Chapter 10 #2
“La Dolce Vita doesn’t need to be practical,” Kai says, patting my shoulder as he passes with another box. “She just needs to sit there looking pretty and purr like a kitten. Just like me.”
Grayson slams the truck bed closed. “If only we could shut you up as easily as taking the keys out of your ignition.”
There’s a beat of silence before Kai’s face morphs with exaggerated outrage. “Did you just—was that a joke? At my expense?” He turns to me. “Noah, did Ghost just make a joke?”
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me. “I believe he did. And it was actually a little funny.”
“Betrayal!” Kai clutches his chest. “After all I’ve done for you two ingrates. Providing shelter from the storm. Opening my home. My heart.”
“Your liquor cabinet,” I correct.
“That too!” Kai huffs dramatically, doing a half-decent job of hiding his grin. “I’m going to check the firewood supply. When I return, I expect you two to think of a better way to show your gratitude.”
As soon as Kai is out of earshot, I notice a shift in Grayson’s demeanor. His shoulders tense slightly, and his movements become more deliberate as he arranges supplies on the porch. I’ve known him long enough to recognize when he’s building up to something.
His mouth settles in a grim line, gaze flicking to where Kai disappeared around the corner of the house.
“Just spit it out, Ghost,” I say, setting down the last bag from his truck.
Grayson’s eyes meet mine, calculating. “Is there any medical disorder that would make a beta take omega heat suppressants?”
That is not at all what I expect him to say. “What?”
“You heard me.” His gaze is steady, challenging. “Can you think of any reason a beta would need to take a heat suppressant, like Omegablock?”
I lean against the porch railing, giving him the courtesy of considering the question even if it’s completely out of left field. “No, not that I’m aware of. Omegablock specifically targets omega hormonal pathways. It would be useless for a beta and potentially harmful.”
“What about endocrine diseases?” Grayson presses. “Anything obscure that would make a beta need suppressants?”
I shake my head, professional curiosity now fully engaged.
“Unless there’s some case study published in the last six months that I’ve missed, no.
A physician would only prescribe heat suppressants to an omega.
Period.” I narrow my eyes at him. Grayson has never expressed even an iota of interest in medicine. “Why are you asking?”
Grayson reaches into his jacket pocket and produces a folded piece of paper. He holds it out to me, a barely perceptible glint of triumph in his eyes.
I take the paper, unfolding it carefully. It’s a prescription for the generic version of Omegablock.
Written out to Holly Chang.
“Where did you get this?” I demand, a strange mix of anger and vindication washing over me.
“Found it,” Grayson says with a shrug. “At Caro’s.”
“You mean you stole it.”
“Not theft.” His expression remains impassive, but I can sense the satisfaction radiating from him. “She dropped it. I retrieved it.”
“At didn’t bother giving it back,” I add, sardonically. “I guess I don’t need to ask what you were doing at Caro’s in the first place.”
Grayson has always been odd. He was intense as a kid and whatever happened to him in the years he spent serving in the military just made him quieter and more likely to keep to himself.
But when he fixates on something, there’s no distracting him and Holly Chang has captured his attention.
Now, I might have some idea of why that is.
I stare at the prescription, pieces clicking into place. The flinching from touch. The careful distance she maintains. The shifting scent that’s been driving me crazy.
Holly Chang isn’t a beta. She’s an omega.
Which should not be possible. Heat suppressants do literally just that —prevent a heat cycle. They don’t turn omegas into betas. They might mute scent somewhat, but they won’t hide a designation.
This shouldn’t be fucking possible.
I don’t realize I’ve spoken aloud until Grayson responds.
“Then explain it,” he insists.
But there is no other explanation. Not any that don’t violate the basic tenets of medical science, at least.
“Shit,” I mutter, folding the prescription and shoving it into my pocket. “Does anyone else know about this?”
Grayson shakes his head. “Just us.”
“Keep it that way. It’s her business if she wants to hide her designation.”
Grayson’s voice has an edge to it. “What if she ran out?”
Don’t think about it, Klinkhart. Just don’t think about it. “Then she’s in for a pretty spectacular heat, depending on how long she’s been taking them. I hope she got what she needs from Caro’s to deal with it.”
“An omega alone and in heat is vulnerable.”
I close my eyes and let out a deep breath, the untamed alpha part of me struggling to rise in a way I can’t allow. “I doubt she’d appreciate that caveman bullshit. No omega needs a mate.”
“That’s true.” His eyes drift toward the mountain where Holly’s cabin sits. “But lots of mountain men like to roam the hills.”
And this particular omega, enlightened or not, is now alone in a cabin on the mountain and maybe about to go into heat.
There are plenty of good guy alphas in this town who might not resist a lure that potent.
Heat Mountain isn’t like the cities where designation hardly matters anymore.
Out here, people still live with older values.
Alphas might not fight over omegas like they did in the old days, but that’s only because there are enough to go around now.
The boundaries of polite society always get a little strained when you’re far enough out from civilization.
Around here, omegas are respected and protected—sometimes whether they want to be or not.
“I should check on Holly,” I say, already calculating the fastest route to the Whitesong cabins. “Make sure she has enough supplies.”
“We should check on her,” Grayson corrects, emphasis on the plural.
“It doesn’t take both of us. You barely even know her.”
“You’re not going without me,” he interrupts flatly. “And you know exactly why.”
I want to deny it, but the words stick in my throat. Because he’s right. From the moment Holly Chang walked into the clinic, something about her has pulled at me. Not just physical attraction—though there’s plenty of that—but something deeper. A recognition. A certainty that she matters, somehow.
And I’m clearly not the only one.
We have a moment of tension, staring at each other. I turn away from him, irritation flaring for reasons I can’t quite place.
“Fine,” I concede, not liking the knowing look in Grayson’s eyes. “But we’re not confronting her about the suppressants. That’s her business. We’re just making sure she’s safe for the storm.”
Grayson nods once, apparently satisfied. “I’ll get the truck warmed up.”
“What truck?” Kai asks, returning with an armload of firewood. “Where are we going? I just put some beers on ice in the game room.”
I exchange a glance with Grayson, silently debating how much to tell Kai. Despite his carefree facade, Kai is perceptive. And he’s already shown too much of an interest in Holly.
“Dr. Chang’s cabin,” I say shortly. “We need to make sure she’s prepared for the storm.”
Kai’s eyebrows shoot up. “The pretty doctor? Well, why didn’t you say so? I’ll get my coat.” He dumps the firewood unceremoniously on the porch. “Though I have to say, Noah, this is very unlike you. What happened to your professional boundaries?”
I scowl at him. “It’s called being a good neighbor.”
“Uh-huh.” Kai’s grin is knowing. “And it has nothing to do with you being obsessed with her.”
“I am not,” I protest, though the heat creeping up my neck betrays me.
“Sure, sure.” Kai pats my shoulder as he passes. “And Ghost here is the life of the party.”
Grayson makes a sound that might be a laugh or a growl—it’s hard to tell with him—and heads toward his truck.
I follow, trying to ignore the knot of worry tightening in my gut. It’s just a welfare check. Making sure a colleague has what she needs for the storm. Nothing more.
But as we pile into Grayson’s truck and start the treacherous drive up the mountain, I can’t shake the feeling that everything is about to change. The storm, Holly’s secret, my own conflicted feelings—it’s all converging, like weather systems colliding over the peak.
I mostly hope we’re wrong, that there’s some obvious explanation for why a beta would need to take some of the strongest heat suppressants on the market.
The other part of me, the one struggling to keep a salivating alpha caged, knows precisely what it hopes to find.