Understudy [ABO] [MxF] [18+]

S I X

Ally lowered herself into the hot water with a sigh, sinking down deeper until only her face was above the water. Steam had filled the bathroom completely, and despite the heat from before, she was glad for the warmth in the room. Elias had vanished after giving her a suppressant injection and telling her to get in the bath, saying that he would have one after her. She had tried to entice him to come with her, but his head had cleared up as her heat subsided and he refused as politely as he could.

She scrubbed herself with the body wash he had given her, somehow content that it smelled like him. The mintiness from his scent matched the soap perfectly. She wasn't sure how long she stayed soaking in the water, letting the suppressant take effect, but by the time she got out, it had become lukewarm and her head was clear again. She wrapped herself in the bath robe he had given her and walked out of the bathroom to find him.

Elias was sitting in the kitchen, staring into a cup of coffee, eyebrows furrowed deeply. A used syringe sat in front of him, no doubt the suppressant he had forgotten to take before.

"I'm done now, if you want to bathe," Ally said softly, but he still jumped in surprise. "The water isn't very hot anymore though."

"It's fine, I'll just have a shower," he replied with a glance towards her. His eyes flickered yellow for a brief moment before returning to grey, and he looked down at his cup again. "We need to talk."

Her stomach twisted at the way he said that. "I'm really tired, so I think I might just---"

"We need," Elias growled, staring at her again, "to talk." His eyes didn't change this time.

Ally walked cautiously over to the table and sat opposite him, adjusting the robe so it didn't expose too much of her chest.

Elias sat silently for a moment before he sighed, "I need to apologise for what I did. I've never had a suppressant wear off that suddenly before and---"

"Please don't," her voice was shaky. "I wanted you. Don't make it seem like you forced me to do something I didn't want to."

"Still, I should have been reasonable and taken you home regardless. I lost control. Thankfully, some remnant of the suppressant meant that I didn't completely lose my mind, otherwise who knows what would have happened. I had never planned to act on the bond between us, since I don't exactly lead an Alpha lifestyle---"

"Bond?" Ally felt her blood go cold. He didn't mean...?

Elias watched her with that irritatingly calm expression of his. "You didn't notice it? How your body reacted to mine? I'm not just talking about while we had sex, but even when I found you in the bathroom."

Thinking back, she realised he was right. The moment he had held onto her, that dangerous edge to her heat had vanished. The heat hadn't gone away, but it was as though just being near him had soothed part of her that needed him near. Not to mention the way his scent had made her react, as though it was entirely made for her.

"I thought that was just nonsense made up by stupid Alphas to justify why they claimed Omegas within minutes of meeting," Ally tried to laugh, but the seriousness of his expression sobered her up again. "Fated mates are real?"

"It doesn't really matter anyway. I don't plan on marking you."

Ally felt a sharp stab as he said it and gasped, her hand involuntarily reaching to grab her chest. Elias was already on his feet and moving to her before she even realised, but she jerked away before he could grab her arm. He must have moved without thinking, because after a moment of processing, he sat down again and clasped his hands firmly on the table. How could it hurt so much despite not even knowing that the bond existed until now?

"Don't take this the wrong way, Allegra," Elias started again. "It's not that I wanted to reject the bond, or that I don't find you suitable, but with my job requiring me to be constantly on high levels of suppressants, having any mate - fated or otherwise - puts me at risk of reducing the effectiveness of the injection. I had accepted that I would never take a mate. You saw how I reacted today. Even if I was late to take the suppressant, normally I don't feel any effects until its been a full 24 hours since my last injection. I was only a couple of hours late today, but your scent made me lose myself."

"What's so wrong with that?" Her voice was harder than she had intended. "Was it so unpleasant, kissing me? Feeling me? Fucking me?"

"No," Elias growled, "it wasn't, and stop manipulating my words. I told you, it's not that I wanted to reject them bond. Damn it, the first time I scented you, I nearly handed my resignation in then and there and fucked you on the examination bed. I knew instantly that you're my fated mate, and it killed me inside. I can't do this again. I'm sorry."

Ally felt the tears dripping down her cheeks before she even noticed she was crying. She couldn't do anything as Elias stood up and left the table, leaving her to process what had just happened. She hadn't been rejected, not truly. The lack of pain in her chest was proof enough of that. Yet the tears wouldn't stop, because even if her body was fooled by his words, her mind wasn't. Elias had no intention of claiming her as his mate, ever. That was essentially the same as rejection.

She heard a knock at the door and looked up in surprise to see Gabe standing on the other side as Elias opened it.

"Gabe? What are you doing here?" Ally asked, quickly trying to wipe away the tears but it was too late. Gabe had seen them, and his eyes blazed bright yellow.

"You son of a bitch," Gabe snarled and lunged at Elias before she could say anything. His fist moved with lightning speed and made contact with Elias' jaw with a loud crack. The sound made her flinch, but she rushed over and grabbed Gabe's arm before he could throw another.

"Stop it! Stop!" Ally cried, trying in vain to pull Gabe off Elias. "It's not his fault."

"What? So sex is a one person dance these days?" Gabe snapped, but let her pull him away. "Don't even try to fucking deny it, Eli. I can smell you all over her."

Elias didn't get off the ground, simply cupping his cheek and looked away, "I don't. That's why told you she was here... so you can take her home."

"That's it? You're just going to let me leave like this?" Ally choked up on the words, desperately holding back more tears. "You don't care what I think about all of this?"

"Not really," she could hear the lie in it, but let it go.

Gabe grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door, "Go wait in my car. I'll get all of your stuff and be there in a minute."

Ally let Gabe push her out of the house and glanced back to where Elias was laying one more time. He was watching her, just like she watched him, and she could have sworn there were tears in his eyes too. After only a moment he looked away, and she turned and walked to the car, ignoring the heavy feeling settling over her heart.