Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
“But you think the forced element of what happened on Belith did play a part,” Anthony stated.
“It seems likely,” Hugh admitted before looking at Michael, whose face was still frozen, expression blank. “It doesn’t mean this isn’t reversible, Michael. If you stay away from Anthony and start seeing an omega, it should still be possible for your body to relearn how it’s supposed to function.”
Michael nodded and got to his feet. “Thank you,” he said, sounding a little dazed and distracted.
Hugh felt a pang of painful sympathy for him. He cleared his throat a little. “I know what it’s like to have been forced into something you didn’t want thanks to your biology making the decision for you.” He might be happily married to the love of his life now, but his first marriage was still a dark spot in his life, and it always would be. “You can call me anytime if you need to talk to someone.”
Michael gave him a small but genuine smile. “Thanks, Hugh. I will.”
“You can talk to me,” Anthony said, laying a hand on his shoulder.
Hugh narrowed his eyes, studying his brother-in-law. Anthony wasn’t an easy man to read, his years as a government spy having made him good at hiding his emotions, but Hugh didn’t think he was imagining that Anthony wasn’t pleased by the idea of Michael talking to Hugh and not him.
“Hands off him, Ant,” Hugh said. “You’re only making it worse.”
Anthony’s shoulders stiffened. He was slow to withdraw his hand, but he did eventually, his fingers flexing.
“Thanks,” he said, without looking at Hugh. “Tell Eric I said hi.”
Hugh watched them go, his stomach churning with unease when he saw Anthony open the door for Michael, his hand twitching to touch Michael’s lower back before he thought better of it.
This was alarming.
It seemed Michael wasn’t the only one who needed them to stay very far from each other.
Chapter 19
Michael entered his office as though in a daze. He dropped himself on the couch, burying his face in his hands.
Fuck.
He’d known there was something off with his body, but he hadn’t known it was that bad. He could become a beta if they carried on like that. Or... or an omega. It seemed unthinkable. It was so absurd it felt like a joke. A bad joke at his expense.
He felt more than heard Anthony sit down next to him. Anthony didn’t speak, but there was something agitated about his scent. It put Michael on edge too. More on edge than he already was.
“Don’t be upset,” Anthony said at last, his voice rough. He put an arm around Michael’s shoulders, his rich scent filling the air between them. “Hugh said it can still be fixed.”
Michael didn’t lift his head, his stomach twisted into knots. Every cell in his body ached to lean into the touch, but… “We’ll need to stay away from each other. For a long time.”
“Yes,” Anthony said, his hand flexing on Michael’s shoulder. Something in his voice sounded strange, but Michael wasn’t in the right headspace to unravel it.
Silence fell.
Michael should probably have pushed Anthony away. They were practically snuggling. They needed distance between them, not this. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it, inhaling the other alpha’s scent with a desperation that bordered on need. When had Anthony’s scent become so familiar, so comforting? Michael hated the thought of not seeing him for months, possibly years. Every part of him rebelled against it. He’d rarely gone without seeing Anthony for a week in the past five years. He couldn’t imagine not having him in his life. The mere thought made his throat close up.
“Would it be that bad?” Anthony said suddenly, his voice clipped.
Removing his hands from his face, Michael turned to him with a confused look. “What?”
Anthony’s face was very close to him. His blue eyes peered into his intently, burning with a strange fire. “Would it be that bad? If you stopped being an alpha?”
Michael’s insides seemed to freeze.
He stared at Anthony blankly, his heart starting to pound.
“Are you serious?” he said with a laugh. “Would you be okay with being turned into a beta or—”
“I probably wouldn’t mind being a beta if that meant we could keep—being friends,” Anthony said, his voice strained. “I know plenty of assertive betas. Not having to deal with ruts sounds like a good thing to me.”
“Well, yeah...” Michael had to agree: becoming a beta wouldn’t be that bad. “But Hugh said there was a possibility that I could...”
“You could become an omega,” Anthony finished for him, his voice betraying nothing.
Michael’s stomach clenched. “Yeah. That. That’s—obviously that’s not acceptable.”
Anthony remained silent for a long moment.
“Right,” he finally said, removing his arm from Michael’s shoulders. Another pause. “So I guess we’ll be staying away from each other from now on.” He got to his feet, his movements stiff. “I’d better go, then.”