Page 4 of His Beast

Leaning forward, I flick my tongue across the gash; the taste of copper pennies coated in a thin layer of honey blossoming across my tongue. I lick the wound again, the fragrant scent of spiced honey perfuming the air as Quinn's eyes darken while staring at me in the silence of the room. He pulls his hand back, slowly, but the bleeding has stopped and the wound no longer looks jagged and ugly. I have no logical explanation as to why I did what I had, no memory of what happened that caused me to pin a fucking Alpha to the wall. The only thing I can conclude is that instinct took over.

A small Beta appears at our sides, his coloring pale in panic and sweating as he approaches us. He trembles slightly as he opens his mouth, fear evident in his words. “S-sir, I’m going to have t-to ask you to leave the e-event, p-please.”

Ah. He’s scared I’ll hurt him because he’s asking me to leave. Makes sense, I did just almost kill someone. My shoulders fall as I nod, making my way back to my table to grab my jacket from the chair. I don’t need to look around the room to know that everyone has been watching us.

“Wait.”

The Omega’s voice stops me, and the small event organizer almost walks into me as I turn around slowly. Quinn bends down and picks up the rose that lies on the ground, surrounded by shattered glass. It looked wilted, probably stepped on in the scuffle I had caused. Quinn glowers down at it, attempting to fix the petals but it only makes a few of them flutter to the ground. His frown increases and distress laces the edges of his scent while he looks around the room frantically, locating my abandoned bouquet at my table. He moves quickly, grabbing it from the table before he makes his way back to me. He stares at me briefly as if hesitating for some unknown reason, before shoving the entire bouquet into my hand, startling me enough that I almost drop them. Confused, I tilt my head at him, but it is clear everyone else in the room is let in on the secret I wasn’t privy to because the silent room quickly fills with the fresh murmurs of those around us. I hear someone call Quinn's name, but he ignore it. He watches me carefully, almost defiantly, seeing if I was clued in like everyone else.

“Why are you giving these to me?” I ask, looking down at the flowers.

Quinn stares at me, deadpan, blinking at my question as if I’m stupid before he bursts with laughter. “Did they not explain how the roses work at the front door? I’m picking you, dumbass.”

Picking me? I look at Quinn who smirked at me, arms crossing over his chest, daring me to argue with whatever he was saying. Then it clicks and my eyes grow wide. Quinn just picked me to be his mate.

Quinn

Zayn

I picked up one of your books.

Quinn

That’s embarrassing. Why? I would’ve given you one if you wanted it.

I stare at my phone, watching as the three little dots appear in the text window. It’s been about a week and a half since the ball, and I haven’t had a chance to see Zayn since. He asked once if I was willing to go out to dinner or something, hinting that he’s as clueless as I am about what comes next in our relationship. As much as I hated to, I sadly turned him down, explaining that I had a deadline to reach and edits to go through for my next book. I even sent him a picture of my current work in progress. Zayn and I both went to that party not expecting to find each other, but I got the impression that he thought I chose him out of pity, which—incidentally—is what Alec thought as well as he lectured me the next day about my choice of mate. That wasn’t the case at all, though.

My Omega responded to him protecting me against the other Alpha that night, going so far as to create a sound that I had never made before in hopes to distract Zayn. Sadly it hadn’t worked and I had to put myself between him and the Alpha or he was going to kill someone. I can still feel the touch of his tongue against my palm, watching him as he stared back at me with hungry eyes as he tended to my wound. I had slicked my underwear that night, but if Zayn had noticed, he didn’t acknowledge it. My palm twitching at the memory.

Before he had been escorted from the premises, and told not to come back, we exchanged phone numbers and have been texting daily since. When I had informed him that I had a deadline to meet, he asked if it had been okay to have my address. While hesitant, I couldn’t bring myself to say no to him and gave it to him.

Totally safe to do with someone I just met, I know.

I hadn’t anticipated dinner being delivered to my door, nor did I anticipate a second delivery of a coffee traveler from the local coffee shop down the street. The one most people order for big board meetings to caffeinate everyone.

When I opened his messages to find out what the hell he had been thinking, I found a picture of him with a plate of food in front of him, smiling at the camera.

Zayn

We can still have dinner together. Let me know when it’s safe to message again, I don’t want to be a distraction.

My heart melted at that text, and I couldn’t bring myself to lecture him about sending me enough coffee to drown myself in. Incidentally, in that time, he had picked up one of my books, and that’s embarrassing as hell. Not even Alec read my works. My phone finally vibrates with his response and I stared at it, baffled at the screen.

Zayn

But if you had done that, then you wouldn’t have gotten paid for the book. This is your income we’re talking about.

Part of me had been worried that he would insist that I stop writing, that as the one higher up on the societal totem pole, he is to be the one to provide. Instead, he’s insisting on continuing to support me by purchasing my book instead of demanding a free copy. My phone vibrates once more with his message, drawing me out of my thoughts. Upon reading his message, I can’t help the bark of laughter that erupts from me, tears springing to my eyes as I struggle to regain my breathing.

Zayn

I didn’t realize books could have sex in them! Do you know how hard it is to hide a hard-on in a locker room?

Unable to resist any longer, I tap the camera in the corner of the screen, moving to my nest in my office. I have two nests, one in the bedroom and one here, but this one is my favorite because I’m surrounded by the one thing that gives me comfort. Growing up, books had always been my escape while my parents fought. They were living proof that biology and instinct have no place in a relationship without love. I’m pretty sure they hated each other and I’m pretty sure my father resented me being an Omega. When I had first presented, he basically informed me that I was going to turn into a whore like my mother before drowning himself in alcohol. My mother killed herself shortly after, and I was sent to live with my aunt and her pack. They were the ones that taught me all I knew about becoming an Omega.

Even though Aunt Francis was amazing, heats were complicated once I started having them. I couldn’t be anywhere near the house and was often sent to their cabin in the middle of nowhere half an hour away with Uncle Ian checking on me frequently since he was a Beta. I didn’t resent them leaving me or sending me to the cabin, I knew it was for everyone's safety. Aunt Francis’ pack took care of me as if I was their own child, and thanks to them, I met Alec.

My face splits into a large grin as Zayn’s profile fills my screen, his surprised expression softening as he takes me in. His eyes dance behind me, as if trying to catch any glimpse he can of my surroundings to learn more about me, and I extend my arm a little to show off my nest that I built between my bookshelves. Nests are a sense of pride, shown only to our mates or family, and having him see my safe place feels a little unnerving. He seems to realize what I had done and copies me, showing me that he is in a room that is scarcely furnished with milk crates stacked along the wall. He sits on a thin board in a room with low lighting, his long hair pulled into a bun at the back of his skull. He’s shirtless, my eyes falling to his bare chest while the low lighting creates shadows that seem to dance against his upper torso as he moves. His chest had a few scars as well and I’m genuinely curious if other parts of his body are scared too, but I also don’t want to ask. It’s very clear something traumatic happened, and I don’t want to push into his past unless he was ready.