Page 39 of Outback Mate
“Go get your little rescue project,” I call out over my shoulder. I grab the bottles of milk I made for the joey from the kitchenette. “He’s too young to stay alone for so long.”
I snag a few extra packets of snacks and water for my new travelling companion. It’s odd to be catering for two. I’ve been a bachelor for so long, I don’t usually need to think about the welfare of someone else unless they’re my patient.
And I suppose she is. She’s still concussed, even if she’s much more alert.
I’ll need to keep a careful watch on her.
I snort to myself. Who am I kidding? I can’t keep my eyes off my Omega.
Chapter Twelve
Poppy
I’m dressed head to toe in weatherproof gear. It swims on my body, clearly made for a large Alpha and not a small, curvy Omega. Yet I preen like it’s a ballgown, because it was my Alpha who swaddled me in these clothes like I’m a precious prize he needs to protect.
I didn’t even try to help him. I just stood there with a goofy smile on my face and watched him fuss over me.
I’m in the passenger seat of his four-wheel-drive ute with the orphaned joey on my lap. This time I’m lucid enough to inspect my surroundings. I squint through the torrential rain, straining to see the watery outline of Bodella. It’s fruitless in the dark, not a light to be seen, and the flying debris doesn’t help either.
The storm is raging, wind shaking the sturdy ute. The sky flashes white repeatedly as the rain slants in the direction of the howling wind.
My Alpha turns the key and the ute roars to life, a beast in the midst of the wild weather. I’m a little afraid. I’ve never experienced a storm this violent before. The city has its fair share of thunderstorms when the humidity pushes and pushes until the sky cracks open in relief. This is different. The landscape is unforgiving, and water pools on the dry ground instead of draining away. I vaguely recall news reports about flash flooding in the Outback.
My fingers tremble, and the joey lets out a soft sound, butting his head against me and kneading his claws into my thigh. His presence calms me, and I run a hand down the back of his head and neck. His little eyes close in bliss at the affection.
The ute moves forward. My Alpha drives carefully, avoiding potholes as he rolls into the storm. We pass a sign pointing back the way we came saying: ‘You are now leaving Bodella. Caution: next fuel in 200km.’
Things are so different out here. Preparedness is life and death. I feel silly for not properly preparing for my trip.
The road ahead is long, a flat ribbon of grey disappearing into the black. I can hear the sound of rain smashing into the metal of the ute and the rumble of the tyres splashing through the rivers of water, but my Alpha has full control of the vehicle. I trust him to keep us safe. He has the reins, and I’m happy to follow his lead.
For the first time, I feel appreciative of my aura sickness. If I hadn’t crashed, then my Alpha wouldn’t have found me. There’s a chance Ida might’ve introduced us, but it seems like Doc would have done everything to avoid meeting me.
How can anyone doubt the existence of fate?
I’m certain there was divine intervention which brought us together.
“So, uh, tell me about yourself,” I call, raising my voice so he can hear me. I want to get to know him, but it’s awkward.
His grip on the steering wheel is firm, and his eyes laser focused on the road. The windscreen wipers are flicking back and forth at full tilt, but it’s still a blurry mess stretching before him.
I think he’s not going to answer, and fair enough, he needs to concentrate, but he eventually replies. “Most people call me Doc.”
I mouth the nickname, rolling it over my tongue. It doesn’t feel right. I don’t think I can scream “Doc” as he made me come.
“I’m not most people.”
He makes a funny sound, half between a laugh and a grunt. I decide I like it, it’s very him. He isn’t someone who will tilt their head back and cackle like a hyena. His amusement is subtle, and it makes me feel like I’ve earned it. “No. No, you definitely aren’t.”
“Can I call you Luke?” I ask hesitantly. He’s not as panicked about our mating as he was earlier, but he’s still skittish and I don’t want to push him into overthinking again. I swear, I could see the cogs turning in the clinic as he processed what we did in his examination room and came to the wrong conclusion.
Just thinking about the way he moved inside me makes my skin hot all over, and my inner walls clench at the memory.
He nods. “Yeah. You can call me Luke…” he pauses and then adds with a not-so-casual shrug, “or, you can call me Alpha.”
I bit my lower lip to stop from smiling.
He’s trying.
