Page 37 of The Gift
“Only us?” I ask, turning around before they have to do anything like clear their throat. Clearly, the both of them have lost their tongues for some reason.
“Yes,” Henley answers eventually.
Needing my height, I stay standing while Ashton sits. Henley’s not towering over me as such, but waves of his confusing emotions are rolling off him. And they are intimidating. The strongest I feel, and scent, is his conflict, but there’s resignation too. It’s a strange mix and adds a sharpness to his usual rich cinnamon infused spiciness.
“Should I stay standing for this?” I ask the both of them.
“You’re not going to like what I have to say,” Henley says, shrugging his shoulder. It’s not dismissive—more like he’s unsure himself. And that’s the point when I do get worried.
“Do you need to say it then?” I challenge back, not bratty like. Though my tone and posture are not submissive either. In some ways I’ve adopted Henley’s sharp succinctness he usually uses.
He takes a deep breath, giving my question some thought before he nods his head.
“Well, I’m a rip the Band-Aid off kind of person. So, take it away,” I offer, waving my hand around. I think of sitting, but until I know where they’re coming from, I feel safer standing behind the chair using the back of it to keep me upright.
“Your tea is getting cold, Bailey,” Ashton interrupts, perhaps getting caught up himself in the rising tensions.
“Both of you are acting weird. Spit it out, or we can reschedule. Honestly, the mood isn’t a great precursor to our discussion.”
“Sorry, difficult subject is all,” Henley says, taking a seat. I follow him, at least he’s started sharing. “We’ve not been honest with you. And I’m not going to validate that or even justify if it is a good thing or a bad thing. We all do things for different reasons, but at the same time, I don’t like being the one to put you in this position now.”
“Gallant of you,” I murmur, taking a sip of my drink. “Nice brewing skills, Ashton.”
He smiles, and it helps settle me a little more. I intentionally drag him back into being an active part of this conversation. And it works, he takes up where Henley left off.
“I don’t know, Bailey. If we had a choice, we’d let sleeping dogs lie, and we have to at this point. I need you to understand that, but there are things at play, out of our control that now impede our ability to leave things how they were. It is not an option, in our opinion.”
Now I’m the one not talking, but there’s no way I’m going to dig my own grave, these two can do that.
“It’s hard to know where to start, in this instance I think the best bet is to start with what we consider the greatest risk and both of those things affect you personally. Not your team, not me or my pack, just you.”
Holding my cup and Henley’s steely gaze, I wait.
“You know Reno took blood samples that we had tested in a lab. In our defence, we honestly were worried that you might have had a virus or something.”
“And?” I demand.
“Bailey, you know that you are safe, don’t you?” Ashton talks with such conviction, it has me nearly stretching over the table to hold his hand.
Instead, I huff out a laugh, not a funny one. And then start chewing the inside of my lip.
“Good news is that the blood showed no infection or signs of early disease. But it most certainly did indicate high levels of hydroxy tyramine, which is toxic. Treatment is easy and effective, so that wasn’t our concern. The chemical analysis also indicated long term use of a range of suppressants, a dopamine douser along with several other compositions used as masking agents. When you couple it with another test that we did, not the lab but here, it confirms what my team and I always suspected which is that you are an omega.”
My foot starts tapping, as they both watch for a reaction. They have a lot of concern, or maybe it’s compassion, in their eyes but at the same time, those emotions are easy to mimic.
“There’s no disputing the evidence, or what we already had rightly assumed. Genetic anomalies like omega DNA are easily identifiable in blood if you know how to look for it. Reno is medically trained, Koda has similar knowledge, and we used the formulated and approved procedures endorsed by both the Alpha Alliance as well as what is used in hospitals etcetera,” Ashton adds in his calm way. Now he’s lost his nervousness, he’s becoming more like himself.
I could sit there and argue the lab fucked up, if that was the case.
“What else?” I ask, intrigued by what other insights they believe they’ve made.
“At the cottage, Bailey, you reacted to the alpha that was working next to Koda, but you responded to me more which is another confirmation if you need one. And then inside the cottage, Henley also said that you were overly sensitive to Jenna and her mates on different, conflicting levels. No one else has noticed it but us, and I suspect that is because we’ve been vigilantly watching your cues and natural responses. I promise you this: your secret is still your secret,” Ashton says, maintaining a calmness to the way he speaks.
I shrug noncommittally and take another sip of my tea.
He smiles and shrugs a little before he goes on. “Last night at the restaurant, you weren’t exactly hiding anything from us. And that was after I advised we needed to talk with you about your blood results. I’m sure it’s still a shock for you, but at the same time maybe it’s also a relief for you to know we know. We’re coming from a good place.”
“You can’t keep taking the suppressants, Bailey, they’re poisoning you,” Henley barks.
