He’s rejecting me.
I shake that thought out of my head. I know it’s bigger than that, that it has to do with his career. He’s clearly been taking a ridiculous amount of scent blockers, deodorizers, and God knows what else to be able to play in the NHL.
“Please just fucking go,” he says, not looking at me.
“I’m your scent match. I’m not going anywhere,” I say, reaching out and touching his arm, which he pulls away from me.
“Jesus Christ, Piper, get the fuck out,” he says, raising his voice at me. “I don’t want you here, seeing me like this.” He holds up his arm connected to the saline, like being sick is hopeless or less masculine. “I don’t want a fucking scent match. Everything I’ve worked for is gone. Now can you please just leave me to be miserable in fucking peace?”
“Owen,” I sigh and reach out for him again.
“Get out!” he yells, and I startle, backing my way out of the room. My heart is racing, and I’m fighting back tears that are threatening to spill out. As I’m leaving, I see Lori and a tall man who shares some similarities with Owen, except they don’t share the same blond hair.
“Oh my God, is he alright?” Lori says, and I watch as her face contorts. She must see the pain in my eyes and think that Owen is doing worse than he is. I shake my head and sigh, taking a deep breath and shoving Owen away in my mind.
“He’s fine. He’s in there. You can go and see him.”
“Why do you look like you’re about to cry, then?” Lori asks, perceptive as ever. I shake my head and shove my hands in my coat pockets. “What did he do?”
“You can go see him. I have another patient,” I say. I walk away from Lori and whomever the other man was. I give the nurse from earlier a tight smile and open the door to the janitor’s closet. I grab onto the shelves, and I break.
He told me to get out, that he didn’t want me. That he didn’t need me. I have a fucking scent match. If I’m being honest, I never thought that would happen for me. Charlotte and her Alphas are an anomaly, it’s not the norm. But I have one, one I already had feelings for when I thought he was a Beta, and he doesn’t want this.
A scent match. An Omega that I can call my own tops everything. My fears, my career, my stubbornness. I would throw everything away for my Omega. And he doesn’t want me.
I let myself sit on the dirty floor, wrapping my arms around my legs. I feel completely undignified, but I’m not sure what else I can do but sit on this floor and linger in my own pain.
I’m not even sure how much time passes, but I’m sure patients are getting annoyed waiting to be seen by me. I should push my feelings to the side and be a doctor and do my job. I have a patient waiting for a consult, and I just can’t pull it together.
All I can do is sit on this floor.
The door creaks open, and I’m ready to make an excuse when I see his hulking form. He shuts the door behind him and squats in front of me, his large hand cupping my shoulder.
“Piper?” I don’t answer, I just press my forehead to his chest. “Piper, what happened?”
“Did you see him?” I ask, and he nods his head. “So you know what he is?”
He clears his throat and sighs. “I already knew. I figured it out after sharing a room with him for away games.”
“He’s my scent match,” I say quietly, and Alexi’s eyes bulge, and it’s like he can’t hold his own weight anymore and he sits down next to me. His long legs take up most of the closet.
“And he knows?” he says softly, his hand moving down my thigh, and I’m so thankful for the connection.
“I was assigned his case, and his scent hit me like a ton of bricks. He told me to get out.”
Alexi groans and scrubs his face. “Come here.”
“What?”
“Get the fuck over here.”
“Why?” I ask, arching a brow at him.
“Cause I’m going to fucking hold you, and you’re going to like it. We’re going to figure this out.”
“He didn’t seem like he wanted to figure it out.”
“Owen is complicated. Now get over here.”
