Page 60 of Daughter of Garnet

I don't know why Ray is so insistent on grabbing a drink with me, but I appreciate that he's making an effort to get along with me, for Viv's sake.

"And besides!" Viv pokes him in the chest once we get out of the room. "She's seeing Cliff. So she doesn't have time for you or your lame ass coffee."

The Alpha's shoulders stiffen. His eyes don't leave mine. "You're with Cliff? Since when?"

This conversation is making me uncomfortable, but not because he's prying. It's like he's angry at me.

And for what? I've done nothing wrong.

"It's new."

"And," Viv stresses, crossing her arms over her chest, "it's none of your business."

"Fine." The word is a frustrated growl that makes me flinch. "But I'm joining you for lunch."

As I watch him walk away, ignoring how good he looks in his jeans and linen shirt, Viv bumps her shoulder into mine. "He's being so weird."

I try to keep my mouth shut as we walk to our next class together, but my mind stays on the Alpha.

"So uh, who's Bianca?"

"Ugh." She loops her arm through his elbow. "She moved in next door to us when I was sixteen, and I thought we were best friends. She was only my friend so she could get close to Ray. One night during a sleepover, she snuck into his room, and they hooked up."

The fire in my gut is not jealousy. Just because I would have grabbed that coffee with him if I didn't have a class doesn't mean I have a right to be jealous about something that happened years ago.

Cliff's words from this morning come back to me. He thinks I feel compelled to find Cameron because we're scent-sympathetic. Could that be true with Ray, too?

CHAPTER 30

Zoe

The note is gone, but one has not been left in its place. So Cameron is still watching me, but he doesn't want to talk?

Oh, well.

Let's see how he likes being stalked.

I asked Cliff if he wanted to join me on my search, but he said he thought it was something I should do on my own. After dinner, we parted ways with a sweet kiss, and I began the hunt.

I decide to start at the edge of campus, so I jog to the athletic fields. At this time of the evening, there's no one here, but the gymnasium has several Alphas inside.

Not the one I'm looking for.

The Alphas either don't notice I'm here or they don't care, but my search doesn't take long. Searching Alpha residences is out of the question unless I can convince someone to let me in, but that feels pointless. I get the feeling he's hiding out elsewhere.

An hour after the dining hall closes, I make my way to the third floor of the Hub. It's got more people than I expected lounging around on the comfortable couches and around low tables. The coffee stand is still open, and small groups are chattering and studying.

No wonder the library is so empty all the time. Compared to the quiet stuffiness of the stacks, this may as well be a party. People are still segregated by designation here, and there are way more Betas than Alphas, but the mood is light and infectious.

Maybe I need to spend more time here. It would be a good way for me to be around some Alphas to see if my reaction to Cameron and Ray is because they're Alphas or if they're something more, like Dominic is.

I can worry about that later.

I'm about to leave when I see Viv curled up on a couch by herself with a book. She catches my eye. "Zoe! What are you doing here?" She pats the couch next to her, and I perch on the edge. My dragon is simmering below the surface, urging me to continue my hunt, but I'm not going to blow Viv off for an Alpha.

How do I explain that I'm stalking my stalker and trying to find out why he stopped stalking me?

"I was looking for Cliff," I quickly lie. "We're going to study together."