Becoming Alpha

We reached the cafeteria before I could come up with something to say. As soon as she opened the door, the smells of breakfast reached me. My stomach rumbled so loud that a few people at the closest table chuckled.



My face heated. “Apparently I’m hungry,” I said, trying to laugh it off.



Meredith’s smile was back. “Me too. Let’s get some grub.”



The amount of food was intense—eggs, bacon, pancakes, French toast, bagels, croissants, anything and everything. The man at the grill station had to be a Were. He moved so fast I could barely track him as he took orders for omelets and crepes and noodles.



I piled my plate up quickly. As we walked to a table, people were quieter than they had been at dinner, focused more on eating than chatting. Thank God not everyone was as peppy in the morning as Meredith. She took forever to get up, but once Meredith finally got out of bed, she was all sunshine and rainbows.



On my way to the table, an elbow jabbed my side. I turned to see what the deal was just in time to get shoulder checked by La Bitch. I barely registered the brush of her skin against mine before I got sucked in.



Look at this short slut. There’s no way he’s going to dump me for her. Not a chance in hell.



Was that a vision?



I shoved away the stabbing pain in my heart at the thought that Dastien would choose this girl over me. Instead, I’d focus on the fact that my visions might be coming back. The relief was tangible. Now, if only I could get this girl to back off. “Excuse me?” I didn’t care how rude I sounded. Having a little bit of my own normalcy back was enough to make me confident.



“Move out of the way.” La Bitch moved to shove me, but I sidestepped in time, and managed to keep my plate from slipping off the tray. Go me.



The girl’s face reddened. She leaned into my space. “Listen, whore,” she whispered. “I don’t know what you did to my Dastien, but you better stay far away from us.”



I met her stare. “I really don’t give a shit about you or your cheating boyfriend. You need to back off before you start something you’re going to regret.” We stood there frozen. Somehow it turned into a third grade staring contest, and I wouldn’t look away first.



Time stopped as I waited for her to look away. As soon as she did, I smiled, and it wasn’t in the least bit nice. “Leave,” I said. “Now.”



She spun, stomping her feet like a child.



Who knew telling her to go would work? I couldn’t stop the grin. I was badass.



It didn’t take long for the grin to disappear. Everyone in the room had been watching. Fan-freaking-tastic. I hoped that was the end of showdowns, but knew I could never be that lucky.



I found my way to the table where Meredith and Chris were sitting, and slid into the chair.



“Well, that was intense,” I said.



“Intense?” Meredith said. “No. That was ah-may-zing. Do you know what this means?”



“That she’ll leave me alone?”



Chris laughed. “No. You’ve just made an enemy for life. No chance in hell she’ll ever leave you alone now.”



“Aaaaand,” Meredith said, cutting off Chris before he could say anything else. “More importantly, you might be an alpha.”



“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I looked at La Bitch, who was now talking furiously with three other girls. “What is her problem?”



“She’s Imogene Hoel. She thinks she’s the shit,” Chris said. “And she likes to think that she’s Dastien’s girlfriend.”



My heart double-timed it. “But is she Dastien’s girlfriend?”



“No,” Meredith said. “They kind of grew up together, and a bunch of people, including her, thought that they’d end up together, but they’ve never really dated. I mean…there was that rumor—”



“The rumor had some truth to it, but she threw herself at him and wouldn’t leave him alone until he gave her a chance,” Chris said.



I stopped breathing as Dastien walked into the room. Imogene ran to him and put her arms around his waist. He put his arm on her shoulder as she talked to him. He jerked back at something that she said, and then his gaze found mine.



Shit. I sank down in my chair. Being in the middle of a soap opera wasn’t my idea of a good time.



“She’s really pissed. I love being right. I knew I was going to like you,” Chris said. He blew me a kiss.



I pretended to catch the kiss and press it to my cheek, and then I looked behind me again. Dastien stood still, ignoring Imogene. His eyes were glowing, but I wasn’t sure if he was staring at Chris or me. My heart sped up. Was he going to come over here?