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Delusion.
Just like our friendship or romance.
The moment that the teacher marched out, Thomas pulled his iPod back, winding it up and hiding it in his pocket.
He averted his gaze and went back to pretending that I was beneath his notice again.
What version of Thomas was real?
The haughty, elite jerk or the kind Alpha who’d shared his only comfort with me?
Now, sitting on the carpet in my bedroom, I don’t know how to explain any of this to Lincoln.
“Tom is a complex man.” I rub my temple that’s started to ache. “There’s more going on underneath the surface that we don’t know. And pretty as he is, he’s going to be your boss. You need to adjust to that. How the fuck did it happen?”
Lincoln pushes his phone back into his pocket. He runs his hand through his sleek hair, ruffling the waves and making him look more like the boy I remember.
“The Saints needed a new bodyguard. Elite as they are, it’s not surprising that they came to the best training academy that there is for one. Apparently, as soon as Tom saw my name, he wouldn’t look at any other applicants.” Lincoln can’t hide the pride in his voice. “The academy handle the hiring and the contracts. I haven’t spoken to Tom yet.”
I frown.
It sounds far too much like Lincoln has been sold to the Saints.
“Could you have said no?” I ask, carefully.
Lincoln laughs. “Why would I? Better the knothead you know and all that shit. And yep, I could have said no, if I didn’t mind being put on punishment duty, until I said yes to the next contract. Anyway, it won’t be much different to when we were young. I protected Tom then too.”
“Possibly don’t remind Tom of that. Alphas have their pride.”
“I call it knot ego. They inflate their knots to match their inflated egos. Tom’s knot should be fucking impressive.”
I chuckle at the same time as I flush.
But then, the laughter dies in my throat, when I remember the first time that Lincoln stepped in to protect Thomas.
In senior year, Lincoln and I had turned a corner and discovered Thomas trapped against a locker.
His sister wasn’t with him for once.
Three of the more persistent of Thomas’ Alpha fanboys, who’d definitely tipped into stalker-like obsession as the years had gone on, had him pressed hard against his own locker.
Their leader was Richard, a blue eyed, golden haired jock who thought that the entire world should kneel in front of him because his dad was the billionaire owner and CEO of the biggest chemical company in the state.
Lincoln stumbled to a halt, but I grabbed his arm.
“You already have a detention this week, gargoyle,” I hissed at Lincoln. “Keep walking. You can’t get into another fight.”
“It won’t be another fight,” Lincoln growled. His eyes appeared to have become molten silver, rather than gray, like they always did when he was about to let out his dark side. I shivered. “It’ll be an ass kicking, if that knothead doesn’t take his hand off Tom’s neck.”
Confused, I glanced back at Richard.
I gasped.
Richard had one hand to the side of Thomas’ head, caging him against the lockers and blocking his escape. The other one, however, was trailing suggestively down Thomas’ neck.
“Don’t move, Tommy,” Richard murmured.
Casually, he undid Thomas’ tie. Thomas’ throat bobbed, as he swallowed.
