Page 35
“Any updates?”
He winces. “Oh, you know, just another beautiful day in science, banging heads against a wall until something works. The usual insanity. But we’ll break through that wall eventually.” He pauses. “Or we’ll give up.”
“Is that supposed to be a pep talk?”
He shakes his head, and his ill-fitting glasses nearly slide off the bridge of his nose. He’s petite, and not very good at taking care of his own needs, too busy taking care of everyone else. “I’m not good at pep talks. Too neurospicy to lie, I guess.”
Something warm unfurls inside me. Reese is cute. Reese is funny. Reese follows my rules like a good little omega. He needs someone to take him to the optometrist to buy glasses that fit his face. And he smells like a flower. A marigold, he told me when I couldn’t figure out the pepper in his floral scent. Maybe…
“Alright, well, I should go,” he says, too loud, pulse fluttering in his neck a little faster, something I’d never have noticed if I weren’t staring so intensely at his neck like some sort of big cat hungry for a meal.
Great, now I’m scaring my omega postdoc with my alpha horniness. I take a deep breath through my mouth. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable. I don’t know what’s going on with me today.”
His shoulders relax. “Don’t worry about it. Just alpha and omega things.”
I nod. “Thanks for handling things today.”
“Anytime.” He slings the strap of his bag over his shoulder. “Hey, if you need to take tomorrow off, or the rest of the week, maybe, I can handle it.”
“I know you can. Thanks.”
He heads out of my office.
“Hey, Reese, can you lock up on the way out?”
“You got it,” he says, voice muffled through the wall next door.
I sit in my chair, hands clenching the armrests, tracking the sound of his footsteps until he leaves.
“Fuck,” I whisper, bowing my head and burying my face in my hands.
I feel wild, more animal than human. Maybe I am. Neuroscientists have postulated as much after discovering alpha and omega brain activity resembles that of some animal species during breeding. Which, I mean, I could go the rest of my life without knowing because it makes me feel even more out of control of my body.
Once I’m sure he’s not coming back, I cross the lab and double-check that the door’s locked. Then I run the same experiment my team ran today, but my outcome is the same.
And the entire time, I can’t stop worrying about Elliott. How badly did I hurt him when I left? What if he and Alden need me?
My phone buzzes.
Alden
Your little goose wants to know if you’re okay. I do too.
Tyler
I’m fine.
Alden
I don’t believe you.
Tyler
I am. Go tend to your gosling.
12 ELLIOTT
The spa theme continues in the bathroom with dim lighting, serene colors, and natural accents. Alden lowers me onto a plush rug beside a walk-in shower. I shiver without his contact.
