He rubs his temples. “So I really can’t go back to the city.”
“Not unless you want to check yourself into a heat center.”
Mylo shudders with disgust.
My brow furrows. “Are they that bad?”
“Yes,” he snaps. “No. I don’t know.” He sighs. “I’ve never been to one. It’s not… I guess… going to one just feels so…omega. Admitting to myself that… that I’ve lost. I give up. I can’t overcome, rise above, whatever.”
“Isn’t the point of heat centers to make it easier to live the life you want?”
“I don’t want easier. I want… to notneed itin the first place. I don’t understand why I have to be so—sovulnerable. It’s notfair.”
Placating, comforting words would only be an insult right now, so the best I can offer is uncharacteristic honestly. “It’snot. It’sreallyfucking unfair.” My voice cracks, catching me off guard.
Mylo glares. “Don’t give me some bullshit about how it’s so hard to be an alpha too.”
I give a scoffing laugh, shaking my head. “No. Fuck no, being an alpha is great. I was just… If you were a beta, we could… date. See what happens. Have fun. Break up. Whatever. But instead it’s this… one decision—or not even adecision, oneimpulse—that lasts for an…impossiblylong amount of time. How can anybody ask that of anyone?”
“People get married,” Mylo says, more contemplative than combative.
“People get divorced.”
Mylo huffs a bitter laugh. “And here I thought you’d be a romantic.”
“I might be more of a pragmatist than you give me credit for.”
“So, what’s thepragmaticthing to do?”
Gulls sweep overhead, cawing on the wind. “I help you through your heat. Then take you to a heat center where Gia can help you figure out how to get your suppressants working again. Eventually.”
“Why is the pragmatic thing always so…miserable?”
“Can I give you some unsolicited advice?”
“It’s not like I can stop you.”
“Don’t carry the world on your shoulders. You can’t single-handedly make omegas less vulnerable, just like I can’t single-handedly fix how shitty Hollywood is to women. Itshouldbe different. Itshouldbe fair. Itshouldbe better. To the extent that there’s any ‘winning’ or ‘losing’… we won or lost when sperm met egg. Swallowing the lie that you can somehow change the whole world at once, if only you try hard enough… is just another way the world strangles people like me and you.”
Mylo is quiet, so after a moment, I look over at him. He half-frowns as if there’s something sour on his tongue.
“What?” I ask with a laugh.
Mylo’s eyes narrow. “So, what? Just give up? Don’t even bother? How does anything change, then?”
“I never saidgive up. Just don’t carry the whole world. Your one life is enough. Be happy. Jump off tall things. Get a fast motorcycle. Jump in the ocean.”
“Now you’re saying I should be like you.”
“No, I’m saying you should spend time with me.” I look over with a soft smile.
Mylo cracks one in return.
“You can’t fix the world,” I murmur. “But you can live a damn good life. You can make a difference. Don’t let the first one stop you from the second one.”
“Did you practice this or something?”
“Yeah, it was my TED talk.”
