Page 82 of Waiting for Fate
“Tell me about it?”
My words flow easily, spilling all the struggles I faced today. From my mystery mate’s pain to Shiloh’s continued rejection. Orion listens patiently, letting me rant. When I mention skipping meals, he scowls. “If I told you I had skipped eating to the point of dizziness, how would you feel?”
It’s my turn to scowl as he flips the tables on me. Imagining one of my mates neglecting their needs makes my omega instincts twitchy. They’re urging me to start cooking despite the hypothetical in this situation. “Okay, I get it. I promise to take better care of myself.”
Orion grins, leaning back against the pillows on his bed and propping one arm behind his head. The move has his shirt slipping across his skin revealing the ink tattooed across his chest. Fate designed this alpha to melt panties and omega brains.
“You’re drooling, Omega,” he teases, pointing to my mouth.
“Maybe I am,” I answer. “You always look mouthwatering.”
Color flushes his cheeks, and he winks at me, flexing the muscles in his arm. I can’t wait for him to come back from California. My body craves the feeling of him buried knot deep inside of me. The distance between us is too great.
We’ve talked at least once a week since he left. At first, I was concerned about the labels decision to send him. Those first few days had brought up a lot of painful memories for Orion. He’d shared some with me, telling me about the lows he hit after losing his first mate, Ren.
The more he talked, the better he felt, though. I’m glad I have been able to support him as he supports Belemorph. Not every alpha survives losing their mate. All we can do is try our best to help their pack, and hope their path in this world lasts a little while longer.
I thank Fate for putting Shiloh on Orion’s path. He saved my mate, allowing them both to find their way to me.
“Soon,” he promises, reading the longing in my eyes. “Belemorph’s coping mechanisms are working. I just don’t want to leave until I know they aren’t going to dive off the deep end of their grief.”
“Take as long as you need. I’ll be here when you come back.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
A FEW DAYSafter Bea passed out at the office, we get a call from the DAU. Benjamin Montgomery, the alpha who tried to break into Bea’s apartment over the summer, has finally been arrested. She is free to move back into her place.
I hate it. I’ve gotten used to having her in my space. Her scent soaking my apartment and her shoes kicked off by the door. The routine we’ve created together has settled the harsher edges of my instincts, the ones that make unbonded alphas go feral with age.
“If you drop me at my apartment, I’ll pack everything and take it with me this morning,” she says, walking past where I stand frozen at the kitchen island.
Asking her to stay would be really shitty when I refuse to meet her other mates or bond her. Yet every fragment of my soul is screaming at me to stop her from walking away.
“Of course,” I grit out. Clearing my throat, I gather our breakfast dishes and focus on cleaning up.
This is what I wanted. For her to move on and be with the pack of Fate matched mates she’s connected to.
Wanting what is best for her doesn’t mean setting her free is easy.
“Thank you,” Bea comments as we pull up to her apartment forty minutes later. She barely looked at me during the drive over, choosing to stare out the window instead. “For letting me stay with you while the DAU sorted this all out.”
“Of course. I will always do what I can to help protect you.”
That was the wrong thing to say. She stiffens, her jaw clenched shut as she jerks her head in a sharp nod.
Leaving my car to idle at the curb, I grab her suitcase from the trunk and carry it to her door. Seeing the dent in the wood from the attempted break in has a growl threatening to rattle in my chest, but I push it away.
Bea is safe. The threats against her removed. She doesn’t need my overprotective instincts getting in the way.
“I will likely be a few minutes late to the office,” she tells me as she opens her door and steps inside. The stale, dusty scent of her apartment greets us both, making my nose itch.
“Take your time. Any tasks assigned to you this morning can wait.”
She nods again, still refusing to look at me. I sigh and pass her the suitcase in my hand. Goodbye seems too final, so I turn on my heel and stalk back to my car.
Each step is agony, and I have to remind myself this is for the best. I cannot risk her safety if I am unable to share her with her other mates.
CHAPTER FORTY
