GABRIEL #3
I blink in shock, but still carried by my own recklessness, I whisper, "You took it all wrong. It wouldn’t be an unpleasant duty.
I phrased it that way so I wouldn’t come off as some horny creep, which I…
probably do anyway. But if you want my honesty, I find you very attractive.
Exactly my type, both physically and personality-wise.
I admit our start was outright terrible, and I misjudged you.
But in a different scenario, I… wouldn’t mind us being more than just employer and employee. "
Yes, I actually said that.
A heavy silence falls between us.
The tension hangs in the air as he stares at the surface of the water, his cheeks noticeably flushed red. He’s hard to read.
From his words, it sounds like he hated the conversation, yet his energy feels… different! Confused, almost like he’s fighting something internally, running through some scenarios… And he came here wearing basically nothing, what a contrast to his neoprene suit. So he doesn’t mind me looking?
My eyes instinctively drop to the place where his neck meets his shoulders, searching for the glands that in omegas draw alphas like honey draws bees, but instead I see a flat, pale surface.
There’s no surgical scar, of course, Blue is a specialist in tissue regeneration, but the area is clearly slightly sunken instead of having the subtle fullness typical for healthy alphas and omegas.
The awareness that he lives without them, stripped of what defines AO nature, of our animal side, or as some prefer to call it, that alien side, hits me hard.
I hold my breath, my eyes fixed on that mangled spot at the edge of his neck, and Blue sees it. I hear his heart racing violently.
And then I make another horrible mistake.
I don’t activate my five-second ability. Instead, pulled in like by a magnet, I reach toward that spot, wanting to touch it, to soothe it… I’m inches away from his shoulder when—
Blue moves faster.
He jerks away sharply, water splashing from the sudden motion, an angry sound leaving him as he turns, grabs the ladder, and climbs out, and I swear under my breath because this has gone out of control.
My desire, my insanity just took over for a moment… and I crossed the line. And I have no idea what the hell got into me!
"Черт! [8]Blue!" I call. "Wait!"
"Mister Lowen to you!" he throws over his shoulder, already standing on the tiles, but I launch myself out of the pool after him, furious at myself for letting this spiral.
"Wait, Blue, I mean, Mr. Lowen, I’m sorry, I just—"
He stops abruptly and turns on me, his eyes blazing, narrowed with anger.
"I knew these constant conversations, these questions, would lead nowhere good.
This ends now! Our relationship is strictly professional, Gabriel, and it will never be anything more.
Never! I expect you to completely rid yourself of any thoughts of me in that context, and certainly of any gestures.
I don't wish to be touched outside of life-threatening situations. "
I meet his gaze, burning with deep outrage, but there’s something else there too, something frantic, almost panicked, like he’s trying to drown something out inside himself, at least that’s how it feels to me. On one level he’s furious, and on another, he’s… afraid. Of what? Me?
Himself?
"I’m warning you, Gabriel. If you cross the line again, the contract will be terminated, and I’ll have you sent to prison to serve the rest of your sentence locked in a cell!" His voice is heavy, hostile.
For a moment, I see again that Blue I’ve known over the past years, the hateful CEO of a giant corporation, ruthless and cold.
There’s a moment of silence. My heart gallops like a wild mustang, pain constricting my throat. I only give a slow nod, feeling like I’m about to faint.
"Forgive me! I apologize wholeheartedly, Mr. Lowen. It won’t happen again." The words drag out of my throat, shaky, almost painful.
He turns and walks away, and something jerks in my chest, like a thread just snapped there painfully, breaking between us.
I close my eyes, and…
I throw up!
The content of the delicious dinner is now on his perfect roof garden tiles. Fuck!
I land on my knees, feeling sick to my stomach.
Did our relationship just take a wrong turn, because of my stupidity?
Did my hunger, my desperate need for closeness, just become the one thing that ruins me?
I sway slightly and then lose consciousness.
◆◆◆
Out of the darkness and fog, awareness slowly returns, and I realize I’m lying in a bed. I don’t have the strength to open my eyes yet, but the first sense that comes back online is hearing.
At first, the words around me are muffled, but then I start to make them out.
I think it’s James, Blue’s butler.
"It might be food poisoning. We recently changed couriers. Maybe someone tampered with the delivery?"
"If that were the case, his condition would be deteriorating quickly," replies an unfamiliar voice.
"Or maybe low blood sugar?" James suggests helpfully.
"Blood tests don’t indicate that. His panel is completely normal for a young alpha. There’s only one minor deviation. Please take a look."
A brief silence follows. Clearly, whoever is speaking is showing something to someone else in the room.
"But that deviation is small," I hear Blue’s voice.
"Still slightly above the norm."
"Slightly," Blue repeats with a strange kind of insistence.
The unknown man clears his throat and says,
"If that hormone is even slightly above normal, we can’t rule out that his condition is the result of what’s called Mate Rejection."
Silence drops over the room.
"You mentioned the conversation between the two of you was quite intense, or something along those lines…"
"Don’t speculate, Dr. Gross," Blue’s sharp voice cuts him off.
"I’m only pointing out one of the possible explanations," the man replies in a subdued tone.
Okay, I’ve heard enough. Finally, I feel sufficiently stable to slowly open my eyes.
I’m lying on my back in my room, the lights slightly dimmed, covered with a blanket, wearing only damp boxers underneath. I guess nobody dared take them off me.
James, Blue, and a tall beta with gray hair and thick glasses are standing by the bed.
I stare at him for a moment. So after I fainted, Blue must’ve called a doctor.
Does that mean I was out for that long? That he actually had time to get here? And take a sample of my blood?
The doctor is holding a portable blood analyzer in his hand.
A strange irritation builds in me at how humiliating this situation is. I’m a bodyguard, and I’m the one being taken care of? I don’t even know why, but it feels like a matter of pride.
I blink again, steady myself, and force every bit of strength I have into sitting up in one sharp motion, which immediately sends the room spinning.
All eyes turn to me, but the only ones that matter are Blue’s. I lock onto him.
And…
Wow, what’s going on?
I can’t read him at all.
It’s like he’s disappeared. Blue is a blank page to me now. Nothing. Zero.
What the fuck?
"Что случилось[9]? What the hell is going on?" I mutter under my breath, completely confused.
It’s strange how the doctor’s words, ‘Mate Rejection,’ keep echoing in my head even though it makes no sense, because we were never mated.
Mate Rejection only happens in two cases: when people have marked each other’s glands and formed a mating bond, or in the much rarer case when a True Mate Bond begins… and is then severed.
Those are the only two scenarios I’ve ever heard of, and neither of them applies to us. Right?
Maybe I’m just too nervous, and everything simply overwhelmed me.
What I did in the pool was completely out of character for me. I don’t usually have that much confidence, or that level of insistence when pursuing an omega…
Reaching for his glands… that’s actually insane. Even for a confident alpha, it would be too much, since glands are intimate areas that should only be touched by the closest person. Which makes what I did twice as insolent and intrusive.
So what happened?
I’ve always been an extremely shy and sensitive kid. When I was little, my dad said I got anxious and cried over basically nothing, and my half-brother Dallas used to call me a crybaby, so maybe this is just an echo of that part of me. I overreacted, shocked myself, and then, bam, I hit the floor.
I clear my throat, lift my hands, and rub the back of my neck.
What an embarrassment. I’m a fucking alpha, damn it, and I’m lying here like a helpless kitten, another reason for people to feel pity for me, another reason… not to respect me. No surprise that Blue doesn’t want such a loser.
"I would appreciate it if you all left my room," I force out through a constricted throat.
"You lost consciousness…" the doctor begins, but I cut him off.
"But I’m conscious now," I clench my jaw, then add through my teeth, "and I appreciate you, Mr. Lowen, for calling medical assistance, but it’s no longer needed." I keep my gaze fixed on the wall, avoiding Blue’s sapphire eyes that are watching me with intense focus.
"Of course, I’ll leave right away," the doctor says.
"Send me your account details. I’ll pay you for your time," I say flatly.
"There’s no need. Mr. Lowen already took care of—"
"I said I’ll pay it myself," I snap sharply, desperately trying to reclaim some control, some independence, some dignity.
They pulled me out of my own vomit, dragged me here in nothing but my wet boxers, and tucked me under a blanket like some small child. What a humiliation. I can’t stand the thought of it.
A silence falls, and the doctor walks toward the door, glancing back over his shoulder.
"Then just transfer the payment to Mr. Lowen. I’ve already been compensated. Thank you. Get well soon. If this happens again, I’d recommend a neurological examination, since we can’t rule anything out at the blood test stage."
"Yeah. Thanks. Goodbye."
The doctor leaves, and James follows right after him, quietly closing the door.