Page 8 of The Alpha's Fake Mate
Sometimes I questioned his degree that hung in a gold frame on the wall behind where he sat at his desk. Sometimes I wondered if an Alpha therapist might be a better fit. I wouldn’t feel guilty when I yelled and lashed out. He would be a good target for me to rage against.
I might hate all Omegas now, but I still felt guilty if I blamed them for my hate. It was as if I were betraying my own kind.
But not so with Alphas.
I glanced again at the big analog clock on the wall. Its second hand slowly swept the face past the four and the five. Two and half more minutes.
“Holland.”
I glanced up. “What?”
“Did you hear me?”
“Hear what?”
Sen sighed. “It can wait until your next session in two days. I know you’re tired.”
“I’m not tired.” My contrariness came from deep within. A place I’d kept secret and buried, going along with the flow and the crowd, not making waves as I’d been taught. Then that Alpha monster breached through all my barriers using fear, pain and cruel ridicule to break me. Maybe I wasn’t changed so much as stripped of all ideals and rules I’d once held close, false or not. They had comforted me.
No comfort remained for me now.
I glanced up at the clock. Thirty more seconds.
Sen said, “All right then. Our time is up for the day.”
I got to my feet slowly. My body had healed but residual aches remained. I was allowed one ibuprofen every eight hours, doled out by Chirl. It wasn’t quite enough but took the edge off.
The hallway smelled of pine. Someone had just mopped but the floor was mostly dry, and sparkled.
I heard a bunch of voices in the front room, out of sight. It sounded almost like a party. A party I wasn’t invited to.
I’d stayed to myself all day. I had grabbed a breakfast sandwich early in the morning and eaten it in my room, then skipped lunch. So if anything was going on today with those who weren’t serving in the mating hall, I wouldn’t have known it.
I wasn’t in the mood for company, let alone a party, but curiosity got the better of me. Instead of turning back to my room and my videos and books, I headed toward the dozens of hushed voices all talking at once.
Footsteps clattered down the hall behind me. I turned to see who it was. Harly glided by me, slowing only to grab my hand. “Come on!” he said.
I pulled my hand back with a hard tug. “What?”
He shrugged and moved on, shaking his head. We hadn’t been on good terms lately and it was my fault. I hadn’t talked to him in days, as well as preferring to eat alone.
I followed him at a slow walk and when I saw the big front room filled with Omegas, some from my class and some older, I couldn’t figure it out. They lined up in rows against the walls, looking neat and tidy in their white shirts and black trousers. The Omega staff stood by the entrance in their white robes. Warden Chirl, in his distinguished black, headed the group.
Frowning, I strained around the corner to see what they were all looking at.
The double doors to the front of the building opened and in walked a group of suited men, all tall, all broad-shouldered.
Alphas!
My body stiffened in immediate shock. A fear response I couldn’t control sent cold needle-like threads into my veins.
Alphas never came into our living spaces. Never. In my lifetime, I’d never heard of it. They were allowed only in the mating hall, and in special meeting rooms if they wanted to court a claim on a specific Omega. Where we lived and were raised was supposed to be an Alpha-free safe zone.
“What?”
Harly, standing about three feet in front of me, turned to look at me. “I count six. I didn’t think it would be that many.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
