Chapter 34

Ollie’s POV

After learning that my high score in the final exams won’t count in the student rankings, I fall into a bit of a mental slump.

I’ve only just started the path as an Omega, and already I’m feeling defeated. Before it had seemed like Sylvia and the quadruplets were the ones holding me back. But now, it felt as if the rules themselves were pushing me down and keeping me low.

I had earned those high scores through rigorous studying, but the rules refused to acknowledge that? Why? To protect the disposition of the other pack members, so that they could continue to think they were innately better than me, an Omega?

I know that my mood will bounce back eventually. I’m a fighter after all, and with my application off to the Nightheart pack for consideration, I still have reason to maintain hope.

Yet even so, with knowing how difficult my life is going to be from now on, I can’t help but mourn what could have been, if only for a day or two.

It’s not like anyone will really notice or care… is what I think until Ella shows up at the door to my bedroom, dressed to go out with her purse and sunglasses.

“Get out of your pajamas,” she tells me. I might still be dressed for bed, even though it’s around 1 in the afternoon. “We’re going out.”

“Going where?” I ask.

“Shopping,” she says brightly. “A few new outfits might perk you up.”

“I don’t really have the money…” I say. I do, technically, but I’ve been trying to save every penny to use during my new life in Nightheart pack.

“My treat,” Ella says. She claps her hands together. “No excuses. We’re going to go have some fun for a change!”

Her enthusiasm is somewhat contagious, and maybe a new outfit would help to improve my mood somewhat. It’s worth a try anyway, right? It’s not like I want to feel this badly about everything.

Shopping might just be a bandage over a deeper wound, but I’d take the bandage over nothing any day.

“Alright. Let me get dressed. I’ll be out in a minute.”

We head to one of the outdoor malls nearby and take time walking around. We window shop more than actually shopping, looking at the displays in the windows and commenting on whether we would wear the outfits, or if anyone would.

One dress has so many frills that we debate for a while what an actually appropriate venue would be for the dress.

“It’s cute, in its own way, but unless you are walking down a runway, it seems entirely impractical,” Ella says.

“Can you even sit down in it?” I add. “Wouldn’t that ruin the ruffles and frills in the back?”

“Maybe a cocktail party then?” Ella suggests. “As long as you don’t want to sit down.”

We leave the frilly dress and continue walking. The next store in the line is a lingerie store. My cheeks heat up and I mean to keep walking but Ella hits me with a pointed look.

“What?” I ask.

“Maybe you should get something to wear for one of your secret rendezvous…” she says, waggling her eyebrows.

“Be serious,” I say, though I am tempted. Honestly, I’ve been a bit embarrassed about my panties when meeting with Hugh. He’s probably used to seeing sexy things on beautiful women, but until now, I’ve only ever cared about things being practical.

I didn’t know I’d want to be seen, to be touched and tasted, as Hugh peels off my panties with his teeth…

I blink, returning back to the present. Ella is still looking at me expectantly, so I blush even more fiercely, embarrassed by the thoughts that just crossed my mind.

“You be serious,” Ella says, smirking. “Come on. Let’s at least see what they have.”

Truthfully I wouldn’t mind looking a little nicer for Hugh, so, even though my cheeks are burning, I follow Ella into the store.

She seems to have none of the same hang-ups as me and walks around the store like she would any other place. Here and there she’ll lift up a pair of panties or a lacey bra. One set even has a girdle and stockings that tie together.

That feels like too much to me. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but I’m not ready to go that deep into unknown, sexy territory. Maybe that lacey bra and panties set is more of a match for me.

There’s a black set and a red set. Black feels safer but… I don’t know. I imagine Hugh might like the red better since he is so sexually bold.

For a moment, I hesitate, feeling foolish. Why am I doing this? I don’t see Hugh that often, and even when I do, I shouldn’t need to impress him like this. We are only meeting for sex…

Yet, I find that I do want to impress him, just a little. Even if I am leaving soon. Even if the bra and panties will just sit in a drawer when I’m in Nightheart pack. For now, while I can, I do want to wear them and see Hugh’s reaction. Will he be surprised?

I also want to enjoy him removing them from me…

My mind made up, I look for my size in the red lacey bra and matching panties and head toward the counter to pay for them. The panties are a thong. I’ve never worn one of those before. They don’t look entirely comfortable, but I imagine I won’t be wearing them for long.

My cheeks heat up again, and I smile to myself.

At just that moment, the bell on the door chimes. I look up and immediately lock eyes with Hugh, who is entering, his arm around a random blonde woman.

His gaze drops from my face down to the red bra and panties I’m holding, and the big grin he had been sporting suddenly falls into a glower.

I reject the impulse to hide the lingerie behind my body, just as I stop myself from running away.

He removes his arm from around the blonde, though does pat her on the backside to encourage her to move forward and look through the store.

A red hot spear of jealousy spikes through me, but I push it down.

Hugh and I aren’t exclusive. Far from it. We aren’t even dating. I have no right to get this angry, just as he has no right to look so mad at me for buying lingerie.

He approaches me, his glare staying on the red bra and panties I’m holding even as he stops a foot away from me.

“Why are you buying that?” he demands. The playful Hugh I’m used to interacting with at the cabin is gone in this moment. Instead, this is the Alpha who declared me an Omega right along with his brothers. That’s the man I hate – or at least, the one I want to hate.

So I lift my chin in defiance. “Isn’t it obvious?”

His glare lifts to my face. “You are going to wear that for someone?” he asks, a growl in his voice. I swear his eyes flash red, which makes no sense at all. Why should he be angry by that? He and his brothers despise me.

“Isn’t that what it’s for?” I ask.

In a flash, he yanks the bra and panties from me and casts them aside. Then, he grips my wrist.

“We are going to talk about this,” he says. “Now.” He starts pulling me from the store.

Looking back, I see the wide-eyed look of Ella, as well as the utterly confused look of the blonde.

Both of whom get left behind as Hugh pushes me into the passenger side of his car and then races us back to the estate.