by Sky Winters
“All right, there you go. It’s probably not as comfortable as what you’re used to, but it’s yours.”
“Thanks, Barron. I know this is unprofessional of me. I’m sorry,” Thad said, some of his cognitive functions returning.
“It’s okay. I’m glad for the company. Just as long as you aren’t looking to cuddle or anything, we’re good. See you in a few hours,” Barron told him.
“See you in a few hours,” Thad replied with a little laugh.
He knew he wouldn’t sleep. He knew he should have just gone home. He couldn’t bring himself to leave the building just yet. He couldn’t bear being so far away from her. He lay in the darkness, his mind replaying every inch of her body. It was only getting him aroused again, bringing him to the edge of getting up and going back to her door. He willed himself to think about something else, anything else. Nothing was working. He had to get out of here.
He got up and looked around for a notepad and pen. He scribbled a note and took it back to the living area with him. Stripping off his clothes, he lay them in a neat pile, along with his phone, wallet, watch and keys. He opened a nearby window and then shifted, using it to exit and jump to the ground from the second floor. His instincts pulled him toward her. He could still smell her, her scent floating down from somewhere above him. It was strong. Looking up, he focused his bright amber eyes on her, standing on the balcony of her apartment. Could she sense him too? Could she smell him beneath her, perhaps even his scent still on her?
Unable to take the longing, he turned and ran, his large, powerful wolf slipping through dark alleys and jumping fences until he reached home. He placed his paw in the imprint at the center of the dog door and it opened, allowing him to slip inside before sliding closed again. Inside, he shifted back to human form and went to shower. He had to get the smell of her off him and try to focus. It took some time, much of which was spent with him pacing his living room, but he finally managed to get hold of himself in time to get dressed for the day.
The doorbell sounded promptly at seven thirty.
“You’re right on time,” he said, opening the door and stepping out beside Barron.
“When am I ever not? Your note said to pick you up here. I take it the couch was too uncomfortable?”
“Yes but not how you’d think. My things are in the car?”
“Of course.”
“Let’s go then.”
The drive was silent. Barron had learned a long time ago not to try kicking up a conversation, to let Thad get the ball rolling first. He kept his eyes on the road until they arrived at the office while Thad remained lost in his own thoughts as he watched the lake house district where he lived turn into the glass, metal, and concrete of downtown.
“We’re here,” Barron said.
“Good.”
“Are you going to need me for anything this morning?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“The car seems a bit out of line. I need to take it by the shop and have them look at it.”
Thad nodded, refusing to admit he might have caused it with his short jaunt onto the sidewalk last night. He slipped on his wristwatch and put his phone and wallet into this pocket.
“I’ll manage. Not that much going on during Saturday work. I just need to take care of a few things and will probably be ready to go by the time you get done. Go ahead and get it sorted out.”
“Will do. I’ll text you when it’s done and see what time you’re ready to go.”
“Sounds good,” Thad replied, already out the car door and on his way toward the entrance.
He dared not open the Alpha Meets Omega app to see if there were any messages from her. Why would there be? She was doing everything she could to fight her own destiny, without a second thought as to just how intertwined it had now become with his own. He needed a few days to sort this out in his head, to decide what to do about her, if anything. Maybe she was right. Perhaps, neither of them needed the distraction of the other.
As the day progressed, he quickly learned that it might not be up to them, as she wasn’t exactly something he could just put aside. He remained in full rut, wanting nothing more than to walk out of his office building, shift and sniff her out as his mate.
CHAPTER NINE
Jaycee
The night had seemed endless. Trying to sleep was like lying awake in your bed waiting to see if the intruder you could hear breaking into your home was going to get in before the police arrived. Her heart thudded against her chest and her breathing came in shallow pants, unwilling to subside. It felt like she was coming out of her skin.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The heat between her legs remained, demanding attention and her hand wasn’t getting the job done. By morning, she was sore and in no better state than she had been last night. She still wanted him, desperately. She decided to work it off by going to the gym. There wasn’t one in the building but she had spotted one on her way to the store previously. It wasn’t really something she could afford long term, but they were having a two-week free trial membership, according to the poster in their window. Slipping into a pair of workout pants, t-shirt, and trainers, she headed out the door to try to get her mind off him.
It was crowded but she managed to get her temporary pass and find an open elliptical. She was quickly warmed up and jogging along at a healthy pace, something she’d prefer to do out in the wild but wasn’t familiar with the area to do that just yet. She plugged her earbuds in and opened her phone, noting the ‘message waiting’ notification on Alpha Meets Omega. Had he messaged her? She’d made a point of not giving him her private number just yet, something she’d felt important until she’d vetted him to see if he were a psycho. If only that had been the worst of what she had to worry about from him.
Switching on some music to stream, she was still drawn to the notification, finally opening it to look around. There were plenty of messages, but none from him. She felt an odd sense of relief mixed with an almost equal amount of disappointment. Still, those messages gave her lots of opportunities to forget him. That just might be the ticket to moving past her attraction to him. If she just spent some time getting to know others, then he’d fade into the past, eventually. She couldn’t stay in heat all the time, after all. Once it ended, she’d have more self-control. Laying the phone aside, she finished her run, already beginning to feel a little better.
By Monday morning, she seemed to be back to normal. She knew, from talks with friends back home, that this only lasted a few days and that once it was done, she’d no longer need him so much. Past that, there would just be a natural pull to him that she wouldn’t have with other people, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Seattle was big enough that she shouldn’t run into him. With things settled, she began making dates again on the app, maintaining her lie that she was a Beta. At least there was one good thing to come from meeting him, now that she knew who her natural mate was and what would happen while in heat, she didn’t have to worry about it with any other dates. But for now, she was headed out the door for her first real day at work.
“Oh, you’re finally here,” Mr. Nasteau said as she knocked on his door and introduced herself.
She felt a moment of panic, glancing at her watch and then the one on his desk. She was fifteen minutes early.
“I’m sorry. I was told to be here at nine. Is that wrong?”
“It’s not wrong, but I’m here by seven. I guess if nine is when you can get here, then that is how things are.”
Jaycee said nothing. She didn’t know what to say. Maybe it was best to just wait and mention it to Marilyn Stutt, to see what she thought of it. For now, she just needed to get on with things.
“Where should I start?” she asked.
‘I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes. Drop your things on the desk next door. That’ll be your workspace, if you work out. Find a notebook and pen and be ready to leave when I do. You’ll need to take notes. Also, get me a refill on my coffee. Cream and Sugar.”
There was no “thanks” or “please.” There was no indication of how much cream and sugar or where to get such things. She felt panicked for a moment but took a deep breath and prioritized the things at hand. Okay. Immediate need was coffee. She dropped her purse in the chair behind the desk and hurried down the hall toward another office. Stepping inside, she looked at the young girl there.
“I need help.”
The girl looked up at her and smiled. At least she seemed friendly. That was good.
“What do you need?”
“Coffee, for Mr. Nasteau. I don’t know where to get it.”
“Ah, easy. Come on,” the girl said, already up from her desk and walking briskly down the hall. They walked a few doors past her office and entered a small kitchenette. “You’re in luck. Someone made a fresh pot.”
She showed her the cabinet where the paper cups were kept and pulled one down, putting coffee in it with room left for cream and sugar.
“I can finish it.”
“First day?” the girl asked, ignoring her comment, and pulling cream from a nearby mini fridge.
“Yes.”
“Then, no you can’t. He didn’t tell you how to make it and he’ll be a little bitch if you take it back to him with wrong amounts. So, see this little scoop right here?” she asked, picking up a small, rounded container with a handle. “One of these with cream and a half-one of these with sugar. Stir well and take it to his office, pour it in that nasty-ass cup on his desk that he will not let out of his sight. Once a day, when you catch it empty and him out of the office for a bit, bring it down here and wash it so he doesn’t get some kind of coffee grime disease or some shit. Or don’t. You can spit wash it if you want, that might be your choice by the time you’ve put up with enough of his shit.
“Thank you. You’re a life saver. I’m Jaycee, by the way.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Jaycee. I’m Valerie, Val, for short.”
“Thanks again, Val. I’ve got to run!”
“Yeah, ya do,” she said with a little laugh and a nod.
“Did you have to pick the beans yourself?” Nasteau barked as she refilled his cup.
“Yes,” she replied without batting an eyelash.
His eyes shot to her for a moment and then back to the coffee. He reached for it and took a sip, no doubt prepared to complain. Instead, he sat it down and turned back toward his computer. She stood there for a moment, wondering what she should do. When he offered no further instruction, she turned to go, but he stopped her.
“All right, let’s get to this meeting then.”
She felt panicked again. She hadn’t had time to look for a pad and paper and he was already making his way around his desk and out the door.
Fuck. All right; figure it out on the way, Jaycee.
Glancing around inside the rapidly filling conference room, she found no sign of a notepad or pen. She could dart back down to the office while he was getting settled in, but she risked the meeting starting before she got back or him noticing. Realizing she had her phone in her jacket pocket, she fished it out, opened the dictation app on it and prayed it worked well enough for this with no outer mic. She noted him glancing over at her with a disapproving look.
Fuck. He probably thinks I’m playing on my phone.
Oh well. Nothing she could do about it, she decided. She tried to absorb as much as she could in case the recording failed. Hopefully, she could create it from memory. Her nerves were ragged as she sat there, and the meeting went on for almost an hour. It was a long time for the phone battery to hold and a lot to transcribe, after the fact. When it was done, she hit stop on the phone, deposited it in her pocket and waited to see what he had to say.
“I have a private meeting after this. I should be done in twenty minutes. I’ll expect notes on this meeting when I get back,” he said, not waiting for an answer as he filed out of the conference room with the other participants.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’m going to lose this internship on my first day.
A voice behind her stirred her from the spot she seemed to be stuck to as terror flowed through her.
“I got you, babe. Come with me.”
She turned to see Val standing behind her with a knowing smile and breathed a sigh of relief.
CHAPTER TEN
Thad
Past the rut and mostly back in his right mind, Thad focused on work again. He managed to go hours without thinking about her, but it was only because he was busy. As soon as things slowed down, she was right back on his mind, though it was, thankfully, not quite as overwhelming as her presence had been during the days before. He paced his deck, contemplating what to do about her. She had been very clear about not wanting to see him again, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to let her slip free of him that easily. She was his natural mate and it would be hard to settle for anything less than that in their world.
After some thought, he finally sent her a message on Alpha Meets Beta.
Listen, I know things got really crazy, really fast, but we can slow this down. Can we just talk about it?
It wasn’t like him to chase tail, but he saw her as much more than that. She was the answer to that part of him that felt like it was time to settle down a bit. He was tired of sleeping around with lackluster partners. She had brought out his truly primal side, tapped into the natural mating instincts of a wolf shifter. For the first time, he realized that everyone up to now had just been the human side of him settling for warm bodies. There was no way he wasn’t at least trying.
Granted, in their world, he could just take her. She might resist a little, but she’d come around. The power of his Alpha over her Omega would seal their bond. He had no desire to do that. He wanted her to want him, so he’d have to approach this the human way, putting aside the literal animal magnetism in favor of charm and courting, to use his grandfather’s words.
“You ready to go?” Barron asked from his doorway.
He looked up to see him standing in the door, wearing the simple black suit he always wore. It was beginning to look a little worn. Thad wondered, perhaps, for the first time ever, if he wore the same black suit all the time. Did he air it out at night, or did he have several that he rotated? It struck him again just how little he knew about the man that had been by his side since they went to school together. He hadn’t even remembered Barron from school, but Barron remembered him quite well. Though Barron was several years younger, he had known quite a bit about Thad when interviewed.
Now, nothing had changed. Barron knew everything about Thad’s life and habits, while Thad knew little about him. In fact, Thad could say he knew next to nothing about most people. He’d never gotten invested in the lives of others. It had served him well, but he had to consider that it might be best to change his ways a bit.
“Yes. You got time to stop by the shops with me? I need to order a new suit.”
“Sure. I can do that. I’ll go pull the car around.”
“Nah, I’ll walk out with you.”
Barron looked at him funny but shrugged and waited for him to join him. Thad stood and walked out with him. Why did everything that used to feel perfectly normal now seem weird to him? He moved ahead as Barron clicked the key fob and the lights flashed to indicate it was unlocked. Walking around to the passenger side, he opened the back door, tossing his briefcase in the seat and then closed it. Barron looked at him awkwardly as he opened the front passenger door and climbed in beside him.
“Well, this is different.”
“Trying something new.”
“All right, well, use your seatbelt up here. I don’t want to deal with a ticket. It’ll go on my record even if you pay it. Where are we headed, exactly?”
‘Fine,” Thad laughed, pulling the belt across him, and locking it in place. “The tailor I always go to.”
“All right,” Barron replied, pointing the car toward the shopping district.
“Do you have another car?”
“I did. Wife kept it.”
“Damn. That sucks.’
“Yeah, but she needed it. My work involves driving a provided car and she has to get kids off to school, doctor’s appointments and stuff like that.”
“What about when you have to go pick them up and stuff like that, like on weekends when you’re off work?”
Barron smiled in his direction and looked a little sheepish. Thad understood without him saying it and didn’t want to know if he would admit it or lie to him. Instead, he held his hand up as if to tell him to stop, though he laughed to let him know he wasn’t too upset about him using the car on a personal basis.
“We’re here,” Barron said, pulling to the curb to let him out.
“No. Find us a parking spot. I want you to go in with me today.”
Barron glanced sideways at him. “Is everything okay with you? Are you being hunted by dragon shifters or something?”
“I could have taken him.”
“I know.”
It was a very old joke in their pack from Thad’s teen years, one that no one saw fit to forget, not even Barron − though he usually didn’t mention it due to his position as Thad’s underling. Barron was a Beta, but a powerful one; one of the more lethal members of their pack compared to other Betas. It came from a background in special forces just as much as being a wolf. Barron pulled around the corner and found an empty space, a miracle in itself. They walked back around the building to their destination, entered and were greeted immediately by the creaky voice of Mr. Cotton.
