Even my naive car-shopping self had known I didn’t want to go to the dealer every time the car got dusty. It would take hours and they’d likely find time to try to sell me a new one after a year or two. “No. I’m returning the car.”
The other salesman, standing at my side, gasped. “You can’t do that. I mean, not unless you bought the… Roger, is this the guy that bought…”
Roger gave a stiff nod.
“Oh my God. He can do that.” Salesman number two backed slowly away. “Nobody’s going to believe it.”
I’d learned a little more on this topic too. While I was killing time waiting for my omega to come home from work the day after our first night together, I’d done that internet scan. The return policy I’d been tricked into signing up for was so expensive, nobody ever bought it. Roger had taken advantage of me. A good read of the downloaded document revealed that my current action would get me back every penny, including most of that policy. I was out 800 dollars total. A lesson well-learned.
“Anything I can say to convince you to keep it another week or two?” Roger asked. “So you have a chance to get used to it. All the new technology—well, that car you traded in was not of the same caliber, you’ll have to agree.”
“That car I traded in got me everywhere I needed to go for over ten years. It never dumped me in the middle of nowhere and made me wait days to get a dealer part I had to wait for or pay thousands out of pocket and void the very expensive warranty. So, no, there’s nothing you can do. Here’s your car.You can transfer the funds to my account. You know…the one you took the money out of to start with.”
I started to walk away, but he called after me, “You’re going to need another car. Can I show you—”
“Nope,” I called over my shoulder. “I’ve already bought one from your competitor. And please stop sending me all those emails about your sales. I’ll just put them in spam if you do.”
His curses followed me down the block where my new ride waited at the other dealership. A much more practical vehicle for country roads. Mid-range SUV with 4-wheel drive and a roof rack. Consumer rated five stars. Because I might not have all the details, but one way or another, I was going to make it work. My mate’s life lay in Autumn Hills, and therefore so did mine.
As soon as I could figure it out.
But now my new SUV was parked in my old car’s spot. And my job awaited my attention. City hall’s security involved going through a metal detector, even for staff, and I waited in line for my turn. It was habit, and never bothered me before, but now, it made me want to shout out my objections. Not that I didn’t want people to be safe. Of course, I did. But I didn’t want this to be part of my life. Didn’t want to spend my time in a place that required this kind of a procedure to make sure nobody was going to stab the mayor or attack the tax collector.
Inside, at my desk, everything that hadn’t been an issue before suddenly was. I kept remembering what it was like in Autumn Hills. How friendly everyone was, how supportive. My irritation threatened to overflow, had me snapping at my assistant and having to apologize. Twice.
If I wasn’t careful, I wouldn’t have to give notice—it would be provided to me.
Promising myself I would use the time away from the office to find a solution, I settled in to work. As soon as possible,I’d pay my omega a surprise visit. Gave me something to look forward to.
Chapter Fourteen
Zac
We had a lull in births at the center over the last week and, while it gave me more downtime, it also created enough for me to face something that had been bugging me for a couple of weeks.
I wasn’t feeling well.
At first, I thought it might be mating sickness. It was rare, but it happened. Mates were introduced and completed the mating rites, but for one reason or another, they were separated after that. It only happened with fated mates; I knew that much. It caused lethargy, loss of appetite, and deep, all-compassing depression. Made sense.
I picked through the internet for what I could find, but what was happening to me wasn’t like the mating sickness.
This was something else altogether, and it wasn’t until that morning when a new omega came in. He had no partner. The alpha that got him pregnant was a one-night stand, and now he was alone. No way to contact him.
When the omega explained his symptoms, my knees went weak.
How ridiculous that I hadn’t thought of this before.
The nausea. The lightheadedness. The exhaustion, more than usual. The aversion to certain foods including eggs, which were one of my favorite breakfasts. But also, my new love of honey. I had a homemade cream-and-honey latte, and it was about the only thing I could tolerate before work.
The timing made sense as well. Edris and I met almost three months ago. We mated the second night together.
Getting a pregnancy test was easy. We kept them stocked at the clinic, so there was no going to the pharmacy and drudging up fresh and shiny small-town gossip.
I wished my alpha was with me. On the way home, I let myself cry. Cry for him. Cry for his absence.
It would be better to go home and talk to him about all of this. To let him hold me while we waited for the test to tell us our future.
But I was alone.
