Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella – Chapter 26
I’d been beaten before, punished for every imaginable thing including when I simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and within reach of Elly’s or Maria’s slaps. But this was the worst pain by far, dull and gouging as I got up from the table without a word.
Evan. He was angry Ken was picking me up. He didn’t want me to go with him, jealous and possessive as if he wanted me — but he had made it clear already he didn’t want me enough to stop looking for his real mate.
I wasn’t good enough for him and never would be. Evan could be as angry as he wished, but in the end, he was treating me as nothing more than a toy to pass the time with. And the only reason he was angry was because he thought someone was taking that toy away from him before he’d had his fill.
couldn’t even commit himself to it enough to ask me not to go. Not that I would have let him w
being a hypocrite. If he was determined to be with someone else he hadn’t even met yet, then he had no right to stop me from seeing other people either.
fade.
***
top by a coffeeshop on the way here?”
”
products but still emphasizing the luxury coffee experience. Taste good?”
today?”
ime.”
ou can’t separate yourself from something if you want to understand it. You have to jump in feet-first.”
ed out well for you. You have another li
g in feet-first is good for enthusiasm and maximizes potential growth, but sometimes a bad investment is a bad investment, and you get burned. The smart thing to do then is to extricate yourself and find a more profitable route. I’ve racked up my share of scars and disappointments, so this isn’t an easy victory.”
t and appreciate it.
I managed to get into were just home economics classes.”
t introductory courses are for, and I’d be happy to tutor you.”
ht that was a clumsy pickup line, but he sounded so earnest. “All right. Or maybe I should jump in fee
lacking if you’re looking to earn some money on the side.”
Scarlet pack?”
I do.”
“How?
und.”
f you wanted? Or that any of the richer businessmen in the city could?”
it. Business puts profit first, so that’s what we worry about. And the regional Alpha worries about actual governance. That’s
e campus parking lot before we knew it, but traffic was horrendous. The lot was crammed full of hundreds of cars already, and we were lucky Ken had a reserved spot. It still took ages to maneuver through all the walking students heading off to class, but that only gave us more time to chat.
re several students loitering by the adjacent car watching me.
“She really has no shame. What a man-eater.”
it. My time in Dark Moon had made it easy for me to ignore low-grade insults like that. What surprised
he’s a hybrid. It’s like, exotic, right?”
kind of scent too if you get close enough to catch it.”
’re at least cute, it can only help.”
lly, so that helps.”
, not insulting me but giving me casual praise.
f had a hard time getting me to focus as she demanded to know details of what Ken’s house looked like. She chased me all the way to the library where I checked out several reference texts on investment practices until finally I agreed to get at least one picture next tim
e?” she asked, ey
***
n my bed and heaved a sigh. This was a lot more than I’d planned to bring, but they had all lo
king into my bedroom.
my right and picked up a blue textbook, hefting it in one hand. “But this edition changed a lot of things. The third edition has all the diagrams, and that’s what most peop
r it.”
I’m interested in.”
it?”
up at him, uneasy. His tone didn’t sit right with me. It was tightly controlled, so calm it was unnatural, and when our eyes met, his face darkened as the placid facade disa
h.
t was because of me.
No.
ry sidepiece, his toy to play with until he found his mate. I was not going to
have to stop doing this instead.”
nyway, I’m tired so I’m going to go to be
re alone.”
oving in to kiss me.