Page 55 of Want It All
‘They’re both suffering from shock,’ Tristan said. ‘Glynn barked at them.’
Professor Griffiths’ eyes widened as she took in Sebastian. ‘I didn’t realise barks affected betas so acutely.’
Sebastian forced another smile. ‘I hadn’t realised it myself.’
She gestured. ‘The campus doctor is here. She can help –’
‘I just want to go back to my room and have a shower,’ Sebastian interjected. ‘Please.’
Griffiths studied him, her brow creased. ‘Of course. If that’s what you need.’
‘It is.’ Sebastian turned to me. ‘Rosebud. What’s going to help you the most?’
I wiped my dirty palms on my skirt. ‘A bath.’
Our dean nodded. ‘All right. But I will insist you both visit the doctor later. I’d say it’s just to satisfy my concern, but we also have a legal obligation to your safety.’ Her eyes found mine. ‘I’ll need a report, too. But, given the situation, I’m happy to speak with Mr. Grace now, and leave yours until later today. Or tomorrow,’ she added hastily, as Tristan bristled. ‘Tomorrow morning will be fine. The faster we get it done,’ she went on, lowering her voice, ‘the faster we can expel him.’
It was the right thing to say; Tristan visibly relaxed, his shoulders rolling back. ‘We’ll come and see you tomorrow morning,’ he said. ‘I’ll take them back now and come to your office once Sebastian is settled.’
It should have sounded condescending. But when he offered me his arm, I took it, leaning on him gladly, because it felt like caring, instead. I was shaky and my skin was clammy; I was still finding it difficult to catch my breath, and my stomach churned.
‘You shouldn’t be alone,’ Tristan said tightly, and after a moment, I realised he was talking to me. ‘Omegas can die of shock. You need to stay with someone.’
‘She can stay with us,’ Sebastian said.
‘Baby,’ Tristan sighed. ‘I have to go back to the dean. If I leave you two alone, someone is going to end up in heat, and the next time you leave the apartment you’ll have bonding bites on your necks.’
Blood rushed to my cheeks … But he wasn’t wrong.
Sebastian and I apart were measured, considered, smart. But together? We were reckless, impulsive. We’d proved it, barely ten minutes ago. If I wasn’t an omega, and he wasn’t a beta who already had an alpha, it wouldn’t be a problem, but that wasn’t the case. Our recklessness affected more than just ourselves.
I opened my mouth to say I’d ask Byron, but paused. Letting him into my space – or going into his – meant that he’d scent me, or I’d scent him, and everything would just be … over.
I wasn’t sure I could deal withthaton top of everything else that had happened today. And even though I had other friends, my omega wasn’t keen on the idea of them in my room.
‘I’ll be okay,’ I said, forcing a smile. ‘I’m feeling okay. What if I called someone?’
Tristan frowned down at me. His green eyes were dark with some strong emotion as he considered me, but I couldn’t read what it was. ‘You’ll text Sebastian, too,’ he said at last, and it wasn’t a question.
The hallways were deserted as they walked me back to my room. I leaned heavily on Tristan; his other arm was wrapped around Sebastian’s shoulders. Sebastian seemed almost as affected as I was, and I wondered if he was having some kind of flashback to the first time he’d seen a feral alpha; his face was bloodless, and I could see him trembling. I was as reluctant to leave him as he seemed to leave me, but I knew that Tristan was right.
We couldn’t be trusted together.
They waited until I locked my door before they left; we didn’t say goodbye. I clicked every single lock into place and pushed a rolled-up towel along the bottom of the door; I even dragged the dining table and leaned it against the door to barricade myself inside for good measure. My air purifier was already set to high, but I turned on my scent diffusers as well, filling my room with a calming lavender blend.
I was still shaking with cold, so I ran myself a bath, using a thermometer to make sure the water wouldn’t scald me. Between heat spikes and shock reactions like this one, omegas sometimes needed help to make sure they wouldn’t lie in a bath that would either give them actual burns, or hypothermia.
Stripping off was the last thing I wanted to do – a wave of gooseflesh broke out across my skin when I unbuttoned my blouse – but I forced myself to do it anyway, leaving my fuzzywinter dressing gown by the side of the bath for afterwards, along with a pair of heavy-duty winter bed socks.
Sexy.
When the bath filled, I flicked off the tap and clambered in, unable to stop a moan when my shoulders sank beneath the water. I lay there for a moment, willing my body to warm before I reached for my phone.
I had several texts and a number of missed calls from Byron; he picked up immediately. ‘Rose?’ he said urgently. ‘Are you okay?’
I sighed and put him on speaker, setting my phone on the side of the bath. ‘I’m okay.’
‘My mum told me what happened.’ He paused. ‘Are you with Sebastian?’
