Chapter 1 #2
As if to mock that declaration, another cramp hits and my thighs grow slick as more wetness gushes out of me.
She looks down at my shaking hands and grasps one to steady me. “Whoa.” Her soft brown eyes widen. “But you’re…You’re…” I can tell she’s trying not to say I’m old. I’d laugh if I wasn’t so freaked out. She clears her throat and softens her expression. “You’ve never had a heat before?”
I look at this sweet young woman as if she can somehow save me from the madness that’s happening. “No! I’m forty goddamn years old! I’m a beta! This is…” I swallow heavily as I push down the sudden urge to cry. “This is impossible,” I murmur.
“I’d heard of late revealing omegas, but…
wow.” She sees the grimace on my face and shakes her head emphatically, squeezing my hand tighter.
“That’s so exciting! Oh my god, it’s like something from a romance novel.
The lonely beta going through life never finding what she needed because she was really an omega the whole time. ”
I tug my hands away and scowl at her. I know she’s trying to be kind, but I’m on the edge of having a mental breakdown.
“This isn’t a romance novel. It’s my fucking life!
I can’t be an omega. I’m not one of those betas that always wished to be something else.
I’m happy how I am. I don’t want to be like that. ”
Her perky facade slips away as a knowing, slightly sad expression crosses her face. She gives me a rueful smile. “You’re still you. Being an omega doesn’t change that. And it’s not that bad.”
The rudeness of my words hits me, and I wince. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like being an omega is a bad thing. I’m sure it’s…” I scramble to try to come up with any pros of being an omega, but the rushing of my pulse in my ears makes it hard to think of anything. “I’m sure it’s great.”
She snorts. “Don’t sound so excited.”
“Ugh, sorry!” I groan. “You’re trying to help and I’m being a total bitch.”
The omega shakes her head. “You’re good, babe. I’d be crashing out, too. Do you have anyone here with you? If you’re alone, I can take you to the omega clinic.”
I flush at the thought of this pretty, perky omega escorting me out of the bar and to an omega clinic.
Especially since I’m still not convinced there isn’t another much more reasonable explanation for what’s happening to me.
“Oh, no, my friend is here with me. You’ve already done much more for a stranger than most people would.
Crap, I’m sorry, I didn’t even get your name. ”
“Steph,” she says with a soft smile. “And it’s not a problem at all. Us omegas have to stick together.”
I nod back at her weakly, fighting off the urge to protest her calling me an omega so I don’t come off like even more of an asshole. “Nice to meet you, Steph. I’m Camille.” I reach a hand out—the one that didn’t touch my soaked panties—but she bypasses it and pulls me into a hug.
Her spring rain scent washes over me, and I’m transported back to an afternoon walking home from high school when I got caught in a sudden downpour.
The long forgotten memory of huddling under the umbrella with Nick, my best friend and unrequited crush back then.
He’d revealed as an alpha a few weeks before, and things had shifted between us.
I remember his eyes locking with mine as we crowded in close.
My breath hitching as his rich pine scent enveloped me and his lips moved close enough to brush against mine as he inhaled deeply, then pulled away with a disappointed half-smile.
That was the first and only time I let myself wish I was different. That I could be the sweet-scented omega that would attract an alpha like Nick, not the boring beta who smelled like weak coffee.
A tear rolls down my cheek.
Guess I got my wish. Too bad it’s twenty-five years too late.
I let out a slightly hysterical chuckle as I pull back from Steph’s embrace and wipe away the dampness on my cheeks.
The omega raises a concerned brow at me, but I wave her off. “I’m okay,” I say with a shaky exhale.
She narrows her eyes at me. “Are you sure?”
I huff out a weak laugh. “Well, no. But I will be.” I say more to reassure myself than to convince her.
“Alright. Let’s go find your friend before your scent has the alphas busting down the door looking to get a piece of some MILF omega ass.”
“I’m not a mother,” I protest, but she giggles and shakes her head
“That won’t keep some eager young alpha from calling you mommy,” Steph says, laughing harder as I gape at her in disbelief.
“What? Who doesn’t like a sexy, experienced older woman?
If you didn’t seem on the verge of a panic attack, I’d offer to help you out.
I’ve got an amazing knotted strap-on at my place. ”
I make a choked sound, and she squeezes my arm. “Breathe, babe. It’s a joke. You’re going to get through this. After all, you’re an omega. Don’t let the blustering alphas fool you—we’re tougher and stronger than the lot of them.”
I nod, certain that’s true, at least in Steph’s case.
After taking a moment to scoop up my discarded panties and toss them in the trash can, I let Steph guide me out of the bathroom.
My skin burns and I swear it feels like everyone in the room is watching me.
That everyone knows. And fuck, I think at least some of them do, because I hear a low growl as we pass by that silver-haired alpha still sitting at the bar.
“Mmm, baby, where are you going?” he asks, and the cloying scent of overripe fruit makes me want to gag.
I’m about to reply, but my new omega protector beats me to it. “Not interested.”
A leathery hand grabs my upper arm to keep me from moving away. “Let your friend speak for herself.”
Any other time I’d be yanking away and telling him to keep his hands to himself, but something about his tone has me frozen in place. What’s wrong with me?
Steph forcibly removes his hand from my arm with surprising strength. “Fuck off, grandpa. I already told you that no one wants your shriveled knot.”
A stunned laugh bursts from me as Steph tugs me away. The alpha mutters something about her being a bitch, but doesn’t make a move to follow us when the bartender levels him with a glare.
Astrid stands up as I approach. “Hey! I thought you fell in or something,” she says with a chuckle, but it dies when she sees my stricken expression and my omega companion. “What the hell happened in there? Who is this? And why do you smell like you bathed in cold brew?”
“This is Steph. I—” A groan escapes me as a spike of heat washes over me and my stomach cramps again. The other alpha in the bar looks our way, his nostrils flaring. A throbbing need builds between my thighs as he looks at me, and my eyes widen in horror as I let out a soft whimper.
Steph moves to block me from the alpha’s line of sight. “Camille needs you to take her to the omega clinic. The closest one is a few blocks away off of Peachtree.”
Astrid gives her a bemused look, then turns to me in confusion. “Uhh, what?”
“She’s going into heat,” Steph says matter-of-factly. “She needs someone to take her to the omega clinic to help. If you can’t take her, I will.”
Astrid’s eyes dart between us, brow furrowing. “This is a really weird prank.”
I let out a shaky exhale. “I wish it was a prank.”
We’ve been friends for ten years, so Astrid knows all my tells. Her mouth falls open as she realizes I’m not lying. “Wait, what? But… You’re a beta. That’s not possible.”
A cramp hits me and I have to grip the edge of the bar to stay upright. “I don’t know,” I say through gritted teeth as I ride out the pain. It’s like my worst period cramps, but paired with a fever and an achy, empty feeling that’s growing increasingly difficult to ignore.
“The first one is usually the worst,” Steph says with a sympathetic frown.
She glances around and her posture stiffens as she sees the other alpha approaching us.
“Maybe you can ask questions at the clinic rather than at a bar where random alphas are being drawn to an omega in heat like sharks scenting blood?”
“Shit.” Astrid’s eyes widen. “Okay. Yeah. Let’s go.”
I thank Steph for her help, and she gives me another hug and a murmured “good luck” before intercepting the alpha coming toward us. I lean on Astrid’s arm as we head out of the bar, sighing in relief as the frigid night air cools my burning skin.
It feels like ages pass as we walk to the car and drive the few blocks to the omega clinic. Astrid talks the whole time, but I can’t focus on anything she’s saying between my racing thoughts and my fevered senses.
When we pull into the clinic parking lot, the clock on her car dashboard reads 10:07pm—the time I was born.
Happy fucking birthday to me.