Page 86 of The Heat of Us

A huge inconvenience for you.

Not meant for me.

She wound her arms around my middle and I automatically encircled her waist. My nose settled perfectly against the top of her hair, giving me my first true sense of her scent.

A small posy of foraged elderflowers collected in her hand. She pressed it towards me despite my protests and assured me it belonged there.

Oh, I was in so much danger.

“Just shut up and take the room,” Hazel said against my chest. “It’s the smallest and worst one in this place. It literally doesn’t even qualify as a bedroom.”

It wasn’t just her scent, the room, all of it that was throwing me off kilter. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Ben had said.

She’s building her pack, Aleks.

I was still surprised he hadn’t torn out my innards and flung them into the streets when he realised I was staying at Hazel’s. Weren’t packs meant to be made up of alphas? But Ben seemed quite sure of himself and I was happy to go along with it if it meant my insides remained there.

Despite both their assurances, I still felt like an invader in her space. Hazel had really made the apartment her own. 101 Riverside’s interiors were the usual modern, cookie-cutter designs to be expected from an inner-city apartment building. Hazel’s styling consisted of plush rounded furniture fitting for an omega, warm lighting and plants sprinkled throughout. Sprays of green tucked into corners, hanging off bookshelves, stretching along window sills.

At least with classes and work I was out of the apartment most of the time. But when I was there, my mantra became don’t make her uncomfortable and don’t fuck this up.

Once my night duty finished up, I squeezed in a visit to Willowbrook. My grandma was doing well and was herself for most of the time.

She was very proud of the way she had claimed the best chair in the communal space. If she wasn’t sitting in it spending long afternoons knitting, she was driving the staff up the wall insisting food scraps could be repurposed and if they just let her into the kitchen she could show them exactly how.

I tried to focus on those moments instead of when she cried and asked why I wouldn’t take her home.

I wasn’t sure if my father would still pay his share of the monthly fee. I couldn’t really call him and ask. All I could do was wait, save my money and see what happened. What I used to pay him in rent could cover his portion if it came to that.

But it also meant I was stuck at Hazel’s for longer.

Just until I figured my budget out, I lied to myself.

No wonder I’d said yes to whatever concierge shifts I could still manage around my crazy schedule. It felt strange that my commute was essentially catching the elevator down and back up again. A phenomenon not lost on Jesse when he relieved me.

“Where you off to now, Aleks?”

The sing-song tone of his voice was unmistakable. The staff of 101 Riverside gossiped worse than a gaggle of old ladies. Obviously my new tenancy was not lost on any of them.

I gave him my iciest glare.

His cackles were so loud I could still hear it when the elevator doors closed.

The warmth of Hazel’s apartment immediately washed over me as I let myself in.

“Oh my god, you’re here, finally.”

I was being tugged by my sleeve to the couch.

“Here.”

A takeaway bowl of pho was pushed in front of me and the latest episode of Autopsy Investigations began to play.

Hazel beamed. “I didn’t watch it without you even though it came out hours ago. Aren’t you proud of me?”

She wasn’t really looking for a reply, turning to the TV and dumping a load of hoisin sauce into her own bowl.

It was hard to focus on the episode. Great one too, with lots of intrigue thanks to several family members of the deceased hindering the investigation for one reason or another. Every bite I took felt like another grain of sand falling on my side of the scale. Widening the difference, bringing it closer to tipping.

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