Page 6 of Broken Heat
3
Elon –Meeting Mykel
Islept through the flight, surprised at how calm I was embarking on this new therapy. I was excited to try it, to heal and get back out in the world feeling more whole and healthier. If Omega Island could help me, I was all for it.
I didn’t feel like I was leaving Coah behind. He was in another place. I had to tell myself it was all right and this was fine. He would have hated this therapy, called it hogwash. But I also believed he would want me to feel like myself again. Happy.
I woke as we landed. It was a smooth ride the entire way, but the little bump of the wheels brought me—and the plane—back to Earth.
I blinked at the brightness outside my window, so much green surrounded by so much blue, all basking and glimmering in bright white sunlight.
Grabbing my pack, I followed the three other passengers to the exit.
The humid heat hit my face like an oven. I snapped my sunglasses onto my face and breathed in, trying to get used to the new sensation. I was a cold climate type of guy. Coah and I had lived in the north where it snowed from October to May.
A tall man in a black kimono who might have been an alpha or an omega—I couldn’t tell right away—greeted us.
“Welcome to Omega Island. My name is Senta. I am the director and owner of this beautiful resort.”
The four of us mumbled soft helloes.
“Follow me and we’ll get you all inside where it’s air conditioned and comfortable. Orientation is simple and quick, and we’ll get you all situated in no time.”
“Is this where we’ll meet our surrogates?” I asked, striding to the front of the group. I could now see that Senta was an omega, a tall one.
Senta turned, pushing his sunglasses down to get a better look at me. I halted, my cheeks flushing even in the stifling afternoon heat. For a moment, I thought he was going growl or something. Instead, his mouth turned up in a smile.
“For some of you. Yes. For you—”
I raised a slow hand to my chest. “Elon. My name is Elon.”
“Elon. Beautiful name. And yes. You’ll meet your surrogate right away as I believe you requested. He is to be your therapist and surrogate as you did not request a third party to mediate.”
The others around us stared as if we were revealing too much too fast. I realized maybe this question, and all the others I had, were meant to be dealt with in private.
I tended to be forward when I was nervous. But I didn’t feel nervous. I wanted this. I wanted to get well.
“Thank you.” I ducked my head, falling back behind two other omega patients.
We walked through a huge, ivy-covered trellis which framed a gate that opened automatically as we approached. Already, I heard the buzz of the jungle washing away the sounds of the sea. Birds and bugs. The hums and chirps of rich, abundant life. But it wasn’t a jungle we walked into.
I lowered my sunglasses to get a clearer view.
The gate led us into a massive parkland of bright green grassy knolls and leafy, bending trees. A blue brick pathway wended through the park in all directions. I saw lovely little purple and blue cabins under shade trees, thatched umbrellas everywhere, gazebos, pools, even a lagoon beyond a large building to the left that led out to sea. That was the only view of the ocean I saw at the moment, since the park was walled in by thick tropical flora all around.
Flowers bloomed everywhere, some wild in the thickness of the green at the park edge, and some in maintained beds along the pathway. Gold and brilliant scarlet. Purples and magentas so bright they hurt my eyes.
Some people milled about wearing sleeveless short kimonos or sarongs wrapped around their waists and nothing else.
Senta led us toward the large building. Soon we were indoors in cooler air.
A lovely omega wearing a thin, short kimono offered us all cool drinks. Fruit punch. Lemonade in ten different flavors. Iced coffee in five different flavors. Iced tea.
I took my tall, iced mocha into a large boardroom where the walls were decorated with abstract, shiny wood carvings on white walls. Fresh flowers in vases and pots along the floorboards pushed their sticky sweet scents into the air.
A long table sat in the center of the room. Behind it stood a group of men who all turned to face us as we entered.
I noticed the one with the long blond hair immediately. Golden and shining. A beauty of an alpha. Shallowly, I hoped he was mine.
