Page 29 of Finding the Forward: Part Two
“Grif, you know we don’t care, right?” My chest tightened at his anxiousness. I worried, too. It wasn’t him being a gamma that concerned me. It was his test results. Because I knew how to read these.
Part of me wanted Grif to go off everythingnow.Things could go sideways so quickly. We could find him a new career, but we couldn’t get a new him.
Who knew what other damage he’d done to his body?
“I’m so glad to hear that.” Grif exhaled sharply but didn’t stop pacing, hands behind his back. “She also said that with my hormone levels, I might be back to omega soon. Something about living with omegas can cause that to happen.” He shot me a fond look. “And I should consider if I wanted to be a gamma or an omega in my file.”
AJ’s head cocked as he rubbed his dark goatee. “Would it make a difference? Aren’t gammas under omega law?”
I put up a hand. “Hear me out. People rarely ask gammas questions, since most have haunting pasts. Gammas vary so much, so a lot of things can be brushed off asgammas, right?It could be your best chance of keeping your job, playing up gamma unpredictability and their oddball danger response.”
“I don’t have any unpredictable behaviors or reactions, though.” Grif leaned against his piano, running a hand through his hair, anxiety lacing his rainy scent.
Jonas snorted. “Because giving Verity your jersey at the game was so omega-like?”
“It could be. Omegas being possessive of their alphas and all that. You know we have a game on my birthday.” I smirked. If she was free, I wanted her there. Maybe she could sleep over.
“Your playing changed after the overdose. You’ve always been a brawler, but you became fiercer, quicker to act,” Jonas told him.
“We need a plan. A quick one,” AJ added from the ottoman. “What doyouwant?”
“For everything to stay the same? Actually, I’d rather come out on my own terms than collapse during a game or have it become a scandal. I didn’t think this would be the year we’d do this. I was sort of hoping it would never happen.” He looked away, and sadness came through our bond, his scent going salty.
“I know, Boo-Boo,” AJ soothed. “After we get the pack contract, can we bond, release a statement that we’ve mated, and then announce it? Get ahead of things so we can start taking care of you? I worry about your health.” He stood and wrapped his arms around Grif.
“I guess? Though I’d like to talk to Coach before we go public with it,” Grif admitted, leaning into AJ. “I worry about getting fired.”
“They can’t legally fire you because of your designation. If they do, that’s what lawyers are for.” AJ stroked his hair.
“That’s a good idea–talking to Coach. Part of what made staying with the Aces so hostile, well, besides Beau, was how the coaches and staff felt betrayed,” I told them.
My goalie coach especially. The Aces hadn’t fired me, but playing with my bully, and the hostility, motivated me to bond with Jonas so I could move to the Knights.
“We’ll need to tell Stu, too. He might even have ideas on how to do this,” Jonas added.
“Okay, so we’ll tell Stu first, then finalize our plan. Next, you can talk to Coach. Probably after you have the pack contract. Then you can come out however Stu thinks is best. Maybe loop in Knights PR and HR at some point.” AJ nodded as if making a mental list–which he might be.
“Or however you want. Maybe you want a press conference. Or do an interview,” I interjected.
AJ grinned at Grif. “You could do an exclusive interview with the Creative Collective omegas in my building. They can do a photoshoot of you with alpacas in hockey jerseys. Have you seen the picture of Verity in the bathtub with the goldfish? It’s up now, and it’sart.”
I was thinking about a major news outlet, or the SportsBeat reporter that was always around, but that could be fun, too.
Oh, I’d seen the bathtub photo. It would be better without clothes.
“I did, and I love that idea.” Grif’s brows furrowed. “Are you okay with this? Because it could cause backlash for all of us, not just me.”
“We’re a pack.” Jonas stood and put his arms around Grif. “We got through Dean being outed. And you know, we’ll get through this, too. We stand together.”
“Absolutely. It’ll be better to come out on your own terms.” I joined them using our bond to send as much love to him as I could.
“There is one thing we haven’t talked about,” Jonas said slowly. “How does Verity fit in? She should knowbeforeyou go public, Grif. Especially if you think it might affect anything.”
A whimper escaped my throat. “She won’t leave us. She wants an omega. And kids. And a dog.”
“She can walk the dog, because I’m not,” AJ mock-grumbled. “You can’t honestly think she won’t be okay with it. Verity and Grif were talking about a wedding in a garden. While she might need a moment, she won’t leave.”
Verity and Grif talked about awedding?Happiness filled my heart. Maybe I could be a flour boy and hand out tiny heart-shaped loaves of sourdough bread to everyone as they waited.
