Alpha Bully (Omega University Book 4) Read online

  Smirking, Aubrey gathered up her things and flounced down to the front of the classroom.

  The professor folded his arms across his chest and regarded Grace, waiting.

  Humiliated, she grabbed her bag from the floor, stood up, and hurried out the back door and out onto the lawn, wiping tears from her eyes as she went.

  I knew I shouldn’t have gone to class today, she thought. What a disaster.

  She couldn’t bear to go back to the dorm and wait for Skye to return. Her friend would want to know what had happened at the back of the lecture hall, what Aubrey had said, and Grace didn’t want to talk about it.

  Instead, she turned and made her way down to the river.

  Chapter Six

  JONAH

  He shouldn’t have been spending time on the Omega University campus, and he knew it. But a part of him hoped that Aubrey would come down to the river, that she would see him daring to break the rules and be impressed.

  When he heard the rustling of the bushes, he thought for a moment that he had gotten what he wanted. But then a figure burst through the undergrowth, and Jonah’s heart sank.

  It wasn’t Aubrey.

  It was Grace Foster, the reject girl he had seen at the bonfire.

  Her face was streaked with tears. She ran down the riverbank and flung herself down on the grass by the side of the water. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  In spite of himself, Jonah was curious.

  He made his way over toward her and cleared his throat to announce his presence.

  Her head darted up. She looked like a prey animal. “Who are you?” she demanded shrilly.

  “Hey,” he said. “Calm down. I’m not going to do anything to you.”

  “Don’t come any closer,” she said. “I’ll scream.”

  “Jesus, all right.” It wouldn’t matter if she screamed. They were too far away from the main campus. Nobody would hear her. But pointing that out would only freak her out more, and Jonah didn't want that. He took a step back and sat down on a fallen log.

  “You’re not supposed to be on our campus,” Grace said. “Men aren’t supposed to come here, except during the socials.”

  “You’re supposed to be in class,” he countered.

  “No, I’m not,” she admitted, hanging her head, sniffling slightly. “My professor kicked me out.”

  “Oh,” he said. “That sucks. What did you do?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes suddenly blazing with defiance. “I didn’t do anything. I was just sitting in class and minding my own business. It was someone else who was talking, but everyone always thinks that everything is my fault. I get blamed for everything because I’m not a good student.”

  “Gotcha,” Jonah said.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked him.

  “Just thought I’d see if I could meet up with somebody,” he said. He wasn’t exactly sure what was compelling him to tell her the truth. Maybe it was just that he didn’t find her intimidating the way he found Aubrey intimidating. It didn’t really matter what she thought of him. She was at the bottom of her class. He had no need to impress her.

  “Is it your mate?” she asked.

  “No,” he said.

  She raised her eyebrows. “You’re trying to meet someone behind your mate’s back?”

  “I’m not mated,” he said.

  “Oh,” she said, and he was pleased to note that she sounded surprised. It was nice to have confirmation that he looked like the kind of guy who could get a girl if he wanted to. After the way Aubrey had run him down at the bonfire, it was a good reminder.

  “I’m actually hoping to meet up with the girl I want to claim at the end of the semester,” he explained to Grace.

  “But you haven’t imprinted?”

  “I don’t really know her that well yet,” he explained. “That’s why I want to spend more time with her. There’s only one more social event before the claiming ceremony, and that doesn’t feel like enough time for the two of us to really connect.”

  “Well, whoever she is, I’m sure she’s in class right now,” Grace said. “Maybe you should go away and come back later.”

  “Maybe I’ll wait here for her,” Jonah countered. “I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

  “I could go tell someone you’re lurking on our campus,” Grace pointed out.

  “Yeah,” Jonah said. “But you told me yourself that the professors around here tend to think the worst of you, right? What are they going to think if you go and tell them there’s an alpha in the woods? What are they going to think you’ve been doing when you were supposed to be in class?”

  Grace narrowed her eyes. “You don’t want anyone to think you and I were up to no good. You would tell the truth.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Maybe I would. Take the chance if you want to.”

  She scowled and turned away from him. “Who’s this girl you’re waiting for anyway?” she asked. “Whoever she is, I feel sorry for her.”

  “Aubrey Price,” Jonah said. “And nobody needs to feel sorry for her, believe me.

  Grace’s head whipped around. “Aubrey Price? Seriously?”

  “I guess you know her?”

  “Who doesn’t know her?” Grace shook her head. “I feel sorry for you. There’s no way you’ll be able to claim Aubrey, especially without an imprint. She’s the most desirable omega on campus. Everybody wants her. She’s got the highest class rank, and her father—”

  “I know who her father is,” Jonah said. “I know all about her. Why do you think I want her?”

  “You’ll never get her,” Grace said. “You’re good looking, but unless you’ve got some kind of silver bullet—”

  “I’ve got rank,” Jonah said. “I’m the top-ranked alpha. She hasn’t admitted it to me yet, but secretly, I’m sure she wants to be matched with me.”

  Grace’s eyes widened. “You’re Jonah Jackson?”

  He blinked. “You know my name?”

  “Obviously,” she said. “I’ve seen the class rank lists too. You’ve been at the top of the alpha list for four years straight.” She frowned. “Why aren’t you and Aubrey already together? I would have thought it would be a done deal. Unless you didn’t want her for some reason, of course—and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.”

  “You wouldn’t?” Jonah asked, feeling mildly amused.

  “She’s kind of a bitch,” Grace said.

  Jonah chuckled. “A little bit,” he agreed. “She’ll be better when she submits to an alpha. She just needs to be brought under control.”

  “And that’s what you want?” Grace asked. “A girl you can control?”

  “Nobody talks to me like this, you know,” Jonah said. “No omegas do, anyway.” No betas did either. The occasional alpha, like Gabe, was rude to him, but he had never been spoken to so harshly by anyone who ranked beneath him.

  Grace shrugged. “I’m nothing to you,” she pointed out. “I’m ranked way too low for you to ever notice me. I don’t have to worry about impressing you or getting you to choose me as a mate because there’s no way that will ever happen. So why shouldn’t I be myself?”

  “Solid argument,” Jonah said. Despite himself, he was a little impressed. “I guess you might as well speak your mind.”

  “Then I might as well tell you that you’re making a mistake going for Aubrey,” Grace said. “You might be able to control her behavior, but you’ll never be able to control her mind. She’s not a nice person. She thinks she’s better than everybody. And even if she’s forced to obey you, that’ll wear you down eventually.”

  “You don’t know me at all,” Jonah said.

  “You’re right, I don’t,” Grace said. “Do whatever you want. But just ask yourself one question. Why are you waiting in the woods on the off-chance Aubrey might come here? She doesn’t know you’re waiting for her. She’s not planning to meet you. And if she did know you were here, would she come? Or would she just laugh at the effort you’r
e making?”

  Jonah said nothing.

  “She’s not worth the trouble,” Grace said. “You could have any girl in our class, and I bet most of them would be grateful to be with you. Aubrey Price will never be grateful. The absolute best you can hope for with her is being taken for granted.”

  Jonah wanted to argue, but he remembered the way Aubrey had spoken to him at the bonfire. As if he was nothing. As if he had to earn every second of the attention she bestowed on him.

  He remembered his vow to show her that she couldn’t take his attention for granted.

  “I’ll tell you what, Grace,” he said. “Would you like to be my date to the next social?”

  She stared at him. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m guessing you don’t have a date yet, right?”

  “So what?” she said. “Why the hell would you want to go with me? First of all, you want Aubrey, and secondly, nobody wants to partner up with me, in any circumstance, for anything.”

  “Well, I do,” Jonah said.

  “Why?” she demanded.

  “It might be fun,” he said.

  “Bullshit. No.”

  “All right, fine,” he acknowledged. “It’s because I want to make Aubrey jealous. I want her to see me with another girl and realize that she can’t take me for granted all the time.”

  “At least you’re honest,” Grace grumbled. “Don’t lie to me again. I don’t need that in my life.”

  “Fine,” he agreed. “Nothing but honesty from now on. It’s a promise. Does that mean you’ll go to the social with me?”

  “Do you really think anyone’s going to buy that?” Grace asked. “You and me together?”

  “You don’t think they would?” Jonah asked.

  “I think people are going to wonder what you’re doing with someone like me instead of someone like Aubrey,” Grace said.

  “Well, let them wonder,” Jonah said. “That’s kind of the point. I want us to be noticed. I want us to be talked about. I want to make sure that Aubrey sees me with you and knows that she’s not the only girl worth paying attention to.”

  Grace was quiet for several moments.

  “She doesn’t see me as someone worth paying attention to,” she said at last. “If she sees you with me, that’s not going to make you look good. She’s just going to think she was right to disrespect you.”

  “Maybe,” Jonah agreed. “But maybe not. I think it’ll force her to consider that there might be other qualities besides class rank and a rich daddy that we alphas are considering when making our choices of mates. It’ll make her wonder what you have that she doesn’t. Maybe she’ll learn how to be a little humbler.”

  Grace looked as if she doubted it, but she didn’t argue.

  “So, will you do it?” Jonah pressed.

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  “You don’t know?” He raised his eyebrows. “You know most omegas would die to go to a social with me, right?”

  “Maybe you’re the one who could stand to be a little humbler,” she said. “Besides, the omegas who want to go to socials with you are hoping you’re going to choose them as a mate. You’re not going to choose me, and you and I both know it. So what’s in it for me? Why should I bother?”

  “You don’t think it would be a good time?” he asked.

  She snorted. “Making Aubrey jealous? No, I definitely don’t. It’s one thing for you. You get to go back to your own campus when the party’s over. But I’ll have to see her every day, and she’ll be pissed off at me for moving in on her man if your plan works the way you want it to. She already bullies me.”

  “Doesn’t everybody bully you?” he asked her.

  “What’s your point?”

  “I’m just saying, what difference does a little bit more make?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re really a jerk,” she said. “Do you know that?”

  He shrugged. She probably saw everybody as a jerk. And truthfully, he knew he wasn’t being very nice to her. But what was he supposed to do, get down on his knees and beg? She was an omega. He wasn’t even willing to beg Aubrey for things, much less Grace Foster.

  “I’m not doing it,” she said. “Spending an evening with you sounds like torture. No thank you.”

  “Look, come on,” he said. “What do you want? I’ll do something to make it up to you, but you have to tell me what you want me to do.”

  She hesitated. “Anything I want?”

  “Within reason.”

  “I want to improve my class rank,” she said.

  He frowned. “What do you want me to do about that?” he asked. “Change the student records? I think people would notice if the girl who had been at the bottom of the class for three years suddenly shot up.”

  “I’m not asking you to help me cheat,” she said.

  “Then what?”

  “I want you to teach me,” she said. “Obviously, you don’t have any problem sneaking onto our campus. So meet me here a couple of times a week and help me improve my skills.”

  “Do you really think I can do anything for you?” he asked. “Your classes haven’t been much help.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “But maybe one-on-one lessons would be more effective. Anyway, I have to try something. I’m graduating this year. The claiming ceremony is in just a few months. Maybe if I can get myself up the ranks a little bit, I’ll get lucky and someone will claim me.”

  Maybe she’ll take Gabe off my hands, he thought. Or even one of Gabe’s burly but brainless sidekicks. “I guess there are plenty of low-ranking alphas who might be willing to claim an unmated girl if she wasn’t an embarrassment.”

  “Is it possible for you to not be a dick?” she asked.

  He shrugged again.

  “That’s my price,” she said. “Private lessons. Twice a week. Take it or leave it.”

  “I’ll take it,” he said. It was a reasonable price to pay if it meant finally getting Aubrey’s attention.

  “Tuesdays and Thursdays?” she asked.

  “Fair enough,” he said. “And when the next social is announced, we can make our plans.”

  “Okay,” she said. “But just remember, I’m only committing to going with you. I’m not going to lie and say that we’re mated, and I’m definitely not going to do anything physical with you. That’s not what this is.”

  He stared at her, stunned. “I wouldn’t have asked you to,” he said. “I might be a jerk, but I’m not like that.”

  She bit her lip as if she wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him. “It’s not really safe for omegas to be alone in the woods with strange alphas,” she pointed out.

  “You’re the one who wanted to meet up twice a week,” he said.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I’m just saying...if you’re expecting anything from me, adjust your expectations.”

  “You’re not my type,” he said. As if I’d have anything to do with a girl who talks to me like that.

  She laughed bitterly. “No,” she said. “I’m sure I’m not good enough for you.”

  Jonah started to say that that wasn’t what he’d meant, but he cut himself off. Why bother? Who cared what she thought he had meant?

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll meet you here on Tuesday. Four o’clock?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “That’s fine.”

  “Great,” he said. He got to his feet and headed back toward his own campus, hoping like hell that this plan was going to work.

  Chapter Seven

  GRACE

  “Do you want to go to the cafeteria with me?” Skye asked.

  It was a regular thing for the two of them to go get a mid-afternoon meal, but today, Grace had other plans. “I think I’m going to go for a walk,” she said.

  “Want company?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “I’ll just meet you up in the room before dinner, okay?”

  “You’re being weird,” Skye said.

  “Am I?”

  “Extremely.”
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  “Just worried about the resource gathering exam tomorrow,” she said.

  “Well, let’s go study together,” Skye urged. “Over croissants and hot chocolate.”

  “No, seriously, I want to be alone with my thoughts,” Grace said. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Skye shrugged. Grace thought her friend looked a little offended. “Whatever you say,” she said and walked off.

  For a moment, Grace considered running after her and explaining what was going on. It was the first time she had kept a secret from Skye, and it was uncomfortable.

  But what would Skye say if she knew? She wouldn’t approve, Grace was sure of that. She would probably try to talk Grace out of her plan, and she might even threaten to report Grace to the professors.

  She probably wouldn’t do that. We’re friends. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt me that way.

  But could Grace really be sure of that?

  No, it was better to keep her plans to herself. There was no reason Skye needed to know. And Grace would make it up to her later.

  When she was sure that no one was watching her, she hurried down the lawn and into the trees. If she ran, she would be right on time for her meeting with Jonah.

  Sure enough, he was stepping out of the woods as she arrived. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her. “Is that what you’re wearing?” he asked.

  She glanced down at her sundress. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” There were rules about modesty at Omega U, but she wasn’t in violation of any of them. The neckline was high enough to fully conceal her breasts, and the hem of the skirt fell below her knees.

  “Nothing’s wrong with it,” Jonah said. “I just don’t see how you’re going to work on your shifter skills in that. I figured you would show up in hiking gear.”

  “I don’t own any hiking gear,” she said.

  “Yeah. Well, that’s problem number one,” Jonah said. “Why don’t you have anything like that?”

  “All my clothes are secondhand,” she said. “I have the stuff I inherited from my mother, that my father saved for me. And everything else I have is castoffs from my roommate’s closet. I’ve never exactly been able to choose my own things.”