005: The Brothers—Romeo Amoretti

~~Abigail Darlington~~

During the drive, Jade gave me some more advice.

“Confidence is your main issue. These Xevier wolves can smell a phony from a mile away. But that’s where being a C-class omega comes into play. Your scent isn’t as obvious as that of other wolves, and they’d likely be snobbish. Thinking nothing of you at first. You just need to lead with your body. Don’t let your brain fuck things up. Walk in there like they already want you. Don’t think, but what if?” she mimicked in a small voice, and I pinched her lightly. “Ow, I’m just saying don’t do that. You need to strut in there.”

I swallowed. “I can do that. I want to do that, but there are other—“

Jade started shaking her head. The car came to a stop. “Darling, confidence is key. You’re just as beautiful as any other class of omegas. The best part about you is that you’re fucking smart. These guys can’t intimidate you intellectually.”

She’s right. I know she is.

“They’ll see your outfit and expect a dumb bitch. They’ll probably think you’re cheating when you ace the test and exams. They’d be confused. Men are still men, Darling. The worst part about our society is that we’ve allowed the class hierarchy to turn us into monsters. Every class feels like they can only hang out with each other because the other class is beneath them. People like us don’t think that way. You can have anything you want if you work for it. You’re hot, Darling. Use it to your advantage. All you have to do is remember not to fall in love. Nothing kills revenge quite like a stolen heart.”

I don't really think I need to worry about the last part. Elio has taught me not to trust my heart.

I let out a soft sigh, then clutched the straps of my bag. “Okay. Confidence. I can do this.”

“Yep. Remember the goal. If you ever feel low, read those messages again and remember how that loser talked to you after everything you’ve done for him. Remember, his exams will come, and he won’t be able to do anything because he thought he was better than the brains of his relationship.” Her tone was flat, but her eyes held a lot of malice.

“Try not to run him over if you see him,” I told her.

“I make you no promises.”

I reached over and hugged her. I'm so grateful for the friends I made. I don’t know how I would have survived this breakup without them.

“Okay, go kill it. Text me after. I don’t have a class today, so I’ll come get you.” I was already out by the time she finished talking. I mumbled a reply, then ran into the building. The class was on the second floor, so I rushed. The hallway was buzzing with students who were going about their day.

Some people stopped to stare, and I realized I was holding my jacket instead of wearing it.

Just be confident, don’t think about it.

I smiled and slowed my pace. I tugged my skirt down when it rode up a bit. This could go really poorly, but I hate Elio more than I fear being judged. Who knew I could go from loving someone more than myself to hating them more than anything?

Life is just so strange. I pushed open the door to the class and was surprised to see it empty. Did I come early? I pulled out my phone to check the schedule. Nope, right on time.

“—but half of the reason someone would do this is....” The chatter died down, and I noticed it wasn’t as empty as I thought. My eyes had immediately gone towards the rows of chairs that I hadn’t bothered to look straight ahead, where the long desk was.

My pulse quickened, and my eyes went wide. They were all here. I thought I’d be meeting Romeo first, alone. That would have made it easier for me to figure out exactly how to get his attention.

Those photos do them no justice. I didn’t check their height, fuck they’re tall. Like really tall and I’m 5’9.

I hid my nervousness and shut the door behind me.

“Good morning. Um, I’m here for the wolf transformation class. It’s supposed to start in five minutes.” I say, surprised by how calm I sounded.

The tallest one out of the trio is Romeo. I recognized the face from the photo— AKA his mugshots. One is wearing glasses, that’s Niccolo, and the one who breaks out into a smile is Nero. They're not entirely identical. There are obvious differences.

I can’t even begin to grasp their looks. They are.... wow.

“Hello, little lady. You’re early. Romeo forgot to change the time. The class starts in an hour from now.”

I cursed silently. “Fuckkk. Can I just sit here then?”

Romeo narrows his eyes at me, and I felt like shrinking, but I held my head high and met his stare. “No. Go and come back at the appropriate time. I could have another class.”

“The keyword is could. Your public schedule says this is the only class for today, and it’s a 4-hour class.” I took a step closer, and Niccolo ran his eyes over my form. He turned and whispered something to Romeo.

His glare got even harder.

“Fuck no,” he muttered to his brother, then turned back to me. “Leave.”

“No. I don’t think so.”

I turned away and made it to the front row. I took a seat in the chair facing his desk directly. I crossed one of my legs over the other and began setting up.

“Did she just say no?” Romeo sounded surprised.

Nero laughed, the sound echoing through the empty room. I watched his chest rise and fall. “She did. So bold for a C-class omega.”

I tried not to tense. Their nose is just as good as I thought it would be. The lack of a strong scent must have given my rank away.

I placed my headphones over my ears and took out a textbook, deciding to brush up on some of the topics this class would cover, though I could barely see the words.

I played some music, trying to ignore the sound of my heart going to town against my ribs.

All three stared at me for a moment before saying something in hushed tones. Then Nero was being dragged out of the room by Niccolo. The sound of the door slamming shut almost made me flinch.

Almost. I breathed out hard and looked up at Romeo. He was watching me with what looked like suspicion.

He had on a pair of black pants and a white buttoned-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I could see his tattooed arms. His biceps flexed as he crossed them over his chest.

He’s nothing like Elio. Where Elio is slender with some toned muscles, Romeo looks like he’s above 6 feet, and he’s built like a truck. I mean, this man has thick muscles everywhere. From his arms to his thighs. He wasn’t built for small places, that’s for sure.

I studied his features. He has a chiseled, angular jawline and high cheekbones. He also has a neatly groomed beard that frames his jaw and mouth. It gave him this rugged, dominant appearance. His expression is fierce and predatory, but his hazel eyes are honestly pretty. Pretty scary.

He looks like he’s plotting the quickest way to dispose of my body. He has really short black hair and an olive skin tone that you can barely see from the dark tattoos covering his arms, his neck, and his chest. From the exposed parts, that’s what I can see.

“You realize my class demands strong physical capabilities? It’s mainly for wolves who can shift.” I heard the condescension in his tone, but I didn’t let it bother me.

“That’s why I signed up for the theory class only,” I explained, stopping my music. It wasn’t that loud anyway.

He cocked an eyebrow. “You think that means you’re safe?”

His voice is also different from Elio's. It’s so deep. Like he’s always angry when he talks. I don’t hate it.

I rested my elbows on the desk in front of me, placing my cleavage in full view.

“If you want to see me run, professor, just say so.” Wow, I can't believe I just said that. The teacher's pet in me is dying.

He snarled. “I’ll give you a week. You’ll be gone. Just like the others. Your tits aren’t big enough to get you a passing grade.”

I pouted. “Awwwn, really?” I glanced at them thoughtfully. “Poor girls. I guess I’ll just fail the class.” When I looked back, I noticed he’d been staring at my chest.

Jade was right. A man is still a man.

He brought his eyes up; those hazel orbs seemed to form a slit for a split second before returning to normal. “I guess you will. Do you even know the first thing about wolf transitioning from human to beast form?”

I wanted to say, duh? I went to high school. I know the basics, but I didn’t. Not all wolves can shift, but all Xevier wolves do.

Instead of showing him right off that I’m not dumb, I bit my lower lip.

“Uhhhhhhh.”

He shook his head. “Why do I always get the dumb ones?” He pushed off his desk, walking around it until he could sit on the chair.

I watched him pull out his laptop and work. He had this constant frown. I wonder if those tattoos have a story. I wonder why he went to prison. The crimes are all redacted. Which is annoying but not shocking. He’s rich enough to cover up the bad things he’s done.

With him not looking, I let my smile drop, and the fear slowly crept in. I’m really doing this.

I’m really going to try to seduce Elio’s stepbrothers.

I wonder if I’ll get invited to his family dinner. That would be a sight.

My smile returned, and I ignored the questions my brain was asking about what I would do if this went wrong.

I’ve already been humiliated. How much worse can it get?

Revenge is all I need to feel like myself again. I’ll wear the clothes, talk the talk, and go to bed with these professors if it mans i can hurt Elio as much as he hurt me.

Romeo looked up. I wiggled my fingers at him, and he rolled his eyes.

Even if I can get just one, that’ll be enough. It doesn’t have to be Romeo. It could be one of the other two.

Then I paused. Why not all three? Wouldn’t it hurt Elio even more if I had all three of them? All three of the men made him feel like he had to catch up to their success. Made his mediocrity shine even brighter.

The thought made me feel some kind of way. A desire I didn’t know I could possess.

“What’s your name?” I blinked, snapping out of my trance. Romeo looked annoyed. “What is your name?"

“Abigail Darlington Ricci. But you can call Darling.”

His eyebrows tensed. “I won’t be doing that.”

“Not yet,” I mumbled, but he must have heard me because his frown deepened. I wanted to laugh, but I held it in. This is going to be fun. And scary. But that’s good.