Page 201 of Altius
Ever amiable, Cal offered them a welcoming smile. “Hey, guys. How’s practice going?”
That’s when it clicked.
The slimmer one was Landon, the football team’s star kicker. And the beefier one with locs was Amir, the omega linebacker Morgan had gotten hurt trying to protect.
“Practice is good,” Landon said a bit awkwardly.
“Are these the boyfriends you mentioned?” a dazed Amir asked Rory.
“Yeah,” Rory said. “This is Cal and—”
Morgan cut him off with a quick reprimand. “Rory.”
“What?” He blinked at her twice and then jolted, realizing he’d let a very precarious cat out of the bag.
Our relationships were supposed to be a secret. If either player blabbed, we’d all be in trouble with the university.
“Oh, shit.” Rory went pale. “Football players. I didn’t—I mean, it wasn’t on purpose…”
“We won’t tell anybody,” Landon promised, setting his box on the dining room table.
Amir’s expression was somber as he nodded in agreement. “You have our word, doc.”
“Thanks,” Morgan said, opening the door to her suite. “We appreciate it—both your discretion and your help packing.”
Landon dismissed her thanks with a wave of his hand. “When Rory said we could pick a Beaufeather’s nesting kit if we helped his sister move, we were more than happy to help.”
Kelsey and Morgan levelled their baby brother with near-identical glares. Nesting kits started at several hundred dollars, and Morgan would be on the hook to pay for whatever they chose.
With cheeks as ruddy as his auburn hair, Rory grabbed an empty box and hightailed it back to the stockroom.
Morgan sighed and headed for her bedroom. I followed suit. Cal brought up the rear, closing the suite doors behind him.
“Are those two trustworthy?” I asked, dropping my duffel on the velvet ottoman in the foyer.
Rubbing his jaw, Cal took a moment to ponder his response. “It should be all right. They owe her, especially Amir.”
“What about Landon?”
“He was exposed to compatible pheromones right before a game at the start of the season. Went into pre-heat early. Morgan caught it during a manual review of the PheroPass data, so my team was able to adjust his suppressants in time. He scored the winning field goal that weekend, thanks to her—she might have saved his entire season, now that I think about it. He just declared his eligibility for the pro draft.”
I was happy for the kid, but something didn’t sit right about Cal’s words. “When you say exposed, do you mean the pheromone bomber targeted him?”
“No, it happened during class.”
“How do you know it wasn’t deliberate?”
Cal’s gaze darkened. “The timelines don’t match up.”
“The pheromone bomber had to start somewhere, and seeing if you can get the star kicker benched—”
A sharp, floral spike, tinged with distress, grated against our skin. We rushed into Morgan’s bedroom.
She stood outside her closet, with vacant eyes fixed on her phone.
“What happened?” I asked, tense voice verging on a demand.
“Nothing.” Despite the well-honed neutrality of her facial expression, Morgan reeked of disappointment.
