Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Alex
March
L ike every other day for the past eight weeks, I couldn’t concentrate.
Instead of reading over my final notes before court this afternoon, I ran a finger over the black ink on the worn piece of paper. Reading the words, even though I had memorized them by heart.
Thanks for starting my year off with a bang. It was fun!
It was fun. Seriously?
My wolf growled, agitated beneath my skin. Just like he had been agitated since the morning I had woken in the hotel room. Alone. The sheets, and my skin, still smelling of our omega. With nothing of him left behind except a hastily scrawled note.
Not even his name.
Certainly not his number.
How could we be fated and he had just left like that? No contact info. Nothing. Hell, he hadn’t even bothered to wake me up and tell me good-bye. Or for us to have an actual conversation about the fact that we were fated.
Which still made dread swirl in my belly when I had to admit that he might not want me as his mate. As each day went by, it was a possibility I had to face.
I had often dreamed about the day I would meet my fated mate, never doubting that he was out there. Granted, not everyone had a fated mate, but I had always believed I did. I came
from a long line of fated mates–my grandparents, my parents, my many aunts and uncles. I knew my fated was out there.
But in all my daydreams, I never imagined I would find my fated in a hotel bar, well on his way to being wasted. Stealing my drink without shame, and dancing provocatively with not one but two alphas. Even now, instead of making me angry, the memory made me smile ruefully.
My fated mate was a brat through and through.
One who liked pushing the boundaries, no doubt to see who–or if anyone–would put him in his place. He needed his ass paddled, and then he needed to be cuddled.
If only I had a clue who he was or how to find him.
My abuela always told me, Alejandro, patience. Fate will make sure it works out as it should.
Bah , my wolf huffed, patience is overrated .
Tell me about it.
My attention was suddenly averted from my musings thanks to raised voices from outside my closed office door. Irene, my office manager, seldom raised her voice to anyone but me. Never clients. And I didn’t have anyone scheduled this morning, as it was a court day.
Using my shifter hearing, I stood, intent on seeing what was happening and intervening if necessary. Irene kept my office and me running smoothly, and I wasn’t about to let anyone give her any grief.
Hearing the voice, my skin prickled, all my senses coming alive.
“Look, he’ll see me, okay. It won’t take a minute, and then I’ll be gone. In and out. Poof! But, trust me, he will want to see me.”
“And I told you without an appointment, Mr…?”
“My name’s not important. I’m going in now. Byeeee!”
“Sir! Sir! I will call security!”
“Call whoever you need to, but I’m going in.”
Barely breathing, eyes wide, I watched as the knob on my door turned and then he was standing there. Like the dream I had every night, come to life.
Blinking, I was honestly shocked when he didn’t disappear like a cloud of smoke on the wind. Nope, he was still standing in the doorway, looking all kinds of sassy, yet apprehensive too. He wasn’t nearly as brave as he was trying to appear.
Irene was hot on his heels, her hands flapping and cheeks colored with angry heat.
Holding up a hand to indicate her to stop, I tried to speak. My mouth opened, but no sound came out, at least not anything that resembled actual words. We stared at each other, brown eyes to blue, neither of us blinking, electricity crackling between us. Even without touching him, the air around us was charged with it.
Swallowing hard, I croaked huskily, “Irene, hold my calls.”
“Alex–” she huffed, still poised in the doorway behind… him . The fact that she had called me Alex and not Alejandro, like she normally did, told me just how off-kilter she was.
“Hold my calls.”
He licked his dark reddish-purple lips tinted with that same shining gloss he had been wearing that night, but he never took his gaze from mine. Smugly, he said, “I told you he would see me.”
Tilting my head, I narrowed my eyes at him, my lips fighting a smile.
Brat.
Irene looked to me for confirmation, and I gave a slight nod of my head.
“Does your guest require anything?” Her tone was cool with a slight snip to it.
Oh, yeah, she was not happy with me. Not that I blamed her. She did her job exceptionally well, and she took being my gatekeeper seriously. And while I appreciated everything she did for me, and in keeping my office running smoothly, I needed privacy and to not be interrupted.
“Um…” this was the first time I saw a crack in his bravado armor that he had wrapped himself in, and he swallowed hard, nibbling on his bottom lip. “Could I…do you have a Sprite? Or something like that? Ginger-ale?”
Reaching into the mini-fridge I kept beside my desk, I pulled out a green can of the lemon-lime soda. Popping the top, I slid it across the desk towards him. “I have it. Thank you, Irene. Close the door, please.”
“You’ll buzz if you need anything?” She was still looking at him like she didn’t trust he wasn’t up to no good, or there to start any trouble. I had no doubt he was absolutely here to start some kind of trouble, and I was surprisingly okay with it.
“Of course,” I assured her, flashing a smile. “We’ll be fine, won’t we Mr.–?”
Taking a deep breath, he straightened his shoulders, and that mischievous gleam I remembered well lit up his eyes. Flashing Irene a smirk, he waggled his fingers at her in a slightly shooing motion, declaring, “We’ll be just fine.”
Irene gave him the stink eye, but she closed the door, a bit harder than necessary. Letting me know I’d be getting an earful later. And it didn’t escape my notice he still hadn’t supplied me with even his last name.
Waving to one of the empty chairs in front of my desk, I sat back down, leaning back casually in my leather chair. While he slid gracefully into the empty chair, reaching for the cold can and taking a sip, I observed him quietly.
He was just as beautiful as I remembered, though there was a slightly fragile air about him today. His dark hair was styled in a messy tousle that accentuated his high cheekbones and pouty lips. His pale skin held a slightly green tint to it, and there were dark circles bruising the delicate skin beneath his gorgeous aqua eyes. That and him asking for the fizzy soda made me wonder if he was ill. Concern took over my body, and I had to tamp down all my natural caregiving instincts. Something told me he wouldn’t appreciate them at the moment.
His beautiful eyes were once again rimmed in black liner, though toned down from New Year’s. And his ridiculously long, dark lashes were curled. The effect made his eyes pop and drew your attention to them. He was dressed in pale pink scrubs, covered in cartoon kittens and puppies, the color a delicate contrast to his pale skin and dark hair. So, he was in the medical field in some capacity. It was the start of figuring out just who my fated was.
He sat the can of soda on the edge of my desk after taking a delicate sip, his eyes glancing around my office, taking it all in. I had about a million questions I wanted to ask him. Like how he had found me, and what his name was! But something told me I needed to wait for him to speak.
“So…” he began, then stopped, swallowing. He took a breath then blew it out.
“So?” I repeated quietly.
His brows furrowed, little grooves forming on his forehead. “You remember me, right?”
Raising a brow, I nodded. “Oh, yeah. I remember you.” Picking up the many times folded and unfolded piece of paper on my desk, I waved it in his direction. “You’re hard to forget.”
His blue eyes followed the waving paper, and I knew the instant he recognized what it was. “You kept that?”
“It was the only thing I had to remember you by.” Besides my memories, which wouldn’t leave me in peace. And the stolen pillowcase, that if I closed my eyes, I pretended I could still smell his scent on. But I wasn’t about to tell him that, because that was just weird.
“Yeah, about that,” he muttered, looking at his hands clasped tightly in his lap. He took another deep breath, letting it out slowly. I watched in fascination as he straightened his shoulders just like he had with Irene. The fragility I saw was instantly replaced by a spine of steel, and when his head came up, his gaze was steady on me. And a little defiant.
“So, I’m pregnant, it’s yours, I’m keeping the baby, and I really don’t need anything from you. But I do feel the alpha has a right to know he is going to be a father, and my first doctor appointment is this Friday, at ten.” He said it all in a rush, took another big breath and kept going. “If you can make it, or want to even, or even want to be involved, whatevs, you can show. But it’s totally cool if you know you want to opt out. Just like, I’d prefer if you took the out now, and not later. I don’t want my kid getting attached if you’re just gonna be a deadbeat alphahole. And we totes don’t need to be together or anything. You can still be involved, without us being…whatever. I didn’t mean to imply it was like all or nothing. We totally don’t need to be a package deal. I’m like…um two months now, but you can figure that out on your own, I guess. I found out on Valentine’s Day. Not really what I was hoping for. More wanted roses and chocolates. Instead I got puking and a positive pee stick.”
Blinking hard, I stared at him, trying to get my brain to comprehend all the fast spoken words he had run together in a rush of too long sentences.
Pregnant?
He was pregnant?
Air rushed into my lungs and I scented the air, catching the delectable scent of peach cobbler. My cock instantly hardened, and I scooted my chair closer to my desk, to cover the bulge.
His scent had changed though. It was a bit sweeter while at the same time it had a darker musky scent attached to it that hadn’t been there before.
My mate was pregnant.
With my pup.
Joy overwhelmed me and I couldn’t speak.
He stood abruptly, slapping his palms against his thighs. “Well, I need to get to work. I’m already late.” He pulled a yellow square of paper from the pocket of his scrubs and tossed it on my desk. “That’s the address of my doctor. If you decide to show up for the appointment.”
And without a backwards glance, he sashayed out of my office, slim hips and mouth-watering bubble butt jiggling enticingly. Like he hadn’t just crashed into my life–for the second time–and dropped a bomb.
Go after him! My wolf grumbled, shaking me out of the fog I had fallen into after he had dropped his pregnancy bombshell.
Rushing out of my office, I glanced around frantically at the empty waiting room. Irene pointed her pen towards the elevators at the end of the long room, not even glancing up from her computer screen.
He was there. Waiting in front of the steel doors, tapping one bright pink tennis shoe clad foot impatiently. The elevator dinged and I hurried to catch him, my long, powerful legs eating up the distance quickly. Grabbing him by the arm as he took a step into the car, I pulled him back against my chest.
He let out a high-pitched squeak, his arms flailing. Turning him, I stared down into his stunning face. His eyes were defiant, but he licked his lips in a nervous gesture, his nostrils flaring and his cheeks pinking with pretty color.
That same electricity that happened between us was there, still present, making my skin tingle where we touched.
“ Bonita mocosa ,” I muttered, fighting the urge to bend my head and capture those glistening lips of his. Did he taste as sweet as I remembered?
He blinked, his fingers digging into my arms where I still held him. “What does that mean?” he demanded breathlessly. “You said that before. That night at the hotel. I remember you calling me that.”
Lips curving into a smile, I translated. “Pretty brat.”
He snorted, rolling his eyes and huffing out a short breath, but he didn’t deny the truth of it.
“Why are you getting all handsy with me?” He pushed against my hold and reluctantly I let him go. He smoothed a hand down his scrubs, straightening the non-existent wrinkles. “I told you what I needed to tell you.”
His eyes strayed over to where Irene sat at her desk. We were far enough away she wouldn’t be able to hear unless she used her shifter hearing. Because of client confidentiality, she seldom did. Something told me she might this time, but she would never admit to doing it, if I asked.
“I gave you my doctor’s info,” he whispered, looking annoyed now, but that unsure look was back in his eyes. Fleeting, yes, and gone so quickly I nearly missed it. But there, just the same. Even if I hadn’t seen it, I could feel his nerves strumming through his tautly held body. “I told you, you don’t need to be involved. There is absolutely no pressure from me. I’m fine. We’re good. I don’t need anything from you.” He shrugged, trying to look like he didn’t care either way, but the vulnerability shining in his eyes that made my heart clench. “Show up or don’t.”
Oh, he was so defensive! But he was also a bit frightened, I could smell it on him. Not of me, I didn’t think, just the entire situation. He was putting on a brave front, but he was scared. Worried. Afraid of the future, and what part I might play in it. Or not play in it, if I chose.
“And what if I need something?” I growled, my words coming out rougher and harsher than I intended them to.
He licked those full, pouty lips of his again, my eyes glued to his pink tongue as he made them glisten. “What do you need?”
“Let’s start with your name.”
His lips made a perfect little O, before he pursed them together. “Seth. My name is Seth.”
“Last name, too, please.” Pursing my lips, I dared him to defy me, mimicking his look.
He rolled his eyes, and I held in my snicker, before he huffed, “Brown. My last name is Brown.”
“See,” I told him, brushing an unruly lock of hair off his forehead, “that wasn’t so hard now, was it? Will you please come back to my office so we can finish this conversation?” This time, I made sure to keep my voice calm and gentle. He was like an unbroken horse, skittish as hell and ready to bolt any second.
He shook his head, “I need to get to work. I’m already late. And I have to take off a few hours on Friday. Can’t we just talk then?”
He was trusting that I was going to show up to his appointment, or he was hoping I wasn’t going to and we had nothing more to say to one another. I wanted to force him to talk to me, to come back to my office and sit down. I had so many questions for him, the first being did he feel what was between us? Did he know that we were fated?
Something told me I needed to let him go for now. At least this time, I knew his name. I knew where he would be on Friday.
Stepping back, I put a couple of inches of space between us. “I’ll see you on Friday, Seth Brown,” I stressed his name, liking how it felt rolling off my tongue. Loving the sound of it actually. “Try to be good until then.”
He took two backwards steps until he was in the elevator, his eyes never leaving mine, his chest rising and falling quickly. Then he gave a sassy little laugh, that caused tingles to run up and down my spine. “I’m always good, or don’t you remember?”
The saucy wink he tossed at me as he leaned against the back wall of the elevator set my blood on fire with all kinds of feelings.
The doors began to close, but a question popped into my head, and I slammed my hand against them, keeping the heavy metal from closing.
His eyes grew wide, watching me. “What now?”
“How did you find me?”
“Oh, that,” he relaxed back against the wall once more, “I showed the picture you took of us,” he gave me a pointed look like I had taken the picture without his knowledge, which was the furthest thing from the truth, “to my bestie. He knows you.”
Arching a brow at him, I asked slowly, “And who is this bestie of yours?”
“Bennett Maxwell,” he replied, tapping his foot impatiently and looking at the time on his phone.
I’d need to send Bennett a massive thank you. What were the odds that Bennett, who I had worked closely with for years and years, helping abused omegas get justice, would turn out to be my fate’s best friend?
Fate , my wolf chuffed, and I had to agree, saying a silent thank you to the universe.
Letting go of the elevator doors, we stared at each other until they closed, blocking him from my view.