Page 38 of The Alpha's Mates

“Horrible.” She cut a path through the crowd of people watching the college football games. Her school played later, hence why everyone wanted pizza. “His parents are so...”

“Fucked up?”

“Shitty.” Though fucked up worked, too. They came off all high and mighty. Nothing like her mom and dad at all. Plus, she couldn’t get the image of the little boy with the scar across his face and the blinded eye out of her mind. Though she hadn’t said a word to anyone about the child, she could see by looking at him, he’d been abused or was still currently being hurt. “I’ve never seen another Alpha family treat the daughter of an Alpha so deplorably—the exception being Raymond. And, when Christoph mentioned mates, they went nuts. I couldn’t believe the things they said. The little boy too.” She frowned. “Hayden, there was a little boy at the table. He’s been blinded in one eye. Has a horrible scar that could only mean someone used silver on him and he was so fragile looking. He was shaking as he sat there.”

“Not everyone has families like ours, Bell. You can’t expect them all to be nice and caring.” They muscled their way up to the counter. “While we’re here, we should relax a little. It’s going to take some time for the pizzas to get finished. Tell me a bit more about the boy. I’m kind of curious.”

She eyed her cousin suspiciously. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

Hayden laughed. “We’re not getting drunk. You’re too young to buy beer. I meant we should enjoy a game or something mundane instead of worrying about mates and the house and school. If the boy takes your mind off of everything, then let’s talk about him.”

Her cousin had a point. All she seemed to do lately was worry about everything instead of enjoying the moments when they came. “Okay.” She lifted her hand to get one of the bartender’s attention. When he came over, she smiled. “Hi. We’d like a couple of sodas, please, and do you have an estimated time for our pizzas to be done?”

He poured their drinks and placed them on the polished teak. “Name?”

“Bell Dryer.” Her arch nemesis leaned against the bar, giving the bartender a flirty grin. “Or loser in some circles.”

The guy glanced between them.

“It’s Bell Dryer,” Hayden affirmed. “We have an order for twelve pizzas.”

“Let me guess, Emma’s is at the house and the heifer can’t get her own food?” Laney snarked. While Reagan and a girl Bell didn’t know, laughed.

God, Bell hated Laney, especially because of how she treated Emma, Bell’s friend. She wished she could punch the girl in her perfect teeth and knock them all out. “Actually, I have a crew of people there. You know, two Alpha lions and a pride to take care of and Jackson.”

Laney pulled out her phone. “You mean this Alpha lion?”

In vivid detail, Christoph stood with a raven-haired beauty, his lips pressed to her forehead, their body language that of knowing each other very well. Bell’s stomach dropped. Her heart stopped beating, before tripping over itself. All of her blood went cold as she swayed on her feet. She licked her too-dry lips, unable to comprehend what she saw. Even though she realized last night what his parents tried to pull, she hadn’t thought it worked. Obviously, she didn’t count on her mate to betray her, either.

Bell cleared her throat. “Means nothing.” She forced the words past her lips while on the inside, she shattered. Unfortunately, she couldn’t leave. She promised everyone lunch.

“Oh, on the contrary it does.” Laney flipped through the pictures of Christoph and this girl. Even one of him handing her his phone and she slipped it into her shirt. The girl looked at him, the way she did frequently. “I guess he didn’t like playing second fiddle to a dragon.”

Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn’t give Laney the satisfaction of crying in front of her. She had to get her shit together and pull on her big girl panties. Besides, after what she saw last night, it could mean many things, though she feared the worst. “Are you done?”

The girl laughed. “Not by a long shot. Give it up, little girl. You don’t belong here. You don’t deserve your house, and you sure as hell don’t deserve even being a side chick for someone like Christoph or Jackson. They are above you. You’re gutter slime.”

“Excuse me.” A guy Bell couldn’t place smiled down at her. “You’re Bell Dryer, correct?” How did he know who she was?

Then she realized who he was. She glanced up at the man, wearing a tailored three-piece suit, and a jolt of surprise raced through her. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been wearing a toga. Come to think of it, he also looked like the guy who came out of Tate’s room, too. “You’re Victor Lorenz.”

He grinned. “At your service.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pledge application, leaving the other until they could sit somewhere private. “I am fully aware of how untraditional this is, but I have a proposition for you. If you and Hayden would kindly join me for a drink, we could get down to business.”

She glanced at the bartender. “Well…”

“You have thirty minutes left on the pies, miss.” The bartender gave her a kind grin. “What would you like to drink, Vic?”

“Beer. Imported. Surprise me. I like surprises.” He winked at Bell. “Shall we?”

She followed him to a table away from the hustle and bustle of the pub. He waited for all three of them to be sitting before giving Bell his full attention. “You need pledges. I have a plan.”

“Hold up a minute.” Hayden raised her hand. “You have a plan? What’s in this for you?”

He sighed and bowed his head and let out a sigh. He unfolded the application and placed it in front of Bell. “You’re right. I should explain myself better. Although, I am very excited to be at this table with you.”

Bell frowned. “Victor, you’re a junior. You’re talking to a freshman and a sophomore. I don’t understand why you’d be excited to talk to losers like us.”

“Hey!” Hayden smacked her shoulder. “We’re not losers. We’re misfits.”

---