“Give me names.”
“As if she’d tell you that.” Sabs snorts then turns to Izzie to say, “I have three older brothers, so I get it. If they found out about half of the stuff I was doing at nineteen, the number of alpha hospital admissions would have probably spiked.”
Izzie cackles. “You know, I think we’re going to get along.”
“Sorry.” I smile apologetically at Sabs. “I really didn’t know she was coming.”
Izzie stomps a fancy boot. “You know I’m standing right here, don’t you?”
“Do you want to try these fries?” Sabs pulls out the chair next to her—my chair. “They’re freaking amazing.”
“See?” Izzie sticks out her tongue. “At least someone wants me here.”
I roll my eyes as Izzie gets comfortable next to Sabs, having the audacity to dive right into my fries, but I can’t be mad. Seeing the two of them sitting together, joking around, makes my chest swell with happiness.
“How long are you here for?” Luca asks her.
“Only a week,” Izzie answers around a mouthful. “I’m staying with a friend.” She notices my wary look. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m staying in Omega Village, so I’ll be perfectly safe.”
“Which house is she in?” Sabs asks.
“Barbara House.” Izzie’s smile brightens. “I’ve been considering applying, so I wanted to check out campus. Although I’m not sure I’d like to live in Barbara House. It’s a little…”
“Pink?” Sabs snickers.
“Exactly,” Izzie laughs. “And it smells too sweet, like cotton candy on steroids. She says she can’t notice it, but I swear, it gives me a headache. There are a lot of frilly things in there. Aside from that, the campus seems cool, and the fashion programs sound super interesting.”
“Izzie wants to be a fashion influencer,” Luca explains for Sabs’s benefit.
“I am already a fashion influencer. Twenty-five thousand followers and counting.” Izzie’s shoulders sag as she looks off into the distance, a dreamy expression crossing over her face.“What I really want is to start my own sustainable fashion label one day. Interning is only the start.”
“That’s so cool,.” Sabs looks at her with genuine interest.
“It will be.” Izzie puts down a half-eaten fry. “I’ve been designing in my spare time and experimenting with fabrics, but I think studying here would really help take me to the next level.”
“Before you take over the fashion world, are you going to eat that burger before it goes cold?” I interrupt, making Izzie scowl.
“SVU would be great for you. I’ve heard the fashion department even does runway shows.” Sabs speaks animatedly, Izzie listening intently. “And it’s really safe for omegas. We’ve got the lowest rates of accidental bonding in the…” Sabs catches herself, her sentence trailing off as I splutter. Sabs recovers quickly. “Anyway, I’ve loved my time here so far.”
“So what’s the situation with you guys?” Izzie leans over the table. She nudges her head in my direction, like I’ve suddenly turned invisible. “Adler always said that he’d never date during college, so you must be pretty special.”
Sabs shovels in a handful of fries in her mouth, presumably to avoid answering. She looks at me with an expression that says it’s up to me to answer.
“Our situation is…” I pick the pickles out of my burger, Sabs’s eyes lighting up when I set them on her plate. Who knew pickles were the key to her heart? “Complicated.”
Heavy footsteps get closer before Drax emerges from around the corner. It’s bad enough that I have a stranger living in the house around my newly bonded mate, but having him around my unbonded little sister? No way.
Izzie seems far too distracted by his appearance to ask any more questions about my and Sabs’s relationship. She looks him up and down. “And who are you?”
“This is Drax,” Luca answers her question. “He works with Orin. He’s staying with us for a while. He’s Sabs’s friend.”
She arches one eyebrow. “Friend, huh?”
“I’m just grabbing a drink,” Drax mutters, striding over to get a can from the fridge.
“Do you want to join us?” Sabs waves to the feast in front of her. “There’s plenty of food including loads of onion rings. The crispy kind.” She dangles one enticingly between her fingers. “I know they’re your favorite.”
“I’ll stay out of your way,” he growls without even looking at her before stomping off.
