AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We talk through a few more details as I quickly change and finish gathering my books. Mason insists on carrying them for me, and I can’t help but sneak glances at the defined muscles in his arm where it curves around my SAT prep monstrosity.
“My brother’s birthday is coming up soon too,” I share as we make our way across the quad. “Growing up, he always had a costume party since it’s right before Halloween andDia de los Muertos. Does he do that anymore?”
“Not that I’ve seen,” Mason laughs. “But our swim team always does a fun event on Halloween. We all dress up in costumes and then do a fifty-meter race. If I remember correctly, Leo tends to go for style over hydrodynamics in the water. Usually, the freshmen all go with a group costume. They were Disney Princesses last year.”
“That’s amazing!” I laugh. “Lucky for whoever got Jasmine—I don’t think she ever wore a dress, right?”
“Yeah,” he agrees. “I think I have pictures, actually. Let me check.”
We pass his phone back and forth for the rest of the walk. After all the photos from the swim team’s Halloween bash, he finds other photos of Leo competing, and then some of him, Micah, and Cabe.
“Who are all those guys?” I ask, pointing at a picture where his pack is joined by a bunch of other guys, all dressed in suits. I wonder if there’s any way I can get a copy of that. They look crazy-handsome.
“Oh, those are Cabe’s older brothers. That was from two years ago. We were celebrating the official bonding of the eldest two’s pack with their omega.” He points at the two in the middle.
Now that he mentions it, they do all look a lot like Cabe.
“Two of his brothers are in a pack together? What about the third?”
“He has four packmates of his own, they all live up closer to our parents’ place and last I heard they were opening some sort of restaurant-type thing. I’ll probably get an update over Thanksgiving.”
“Why isn’t Cabe in a pack with any of his brothers?” I ask, genuinely curious about how it works. “You and Micah stuck together—wouldn’t it have made sense for Cabe’s brother to join you guys?”
“It is pretty common for brothers to stick together in a pack, but not always. It’s hard to describe the feeling you get that pushes you toward pack bonds. Even more interesting when you consider some betas are joining packs these days even though it’s believed they don’t have the same biological drivers as alphas do. This is actually perfect.” He smiles down at me as he nudges my hip gently with his own. “I’m writing my thesis on this topic and I need to put an outline together. Keep asking me questions.”
So I do.
We end up finding a small study room in the library, my SAT prep books lying abandoned in the seat next to me for hours.
16
Esperanza
I never do get around to doing my practice test. To be honest, I’m not sure Mason gets much of his work done either. He claimed I was helping him think through ideas for his thesis, but I can’t imagine answering my millions of questions was really that productive for him.
I, on the other hand, learned a ton.
Not only about packs and their history, and how they form, but also the color of Mason’s eyes, the way they light up with excitement when he shares something he’s particularly passionate about, and how he has a habit of rubbing at his chin when he’s thinking of an answer. I was feeling downright dizzy by the time he finally had to leave for swim practice—no doubt the result of being in a small room with such a mouthwatering alpha for three hours.
I’d known going in that I could trust Mason, be it gut instinct or my friendship with Micah, but I wasn’t expecting to feel so relaxed so quickly. It was a whole process with Tanner and Lincoln, slowly building on our interactions until I felt at ease. I suppose I hadn’t been too bothered by Cabe either when I had dinner with him and Micah. But it wasn’t just the two of us then. I’m putting this down on the list of things to talk to Dr. Morgan about in my next session.
I was supposed to meet up with Micah yesterday to put in more work on the comics, but I decided to cancel on him and force myself to actually take my practice test. He’d pouted a bit when I tell him, but was mollified when I offered to come over and make it up to him this weekend. When I told him that Mason had offered up their kitchen so I can make a cake for Leo’s birthday, he’s downright ecstatic. From the sound of it, he’s already recruited Cabe as my baking assistant.
* * *
I haveseveral different recipes tucked away in my bag, courtesy of Mackenzie. I thought my head might explode having to score my test after spending hours taking it, but luckily Mackenzie was nice enough to offer. I know Leo or Tanner would have done it for me—or heck, even Micah—but a not so small part of me didn’t want them knowing what I scored. If it was bad, I didn’t exactly want to advertise that. And if I happened to score really well, then that would just be pressure to do the same on my actual exam.
Something about having Mackenzie do it just made me breathe easier.
I scored a 1250. I definitely don’t want to jinx myself, but I’m pretty sure if I can pull that off again on November 5 I’ll have done enough to get into River Valley. If not ... Well. Beyond the vague notion of getting a job, I haven’t truly allowed myself to think about what I’ll do if I don’t get into school.
“Hey, Espy!” Leo greets me as I come through the door. He and Tanner are sitting on the couch playing video games.
“Hey, guys,” I greet them, walking over to see what game they’re playing.
Before I make it to the couch, Leo pauses the game to look me over thoroughly. It would be a little creepy if I didn’t know it came from a good place.
“How was studying?” he asks, apparently satisfied I’m unhurt as he picks his controller back up.
