Chapter 16

Nate stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the deserted road. She was gone. He couldn't stop her even at the way he sprinted down the stairs, stubbing his toe at the edge. The Alpha noticed the players following him; all exchanging confused looks.

He was seething. Fury bubbled in his stomach, and he tried not to tear his skin off and shift, hear the crackling of his bones and just growl. In the middle of his thoughts, he saw Ben appear in front of him, snickering with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Damn! I didn't know one beta could have that much effect on you. Allie did a number on you then?" Ben snickered, shaking his head. "On the mighty Nate Harper who swore that nothing and no one could affect him."

"You get the fuck out of my way." The Alpha shoved past him, heading towards the bowl on the stand. He was going to see her at the dorm. She wouldn't be able to dodge him there after all.

Before he could make his way, Ben held onto his forearm and Nate spun, pulling his arm away from that disgusting touch. "Get away from me, I swear to you. You didn't have to do that to her. She had nothing to do with this. You bet with me!"

His teammate gripped his shoulders, his snickered laughs never ceasing. "It was too easy, Harper. How did you not see this coming? Actually I am very disappointed in you."

"What are you talking about?"

His fingers dug into Nates skin. "You never gave a shit about the bet. You had nothing really to lose except for that car which you could easily replace. And you might be an untouchable rich boy, but Allie isn't. For a bet to work, you need something that you don't want to lose, and I know she's it. That's why I had to do something."

Nate curled his fingers in a fist, his breath coming out ragged and hot out of his nose. His head started throbbing with the sheer amount of rage coursing in him. Exhaling, he met his team mate's eyes. "But why? Why do you care? What's in it for you?"

"I couldn't let you win it all. Please. I saw your progress with that beta and had my doubts. That's why I pulled the camera footage of the locker room and extracted the voice recording."

Ben shrugged. "The great Nate Harper can't win at everything."

"You're disgusting," The Alpha spat and shoved past him.

Ben scoffed. "I'm disgusting? Says the one who slept with a werewolf to win a stupid bet. Mmh then again she's kind of hot even I would have fucked her"

Chris made an affronted sound. "Ben!"

That's it. That's all it took for the Alpha to spin and charge at him as if they were on the field—his shoulder connected with the middle of the beta, propelling him backwards into the wall. The wall dented behind his back. Nate lifted his upper body and swung his right arm, his fist crunching into Ben's nose.

"Fuck!" The beta cried out and fell onto the ground. Crimson liquid poured down his face from behind his hand, drenching the carpet. "What the fuck?!"

"You hit me!"

That didn't stop him. Nate got on his knees and gripped Ben shirt, pulling him back against the wall. Blood sprayed from his panted breaths onto Nates chest, but he only pulled him closer, their eyes locked as the Alpha growled lowly.

"If you don't stop with your childish pranks and leave Allie out of this I will make sure you never step on a football field ever again. We've all put up with your bullshit for long enough. You've gone too far this time." Nate pushed him back, the impact causing Bens to head to smack the wall. "We're done."

"I will sue, you fucker!" Ben yelled, blood dripping over his lips and colouring his teeth as he cradled his nose. "You broke my fucking nose! You will pay for it. I have witnesses" The players glanced at each other, then milled away, turning from the scene, pretending to be busy.

Nate laughed. "That's right! No one is on your side. Give it up, or I will make you pay more than you will for that bloody nose."

***

Nate managed to track down Allie before she slipped in her bedroom. She was idly walking towards the entrance when he spotted her and yelled.

"Allie!"

The concrete cut into his soles of the socks and the air nipped at his skin, but he pushed until he was mere inches behind her. Nate had no time to look for his shoes, so he simply slipped on his socks and ran out of the frat house.

"Allie, please! Let me explain!"

She slowed her stride and Nate gasped in relief, but his relief was short-lived when she turned and showed him the middle finger. Whew.

"Allie, I'm—"

The beta stopped him, holding her hand in between."I never want to see you again, Nate. Please leave me alone."

Nate flinched. "Please don't say that. I—" He inhaled sharply. "I tried to-to make it better. To make it not a big thing. I tried to tell you to play along because I thought Ben would—"

When she took a step further, he could see the redness in her eyes. She had been crying. Fuck! All because of him.

"Ben is stupid, but he wouldn't have done anything. I was there and—"

She narrowed her gaze, crossing her arms together. "Were you there? I couldn't tell you. And what did you think I was going to do? I wasn't thinking to play along with your fucking football sex routine so you could save face in front of them!"

"But—"

"Oh! And you made a bet about having sex with me. Let's not forget that. I was a joke to you and your entire team." Allie laughed with no humour in her voice, face scrunching. "Right, so, I should have played along only to have humiliated by the bet reveal five minutes later? That was the goal?"

"No, fuck. No, Allie please, I didn't know Ben would do any of that, I swear to you. And the bet—Please, let me explain."

"So you are telling me you didn't know this morning would happen," She raised her brow, unconvinced.

"No!" Nate said with his hand over his heart. The Alpha shook his head, swallowing to clear the scratchiness from his throat. "Ben has done stupid shit before, like the"—he swirled his shaking hands—"like warning the girls I am about to sleep with and spooking them out. But not this. He never barged in like that. It's not supposed to be that way. Today was all his doing, and I had no idea it was going to happen."

Allie licked her lips, merely nodding along with his explanation. "Right but I don't believe you," She said, ticking a finger and stepping away from him. His face fell at that. Of course. Nate should have known that the bet would eventually ruin everything between them.

"And" She started, relieving a sigh. "I fucking hate you and feel so sorry for ending up in your bedroom."

"Please—"

"Please what, Nate?" The beta whimpered, her fists balled at her sides, voice growing louder. Her teeth gritted together, eyes into slits as she held his stare. "I was such a fucking fool to believe you! I should've known guys like you would never befriend a girl like me. Still, I hoped. And what did you do? You killed that hope."

"Allie" The Alpha called out, his voice cracking. "I—" His body swayed closer, the chill sending shivers over his bare skin. Nothing could compete with the icy stare she was giving him. "Please, just let me explain. It's not that easy" He took a step further and tried to take her hand in his.

She shoved his hand off. "Don't you dare touch me! I don't want your filthy lying self ever touching me, or I swear to you."

"If you would just let me explain," Nate yelled. "You keep cutting me off."

"Because I don't want to hear it." Her face crumpled for a half-second, only to be masked by a stern, neutral expression. She turned towards the door.

"I can't even stand to look at you right now."

"Allie."

"Fuck off."

"It was just a stupid sex bet," Nate insisted, clearing his throat. "It was a bet about sleeping with you because you were the first girl who showed no interest in me. That's it."

"That's it," Allie repeated slowly, her eyes wide. "That's it? That's it? And you wonder why I don't want to see your face?

"We're done."

And with that, she jogged to the door. Some of the students nearby had started to peek curiously. He didn't care, simply walked out of there.

***