Page 37 of Outback Mate
My vision flashes with a possessive, animalistic hunger that takes over my thoughts, and I have to turn away to finish packing to hide it from my mate.
Oh, bloody hell.
I squeeze my eyes shut tight and try to steady my breathing.
I have a mate.
She’s perfect and right there.
“Please, Alpha,” she begs again, her voice breaking with the pain of my rejection. “Please. It’s too soon for you to leave after we… It’ll drive us both mad. You know it will. You’re a doctor. Tell me what the symptoms will be if you leave me here alone.”
I grit my teeth.
She’s appealing to my medical training.
Clever girl.
It strikes me that I don’t know this Omega at all. First, she was loopy from a concussion, then frantic with mating instincts.It’s proof of yet another failure on my behalf. I’ve bonded with a person I know nothing about.
I don’t even know her last name.
A traitorous voice chimes in.I don’t need to know her last name because it’s about to be Nichols.
I’ve always been skeptical about fate and soul mates. I’m a logical person who believes in science. Scent matches exist to ensure biologically compatible individuals produce healthy offspring. It’s not some ethereal magic that ensures we’ll be happy together forever.
My chest gives a dull thump and my hands fumble with the bag’s zipper.
I press a hand to my chest. If it’s only biological, why do I feel like I’m finally complete? Like there has been something missing in my very being until this moment.
She’s changed everything. She’s changingme.
I zip up the bag and straighten, running a hand through my messy hair.
It’s challenging to focus when she’s so close. It’ll be even harder if I leave. In the past, I never doubted if my Alpha instincts would cause problems. My aura sickness has suffocated them for such a long time.
That was beforeher. Before my Omega crashed into my life like a wrecking ball.
She dragged my Alpha out of his hiding place with a simple whiff of her pheromones, and he won’t be going away now that he’s had a taste of her.
I turn to face her and choke on my words.
“Poppy–”
It’s like she’s taller than she is, looming in front of me despite her small stature. She’s looking at me with a determined, take-no-shit expression on her pretty tear-stained face. Unhelpfully,I stiffen in my pants. The need to press her into a mattress and fuck her still stretched out pussy is returning rapidly.
“Tell me what will happen,” she insists with a raised brow.
Heaven save me from strong, stubborn Omegas.
I exhale.
“Newly mated… couples…” I hesitate to call us a couple. It feels too close to admitting what we are, and I’m not ready to confront that truth. “Are supposed to stay within an arm’s reach for a week or so. It helps to cement the bond. If separated, symptoms include anxiety, panic attacks, sleep disturbance, nausea, headaches, and irritability.”
If we’d done this right, we’d be deep in her carefully constructed nest, fucking like rabbits for days. Any discussion about separation symptoms wouldn’t even cross our mind until weeks later.
“In severe cases, such as an unreciprocated bite,” my naked gland throbs with awareness, “premature separation can cause hypermania, heart palpitations, sexual aggression, territorial displays, and in some cases…”
I trail off.
