Page 23 of Galaxy Between Us

“See for yourself.”

The three of us shuffle toward the telescope. Squinting one eye, Brock peers through.

“Holy shit,” he whispers after a minute.

“See?! It’s unbelievable! And no one can tell me who did it! I had to make up some lie that one of the others made a recent adjustment I was unaware of, but none of them can confess as much.”

“So, you think the Omega did something to it? What would he know about telescopes?” Brock inquires.

With that, the two of them look at me. There’s got to be a way out of this. Drowning in the fear of repercussions, I hug myself with my arms, not giving anything away. I was stupid to think they would praise me for this.

“He must’ve!” Mr. Minsley sneers as he walks closer, sending a challenging look directly into my eyes. “And he’s going to tell me what he did, right now, or I’m reporting him to corporate myself!”

Fuck, is all I can think.

“Please, don’t do this!” I beg, as Mr. Minsley marches me through the halls and toward the elevators, his wrinkled hand twisted firmly around my shirt collar.

“You’ve left me no choice!”

People are staring, but no one comes to my rescue.

I should’ve known this would happen. Why did I ever think it would be easy breezy to work at the largest space program in the country as an Omega? Not even a few months in and I’m already fired. I suppose that no one is to blame other than myself.

I didn’t need to stick my nose where it didn’t belong. But if I hadn’t, all our careers would’ve been on the line. I can only hope corporate understands that my intentions were well. My odds aren’t looking good, though.

Maybe Mom was right. After I get fired today, I can trudge back home, tail between my legs. I’ll settle down with a nice local Alpha and let my dreams of Comet XI be memories as distant as the stars.

Mr. Minsley drags me roughly out of the elevator and into the executive hall. We round the corner and his eyes land on three Alphas conversing outside of an office. Damn, they’re even bigger than I thought. The entire top floor reeks of Alpha pheromones that have my knees trembling and weak. One scent in particular smells as good as the grass after it rains, making me light-headed. It grows stronger the closer we get.

The executives pause their conversation and divert their attention to us. What is Mr. Minsley thinking, interrupting upper management? They’re going to be pissed. We might both get fired after this.

Gripping my arm, he beelines toward them anyway. One of the three catches my eye. His dark hair, tan complexion, and hardened expression ring bells of familiarity in my head. We’re still too far down the hallway to see them clearly, but my mind begins racing to catch up to where I know him from.

“Mr. Beckett! Just the Alpha I wanted to see,” Mr. Minsley says.

Mr. Beckett. The name rings in my ear.

As in...?

It can’t be.

The other two Alphas nod farewell to the familiar face and disappear into a room. Before I know it, we’re standing in front of Mr. Smells-so-good. His concerned eyes are focused on Mr. Minsley. He hasn’t noticed me being dragged behind him yet.

“Mr. Minsley? You look troubled. What’s this about?”

Fuck. That low rumble has dropped several bass levels since I last heard it. Am I sweating? I feel sweaty. Gosh, I hope I don’t look sweaty.

“Unfortunately, I am troubled,” Mr. Minsley puts on his best show of being victimized. “I’ve come to report a cleaner for a violation of conduct. He’s tampered with our telescope, your telescope Mr. Beckett, and he won’t admit to it. I’ve given him ample opportunity to confess what he’s done, but he’s being stubborn with me.” He yanks me forward and my nose is hit with such a strong scent of home that it shakes me to my core.

Eyes land on mine, locking in place, and the world stops spinning.

Suddenly I’m lost in them. There’s a certain vastness within this set of eyes that shares the same unknown depth of outer space. Full of energy and life beyond my limited comprehension. Orbits of questions and emotions flicker through the waves of his irises. No other part of his stern face gives away as much as his handsome, betraying eyes.

“Go ahead, Omega, tell him!”

Mr. Minsley’s excitement at seeing me about to get in trouble fades as he glances between our silence.

“Knox?”