Page 53 of Examining the Bond

I want nothing more than to curl up with her—hell, we can lie together on the exam table for all I care—but I have so much more to tell her. If I’m going to get through the rest of this appointment, I have to shove aside my personal desires.

She needs a doctor right now, not a horny alpha.

With a nod, she wipes at the makeup beneath her eyes, and I return to my stool.

“I want you to listen to everything I have to say first.” I run a nervous hand through my hair, unsure how she’ll respond to the rest of my findings. I still don’t know exactly how I feel about the other results; I'm torn between wanting what’s best for myself and caring about what this means for research in general. “It’smy job to help you make informed decisions, regardless of how I feel about it.”

There’s much more at stake than a potential relationship between us, despite that being my personal priority. With how rare deltas are, any information we’re able to gather could change the entire field of designation studies.

It could change science forever.

She perks up, straightening on the exam table.

“Okay,” she says. “I’m listening.”

“You’re in a very unique position, something many would kill for. I know a lot of people would love to change their designation, but you can also choosewhenthe change takes place,” I explain carefully. “I’m going to encourage you to take your time. Don’t make any hasty decisions.”

She opens her mouth like she’s going to argue, but a cock of my brow has her closing it again.

“This is a huge opportunity for us to research the delta designation, but once the change is made—as far as we're aware—it’s permanent. We'd no longer be able to study you.” Her lips are drawn tight into a line as she listens. “The Buchanan Center will offer you compensation in exchange for allowing us to study your DNA, and I can start by taking some samples now while you’re here, if you’ll allow it.”

Her eyes flash with a mix of intrigue and skepticism. “So I would basically get paid to be a lab rat?”

The disappointment in her eyes tugs at something in my chest, but I keep a kind smile on my face. At least I try to. “It would be a little more glamorous than that. We’ll take as many samples as we can today, but we'd ask you to come back for more tests in the future. You would be doing a huge service for the research community.”

She hesitates, kneading her bottom lip between her teeth. “A huge service… for you?”

As selfish as it feels to admit, I nod.

This is easily the biggest opportunity of my career, and while I hate feeling like I’m using Riann to further my own agenda, I can’t deny how eager I am to advance our knowledge of designations. There’s no telling what kind of breakthroughs we could make by studying her. We could uncover more genetic secrets that we’ve never seen. Maybe even find cures for rare designation-related diseases.

The possibilities nearly have me frothing at the mouth.

“Okay,” she agrees softly, her eyes falling away from mine. “You can take whatever samples you need.”

“Thank you,” I say, hoping my sincerity is conveyed in my voice. I move to stand again. “I’ll have those tests ordered, and we can get that out of the way.”

“Wait…” she says, and I freeze. “How do you know that it’ll work on me? The patient in Brazil bonded with an omega. What if… it doesn’t work the other way around?”

There it is. The question I’ve been avoiding, because I know what will follow.

Still, I can’t keep the information from her. I settle back down on the stool, hands folded in my lap, and take a breath.

“I introduced your DNA to alpha genetic material,” I explain, heat creeping up my neck as I think about everything I’ve done that could have my medical license revoked. Including mixing my own DNA with Riann’s to see what the outcome would be. “And after mixing them, your DNA did present with the omega gene.”

Her expression doesn’t change as she registers my answer, but a painful silence settles between us. I shift as everything suddenly feels too tight, the room growing smaller as the pressure increases. Hard conversations have never been my forte.

She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth again, and my eyes immediately shift to her mouth. The flutter in my stomach turns hot as I recall how amazing her lips felt against mine, and I swallow hard. I’m going to make it through the rest of this conversation, and then I’m kissing her until neither of us can fucking breathe.

“So, you're saying I can bond to whoever I want?” she asks, sounding skeptical. “And I'll become the designation that complements them?”

“Exactly.”

“And when I do, I’ll be a normal omega?” Hope flickers in her eyes. “I won’t have any more ruts, and my body will function like it’s supposed to?”

“From everything we know, that seems to be the case,” I answer. “According to the center in Rio de Janeiro, the change was permanent, and the patient presented as an alpha afterward.”

A grin spreads across her face, and her shoulders relax. For the first time since I met her—and maybe the moment after she came all over my hand—she looks completely relieved.