Page 11 of Omega's Reluctant Mate
“Zaya says you like golf,” he said.
I nodded. “I do.”
“Good, because Jordan sucks…”
“Hey!” Jordan protested.
Wes chuckled. “I have a standing tee time, and you’re more than welcome to join us.”
“I’d like that.”
“Good!” Wes replied. “Cadence, you’re coming too, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Cadence replied.
“We might actually get a good game for once,” Wes laughed.
“Asshole,” Jordan jabbed, a smile to his voice.
Watching their teasing made me wonder what else I’d missed out on while keeping myself locked in various offices. Had Papa been right to force me on vacation?
How many friends had I lost over my years of self-imposed isolation? How many dinners skipped? How many times had my own fear kept me from important connections?
No, I couldn’t think like that. I was scared of meeting my omega, yes, but I was also protecting him. Eventually he’d get tired of waiting for me to appear, and would seek out an alpha who could be what he needed.
“Earth to Nate.”
I shook my head and noticed Zaya staring at me. “Yes?”
“You’re on vacation. That means have fun, not get stuck in your head again.”
I sighed. Of course Zaya had noticed. He knew me better than anybody else, and was probably one of the few people who wasn’t afraid to call me out.
“Mr. Corey Eaves,” announced Reginald.
“Sorry I’m late,” said a new voice as I turned. “A last minute litter came in and…”
I finished turning and our eyes met. The cute omega—my omega—stopped speaking mid-sentence.
Years of hiding away, and for what? There he was, and I felt… nothing.
He was handsome, with dark hair and a trim beard framing what looked to be a perpetual smile. I could imagine alphas falling all over him.
Nothing. My alpha side insisted that he was my mate, and I felt that echoed in the depths of my soul. But he was a stranger, and my cock barely twitched. There was no intense urge to take him to bed, none of the supposed drive to knot him as quickly as possible.
Then I spotted the bulge just starting to tent his pants.
Panic gripped me like a vise. I needed to get away. Maybe if I was out of sight he could forget, and move on.
I scrambled to my feet, the sound of a glass falling over punctuating the reality of my situation.
I couldn’t breathe, and I needed to escape. I looked around for the nearest exit, and bolted for it. I didn’t care where in the house I ended up, as long as it was away from the man who was now staring at me as if I was everything he’d waited for.
The dark hallway led to a staircase. I took them two at a time, going up to the next floor. I rushed through a rec room, and past an open door that looked like an office. Finally I reached what I remembered was another guest bedroom and I closed myself inside.
Safe, at least for the moment, I slid down, my back to the door, until I was sitting on the floor.
That man—Corey, if I recalled—was my fated mate.
