“Yeah, and I quite like my pretzels,” I add.
Rory huffs, crossing her arms. “You two are no fun. You can still have those things, but let’s try something different!”
We both shake our heads. “No.”
“Stubborn omegas,” Rory starts as she points at me. “On a different note, I have a bone to pick with you.”
My hand goes to my chest. “What did I do?”
“You told me to watch that pirate anime to find out who Miss Wednesday is. There is no Miss Wednesday. I’ve watched so many episodes. You tricked me.”
I feign innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Stacia laughs. “Isn’t that the anime that has over a thousand episodes?”
Rory’s eyes bug out of her head. “Did you just say a thousand?”
I hide my smile behind my cup. “I didn’t know you would actually start the show. But lucky for you, Miss Wednesday is at the beginning. So just keep going.”
My blue-haired friend looks like she’s going to be sick. “I just started a massively huge commitment. Dax is watching it with me. You know he’s already hooked, right? He loves that rubber dude.”
“That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard,” I say, and I mean it. After everything that happened with Cindy, I realize just how much I needed this time with them. I may have lost a friend, but I’ve gained two new spectacular ones this year, and it’s been the greatest gift from the universe.
FIFTY-ONE
“You leaving, Mr. Langley?”
I shut my briefcase and turn toward my new boss, who’s standing nearby with a cup of coffee. I smirk and point at his hand. “Are you not?”
Mr. Alston laughs. “It’s decaf but the placebo works just fine. I’ll be here for a while working on the Nilson case.”
For once, I don’t know what case he’s talking about, and it’s refreshing. The past few weeks of my new internship have been a breeze. I’ve only ever known work to be rushed and stressful, so much so that I got used to that way of living. But being here has helped me realize how much I enjoy my free time. With all of my other responsibilities, I’m finally starting to see why my old routine was burning me out so quickly.
“Let me know if you need any help,” I offer out of habit, but he just waves me off.
“No, you’ve done what I asked for the day. As I said, you don’t have to help me do my job. Just help keep us organized, fetch us lunch sometimes, do our calendars, and listen in onmeetings to see things, but this meeting is outside of your allotted time slot, so get out of here.”
I nod, knowing the drill. “Of course.” I slide my coat on and pick up my case before turning to him again. “Sir, I just wanted to tell you that I’ll be taking some days off soon. To be with my omega.”
He looks up at me with a surprised smile. “Wow! Of course, take as long as you need. Just send me an email when it happens, and I’ll make sure the team knows you won’t be in for a bit.”
“Thank you,” I reply genuinely. “And about what Mr. McMillan said… about my pack?—”
“You don’t have to explain,” he says sternly. “Gregory was out of line when he said that. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it.”
I flatten my lips, wanting to agree and move on, but something has me speaking again. “But, honestly, it was the truth, sir. To an extent. I was neglecting my pack by being at work so much. And I should have seen what it was doing to us, but I wanted to keep my head in the sand. But recently, I’ve learned that admitting my faults doesn’t mean I’ve failed. It just means I can try again.”
His eyes shine with surprise but also respect. “You don’t have to tell me this, Sam.”
“I know, but I had to, so you would know how much this job means to me. How thankful I am that you gave me this opportunity. It helped me to see things more clearly, and it allowed me to help mend my pack. So,thank you.”
Mr. Alston’s smile is joyful, meaningful. “I’m glad I could help someone the same way my mentor helped me. It’s hard being a prime sometimes, especially in our occupation.”
“And I’m glad I’m not the only one who needed help.”
“Never, we all need help. Even primes.” He looks atsomething on his desk with a soft smile on his face, a frame that must have a picture of his pack in it, and then he looks back at me. “Now, go be with your pack. We have everything we need here.”
It takes abouttwo weeks for Opal’s heat to start.
