Page 4 of Examining the Bond

In here, I’m allowed to justbe.

A knock at the door startles me. I’m not in the mood for company, but I knew it was only a matter of time before someone realized I was back.

“Riann,” a familiar voice calls through the wood. “Are you in there?”

I groan. It isn’t that I don’t want to see my best friend, Ziel, but if he’s at my door, I know that means I’ve missed at least one call and five messages from him. My phone is still in my bag, and I’m sure it's on silent from the doctor’s office.

Shit.

He’ll want answers, but I haven’t even processed everything yet. How am I supposed to tell him about the inconclusive test results?

Ziel knows the basic details of what’s going on—something’s wrong with me, and I need to have it checked out—but how can I tell him that I potentially won’t be here much longer? That, despite walking around my everyday life like an omega, I may not even be one?

A weight settles in my stomach, emotion clogging my throat. If I say the words out loud, they become real, and I don’t know if I’m ready to accept them.

He knocks on the door again. “Open up, ma’am. I can smell your burnt sugar in there.”

My lips curve into a weak smile—I can also smell the sharp edge to my scent that my sour mood is causing—and I drag myself out of the nest again. When I snap the door open, Ziel is standing there, hand up mid-knock with his eyes wide. His brown spiral curls hang perfectly over his blue eyes, and my gaze immediately goes to the dimples in his cheeks. In the same instance, his sweet candied-almond scent blooms around him, blowing through the doorway, infiltrating my room.

“There you are.” He grins widely, tugging at the hem of his hoodie. “Were you ignoring me?”

“No, sorry.” I sigh, looking at where I tossed my bag. “Did you call?”

“Twice.” He saunters past me into the room, and I kick the door closed behind him. Normally, omegas don’t venture into one another’s territories, but I’ve never felt overly territorial when it comes to Ziel. We have vastly different tastes in alphas, and he’s my best friend. Not to mention, he’s the dean’s son, so everyone always wants to stay on his good side.

No one messes with me as long as he’s around.

“Is everything okay?” he asks, plopping down on the beanbag chair in the corner. It’s his favorite place to lounge when we hang out in my room, his nutty perfume soaked so deep into the material that I doubt scent neutralizer would ever work on it. I’d have to burn it to get rid of his scent forever, not that I want to. It’s familiar. Comforting.

I shrug, still grappling with my conflicting feelings. Things are very not okay, but they could be worse, right?

Doubtful…

He cocks a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow at me. “I figured you would have texted me as soon as you got the results, or at least came by when you got back. Obviously, neither of thosethings happened,” he says, his tone sassy. When I don’t respond immediately, his features scrunch with concern. “Riann, what’s wrong?”

I’m standing in the middle of the room, arms folded tightly over my chest as images from the doctor’s office come flooding back. The cold, sterile exam room, the multiple vials of blood they drew, the results… Discomfort knots my insides.

“I…”

I don’t even know what to say, but Ziel deserves some kind of answer. He may be blunt and snarky, but he also feels as deeply as any omega I’ve ever met. He cares, and the fact that he came to find out how the appointment went proves that.

Besides, right now, he’s all I’ve got. He’s the only one I can confide in, the only one I can trust. Even if his father is the dean, I know he won’t say anything. Not if it risks me getting kicked out.

Silence drags for a moment before I meet his gaze.

“They don’t know what’s wrong with me, so they referred me to another specialty center,” I’m finally able to say.

“Another one?” He gawks. “Did they say anything at all?”

For the first time since I got the test results, the corners of my eyes begin to sting. I was too shocked earlier to feel anything other than… well,shock. But now, in the comfort of my nest with my best friend begging for an explanation, my hardened exterior cracks. I'm left vulnerable to the feelings that have been brewing beneath the surface since the doctor's office.

“Riann?” Ziel says, rising from the beanbag. His voice is soft, comforting, and his syrupy omega scent spreads through the room with his sympathy. He’s every bit the omega I should be. What I wish Icouldbe. “What did they say?”

Time slows to a stop as the words form on my tongue. “I'm… not an omega.”

Hearing the truth leave my mouth is surreal, and I wait for Ziel to react. I expect words of comfort or maybe even a hug. What I don't expect is for him to burst into laughter.

“That’s a good one, Rie.” He fights to keep from doubling over. “You had me there for a second.”