32. West
West
S omething was wrong with Ember. I looked up from my desk, like she would be standing right in front of me. But it was just the office, with the too-bright lights and the overwhelming smells of betas and a few alphas.
I swallowed hard, my heart feeling like it was trying to climb out of my chest. Something was wrong. I picked up my phone, but I didn’t see any missed text messages or phone calls from her.
I stood up. I needed to call her.
“Everything okay?” Greg looked up from his computer, his brown hair messy. “Listen, I’m sorry about before.”
He tried to apologize again, but I ignored him and headed into a side office. I called, but her phone rang a few times and went to voicemail. I texted her, but she didn’t reply. I gave it five minutes. Still nothing.
I opened the group chat.
West:
Has anyone heard from Ember recently?
I waited, pacing the office. My heart kept pounding, and I felt jittery like I’d drunk too much espresso.
The group chat pinged five minutes later.
Alejandro:
Nope, been cooking all afternoon. What’s wrong?
West:
I don’t know. But something’s wrong and she’s not answering her phone.
I waited for the alpha to tell me I was overreacting.
Alejandro:
Is she at Cosmic Bonds?
West:
Hang on
I felt dumb for not thinking of that sooner. I called the front desk.
“Thank you for calling Cosmic Bonds. Terran speaking. How can I help you?” Terran said on the other end.
“It’s West,” I said. “Is Ember at work?”
“She left a half hour ago. She said she was swinging by the cottage for more clothes?” He sounded amused about that.
“Right, I forgot. Thanks.”
“Everything okay?” Terran asked.
“Fine, I’ll check in later.” I hung up. It wasn’t okay, but I didn’t have time to get into it with Terran.
I opened up the group chat.
West:
She left work a half hour ago and she’s swinging by our cottage for clothes, her brother said.
Ben and Rian hadn’t replied yet, but it wasn’t weird for them to be radio silent for hours at a time if they were recording a session.
I glanced at the clock. It was only five, and I was supposed to be here for another hour, probably two if I wanted to be able to double-check my work. I’d had small issues with the coding the last month or so, and it was adding an annoying layer to everything I did.
But Ember needed me. I knew she did. We might not be able to bond with each other, but it didn’t matter. I had been by her side for almost ten years, and I knew her better than I knew myself at times. We had formed our own sort of bond, like her heart beat in my chest.
Something was wrong.
Alejandro:
I’ll swing by the cottage, see what’s up
Relief warred with affection. He didn’t question me, didn’t ask for explanations, just trusted that I was right.
Who would have thought an alpha could be so laid-back while still having the alphaness my omega craved? And would be interested in me?
I thought about Ben. Who would have thought two alphas would exist like that in the world? I certainly didn’t.
West:
I’ll meet you there
I prepared to leave work, trying to get Ember on the phone again. Knowing she wasn’t going to pick up. Hating how far away I was. Thank god Alejandro worked close by.