Page 7 of Unable Omega (One Wild Alpha #3)
Rob
I can’t get the omega’s scent off of me.
I tried.
As it clung to me, woodsy and spicy at the same time, and my bear was totally there for it. I, however, was still unconvinced and even more worried about the omega’s lack of memories about his time in the lab.
The more I thought about that, the more it brought up my own nightmare time there.
I tried not to think about it most of the time, had given my life to helping others escape it.
Wasn’t that enough? This omega was either a spy who had somehow found his way here or truly had no memories to deal with.
Markus said that wasn’t necessarily a blessing, not knowing your past. Even if your mind had tucked it away deep down inside, at some point, it was going to come up again.
Heck, it did that even when I did know what happened.
But the healer said locking away memories was a less healthy response. In most cases.
Sure, if a person was in a position where outside circumstances meant they couldn’t deal with it—like while imprisoned in the lab—their mind might do that, hide something, just to keep going.
And it was okay, for that moment, but when they came out on the other side, they would have to face what happened.
Remember it…if they were going to be intact.
So, if Sage was not a spy, then everything that happened was locked behind a wall in his brain. And if he did not manage to remember, it would fester there, like an untreated splinter, until it either burst out or spread poison through his mind and body.
Even if he was not my fated mate, I didn’t want either of those things to happen to him.
After dinner was done and a couple of the others remained to put the food away and wash the dishes, I went out for an extra perimeter run.
Locke had doubled security, and I offered to take the first turn.
What I didn’t say was that I wanted to run off the scent of the omega.
It should have been gone when I shifted, but as my paws pounded the earth, the scent drove deeper into my snout.
And then when I shifted back, it was still there.
The night was beautiful, the berries everywhere, but I didn’t stop.
Wasn’t tempted. Even at dinner, I’d only managed to put away about half a taco.
The omega and his recovery, his memory occupied the small part of my brain that was not battling the thoughts of him being my mate.
Returning to my cabin, I climbed into the shower and turned the water on hot, scrubbing away at my skin in an effort to replace the scent with the sandalwood soap. And I thought I’d succeeded, until I was toweling off and there it was. The omega’s scent, if anything more vibrant than before.
I crawled into bed and closed my eyes. At some point, I finally fell asleep because when I opened my eyes again, it was early morning, the sun just tipping over the horizon and time to get up and prepare breakfast for the crew.
And this morning, I would also be cooking for Sage, and I wanted to make it specially good for him.
He needed calories and vitamins and all the things that make a person vibrant and alive.
If his memory had been suppressed, maybe all the fluids he’d been given, a good night’s rest, and breakfast would help.
Setting up the coffeepot, I kept thinking of the omega and wondering how he was doing.
Once I had everything cooking, I could maybe take a moment and bring him a piece of the berry coffee cake that someone had taken out of the oven when everything got crazy the night before.
It would have been a big waste if it had burned.
“Morning.”
I jerked around to find the omega in question standing in the doorway of the kitchen. “Good morning. Should you be up and about? I don’t want Markus barging in here and accusing me of helping you get away from your treatment.”
“He’s released me. My wounds are looking better, and he pumped enough fluids into me to make me qualify as a water balloon.”
“So, you don’t want any coffee, then?”
“Coffee?” His eyes lit up. “They never gave me any…I remembered that.”
I paused, reaching for a mug. “Anything else?”
He chewed on his lower lip. “No, that’s it. What an odd thing to remember, right?”
“It’s a good sign, I think.” I poured the coffee and set the mug on the counter. “Help yourself to cream and sugar. It’s out there. And let me get you a piece of berry coffee cake. I made it last night.”
“Wow. I actually came in here to see if I can help with anything. Marks says the alpha…I mean Locke…assigned me to work in the kitchen.”
“You can’t be ready for work so soon.”
“I am. I feel wonderful, and I want to be of help.”
“Well,” I said, “you can start by hopping up on that stool and having coffee and cake. Once you’re done, I have some chores you can help me with.”
My bear was so proud to have him eating our food. It was hard to concentrate on preparing eggs and bacon and toast when I just wanted to sit down next to him and feed him bites of cake. A crumb clung to his lips, but I refrained from brushing it away. It was too tempting.
“Okay, all done. What shall I do next?”