Page 14 of Heat Me

"Hey, Nate… do you want me to check their updated database for… I don’t know, a match for you? I haven’t been there in six months; maybe they got new people on contracts."

Nathaniel’s expression shifted in an instant. Panic flashed across his face, and he turned sharply, almost as if he didn’t want me to see it.

"Stop, Storm. Don’t even go there."

"Geez, why do you always react like this when I mention it to you? Wouldn’t you want a High Mate for yourself?"

The room fell into heavy silence. Nathaniel stood by the window, staring out at his garden.

His hand instinctively rose to touch his scarred face, a habit of his.

"You wouldn’t understand. I don’t want a High Mate, Storm. I want… True Mate. Only having him would mean I’d be healed."

I had no words for that. I understood him, but still…

"Sitting at home isn’t going to bring you closer to finding him. There are open fairs where you can buy a marriage contract and at least have a partner, somebody to love—"

"Who’d be revolted by me," he interrupted bitterly.

I closed my eyes, sighing. This was always a hard topic. We rarely discussed his scars. They weren’t just on his face; they covered his neck, shoulder, and part of his torso. Nate never wore clothes that revealed his body, so I didn’t even know how bad it looked now, eight years after the accident.

Nathaniel slowly turned to me, his expression painfully sour. "And I don’t have the kind of money to buy a young omega’s contract anyway. My company’s only been around for a few years. For two more years, my trust fund remains inaccessible. I’d need at least half a million for guys over thirty. Omegas in their twenties? Their contracts are worth a million or more."

Unsure of how to respond, I looked down, thinking. "What if you went to the next fair held by Fate’s Choice? Just give it one shot…"

"No. I hate crowded places. People stare."

"You’re limiting your chances."

"Stop, Storm." His tone sharpened. "Let’s not go there again. You know how I feel. I’d rather be alone than with someone who only agreed to a contract for a few years, just for the money, and had to suffer through sex with a disgusting monster."

I winced. That word hit close to home. I had been called that way too often, but with a ‘sexy monster’ edge to it, and Nate?It was a completely different case. He’d even built it into his identity, naming his company MonsterApp.

"That beta you used to hook up with during college. Was he disgusted? I doubt it."

Nathaniel cursed under his breath. I knew he hated this topic and avoided speaking about it.

"He was ugly."

"What?" I blinked, caught off guard.

"You heard me all right. The guy was really unattractive. Our arrangement was like… two miseries coming together, two unhappy guys nobody wanted. We weren’t even a good match personality-wise. It was desperation, plain and simple. We just didn’t want to be virgins, and we didn’t want to pay for sex. So it worked for a while, and then we went our separate ways. It just wasn’t healthy."

"Did he have orgasms?"

"What?!"

"Can you answer?"

"None of your business!"

"Did he, Nate?"

He frowned, then muttered, "He did, but so what?"

"Well, he obviously wasn’t that disgusted, was he?" I emphasized. "You’re being too harsh on yourself. You’re tall—6’8"—a lot of omegas are into that. You’re talented, you have your own company, and it’s making more money every year. You’re still a catch—"

"I see him sometimes," Nate said suddenly, cutting me off.

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