Why do I lie? It’s like I’m protecting something small, fragile, vulnerable, still too delicate to see the world. My timid hope.
Jared watches me with curiosity but he soon goes back to feeding Tommy, without pressing the issue.
I sigh in relief.
The second month of the experimental treatment is ending soon and Blue promised thorough testing to check for progress, so next week I have a long appointment in his lab.
Maybe after that, when I know everything is going in the right direction, I’ll be able to tell Jared. Maybe then… I’ll finally start accepting it’s real.
???
Next week I meet with Blue in the lab. When I walk in, I notice a tall alpha with brown hair tinged with red standing by the entrance, seemingly guarding it, and his face strikes me as strangely familiar. He gives me a sharp look, then suddenly turns away as if he recognizes me but doesn’t want to engage, his cheeks flushing red. I shrug, because why should I care?
When I step inside, Blue greets me, and to my surprise, his usually distant, sour expression looks a little less lofty and a little less dry today.
He immediately gets to work and runs tests on me, checking my reaction to Bay’s antigens.
I know right away that the result is very good, because Blue has a little smirk at the corner of his mouth. He lifts his eyes over the lens of the microscope and says,
"Beautiful. The result is promising, Alex, even better than I expected. Increasing the dose sped up the process, so we madethe right call. The reaction is still there, but maybe at thirty percent of what it was before, and that is really good news."
My mouth falls open. Part of me has always carried this small doubt, because tests in a lab dish are one thing, but tests on a living body are something entirely different.
It was one of the reasons why I didn’t want to spread the news about the desensitization and even kept a dose of skepticism for myself. Now I feel a mix of disbelief and almost overwhelming joy. The realization that this nightmare is going to end soon sends a jolt through me, because all I want to do is call Bay and tell him we’re on the right track.
"Thank you, Blue," I whisper, swallowing tears. "Thank you so much."
The smirk never leaves Blue’s lips. "That is one of the reasons I wanted to become a scientist. Achieving things, making progress."
I press my hands to my face, fighting my emotions.
"I have to go, but I’ll be back next week for the next therapy session."
"Make sure you do!"
Blue gives me an all-knowing look and nods.
I rush out of the lab at full speed, nearly running straight into that young alpha who is still standing there. I try to pass him, and he quickly steps back as if trying to avoid slipping into my line of sight, but suddenly something clicks for me. Yes, many years have passed, but something in his features, the regular, classic lines, reminds me of the Nolan family.
"Gabriel? Gabriel Nolan?" I ask, slightly shocked.
The young alpha looks startled and ignores my question, his cheeks burning. He walks past me into the testing room and closes the door behind him. How rude!
For a moment I hesitate, wondering if I should follow him, but maybe I imagined it?
What would Gabriel, Bay’s cousin, be doing here anyway? I remember Gabriel fairly from years ago, when Bay saved him and Veyron from a runaway truck tire. Or was it the other way around? Gabriel warned us before it even happened… I shake my head and blink.
No, impossible. Just an illusion, a mirage.
I forget about it quickly.
In a joyful mood, I head home, getting ready to call Bay from my bed with a cup of tea in my hand, relaxing and savoring the thought of a future we might share, but the moment I step inside, I see that Jared has a guest.
It is Storm.
I stop dead in my tracks. Bay’s brother is sitting at the kitchen table with a large tablet propped in front of him.
When I come closer, they are both leaning over it intently, but they straighten up at the sight of me.
