His expression falls, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine before he seems to collect himself. “You don’t remember me?”
Shit, what did I do last night?
My hand comes up, feeling around my neck for a bond mark I don’t remember getting. No, that’s not it. Alright, worst-case scenario averted at least. His eyes follow the movement and he looks upset. “Ok, for one, I can’t bond you unless you initiate it. Fuck, I wouldn’t even if I could. Seriously? No, we met a few hours ago…but I wouldn’t do that kinda shit, it’s fucked up.”
Before I can mumble any sort of apology, he goes on. “My name’s Greg…well, Gregory, but most people call me Greg. I work as a guard normally in dorms A through C. Kimberly, your dorm supervisor, sent me to your room when you called for help this morning. You didn’t answer the door, so I wrapped you upas best as I could and took you to the clinic…Any of this ringing a bell, Sweetheart?”
Sweetheart?
Really?
Not a damned thing about me is sweet, so I don’t know where he’s getting his intel.
Still, I did just inadvertently accuse him of bonding me, so I’ll let it go.
This time.
“Sorry…um…Greg?” His lips twitch up slightly. “I really don’t remember much after I got to the mixer last night and met some alphas. I feel hungover as fuck. Please tell me I didn’t do something stupid or embarrassing…or both.”
His smile is back to its full brilliance now, blue eyes sparkling in the dim light as I try to focus more on our surroundings. It looks like we’re in my living room. Shaggbutt’s pen is clearly visible and the calico monster has his black nose stuck through the bars, snuffling in our general direction.I amso fucking fucked. We’re not supposed to have pets. Kimberly knows. But she also told me that as far as anyone else is concerned, shedoesn’tknow. I can’t throw her under the bus like that.
Greg follows my gaze to my fuzzy friend and his smile grows. I feel movement behind me and suddenly he’s setting an acoustic guitar down…I guess that’s what the vibration was from. Keeping his arms around me, he stands and steps over to Shaggy’s home. He squats down and settles me across the top of his thighs. “He’s a cutie…wait, is it a he or a she? I don’t want to offend your bun.”
A startled laugh breaks free at the thought of offending the fluffy potato that lives with me. “He, Mr. Shaggbutt, is a guy. But thank you for asking. He’s a tri-color mini lop. Adorably soft but withallthe attitude and a bit prissy at times. He’s kind of a little shit, but I love him.”
Greg’s hand stops inching closer to the pen at my statement, and I realize he’s waiting for me to give him permission. “Oh, no, you can totally pet him; he’s an attention whore. He’s also a spoiled brat though, and hewilldemand all the pets once you start, I just wanted to warn you.”
His chuckle is low as he wedges a big finger through the rails and gently rubs up and down the top of Shaggy’s nose, ruffling his fur and causing him to hop away and kick his back legs up. “Shit, sorry if I upset him, he just looks so soft.”
I smile up at Greg. The more I look at him, the cuter he is…shit, and I want to bite my own tongue as I hear myself giggle. I don’t fucking giggle. “Oh, no, he’s totally soft. But he’s also a bit of a diva, and heaven help you if you muss up his fur; he holds a grudge. But rabbits don’t usually like to have the top of their noses rubbed—they can’t see you coming, and they don’t like surprises. Most often, he nips in response, or at least thumps. You got off lucky. Maybe he likes how you smell.”
Greg beams brightly at me as Shaggy burrows into the corner, tossing his bedding around and acting out. I look from my fluffy roommate to the smiling beta. “Please don’t tell. I know you don’t have a reason not to. But I need Shaggy, ok? He keeps me sane. He’s the only one I can really talk to around here anymore. Yes, I know I’m breaking the rules by having him here, but…please.”
He looks somber. “Nah, he’s your family. Besides, I’d have had to see you breaking some rules, and I guess I forgot my glasses this morning or something. Maybe. Everything’s just blurry as hell. I’ll have to take care of that when I get back to my place.” His smile is back as he looks back at Shaggy.
“Wait, you normally wear glasses. That sounds cute.”
Kill me now. Why did I say that?
His eyes flick to mine, his open smile turning into more of a smirk. “Nah, contacts…but I’m sure I have an old pair if youwant to give your opinion.” He waggles his brows at me. Part of me wants to roll my eyes at his overt flirting, but I can’t seem to. My snark has left the building at some point.
Pulling back to give myself some space, I realize I feel better. More of this morning is filtering in since I started panicking about Shaggy. Nothing like a hit of fear to shock your system completely awake.
My cheeks heat as I remember that I’m still just wearing a sheet and what can only be Greg’s jacket. I spring up, nearly losing my protective outer layer in my attempt to get to my nest and get some actual clothes on.
By the time I get back, Shaggy is loose in the room, head-butting Greg and, predictably, demanding more attention. The big beta seems a bit confused about how to approach the situation, so I sit down and lift Shaggy into my lap, running my open palm from the top of his head down to his fluffy little ass a few times, giving him the attention he pretends he never gets.
He’s a spoiled little liar, because I know for a fact he gets enough cuddles that he’s often annoyed with me. There’s just something soothing about stroking his soft fur. When I can’t bludgeon myself unconscious with exercise, he’s my go-to stress relief. Greg watches my hands as Shaggy closes his eyes and settles against me. “Sorry, he came over and started to scratch at the gate. I unlatched it and he just hopped over and started running into me.”
“Yeah, he’ll do that. I did warn you he’s an attention whore.” My hands slowly stroke down the bunny’s back, my mind settling into the rhythm, as my eyes start to droop again. “And thank you…for your help and singing for me…and for not turning his fuzzy little ass over to housing. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
Chapter 7
Watching the omega and her tiny rabbit, I’m struck again with that odd feeling in my chest that there’s more to this situation than what I’m getting. Something about her just feels right, and I want to pull her back into my lap and petherthe way she’s stroking the little fluffball. Not that I’ll tell her that, we’re not supposed to get romantically involved with the omegas. We’re sure as hell not supposed to instigate anything, and if they try to, we’re supposed to gently dissuade the issue.
Not an outright rejection, because the rules say omegas don’t handle rejection well. The powers that be seem to think that an omega will break if you don’t handle them with kid gloves. Honestly, I’m kinda curious what they’d think of the little firebrand sitting in front of me. She strikes me as pretty indestructible. Though with how I found her this morning, I know that’s not really true.
She seems like a tough little thing, and I wonder again about these new alphas she was in contact with last night, if they have anything to do with the disturbance in her dorm. Now that she’s awake and relatively settled, I should probably try to find out more about what happened. Logically, it’s so I can report it back to Doctor Terra after I leave. Illogically, I wonder about what sort of alphas she’s interested in, not that I can really compare. I can’t purr and my idiotic attempt with the guitar earlier didn’t seem to do much to help either. But I don’t know what else to try.
