My chest burned at the implied slight, but I didn’t say anything.
“For now, please put the dry ice under the fume hood,” Nathan continued. Anvi gratefully stripped out of her PPE, leaving us alone. I started cleaning up the sterile equipment, and to my surprise, Nathan joined me.
I should have left it alone, but I couldn’t. “I’m perfectly capable of doing morphology checks,” I said with my hands full of vials. I sounded petulant and regretted it immediately.
Nathan looked at me sharply. “Of course. I thought you’d like a break from the cleanroom. You’ve been in here for a few hours.”
Had it been that long? Time always passed quickly in the lab. “Oh. That’s… considerate.”
Nathan held out the autoclave bag for me, and I gingerly deposited the glassware inside. “You sound surprised. I told you I’d try to be nicer.”
I had no idea how to respond, so I just sealed the bag. His eyes behind the safety glasses looked almost… playful? That couldn’t be right.
“Well. Thanks,” I said, my hands still on top of the autoclave bag as he held it.
Nathan cleared his throat. “I’ll take care of this. Good work today.” He stepped around me. I escaped to the anteroom and away from his baffling behavior.
The cells survived their trip from Canada and were proliferating well.
“I’ll take the first weekend shift,” Nathan said on Friday afternoon as we finished work for the day. The three of us had developed a good routine, and Anvi was becoming more and more confident working with the cells under Nathan’s or my supervision.
“Ooh, thanks. See ya Monday,” Anvi said brightly before scampering out down the hallway.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll take next weekend.”
Nathan slid his coat on. It was a navy blue peacoat that suited his broad shoulders. I’d embraced the casual dress code after one more day of polyester discomfort. My ancient black puffer coat covered my oversized Fairview University sweatshirt.
“I don’t mind covering weekends,” he said, watching me gather my stuff. Was he waiting for me to leave?
We walked down the corridor together and out into the hallway. “Me neither. It’s not like I have a ton going on,” I saiddryly. The clinic was quiet; the last patient was long gone. It was almost 6 p.m.
As we stepped into the elevator, I took a deep breath, my stomach twisting with dread. The ride would be over before I knew it.
“That’s surprising,” Nathan said, distracting me.
I looked up at him, my brow furrowed. “What? Why?”
Nathan looked flustered. “Oh, I don’t know. I just thought… I thought your pack would want to spend time with you.”
I burst out laughing. “Mypack? You think I have a pack?”
Nathan’s face was so red I worried he was having some kind of aneurysm. “Well, yes, obviously.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh.” I schooled my features into a professional expression. “Can I ask why?”
Nathan had his lips clamped shut, like he was afraid of what might come out if he let them open. I thought I detected that hint of his scent I’d caught before: earthy and smoky, but tempered by something sharper. “I assumed that you wouldn’t be working in a lab if you were unbonded.”
Ah, that actually made sense. And my lack of a normal Omega-grade scent would only have strengthened that hypothesis. Briefly, I wondered where he thought my bond marks would have been if not on my neck, before I dragged my mind away from that terrifying precipice.
“Do you have a problem with that?” I asked, trying not to sound too defensive. Some Alphas did, the kind that thought Omegas were better suited for housework and raising children. If Nathan was one of those Alphas, I needed to know.
“Of course not,” he said, sounding offended. He sighed. “This conversation has not gone the way I intended.”
“I’m guessing your pack is fine with you working on the weekends since you’re anAlpha,” I said with a hint of annoyance. The elevator doors opened, and I sighed in relief.
Nathan shook his head. “I don’t have a pack either. I live with a roommate whom I’m always eager to escape.”
Interesting. Dr. Manalo seemed like he’d be the leader of a pack of fellow scientists with a sweet, homebody Omega who made sure all the geniuses remembered to eat. I couldn’t imagine Nathan living with aroommate. That was so pedestrian.
