𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 || 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐊𝐰𝐚𝐧

Chapter 5

Every time Seungkwan thought about his outburst in front of Vernon, he felt himself flush. Of all the stupid, humiliating reactions to have in front of the alpha.

The words played over in his head for the dozenth time as he lay in bed that night, and he inwardly groaned. He’d avoided Vernon for the rest of the day but it wasn’t like he could do that forever. There was work to be done.

As tempted as he was to call Stewart, to persuade him to change his mind about this whole month-long volunteering gig, he knew it would get him nowhere. Vernon’s opinion was shared by a lot of people in the industry.

The story painted by the media cast him as the shameless omega throwing himself on a married alpha rather than the other way around. It would take time for the heat to die down, for the controversy to fade in people’s memories, and for casting directors to be willing to take a chance on him in any serious role. They wouldn’t want to risk their projects being overshadowed by gossip, and the alpha actors he was working with wouldn’t want all that speculation surrounding who was doing what backstage and after hours.

He fell into a fitful sleep, thankful that he woke with no recollection of his dreams. Underneath his skin, his shifter animal itched, but he ignored it.

He’d wait until he was sure of a few hours’ privacy before he risked changing form. It wouldn’t help his image if the truth about his animal form got out. That was something he’d always been careful to safeguard at Stewart’s insistence. Knowledge was power, and people already had more power over him than he’d ever wanted to give up.

As he got dressed, careful to make sure the last of his fading bruises were covered, he listened out for Vernon. He could hear the alpha moving about in the kitchen. No problem there. He would just skip breakfast and head straight outside.

He started by checking the gate and fence of the paddock. Vernon had already been outside: two of the horses were grazing and the stable door was propped open. Seungkwan filled the water trough, checked the feed bags, and then went to muck out the empty stalls.

By the time he finished, he was warm and sweaty, and his throat was parched. Certain that Vernon must have been done with breakfast by then, he made for the cottage. Only to come to a sudden stop inside the back door when he heard voices. Three of them, at least. Loud, deep, but not angry.

Seungkwan spun around and went to hide out in his room. He’d survive another few hours without a glass of water. But Vernon emerged from the bathroom, blocking the way to Seungkwan’s bedroom.

The two of them stood there in silence, staring at one another.

“Morning,” Vernon said awkwardly, leaning against the wall and trying to look casual.

“You have visitors?”

“Yeah.” The alpha looked sheepish all of a sudden. “It’s just the guys over for brunch. Sorry, I meant to warn you yesterday that they were coming.”

Seungkwan inclined his head at that. “I’ll keep out of your way.”

“You should join us. There’s plenty of food to go around.”

“I—”

The last thing he wanted was to be surrounded by strange alphas, and he had no doubt ‘the guys’ were mostly alphas.

Vernon’s sheepishness faded to something more serious in the face of Seungkwan’s hesitation.

“Why don’t I bring you a plate? You must be hungry. I didn’t hear you in the kitchen at all last night.”