A thrill skidded down Dale’s spine. “It’s too soon to talk about that.”
“Then when are we going to talk about it? Class starts in twenty minutes.”
Dale sighed. “At the end of today. My classes end at four.”
“I have basketball practice until six. You want to meet for dinner?”
It wasn’t a bad idea, especially if it would keep Greg from leaving his scent in Dale’s office. “Somewhere off-campus, I guess. I know a quiet place.”
“Fine. Here, text yourself. I’ll get in touch.” Greg tapped on his phone.
The lock screen was an older photo—Greg with a blond boy, their arms around each other’s shoulders. Laughter sparkled in Greg’s eyes. He was younger, less built than he was now, and in the background, sunlight glinted off a calm sea.
Greg tapped in the pass code, unlocking the phone without a word. Then he opened the contacts page, handing the phone to Dale.
Was that your best friend? Why would you have a picture of him, and pursue me instead?
Dale tapped his number into the phone, saving himself as a contact. Dale. So no one would know Greg was texting his professor. Dale handed the phone back, eyeing the bathroom door. It was quiet outside.
Greg read his expression. “I’ll leave first.”
Dale followed him to the door, scanning the bathroom. No incriminating pieces of evidence. Just his hibiscus scent, and Greg’s aspen.
“Hey,” Greg said, meeting his eyes. “Whatever happens, I promise I’ll help with the baby. Just tell me how.”
Dale’s throat tightened. “You really don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
He sucked in a deep breath, relaxing a little. Greg cared. And Dale was suddenly very glad that he wasn’t in this alone.
Greg flashed a quick smile. He cracked the door open, peeked down the corridor. “No one here. See you later.”
He slipped out. Dale pushed the door shut, locking it. Then he wadded up sheets of TP and tossed them into the trash, covering up the boxes. It still didn’t erase the double blue lines razed into his mind.
Gods, he was pregnant. After all those years with Charles... All it had taken was one afternoon with his student. This shouldn’t have happened at all.
Five minutes later, Dale stepped out of the bathroom, returning to the lab.
June looked up the moment he stepped in, her nostrils flaring. Then her eyes widened, and Dale’s cheeks scorched. He smelled like Greg. And now it was futile to pretend they weren’t involved.
“Not what I expected,” June said, watching him. “I tried calling, but you weren’t picking up.”
“I left my phone in the office.” Dale looked at the computers, ignoring the rest of the post-docs and research students in the lab. “You were right.”
June winced, glancing over her shoulder. He knew who she was looking at; he could smell Greg from here, and he didn’t know how to address this right now, Greg’s child in his belly. Greg’s gaze prickled his skin.
“Gods, I’m sorry,” June murmured, pulling Dale into a hug. They didn’t usually do this in front of the other students, but Dale didn’t care right now. They probably assumed he was dating June. And if he wore another alpha’s scent on him, June hugging him meant she accepted it. Nothing to gossip about. “What are your plans?”
“I’m keeping it.” Saying it made it more real. Dale was pregnant. He was carrying a baby. Greg’s baby. His stomach flipped.
Dale knew he didn’t need a child. But his parents had always said Omegas were built for babies, and Dale had grown up looking forward to his own.
“Greg’s serious about staying with you?” June whispered.
Dale nodded, his stomach flipping. He still hadn’t processed that yet.
“Whatever happens, I’ll cover your back,” June said, her brow crinkled. “You can count on me, too.”
“Thanks,” Dale said, hugging her. It didn’t give him any relief.
A week or a month from now, he’d probably be happy about the child. Right now, he could only think about the wrongness of it, and his heart ached.
But he had a class to teach, a role to play. Regardless of what happened in his life, Dale was still a professor.
He pulled on his lab coat, then stepped up to start the class.
8
Greg
An hour ago, Greg had begun his day thinking he’d stop by Dale’s office.
He didn’t need help with the coursework, but he’d been increasingly mulling over the career options in this field. What he wanted to do when he graduated. He wasn’t going into politics, and maybe he might pursue basketball instead. But he couldn’t spend his entire life on the court, either—players grew old and retired in their thirties, and Greg figured a backup plan would come in handy.
Instead of having a discussion about his career, he’d bumped into Dale along the chemistry building corridors. Scattered Dale’s pregnancy test kits all over the floor.
With a sinking feeling in his gut, he’d steered Dale into a bathroom on a quieter hallway, shutting them in.
The tests had come out positive. When Greg had first seen the results, he’d assumed Dale had slept with someone else, maybe even June. Greg was a student. Dale was pretty, and intelligent, and Greg figured Dale would have no shortage of alphas wanting to leap into his bed.
Except Dale had looked utterly miserable when he’d shaken his head, saying he’d slept with no one else.
If he’d known this would happen, Greg would’ve insisted on the condom, regardless of what Dale insisted.
How fucked up was it, that he’d gotten his professor pregnant?
He looked down at the lab bench, at the vial he’d set on the magnetic stirrer. At the bottom of the glass, in 10.0 ML of water, a little rice-shaped magnet spun, mixing the solution.
Greg slid a waxy sheet over, holding oxidase powder measured out to 1.350g. He tapped it into the vial, watching as the powder slowly dissolved around the spinning magnet.
The other students moved around him, working on their own experiments, but Greg ignored them.
In the corner of the lab, Dale hugged June. Greg’s instincts growled with
