Page 4 of Welcome to Bone Town
I smirk, thinking of the prim little omega covered in dust and mud, salty sweat and torn clothes. Sun burnt and broken, ready to run home with her tail between her legs back to her plush little university position, never to be seen on a dig again.
Maybe it’s fine if she comes along. She won’t last long.
“See you in Ekdoti, Professor Whitlock.” I walk away with my hands in my pockets and a smile on my face despite the image of professor Cora’s parted lips and wide eyes lingering in my thoughts.
3
You’d think, with as much as I’ve flown, I’d be more composed right now, but there’s something about the airport that brings out the worst in me. So many people and scents—even with most people opting for scent blockers, it’s overwhelming. It makes my nerves feel all crackly. I want to curl up in a ball and hide under a chair. “That’d be too weird, Cora. Pull yourself together.”
Ice cubes rattle in my iced latte as I dig out my boarding pass to confirm my gate number. I’ve checked it at least four times, but I want to be absolutely sure I’m in the right place. I can’t miss this flight, it’s the last one out to Ekdoti today, and I’m not willing to wait until tomorrow.
I’m not going to be the last person to arrive on my first dig. I’m going to be prompt and punctual and on top of things.
“Gate 61, 62, 63… oh! Gate 64, that's me!” An older gentleman gives me a weird look as I shimmy in excitement, reminding me I’m in a public place and should probably tone it down. Giving him a brief nod and one of those awkward, tight lipped smiles, I hurry past him toward an empty chair in the waiting area. Falling into the hard plastic seat, I take a deep breath of relief.
Relief that’s short-lived as the gate agent’s voice comes over the loudspeaker. “Last call for Flight 2431 to Ekdoti International Airport. Doors are closing in three minutes.”
“Shit!” I jump up, nearly spilling the remainder of my iced coffee all over my lap when I realize that’s my flight. How the hell did I end up this late? I swear I left in enough time!
Haphazardly grabbing my carry-on and drink, I scurry to the gate, waving my boarding pass in the air. “I’m here! I’m here! Don’t leave without me!”
The gate agent gives me the same look the old man did as she takes my ticket and scans it. My face is bright red by the time she responds, gesturing toward the jetway. “Okay Ms. Whitlock, you’re all set.”
I squeak out a quick thank you before running down the ramp to the plane. Checking my ticket one more time as I cross the threshold, I head down the aisle, trying not to bump into everyone already boarded and settled in. My gaze flits over the seats, searching for an empty one. I really should start flying on airlines that give assigned seating. It’s not a big plane, and it’s crowded. There are only two seats per row, so as soon as the broad-shouldered man in front of me takes a seat, I seehim.
Dr. Roman Slate. Just my luck. He’s staring daggers atme. A look that I’m sure kept anyone from sitting next to him, which means it’s the only place still vacated.
He doesn’t move from the aisle seat to let me in. Glancing back at my boarding pass, I hold it up helplessly, waving it in front of him. A move that may have made sense if my ticket had anything other than a boarding group on it—a group I missed because I was late. My smile is left unmet as he stares at me wordlessly, jaw tightening by the second.
“Could you just….uh… could I squeeze in here?”
He closes his eyes as if I’m on his last nerve before heaving his large body out of the tiny plane seat, stepping into the aisle just enough for me to smush by. It’s tight quarters, so I can’t help but brush against him as I slide in, another flush rising to my cheeks when I feel the hard planes of his chest against my back. Settling in next to the window, I try not to spill my coffee as I shove my bag under the seat in front of me. But when I go to buckle my seat belt, I realize I need both hands. I briefly try to grab one end of the seatbelt in the same hand as my coffee, but the metal slips from my fingers, and I worry if I try again, it might be the coffee instead.
Scrunching my nose, because I don’t want to ask him for help, but know I have to, I turn to the gruff alpha beside me who is already stuffed back in his narrow seat. “Um, hey, Dr. Slate?” A shiver rushes up my spine as his cold gaze lands on me. I hold my cup out to him. “Would you mind holding this? I need to buckle my seat belt, and I didn’t really think this through, and I’m worried if I try while holding this, I’ll spill everywhere and then you’llhave to sit next to me for nine hours while I smell like coffee, and I’ll be wet, and…”
I trail off when I realize he hasn’t moved or said a word. Biting my lip, I wiggle the cup in his line of sight, the ice cubes clattering against the plastic. His expression doesn’t change as he slowly reaches over me, grabs the seatbelt, and buckles it across my lap, glaring at me the whole time.
“I’m not a child. I could hav–”
He tightens the belt, silencing me, apart from a harrumph. Before I speak again, my tray table slams down and my coffee is unceremoniously plucked from my hand and set on it. To add insult to injury, the flight attendant chooses that moment to do his checks, stopping at our row to look pointedly at me.
“Tray tables must be put away and chairs in the upright position for takeoff, ma’am.” He continues down the aisle as I hastily latch the tray table up and lean back into my seat with a sigh.
This is going to be a long flight.
4
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into Ekdoti. Please turn off all portable electronic devices and stow them until we have arrived at the gate.”
This has been the longest flight I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve flown to every continent in the world and been on trips three times as long as this one. Time seems to crawl by as my body remains tense next to the little omega sitting to my left.
With the announcement, Cora startles awake and hurries to slide her seat back up.
When she first appeared in the aisle of the plane, I thought for sure the dean was fucking with me. Until I remembered that we booked our own flights and this was just the worst sort of kismet. I’m not one to cause a public scene, so I didn’t try to get someone to switch seats with me, but I also had no desire to have casual conversation with the omega in question.
She realized pretty quickly I wasn’t going to engage with her after all my replies were a series of grunts or silence. Once she got the hint, she finally plugged in her earbuds and pulled out a novel. I couldn’t help noting the title.Knot Guilty. A thriller horror novel that seems completely incongruent with the sweet omega. It’s one of my favorite books. I wonder if she’s gotten to the part where the main character realizes she knows her stalker.
My ears pop as the plane descends below 10,000 feet. The aircraft bounces as we hit a bit of turbulence. Cora clutches the armrest and stares straight ahead, a light sweat breaking out on her forehead. The need to protect and comfort her surges inside me like a wave, and before I know what I’m doing, I’ve put a hand over hers.
