Page 30 of The Feisty Omega

Johnson sighed, blinked a few times. His chair squeaked loudly as he settled back into the vinyl upholstery. My eyes were drawn to where his thumb and middle finger were rubbing his temples.

“Okay,” he said at last, “keep going.”

“I was wondering if I could go home for Christmas,” I asked, hating the way my voice cracked.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the whirring of the ceiling fan above us. I heard voices somewhere outside, a few birds chattering. I wondered if Johnson could hear my heart pounding though my chest wall. He took so long to say something, that for a moment I thought maybe…

Finally, he sighed. “I’m sorry, son. You can’t do that. Leaving the premises would break the contract with the Camp Administration, and you’d be thrown out of the program. The Council is very strict about alphas following procedure. Alphas need to learn self-discipline young or there’d be a whole bunch of them running around just doing whatever they wanted, consequences be damned.

I’m not saying that’s you, son, but that’s the reason the rules are there.

You go home now and they won’t let you back in for another twelve months, and they’ll make graduating the program even harder for you.

I’m sorry for your situation, but there’s nothing I can do. Hopefully your young man is understanding about it.”

“If he’s still there when I get back,” I spat out angrily. It wasn't as if I could even call my parents' house and ask them to pass a message to him - Alpha Camp was entirely isolated and self-contained, with no communications in or out for the duration of the program. TheNo Distraction Policyhad been clearly explained on Day 1, as it was with every camp.

Therewasa procedure for emergencies, but apparently this didn't qualify, because Johnson ignored my outburst and asked, “Anyone looking out for him while you’re away?”

“He knows my friends. They’ll probably keep a watch over him, once they realize I’m not gonna be back in time.”

“In time? In time for what?”

“Before he goes home. We only see each other once a year during these holidays.”

“Uh-huh. Has he got a name, this young man of yours?”

“Irian. Irian Mensen. Are you sure there’s nothing you can do?”

Johnson grunted.

“I wish there was, but the rules are clear.”

The chair scraped on the hard floor as I rose abruptly. “Thanks anyway. I thought it was worth a try.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my voice.

Before I reached the door, Johnson’s calm voice drifted through my morose thoughts.

“You know, if you’re fated, it’ll work out. Might not be an easy path to get there but you have time.”

His words didn’t comfort me the way he wanted them to, but they had told me one thing. Fated mates werereal.

???

“How did it go?” Nerius got to his feet as I exited the office.

Although I was exceedingly depressed and angry, I nevertheless registered that he hadn’t been eavesdropping, which he could easily have done with his shifter hearing. I appreciated that. He was a decent guy – not all alphas were, precisely why we had this program. I shook my head.

“Nothing doing. If I leave campus, I’ll get thrown out of the course. They won’t let me in again for another year.”

“That sucks, man. C’mon. If there’s nothing you can do about it, might as well go get that beer.”

I nodded and we walked off together. I was glad Nerius wasn’t one of the chatty guys that couldn’t shut up. He walked in silence, letting me brood.

I was going to hate everything about this Christmas.

???

In the library next to the lecture rooms, an artificial Christmas tree had been set up. It was decorated, not as nicely as the one at home would be, but it was obvious someone had gone to quite a bit of trouble with it, and when I walked into the room late on Christmas Eve, I was grateful for it. This part of the camp was quiet, most of the alphas having gone to sleep already, though a few were still up partying in someone’s room at the end of the dormitory block. I looked on them a little differently now I knew why they were all here. Let them party. I hoped they were enjoying themselves.

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