Page 1 of Bound to the One-Night Stand

CHAPTER 1

JESSICA

Tears blur my vision as I stare at the text message in front of me.

Alec

I have been chosen by the Governing Body to get married. I hope it’s you I see at the end of the aisle.

Two days have gone by.

No messages and no emails for me from the Governing Body.

Nothing.

It wasn’t me who met him down the aisle, but some other omega. It’s some stranger warming his bed while I sit here like an idiot at work trying desperately not to cry. A different woman is cooking his meals and kissing him goodbye as they part ways in the morning.

Someone else is fucking him.

Someone else is enjoying the pleasure of his touch.

Someone else.

Not me.

It will never be me.

Not unless the six months pass and they’re just that unhappy with the pairing. Maybe then it can be us again. But who knows where I’ll be? Perhaps the Governing Body will have already put me with a different Alpha.

Glancing up at the people bustling about their workday, my heart sinks. So many have been paired up, matched by some algorithm the government created to find the perfect pair, the perfect match — a soulmate.

As if computers can see into the soul. As if some piece of machinery can look past biology and take in chemistry, history, and… well… life.

But even now, I see how happy these couples are. Based on what I’ve seen and heard, it’s rare that a couple leaves after the six-month trial. My Alec will probably be the same.

I can’t count on him pining away for me like I am for him. Dropping my head back to look at the screen, I type out a quick message. As usual, I get the same response.

Alec

The person you are trying to reach has blocked this number. If you feel as if this is in error, please have them contact a servicing station for a systems scan.

It’s not in error. I know because it popped up later that night. After the wedding. While they’re probably on their honeymoon.

I get it. He wants to give this new relationship a chance. It would be impossible to do so while clinging to the past. Not to say it still doesn’t sting every time I see it.

Though it’s idiotic of me, I keep trying, thinking maybehe’ll be so unhappy with the match that he’ll want to pick things back up. But that’s not fair to me either.

At some point, I have to let go. Even though doing so seems to hurt even more than the initial rejection. In my soul, it feels like I’m just giving up, but I guess that’s what I have to do.

Setting my phone inside the drawer, I go back to my computer screen and try to concentrate. Thankfully, everyone here knows about what happened between Alec and me. They know I’m distracted and not at my best. At some point, however, that’s not going to hold up.

My fingers fly over the keys as I look at the coordinates for a new property we’re assessing. Same type of house. Same type of lien. Nothing new or exciting in this one.

I type in the information as well as general observations into the sidebar, so I have everything I need to make a report later. Once that’s done, I glance over my shoulder, making sure no one is watching me. They’re all busy doing their work and seem to pay me no mind.

Pulling up another screen, I type in Alec’s phone number and wait for the system to do its work. It’s a level of stalking I never thought I’d stoop to… but here we are. It takes a few moments, but soon, an image pops up on the screen.

My heart plummets as the cursor blinks. He’s in Greece. He’s in fucking Greece. The place he said he was going to take me once we got paired by the Governing Body.

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