𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 || 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐊𝐰𝐚𝐧

Chapter 14

Seungkwan woke to a dull throbbing in his head and a room that was far too bright, even with the curtains drawn. He groaned and rolled over, yanking the pillow over his head. But sleep had deserted him. After another futile minute of lying there, wishing for unconsciousness, he sat up.

He swung his legs off the bed and stretched, rolling his head from side to side as he tried to recall why, exactly, he was hungover. It all came back in a rush—Stewart, Simon, Vernon, and the others, and a few too many beers to wash the day away.

It was another few minutes before he braved getting up, padding toward the door and letting himself out into the hallway. The smell of food hit him and set his stomach rumbling. He stumbled to the bathroom, and then onto the kitchen, trailing the delicious aroma. Only to be greeted by the oddly appealing sight of Vernon flipping pancakes.

The alpha glanced at him over his shoulder. “Good, you’re up. Grab a seat, it’s almost ready.”

Without quite knowing how or why, he found himself seated at the table as Vernon placed a sizeable stack of pancakes in front of him.

“See if you can make some inroads into that,” the alpha challenged, setting a bowl of berries and a bottle of syrup down in front of him.

The smell of the pancakes was mouthwatering. He drizzled syrup over them, then added some berries, grabbed his knife and fork, and started working his way through the stack. They were delicious: light and fluffy, with the burst of sweetness from the syrup contrasting the tartness of the berries.

“Good?” Vernon asked, flipping another pancake into the air and catching it neatly in the pan.

“Uh-huh,” Seungkwan mumbled around a mouthful of pancake.

He chewed and swallowed the last bite, setting his knife and fork down on the plate.

Vernon glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “I like to see an omega with a good appetite.”

Still hungover, and a damn sight more prickly than normal, the comment rubbed Seungkwan the wrong way.
Before he’d thought it through, he ground out, “Alphas always say that. Yet they want the omegas on their arm to be small and perfect. Which means hours in the gym, working off all that food, or becoming skilled in the art of sticking your finger down your throat.”

It came out angry and bitter, and he expected Vernon to either dismiss him or argue the point. Instead, the alpha crossed the room and crouched next to his chair. Seungkwan fixed his eyes on his plate and refused to look at him. Gentle fingers caught his chin and nudged his gaze toward Vernon’s. The light touch was at odds with the alpha’s tone.

“Is eating a problem for you?”

Seungkwan was embarrassed to find himself panicking in the face of Vernon’s firm kindness, wishing he could take back the words.

“I wasn’t talking about me. I’m just telling the truth about what omegas do. There’s constant pressure to be slim and pretty.”

If the way the alpha gentled his tone was any indication, Seungkwan’s words hadn’t done much to reassure him.

“I just want to know that I’m not making things worse,” Vernon said.

“That you’d tell me if I’m doing or saying things that bother you.”

Seungkwan calmed at the alpha’s quiet words.

“I really wasn’t talking about myself. I figured out long ago that it was easier to just not eat more food than I need in the first place. When I’m auditioning or on set, I do what I’m told, whether that’s my agent or the casting director.”

His own words brought the previous day’s events back to him, alongside the knowledge that Stewart was going to be pissed.

Vernon let him go and sprang to his feet with a muffled curse, diving across the room to rescue his burnt pancake. He tossed it straight into the garbage and grinned ruefully at Seungkwan over his shoulder.

Seungkwan sat and sipped his coffee, assuming that would be the end of their conversation. But it seemed Vernon wasn’t ready to let it go just yet.

The alpha took a seat across the table from him, his own coffee cup in his hand.

“I don’t know what your normal routine is like,” Vernon began, “but with all the physical work we’re doing here, we need fuel, and plenty of it. Okay?” He got back up to tend to his pan.

Seungkwan decided to answer the alpha’s question with a question of his own and see if he couldn’t derail the uncomfortable conversation enough that Vernon might just drop it and move on.

“So I’m not your type, then? Too scrawny? Too weak?”

Vernon shook his head, amused. “You’re exactly my type, and I think you know it.” He grinned and added, “A few more pancakes wouldn’t do you any harm. I don’t care what all those bullshit style magazines say, strength is sexy in an omega; whether it’s inner strength or outer.”

Seungkwan wasn’t sure he had either. He always felt weak and powerless—a pawn on a chessboard for other people to move around, manipulate, and sacrifice. It almost sounded like Vernon… but that couldn’t be right. Yet Seungkwan couldn’t fail to see the look in the alpha’s eyes as he slid another pancake onto Seungkwan’s plate, sitting down opposite him with a stack of his own.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it,” Vernon said. “But I’ve got plenty to get through.”

Seungkwan accepted the pancake with a grin, reaching for the syrup.

Once he’d finished, he poured himself another cup of coffee, keeping Vernon company while the alpha demolished his breakfast.

“I’ve got to head to the packhouse,” Vernon said as he drained the last of his coffee. “Are you okay to hold down the fort for a while? There’s a delivery of hay being dropped off this morning.”

“No problem. A bit of work will help take my mind off things.”

Vernon headed off, and Seungkwan got started on the dishes. The rhythm of the work was soothing, bolstering his good mood from breakfast. He was halfway through when he heard a vehicle pull up outside. Assuming it was the delivery, he dried off his hands and went out to the front. But it wasn’t a truck, it was a familiar car. Stewart climbed out, peering around with a look of distaste on his face. Seungkwan’s good mood deserted him as he opened the front door. Stewart’s eyes narrowed in on him. He did not look happy. With a sigh, Seungkwan went out to face the music.