Chapter 5: A Very Suspicious Alpha
For the next few days, Rain deliberately packed every hour of her schedule.
Classes in the morning, revisions at the library in the afternoon, a shift at the café in the evening, then dense source texts when she got home. She could not let her mind go quiet. The instant it did, Celestina's face, her surname, and the look in her eyes when she said, “I'm not a Beta,” rose through Rain's memory like bubbles.
Still, Rain kept checking her phone while eating or drinking, opening their chat again and again.
Celestina sent nothing else. Rongrong's photograph hung alone in the conversation. Rain had not replied, and Celestina had not pressed her. That should have been a relief. Instead, it made her restless.
Friday Afternoon
The sky finally cleared. Late-spring wind swept through New York, carrying yesterday's dampness from the leaves along with traffic fumes.
Outside the library, Rain spotted Emily in a gray hoodie, her golden-brown hair twisted into a messy bun and thin-framed glasses perched on her nose. A tiny Union Jack key chain hung from her half-open backpack. She looked like the perfect computer-science stereotype.
Emily was absorbed in a small, thick book whose pages bristled with colored tabs. A charging cable and crumpled scratch paper protruded from her bag. Rain leaned closer to read the peeling cover: Bias Calibration in Social Agents.
“Social... agents?”
Emily jumped and snapped the book shut. “Why don't your footsteps make any sound?”
Rain straightened and zipped Emily's backpack for her. “They do. I walked over normally. You were lost in your world of technology.”
Emily was a British Beta pursuing a master's degree in computer science, and Rain's best friend in New York. Their finances were equally strained, and they had once lived together long enough to witness each other at their worst.
“You look like you just survived an entire finals week.” Emily tossed her a helmet. “Come on. Let's ride. You need nature, not more books.”
Rain caught it and forced a smile. “Is it that obvious?”
“Painfully. You haven't invited me over for dinner in three days. That's an emergency.”
Emily loved Asian cooking. Their friendship had begun over a pot of tomato-braised beef made during an all-night deadline.
Rain laughed at her retreating figure, and some of the heaviness in her chest eased.
They rode through the park beside the river. Wind tangled Rain's hair, while sunset shattered into dazzling gold across the water. Emily kept an easy pace and talked without pause about her research, internships, her adviser who emailed at midnight, and the invincible bug in her latest code.
Rain laughed in the right places, though her thoughts kept drifting.
At a quiet bench, Emily finally stopped for water. She sat against the backrest and looked sideways at Rain.
“All right. Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Something happened. It isn't your paper, money, or family. My bold deduction is that a living person caused it.”
Rain stared at her bottle. She could hardly say, The friend I've known for two months is the sole Valdieri heir, a high-ranking Alpha, and may have a terrible relationship history. Emily would assume stress had finally broken her brain.
“Emily, suppose you discovered a close friend wasn't who she claimed to be.”
“For example?”
“She said she was ordinary—with an ordinary job and family. Then you learned she was an incredibly powerful, wealthy Alpha. Someone from a class so far above you it's absurd.”
Emily stared for two seconds, then burst out laughing.
“Rain, have you been reading too many romance novels? Is she going to reveal that her family controls half of Europe and you're her one destined mate?”
Rain's face flamed. “No! This is hypothetical!”
“Fine. Hypothetically, isn't that good?”
“What part is good?”
“Rich, powerful, and an Alpha. You'd never have to struggle again.” Emily patted her shoulder solemnly. “Girl, seize the opportunity. Humanities and computer science are both brutal. If fate hands you a black card, don't be too principled.”
Rain could not laugh. Her face burned hotter and she buried it in her hands.
Emily's amusement faded. “Wait. This isn't gossip?”
Rain said nothing.
“A powerful Alpha lied to you?”
Rain gave a tiny hum.
“Why? How did you find out? Did she take your money? No—did she take advantage of you?”
“She didn't. I don't know why. Now I don't know how much of her was ever real.”
Emily gripped Rain's shoulders and made her look up. “Then I withdraw every joke I just made. Being rich isn't a problem. Being an Alpha isn't a problem. Some people are born into ridiculous circumstances.”
She paused. “But changing basic facts about herself to approach you is a serious problem.”
“I know. But she's been so good to me.”
“Of course. Dangerous people can be kind. Sometimes they're better at kindness than ordinary people because they know exactly how to lower your guard.”
The words pricked Rain somewhere tender. Emily softened.
“I'm not saying she's evil. I don't know her. Maybe she's merely a rich eccentric who has no idea how normal friendship works. Upper-class people are strange. Upper-class Alphas may be even stranger.”
Rain smiled despite herself.
Emily leaned closer. “Does this hypothetical billionaire Alpha frighten you?”
Rain thought of Celestina brushing back her hair, her calm expression when she admitted she was an Alpha, Rongrong, and the house she had falsely called home. Deep down, Rain was uneasy—but not quite afraid.
“Tomorrow, I'm going to her place to pick up a cat.”
Emily frowned. “Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Send me the address. Message me when you arrive and leave. If you don't answer for thirty minutes, I'll call.”
“Emily, it isn't that dramatic.”
“It is. A powerful Alpha who lied to you deserves caution even if she looks like an angel. Also, when did you start raising a cat with someone without telling me? I'm offended. From now on, I'm involved.”
She puffed out her chest and waved a heroic fist. Rain finally laughed.
Relieved, Emily climbed back onto her bicycle. “Let's go. You're eating at my place tonight, or I'm eating at yours.”
“Why?”
“Because your cooking is best when you're unhappy.”
Rain glared. “Scheming foreigner.”
Emily had already rolled several yards ahead, but she looked back and shouted, “You're the foreigner! We're abroad! And Rain—”
“What?” Rain pedaled after her. Sunset flashed across Emily's glasses as she grinned.
“If the mysterious billionaire Alpha really wants to keep you as her sugar baby, ask about the taxes first. That's official British advice.”
Rain finally burst into helpless laughter as she rode.