I think my grief is hitting me weird, and it has me latching onto this omega I barely know.
Yes, she’s gorgeous and obviously smart, but she’s not for me.
Now, if I could just remember that, it would be great.
Alora wrinkles her nose. “I hate that word, but yes, technically, I guess I’m a genius.”
“Why do you hate the word?”
“Because it makes it sound like it was easy doing what I did. Because I’m so smart, of course, I finished school early. But I worked damn hard to do it.”
“Of course you did. I don’t think it matters how smart you are. Getting a PhD is no joke.” I offer her a half-smile.
She shrugs. “Yeah. I just… A lot of people said I was just drifting through, and it wasn’t fair. It might be a little bit of a trigger for me.”
I hum. “It’s understandable if people gave you a hard time about it.”
“Don’t start psychoanalyzing me.” She narrows her eyes but can’t hide her smile.
“So what did you get your PhD in? What do you do for a living?”
Her eyes light up. “I’m an electrical engineer, which is what my PhD is in. I work for Reinhardt Inc. They basically gave me my own division and told me to go crazy. I make good money, but I wonder what it’s like to have that kind of money.”
I shake my head. “I have no idea, but I’m sure it makes some parts of life easier.”
She sighs. “Yeah. We’re well off, my pack and me. Obviously, I’m an electrical engineer. My alpha, Wells, is a sports RDN—that’s a registered dietitian nutritionist—for Summit Point University. My beta, Jordan—he’s Wells’s older brother—is an electrician. Wells hates it when we get to talking about electricity.”
“I can imagine. Are they the same age as you?”
“Wells is two years older than I am, and Jordan is five years older. Wells and I were still in college when we met, but Jordan was already making a name for himself in the industry.”
“The electrician industry?” I don’t mean to poke fun at what her beta does. In fact, I think it’s amazing that he’s an electrician. That’s not a job I’d want to do, but it’s just the way she says it that has me biting back a laugh.
Her face turns into a sneer. “Oh, are you one of those people? The ones that look down on the blue-collar workers who the countries are built on?”
“Whoa, no.” I shake my head. “It was just the way yousaid about making a name in the industry. It reminded me of one of my clients saying something similar, but she’s an actress. I got a lot of that in LA.”
Her shoulders and face immediately relax. “Sorry. That might be another trigger.”
“I didnae mean anything by it. I promise.”
“Yeah, okay.” She tilts her head. “So you live in LA too?”
I nod. “Is that where you’re from?”
“Yeah. I grew up in Northern California but moved to Los Angeles for college. Met my pack and just never left.”
That’s when the university name finally registers. “Ahh, Summit Point University—I remember where that is now. I actually don’t live too far from there.”
“What a small world,” she says quietly, and I find myself nodding as I stare down at her.
I’m not sure when we stopped moving or when I started cupping her cheek, but here we are.
I want to kiss her, but I can’t.
She leans into me, lifting onto her toes, and I lick my lips.
Holy shit.
