We race down corridors, dodging past nurses moving beds, visitors making their way around the hospital, and doctors shouting at us to slow down.
My grin spreads wider the more she runs. It’s only when she cuts around a corner and whoops that I realize she’s having as much fun as I am. But I gain on her quickly, and it doesn’t take me long to catch up.
As soon as I’m in arm’s reach, I growl as I put on a burst of speed, cutting in front of her, and she slams to a halt. Her palm slaps against the wall to stop herself from falling over, but she’s laughing, and I beam back at her.
“Found you, sweetness,” I singsong, resisting the urge to throw my arms around her. I don’t want to spook her after she’s run like that.
Even having her close so I can breathe in maple syrup straight from the source is enough for me. At least for now. I know I’ll be hungry for more in less than five minutes.
She’s panting as hard as I am, and we eye each other up as we catch our breaths.
I have so many things I want to ask, especially questions Timber won’t give me the answers to.
I just need to know where she lives, or where I can meet her again, so I don’t growl at Timber every time he snaps open his lunch box.
She suddenly straightens, glancing left and right, and it’s easy to see what she’s anxious about.
“I’m sorry, I need to go,” she murmurs.
“Hang on, you can’t just—” She doesn’t think twice as she pushes past me and starts to walk away.
Panic flares up inside me as I suddenly realize I’m going to lose her, but I don’t feel like I’m enough to make her stay. She doesn’t know what I’ve been going through to find her again. And her phone call made everything better and worse.
I need something more to make her stop.
“When do you plan on telling Timber that you’re Luke?” I call after her, my voice bouncing around the empty corridor.
She freezes, her shoulders hunching as she whips around, narrowing her eyes at me.
“I smell your scent all over him every day. I’d be dumb if I hadn’t figured it out.” I shrug. I feel like I’m winning as she walks back to me. “And it’s easier to find your business website than you realize,” I say as I arch a brow. Ollie cringes, and I wonder if she even considered it for her ruse.
“That’s what the call was about, wasn’t it?” I ask softly, and her expression grows dark. She shoves her hands in her pockets, glaring hard. If her body language doesn’t tell me to fuck off, I don’t know what does.
“What happened, sweetness? Why are you pretending to be someone else?”
She pauses, definitely weighing up whether to tell me. And it stings. I’m used to omegas throwing themselves at me, and it’s kind of wild how desperate I am just for her to look at me.
“I’ve got some circumstances, things to do with my brother.”
“Luke?”
She nods. “He’s here at the hospital. What’s your excuse? I don’t know if I believe it’s all for the children when those videos only popped up after we met.”
“Oh, so you’ve been keeping track of me?” A nice rumble of pleasure goes through me at the thought that my omega is looking for me.
“I click on one video of you, and the algorithm treats me like a hardcore fan.”
I smirk, only half-believing her. I like to think maybe she got lonely and scrolled for videos of me, mainly because I wish I could do that with her. All I’ve got are the scarce photos on their website. They must have deleted all their socials, because I only found their website by coincidence when I spent a sleepless night scrolling through Nashville catering businesses trying to find a sign. Because there’s no way Timber’s lunchboxes come from a store.
And I liked her even more for calling it Knot Those Kind of Bites.
“Did you call me because of Timber?” I ask.
She rocks back from me as she drags in a sharp breath, and fear pierces my chest. When we’re on the phone, she can hang upon me, but it’ll hurt so much more if she walks away again and I have to stand here and watch her leave.
She tugs at her lip ring with her teeth, and I ignore the roll of need as she nods.
“And the reason you asked me, ‘How much is too much’ is…?” I ask, sure she won’t tell me. I hope it’s what I’m thinking. I’m praying that Timber has already made a move. From the way he scowls whenever I bring up Luke, I don’t think he’s even realized how protective he is. And that doesn’t make it any better for Ollie.
