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“Is there a third thing?”
“I’ve seen how you look at him,” Gray said, his voice low.
Wilder stiffened, his eyes widening. “I-I don’t know what you mean.”
“Abraham. I see it. I know he’ll be protected here. Between you and Rohan, he’ll be safe.”
That same sense of concern filled him. “What does he need protection from?”
“The world,” Gray replied. “The world is a dangerous place. The people we love leave us too soon. Keep your eye on him, will you? For me?”
Wilder searched Gray’s face, knowing there was more to it than that, yet he knew he likely wouldn’t get anything else out of the omega. “Okay… I’ll watch out for him. You’ve got my word.”
Gray leaned forward, squeezed his hand, and smiled. He rose from the chair and rubbed both hands over his stomach. “I’ve got to go find my mate. This baby is starving and so am I.”
“Enjoy your date,” Wilder called across his office.
“We will,” Gray said, pausing at the door.
And then he was gone.
Wilder felt suddenly alone.
His mind drifted to Abraham. Lifting the ticket, he read over the info and smiled.Better buy him a present.Wilder packed up his office, finding joy in the prospect of searching for something special.
* * *
A few days later—andpost heat, thankfully—Avery stood amidst the crowd of other graduates in their regalia. Voices echoed off the auditorium walls. Huge banners hung from the ceiling, all inWaltyn & Marris’colors of deep green and gold, with the year listed.The hall was immense and filling with pleased parents, friends, and faculty as the seconds passed.
He’d worked so very hard to reach that point… but there was also a sense of loss, as well. He’d lose the shelter of the Beta Quadrant and the collegiate community after the degree was finally in his hand. He searched the crowd, pissed that Brett wasn’t there at his side, graduating with their class. Familiar faces smiled in his direction, but in his unsettled state, he needed more.
The bodies clustered tighter and tighter as the program was slated to get underway. Avery struggled to breathe. He’d taken an extra pill, but anxiety had him worn thin.
He escaped the main hall and swept into a restroom, the relative quiet calmer against his harsh mood. Looking into the mirror, he noted his pale expression. The emptiness in his eyes. Four years he’d pushed to reach that moment… and once he’d made it there? He feared it. He washed his face with a handful of cold water and begged the jumble of nerves in his belly to loosen.
The door pushed open, and he observed Professor “Buckshot” Conover over one shoulder. The Buckshot nickname was for the multiple stuffed animal heads the man had in his office. Avery had once asked the man if he’d had an affinity for hunting.
“No. They were here when I arrived. I kept them because they seemed to cause my visitors to not overstay their welcome.”
Avery chuckled at the memory and met Conover’s stare in the mirror. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Professor Conover crossed his arms over his broad, alpha chest. “I saw you run in here after noting a look of terror on your face. You doing okay?”
“Yeah,” he lied.
“What was that? I don’t think I heard you.”
Avery spun to face the man. The same man who’d years ago told him aboutHeatexand aided in his quest for a degree. “I’m scared.”
“I imagine so. This was your goal for many years and now? You have to go out into that big world and make something of yourself. It’s a daunting task.”
“Yeah…”
Conover frowned, his worn-in face so comforting to Avery. “What else is it?”
“The…Heatex…” Even though the professor had suggested it to him years before, they never spoke of it again. They rarely discussed the intimate needs of the omega, as was proper between student and professor.
“What about it?”
