Page 91 of The Heart of Winter

I blinked. "But… you look like an alpha."

"In scientific literature, a theoretical case like mine is referred to as a sigma. But since no one like me has ever been documented in any… respectable published studies, it’s not a widely known term. I can impregnate others, but I can also conceive."

I stared at him, suddenly seeing him as even more unique, almost magical. And… my complete opposite!

"Wow. I’m kind of jealous. I… can’t do either."

"Jealous?" His expression darkened with something close to pain, catching me off guard. "You don’t get it? That’s why I… never—" He trailed off.

I blinked, then instinctively placed my hand on his shoulder.

"But why? That’s… incredible. You should be happy about it. There are people who would love to have kids but never will—" The words slipped out before I could stop them.

He turned his gaze to the side and took a deep breath. "That’s… not the issue. It’s not about fertility. The thing is, I’ve always been afraid that if I told anyone, they’d see me as a freak. An alpha with a slick. An alpha with heats… A mutant."

A sad grimace twisted his lips, as he looked at my searchingly. Then suddenly, he let out a strained, almost pained sigh and whispered, "I’d rather be honest from the start and tell you the truth about me. Because maybe you’ll think I’m a freak too, and you’d be right. I wouldn’t even blame you…"

I swallowed hard.

"Sariel, do you realize that out of all the things that could be an issue between us, this is the absolute least important? If it’s even an issue at all, rather than a plus?" I hesitated. "I don’t want to make you feel like I’m dismissing something that’s obviously important to you. But to me, this would never be a reason to walk away from someone. Never."

Sariel stared at me, as if surprised by how easily I’d accepted his secret. But the truth was, I felt nothing but intrigue, if anything, he seemed even more extraordinary to me now.

So I just had to add, "The real problem is something else entirely. You and I… we have way bigger obstacles. Multiple obstacles. I really don't want to list them again."

"You know just as well as I do that none of those things have to be a problem. The only thing that matters is whether you want to be with me or not."

The line moved forward, and the suitcases rolled ahead. Our turn at the flight check-in counter was getting closer.

I glanced in that direction, then back at Sariel. He was still watching me with intense focus, waiting for my answer.

Something tightened in my throat—a wave of nerves, my heart racing like crazy. Was this the moment?

The moment I made my declaration?

"I promise we’ll come back to this conversation, Sariel. But… I’m asking you to put it on hold until we get back from the delegation. The next few days will be tough, we’ll need to stay focused, and I want us to concentrate on the professional side of things."

"But we’ll come back to it?"

"Yes, we definitely will." And I sent him a small, almost shy smile.

Sariel’s face lit up as if a million suns had just exploded beneath his skin. His perfectly even, white teeth flashed in a smile.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I was afraid you’d shut this down forever."

I straightened slightly, feeling an odd sense of awkwardness. Had I just given him real hope? It looked like it. And it was kind of exciting.

"It’s our turn," I muttered, and we stepped forward to meet the airport staff.

Not long after boarding, we found ourselves on the plane. Most of the seats in economy class were already filled, but ours were in business class.

Each row had only three seats, separated by a small table that doubled as storage for personal items.

The seats had a designated space for laptops, and in front of us were built-in screens for watching movies.

There was also a very comfortable self-service snack bar. Inside the compartment were cans of peanuts, the typical airplane pretzels, a few energy bars, mini fruit bars, and some Cheez-It crackers. Bottled mineral water was also provided.

As we settled into our seats, I could tell Sariel was tempted to keep talking, maybe to continue the discussion about our relationship. But it seemed like he was making an effort to respect my request to maintain professionalism during this trip.

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