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A quiet voice came from my left. “Are you looking for the scholarship student?”
My eyes flashed as I rounded on them. “Her name is Riley.”
“Right, of course. I’m sorry. I saw her when I was coming to class. Someone had her over there, backed into the wall, and it looked like they were saying something really mean. All I know is Riley started crying and tore off back toward the dorms.”
I felt a hot flash run through my body. Fucking Hilary. With a thank you thrown over my shoulder, I took off toward Dunning Building and raced up the steps to our room. I had never felt a white, furious rage like this before. I wanted to tear Hilary limb from limb for speaking to Riley that way, for making her hurt. Riley was precious. She deserved to be protected and loved, not treated like garbage.
At the top of the stairs, I slammed to a halt. Riley’s distress hit me like a ton of bricks, her scent souring the surrounding air. I heard her sniffles before I saw her, but nothing could have prepared my heart for what she looked like. She was curled into a fetal position in front of our door, quiet sobs wracking her body.
“Oh, sweetheart . . . ,” I breathed out and rushed over to her. “What happened? What’s wrong? Why didn’t you go into the room?”
Riley hiccupped and lifted her tear-stained face to mine. “I couldn’t get in. My fingerprint didn’t work.”
My breath caught as I remembered we had never updated the lock to include her. That meant she had been lying here, upset, for the entirety of the last class. If I hadn’t come looking for her, who knew how long she would have been outside of our room? Jumping into action, I quickly unlocked the door and bundled her inside.
I shuffled her over to the nest room and, without a second thought, took her inside. I helped her climb down into our nest and grabbed the blanket I had seen her snuggling the most and tucked it around her desolate body. Her frame shook with silent tears that tracked down her beautiful face, soaking the material under her.
“Riles, tell me what happened. Who hurt you? Whatever they said, you have to know it isn’t true,” I pleaded with her.
Tear-stained eyes met mine, and I almost cried at the world of sadness I saw brimming in their depths. “It’s fine. It’s nothing. Someone just hurt my feelings and made me sad. It's stupid.”
“Your feelings are never stupid,” I growled out, causing her to whine and slide closer to me, as if to comfort me. “Whoever said this to you is going to be sorry, I promise you.”
“No, please. Let it go. It will just get worse next time. I’m sorry I didn’t make it to class or lunch. I’m just going to go to bed. Sorry for being such a burden.”
My eyes flashed. “You are not and never will be a burden, Riley Druman. As much as anyone else, you deserve to be here. You deserve to be happy. And you definitely DO NOT deserve to be treated as less than.”
She sniffled, her gaze filled with a dim hope.
“Look, I’m going to go grab some snacks and water and come back for some cuddles. I think you could use them. I know I can, and as omegas, we are especially good at giving those. Wait here for me, okay?”
She sniffled again but jerkily nodded her head. I bit my lip and slipped from the nest. Hurrying over to the mini fridge, I grabbed several water bottles and all the snacks I could carry. I was moving to go right back when it hit me.
Riley’s green tea and honey tickled my nostrils and I closed my eyes briefly, inhaling it deep into my lungs.Gods, she smelled so good. My eyes snapped open and I gasped. How was this possible? How did this happen?
I mean, it explained everything. My fierce need to protect her. My powerful urge to keep her near me always. My wish to see her happy and loved and safe.
She wasmyomega. My scent match.
Mine.
Riley was mine.
Now, what the hell did I do with that information?
Chapter13
Riley
It was hard to believe that a quarter of the year was gone already. It was now halfway through March and classes were over for this semester. I watched everyone run around as they got ready to head back home for the two-week break. Except a handful of staff and me, the school was going to be empty.
I needed this break away from everyone. Even Storm. I for sure thought I was going to have to lie to her about not going home. But when the time came, she had rushed through packing her bag, hugged me goodbye, and rushed out to the shuttle.
It was so unlike the behavior I expected from her, it had thrown me for a loop. Although, if I was honest with myself, she had been more distant ever since she had found me crying outside our dorm. That night, she had comforted me, tucked me into our nest, and brought me snacks. The next morning, however, she seemed distracted. As if she were putting up walls between us.
I couldn’t lie; it hurt. I didn’t know what I had done wrong or what had changed, but I didn’t like it. We had been so close when I got here, and I valued her friendship so much. She had done so much for me, and I wanted to fix whatever chasm that had been created between us.
I entered our dorm and shut the door firmly behind me. I was so grateful that Storm had gotten my fingerprint added or I would have been spending these two weeks sleeping in the hallway.
