"If you glare at everybody we pass like that, no ones ever going to talk to me again." I mutter, smiling apologetically at a boy who had maybe stared a little too long at Niall and I. Niall reciprocated by staring him down until he scurried away.
"Good." He smirked in response, pulling me closer by the arm he had looped possessively around my shoulder. "I don't think any of them would be good enough for you."
I rolled my eyes despite the fact that he meant it as a compliment. I decided not to retaliate because I knew he might take it a step too far and literally tape it on my forehead that I'm off limits.
I sighed, opting to change the subject. "You know, walking me to all my classes isn't necessary. I'm perfectly capable of walking from one building to another. I don't need one of you always with me." I pointed out, knowing that it was useless to even bring it up because it's not like they'd listen.
It's been two days since the weekend and three days since the incident at the bar. During these past few days my mates have take it upon themselves to walk me from the dorm to each of my classes and then back home. There is always at least one of them waiting outside the door, ready to scare off any attention.
At the start I enjoyed the company but now it's becoming a little much. I mean, I wake up next to them, I eat with them, I come home to them, and now I walk with them everywhere. I know they are aware of how overbearing they're being but I doubt they care. Plus, it's become a real pain to try and make friends because now everyone I even try to start a conversation with scurries off in fear of what my mates will do.
"And here you are." Niall smiled, motioning to my class room that we had finally arrived to. He slung my bag off his shoulder and held it out to me.
"Thanks." I whispered, blushing furiously. They've also taken it upon themselves to never let me hold my own bag. Even when I assured them I was perfectly capable, they said they liked to do it. I sighed, "So, do you guys...like never have class?" I just had to ask because it's a little confusing how they're always able to be with me.
Niall just laughed, shoving his hands into his sweater pockets, "My dad does own this school so we're not really required to attend all classes. Plus we told you, we only came to this University to find our mate." He motioned to me, "And now we have."
I bit my lip, nodding along, "And...you're only staying here because I'm here." He smiled, and reached a hand up to pinch my cheek. I blushed.
"Of course. We can't leave you on your own. Who would protect you?" I decided not to answer that, knowing he would not be satisfied with any answer.
I sighed, "Okay, well I gotta get to class. Are you picking me up?" I questioned, knowing it'd either be him or one of my other mates.
"Actually the four of us are going to be stuck in a meeting with my dad for a little longer than your class lasts." His eyes suddenly hardened, fixing me with a stern look, "You don't leave this class till one of us come to get you, got it?"
I nodded wordlessly, gulping at the way his voice darkened. When Niall was serious he was really scary, and even though I know he would never lay an abusive hand on me, the omega in me still shivers.
"Promise me." He pushes, grasping my shoulders that now have my backpack slung over them.
"I-I promise. I won't leave the class." I confirmed shakily, my eyes wide.
"Good." He sighs, his features softening. "Text us when you're done."
I nodded, absentmindedly reaching into my back pocket to grab my phone. My eyes widened when I felt nothing. I cursed under my breath and quickly checked my other pocket. Nothing. I threw down my backpack and started frantically rummaging through it. "Oh no...no...no..." I kept muttering under my breath as I shifted through all the pockets.
"What's wrong?" Niall asked in concern kneeling down next to me.
"I can't find my phone." I heaved an exasperated sigh, "I must've left it at the kitchen table." I zipped up my bag in frustration, releasing a groan.
Niall sighed, "Baby it's okay, don't stress yourself over it. Just don't leave your class and nothing will happen." I sighed once again but nevertheless nodded. His face morphed into a cheeky smile, "Go learn stuff, okay?"
I rolled my eyes playfully, "Okay..." I dragged the word out in exaggeration, inching towards my classroom.
"Yeah yeah I know you wanna go in." He smiled, tugging me closer by the hand to peck my forward. "See you soon, okay?"
I blushed, nodding. "Okay."
He watched me walk through the door, and only when it closed, he turned around and left. I flipped around to the almost full auditorium. My eyes scanned the rows until they landed on Rhys. He didn't seem to notice me as his ear phones were in and he was tapping away at his phone, his head bopping to the music.
I climbed my way up the stairs, dodging multiple backpacks. I paused nearly halfway up the steps when I could hear whispers that were getting increasingly louder. My eyes finally looked up from the floor to see nearly everyone staring at me. I gulped, noting how some were even brave enough to point.
I suddenly felt queasy under all the eyes, my stomach doing flips.
"He's their Omega!"
"I heard they keep him locked in their room, only letting him out to go to class."
"He's going to be gone by the end of the week."
"I wonder how long it will take before the Seekers get him."
The last one actually made my eyes widened, my head whipping around to see who said it. Before I could pinpoint the source, I felt a hand tug my sleeve and yank me down to an empty seat.
"Standing there like a fish outta water just draws more attention." Rhys whispered in my ear, glaring at a few people who were still staring. I could barely manage a nod, my eyes still frozen wide while my body remained impossibly tense. "Oh H..." Rhys' voice came again, this time noticeably softer and more concerned. "Don't listen to them okay? Your mates are great and they'll protect you."
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, still not able to snap out of the trance I've been put in. I mean I know my mates will protect me, but what if one day it's not enough? What if I really do get snatched up and taken off the face of the earth by some psycho mateless Alphas.
It's moments like these that I realize how necessary their overbearingness is. They've explained to me multiple times that it's for my own safety while the Seekers are around, and if I would just go back to their own packs territory they wouldn't need to worry so much. Still I've made it a goal of mine to finish my undergraduate degree and I don't want to be chased away from my dream because of some Alphas that have nothing better to do than hunt down vulnerable Omegas.
Before I could further dote on the subject the professor waltzed in. I took out my laptop from my knapsack and opened up a new document for notes. Throughout the lesson I jotted down the key topics the professor rambled about as well as side notes for myself.
It was nearing the end of the lesson when I started to shift uncomfortably in my seat. I knew everyone would look at me occasionally as if I was some zoo animal but now it was starting to irritate me.
"Do people have nothing better to do than gawk at me?" I muttered under my breath so only Rhys could hear me.
He let out a small chuckle, huffing a bit. "I think you should take it as a compliment. You're the most interesting thing in their life currently."
I rolled my eyes at his tone, "Yeah well it's already getting old." He chuckled lightly at my words before we both went back to listening to the professor and jotting down notes. It was easier said than done because I also had to try and block out all the eyes I could feel burning into me from all over the room. Even the professor kept eying me.
When the class finally ended I was about ready to explode. I hated being the centre of attention and now I've been pushed past my breaking point. I was more than ready to go back to my mates dorm and bury myself in their bed where I could be protected from all the prying eyes.
"Looks like the big bad Alphas have let their omega out of his cage." Rhys and I both jolted to a stop while we were walking down the stairs to leave the auditorium.
I quickly flipped around to find who said it. Majority of the people were packing their stuff and making their way out of the building but there was a group of about 4 guys that were lounging in the back seats. I gulped looking at their lewd smirks and overall laid back position. They had their feet propped up on the seat in front of them and their arms hanging lazily along the backs of the chair beside them.
"Whatcha lookin' at Omega? Got something to say?" The one with bleached blond hair and pale blue eyes chuckled, obviously finding my petrified expression humorous. I was frozen in place as I continued to look at them, not being able to say anything or move.
"C'mon Harry lets go..." Rhys' voice filtered into my ears and then I felt a gentle tug on my arm. I let him pull me but my eyes didn't stray from the menacing group. "Stop staring." He gritted, yanking me down the steps much harder then before so that I had no choice but to turn back around.
He almost managed to drag me out the door before I snapped out of my trance and dug my heels into the floor to stop him. He whipped around to gawk at me, "Harry we have to leave." He insisted, scanning the room and noticing that almost everyone was gone except for us and them, including the professor. "It's not safe to be here alone with them." He tried to keep his voice as low as possible but I know for a fact those boys up there are Alphas and Betas meaning they can definitely hear us.
"I-I can't. I promised Niall I wouldn't leave this room until one of them came and got me." I whispered shakily, glancing back briefly at the group before meeting Rhys' desperate gaze.
"They'll understand Harry! I'm sure it's much more of a danger in here than it is out there. You know I wouldn't leave you alone but Grey would be so pissed if he knew I was in here with..." He peeked passed me with scared eyes. I didn't need him to finish his sentence to understand. I knew exactly who they were.
"I know but..." I bit my lip while having an internal battle inside my head. On one hand I knew they'd be mad if they came here and didn't see me in the room. But on the other hand I knew they wouldn't want me in the same room as...you know who. "Do you have your phone? I'll just call them to tell them what's happening."
Rhys nodded, "Yes and I'll let you use it if we leave. Now." I glanced back quickly to see the four males standing from their seats, their eyes trained on us.
It was me this time who grabbed Rhys' arm and darted out of the room. We both picked up speed and ran as quickly as we could to Rhys' dorm. If there was one place Betas and Alphas couldn't go it was definitely an Omega's dorm.
Once we were both cuddled on to Rhys' bed, he handed me his phone. I opened up the phone keypad before freezing. "Shit." I whispered, my eyes widening.
"What?"
"I-I don't know their numbers off by heart. I just have them as a contact in my phone." I nibbled on my lips as I tried to think of someway to get to them. "I'll have to go back to their dorm. They'll freak when they don't see me in the classroom." I was already getting up to grab my knapsack off the floor.
"Harry! Stop! Wait!" Rhys called, grabbing the handle of my bag to take it away from me. "It's not safe yet. It's barely been 10 minutes who knows if they've followed us!"
"Well what else am I going to do?" I exclaimed, letting out an exasperated sigh while plopping down on his bed.
"Look calm down. I'll call Grey and tell him the situation. He'll go wait at the classroom for them to show up and then bring them here to pick you up. Sound good?" He explained, already dialling his Alphas number.
"Yeah...except they hate Greyson." I muttered under my breath. Rhys didn't react so he either didn't hear or didn't care to respond.
"Hey...yeah my class ended...look I have to tell you something..." Rhys went on to explain the whole situation, including the words that the 4 guys said to me while we were leaving the room. "Yes, yes I'm fine! Look-" He released a sigh, running his hands through his hair as Grey's frantic voice rang through the phone speaker. "Grey! I'm okay, okay? Can you just listen?" There was a muttered word that I didn't quite catch but his voice seized from the speaker. "I need you to go wait at the classroom for Harry's mates - " There was more screaming now and I winced. "Grey! I know you don't like them but Harry doesn't have his phone and he has no way to let them know where he is. So please for me go wait for them and bring them here...okay, thank you...yeah I love you too." And then he hung up.
He released a tired sigh while plopping down on his bed next to me. "Ugh Alphas are so overprotective!" I laughed, laying my head next to his.
"Tell me about it."
"I know! And you have four! I can't even imagine. I just have Greyson and he makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes." He shook his head, while blowing out air between his teeth. "Being an Omega sucks sometimes."
I laughed, nodding along. "Yeah, but I've never felt more wanted in my entire life. I mean I know they can be overbearing and overly controlling but...I know they'd never let me get hurt." It was quiet after that while my words sunk in. I knew Rhys agreed with me even if he didn't verbalize it. He understands more than anyone since him and Greyson love each other. My mates and I haven't quite reached that step yet since we just met but I know that day will come sooner or later. I could feel it.
-----
Banging on the door shook both Rhys and I out of our trance. We both shot up from the bed because of the aggressiveness in the knocks. For safety, Rhys looked through the peephole before unlocking the door.
A pair of arms immediately snatched him while tumbling into the room. "Tell me they didn't touch you?" Was the first thing out of Greyson's mouth as he squeezed the life out of his mate.
I didn't hear his answer as I was soon grabbed my a pair of arms and pulled into a muscled chest. I wrapped my arms around the unidentified body but by the broadness of the shoulders I could guess it was Liam.
I was quickly passed around between all of them so they could check to make sure I was fine. "I'm okay!" I assured, trying to brush they're frantic hands off of me. "They didn't touch either of us. I barely spoke to them." They're eyes seemed to darken at my words. Oops.
"You spoke to them?!" I flinched at the deep growl that resonated from Zayn's throat.
"No! Well, yes. But no! I mean..." I gulped, looking over at Rhys to see him staring at me from over Greyson's shoulder. "They just called me out a couple times...but Rhys pulled me away before anything else happened!" I quickly assured, noticing how they're chests were beginning to heave in anger.
"What did they say to you? What did they look like? How many were there? Where was the professor? Fuck! Who was the professor? They should have never left Omegas alone with Alphas! Tell me the professors name, I can fire them! Did -"
"Stop!" I screeched, covering my ears out of frustration. I screwed my eyes shut, trying my best to block out all their questions. When I heard no noise I slowly peeked my eyes opened, surprised to see Rhys and Greyson also looking at me in shock. Whoops. I must have yelled louder than I thought. "Just stop, okay? They were just teasing me about being an Omega, it's nothing new. And stop threatening to fire everyone! These are people's lives you're messing with. They don't need to be fired because of one mistake, okay?" I let out a sigh, wrapping my arms around myself. "Look, I'm just really worn out and I'd rather just go back the our dorm and sleep. I really don't want to talk about this right now." I didn't even look up to meet their eyes, I just kept my head down and avoiding everyone's stares.
"Okay." I heard a voice say softly. I glanced up. Louis. "Lets go, alright?" I kept my eyes trained on him, shocked at how gently he was looking at me. I finally forced out a nod and grabbed the outstretched hand he offered. He quietly led me to the door while my other mates followed.
"Bye H, see you tomorrow." Rhys smiled and waved, already curled up in Greyson's arms. I cracked a half-smile and returned the wave, offering one to Grey as well before being pulled out of the room.
----
A/N:
it's been awhile...
A lot of you have been asking me if something's wrong, if i'm continuing to write my books, why i'm not updating, etc. And yes i'm okay, I just was going through a period (a long period) of writers block after the last chapter and had sorta just given up (with the full intention of coming back at some point to continue the story). I knew where I wanted this story to go I just didn't know how to get there...i'm still figuring it out. There's a bunch of different scenarios playing in my head right now and i'm still trying to figure out which one I like best so we'll see :)
As for the next update...well i'm not gonna promise a date or a time frame because I myself am not really sure...but just know that i'm not abandoning this story or any of my others (and if I ever was I would fully tell you guys, I wouldn't just leave and have you guys continue commenting for me to update).
But anyways i hope you guys like the chapter and there are still some of you who have stuck around to see this update! Please vote and comment what you think :)
Love you lots!!
- Avery ;)