They’d been smart enough to get their shit together and claim Destiny Duvalle as their omega. She knew Pack Stepanov would be good to their mate. But that didn’t make Genesis believe she would find the same luck in her own love life.
Her therapist would say that her fierce independence and fear of commitment was a trauma response to her fathers’ generalindifference toward her, and her feelings of betrayal after their hasty remarriage mere months after her mother’s unexpected death. Genesis would say that her reluctance to date was reasonable given her experience. She didn’t need another pack of arrogant, uncaring alphas who thought they could control her.
“You know I have no interest in joining a pack,” she said through gritted teeth. “And I’m handling my heats just fine, am well within the medical leave limits of my health insurance, and don’t need any help.”
The last bit might’ve been a lie. The truth was Genesis’s heatshadbeen getting progressively worse the last few years despite her increasing dosages of heat suppressants. It was becoming almost unbearable.
Everett looked as though he knew exactly what she was thinking. His voice was gentler when he spoke again. “I consider you a friend, Gen, and I care about you. I hope you know that. Nobody says you have to join a pack. You know there are reputable omega specialists that would match you with a temporary pack to see you through your heats without any claims. They vet the alphas very carefully and have measures in place to ensure that everyone is protected.”
Genesis bit her lip. She’d thought about seeing a specialist several times, even going so far as to verify that her health insurance covered the costs. But she hadn’t been able to take the next step. She couldn’t bear the thought of letting anyone that close—to trusting any alphas enough to risk putting herself in such a vulnerable position.
“Even without mating, weathering your heats with a pack would change your scent temporarily,” Everett added, eyeing her carefully, as he fished a business card from his desk drawer and held it out. “Maybe even enough that you could take on some riskier assignments. I know a really good specialist I could refer you to.”
Dammit. Genesis couldn’t see a way around the idea. She’d get some pain relief, a decoy pack to shut her dads up, and a chance at finally escaping career purgatory. Win-win-win.
So why did it feel like she’d lost?
Genesis took the card, noting the nameJane Gardiner, before pocketing it quickly. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” Everett replied, putting his glasses back on and turning to his computer. “Now get out of my office and go home. It’s late and you’re not on deadline. Stop working so damn hard. Have some fun or, horror of horrors, maybe relax a little.”
“Kiss my ass, Everett.” Genesis tossed a grin over her shoulder as she left the editor’s office. “Have a good weekend.”
“It’s only Thursday,” Everett called after her.
“I’m taking your advice and having a three-day weekend,” she replied without turning around. “Maybe I’ll try thatrelaxingthing you keep bugging me about.”
“Tell Jane I said hello,” Everett shouted, seeing right through Genesis in that annoying way of his. “You can thank me with a chai latte on Monday morning.”
Genesis flipped him off, but she didn’t turn around and give him the satisfaction of seeing confirmation on her face. She knew she’d probably try and catch the specialist on the phone tonight if she could, and hopefully by Monday she’d have made a decision that would bring her a step closer to her goals. This was business, a means to an end, just like enduring tedious research or charming annoying people to get a good story. Genesis was well-practiced in pushing through shit to get to the sugar. She’d find a harmless pack of alphas who weren’t her type, enter a mutually beneficial arrangement, and then watch her career take off.
Nothing was going to get in her way.
By a stroke of sheer luck and a sudden cancellation, Genesis got an appointment with Dr. Gardiner the next morning. She was so anxious when she hung up with the medical assistant that she immediately called her best friend. It was a total breach of protocol—she never,evercalled without texting first—but Avery would understand.
Unfortunately, Avery didn’t answer. Genesis hung up without leaving a voicemail and checked the time. After eight. That meant bath and bedtimes and that she most likely wouldn’t hear back from Avery until way too early in the morning.
In that amount of time, Genesis could come up with about a billion reasons to cancel her appointment. She scrolled through her contacts, searching for another person she trusted with personal stuff and who could also give her good advice. The overlap in that Venn diagram was tragically miniscule. She had a nice-sized network of people she was friendly with, but not many actual friends.
Genesis had learned early that trusting others was a good way to be disappointed, so she’d avoided meaningful relationships as much as possible. She’d focused all her energy on excelling in school, and then her career, and hadn’t spared time for little things like socializing and having fun. It said a lot about Avery’s tenacity that she’d become Genesis’s bestie. It had taken two years of aggressive kindness for Gen to accept Avery’s standing invitation to hang out after classes, and another year before she actually began to initiate interaction. Fifteen years later, Avery was still Genesis’s best—and only—close friend.
“Dammit!” Genesis groaned aloud. “This is why you need more friends, Valentine.”
Valentine. Genesis stopped scrolling. Maybe there was another person who she could trust. He certainly had experience advising on important matters.
Before she could talk herself out of it, Genesis typed a quick text to her brother. This was good practice being vulnerable and letting people in, or whatever. Today, she’d trust an alpha. Sure, that alpha was her younger brother, but it was still progress. Tomorrow she’d talk to a doctor about trusting a few more. Temporarily. Maybe.
Luckily, Greyson texted her back immediately. Genesis couldn’t help but grin. Her brother really was a genuinely nice guy.
Genesis swallowed against a sudden lump in her throat. She hadn’t been fair to Greyson all these years. She’d wanted to avoid her dads and stepmom but hadn’t thought about whether she was also avoiding her kid brother. The family had doted on him, and she’d been forgotten. But not by Greyson, apparently. All this time he’d wanted a closer relationship and she’d been too jealous and hurt to even consider his feelings.
Now, here he was, giving her solid advice at whatever-the-fuck-time it might be in eastern Europe. Genesis smiled, feelingoddly like crying, which was something she didnotdo. Fine. If Greyson said she should try, she could do it for him.
Thanks, Ash, she wrote, knowing the childhood nickname would make him smile. He’d been such a particular little thing, and he’d hated the texture of lotion, so his golden-brown skin had often been ashy. The memory made Genesis laugh wetly. She added a heart emoji, hit send, and tossed her phone onto her nightstand. Blinking away the stinging in her eyes, she got ready for bed. When she climbed beneath the blankets, she fell asleep quickly, still feeling cautiously optimistic.
Chapter two
Orlando
