30. KATIE
Chapter thirty
KATIE
T here is absolutely nothing to freak out about. It’s just a man asleep in my bed. Not just any man, Loren . Gentleman to a fault, who’s still wearing his trousers and button up shirt from last night.
Nothing happened except actual unconsciousness.
But I am having a goddamn panic attack.
I slip from my bed that smells like the freshest laundry and crispest books, to flee the sanctuary of my bedroom.
Why is waking up next to Loren so hard? Is it Loren, or would I be equally unhinged over any man in my bed?
I practically trip down the stairs, catching myself by pressing one hand to the wall and the other on the banister and hoisting my clumsy legs up. I swing lithely down the last three steps and land silently.
Well done me!
I pad to the kitchen. Maybe coffee will help me clear my head.
I pause in the living room, looking out the window to the sunrise. Or sunsrise , since both the larger and smaller suns are peeking above the horizon.
The larger sun is a golden orb, just like on Earth. But the smaller one has more red in it, casting a distinctly pink tinge as it floods the world with morning light.
It’s only about six am. Everyone is still in bed. I should be in bed, but Loren is there and I just can’t face, well, him. These quiet intimacies of waking up with someone, even though we haven’t actually slept together yet.
I sigh.
“Looking for coffee?”
I nearly jump out of my skin. I hadn’t seen anyone moving in the kitchen.
Callum stands with a mug in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other. He’s dressed in running shorts and a tank top, his skin glazed with sweat.
His short dark hair is plastered to his forehead, and his black eyes are bright with a halo of green around the edges. Every inch of him is muscled and lean.
I gape for a moment before I can collect myself. This rumpled, civilian version of Callum is magnificent. His scent is clean despite the sweat, and my mouth waters as I breathe his lime and fresh fir in.
“I… yes, I just got up.” I stutter, my heart hammering wildly like I’m talking to a middle school crush. I feel my cheeks heat so I turn to the window. “You know, we only have one sun back home. It’s so strange to see two.”
In my periphery Callum sets down the mug, and moves closer but keeping a respectful distance.
“I think they would be lonely without one another,” he says, his voice raspy from his workout. He sips his water before continuing. “Even the suns are pack. That’s how all of Savolinna is organized– as pack. From the suns, and the stars that cluster together at night, to how we humans create families.”
He takes a breath then shrugs. He sips more water, like he’s swallowing back all the words he’d say. I wish he would tell me more.
I should despise the man. I mean he assaulted me.
But he’s kept his distance since I arrived and… I don’t like that. Which is bonkers. But what about being an Omega isn’t bonkers?
“Katie,” he finally says, breaking the quiet between us. “I want to apologize for the first time we… encountered one another. It was inappropriate and unprofessional. And…” He pauses, takes another sip of water.
I turn to face him. Let him apologize to me, not my profile. Let him see me .
“I usually have more self control. You are… alarming.”
“Alarming?” I repeat, shocked. Not beautiful or enchanting. Alarming .
He rubs his forehead. “Yes, you surprised me… your scent, your vigor and strength. You know that you are unlike the vast majority of Omegas? And I… well, that isn’t an excuse for…”
“Assaulting me?” I say, and cross my arms.
Callum winces. “Yes, for rushing you. I hope… I’d like to start again.”
He’s so masculine, his body corded with lean muscle. Not like Max’s thick bulk, or Loren’s broad shoulders height. Callum is all angles and edges, as though he’s been worn away by granite.
But his dark eyes are earnest, open and vulnerable. He would back down if I told him to. He would keep his mouth closed and himself distant if I dismissed him.
Fuck, he’d probably let me stay with Loren and Max if I chose to, even if I rejected him. Not that I’m staying at all. But if I did…
Suddenly, all my heat and frustration melts away.
“Sure, okay. But my body, my choice, okay? No rushing me or anything because you’re an Alpha. Or any of that Alpha bark bullshit,” I say, staring hard at him.
He nods. “Aye, ma’am.”
There’s the faintest hint of a smile. God, I bet his smile is breathtaking.
He moves toward me, hovering close enough that I think he might lean in and kiss me. Do I want him too?
Maybe?
No.
But…Definitely maybe?
“There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen,” he says in barely a whisper. Then, “and if you’re looking for information on Travelers, don’t bother with the folktales. There’s a book in our library that is a recent record of all known Travelers in the last two centuries. It’s red with gold lettering.”
He quirks his lips, almost a grin but not quite. He moves past me without touching, leaving me in a haze of his scent, my body aroused and my mind racing.