“I wanted to be there for you when you woke up, but,” he sighs, rubbing the back of his head.
“It’s okay,” I give him a shy smile. “You’re a teacher. You found me in a bad way. I’m just sorry you had to deal with that.”
“Don’t be.” Professor Kennedy frowns. “I’m just glad you're okay. And I’m here to talk about anything you need. Always.”
Nerves flutter in my belly as I nod, swallowing hard.
“I’m guessing you know I’m an— I’m a—” I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. Voicing this out loud feels wrong. “An omega.”
He nods slowly. “I do. And I want you to know, there’s nothing wrong with that. Whatever your reason is to hide your designation, I want you to know there’s no reason to be ashamed of being an omega.”
“I’m not ashamed.” That's partly a lie. I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “Okay, maybe a little bit. But under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t be.” My heart races faster the more I speak. “My father, he’s not a good man. The way he treats female omegas.” A shudder of repulsion runs through me. I shake my head. “And male omegas are an abomination to him. If he knew what I was.” Terror flicks through my mind at the thought. “It wouldn’t be good.”
“I’m assuming the fact that you're gay doesn’t help with a man like that?” he asks.
My eyes widen as I open and close my mouth like a damn fish. “How do you know?”
He smirks. “It’s okay Camden. There’s also nothing wrong with being gay. I’m gay,” he shrugs.
“You are?” My brows furrow.
He nods. “A gay, male omega teacher,” he grins. “Not the easiest job. It sure as fuck has it’s challenges. But I’m proud of who I am. And you can be too, at least around me. And I know no one would judge you for being you in this school.”
“No.” I insist. “I can’t, okay. I just. I can’t.” If those guys find out I’m an omega… their omega… I’m not sure what kind of hell they’re going to put me through. If anything they would think of it as a free pass to do whatever they want with me, seeing me as their property. I saw how men like that treat their scent matches. It’s not good. It’s never good.
Fuck, I’m starting to spiral and the room is trying to close in on me.
Professor Kennedy holds up his hands. “Alright. It’s okay. If you don’t want anyone knowing what you are, your secret's safe with me.”
“Jamie knows,” I whisper.
“And Jamie won’t say a word,” he insists. “I can promise you that.”
Curiosity spikes me. “Are you close with Jamie?” I find myself asking.
His body stiffens as he looks at me for a few long beats. He clears his throat. “You could say that.”
There's so much I want to ask. Are they friends, do they know one another outside school?
Or is there something more.
Could Jamie be doing something more with our Professor? Jamie is an alpha. And Beckham is an omega.
Not wanting to press or piss him off, I don’t push. “He’s a good friend.” I whisper.
“He’s a good man.” The way Professor Kennedy says that statement with so much pride has me leaning more towards there being something more going on between the two of them.
Good on Jamie. Professor Kennedy is insanely attractive. And if it wasn’t for my shit storm of a life making me feel numb right now, I'd probably be flustered in his presence like before.
“I should get going. I just wanted to thank you. For everything.”
“Don’t thank me,” he smiles. “Just promise me you're okay. And if you're not, you’ll tell me so I can help.”
Swallowing hard, tears sting my eyes. I’m not used to so many people caring about me. I’ve been alone pretty much my whole life. It feels nice. Good. Right.
“Okay.” I croak out. A part of me wants to tell him about Henley, Brooks and River, but it’s just too much to think about right now. I haven’t taken the time to really process what their being my scent matches means and right now is not the time.
“Camden.” Professor Kennedy calls out as I reach his door. I pause and turn around to face him. “Henley and his pack. If they give you a hard time, let me know.”
