MARLOW
My head is spinning with emotions. I have no idea what happened, and I spend the entire afternoon stuck in that state. Why did I walk up to him?
Why did that encounter shake me so badly?
Those intense purple eyes had looked at my face almost pleadingly, like I was his last hope, his only chance to live.
The state he was in was impossible to ignore.
He looked physically drained. Unattended wounds in the crooks of his elbows, so he'd obviously had blood drawn or gone through some kind of medical procedure.
He had extensive red, scalded patches across his chest, as if someone had poured boiling water over him.
But that wasn’t the only thing that caught my attention, but also the traits that set him apart from ordinary humans.
I clearly remember the mannequin from the costume shop, and I have to admit they did a good job recreating it from the original. Fenn Drax really looks like something supernatural and unsettling.
He has massive purple-red markings, like someone had driven crimson thorns into his skin.
And the guy is a giant, his feet hung off the edge of the bed, meaning he had to be at least seven foot six.
Huge knots of muscle, a broad chest, thick tendons and veins, everything about him oversized and powerful.
And his skin…
When I'd touched him, the heat had been almost scalding beneath my fingers, making… my dick throb.
I squeeze my eyes shut, quickly forcing myself into a calmer state.
It's not right to have inappropriate thoughts about a poor guy who's being treated like a test guinea pig here.
I catch myself sitting curled up on the bed, instinctively gathering my colorful pillows around me in a desperate need to find some kind of anchor. My thoughts are far too restless, like a flock of wild geese scattering across the sky.
There's still one thing that's been bothering me, something I just can't understand.
What happened when I touched him? That electric jolt, as if it really had been the First Touch between fated mates.
Could something like that even be possible with shifters?
Well. It doesn't even matter. The orderly probably had a good point. Fenn Drax is a purple alpha, and they can’t find their True Mates among alphas, only among rose omegas. And that rules the whole thing out.
So I just can’t afford to get my hopes up.
For a minute, I’m debating whether I should sit down with my laptop and do some research on the topic, because what happened is seriously weird, but I hear footsteps and voices in the hallway.
It's probably Rupert.
Over the last few days, things between us haven't gone anywhere.
We've talked here and there, but I haven't sensed even the slightest bit of initiative from him.
Either he thinks we should get to know each other better before anything happens between us, or it's something else entirely.
Frankly, I'm fine with that, though the whole getting-to-know-each-other part has been pretty half-hearted too.
Despite what he wrote in his application about wanting to break away from his family's dentistry business, Rupert is still deeply tied to it.
Even if he doesn't physically work at his uncle's clinic anymore, he still handles reception duties remotely.
Every now and then patients call his personal number to schedule appointments, and Rupert books them into the system.
Not just with his uncle, either, but with his two cousins who work as young dentists at the same practice.
A lot of our conversations end the same way.
We're talking, his phone rings, and Rupert cuts me off to answer some patient explaining that a root canal treatment didn't work and they're still in pain, or that they need a tooth pulled and have to schedule a jaw X-ray first. It's all painfully boring.
Usually I turn to my laptop at that point, and the conversation never really resumes afterward.
Rupert isn't a homebody like me. He spends a lot of time walking around the facility, talking to other alphas, especially Juan, Timmy, and Pedro.
I've noticed he's really interested in politics, which doesn't do much for me.
Sometimes he even launches into heated debates during meals, and I just sit there listening with growing boredom.
He's also a huge sports fan, following every game, analyzing standings, matchups, probabilities, predictions. He gets genuinely excited about it, while I sit there completely indifferent, struggling to stay awake.
Of course, everyone at the facility has access to satellite and cable TV, and every room has a monitor.
Rupert loves watching comedies in the evening and laughing himself stupid.
Unfortunately, his sense of humor doesn't match mine at all, so I usually just sit beside him with a blank expression, staring at the screen.
Over these past few days, Rupert hasn't tried to hug me, touch me, nothing. And I'm definitely not the type to initiate.
I see other couples getting affectionate sometimes. Holding hands, kissing, cuddling. They do it openly. But none of that is happening here.
The voices outside the door keep going.
There's obviously some kind of conversation happening out there. I get up and move closer, hoping to eavesdrop, and recognize Rupert's voice along with Caspian's.
They're probably gossiping about someone, but I can't bring myself to care.
The conversation drags on and on. Five minutes pass. Then ten. Eventually fifteen.
I've had enough. My head is buzzing. My nervous system refuses to fully calm down. I need to get out of this damn room.
So I head for the door, irritation still building steep inside me. I yank it open.
Rupert is casually leaning against the wall while Caspian stands in front of him, slightly bent forward, covering his mouth with one hand as he whispers something between quiet laughs.
"Lunch is starting," I say.
"Oh, right, right," Rupert replies, looking like he'd completely forgotten the rest of the world existed.
Then Caspian says, "There's karaoke tonight. You guys should come. Juan and Timmy are singing, and they're actually really good."
"Sure, we'll be there," Rupert says immediately.
Caspian glances at me and probably notices my frown.
"Marlow, you have to come. Juan has an incredible voice. He should be a professional singer, but instead he's a tailor!" Caspian laughs.
A second later Rupert's phone makes a sound, and he pulls it out to answer a text. I assume one of the patients canceled an appointment.
I don't say anything, just head toward the cafeteria, leaving Caspian behind, while Rupert follows with his eyes glued to his phone. Together we walk into the massive dining hall.
The cafeteria was built for far more people than our humble group of fifty. In some ways, I almost wish there were more participants. As it is, everybody knows everybody, people form little cliques, and there's always some irritating gossiping going on.
Rupert joins a table where Juan is already sitting.
Juan is a very tall, strikingly handsome alpha with a ridiculously charismatic personality. He's way too pretty and way too polished for my taste. I prefer the rugged type.
The guy dresses like he just stepped off a runway, wearing fancy clothes he made himself.
His black hair is tied back into a short ponytail, and one ear is pierced with a gold earring.
Timmy is his varia. He's a slightly heavyset alpha with blond curls who's incredibly talkative, exhausting to be around, and permanently in gossiping mode.
Rupert sits beside them, which means I'm forced to sit there too.
Timmy and Juan are definitely the biggest attention magnets in the program. Loud, outgoing, impossible to miss.
Besides them, there's another couple at the table, Pedro and Vasyl, both clearly wanting to bask in the rays of the sun that Juan is, at least around here.
Sighing, I lower my head toward my plate.
Rupert starts asking Juan about the latest league games, roster changes, and promising new players.
Yawn.
The entire conversation is draining the life out of me.
Absent-mindedly, I pick at the hormone patch every varia is required to wear.
It's already had one unexpected effect on me.
Ever since I started wearing it, I've noticed that I've begun producing small amounts of slick, something I'd never experienced before. For me, sex had always involved large amounts of lubricant. There had never been any other option.
At some point my attention drifts toward the large mirror stretching across one wall.
For some reason, I keep staring at my reflection in it.
Is it a one-way mirror?
Are the facility's scientists watching us from behind it?
Acting on impulse, I get up.
I pretend I'm going for more chicken wings, but after grabbing some, I walk past the mirror. Then I quickly pull out my phone, turn on the flashlight, and press it against the glass to see if I can spot anything behind it.
And I do. A blurry shape appears beyond the surface. I manage to see something that absolutely shouldn't be there if it were an ordinary mirror.
Right when I'm about to pull the flashlight away, I catch a flicker of movement.
A quick motion behind the glass.
And then I see the outline of a hand resting directly in the illuminated area created by my flashlight.
Oh, fuck!
My heart starts pounding. What the hell is that?
Someone is standing behind the mirror…
I glance around nervously and notice a couple sitting at a nearby table staring at me in confusion. They're probably wondering why I'm hunched over a mirror with my phone pressed against it. Maybe they think I'm filming them through the reflection or something.
Awkward.
So I walk away with a tray holding chicken wings, not looking at them. I feel a strong reluctance to return to the table where loud Juan’s laughter is breaking out, and a text message saves me from it.
It's from my brother Gabriel.