Page 58 of Dream Mates (Into The Parallel Omegaverse #2)
“Pip? I am so glad you’re down here. I was just coming to find you.” Nate threw himself in his mate’s arms without a glance at anyone.
“I’m right here, Love.” She pressed her lips to his blond head which showed the slightest bit of grey. “Rough day for you to come all the way here. Don’t you have a lecture?”
What did I do? I sat there, frozen.
“I had my TA take over. There was an… incident. There’s this woman who was on campus for some tour.
I… I think it’s her. I mean Adriana says she’s not, the woman says she’s not, but at the very least she’s another one of Barrett’s?
I know the other times it wasn’t her, and I shouldn’t get my hopes up, especially after all these years.
But maybe…” His body shook as his fruity scent grew salty with sadness.
“She looks just like Creed. It’s eerie.”
That it was.
I’ll go, I mouthed to Creed, trying to quietly slip away before he noticed me.
Nate turned around, and his blue eyes widened at the sight of me. “Dr. Ellington? Please, just a word.”
Shit. Now everyone was going to be angrier than they already were. Other times? I didn’t want to cause more emotional damage to the professor.
“I wasn’t trying to upset you, Professor. I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.” My voice shook and my knees trembled.
The professor did look an awful lot like me–not quite like Creed, but close enough that I understood why people asked if he was my father.
“You did nothing wrong. I just want to talk–and I apologize for my alpha,” he told me.
The elevator doors opened, and Spencer came out. I waved to him, relief washing over me.
“Grace.” Spencer closed the space between us in a few short strides, and I launched myself into his arms.
“Fuck,” Pippa said softly.
“Mom shouldn’t start anything with her pack, seriously,” Creed said.
“Your name is Grace?” Nate’s voice broke. “How old are you? What’s your mother’s name?”
“Oh my,” Spencer said softly as I buried my face in his shoulder, his arms tight around me.
I looked up at Spencer, the tears starting to flow. “Let’s go. I can’t do this.”
No, I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. All I had wanted was some coffee.
“Professor, please excuse us. We have someplace to be, apologies,” Spencer said. “It’s nice to see you again, Creed.”
The professor sucked in a breath. “Wait, you’re…”
“Another reason why I’m not yours. I also work for Compass BioTek,” I said, back still to them. “Apparently they don’t like you or your company much, Spence.”
Spencer shrugged. “It happens.” He kissed me gently. “Shall we go have our picnic?”
“Please.” I let go of him but tried to keep my back to the professor and Pippa. “I’m so sorry, Professor.”
Creed gave me a hug. “I’ll text you later. Have fun at the farm.”
I let Spencer lead me out of the front of the building.
“Wait, Grace, please,” the professor pleaded.
Spencer helped me into a waiting car, and I pressed my face into him, so I didn’t have to look.
For a long while, he rubbed my back and purred for me.
“Will you tell me what happened?” he finally asked, putting the privacy screen between us and the driver up in the big, comfortable car.
I told him about my day; the tour of the CeCe, the potential of the visualizer, then meeting Creed, Verity, and Hale, why they thought I was their sister, and how Nate and Adriana Thorne had shown up–and Adriana’s harsh reaction.
“She what? An alpha laid hands on you and you didn’t immediately call me?” There was no anger on his face or in his voice, just concern, but I flinched, nevertheless.
“At the time I was just trying to get out of there and I didn’t want to bother you.” My voice shook.
He bundled me to him. “Darling, you are never, ever, a bother. Never hesitate to call me or come to me or interrupt me. I don’t care who I’m meeting with.”
I nodded, though the idea of interrupting him in a meeting made me squirm.
“Did you tell Wes at least?” he asked
“No. Though I told Evan, and promised him that I’d tell you as soon as I saw you. The story of how Nate met his mates sounds like a cautionary tale in a Center ad,” I said.
“Indeed. How awful for that young woman and her child,” Spencer said. “Imagine if Luc and the integration team were there to mediate it all for them?”
I nodded. “That immediately makes me not like any of them–even the professor. He and his girlfriend were serious enough to have chosen baby names–and then to just ghost her? At least they acknowledged their mistakes, but still, that’s a lot.”
And I was so glad Evan and I clicked.
Spencer kept rubbing my back. “It is. But I’m worried about the fact that some alpha felt she could put her hands on you. Are you injured, should we go to the hospital?”
“I think I’m fine. But there might be some bruises.” I rolled up the sleeve of my pink blouse to reveal the bruises.
Spencer sucked in a breath.
I handed him my phone. “Take a photo? Riley hacked the cafe cameras and got footage.”
He took the photo. “You wish to press charges? No one will blame you if you do. At the very least we need to file a report.”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just feel like proof is good? Also, I didn’t like her threatening my career.” Finishing my tale, I added about her chasing me across campus and how I told her to fuck off.
Spencer wrapped me in his arms. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”
“Stop that.” I poked him in the chest. “I’m an adult and capable of doing things on my own.”
“Yes, I know, my good doctor. You are beyond capable.” He touched his forehead to mine. “Still, I’ll stay with you for the duration of our trip.”
I snuggled back into him. “I like the sound of that. I don’t know why this is affecting me so badly.
I’m not from this world. He’s not my dad.
And oh my god, Spencer, while my father most likely abandoned my mom and I, because I feel like she would have told me if he died, I’m not sure I could handle that level of assholery.
Also, the likelihood that one of the alphas knew the girlfriend was pregnant is high if she continued trying to get to him after the first few months–or that his family knew.
It would make sense that if she couldn’t get ahold of Nate she might go to his family.
Considering how Adriana was so adamant that I wasn’t Nate’s Grace, I wonder what she knows about the fate of the baby.
Not to mention the idea that he has a Grace, that there’s a me in this world someplace… ”
“If the other alphas saw her in person, they’d know she was pregnant by scent, even if she wasn’t showing.
It really is quite the puzzle.” He started kneading my shoulders with his strong hands.
“His record isn’t fake, not to mention he has a family identity that would be hard to create.
Several brothers, parents, grandparents, all with social media and history.
I think Evan was looking him up in the Center computer, too. ”
I sighed. “I feel bad for that girl with her mother dead and her dad and his family being what they are. At least he never stopped looking for her and acknowledged that they fucked up. But still…”
Closing my eyes, I sank into Spencer’s touch. How much time did we have before we got there?
“Is the pull really that much? To abandon your whole life for someone you just met who could very well be an ax murderer? There’s so much I still don’t understand.” I had been willing to try to travel to another world, but that was different.
“I know.” His arms wrapped around me. “Today has been so much for you emotionally, and I can see how you’d resonate with and be affected by all this. But we’ll leave soon, and you won’t have to see them again. We can even leave tonight if you wish.”
“I’m looking forward to the beach. Maybe I want to stay in touch with Creed. Is that weird?” I asked.
“He seems like a good man. But I can also make sure he isn’t hired if you want me to.”
I shook my head. “Just leave it. If he gets hired, great, and if he doesn’t, oh well. But please don’t mess with his career.”
“As you wish.” Spencer checked his phone. “We still have a few moments before we get there. What do you need?”
What did I need? “Hold me?”
Spencer gave me a kiss and snuggled me into him as I laid my head on his chest. “It would be my pleasure.”