and she was exposed. He fucked into her, rough and needy, starving and desperate. Angry.
He came before she did, biting at her shoulder as he did so. Sated for the moment, he backed away from her and rearranged his clothes. Then he went back over to his desk and sat down, unable to look at her.
“I...” She swallowed. “I didn’t...”
“You don’t get to come,” he said. “Not today. You came in here and played me, Cait. You knew I wouldn’t be able to resist you. Well, you win, but you also lose.”
“You’re angry with me,” she said softly.
“I told you we had to keep this a secret,” he said. “I told you how important it was. If anyone finds out, it could mean the end of my career.”
“But no one’s here,” she pointed out. “No one is going to find out. We were careful.”
“You’re not being careful enough,” he snapped. “Flirting with me openly in class. Throwing yourself at me in a public place, where anyone could walk in and catch us. If this happens again, there will be consequences that you won’t like. Believe that.”
Cait looked pale and upset. “I didn’t mean to make you mad,” she said. “I just...couldn’t stop thinking about you, Grant. It’s all I can think about. I dream about you. Sometimes, I can’t sleep at night. I need you. I need your hands on me. You don’t know what it’s like, walking around this campus, knowing you’re here, knowing we can’t—”
“I know exactly what it’s like,” Grant said, allowing a little more sympathy into his voice. “I’m going through the same thing, you know. We’ll find ways to be together, I promise you. But you have to follow my lead. You can’t do this again. Promise me you won’t.”
“Promise me we’ll be together,” she countered.
He nodded. “I promise.”
“Then I can wait,” she said. “But don’t keep me waiting too long.”
Chapter Twelve
CAIT
“Cait,” Georgette wheedled, “you have to come tonight.”
Cait looked up from the magazine she had been flipping through. She had borrowed it from Sarah, and she found it so uninteresting that it was impossible to focus on.
But tonight’s social event sounded far less appealing than staring at the pages of a magazine. “I don’t have to,” she objected. “And I don’t want to. I don’t know why you do. It sounds like pure hell.”
“What are you talking about?” Georgette asked. “There are going to be alphas there.”
“She’s right, Cait,” Sarah said, holding up first one matronly dress and then another in front of her full-length mirror. “The entire point of these socials with Shifter U is so that we’ll have a chance to meet mates.”
“And what good would that be to you now?” Cait asked. “It’s not like you could have a real relationship. They’re across the street all the time. They’re not allowed to come over here.”
“Well, if you see someone you really like, you could always drop out of school to join his pack,” Georgette said, giggling.
Cait made a face. “I wouldn’t drop out of school to join some guy’s pack. Are you crazy?”
“I probably wouldn’t either,” Georgette admitted. “But it’s a fun fantasy.”
“I’d do it,” Sarah said, deciding on one of her dresses and hanging the other one back up.
Cait stared at her. “No, you wouldn’t,” she said. “Tell me you’re joking.”
“Of course I would,” Sarah said. “The whole reason we’re here is to prepare ourselves for life as part of a pack, Cait. If that comes my way a little earlier than I expected...well, I’d be crazy to turn it down, wouldn’t I?”
“You’d be crazy not to finish your education,” Cait said, turning back to her magazine.
“Come on, Cait!” Georgette pulled the magazine out of her hands. “Come with us.”
“I don’t want to meet an alpha,” Cait protested.
“I know you don’t,” Georgette said. “But people already think you’re weird. You don’t want to let everyone find out that you’re weird about alphas and mating too, or they’ll probably start thinking you’re not even a real omega.”
As if she cared. Cait rolled her eyes.
But then she wondered.
Grant had made it clear that he was upset with her. He was concerned that her behavior might have drawn the attention of her classmates. Since the day they had fucked in the classroom, Cait had done her best to tone things down, but she couldn’t help remembering what he had said to her when they had finished that day.
You don’t get to come.
Since then, she had felt anxious and starved for him, and yet he hadn’t so much as looked her way.
Maybe there was somet
hing she could do about it.
If I go to this social event, Grant will see that I’m taking what he said seriously. He’ll see that I’m trying to fit in with the other omegas. Staying home would only show that finding an alpha isn’t a priority for me. If I go to the social, it’ll look like I’m alpha shopping just like everyone else.
It was the perfect cover.
“All right,” she said, sliding off the bed. “I’ll come.”
Georgette squealed happily. “Let me help you pick out something to wear!”
“Oh, no.” Cait shook her head. “If I’m going to this thing, I’m wearing what I have on. It’s a deal-breaker.”
“Come on, Cait,” Georgette wheedled. “It’s a party. You have to dress up.”
“No way,” Cait said firmly. “Those alphas across the street can take me as I am or not at all.”
“First Sarah and now you,” Georgette griped. “Doesn’t anyone else at this school ever want to look hot?”
Cait grinned in spite of herself. “You look hot enough for all of us, Georgette,” she said. “Come on, let’s get over there if we’re going. I don’t want to be out too late tonight.”
THE SOCIAL WAS BEING held on the Omega University campus. The alphas and betas from across the road had trickled over and found seats around the fire pit in the middle of campus. Some were roasting marshmallows and talking. Others were dancing to the music from a speaker someone had set up on a stump.
Cait sat on the ground, staring into the flames and wondering how long this party could last. She knew there was a point to her attendance, but it was mind-numbing.
She had hoped to be able to socialize with Georgette, but her friend had allowed herself to be whisked away by a cute guy almost immediately. From the way he grinned at Georgette and asked her permission before leading her into a dance, Cait suspected that he was not the alpha Georgette had dreamed of. Still, maybe any guy was better than none.
Sarah had disappeared on a stroll along a candlelit path that some of the faculty members had set up. It was romantic enough to look at, but Cait suspected that the path was being watched at intervals to ensure that nobody got up to any hanky-panky.
