Page 5 of Pack Giroux

It takes less than ten minutes to check out at the register, the lady ringing me up not even batting an eyelash at my eclectic purchases. Then again, I'm sure she's like everyone else and sees kids like me every single day buying things they need for campus living.

I tell her to have a good night trying to be polite, but she isn't as friendly back. Almost like she's too tired to care. I don't take offense at all, because me, too, girl. Me, too. And I still have to make it all the way back to my dorm carrying all of these bags.

Getting to the front of the store, I pack some of the loose items into my bag on my back. I've got it stuffed as full as the zipper will allow, and resort to carrying the rest, loading my arms up with the rest of the bags. Too bad I can't just borrow the cart. Though, I'd look like a crazy person pushing it through the streets. It's only about a mile or so. I can make it.

I do, too. Halfway down, I come to a fancier restaurant where stylish people are sitting outside eating underneath an awning with little twinkle lights strung around it. The smell is good enough to make my stomach rumble, even though I'm not even that hungry right now. I don't realize that I've stopped to stare until someone whispers behind their hand and the other person at their table turns to look at me. My face heats up, and I quickly start walking again. I'm in such a hurry to get away that I almost run face first into a man coming out of the door that's off to the side.

He's turned facing the door and not paying attention, either, as he chats with whoever is inside. At our almostcollision, he reaches out to steady me. "Woah, hey there. Sorry."

I instantly stop dead and take a step back right before his hands can touch me.

Moving his palms up in a defensive pose, he adds, "Sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's okay," I tell him, trying not to breathe. I'd taken a lungful of his alpha scent and my body doesn't care about stranger danger. It is reacting in a way that I've never had happen, which terrifies me even more.

"You need help getting all of that somewhere?" he asks, motioning to my bags with a genuine smile. I can tell he does that frequently because of the lines on his cheeks when he does it.

I shake my head. "No thank you. I've got it."

"You sure?" he asks with a small dip of his chin and a raise of his eyebrows. "That looks like a lot, and my car is right here."

I don't care how friendly everyone has been today. There's no way in heaven or hell that I'm getting into a car with a stranger. Not just any stranger, but an alpha whose scent is short circuiting my brain.

"I'm okay," I tell him, fighting the urge to step away further.

"Okay," he says. "Well, have a great night."

"You, too," I reply, waiting until he's walking toward the white SUV parked at the curb to start moving again. I don't know why my body reacted to him the way that it did. We have plenty of alphas on the compound, who technically aren't allowed to be alone with us. Some of them break the rules and do it anyway. There's been twice that one of us omegas was pretty much stolen in our sleep. The next day, they're bonded to their kidnapper and their pack and a wedding is being planned. I never got the chance to speak to either of them afterwards, but in the few times that I saw them out, they didn't look as miserable as Ithought they would. As I know that I would be.

This alpha is different. His kindness shines through his brown eyes and the way that his smile came so easily. The dark, curly hair on top of his head makes me wish I would've reached out to touch one of the curls to see if they're as soft as they look. He had at least five or six inches on my five foot eight, and broad shoulders to boot. Somehow, I never knew that I found that as attractive as I do. Not to even mention his scent. It reminded me of cooking a pie in the kitchen. Some kind of spice. I just can't put my finger on which one.

This consumes my thoughts all the way back to campus, making the trip feel like it takes less time than it did earlier. Once I get to my dorm, I have to set all my bags down to dig through the one on my back for the keycard to buzz myself in. Then it's a whole other issue trying to keep the door open while I load everything back up in my arms. I finally manage, and once inside, consider taking the elevator since I'm heavily weighted. However, it's just another good step in progression if I hoof it up the flights with the weight. So, that's what I do.

Not going to lie and say I'm not out of breath by the time I make it back to my room, though. Dropping all of the bags on the floor, I collapse backward onto the mattress and stare at the ceiling while I try to slow down my breathing. I can't say for how long I lay there, but it's long enough that I almost fall asleep. For once in what feels like a very long time, my brain is clear, and I don't feel like Ihaveto think of anything. I don'thaveto have a plan for tomorrow. Only what Iwant.

A hard sigh leaves my chest before I get up to sort out my things. I hang and fold all the clothes, putting them where they belong in the closet and built in drawers. I then take all of the smaller things out of my bag and place them in the bathroom where they go, stopping to give my teeth a long brushing. Spitting in the sink and rinsing my mouth, I raise backup, catching my reflection in the mirror. I play with the short strands of my new haircut, loving the way the blonde is so subtle underneath, but shines bright when it moves. There are dark, exhaustion circles underneath my blue eyes, but they are well worth it.

My eyes land on the white dress still hanging where I left it, and my heart feels like it stills in my chest. I don't want to look at it anymore. Turning, I snatch it off the towel rack and walk it back into my room. I want to toss in the trash like I did the borrowed clothes earlier, or better yet, set it on fire. But I don't. Feeling to make sure that it's completely dry, I fold it as tight as I possibly can before putting it inside one of the empty bags and tucking it as far back as possible in the bottom drawer in the closet. I don't have enough clothes yet to even need the drawer, so there shouldn't be any reason that I find it by accident.

The last thing I take out are my sheets. I put them on the mattress and the pillowcase on my pillow. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a blanket, but the sheets came with a flat one, so I'll just make do with that tonight until I can get back to the store tomorrow. Not like it's cold in the building anyway, or that I even get cold that often. My body mass may be on the smaller side, especially for a volleyball player, but I'm supremely warm-natured.

Crawling into bed, I tuck the sheet around my body until I'm wrapped up like a burrito. Just as I'm about to fall asleep, a rock of worry settles in my stomach, and I get back up to check all the locks on the doors. Not only do I have the front door locked, but also my door and the one that leads into the bathroom. I sigh in relief, going back to bed and repeating the burrito process and falling asleep instantly.

Chapter Three

The next day I get up and make my bed out of habit. Changing out of my sleep clothes, I pull on a pair of blue-jean shorts and a black tee shirt that has a sun and moon on it before pulling on a super-light flannel sweater and my Converse shoes.

Sitting down at my desk, I take out my notebook and a pen, starting my list of things that I still need. The list is pretty long by the time that I'm done. It seems I only scratched the surface of everything yesterday. I'll have to go back to the department store, obviously, but I've also got to go to the bookstore here on campus. I'm not surprised to find that a lot of the teachers haven't switched everything over to go completely digital. We absolutely weren't digital on the compound. Our school books were from the 80s and had seen better days, for sure. So, not having to jump straight into trying to learn how all of the things work online is a small victory. I know I'll have to eventually, but that small transition window will help.

Packing up my notebook and making sure all of my papers and keys are still in my bag, I heft it over my back and head out. First stop is breakfast, where I eat my fill of eggs, sausage, and pancakes. Another small victory...no,bigvictory, because I think I'd die happy if this were my last breakfast. We had breakfast on the compound, but it wasn't anything like this. Like most of the food, it was all very bland and didn't really have much of a taste. Oh, and we definitely didn't have syrup that tasted like it does here. It's awfully tempting just to drink the warm, sweet liquid.

With my belly full to bursting, I head over to the campus bookstore. My registry information included the books that I'd need for all of my classes, and I had stuffed that into the side pocket of my bag before I left breakfast. Taking it out, I give it another look over as I walk around the store.

I've already found three of the books that I'll need before a guy comes over and asks if I need any help.

"Not at the moment," I tell him. When he goes to walk away, I say, "Actually, maybe you can help. I need to buy a new laptop. Would it be better to buy it here or off campus?"

"Cheaper and better here for sure," he offers. "We've got the newest MacBook here and you get your student discount which saves you forty percent on them."

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