Obsession (The Mate Games 1)

“But if we do it my way, maybe he’ll help you getoffinstead.”

“Stop it.” I already had enough inappropriate thoughts about him all on my own. I didn’t need Moira to give me any new ideas.

“I’m just trying to make you feel better since the Prince of Darkness has left you high and dry again.”

High maybe... but not dry. The fucker.

She’d caught me moping around our room and declared a mandatory roommate makeover session. What that really meant was Moira wanted an excuse to turn me into her real-life doll so she could play around with various hair and makeup styles. All I had to do was sit there and look pretty. She always set me back to rights after she was done having her fun. Which was fine with me. At least it gave me something more productive to do than think about my upcoming session or that panty-melting asshole Noah.

He’d ghosted me. Again.

We’d been T-minus ten seconds away from him claiming my V-card, only for him to all but flee from my room and leave me with no choice but to take care of myself. Not to mention whatever the hellthathad been when I’d come so hard I could have sworn I heard his thoughts in my mind. So much build up and then... nothing.

God, I was such an idiot.

“You’re doing it again,” Moira chided.

“I can’t help it.”

I’d filled Moira in on the whole humiliating tragedy. From Callie’s stupid prank right up to Noah’s disappearing act.

“What I want to know is why are you worrying about him when you have that Norse beefcake just waiting on the sidelines? Or, hell, you could have Kingston here with the crook of your little finger.”

Her comment should have made me smile, but it only made me groan louder. My feelings for these guys were so complicated. I was going to need a damn murder board to make sense of them.

“I thought you liked Alek?” she asked with a frown.

“I do. A lot. I mean, the guy saved my life, and there’s something about being around him that makes me feel strong and powerful. But I also have these crazy feelings for Noah I can’t just wish away. Like there’s something that happens when I’m with him. I feel safe and in control... like he calms the chaos inside me. I’ve never responded like this to anyone, except—”

“Except?” she prompted when I didn’t immediately continue.

“Kingston. As much as it kills me to admit it, my wolf has it bad for that Alpha asshole. She only showed up once she was around him. I... I think I need him to find her.”

That had been a rather uncomfortable lesson I’d learned during our match-up in class the other day. When his wolf had growled, signaling his intent to mark mine... Fuck, just the memory of it had my blood heating and my core tightening. After everything Kingston had said about me over the years, there was absolutely no reason for me to feel this way. But my wolf had other ideas. And now that she was scratching at whatever barrier had been keeping us apart, it was not so easy to deny her.

“All right, so what you’re telling me is you need a harem.”

I laughed. “Yeah, right. Okay. Because I’ll be able to convince not one but three alpha males to just set their instincts aside and share me.”

Even as I said the number, my brain automatically corrected me.Four. There were four men I couldn’t get off my mind. But it may as well be one hundred for as likely as it was any of them, let alone all of them, would agree to such an arrangement.

Moira looked at me like I was stupid. “Why wouldn’t they? You’re a snack, in case you haven’t realized it. You have this whole sexy alpha female just discovering her power thing going on. Men eat that shit up. They might beat their chests and claim to be dominant, but at the end of the day, they want a woman to serve. You, Sunday, could bring men to their knees.”

I was pretty sure my mouth was hanging open at that point, but Moira stopped and cocked her head, her eyes narrowing. “Sunday, you’ve been with a man before, haven’t you?”

My cheeks burned. “Kind of hard to lose your virginity when you’re locked away most of your life. I never had a chance to be tempted before now. The only men I came into contact with were the few assigned to guard me, and they kept their distance. But now, when I’m around Kingston, Noah, and Alek”—and Caleb,I whispered in my head—“it feels like something inside me has finally woken up.”

“Oh, my God, you really are a virgin princess. No wonder they’re all sniffing around like this.”

“It’s only them. None of the other guys on campus even exist to me. But what does it say about me that there is more than one on my mind?”

Moira smirked, more than a little tickled by my admission. “Well, harems aren’t that uncommon. I mean, the fae do it all the time. Haven’t you heard about the Shadow Queen and her men? And I’m pretty sure I’ve run into a few poly groups atIniquity. They like to make use of the private rooms when they're in the mood to play. Maybe you should chat with one of them next time. See what the whole dynamic is about. But I’ll give you this little nugget for free. Whatever you do, you don’t want a group scene for your first time.”

“I... how would that even work?”

Moira lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “That’s the kind of thing you guys would have to figure out for yourselves. But I’m pretty sure admitting to your feelings is the first step. And if you really do have it bad for the Prince of Darkness—”

“I told you not to call him that.”