2
Elijah
Afirm handon Elijah’sback pushed him forward, and he stumbled down the ornate stone hall of the rehabilitation center. It felt like a joke that the center was built inside a re-purposed monastery. The religious memorabilia had been stripped from the inside, but the stained glass remained. In the room Elijah shared with three of Baylor’s omegas, the window depicted a seated saint tending to deer.
“That’s Saint Francis of Assisi,” Greyson, one of Elijah’s roommates, had told him while they lazed around the room. “He’s one of the most famous saints. His big thing is peace and enjoying all of God’s creations.”
“Bet he enjoyed a few omegas before his time was up,” Elijah had mumbled. “Should’ve let us stay with Baylor. We were doing fine on our own.”
There had been no response from his roommates. It felt like Elijah was the only one who hated that they’d been removed from The White Lotus. Worse, it felt like he was the only one who had any sense of loyalty. The omegas he’d worked alongside were quick to change their tunes now that Baylor was out of the picture. The united front they’d formed while under his care shattered. Those who’d once been loyal to the man who’d given them a second shot at life were turning their backs on him and feeding the police information.
Elijah wasn’t a backstabber. He understood his place, and he understood the gift Baylor had given him. The other omegas were ungrateful. Did they really think that society would accept them, and they’d go on to lead productive, fulfilling lives? It wasn’t that easy. At best, they’d be stuck in the back of a prep kitchen somewhere, working for pennies. Baylor had given them all the freedom an omega could hope for.
Now that freedom had been taken away.
“C’mon,” the omega counselor behind Elijah chirped. “It’s time to get to your appointment.”
“I don’t want to go,” Elijah grumbled.
“Counselor Rutledge is waiting.” It was like the counselor had never been in a bad mood before. Elijah resented her for it. “Once you’ll meet him, you’ll think differently. He’s a nice man.”
The corridor they turned down was lined with old wooden doors. They walked for a short distance until the counselor brought Elijah to a stop and knocked politely on one of the doors.
The door opened.
“Counselor Torres.” The voice that greeted them was pleasantly low pitched and easy on the ears. A shiver worked its way down Elijah’s spine, and he pressed his back against the stone wall nearest the door frame in order to stay out of sight. “It’s good to see you. Are you here with Elijah?”
“I am. It looks like Elijah’s doing his best to hold up the wall, though.” She spoke about him like he was a child, and Elijah scowled. “Elijah, will you please come here and introduce yourself to Counselor Rutledge?”
“I’m an adult,” Elijah shot back. “I don’t want to be here. There has to be some law against this. If I refuse treatment, you can’t give it to me.”
Counselor Torres, his omega chaperon, bit down on her bottom lip. “Your rehabilitation is essential to your integration into society. There are laws in place that—”
“Elijah?” Counselor Rutledge’s voice cut through the conversation, and Elijah felt it resonate in his bones. The timbre rattled in his chest and woke his soul. “Why don’t we talk about this inside the office?”
There was no mistaking the power in that voice. Counselor Rutledge was an alpha.
Elijah’s eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Counselor Torres for guidance. She stepped away from the door and gestured toward it with one hand.
They were entrusting him to an Alpha?
Swallowing, Elijah pushed off the wall and approached the door. Standing on the other side was a tall man in a white dress shirt and light gray pants who took Elijah’s breath away. Elijah looked him over, allowing his eyes to wander from the man’s dark, professionally styled hair to the greens of his eyes to the cut of his jaw. His shoulders were just broad enough to suggest power and authority without being oppressively large. Elijah’s eyes traveled down further, remarking upon the lean, muscular body concealed beneath his shirt until he arrived at the fly of Counselor Rutledge’s pants.
After years of employment at The White Lotus, Elijah was good at guessing what kind of equipment a man was packing. He had a feeling that Counselor Rutledge had nothing to be ashamed about.
His eyes traveled upward, back to the counselor’s green eyes. Beneath Counselor Rutledge’s professionalism lurked something primal—something that spoke of desire. Elijah’s pulse quickened. It was desire forhim.
“I’m not broken,” Elijah announced, doing his best to keep his voice from trembling. The glint in Counselor Rutledge’s eyes didn’t fade, and Elijah found himself wanting to see more of it. What would it look like if he peeled back the layers of professionalism that bound him? A look alone already had Elijah excited—how fantastic would it feel if he took Counselor Rutledge to bed?
There had been hundreds of alphas in and out of Elijah’s life. Some of them were repeat customers, and others Elijah had only seen once before their paths parted for good. No matter what, every alpha Elijah had met so far was the same. They commanded the same presence, wanted the same things, and folded to subtle manipulation in the same way.
Counselor Rutledge wasn’t like other alphas—Elijah could tell by looks alone. The desire in his eyes was masked and layered, uncommon, and deeper than lust alone.
Elijah was disarmed by it, and he had no idea how to pull himself back together.
“I know you’re not,” Counselor Rutledge replied. The conversation between them was simple, but Counselor Rutledge didn’t speak to him like he was a child. Elijah appreciated it.
“And there’s nothing wrong with me. If you think you can ‘fix’ me, you’re mistaken. There’s nothing about me that needs to be fixed.”
