Page 63 of The Alpha's Fake Mate
“All right.”
This time Orion led the way.
I hadn’t had any lunch. My nerves had strung me up inside and out and I hadn’t been hungry. But now that I knew about my blood test, even though the news was bad, I realized I was hungry now, and tired and aching, and I just wanted to sit, eat and get warm.
Orion was texting as he entered the dining room. Immediately, Alston showed up and started a fire.
In a sort of alcove where the dining area curved away, there was a couch near the hearth, with a low table.
Orion brought square, shallow glasses and a clear decanter of brown liquid. He poured a small amount in each glass, handed one to me, and sat on the couch beside me.
I sniffed the concoction within the strange glass. It was sharp and my eyes watered for a second until I blinked them clear.
Orion swirled his drink in his glass once before upending it and gulping it all down. He poured himself another inch or so of the liquid and stared at it.
I swirled my glass. It splashed a bit. Then I put the rim of the glass to my lips and took a sip.
All the way down it warmed me. The aftertaste was hot, almost like a burn, almost like the way tree sap smelled on a hot day. I could not describe it any other way.
Orion looked at me. “Well?”
“Interesting,” I replied, before taking another sip.
We sat and drank, silent and watching the flames. I heard footfalls and plates and cutlery jingling behind me as the Alpha servants brought in dishes to the buffet for us to help ourselves.
The couch was soft and cushioned my weight perfectly. The day had been hard.
I didn’t want to move. But I didn’t want to avoid what must be talked about.
“Bosk could go into the Burn at any time,” I blurted out. “Your fake bond-mate claim won’t work, though I appreciate you trying. But I do not intend to go to him. Ever.”
Orion nodded, staring into his drink.
“I don’t know what that might feel like if he does go into the Burn, and I don’t ever want to know,” I added. “But what if the urge is too strong?”
“You’ve never talked about this feeling with other bonded Omegas?”
“I’ve never known any bonded Omegas. The mated ones always leave. I have read about it, though. The pull to your mate is magnetic. You want to be with him during his Burn to the exclusion of all else. But how could that be? My hatred for Bosk is not going to simply vanish.”
I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with another Alpha. But I trusted Orion. I felt like a fool, but I knew I was also lucky. If I’d never met Orion, I’d be facing all this alone at the farm, or in an institution, with no recourse.
I felt sick.
I told myself there was no way I would allow Bosk to intrude on my thoughts that way, to invade me with his Burn and the disgusting urge to go to him against my will. But would I ever have that sort of control?
“You have to do it tonight.”
Orion turned and stared at me. “What?”
My cheeks flamed. The idea of Orion having me was far from disgusting, and if I weren’t so broken I might have actively wanted it. “We’re friends, you said. All right, then. You have to do whatever you can to break this bond inside me.”
“You mean kill him?”
Stunned, I met his eyes. Only Orion would not jump to conclusions. I started to laugh, though nothing was funny. None of it. My chest ached.
“I have no doubt if we were three hundred years in the past you would Challenge for me. But no, that isn’t what I meant.”
I could barely get the words out. My laughter took over again, bending me over, cramping my stomach.
