Page 6 of What We Don't Say: Part One

“I had emotional avoidance after class.”

“At least you’re self-aware.” Paper rustles on her end, and I can picture her at her desk, one heel tucked under her, glasses sliding down her nose while she pretends not to be invested in my life. “So why are you hesitating?”

Because my life is here,I tell myself.

Because Sloane is probably hunched over a server log right now, dark hair falling into his eyes while he forgets that his body needs more than caffeine and spite. Because Idris is at a table somewhere with his sleeves rolled up, perfectly controlled, perfectly beautiful, quietly turning neglecting himself into a work ethic. Because the house is complicated and warm and mine, even with the scent cards on the dining table and Garrett’s careful voice threading through every conversation about the Omega search.

“I have a pack,” I say instead. “You know, Idris and Sloane, remember?”

Mara hums. “I thought you had three Alphas. You have absolutely told me there are three men in that house with Alpha voices and Alpha shoulders.”

“Sloane and Idris are mine,” I say, stepping out of the elevator into the lobby. “Garrett is our pack Alpha.”

“That sounds like an Alpha.”

“He's an Alpha.”

“So three.”

“He’s not mine like that.” My cheeks heat even though I’m alone near the security gate, clutching dinner like roasted chicken can protect me from this conversation. “I don’t have sex with him.”

There’s a short, delighted silence before Mara bursts out laughing so loudly I have to pull the phone from my ear. “Oh my God, Calliope.”

“You’re the one counting Alphas.”

“I was asking about the pack structure. I wasn't asking for a seating chart of your sex life.”

“Well, now you know.”

“I do know, and I’m richer for it.” Her laughter softens into a teasing hum. “Respectfully, I’ve seen Garrett Crane at fundraisers, and I’d climb him like a tree.”

“Mara.”

“Respectfully. Professionally. With appropriate workplace boundaries.”

“You’re awful.”

“I’m honest. There’s a difference.” She pauses, and I can hear the smile in her voice when she adds, “So you don’t sleep with the climbable pack Alpha.”

“No.”

“But?”

I shift the bag again, feeling the warmth of dinner through my coat. “He’s great for cuddling.”

Mara makes a sound like she’s been handed gossip and dessert at the same time. “So you have two Alphas waiting for dinner,one climbable pack Alpha for cuddling, and somehow Halston is still the complicated part?”

“I didn’t say I can’t consider it.”

“You’re hesitating,” she says, softer now. “Why?”

The lobby opens in front of me, all polished concrete and quiet glass, the security desk glowing beneath recessed lights. Beyond the turnstiles, I can see the open office stretching back toward the break room, most of the day staff gone but enough monitors still awake to bathe the place in blue-white light.

“We’re going to trial an Omega,” I say.

Mara goes quiet in a way that’s careful without being cold. “Oh.”

“His name is Theo. We haven’t met him yet, but his profile is…” I stop near the security gate and look through the glass, searching for Sloane before he has a chance to find me first. “It’s sweet. He seems sweet. He likes low light and quiet spaces and plants, and I keep thinking about the sunroom because the afternoon light is soft there, but the reading nook might be better if he needs somewhere smaller.”