“Just two weeks at a time, and then I’ll have two weeks off,” I say.
“I was worried you’d be working up there for months. I’m not sure I could handle that. I’d go stir-crazy. Winter in the mountains can get pretty bad though. You might get snowed in with your bosses at some point,” Alice says.
“From what I’ve read, we shouldn’t be stuck up there for long, if at all. The Fossfells are never impassable for half the year or anything.”
She accepts my words, but her comment about getting trapped with my bosses gives me a twinge of anxiety. I hadn’t considered that. I’m used to working closely with my classmates, but I wasn’t around them 24/7. I don’t even know yet if I’ll get along with my teammates.
I try to shake off the lingering worry of being snowed in with strangers as we load my books into the rental car.
Alice makes me promise to come back and visit to let her know how work is going. I’m not sure if she’s just being friendly or angling for gossip, but I’ll be here for a few years and could use some friends, so I agree. Even if she is after gossip, I want to visit the bookstore again anyway.
I return to the inn and immerse myself in my new books, hoping to stop obsessing over what my bosses are like.
Chapter 3
Henri
“You could have said no,” Charm says.
“I’m not going to deny someone a job they’re qualified for just because of their designation,” Orion says.
“Yes, but it’s not like you’d be kicking her out of the program. If you told HR we couldn’t take her on, they’d place Hestia somewhere else. And if you’re going to be so tense about it, you might as well have let them send her to a different team,” Charm says.
“I’m nottense. I just need to see how she handles fieldwork before I’ll feel comfortable having her on the team, the same as any other trainee. It has nothing to do with her being an omega,” Orion says.
“If you say so,” he replies.
I keep sweeping as they talk through onboarding our new recruit. Again.
It’s too late to change things at this point. Hestia is already here, just down the mountain. I know Orion doesn’t want to reject her, but he’s been going over our training rules more thoroughly than usual. It’s obvious he’s worried she’s an omega.
I haven’t complained about his grumpiness over the past few days, hoping he’ll get it out of his system now. That way, once we pick up Hestia, he’ll be back to treating her like anyone else.
I empty my dustpan and wait for Magnus and Cato to carry the dresser past before resuming.
It might be time to revisit the Cato wearing clothes thing. He wears minimal clothes around the station, even when we have non-pack living with us. Our other trainees didn’t care since he kept the major bits covered, but…
I suppose I’m no better than Orion, because I think we should behaveslightlydifferently with Hestia. Maybe everything will be fine, but this has the potential to be a charged living situation.
We need to have Cato wear a shirt until we figure out if wandering around half-clothed will bother our omega. The omega. The trainee.
Hestia might not care about his clothing preferences, but it’s best to keep things as professional as possible when living under the same roof.
I’ll ask Orion to broach the subject with Cato. He’d given up on arguing about it since he got Cato to wear pants. He’s much like a cat, hard to pin down and put a shirt on if he doesn’t want it.
We have to make sure Hestia feels welcome. It’s imperative. I don’t want her to leave us for another team.Thosealphas could give in to their instincts and coddle her too much. That won’t prepare her for the dangers of the job.
We won’t let our instincts affect her training.
I finish cleaning up the sawdust and help them move the rest of the furniture into Hestia’s rooms. After ensuring the furniture is perfectly placed for optimum roomflow, I bring her sheets up, still warm from the dryer, and make the bed.
I’ve just tucked the last corner in when Cato flops onto the bed and sprawls out. I hastily push him off and he slinks to the floor, walking away like that was his plan all along.
I pull the blanket off and shake it out to prevent his smell from lingering. The air conditioning will filter our scents out, but there’s no reason to rub all over her things more than necessary.
Omegas are sensitive to other people’s scents in their private spaces, which is why we bought her new furniture, rugs, blankets, and pillows.
And built a nest.
