Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

Ifelt much better in the morning.

Whatever was in those tacos Cal picked up, and put the extras into my mini-fridge after he left, it was magic.

Now, with my burnt coffee and the dry cookies another librarian brought in for someone's birthday up on the main floor of the library, I was bursting with enough energy to complete the final leg of this alumni project.

My fingers flew over the keys as I logged another database ready for user service and compiled the rest of the information into an organized spreadsheet. Soon I'd never have to look at any of these self-important business majors who like to come back for homecoming every year, ever again.

Some of the information and people who walked the same halls I did every day was interesting at first, but after a while, it all started to look like gibberish.

However, I did come across a lot of other stuff for Cal to also have a look at.

It turned out that there were quite a few people from Prestford who now made the big bucks that were invested in omega welfare. There was a guy who started a foundation for omega sickness and disease treatment. There was another woman who had an entire non-profit platform for omega domestic abuse and reform with close ties to funding also against omega trafficking which always made my skin crawl to even think about.

Hitting the enter key, a bar appeared on my computer screen, slowly uploading. When it made its way to the other side, that would be it. I was done.

I forced myself to contain my excitement until it was well and truly finished. I didn't want to jinx the database system that was known for more than a few hiccups.

While I waited, I pushed back my desk chair. Around the corner, I could hear the steady scanning from another librarian at work. I also could see the mess I left around my workstation the past few days while I forced myself to stay whole-heartedly in the zone.

Papers were scattered all around the table behind me, somewhat distinguishable by type. Stacking and clipping everything back together, I housed them in their fresh folder with labels.

Once I had them filed away, I paused over the yearbooks, organized by year. I peeked inside each, catching the smiling photos of past classes at Prestford.

I paused over a dark maroon yearbook, pausing just like the others. It was about a decade or so ago which meant that it would probably be around the time that Cal went to school here if I wasn't mistaken.

Ruffling through the pages, it didn't take me long to find exactly what I was looking for. I stared down at the black and white photograph. A smile curved my lips as I stared down at what was unmistakable Cal with much longer hair than he did today. Dark curls brushed against his cheekbones. His smile though was still bright and unabashed.

He wasn't alone in the image.

A trio of boys stood next to each other, including Cal who looked a bit younger than the other two.

This must be them. I blinked for a moment, putting it all together.

These men must be Cal's pack.

Cal Lessenfield, Liam Volokov, and Demetri Prestford– all stood in a row.

My breath caught as I studied them. I knew that man.

Not Cal. The man next to him.

He was a professor like Cal had said. But I"d seen him from a distance more than once. I'd been unable to pull my eyes away from how handsome he was.

There he was again, the man– the alpha– I ran into in the science building. I remembered his cool eyes and irritated tone, snapping at me after I almost fell down the stairs on his watch. Then he had glasses he wasn't wearing in this photograph and he smelled...

A shiver came over me as I remembered.

He smelled like the most delicious comforting spice. Chai and something else warm.

I couldn't stop staring at them, feeling myself start to sway on my feet.

The hot alum has me sweating.

That must be it, considering not only should I not be thinking that they are attractive. They are the guy's pack I was seeing.

They were alphas.

Danger.

Slamming the yearbook shut, I quickly shoved it back onto the shelf and made my way towards my desk, cleaning up the final pieces of paper left from my project.

My eyes again caught on a piece of paper. No, not just one piece. Multiple. Because I was good at my job and when it came to projects, once I started, I couldn't just stop.

I found the name in more than one place the more I looked for it.

Davidson.

The last name and initials that I thought looked correlated or with similar signatures on collected documents turned over to the archive relating to the Prestford legacy went into a pile. Most of them detailed one thing.

Omega funds.

More specifically? The large amount of donations being given to Omega Havens and other omega works and services by the Davinson family.

And I was starting to be unable to think it could be any other Dvainson family than the one I knew. Because their names were all right there. Everywhere, along with big fat quotes right alongside those big fat checks, they are congratulated in big money articles, detailing how happy they were to support such an important designation that needs to be kept safe and protected.

Yet none of that made sense. Or rather, it did.

Too much.

But then there was the other question of why… Why was Cal and his pack looking into these kinds of funds? Just like the Davidson's.

Just like them.

I forced myself to look away from the papers and research, shoving them into a folder. I needed to stop this. I was fine and I was… happy.

Was that what this feeling was recently?

Huh.I smiled.

I needed to stay happy and to do that, I needed to keep myself as far away from my past as possible. It was that easy.

I would just pass along all the other information to Cal like I said, and tell him that's that. I'm done.

He's the one that was always on me about taking a break after this project anyway.

I peeked up to my computer screen.

The alumni database was uploaded. The favors made to be formed like business cards just as I suggested to Mr. Wolfern were ordered from the print shop.

Everything was done. Finished. Complete.

Not a single task was left.

A weight I very much knew I was holding, lifted off my shoulders. My breath came out shaky as I swallowed and let my head hang as if I'd just run a marathon.

It certainly felt that way.

The project wasn't one of the most complex I ever done, but one week was faster than I ever managed before.

And I hoped I never had to manage it again.