Chapter 53 #2
“So your relationship is consensual and equal, except it’s not Hestia’s fault she broke the rules?” Alana says, raising an eyebrow, the first reaction she’s shown so far.
“Yes,” I say without flinching.
“Hmmm,” she hums.
I don’t falter under her penetrating stare.
“Omegas are predisposed to do what alphas say,” she says. “And an omega just out of the academy, a young adult out in the world for the first time, would be vulnerable to a pack’s interest—”
“It’s not like that!” Hestia interrupts.
Alana’s eyes flick to the side. “I take it your omega is with you?”
“Yes, my pack is here, including Hestia. I’m sorry I didn’t mention that,” I say.
“Let me talk with her,” Alana says.
“Of course,” I reply after Hestia nods.
I give Hestia my chair, raising the seat so her head isn’t just barely clearing the desk. Once she’s settled, I stand behind her.
“It’s good to see you again, Hestia. I hope you’re doing well,” Alana says.
“I’m great! I mean, um, good. It’s nice to see you again,” Hestia says.
“You’re in a romantic relationship with Montanus, is that correct?”
“Yes,” Hestia says, nervously twisting her fingers in her hair.
I clench my fists, fighting the urge to comfort her as her scent sours. I don’t want it to look like I coached her or I’m preventing her from speaking freely.
“You’re aware that dating someone who is a direct superior or subordinate is against company policy?” Alana says.
I can’t help the growl that slips out, though I quickly choke it off. I already told her it’s our fault Hestia broke the rules.
Alana glances at me, amused.
“Yes,” Hestia repeats, her smell edging toward the bitter scent of fear.
Fuck it. I put my hands on her shoulders and squeeze them, letting her know we’re here for her. Hestia flashes me a quick smile.
I could have held back since Cato decided to crawl over and put his head in her lap, but still, I don’t want her to think I was leaving her to deal with Alana without me.
Hestia relaxes and pets Cato’s hair. He’s wrapped himself around her legs like an octopus, thankfully out of camera range.
“I’m sure you realize why we have that rule. It’s too easy to feel pressured by someone with authority over you, even if they didn’t intend to use their power that way,” Alana says.
“Yes, but this pack would never do something like that! I liked them long before I knew they were interested in me,” Hestia says.
“I’ve never felt like this for any other alphas, whether they were authority figures or not.
I’ve always been dedicated to becoming a rescuer and I wasn’t looking for romance, but it found me anyway.
I love this job and I love this pack. Can’t you make an exception, just this once?
Don’t let them quit. We’re scent matches after all, it’s hardly fair to punish them for finding their mate. ”
I’m too shocked to cut in like I planned.
I was going to say Alana doesn’t need to be lenient on us, just let Hestia continue her training without reprisal.
But now words escape me.
Hestia said she loves us.
I stare at her in wonder, feeling my packmates’ equal shock in the bond.
We’ve been in love with her for a while, but I didn’t know she felt the same way.
I want to tell her I love her too, but now doesn’t seem like the most romantic moment with our boss watching. The five of us quickly come to an agreement that it’s best to wait until we’re alone to confess our love. I’m not sure Hestia even realizes what she said anyway, nerves keeping her on edge.
Alana narrows her eyes, considering us.
“I’d like to talk to Hestia privately,” she finally says.
We leave the room after Hestia tells us it’s alright, and pile into the hall, still in shock.
I collapse against the wall, my packmates falling around me.
She loves us!
After sitting in a daze for a minute, I get my racing heart under control.
I creep as close as possible to my office door without actually pressing my ear against it. As team lead, I should set a good example and at least pretend I’m not listening in on a private conversation.
I can’t hear anything through the thick wood though. Henri is twitching like he wants to reach for his phone and pull up the camera feed for my office.
But we wait, cycling between elated and concerned.
I should have talked more about how amazing Hestia is at this job, made it clear I’m not saying that just because she’s our mate. What if Alana tries to fire Hestia along with us? We never arrived at an answer on that.
The door suddenly swings open, and I catch myself on the frame to stop myself from falling in.
“She’s not going to fire us!” Hestia says.
“That’s right, Alana can’t fire you,” Charm says reassuringly.
“No, not just me, you too! She’s going to let us keep working together!” she says excitedly.
When I process what she said, I swing Hestia up in my arms and carry her back to the computer. Alana is waiting for us with a smile.
“You’re not letting us go? We get to keep working together?” I say, disbelieving.
“Yes, you’ll keep training Hestia as you have been.
We have a no-fraternization rule to protect our employees, but exceptions can be made.
After talking with Hestia, I’m confident she wasn’t pressured into anything.
Although I’ve told her if anything changes, we’ll relocate her.
Your pack is full of amazing rescuers, and you’ve done so much to help people over the years.
I see no reason to lose you if you continue to be upstanding men,” Alana says.
“However, don’t go dating any more subordinates. ”
Cato scoffs. “Our pack is complete, we have no reason to.”
“Why won’t there be any repercussions?” I can’t help asking.
Not that I want them, but I never imagined we’d be allowed to stay on and keep working with Hestia.
“Like your omega said, it hardly seems fair to punish you for finding your scent match. I should reprimand you for breaking the rules and hiding it instead of coming to me from the start to work something out, but I’m in a good mood.
I love love, and I’m happy for you. So I’m going to let it slide just this once on the condition that you train her well and keep treating her well,” she says.
We agree and get off the call quickly after that, with promises to sign some paperwork to make HR slightly less unhappy with us.
Everyone is quiet for a moment after I hang up, but then we swarm Hestia, hugging and kissing and scent marking her.
Our pack spends the rest of the night celebrating in our omega’s nest. It’s not the most prudent idea since we have to get up early for work, but we can make it through one day on little sleep.