Page 17 of Follow Your Instincts

God, I hated when she was right. “I think it's just like a lifetime of having mysoultethered to theirs. So like, pretty casual.”

Kira laughed and pulled me up to sit on the bed next to her. “Don’t rush into something just to feel like you’re in control,” she said.

“When did you get so smart?” I asked her.

“Bitch, I have a masters degree and you know it.” Kira shoved me so hard I almost slipped off the bed.

“Fuck, I know you’re right,” I said. “But I’m still going to at least try it my way.”

“Good luck with that,” she replied.

Chapter 5

Maggie

Iwas avoiding my fellow Omegas.

After giving me a written questionnaire that took two full hours to complete (On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “don’t agree at all” and 5 being “agree completely”, how do you feel about the statement: “An Omega’s time is best spent taking care of her Alphas and children”?), Andreas said we’d get started with the pack matching process on Friday. I had too much time on my hands. I didn’t want to bug Steffi, who obviously had a ton of other work to do besides comforting me. I finished the murder mystery (I was right about the killer) and spent as much time as possible either running on the walking path or doing bodyweight workouts in the hallway of the nesting suite building. On Thursday, I cracked and went to bug Austin in the kitchen.

“I have no idea how to cook,” I told them. “But i’m going fucking crazy with nothing to do.”

Austin, let me help with making dough, chopping veggies, and deboning chicken all day.

“Well, you’re not completely hopeless,” they said, pulling the rolls I’d helped make out of the oven in time for dinner.

“Why, thank you,” I said and bowed.

“Smells good,” Jess said as she came into the dining roomwith the three other Omegas. “I’m so hungry I could probably eat everything myself.”

“Yeah, no way, you greedy little monster. Maggie and I have been slaving away all day,” they said.

I pulled off my apron and helped Austin carry the platters of roasted chicken and veggies to the table. They sat down with us to eat, as well.

Jess fake-pouted. “Fine, but I get to have the first bite.” She grabbed a roll off the top of the pile and crammed it whole into her mouth.

“If you choke and make me take you to the hospital instead of enjoying my dinner, I will never forgive you,” Austin said.

“This looks delicious, you guys,” the blonde Omega sitting on my right said. She looked delicate and fragile, like a fairy. Her scent was delicate too, like this floral liqueur Kira and I used to mix with Sprite back in college. She was very thin, and her wide blue eyes gave her an almost ethereal appearance. “It’s Maggie, right? I’m Bridget.”

“Yeah, thanks. I was going crazy with nothing to do, so I figured I’d learn some new skills,” I said.

“It can get a little boring around here,” Bridget said. “But I’m in online classes, which helps.”

“What are you studying?” I asked and passed her the plate of veggies.

“Dietetics,” she said, and smiled at me. “There’s not a lot of dieticians that specialize in care for Omegas, so I figured I’d be one.”

“That’s awesome,” I said. “Do Omegas need special diets?”

“Kind of,” Bridget said. “It’s really interesting, actually, the way that Omegas metabolize food differently depending on where we are in our heat cycles. There’s some great research out of Australia that shows we have differences in our organelles that could explain our unique biological characteristics.”

“That is all way above my head. I did some science in college, but it was never my strong suit,” I said.

“Sorry,” Bridget said, wilting a bit. “I tend to get a bit overexcited about my research.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said. “It is interesting even if I don’t get it.”

“Steffi told us a little bit about your background,” Bridget said. “You were a cop?”

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