Page 14 of Knot Mine

“Hmmm, probably. Although he might just hide up in his room watching one of his weird cartoons again. Only coming out for food like some easily startled woodland creature.” Shelaughs, Sadie and the others joining in, making my skin prickle. “Don’t worry about Lo. I’ll make sure he plays nice.”

“We don’t have to do this, you know.” Shiloh’s green eyes narrow on me, the fading sunlight making them look almost hazel, speckled through with gold. It also makes the caramel tones in his hair shimmer where the light hits it directly.

Coughing awkwardly, I adjust in my seat, ignoring the dull ache in my ass. Why were library chairs so uncomfortable when people spent hours in here?

“I don’t want to be a freeloader.” I squirm again, tapping my pen against my notebook and not just because he hasn’t taken his gaze off me since I sat down fifteen minutes ago. Have his eyes always had those flecks? “So, just let me do my share of the work.”

When I’d arrived, he’d already pulled out a stack of books and was making his way through them with a pack of post it notes, occasionally typing something on his laptop. He was wearing his usual turtle neck, this one the color of a latte and for a change, it was somewhat fitted, clinging to his willowy frame rather than swamping him like his usual jumpers. His leg was partially stretched out under the table, and I noticed he was also wearing fitted jeans that folded up by the ankles. It was strange, seeing the bare skin there when I was so used to him covering up. Shrinking away. Trying not to be noticed.

He’d clearly been expecting me to bail, based on the way he froze without even glancing up as I entered the strangely intimate space he’d hidden himself away in. Pausing, I’d tried to give myself a discreet sniff. My T-shirt was fresh, I think…and the jeans were out of the laundry pile. My varsity jacketdidn’t seem to give off any weird odor either. Was I exuding pheromones? Is that why he was so jumpy? No…and he was a beta. They weren’t usually very sensitive to alpha or omega scents, usually only noticing them when they were extreme–so during a rut, a heat or an angry outburst. Was he always on guard like this?

“Oh, you'll be doing your share.” He laughs, the noise bitter and sharp. It grates on me, the sound forced, making my alpha instincts wince. “I just meant we didn’t have to do it together. Here. In the library.”

We’d chosen corporate social responsibility as the topic for our project, looking at the ways a company could integrate this model, and drawing up a business plan for the fake business we’d been assigned. The reflective essay needed to be a critical evaluation of the model, but also our proposal, hence why we were now hiding out amongst the dusty books.

“It just makes it easier.” Grabbing the back of my neck, I feel my face heating up. Was it warm in here?

Shiloh sits back and crosses his arms, pulling his jumper more taunt against his torso. “Hmmm, does it?”

Pulling my water bottle out of my bag, I take a gulp, feeling his eyes on me as I swallow greedily like some sort of dehydrated hamster.

When I’m finished, I feel a little more composed, and he’s returned to making notes, I try to strike up conversation again. “How did you find this place?”

The library was built partially into a hill, which means that even though the front of the building was at ground level, and we were technically in a basement, there were still windows letting in the dusk light. We were sitting on a small table that could fit three people around it, at a push, surrounded by bookcases. I’m not even entirely sure how I managed to find my way down here,and if it hadn’t been for another student pointing out this alcove area when I asked, I might have walked straight past Shiloh.

“I came across some students fucking in here by accident during my first year. They must have graduated because I haven’t seen them since.” He looks thoughtful for a moment before shrugging. “Either that or they died from shame.”

“Oh.” I doubt it was the shame. Thanks to secondary genders and our bestial natures, sometimes fucking in public happened. If you were an alpha or an omega, it was usually laughed off or covered up. It was only a humiliation if you were a beta, because you were expected to control yourself. There were no excuses for Betas apparently, I’d seen how people treated Shiloh.

Frowning, uncomfortable with that train of thought, I open the book closest to me and start skimming through the contents page. “Have you heard from anyone else?”

“Nope. And if they don’t contribute, we’re not putting their names on this project. Got it?”

I shift uncomfortably, partly because of the stupid chair, partly because something about being so cutthroat doesn’t sit right with me. What if they get angry because we’ve left them off? What if it leads to some sort of confrontation? Shiloh might be willing to brawl over a class project, but I wanted a simple life.

“Zale.” The warning tone in his voice makes me look away. “Got it?”

“Yeah.” If he wanted to take responsibility, and draw that line in the sand between us and the others, then I’d keep my mouth shut and do whatever he tells me.

“Now, I have an idea…”

We work in silence for a little while, broken by low whispers every so often and trading of the occasional idea. It’s…easy. Being around him like this. It’s a side to Shiloh Vos I don’t think I’ve ever seen. I don’t think anyone has, except maybe his roommate.

As the last of the day light vanishes, and the darkness creeps in around the shelves and dusty tomes, I relax. I think Shiloh seems more at ease too, as he asks for my opinions more and seems happier to divide the work out. Every now and again he rubs at his neck, like something is irritating him, but I’m just glad his annoyance isn’t directed at me for a change.

Hours seem to vanish in this weird way until Shiloh stretches, and announces that he’s done for today’s session. He pushes to his feet and stretches again with a groan that makes me swallow, his jumper riding up to expose a small strip of pale skin. I was clearly tired, and my brain scrambled from the prep work we’d done today.

Sliding my laptop and my notebook back into my backpack, I grab his glasses and place them down on the table gently. “I think these are yours…y’know. From the party. At Colton’s.”

Shiloh stares at them for a moment, as if they might grow a head and bite him before cautiously snatching them up, shoving them in his pocket. “Oh. Yeah.”

A hint of caramel lingers in the air, teasing the tip of my tongue, making my mouth water. Maybe someone nearby was due their heat?

Tilting my head, I look down at him. He was shorter than me, the top of his head coming to my chin but almost the same height as Millie, so I would guess around five foot 7. His smaller stature never detracted from that sharp tongue of his though, he was a viper when he wanted to be.

“Are you going to thank me?” I ask with a frown. I didn’t have to pick them up, or return them to him. No one else would have. The least he could do is apologize…it was basic manners.

“We’ve been sitting here for over three hours and you’re only now returning them.” He crosses his arms and glares at me, his green eyes flashing angrily. “You’ve had them for Goddessknows how long, but you want me to be grateful you’re finally returning them?”

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