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11. Claiming Territory
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Keeping My Alphas at Bay 12. A Blue Moon
Of course Sebastien has taken me to La Lune Bleue. It’s a rising star in the culinary world, I hear. Only this summer did it get rated three stars by the Michelin Guide. The resulting business boom was so big that it ended up making an expansion in order to keep up with demand. Even still, the waitlist lasts months. Somehow, though, Sebastien has managed to get a reservation at half past seven—the absolute height of dinnertime rush—with only a two-day notice. Half an hour ago, I’d have said that was impossible. “I’d have worn something nicer if I’d known we were coming here,” I say, fussing. I’d dressed up a little today, of course—dress pants and a nice blouse that, in combination, manages to make me look barely of age. I even pulled out the single pair of high heels I own and changed into them in time for Sebastien to pick me up. “You’re perfect,” Sebastien reassures. “Do you mind if I go park the bike? I’ll just be one moment. Tell the girl at the door you’re here for the Thorn
Keeping My Alphas at Bay 13. Lights, Camera, Action!
Campus is packed with cars, enough that Sebastien doesn’t even bother looking around for a spot. He turns into a restricted floor of the parking garage and parks his bike directly behind an expensive-looking car. “It’s Emeric’s, so no harm, no foul,” Sebastien explains. “We’ll be long gone by the time he’s done debriefing and cleaning up. I’ve still got to take you to The Caspian afterwards, no?” After I got home Thursday night, I actually cancelled my shift tonight at the restaurant. I hesitate to tell him though, not wanting to sound presumptuous. Instead, I watch as he parks his bike and takes off his own helmet. He’d last lent me his own helmet on Saturday, when he’d given me an impromptu ride to campus. When he showed up for dinner on Thursday, he already had a second, smaller helmet at the ready. I feel warm inside when I consider that he must have gotten it just for me. “I no longer have a shift tonight, actually.” He looks at me, eyes dark and pale all at once, like storm
Keeping My Alphas at Bay 14. Having Cakes and Eating Cakes
Sebastien and I pull away, him with reluctance and myself with mortification. Thankfully, however, the crowd isn’t jeering at us.Looking up, I see the big screen is no longer showing Sebastien and myself on the kiss cam, but instead a slow-motion replay of the last goal. It starts with Emeric uncharacteristically fumbling a pass and getting dogpiled, then ends with the other team scoring a touchdown.The game is on pause as they prepare to kick the football through a strange metal contraption, and I look around the field at the various players on standby. I don’t even realise what I’m looking for until I find it.I freeze. Emeric is glaring daggers at me, angry blue-grey eyes seeming to be so much darker and stormier than Sebastien’s. Is he upset that I kissed his brother? Or is he upset that I’m here at the game at all?I look over at Sebastien, who’s looking at the fumble replay on the big screen with a placid smile.I’m not the only one looking at Sebastien, however. Just as the g
Keeping My Alphas at Bay Interlude 2: To Be Stolen (Em)
Lips. Soft and gentle and yielding, pressing eagerly against mine. Warmth and desire and the overwhelming scent of sweet pine, rain, and something indistinctly floral. Mine, a part of me yells. Mineminemine. The football has dropped from my hands in my distraction, and impacts fall on me as three different players from the opposing team throw themselves on top of me. I’m too dazed to even care. I remember last Saturday, when Cecilia had shown up with Bas, how determined I was to not care about either of them. “You don’t mind, do you?” Glenn asked me then, and I’d genuinely meant my reply. “Do what you want,” I said, thinking that if Glenn managed to steal Secilia out right from under Bas’s smug nose, then at least he’d understand: this girl doesn’t care about us, neither of us. But even with his freshly broken nose, Glenn managed to give me a look of surprise. I remember feeling slightly resentful, then, that this human had the audacity to doubt me. Bas was still my brother—my l
Keeping My Alphas at Bay 1. Homecoming Chaos
I think, if I’d known what I was getting into, I’d sooner have moved across the country than stay. Moving around the country for the first fifteen years of my life worked out well enough—I should have known better than to think that I could settle down for more than a few years here. Or maybe, just maybe, this all could have been avoided if I’d stayed behind in that lab. It started like this: despite my better judgement, I let Lily coax me outside into the autumn afternoon. Lily is my partner in our Intermediate Medical Lab Sciences class, and she’s normally pretty responsible with classwork. Homecoming weekend, however, is apparently where she draws the line. We had a lab section earlier this afternoon, and I tried to linger around afterwards, but it’s Friday, and the homecoming parade is tonight, and Lily practically got an aneurysm when she realised I wanted to stay after-hours. We’re just undergrads, so we don’t have access to the lab on the weekends, and the assignment write-u
Keeping My Alphas at Bay 2. A New Job
Just as soon as I realise that the man who saved me from the crush of the crowd is the same man who minutes earlier had stared me down by the practice field, he bends slightly and heaves me into a fireman carry, perched precariously over the uncomfortable plastic of his football shoulder pads. I yelp and hang on until I’m set down beneath the canopy of a massive sycamore. Number 07 says nothing, not even as I steel myself and catch his gaze. I was right—his eyes are that terrible, tempestuous blue-grey and, even though I tried to prepare for it, I’m still struck dumb by its intensity. The world disappears from around us, the din of the parade crowd fading as if we’ve gone under water and the amber light of the setting sun seeming to coalesce around him, around my saviour. He’s no longer wearing his helmet, so I can make out his features more clearly. Something about him seems familiar in a strange way, like something deep within myself recognises him somehow. His skin is perfectly
Keeping My Alphas at Bay 3. Breaking the Ice
“Hey Rob,” Emily calls out, starting towards the football coach again. “This is Cecilia Thornill, my new assistant. Cecilia, this is Robert Harris, the football coach.” The coach is a fit man in his mid thirties, not a single grey hair and only the barest hint of crow’s feet when he smiles. He’s probably only recently retired from professional play; I remember hearing something about the coach being a former major league player. “Just call me Rob,” he says, extending his hand. I smile at him in return as we shake our hands. “I’m surprised they found another one so quickly,” Rob comments, then turns away to holler, “BOYS!” To my mortification, all of the football players immediately stop, looking our way. “New med assistant,” Rob tells them. “Her name is Cecilia.” I give an awkward wave. A couple of them call back greetings, but number 07—Emeric, apparently—barely glances at me before he turns away again. I don’t know why, but it leaves me feeling strangely empty. I almost wish
Keeping My Alphas at Bay 4. Dangerous Gossip
As time-consuming as my new position as a med assistant is, the next few days pass by without much incident. Emily seems perfectly willing to take on the brunt of interactions with the football players, so I manage to more or less avoid Emeric entirely.By the time Friday afternoon practice lets out, I feel better than ever about my decision to sign up with the sports med team. I even work up enough courage to ask Emily if she can let me know about my probationary status with the student med team ahead of time. “It’s just, I’ve still been picking up shifts with my part time job, and if I can quit, I’d rather do that sooner than later,” I explain to her. Emily looks up from her clipboard, startled. “Hmm? Oh! No, of course. I’m supposed to give them weekly reports about your probationary status, but it’ll mostly just be a formality. You were excellent with the boys’ physicals on Wednesday, and you did well with Jessica today.” She walks over to the other side of the cramped office, s
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