Page 3 of Castaway Heat
He’d been such a fool.
Ronin was… perfect. Handsome. Smart. Funny. Everything Shiloh dreamed of in an alpha.
Shiloh wasn’t gorgeous. He was plain and boring, so of course Ronin wouldn’t want him.
Ronin could have any omega he wanted.
And that wouldn’t be him.
“My cousin’s a jerk. Don’t let him make you sad,” Sage whispered.
“I’mnotsad,” Shiloh lied. Sage hadn’t understood his crush on Ronin and had told him to find someone else to focus his attentions, but for him, there was no one else.
Ronin was his one.
“You know, the other day I heard that Harvey Ellis has a thing for you,” Sage said, grinning. “He doesn’t seem like a bad guy. Cute enough. Tall. He has nice shoulders, though maybe a little skinny everywhere else.”
“I don’t know,” Shiloh mumbled. The only problem with Harvey was he wasn’t Ronin, but he’d need to get over that problem. “Maybe I’ll go say hi once the term starts again.”
“And if not Harvey, there are plenty of other alphas out in the world. You’ll find someone nice one day. Not a jerk like Ronin.” Sage threaded an arm through Shiloh’s. “So, guess what? Ace McNamara is having a New Years party. We need to get an invite somehow. He’s going to be my boyfriend whether he likes it or not.”
Shiloh chuckled, though he didn’t feel much humor.“Speaking of jerks.”
“Hey… Ace can be nice.”
“He’s terrible,” Shiloh whispered. “And you know it. You only want him because his daddy bought him a Porsche for his birthday.”
Sage grinned. “Okay, maybe… but heishot, and I would look amazing in the passenger seat with the top down. If I have to blow him to sit there, so be it.”
Shiloh eyed Sage’s parents in the front seat, terrified they’d overheard that, but when they both seemed to be deep in their own conversation, he relaxed. “Mean guys aren’t hot in my opinion. And haven’t you gotten intoenoughtrouble by blowing guys?”
“Shy!”Sage whispered hotly. “You sayAceis mean? That was harsh.”
“But is it the truth?”
Sage shrugged, though it appeared he was fighting a smile. “Hey, it lead me to meeting you and Riley, so I’d say it was good trouble.”
Shiloh sometimes wondered how they had ever become friends. They were worlds apart in so many ways. Sage was a wild child, sexually promiscuous, and had trouble with authority of any kind on top of being from a wealthy family. Shiloh was pretty much an exact opposite. Had it not been for Sage’s wild streak, they’d never have met, but fate had thrust them together.
Sage had been kicked out of prestigious Willowhaven Academy in the middle of 9thgrade for blowing three senior members of the football team under the bleachers—during halftime at the Homecoming game with the packed crowd cheering above. After that, he’d been forced to attend public school after that. On his first day, he’d plopped down at Riley and Shiloh’s table at lunch and all but demanded their friendship.
Shiloh had sensed Sage’s loneliness under all that bravado. He’d seen worry in Sage’s eyes when they didn’t respond at first, too. After one look at Riley, they’d accepted him without much fight. While he wasn’t always the best influence on them, he had moments where he was incredibly generous and kind—like when he’d invited Shiloh to that Thanksgiving dinner with his family when things were bleak at home, though some of that was likely to give him some cover from extended family after being kicked out of the Academy.
Sage and his parents had offered him a safe space whenever he’d needed it since. They’d made him feel like a member of their family, too. Sometimes he wished Sage’s parents were his. How two seemingly wonderful men had raised such a wild child like Sage, he wasn’t sure.
“It’s not like I let guys do anything else,” Sage whispered. He got a sad look. “If you don’t dosomethingfor an alpha, he’s just going to leave. You have to keep him happy… or else he’s gone.”
Shiloh frowned, thinking about his own parents relationship. Had that been the reason for their divorce? Had his papa not done enough? What lengths would he have to go to in order to keep his alpha satisfied?
Relationships seemed like too much work. There was too much heartache involved. Too much fear. Too much everything. Maybe he should just give up on love. If one mean look was enough to break his heart, anything more might shatter him.
Alphas weren’t worth losing himself over.
Sage drew out his phone. “I’m going to text Eirin. Maybe he can find us an invite to the party. You wanna come?”
Shiloh shrugged. “I guess.”
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