Understudy [ABO] [MxF] [18+]

S I X T E E N

"So, I heard from the wait staff that your dinner went... well," Poppy cleared her throat as she eyed her son over lunch. "Though they certainly hit us up with a generous bill thanks to it."

Elias couldn't help the flush that spread up his neck, recalling the evening with a mixture of feelings. "I don't really want to talk about it, ma."

"Oh come on, not even a hint? Second date maybe?"

"Definitely no second date I'm afraid."

Poppy paused her eating to narrow her eyes at Elias, "What was that in your voice?"

"What was what?"

"You sound upset. You liked her, huh? What did you say to offend her?"

"Nothing!"

"Oh?"

"Well, not at dinner anyway..."

Elias jumped as his mother's cutlery cluttered to the table and looked away, his whole face going red now. He knew what that look meant.

"Elias... spill it."

Truthfully, he had been wanting to talk to her for a while now about what he should do. He knew he had fucked up big time. Being rejected by her had hurt him more than anything else, and made him realise how big of an idiot he had been when he had done the exact same thing to her the first time. He didn't even know if it was possible to come back from that. More than anything, he wanted to. He knew if anyone could give him advice, it had to be his mother.

So he told her everything. How he met his fated mate when she came to his clinic, how he tried to stay away from her for the sake of his work and how he had decided he didn't want a mate, how she called him when she needed his help and what came after, how he had rejected her like an absolute ass, the regret, his hormones going crazy, and the dinner.

And her rejecting him, just the same as he had rejected her.

"Oh, Eli," Poppy's eyes had tears as she held his hands on the table, "you should have spoken to me sooner. Why did you bottle all of this up?"

He only realised then that he had been crying as well. "My mind has been such a mess since I met her, ma. Everything I thought I had decided was thrown out the window. I loved my work more than anything, how much it has helped you and other Omega live normal lives, but the moment I laid eyes on her, part of me knew that I was prepared to throw that all aside if it meant I could have her. But the stupid part of me spoke first, before I had time to think or decide or... damn it."

Poppy sighed, "You know you didn't have to choose one or the other right? You study hormones for a living, Eli. Surely you know that once an Alpha is bonded they are a lot calmer than unmated right? If you had just accepted her straight away, you could have kept doing your work at the clinic too since you would have been bonded."

"You think my mind was thinking clearly enough for me to realise that?"

"That's why you should have--- oh, never mind. What's done is done. Fate gave you a second chance when you two met at the blind dinner. You need to get her number from your brother and arrange to meet her again. Somewhere very public, so she feels comfortable." Poppy narrowed her eyes at her son, "I am a little ashamed at your inability to control yourself, I'll admit. Though from what your father has said to me, I understand it can be near impossible."

Elias nodded, his stomach twisting. "I know what I did was wrong. I really tried to resist it but... I had never really experienced any True Alpha behaviours before meeting her. Honestly, I had begun to question if my assignment was correct. But the way I couldn't control myself when I caught her scent was proof enough."