Page 17 of Evan and the Alpha

“You can’t be here,” Sobek informs me.

“Like hell,” I spit. Once I move my feet, they won’t stop. I march right up to him, every footstep reverberating up my legs. “Kiki and Wek just told me I’m changing. What the hell do they mean?”

Sobek blinks, very slowly. Then he lets his gaze drift down my form. When he lets his eyes meet mine again, he says, “You say you’re not an omega. That’s untrue—you’ve been an omega since the time I met you.”

I curl my hands into fists, let my nails bite into my palms. Words rise in my throat, half-formed, unrefined.

Sobek continues, calmly, “Perhaps you were not an omega. But you are in the process of becoming one.”

I shake my head. “No. I’m not.”

Sobek frowns. The little space between his eyes creases. “You are so. Every day, you smell more like one.”

“Humans can’t do that!”

There’s a beat. Sobek holds out a hand. “Maybe not humans. What about sun spirits?”

I want to scream. I can’t think of any words—real words to say to this. Sobek gestures, and Kiki and Wek step forward, grabbing at my arms. I shove them away again. Another step propels me closer to Sobek, so close I can feel the cold coming off that stone slab he’s draped over. For once, I’m taller than him; I peer down at him, reclining there, like some …

I don’t even know.

I let my hands go slack. I get on my knees, and I’ve reached for him before I even know what I’m doing. My fingertips ghost across those brilliant scales.

I’m surprised: Sobek’s skin is soft and warm. Almost velvety. Not at all what I thought it was going to feel like.

I look deep into his eyes. “I’m not an omega.” My voice pitches to a whisper. “But if I was, then I’d want to be your omega.”

Sobek’s eyes widen; I hear Kiki and Wek gasp. I’m shocked too, so shocked I can’t even find it in myself to be surprised about the words that just came out of my mouth.

But it’s the truth. I don’t want to go with Nojak. And there are a hundred reasons why—trafficking should be illegal, I’m not property to be sold—but the loudest thought in my head is that I want to stay with Sobek.

The alpha shakes his head. “No,” he says. “That is not possible. You belong to another now—”

I grab his hand when he lifts it, probably to remove my touch. I curl our hands together, twining fingers; his claws graze my skin. If there’s blood, I don’t care.

Sobek looks nervous now. He glances at our hands, then back to me. “Evan …”

“I want to stay with you,” I repeat. I mean for it to be loud, authoritative. Demanding. But my voice quails, falling almost to a hush. “I want to be Sobek’s mate.”

I almost panic at that confession—I don’t know what mating entails here. Is that what I really want?

Yesis the instant answer. I don’t know where it comes from, but it fills my head. It’s hard to get my breath suddenly, and I know it’s true. I want Sobek. I want to stay with him.

Sobek’s expression is completely unreadable. Something hardens in his eyes—resolve maybe. I’m expecting him to kick me out.

“Leave,” he thunders, then tightens his grip on me, holding me in place. That’s how I know he wants Kiki and Wek to leave.

I don’t think I could leave if I tried. I’m rooted to the spot.

“This is inappropriate,” Wek complains.

“He can’t stay,” Kiki adds. “He has to leave. We’ve already broken protocols.”

“Nojak will not be pleased,” Wek finishes, voice low and threatening like the rumble of thunder. I can imagine his face; I don’t dare twist around to see it. Instead, I nuzzle in against Sobek’s shoulder.

You wouldn’t expect a crocodile alien living in a desert to smell good, but he does. Intoxicatingly so—cloves and allspice, and something wilder under that.

“I understand,” Sobek announces above me, his voice like a purr. “I accept the consequences of this.”