Emily
“Why are you dressed like that and where are you going?”
I’m not sure if Langston is a fan of the Spanish Inquisition, but it seems like he can’t leave the house without igniting my clingy tendencies. He’s paused in the front entryway, while I’m still in my pyjamas and nibbling on my third crumpet of the morning.
He turns from where he’s scooped up his motorbike helmet, smiling at me in his crinkly Paul Newman way. “I have an Anthrop 101 class I can’t get out of, but I’ll be home straight after.”
I huff, even though hearing the word ‘home’ roll off his tongue makes my insides light up like a party sparkler. “That’s what happens when you’re the hottest PILF on campus. Students riot if you palm off your classes to your TA.”
He gives me a smug grin as he stalks back across the foyer, his helmet balanced on his denim-clad hip. I’m certain there’s never been a professor in the history of higher education who wore a sexier pair of jeans, but I keep that to myself as he stops in front of me. “The only person I’m interested in palming is you , mentee.” He leans down to nuzzle his mating mark, and I can’t help but cling to the edge of his jacket. I haven’t had a chance to roll around in his leather collection yet, but the scent of bee pollen is enough to steal my breath. “Do you want to come? You could sit in the back of the class and make moon eyes at your hot mentor.”
I wrinkle my nose at him and tap the top of his helmet. “You sure your head is going to fit into this thing?”
He laughs, pulling me closer and licking the honey from my lips. “Who can blame me for my big ego when I have the sexiest mate on campus?”
I preen as he slips his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss until our mate bond is fizzing in my chest. I’m pretty sure he’s on the verge of cutting class when I pull away and pop the rest of my crumpet in his mouth. “Give me a second to get changed and I’ll wait for you in the library.”
He raises a brow but doesn’t argue as I dart upstairs. Now that my heat seems to be over, Finn left early for a business meeting, and Derek is holed up in the spare office, trying to hack into his computer system. I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but I’m enjoying the little zaps of heat I keep picking up between them. As alluring as Finn is to me, the thought of him and Derek together is even more enticing.
But I push those thoughts aside as I hurry into the enormous walk-in closet and start flicking madly through the racks of clothes. At first, I assumed it was a communal space for all of our stuff, but Lang told me he’d ordered everything he thought I might need, and to let him know if I needed additional colours, sizes, or fabrics. I’d been so dumbstruck by his crazy generosity, Soren had offered to give me CPR.
I’m still feeling slightly lightheaded as I flick through the racks of silk dresses and tailored trousers. As beautiful as they are, I can’t see myself wearing them in my dusty corner of the library, and I feel a sliver of panic until I get to a section that feels more familiar. There’s some denim, at least, and I pull out a midi skirt and what’s technically a band tee, even though it has a Versace tag and is adorned with more crystals than a chandelier. “What’s going on, sweet girl? Oh. I really like that one.”
The way Soren nuzzles the back of my neck makes my lashes flutter, and I breathe in his smoky alpha allure with relief. Finn told us to be on the lookout for sweeter notes in his scent, which might signal his omega side on the rise. While I’d love for him to switch back to his original designation, I would hate for him to be caught mid-switch again. He says he’s no longer in pain, but the dark circles under his eyes are proof that his healing still has a way to go.
“You like this one?” I hold up the Sweet Addiction tee with its glittery sugarcane emblem on the front. Recently, the members of The Sundowners formed a new group, and I’ve been bingeing their latest album for weeks. “I have to admit, I have a thing for Kobi Grace. There’s something about him that’s just so…”
“Delicious,” Soren purrs, gently biting the skin around my claiming bite. I shiver as I pull the tee on, his dark eyes gleaming with approval as he turns me in his arms. “You know, Finn could get you tickets to their next show. Maybe just don’t mention you’re crushing on Daddy Grace.”
“What?” I screech, almost headbutting him in my excitement. “Seriously? But the tour’s been sold out for weeks!”
“Finn has his ways,” Soren grins, running his fingers along the waistband of my silky underwear. He pouts as I pull on my denim skirt, but then his hands start stroking the crystals on my shirt. “I’m pretty sure he’d get this tee signed by the whole band, now that he’s courting you.”
“Oh my God.” I slump against him, my knees too weak to hold me up. “I cannot wrap my head around that concept. What does a date with Finn even look like?”
“Your wildest, most secretive fantasy, no doubt.” At my blank look, Soren laughs. “Haven’t you worked out yet that he’s the nosiest stalker on the face of the planet? He probably knows more about you than your own mother.”
I smile, but my mind is suddenly fixated on my family, who other than a couple of texts, haven’t heard from me since I went into heat. Claudia sent me some photos of Jacob in his latest superhero costume, but I could sense her unease in the brief messages that accompanied them. “That reminds me, I need to check in with my family. I’ll see if Lang is okay to swing by my place after his class.”
Soren licks his lips. “You’re going to uni?”
I’m sliding my feet into a pair of luscious, knee-high boots in cherry leather, but I pause at the excitement in his voice. “You want to come, too? It might not be much fun, since Lang has a freshman class he can’t get out of and I’m going to put in an hour or two at the library.”
“Do you know how long it’s been since I was on a campus, just being a normal student?”
My heart crimps at his wistful expression. “Oh, babe. I’m so sorry it’s been so hard for you.”
He accepts my hug but clicks his tongue. “Don’t apologise, Em. Being around you is like a soothing massage for my soul. Especially with all the happy endings.”
He waggles his brows and I laugh. “You’re a bad influence, Alpha.”
“Hmm. But I’d really like to come, if you don’t mind. I can poke around the enviro section while you work, and I promise I won’t get in the way.”
“If my thesis wasn’t moving at the speed of a snail, I’d beg you to get in the way.” We leave the closet, pausing to grab my backpack on the way. “But maybe we can find the time to check out a couple of the spots Derek and I discovered in the stacks. Just to give you the full student experience.”
His dark eyes flash with desire as he pulls me in for a long, slow kiss. “Deal. And maybe we can add a quick trip to the registrar’s office to the tour. I’ve suddenly got a desperate longing to rejoin campus life.”
An hour later, we’re both kissing Professor Fall goodbye outside the Anthropology building while a dozen students look on with gossip-hungry eyes. Creed insisted on coming along to watch over us, so more than a few intrigued glances are tossed his way as we head towards the library.
“There goes my reputation as the weird bee girl,” I quip as another group of students gawk at us from the circulation desk. Not that I can blame them. Creed is dressed in his dark suit and looks every inch the stone-cold bodyguard, while Soren – in ripped jeans, an oversized sweater, and black shades - is clearly the international model he’s protecting. I feel quite glamorous in my Sweet Addiction tee and leather boots, and I don’t miss the curious looks from the librarians as we head up to my hidey-hole on the top floor.
“Gorgeous looks good on you,” Creed murmurs as we reach my desk. “I give it about ten minutes before your study section is suddenly the busiest area in the library.”
“I hope not,” I frown, thinking of the visit to the stacks I promised Soren. When I catch them staring at me, I flush and bite my lip. “What? I’m just a very conscientious student.”
Soren snorts, winding a finger around one of my curls and drawing me towards him for a kiss. “You smell like you’ve got something other than the eating habits of bees on your mind.”
“Mmm.” Creed takes a step closer, nudging us together with his big body. “There’s a bathroom one floor down that doesn’t get a lot of traffic at this time of the day. Just in case you need a study break, I mean.”
I gape up at him through lust-tinged eyes. “You’ve memorised the layout of my library?”
Soren gives a dark chuckle. “Babe, by now he’s memorised the freckle constellations on your cute arse.” He reaches up to stroke a finger along the line of his mate’s rock-hard jaw. “Welcome to the world of possessive, paranoid packmates.”
I fan my face as I unzip my backpack and start laying out my pretty notebooks. “Okay, but I need to earn that break. The environmental sciences section is over there. Want me to show you?”
“I’ll find it.” Soren waves me off, but gives me a sizzling look over his shoulder. “Start earning that break, busy bee.”
Talk about motivation…
I manage to get an hour of work done before he returns, with Creed and an elderly woman in tow. Dr. Sarah Finchley is a legend on campus, having run the university’s School of Human Sciences for years, with a specialty in Designations and Dynamics. When I was first transferring from the Academy, I looked into the psychology department, mainly to avoid any classes that reminded me too much of my father.
“ Nash, this is Dr. Sarah Finchley,” Creed says. “Lang thought it might be a good idea to introduce you, since you have a few things in common.”
“Dr. Finchley,” I scramble to my feet, taking her soft hand in mine. She’s my height with a delicate frame, but her gaze is fiercely intelligent. “Wow. I’m a really big fan. I just read your article on the Soulmate Phenomenon, actually.”
“Please, call me Sarah. And I’ve been familiarising myself with your work, too. I have a bit of a soft spot for bees, since my father was a beekeeper. I grew up holding the smoker and checking the frames for mites. I assure you, I was the weird bee girl long before you claimed the title.”
I can’t help but laugh at the twinkle in her eyes. “Ouch. I’m so glad my reputation precedes me.”
“People only gossip about interesting people.” She waves a hand, then looks between Soren and I, her brow furrowing. “I don’t want to presume, but Lang talked to me about the project you’re all working on. Am I right in thinking you are both at the center of it?”
“You can sense that?” Soren asks her curiously, and for the first time I catch a hint of unease in his scent. “Am I giving off weird switch vibes or something?”
“Not weird…” Sarah tilts her head, her eyes sharpening as she examines him. “I’ve been able to recognise a switch ever since I became one. After fifty-seven years of being a beta, I suddenly presented as an omega. Given my stage in life, I assumed it was just a genetic mistake, except that I’d recently met my soulmate.” She gives me a gentle smile. “Which is how the Soulmate Phenomenon came into being. It’s my belief that the trigger is less biological than spiritual, for want of a better word. It might not hold up under empirical inquiry, but it’s what makes sense in my heart.”
It's a beautiful idea, and I feel a little ashamed at the way I dismissed her article when I first read it. The more time I spend with Soren and his packmates, the more I’m convinced that compatibility plays a part in switching. And while hard science might be dismissive of the concept of a soul, if neurobiologists can claim we have both primal instincts and a conscious intellect within us, then why not a soulmate switch as well?
“There’s a small team here on campus looking at the causes of intersexuality in marine species and if they can be applied to switches,” Dr. Finchley tells us. “But I think you should speak with a professor who’s recently joined our little corner of the world. He’s also a switch, and his mate is an alpha who switches to omega.” She looks at Creed. “I think they might also be part of your project.”
“They are. Finn plans to get everyone together once things settle down.” He raises his brows at the older woman. “Maybe through your book club.”
I think I’ve misheard him until Sarah crows, “Ah, yes! The Switcheroo Club. We don’t get a lot of reading done, but the high teas are a treat!”
She leaves us with a few more kind words about my research and an open invitation to her book club, but I find it hard to settle back into my study rhythm. When I’ve given my third sigh in half an hour, Creed cocks a brow at me, but I swivel towards Soren, who is sitting opposite me reading a book on deep sea corals. “I don’t know about soulmates, but I think some people are meant to be together. Like you two, for instance. When are you planning to make an honest mate out of him, Soren?”
“Me?” Soren blinks at me and almost drops his book. The sideways glance he shoots Creed would make me giggle if it wasn’t such a serious topic. “Why do I have to take charge?”
“Because you sunk your teeth into him first.”
Creed smirks at me, but I shake my head. “You have to step up, too, big guy. Being a possessive, paranoid packmate is only sexy if you follow through. Otherwise, you’re just a creepy stalker.”
Soren is laughing so hard he almost falls off his chair, and I grab his hand, squeezing it to get his attention. “Since I want to bond you both, I’m putting you on a timeline.”
“Ooh,” Soren coos, his tongue poking between his teeth. “Do we get a spreadsheet?”
I suppress a shudder. “No, but slackers will be on a sex ban.” Their faces both fall, and I jump to my feet, tossing my things into my backpack. “Come on. Let’s go pry Lang away from his freshmen groupies so you two can get down to business.”