Chapter 107

Ollie’s POV

On reflex, I start kissing him back. My body reacts on its own, my mind too lost in a fog to contribute in any meaningful way.

Declan’s hands were firm on my hips as he kept me in place against the wall. I couldn’t move an inch, even if I wanted to.

I really didn’t want to.

Unlike me, Declan wasn’t one to lose himself. He kissed me like a man on a mission, his lips coaxing mine open, his tongue sliding inside.

I gripped at his upper arms, my fingers digging into the fabric of his suit. I didn’t know if I was pushing him away or pulling him closer.

I wasn’t thinking much of anything in that moment. I was only feeling.

Declan had a way of getting me outside of my own head and keeping me there. When I was with him, I didn’t feel like myself. Instead, I was someone confident and sexy, the kind of woman that Declan might fall in love with.

I wished I could be that person all the time. Instead, I was just me.

Ollie.

At first, the realization came to me slowly. Yes. I was Ollie.

Not Angel.

Then, in a flash, I remembered myself and, placing my hands flat on his chest, I shoved him away.

What was I doing? I wasn’t Angel right now, I was entirely Ollie. My wolf was still hiding my scent. What was he doing kissing me? And he initiated it!

Was this some kind of power game? Was he hoping to intimidate me somehow? None of this made sense.

Why would he kiss me? He’s supposed to hate me!

Declan’s eyes burned with a type of freezer burn, searing straight onto my heart. He looked at Angel this passionately, not Ollie. Never Ollie.

Suddenly, I felt seen in a way that I never had before, at least by Declan – when I wasn’t disguised as Angel.

He was staring straight down into my soul like he could see every shape and color.

“Ollie,” he said, his tone low and dangerous. It sent a pleasant shiver straight down my spine.

I’d been used to him using that tone with me when he called me his Angel or his mate or even his slut.

But never had I heard him use my actual name.

It did things to me that I did not except.

Things I liked, probably too much.

But then he added, “Or should I say Angel.”

It was too much, the accusation waking me up like a slap to the face or a bucket of cold water dropped directly over my head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I shouted at him, as I wedged my way around him.

As he was so much bigger and stronger than me, he could have stopped me if he wanted. I half expected him to. After all, Declan was the one who made the demands and gave the orders. I was the one bound and determined to obey him.

But in this moment, he simply stood there and watched me sneak by, without making any move for or against me.

His eyes were watchful, his face expressionless, giving nothing away.

Did he believe my denial that I wasn’t Angel? Or did he already know the truth?

Gods, no. I needed more time. I barely had any threads of a plan put together. It was far from tangible.

If the brothers already discovered my secret, I would have no hope of escaping them, of becoming my own person with my own future and my own rights.

They would keep me prisoner, bullying me like they always had in the past.

And what choice did I have but to let them?

No, that wasn’t entirely true. I could always reject them.

Even as I thought the words, my wolf inside of me winced.

“Rejection is not something to take lightly,” she reminded me. “It is for life. We will lose them forever.”

“You can’t lose what you never really had,” I replied in my mind. “They fell for Angel, not Ollie.”

Deep down I knew that Ollie would never compete against the image they had of their true mate. I was the one they believed had betrayed them, and as such, they would never see me as an equal worthy of respect.

Worthy of love.

I needed to get away from Declan, and the other brothers too. Being near them did strange things to my mind and heart, and totally ruined my confidence.

I wanted to be enough for them, even against my better judgement, even knowing it was hopeless.

Needing to escape, I hurried down the hall. I was walking fast, not really looking where I was going.

Then, someone stepped in front of me.

I stopped short just before I could collide into them. Him.

I blinked and looked up…

Right into the wide eyes of Professor Hunter, standing directly in front of me in the hallway.

The man I had been looking for, right here right now. It almost seemed too good to be true.

Even more so when he opened his mouth and said, “Ollie?”

I blinked, confused for a moment, even as I found my voice again. “You know me?”

“I do,” he replied, his words quick, spilling out of him in a rush like he was nervous. “Doesn’t everyone? You are the most famous Omega in the pack.”

I remained confused, even after he explained it. “I’m not anyone,” I said.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” he said at once. “You are someone that I greatly admire, a woman who shows traits that other Omegas either do not possess or withhold. Yet you do not. You fearlessly plunge forward.”

I genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. “I’m not special.”

“We disagree again,” he said, smiling.

He had a warm smile, I could see that now. Soft and genuine like a man with too much kindness in his heart. A man who hadn’t been hurt enough to lose that kindness yet.

It endeared me to him in a way I hadn’t expected.

I’d been hoping for an ally, yet to find someone like this…

“Please tell me you will set aside some time to speak with me,” he said. “I often use your strength as a center for my Omega research. To have a direct interview would add substantial data to that research.”

“I… suppose…” I said, still uncertain why he thought so highly of me. But, an interview worked for me, as I also wished to speak to him. “I have a few questions of my own, Professor. I truly need help with something.”

He nodded before he even finished speaking, consistently and too much, as if hie was a bobble head.

“Yes, good. Come to my office then. It’s just upstairs.”

“I’d love to,” I replied.

He gestured for me to follow him, so I did. Together we walked down the stairs to the elevator. After Professor Hunter pressed the up button, we waited there for the elevator to arrive.

When it did, the doors sliding open with a ding, I started to step forward.

I didn’t know what compelled me to look back down the hallway.

Curiosity maybe. Or hope, perhaps.

Either way, I looked, and I saw him.

Declan was still watching me.