Page 55 of Alpha's Embrace
“If you act on your feelings, he will come to harm. Do you want that?”
I paced faster. The room blurred. “I didn’t. I haven’t. I would never hurt him!”
“I know that, Misha.”
It was the first time I heard him use my given name.
“You’re not like the others. You can control yourself in the Burn. You can control your desires. You can control how you express your love.”
I loved everyone I met, I told myself. I loved Geo, too. But it was more than that. If my body burned, it burned for him. All the time. It was about him and no one else, not even about myself and my own Sylph needs. My inner being glowed for Geo.
It was the connection between us. It was like a real Alpha/Omega bond, except I wasn’t an Omega or an Alpha. Did Doctor Prim suspect this connection? Did he know more than he was saying?
“If you care about him—and I know you do; you’re a compassionate soul—you will never act on your feelings for him. You will send him away if he comes to you. Always. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I nodded. “But he hasn’t come to me since the hospital. I swear it.” A tear like a singe of ash hit my cheek. “He won’t come. I can feel it in my heart.”
“Understand this, if he does. If he tries to see you, or get you to do anything outside of your routine, you must resist him.”
“Why would he—?” I stopped. I didn’t want to finish that question because I didn’t want to know the answer.
“For his own safety, for his own good, you must not see him. You must not allow his touch ever again.”
“Why are you saying all this?” Now more tears blinded me.
“Because from what I have seen of Geo, and what I know of him, he might try to see you. He’s compassionate and caring. But he does not deserve any harm. He has not done wrong. But our world won’t see it that way if you, either of you, see each other ever again. Our world will punish him.”
“The world doesn’t know anything.” My breath hitched. “Does it?”
“I have reports to file. Things may come to light. Geo will be all right, but if he tries to see you, resist him. I cannot emphasize this enough. Do not allow it. It is for his own safety and his own good.”
I blinked hard and Doctor Prim came back into focus. He was standing now, facing me, reaching out. He put his gloved hand on the side of my face.
“Press all those feelings back inside you. I see them. You can’t hide them from me. Hold them down. Tight. Don’t let go of them. Lock them away. You’re a good person in an unfortunate circumstance. But you can still do more good. Cut him off in your mind.”
How could he know what I was feeling and for whom? But he spoke as if he could read my mind, as if he’d been confessed to and was an advocate for Geo. Had Geo sent him?
“Promise me,” he said.
I couldn’t speak. It was too painful. I closed my eyes and pretended for a moment I was a prince again, and the realm depended on me, as well as the stranger king who needed my help.
I imagined myself standing outside the wire fence an hour after a storm and the grass was so green and sparkling it hurt the eyes. The clouds were like lacy scarves, fading. Roses bloomed at the edge of a small road. Vines covered the trunks of trees overflowing with supple, new leaves.
My kingdom was beautiful and I needed to preserve that. Its purity, its rich textures and scents, its soul. My kingdom came from deep within me and contained all my love and hope. All my devotion.
Geo was part of that and I could never allow him to come to harm.
I opened my eyes, now sticky with tears. Doctor Prim stood before me, his eyes serene but dark, firm in his convictions. He waited for my answer. It had to be the right one.
“I promise,” I said.
“Good.”
When he left and the door to my room closed and I heard the lock set, I crumpled to my knees.
I heard Tracy thumping harder than ever against one wall. I heard Cedric’s howling and through the other. Their songs soared through me. I joined them.
My fists pounded against my pretty brown floor. My voice rose, part shriek, part sob, part howl.
