So Greg didn’t like June’s scent on him. That was too bad, because June was a friend. Except part of Dale also wanted Greg to smile, wanted Greg to sniff at him and smirk. This morning, in the kitchen, Greg had whispered, Who am I?
My alpha, Dale had said. And he was. Dale’s body hummed, acknowledging Greg as his bedmate. Dale didn’t want Greg to be his alpha.
Greg brushed by them, his eyes anchored on Dale the entire time, and Dale’s pulse rushed in his ears.
When Greg had parked himself at the other side of the lab, facing them, Dale turned back to June.
“He smells like you,” June whispered.
Dale hid his face behind his hands. “I’m seeing his father in five hours.”
The aspen scent wouldn’t dissipate by then, but maybe the suppressants would work if he applied more.
“I’m still here if you need an alpha for show,” June said, her expression sympathetic. “And I’ll pretend to be the proud mother if you need me to.”
Dale gave her hand a squeeze. “Thank you.”
June was about to say something else when one of the grad students made her way over—Penny Fleming, the brightest unbonded omega in Dale’s lab. He’d submitted her name to Bernard Hastings, and he was sure the meeting today would be about her.
Penny beamed at them, her glasses winking in the fluorescent light. She’d be a nice fit for Greg, too—all soft curves, her red curls bouncing as she walked. She was pleasant, cheerful and friendly. “Professor Kinney! If you have a moment, I have a few questions on the carbon tubes.”
“Sure,” he said, stepping away from June.
“Oh, congrats,” Penny said.
Dale’s stomach tightened. Did she smell the pregnancy? “What?”
Penny waved at June. “I hadn’t noticed the ring before. Is it a tradition if only the alpha wears a ring?”
Dale glanced at the silver band on June’s finger, swearing inwardly. He’d forgotten about that.
June looked pointedly at him. It’s up to you how you spin this lie.
On Dale’s other side, Penny waited for his answer, bright-eyed and smiling. Greg’s stare prickled his skin; Penny’s voice had carried across the lab.
In that moment, it felt as though everything hung in a delicate balance—the fake relationship, the pregnancy, his mess with Greg.
“I leave mine at home just in case,” Dale blurted, regretting the lie the moment it left his lips. He looked up at Penny, then chanced a glance at Greg over her shoulder.
Greg’s eyes had narrowed, and Dale’s stomach plummeted.
It wasn’t as though they were bonded. But he’d agreed to spend this week with Greg, sort of like a date, and this... Well. Maybe Greg would fume and leave now, and Dale would have seen it coming from a mile away. Maybe this was what it took to shift Greg’s focus onto omegas who were younger and a better fit for him.
“We’re still deciding on a wedding date,” Dale said. June sighed.
Penny beamed, and Dale followed her through the lab, to where she’d left her experimental setup.
Greg’s stare burned into his back the entire time.
At 3 PM, Dale knocked on Bernard Hastings’ office door.
“Come in,” the voice inside boomed.
Dale heaved open the wooden door, hiding his grimace.
Bernard Hastings’ office was a place Dale liked to visit as rarely as possible. It was wide, oval, a row of windows stretching from one wall to another. Rows of textbooks filled the ceiling-high bookcases. On two sides of the office, gold-framed plaques hung in columns, and leather couches sat in one corner of the room, surrounding an elegant glass table.
Dale avoided the expensive furniture, smiling politely at the alpha behind the gleaming steel desk. Bernard Hastings was as tall as his son, broad-shouldered, his countenance shrewd. Strands of silver streaked through his chestnut hair; his eucalyptus scent wafted around him.
“Mr. Hastings.”
“Dr. Kinney.”
Bernard rose to his feet and extended his hand. On the other side of the desk, Dale accepted the handshake, quailing at the stranglehold the president locked his hand in. It was nice of Bernard to treat omegas as his equals. Not as nice to crush their delicate knuckles.
When Bernard released his hand, Dale waited for him to sit, before settling into his own chair. “I hope you received the list well,” Dale said. “Just in case you haven’t, I’ve printed it.”
He slid his sheath of papers across the desk, Penny’s photo on the front. Bernard raised his eyebrows. “I appreciate the pictures,” he said. “There were none with the email.”
After the lab this morning, Dale had redoubled his efforts to please the college president. Regardless of what Dale wanted, and regardless of which alpha fathered his child, Greg needed a decent shot at life. He had his entire future ahead of him, and Dale wanted him to be happy. Not be stuck with an aging omega, an unwanted baby curbing his dreams.
“If I read your email right, you’re searching for the perfect omega for your son,” Dale said, smiling confidently.
“Yes. This is a good list,” Bernard said, his eyes gleaming. “I appreciate the descriptions of your students—brilliant minds, engaging personalities.”
“They are a fascinating bunch to work with,” Dale said, relaxing a little. Bernard didn’t seem to remember the fucked-up presentation, or the lab fire. Maybe Dale could still salvage his chances at tenure. “I might be exaggerating, but I believe my students have been the driving force behind the lab’s success.”
Bernard Hastings studied him, those austere black eyes boring through Dale. “They may very well be.”
He hadn’t forgotten Dale’s mistakes at all, had he?
Dale’s stomach twisted. He should leave the list with Bernard, get out of here. “I have coached them to the best of my abilities,” he said, wishing he was better at sucking up to people. “If you come across an omega you’d like to meet, do arrange a meeting with them.”
“Definitely,” Bernard said, flipping through the papers. Dale held his breath, watching as the president paged through photo after photo.
