Chapter 8 #2
“Listen,” she says with a huff. “Two days ago? I woke up a beta. The same way I’ve woken up for the last twenty-eight years.
The same as my parents and my brothers and everyone else I know in my family.
Then suddenly, after Satan’s sky ride of a flight and the worst flu symptoms I’ve ever had, some random ER doctor is telling me that, surprise!
I am apparently a shifter. And not just any ol’ regular shifter, but an omega. ”
My nose wrinkles. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“You’re telling me,” she scoffs.
I eye her incredulously, earning me another roll of her eyes.
“It’s called ‘late presentation,’ ” she tells me.
“And that’s…a thing?”
“Apparently.”
“Huh.” It’s definitely nothing I’ve ever heard of, but then again, she’s only the second omega I’ve spent any real time with. So what do I know? “And that causes you to…”
I wave my hand aimlessly, hoping she’ll throw me a bone so I don’t have to say it.
Her brow cocks. “To throw myself at the first guy I can get my hands on? Apparently.”
Her phrasing leaves a sour taste in my mouth, because I’m thinking of the possible scenario where someone else might have been around last night. Again, my alpha hates this very much.
Fucking hormones.
“To be fair,” I say, clearing my throat. “It being us trapped in the lodge probably isn’t making things any better.”
Her head tilts to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Because of what I am.”
She looks lost. “And…you are?”
“An alpha,” I answer flatly. “My pheromones are going to make yours go haywire.”
“You are?”
“You didn’t know?”
Her eyes go wide. “I had no idea. How would I have? I didn’t even know what I was two days ago.”
“But you said…”
Alpha.
Alpha.
Alpha.
I take a deep breath. “That’s what you called me. Last night.”
I watch as her cheeks tinge pink, no doubt remembering everything that happened last night. Not that I can blame her. It’s playing on a loop in the back of my mind.
“Oh” is all she says.
“Oh?”
“I mean…the doctor mentioned that I should steer clear of…people like you. I don’t even remember saying that. Maybe I was thinking out loud?”
Silence stretches between us, both of us no doubt trying to decide how to move forward. I can feel irritation brewing inside me, an emotion that makes no sense. Why on earth would I be annoyed that she hadn’t meant to call me that last night?
“Can we just…” She shuffles her weight from one foot to the other. “Can we please just pretend last night didn’t happen?”
“Pretend,” I echo dumbly.
“Yeah, I mean…I still have a job to do.”
“And what if this happens again?”
Her mouth forms an O shape, her brows lifting. “Again?”
“It seems like this came out of nowhere, right?”
“Kind of,” she admits.
“And it only lasted a few hours? I’m no expert, but that’s not normal.”
“The doctor said that I might experience some…issues. While my body changes.”
“There’s a chance this will happen again, Tess.”
She bites her lower lip. “Maybe it won’t.”
I want to grab her and shake her. I’m too on edge thinking about this happening when someone else is around. When she’s vulnerable.
“And what if it does?”
“Then I’ll deal with it,” she says primly. “Contrary to the way I acted last night, I can take care of myself.”
I stare back at her, thinking. The words on the tip of my tongue go against everything I’ve ever sworn to myself, but the thought of her finding herself in a situation where someone might use her makes my stomach twist. I can’t let myself get wrapped up in…
whatever this is. I know where that road leads.
“You need to be on suppressants,” I say through gritted teeth.
Her brows knit. “The doctor said we shouldn’t hinder my body’s natural changes.”
“And how is that fair to me?”
She rears back. “Fair to you?”
“You think it was easy? Turning you down like I did? It causes me physical pain to be around you when you’re like that.”
“Wow,” she snorts. “I’m sorry that my life blowing up is inconveniencing you.”
I wince, trying to get my aggravation in check as I realize that this whole thing most likely is a nightmare for her—the fact that she can’t control it. Part of me feels like an asshole now.
I’m opening my mouth to try to smooth things over, maybe even offer to stay with Jeannie while Tess is here, as much of a hassle as that will be for me, but then—
“Oy, Tess! You here?”
I take a step back to catch sight of three random men pushing through the door in the foyer at the base of the stairs, each carrying a bag and looking around with interest. When I turn to Tess, I notice relief in her features, her mouth even twisting up in a smile.
“Be right there!” she calls, leaning past me.
Then she gives me her attention once more.
“Look. I’m sorry to inconvenience you—but I can handle myself.
I’m really sorry I put you in that…position last night, but it won’t happen again.
I can do this job, and now that I know what to expect, I can handle whatever issues arise on my own going forward. ”
I can feel the argument trying to escape my mouth, but she’s already pushing past me to bound down the stairs.
I move to brace myself on the banister as I watch her throw herself at one of the men, feeling a prickling sensation in my skin as I watch them take turns hugging her tight.
Just watching them makes my stomach churn for some reason.
Am I…jealous?
No. Absolutely not. It’s just my fucking instincts and hormonal bullshit. Besides, I reason—to myself or my alpha, I can’t be sure—these have to be her brothers. Her beta brothers, she said. They pose no threat to me.
Not that there would be any reason for them to.
I know I should go introduce myself and play nice or whatever, but right now…I can’t seem to muster up the desire to do anything more than push off the banister and skulk back to my room. My room, which still smells completely saturated with her.
I tell myself that in a day or so, these urges will abate. Everything I’m feeling is just a direct result of what happened. It’s a natural response, that’s all.
I take a deep breath, letting her sweet scent fill my nostrils, only realizing what I’ve done when I feel myself start to harden in my sweats.
Natural response, I scoff at myself.
Right.