Page 5 of Hired for Research
Ms. Haranne dug in her desk as Evelyn stood before holding out a card.
“Sandra Nevouto is the one in charge of Eden. If you reach out to her, I’m sure she could help you make whatever arrangements you need.”
Nodding, Evelyn accepted the card, hope fluttering to life again.
***
“Doctor Alosbee?”
Peeling her eyes away from the computer screen, Evelyn raised a brow at the phone lying beside her arm. She didn’t recognize the voice, and few who called her used her title.
“Yes?”
“It’s Sandra Nevouto. I received the message you left for me.”
Eyes widening, Evelyn’s heartrate doubled as she fumbled for the phone, taking it off speaker and pressing it to her ear. She’d called and left a message with Sandra’s assistant shortly after leaving The Haven but hadn’t expected a call back so soon.
Glancing at the clock, she grimaced as she realized she’d been at her desk for five hours already, so it wasn’t really all that soon.
“Yes! Thank you for returning my call.”
“You mentioned you’re doing research on alphas, can you explain what research and what you would need?”
Evelyn’s stomach clenched. She’d been hoping the brief message she’d left would be enough and she wouldn’t have to explain more. While she wasn’t really lying, she wasn’t being transparent either, and a part of her didn’t like it.
“The University Board was approached to do some research on alphas due to the rising motions to repeal the mandates against them. They wanted to see if new evidence could be collected to determine if the mandates are necessary, or if they’d been passed in haste.”
No lies, she just left out the part where if they were found to be unnecessary, her research would be buried.
“I’d like to observe unbonded alphas in a natural setting to see how they interact with other alphas, as well as the other dynamics. Access to any incident reports involving alphas at Eden would also be useful.”
She’d requested similar reports from the other Alpha-Camps, but they didn’t really have the information she needed. While betas worked in the Camps on occasion, the problems that had caused the mandates almost always involved an omega, which there were none of in the Camps. She needed to see how they reacted when there were unmated omegas present driving their instincts.
“And the tests?”
“I’d like to ask for volunteers to leave blood and pheromone samples, as well as do MRIs of the brain. It’s long been believed that an alpha’s pituitary gland simply released more testosterone than a beta’s, causing the heightened aggression as well as the increased muscle mass, but our recent studies suggest that may not be the case.”
Sandra was silent on the other end of the line, only a rhythmic tapping reaching Evelyn’s ears, as if Sandra was tapping a nail or pen on her desk. Evelyn was starting to worry she’d be refused again when Sandra finally spoke.
“As long as the alphas agree to the tests, I see no reason why you couldn’t conduct your research here. You only need unbonded alphas? And you won’t be administering anything to them?”
“Correct. Unbonded alphas only, and all I’ll be doing is drawing blood, swabbing for pheromones, and doing MRIs of the brain if I can use the facilities.”
It was hard to contain her excitement. She was ready to catch the first speeder out to Eden, but she’d decided to wait to approach the director until she knew the plan would work, so there was still another step before she could collect her gear and leave.
“I’m sure something can be arranged with the medical facility to allow you to use the machine. How long would you be staying?”
Reigning in her focus, Evelyn tried to guestimate how long it would take.
“How many alphas are in Eden?”
“Our population is still small, but alpha heavy. We have roughly eight hundred unbonded alphas at the moment.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. She knew the Alpha-Camps in the city had hundreds of alphas, but she hadn’t thought about Eden having so many. If even half agreed to give samples, she’d be running the tests for a month if she had to do it all herself.
“Depending on how many volunteer, I’d hope to have enough samples for initial testing within a week. Possibly two. At that point it would depend on what I find whether I need more or if I could return to the university.”
“We only have one hotel for those coming to visit family, so I’d suggest booking a room for the full two weeks to be on the safe side. If you need to extend your stay, I’m sure something could be worked out. I can pass on your information to Doctor Greyson so you can coordinate with him about the use of facilities.”
