Page 30 of Altius
No, but he’s in a mood. A big one.
So, that’s why he wasn’t returning my texts. Figures. My favorite menace could dish it, but he never liked the aftertaste.
How bad?
Almost as bad as the day you told him he couldn’t buy another pair of leather boots, but not quite.
Anything else of note?
Says he feels like shit for being too rough on you. But I think he’s right. Wyatt should be at your heat.
Great. My best friends were ganging up on me.
As I was about to reply, a knock sounded on my door.
Rory didn’t wait for me to respond before walking in. He was wearing his pajamas, long auburn hair pulled off his face by a terry cloth headband, and holding a body pillow.
“Can I crash with you? The twins are fussy, and it’s echoing up through the vent.”
“Why don’t you take Jenna’s room?”
“Because she’s even pickier than Papa when it comes to people touching her shit. And I barely get to spend time alone with you anymore.”
“Suit yourself, then.” I scooted to the side, leaving plenty of room for him.
“Yay!” Chucking the body pillow between us, Rory plopped down and got cozy, burrowing under my covers and shifting pillows around. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” He kicked an offending velvet throw onto the floor. “When you were in college, how did you go about finding, uh…”
I did some quick mental calculations. Eighteen was about the right age for a first proper heat—a daunting time for any young omega.
“I think it’s different for everyone. Some people focus on mating early, so they only sleep with potential packs.” Shifting a bit, I angled to face him. “A few of my friends had serious partners who were okay with adding in the occasional backup.”
“What about Jacobi?”
“Don’t follow his example, please. He developed a rotating roster, shall we say, so he always had plenty of choices. No strings, just sex. Which is all well and good until one of the random hook-ups catches feelings or gets jealous.”
“Sounds messy.”
“Oh, it was. That’s why I used to go through my designation counselor to arrange partners.” Belatedly catching the error in my choice of tense, I tacked on, “Still do.”
“Ooh, there goes my bullshit meter.” Rory sat up. “You don’t need to arrange new partners—not when your neighbors spent last weekend waiting on you hand and foot, bringing you tea and snacks, while Cal handled all your medical shit like a pro. And don’t forget how they acted around you at the gala and their housewarming… The list goes on and on.”
Wrapping his arm around mine, Rory leaned across the body pillow to rest his chin on my shoulder, then tugged on the sleeve of Cal’s cardigan. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed this gem.”
“Hands off,” I said, trying to dislodge him. “Try stealing this, and I’ll stop paying for all the stuff you sneak out of Kelsey’s stockroom.”
Rory flopped onto his back, wriggling in delight as he laughed. “I knew it! You’re dating Cal.”
“Shh, be quiet. I’m serious, Rory. No one else can find out.”
“Fine, fine,” he grumbled and rolled onto his side, facing me again. “I’ll keep my mouth shut…even though I’m probably the last sibling you’ve told.”
“Only Kelsey and Jacobi know.”
“But why keep it a secret?” he asked. “Cal’s great. Why not file courting paperwork and be out in the open?”
“We can’t—at least not right now. I’ll get removed from the PheroPass project because courting alphas and omegas can’t work in the same department. That would mean starting my research project from scratch. It’s too big a risk.”
“That sucks.”
