Page 34 of Stolen Omega

It’s torture having my mate so close, and so far away, all at once.

This is how it’s going to be for three months.

Twelve weeks of pretending nothing in my life has changed.

That’s a quarter of a damn year. It’s way too long to hide the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

Think positive, Zey. You’ve got true mates. How many people get to say that, anyway?

About eight percent of the population of the world, if the last magazine I read had accurate stats. Whatever source they used, they may have rounded up the figure, but either way it’s not a high number. I’ve gotten pretty damn lucky with Russ, and I know it.

That’s why it hurts so damn bad that I can’t be around him as much as I want.

Thinking happy thoughts isn’t going to stop me from missing him. I need a better strategy.

I pop the pills into my mouth and pick up the bottle of water that’s on the nightstand, washing them down in one long gulp.

All I can do is take this one step at a time, and step number one is starting to take suppressants.

“I’ll order breakfast while you get ready for the promos,” he tells me, before he steps out of the room.

There goes my true mate, looking after me like he always does.

I can’t keep the smile from my lips despite how hard it’s going to be to pretend we’re not a thing.

How can I be sad when I’ve got the world’s best secret?

Three months is nothing. It’s barely any time at all.

Yeah, it’s not really the time that I need to worry about.

It’s my mom’s reaction when the new contract is ready for my signature that’s going to come with the big explosive reaction. And knowing Mom, she’ll want to make sure I sign it in plenty of time before the old one is up. She’s not going to be happy when she finds out I don’t intend to sign anything that continues to give her control over my life.

Finding a way to tell her I’m ready to take a mate without revealing he’s already in my life isn’t going to be easy. She’s used to getting her way, and she’s used to me nodding along in agreement.

My refusal is going to infuriate her, no matter what the reason is.

I’ll have to figure that one out before it happens.

Lucky for me I have Russ and his Alpha to help me come up with a plan.

I’m sure between us we’ll come up with something, when we need to.

Right now, I need to remember to take things one step at a time.

That means hauling my ass out of bed and washing away every last trace of my perfume’s scent that might be lingering on my body.

I get moving. Today’s the first day of the rest of my new and improved life. I’ve got to take the bad with the good. It’s more than worth it.

Chapter Thirteen

Zelena

The torture of being around Russ without getting close enough to touch is short-lived. I’ve barely gotten dressed and joined him in the main room of the suite before his replacement arrives to escort me through my regular Saturday afternoon of repetitive promotional bullshit.

My heart sinks as I watch my mate leave. Having him around is better. Even if there’s distance, and we need to act as if nothing has changed between us, I’d rather he was here.

The Saturday morning guy looks bored as he waits for me to go find my shoes.

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