Page 15 of Follow Your Instincts

“We can start the pack matching process, no matter what you choose for your first heat, dear,” Steffi said. “But I think that’s quite enough admin for today. Why don’t you go and relax a bit?”

“Ah, actually, one more piece of admin,” Andreas said. “Since you’ll be staying here, you’ll need to abide by a few rules. No Alphas on the premises unless they are sanctioned by Steffi or me. Betas must be approved guests and use the descenter before they enter the property. And if you’d like to go out, we strongly encourage you to have someone with you at all times, and bring descenter spray with you.”

“There’s that ‘strongly encourage’ again,” I said wryly. “But I am allowed to leave?”

“Absolutely, dear, you’re not a hostage. We just want you to be safe,” Steffi said.

I nodded and stood up to stretch. “Thank you so much, guys,” I said. “But I have to go outside before I lose my mind.”

I sat out on the lawn for the rest of the afternoon, reading a murder mystery on my phone that I was pretty sure I’d already solved in Chapter 3, and waiting for Kira to show up. I’d texted her and asked her to bring some essentials back to the Center for me from my apartment. Steffi had found a soft sweatsuit for me to wear, but I wanted my own clothes.

It was peaceful. Another Omega with long blonde hair was making slow laps around the walking path, but didn’t seem to want to talk. We smiled at each other, though. The weather was perfect for October, crisp but not cold.

One of the perks of growing up in foster care was the ability to shut down the shit I didn’t want to deal with. I could feel the anger boiling inside me, but I kept the lid on tight. I had cried enough yesterday, more than I had in years, and I was sick of feeling so ripped open.

Kira arrived in the early evening with takeout and another duffle bag. Katie, a sweet Beta girl that worked nights at the center buzzed her in. I was waiting for her in the lobby and we stared at each other for a moment.

“Hey, babe,” Kira said softly, then launched herself at me.

So much for no more crying, I said as I let her crash into me and wrapped her in a fierce hug. Her scent, so familiar, was stronger to me now and no less comforting. She smelled like the salt on a breeze coming off the ocean and French lavender. I took a huge whiff of her hair and cried even harder.

“Are you smelling me, you weirdo?” she asked, and her voice was choked up too.

“Sorry,” I said and pulled back to look down at her with a watery smile.

If I’d had to bet on either of us presenting as an Omega, it would’ve been Kira, hands down. She was about 5’4” and had beautiful wavy hair that I’d coveted since the first time I’d seen her at the Rosen’s house.

We were both eight years old, and she’d already been there a couple of years before I arrived. I remembered seeing her, standing in the living room with Mr. and Mrs. Rosen, all of them smiling. I hated her on sight. Her pretty brown hair and pretty brown skin, and straight white teeth. I was already too tall, my hair stuck out in all directions like a frizzy halo, and my pale skin was peeling and burned from the summer sun. I felt like an ogre while she was the pretty princess of our story.

Except, of course, Kira was just as beautiful inside as out. She immediately ran to me and grabbed my hands. “Wanna play Bratz? I just got new outfits for Cloe, so you can play her if you want,” she said. “Can I braid your hair too? I’m a really good braider.”

Turns out it’s hard to hate someone who really wants to love you.

“I wanna know how you’re doing, but first you should change,” she said and stepped out of my hug. “I brought all the comfy stuff.”

I laughed and swiped the back of my hand across my tears to wipe them away.Thank god for sisters, I thought.

After changing, Kira and I sat on the floor of my room and divvied up the Indian food she’d brought from Taj, my favorite restaurant in the city.

“This is so fucking good,” I said, moaning, around a mouthful of methi malai matar and garlic naan. My throat swelling had gone down enough to enjoy the food.

“Down, girl. If you moan like that around an Alpha now, they’re gonna cum in their pants or something,” Kira said.

I leaned my head back against the foot of the bed. “Please don’t talk about Alphas right now.”

“You get until the end of dinner, and then reality hits, babe,” she said. “But fine, I’ll tell you all about me instead.”

Kira was a party girl, but only because it was her job. She worked as a writer for a lifestyle website, and the editors encouraged her to create an “aspirational” online persona to match. Basically, she was an influencer and had started to get a few brand deals that were more lucrative than the writing she did.

“You missed a fun night out last night,” she said and shoveled in more chicken tikka. “You never come out with meeeeee.”

“Yeah, cause I have a job that requires me to not be hungover to function. And every time I go out with you I feel like shit for like three days after,” I said.

“It’s not my fault you can’t hang,” she said. “Maybe if you came out more often, you wouldn’t be such a baby back bitch.”

I took another bite to give myself time to respond. I definitely wouldn’t be able to go out with her for the foreseeable future. Suddenly, the food I’d been enjoying felt like concrete in my stomach.

Kira sighed. “It’s time for reality, huh?”

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