Page 31 of Talk About… Dramay
The beta said something before they were coming our way. Ori’s grip went from just painful to desperate as she put on a practiced fake smile.
“Oriana,” the alpha greeted in a smooth voice as they approached. He froze for a second, smile faltering for a quick flash, before greeting us. “And Roman? Pleasure to meet you. I’m Hudson and this is Lane.”
The beta’s eyes widened on his alpha for a second before he also turned a smile on her and nodded in greeting at me. Instead of keeping his distance he dropped into the chair next to her.
“Are you excited?” he asked, eyes locked on her with an intensity that had me narrowing my eyes. The nonchalance was gone now, both men zeroed in on her like she was a meal.
Something was off. I just wasn’t sure what.
“Nervous,” she admitted. “I haven’t been home in thirteen years.”
“Well, we’ve got your back,” Hudson said. “Let me grab us a coffee and we can get to know each other a bit more.”
She nodded mutely as they both headed for the counter.
“Breathe, Ori,” I said, leaning in and placing another kiss on her temple and wishing we were bonded so I could help calm her more.
She took a deep breath and nodded.
“It’s weird they don’t have a scent,” she said. “People will notice, won’t they?”
“They probably have cologne or something,” I said, eyes locked on the others. They were hissing back and forth, both looking startled more than confident now.
I’d have to keep an eye on them. Maybe they were simply getting their stories straight right now, but I was a little uneasy.
When they sat back down their focus was back on Oriana. Hudson was the first to break the awkward silence.
“Usually we set up a whole persona,” Hudson admitted. “For some reason, I didn’t want to this time. Sorry, I took Lane by surprise.”
“Do you want me to use a different name for you? I don’t mind,” Oriana offered. The concern in her voice had his unease melting away. He leaned in a little, brushing his fingers over her hand before pulling back like she shocked him.
“No worries, Lane works. This was our last job anyway so it might be nice to hear my own name again,” he laughed.
“How did you keep it straight?” I asked. “It has to be strange having a fake name and whole identity to memorize each time.”
“You have no idea,” Hudson laughed.
“We would sometimes have to create business pages and stats, paper trails, you name it,” Lane explained. “We have some contacts who helped with that.”
“Did you ever run into anyone recognizing you from other fake dates?” Oriana asked, relaxing a little as the awkwardness between us faded. It was a bit too easy but they were well practiced.
“No, thankfully, but everyone knows the risks. It’s a part of the fake-dating world,” he explained. “My actual social media is locked down tight and I never really use my face. Though, I may start now since the names are out of the bag now.”
Lane pulled out a tablet and brought up some sort of questionnaire.
“Mind if we do a bit of a twenty questions thing?” he asked both of us. “We’ll need to get to know each other so we don’t fuck anything up. You both have to get comfortable with us, too.”
“Ask away,” I said. “What do you want to know?”
“Jobs,” he said. “To start.”
“I am… was, a real estate agent here in the city. I’ll have to get licensed for back home but I’ve already started the process,” Oriana explained.
“What’s the plan when you get there? You mentioned this is our pack moving back, right?” Hudson prompted.
“Right. I… uh… found out recently after some really awful side effects, that I’m allergic to heat suppressants. Don’t worry, I’m not asking for your help with my heat,” she quickly added. They both looked worried but she rambled ahead before they could speak. “My doctor suggested I find an alpha to help me through, but I can’t stomach the thought of non-pack and I had an alpha. This is me taking back control of my life. I’m going home where I belong and he can get on board or I cut him out of my life forever. If all else fails, the clinic can knock me out for heats or something.”
My stomach lurched at the thought.