Page 21 of Daughter of Garnet

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. I’m not an Omega, Dominic. You can believe what you want, but there is no beast inside me. I didn’t shift when I touched the stones. Hell, my period is due in two weeks. Do you want me to bring you bloody panties to prove to you that I’m a Beta? Is that what it will take to finally convince you that I’m not lying about this?”

A rumbling sound low in his chest has me squishing myself as flat against the wall as possible, but it still isn't enough space between us. “Why would I need you to bring me your panties when I can just take them and blame it on a rut? When you go into heat, bunny, you won’t be able to hide it anymore, because you’ll be at my door, begging for me.” He grabs my chin, and my entire body shudders. I’m unable to take my eyes off of him, but I can't tell if it's fear or something else pinning me in place.

“And since I don't fuck liars, I’ll turn you away. You can take your chances with whatever Alpha finds you first.”

He drops me as quickly as he grabbed me and walks away, leaving my chest heaving and head spinning.

Dominic didn’t look at me during the entire study group. We spent the hour mapping out how he would be involved in each section of the course. Next week, we’ll start learning how to determine which God Blessed an Alpha without asking them. He says that the way we approach Alphas in need of soothing differs between them, so knowing that will give us a starting point when approaching a feral or rutting Alpha.

When we’re done and walking back, Warren shakes his head. “I can’t believe he’s the one who chased you down in the woods. He seems so normal.”

I exhale so sharply I snort unattractively. “He’s not. Something is wrong with him. Maybe it’s his beast or something, but he’s dangerous. Don’t you feel it?”

Warren hums before he shrugs. “Not really, no. He just seems like an Alpha.”

What would be the harm in telling Warren the truth about my interactions with Dominic? He’d believe me when I say I'm not an Omega. It’s not like he’d turn me in to go through the ceremony again. He was there. He saw me.

“He thinks I’m an Omega.” I feel lighter as soon as the words rush out of me. “He’s convinced that I’m pretending to be a Beta, and that’s why he chased me in the woods. He said it again when he cornered me in the library before the study session.”

“He cornered you? Why?"

"To berate me for lying about being a Beta. He's acting like it's a personal insult that I won't admit to being an Omega."

"But you’re not an Omega.” Warren sounds more sure of it than I am. “I watched your ceremony. You didn’t shift.”

“That’s what I told him!”

“So he’s hot, dumb, and he shifted into his sabertooth form and chased you in the woods because he’s convinced you’re an Omega?” My best friend grabs my hand, pulling it to his chest. “We should request a new Alpha Aide. I don’t want you to have to be around him. There’s clearly something wrong with him, and I'm worried he'll target you.”

I want to agree with him. It makes the most sense, and my affection for Warren blooms in my chest that he's so worried about me.

I don’t want to spend any time more time around Dominic, either, but I don’t want to tell the professor that. She'd ask why, and I'd have nothing to say.

My gut tells me that I need to keep the number of people who know about this as low as possible. The less doubt planted in their heads, the better. If the voice isn't a hallucination, there is a reason why I wasn't forced to shift in front of everyone.

The voice wasn't real.

It didn't tell me to grab my robe.

Or call me an Omega.

And it certainly never told me to tell no one about it.

That was all in my head. My stressed-out mind was playing tricks on me.

Right?

The more I try to convince myself, the farther away I get from succeeding.

I messed up by telling Warren if the voice was anything other than my subconscious.

Which it wasn't.

So I'm fine.

“No, we don’t need a switch. Just don’t leave me alone with him. He's unstable, and I'm afraid to think of what he might do to me to convince me I am an Omega."

Warren wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me against his side. I breathe a sigh of relief as I sink into his familiar hold.