The Light in Us

11. Teddy

11

Teddy

I breeze past Emily, whistling.

“Teddy.”

Pausing in the doorway that leads out to the rest of the meeting rooms on this floor, I swivel and bat my eyelashes. “Emily.”

She folds her arms, unimpressed. “Where are you off to?”

I wince. She catches it and raises one gray eyebrow. “I’m just heading out to grab a coffee. Stretch my legs a bit.”

She regards me silently, and I try not to squirm. “Didn’t Fox tell you to stay here?”

I bite down on my lip. “Maybe.”

“ Teddy .”

Throwing up my hands, I give her a pleading look. “Just ten minutes, Em. He won’t even know. I need some air. My head is pounding.”

I’m not lying. After a delicious morning spent with Fox and Rowan, I buried myself in paperwork and phone calls, contacting every omega under our imprint to check in on them.

All of them have been contacted by Wordsmith. Every single one.

“Fox and Rowan rearranged all of the security for the building, as of thirty minutes ago.” Emily gives me a dry look. “He’s worried about you. Have pity on him.”

I nod, but my feet are already turning. “You know I think better when I’m walking, Em. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, call the cavalry. I’m only going to that place down the road and back.”

Which takes me directly past the Wordsmith building, but I’m not going to mention that. My fabulous secretary sighs. “If Fox asks, I didn’t see you leave.”

I blow her a kiss, bouncing on my feet before I dart out of the door, calling over my shoulder. “I adore you, Emily McMahon. Even if you are abandoning me.”

I can hear her eyes rolling as I stab the button for the elevator.

Humming, I stroll up the street, pausing to retie my shoe and ignoring the looks I get from people passing by.

Yes, I’m aware that I smell like a warm chocolate muffin drizzled with melted marshmallows.

No, you can’t lick me.

I’m very aware of the effect my scent has on people. Thankfully, for most people it’s a similar reaction to passing a delicious-smelling bakery. They pause, breathe in, and then they move on.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I wince, not bothering to pull it out. It stops for barely a second before it starts again.

God, that was quick.

I can only imagine Fox’s reaction. And his punishment.

My scent deepens, my core squeezing at the thought of exactly what that could be, and I offer a small, apologetic smile to a beta woman who slows, her eyes glazing before she shakes her head and scurries away.

Getting punished by my alpha always feels like the best kind of present.

Standing, I lean against a railing, my eyes traveling over to the building on the other side of the busy road.

The Wordsmith building is nothing short of… gaudy. No wonder they’re pissing money when they’ve clearly thrown it around like it’s nothing, splashing out on an expensive exterior. My eyes latch onto what looks like a damn gold statue, of a woman holding an open book and fanning herself.

Honestly. So fucking cliché.

They have no idea what romance readers want. Hence their business swirling away down the pan after just a few years.

I watch the building for a few moments longer before I pull my eyes away with a frown. Fox will actually spank me if he finds out I’m lingering, and I did want a walk.

I stroll to the café. A small bundle of female is hovering in the doorway, her hand gripping the heavy door as she stays inside. As I pull it open for her, she spins, a dark curtain of hair trailing across my chest.

I breathe in as deep amber eyes lock with mine.

They skitter away quickly, the omega ducking inside the café with her head bowed, but I stay where I am. Her scent – something about it hits me hard. Sledgehammer-hard.

Orange blossom and nutmeg. Deep, spicy, and absolutely freaking delicious .

I blink.

I don’t really notice omega scents, as a rule. But this one… it winds around me, strange but familiar at the same time.

And my cock… stiffens.

What the fuck ?

Dazed, I step through the doorway, my eyes latched onto her back. Her shoulders are hunched as she murmurs to the beta behind the counter. The pretty blue tea-dress sweeps her knees, and I frown as I take in her bare legs, the lack of a coat.

It’s cold out today. Too cold to be out without any sort of jacket.

I finally start paying attention as she mumbles an apology. Darting forward, I smile over her shoulder at the frowning barista. “I’ll take a black americano, as well as what she’s having. To sit in.”

To hell with my plan to get back quickly. I’m invested.

She stiffens as my coat brushes against her back. “It’s fine, honestly. I’m just going to go and get my purse—,”

“Wait.” She pauses, hugging her elbows. I sweep my eyes over her, taking in the deep flush on her cheeks.

Embarrassment.

“Hey,” I say more gently. “It’s all good. Just a coffee.”

Although the prices here are extortionate. The beta blinks at me, her eyes softening as I reach forward and add a bag of mini muffins to the tray she sets out. “Those too.”

The omega waits, her muscles locked as if she’ll burst into a run at any moment. I busy myself by adding sugars to the tray, my eyes flicking to her and away before I drop a large tip into the jar and tap her elbow, pointing to an empty table by the window.

She jerks away from me. My muscles still. “Sorry.”

Hastily, she pushes her hair back. “No. I’m just…,”

“Long day?” I offer.

“Kind of.” White teeth drop down to nibble at plump pale pink lips. “I can give you the money for the coffee.”

She twists a few dollar bills in her hands, and something in my chest constricts. “You seem like the type of person I’d enjoy having a coffee with. Indulge me.”

Her mouth opens and closes. Flushing, she glances up at the clock and back to me. A tiny crease appears between her eyes. “Okay.”

She doesn’t flinch this time, but I’m careful not to touch her. Instead, my arm hovers behind her as I steer her over to a table in the corner. I take the chair between the table and window, pinning myself in and leaving her with a clear route to the door.

Her shoulders relax slightly as she sinks down. “I didn’t even thank you, did I? Thank you.”

Grinning, I wave a hand. “No need. My pleasure. I’m Teddy.”

She graces me with a small, self-conscious smile. “Fallon.”

Fallon.

She’s tall for an omega. I’m over six foot, but still lagging well behind the rest of my pack. Fallon’s head came up to my shoulder, but she shrinks into her seat as if trying to make herself smaller. We wait quietly as the beta barista brings our drinks over and I thank her, taking the tray and setting it down.

The barista hovers, breathing in. Her eyes dart between me and Fallon.

“Thank you.” I say it again, my smile flashing easily. But a dismissal all the same. She shakes her head and heads back to the counter.

“Does that… happen to you a lot?” Her shy question makes me frown. Because her scent is just as rich as mine – if not a little spicier, a little more unusual.

Alphas would queue up just to take a sniff. “Sometimes. You don’t get that when you’re out?”

She shakes her head. “I… I don’t get out much, really.”

I get it. Many omegas tend to avoid public places. Fox used to loudly complain that I couldn’t do the same, even as he went everywhere I wanted to go, buying tickets for places I’d only mentioned in passing and then following me around like a shield from any overly-curious alphas.

My phone buzzes again. I bite down on my lip, but I don’t want to spook Fallon by taking a call. Something tells me she’d spook easily.

We settle back in our chairs, and my eyes lower to the book Fallon sets out on the table. Her fingers trace the title as if it’s a familiar movement. “I love that book.”

She clears her throat. “You’ve read it?”

Many times. A thought occurs to me, but I don’t let it show on my face. “I have. It was incredible . The prose… I’ve never found anything that quite lives up to it. And I read a lot. You like books?”

Fallon half-nods, half-shakes her head, and then blushes. A spark of something I recognise all too well enters her gaze. “Of course. Who wouldn’t?”

“Many people,” I declare. “Idiots, mostly.”

She grins, then. It’s small but there, and it feels like a victory.

Fallon twists slightly in her chair, her eyes jumping to the jobs board. “You’re looking for a job?”

The color in her cheeks deepens, dark pink spreading down her neck in a flush. “Maybe. I just wanted to have a look. I doubt they’d have anything I can do.”

My head tilts. “Why not?”

She shrugs. Looks away from me, her fingers fiddling with the edge of her dress. It’s a little bit adorable, but her words make me stiffen.

“I’m not very good at anything, really.”

And her voice… it’s so sad .

But it echoes, too. As if she’s repeating the words that someone else has told her.

And my own voice hardens. “Who made you feel like that?”