“Let’s go,” I grumble, not bothering to look if Olly’s following me or not. I march down the hall to the dorms and punch in the override for Auryn’s door, sparing the barest of glances at the tangle of naked limbs on the bed before clearing my throat to get their attention.
“Lab. Now. Preferably with clothes on.”
Ten minutes later, we’re all gathered in the lab. Olly wrings his hands and paces as Auryn eyes him with keen interest. She must know this is about her.
“Come on, Olly. Let them know.”
His amber eyes dart to me, then to Auryn. She nods, and he heaves a sigh.
When he’s done explaining, Diego and Em look like they’ve both been hit by a Mack truck. Auryn’s eyes are full of tears, which would send me right to her side if she was the omega we thought she was … but she’s not. She’s an alpha in her own right, albeit an altered one, and it’s up to her to seek out any comfort she wants.
I can’t treat her like an omega anymore. Not now that I know. It would be an insult to her nature.
“Auryn?” I say cautiously. “Do you remember that?”
She slowly nods. “A little. I was held there for so long … They did so much to me. I–I lost myself a bit. Forgot who I was.” Her face crumples, and Diego and Em are on her in seconds. “How could I forget?”
Olly reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Auryn. What Sneed did to you–It’s a miracle you survived. Alpha and omega proteins aren’t meant to mix in the same person. The fact that your body somehow reconciled that is astonishing.”
“Mi amor… You are a fighter. Strong. Brave. Don’t punish yourself for a tiny lapse in memory.”
While the others scramble to comfort Auryn, I seethe in the corner.
Sneed took so much from us. He took Em and almost broke him. He nearly killed Diego. He warped Auryn’s body, made her into something else … He–
“Olly? Tell me something …”
My beta turns and shoots me a questioning glance. “Yeah?”
I’m almost afraid to ask, but I have to know. “Since Auryn’s not a true omega, does that mean–Can she even get pregnant?”
Okay, so this might not be the right time to ask this. I realize that as Auryn storms out of the room, Em and Diego hot on her heels. Olly looks torn, as if he can’t choose between answering his alpha’s question or making sure hisotheralpha is all right.
His other alpha.Theirother alpha.
Not my omega. Myalpha.
God, I need a fucking drink.
“I don’t know, Gage,” Olly finally says. “I don’t even know yet if her hybrid state is permanent or temporary. What Sneed did to her isn’t exactly something that has precedent. I can’t check the medical journals and read up on other cases of an alpha-omega hybrid because there aren’t any other cases. She’s the only one.”
Olly’s not the only one who doesn’t know what to do with this data. I feel lost, useless. What does Auryn need from me? She’s an alpha in her own right. She has Diego and Em, she has Olly. Her protectors and her beta. Me? I’ve made my alphahood the core of my personality. I’ve been top dog for so long, I can’t remember what it was like not running a pack. Not being in charge. What will happen now?
Will the others leave? Start their own pack?
Fuck. This is too much to handle.
I head for the kitchen to get that drink, skipping the beers in the fridge for the stronger stuff in the cabinet. I grab a random bottle and peer at the label. Cheap vodka, but the proof is through the roof. Just what I need.
No time for a glass. I screw off the cap and tip the bottle back, gulping down several swallows before I stop to wipe my chin.
Auryn’s an alpha. She’s not an omega.
Those two facts run through my mind in a vicious loop. Alpha, not omega. Alpha, not omega.
Not my omega.
Not mine.
