Alpha and Omega

Epilogue

I didn't go back to school until the following Tuesday, nine days later. I wanted to make sure I was ready, and I also needed to prepare myself for all the scrutinising looks I knew I wouldn't be able to escape.

And just as I expected, everyone at school immediately noticed that there was something different about me. Especially the alphas. Patrick only had to take one look at me to know that from now on, he was out of luck and I belonged to someone else.

I wore Konstantin's scarf around my neck so as not to draw unnecessary attention to my mark. Of course, every alpha recognised a bonded omega at first sight, and Patrick was no different.

I was pleased to see the disappointed look on his face, and even more pleased that he refrained from making any stupid remarks.

Iva, my classmate, kept whispering to me in class, asking for details. And some of the teachers looked at me differently.

And I felt different. More mature and confident. The thought that I wasn't alone made me feel calmer and more confident.

Over the last few days, the bond between us had completely stabilised and now it felt as if a part of Konstantin was still with me. And even though I thought it impossible, I felt that sometimes I could tell what was going on with Kon through our bond. Whether he was happy, angry or irritable.

When I mentioned this to Konstantin, he said it was possible, but of course he had no experience. Besides, every couple and every relationship was different and had its own peculiarities and differences.

After the afternoon classes, I stayed in the office of the literature teacher, who wanted to give me some extra material and show me the chapters to study. After all, I had missed the whole week.

Luckily, the graduation exams started on Monday, so the teachers had other things to worry about and kept the tests to a minimum. Which I really appreciated.

I bumped into Chris in an empty corridor.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I wondered. "I thought you'd be at home studying for exams."

I knew from the schedule that Chris was due at ten tomorrow.

"I wouldn't have learnt anything on the last day before the test anyway, and I had to come here to get some notes."

"Or maybe you came to ask others to see how it was going, huh?"

"That too," he admitted.

Then he stepped a little closer, his disproportionately coloured eyes studying me closely. "So everything worked out the way it was supposed to."

"Well... yes. Me and Konstantin are..."

"I can see that," he didn't even let me finish, "I mean, mostly I can smell it."

"Is it so obvious?" I asked, blushing a little. It seemed silly to ask him, but I was curious.

"It's very strong," he snorted. "You used to smell different, now you smell like him," he added with some regret in his voice.

And I figured this change would put the other alphas off the most.

"How I envy him," he sighed rather theatrically.

I said nothing and we walked down the stairs to the lockers in silence. The last class had finished some time ago and most of the students had long since left the building.

I could feel Chris's eyes on me as I packed my things. When I was done, with my bag slung over my shoulder and ready to head for the exit, he stopped me.

"Can I have a look?" He asked cautiously, as if he expected me to say no to his request.

I didn't immediately understand what he meant, but when his eyes drifted down to my neck, it dawned on me. He knew, of course, what was under that scarf.