Beta. Reaper

DROOLING AT DEATH

“Batman is going to crush Ironman to dust in a fight and he wouldn’t even break a sweat,” Brody was saying to another werewolf, Dexter. Dexter was a rare omega breed, a black omega wolf. Omegas were usually brown or multicoloured so his colour singled him out. 

“Not with Ironman's suit, he won’t. I’m not even certain he will be a worthy opponent to Tony Stark even without his suit,” Dexter answered snidely.

“You kids just watch the movies and think you know better than us that read and breathe the comics,” Brody cut back with a growl. Dexter immediately angled himself away from Brody who was known to get physical with his frustration.

The humans at our table paused with their food halfway to their mouth to stare at Brody with big round eyes of surprise.

“Stop that, Brody. You’re scaring them,” I was quick to correct and all his anger was exchanged for remorse.

“Sorry,” He apologised out loud. To me. To Dexter.

The table went back to it’s business until Vera, the head cheerleader, spoke to me. As usual, when I was involved, everyone stopped to know what I was going to say as if I was the president. Everyone was just invested in me like a great business plan.

“Are you going to be at practice today?” Her glossed lips pursed and her brows elevated, giving me a sassy look. 

“Why, of course I will,” I grinned exaggeratedly at her until it felt like my face would fall off. 

Vera looked down on everyone, from her dad who was the principal to her boyfriend who was the star quarterback and a beta in my pack. She was a snotty human and she particularly held a distaste for my person. I would walk into a room with boys about to break their heads and they would calm instantly, recognising me as their leader, the de facto Alpha, and it was a kind of power, a form of authority, she craved. But I was a leader, sworn to protect, and she was the daughter of the principal who strutted around in heels that had no place on school grounds. We lived in opposite universes.

“You better be. You’ve skipped all the practice this semester and I’m starting to think you don’t want to be one of us anymore. I’ll see to it that you’re replaced at the end of the week if you don’t show up today,” She flipped her blonde hair which had been casually resting perfectly on her shoulder.

“I’ll be there. Pinky promise,” I held out my pinky which she stared at with an upturned nose. There was neither dirt nor grime on my hands. “I might have to leave early though. I have some things to attend to,” I pushed out my lower lip as if missing cheer practice was the worst thing that could happen to me.

“What things do you have to do outside of cheer? If you aren’t ready to give this team your all then I’m going to cut you. I know for a fact that you don’t have a life outside school and there’s no more Ken for you to use as an excuse so –“ That was the begin of a long speech about commitment and priorities. 

At the mention of Ken every chatter seized, all eyes turned and each werewolf at the table began to bristle. He had been a staple at this same table, a centre of attention. Vera had flirted incessantly at him with her boyfriend seated next to her with a pained scowl, yet she mentioned his name without empathy.

“Shut up, Kels. It’s not everything you reply to,” A memory of Ken’s words echoed in my ear and I held my peace. Vera was still talking, drawing steady breaths as redness spread slowly on her face as she ranted.

It didn’t matter what she had to say. My Alphas, Remi and Dylan, mated to each other, were in the other division of the pack, where their life was primarily. It was my duty to ensure the smooth running of the division in Canada. I had a meeting scheduled for six o’clock and every other thing was minor and could be pushed back. And since Grey would no longer visit me, I had nothing else to look forward to so I could squeeze in some cheer leading hours to keep me busy before I died of loneliness. 

For the eighth night in a row, I ended a meeting of smiles and compliments from my pack members outside of Canada, only for my smile to vanish like Grey at the end of the meeting. Speaking of Grey, I was beginning to fear he would no longer pop into my life for a quick chat. Since the incident of the dream that made me wake in a pool of my sweat and my heart lodged firmly in my throat, he had taken a step out of my life.

I contemplated video calling Remi, but she was part of the just concluded meeting and with the way she and her mate kept shooting each other sly looks, I knew she wouldn’t be available for a while. I opted to text some of my friend-like acquaintances instead of being a bother to Remi and Dylan.

I stretched out on my bed with eyes closed, thinking, wondering and almost crying about the way my life was playing out to be. I needed to make friends, irrespective of how fake they might turn out to be, I needed friends in my life. Perhaps if I picked a lot of rocks, I would find a piece of diamond among them. I was about to become a friends gatherer. 

I let my subconscious begin to dream dreams of mating. The tides of age were not yet against me as regards mating; there was not yet a sense of anxious in my wolf so I wasn’t bothered. Yet, I wanted someone to be there for me, as a friend, as a partner and as a lover. I was sick of being alone and moving to the pack house would be the equivalent of moving to a zoo and putting myself on display for everyone to probe at in the name of being good.

A stray thought traced into my head like stray thoughts are known to do and I shivered in fear. What if I didn’t have a mate? What if my mate had died before I got the chance to meet them? I expelled that thought from my mind with a vigorous shake of the head.

Where was Grey? I pondered. Why was he avoiding me? He said he hadn't been in my dream so it was likely that I was having a common nightmare. Something that hadn't happened for a while. What would it take for him to visit me? Thoughts of him took over my mind and I almost missed the familiar popping sound that signified the arrival of the Grim Reaper but I had been thinking of him and his arrival sent me into a state of frenzy. I had to remind myself of the shocking temperature of his body to stop myself from launching at him.

"Kelly," he said in greeting and I nodded with a coolness that did not get past my skin.

"Grey," I said. I could not hold back my excitement as my face split into a huge grin. He replied my smile with a fake Kanye West smile.

"Where have you been?" I asked in conversation and his face twisted up.

"I've been around," He rebuffed my attempt at conversation so we fell into an uncomfortable silence. From the silence around us, I could hear the crinkling of my sheets as Grey laid down, the ticking of the clock downstairs as well as my elevated heartbeat.

The silence started to consume me as it was even more noticeable now that I had company. It became increasingly loud and unbearable, amplified by my desperate need to say something to spark a conversation.

"How has your job been?" Was the best I could come up with on such short notice and the individual who hadn’t made an attempt at any form of small talk was the one who scoffed in derision.

“Some people don’t understand they have to die and I am painted as the bad guy who comes to snatch people’s loved ones away even if I am a major element in the sustainment of this world. My job has been as it has always been, a royal pain,” He grumbled. I could feel the annoyance wafting out of him even in this form.

“Everyone knows death is inevitable but that doesn’t mean everyone understands that they have to die,” I supplied, eager to keep the conversation, any conversation, going. He only smiled an awkward smile at me that made me feel like I had the IQ of a child. I knew we were still on awkward grounds but he didn’t have to make me feel foolish because I was trying to break the proverbial ice between us.

"So about that stuff you were saying the other day," I began. I had planned to visit it with skill, showing tact, but things were still awkward so what was the point? He let out a low sigh that dragged with longsuffering.

“Can you not take a hint, Kelly Black? I have stayed away from a week even if it was – I have stayed away to make it clear I did not want to revisit certain subjects, but alas, you have zero tact so you have brought it all to trouble me,” He glared at me as he spoke.

“Aha,” My triumph hung in those letters. “So you’re admitting to have been avoiding me,” Accusation spiced up my words but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Curiosity coursed through my veins, building anticipation in my system.

"Yes, I have been avoiding you," He replied without skipping a beat. "You are incredibly nosy," A cold finger reached up to flick my nose. "And you do not listen," He said as he squeezed my ear a little too hard.

"Ouch, that hurts," I exclaimed and he stuck his tongue out at me. Who knew he had a playful side. Oh wait. Me! I had missed his popping in and out more than I had suspected.

"I have to go. There are incredibly nosy people out there, nosier than you I dare say, who are beginning to wonder where I go to and why I now allocate a huge portion of my work to incompetent fools. I will see you some other time," He said as his hourglass materialized in his outstretched hand. Getting out of my bed, he raised his hands above him and stretched, exposing a patch of pale skin. I swear to you, I wasn't staring at his biceps and how they –

"Wipe your mouth, Kelly. There's drool at the side," He said with a wink. "Goodbye," He strolled lazily towards the door and I heard him mutter something. 

"Can't wait till that bastard is usurped," he said. I couldn’t dwell much on that as he vanished before closing the door so I had to get out of bed to close it.