Chapter 35 Heatwave
Heatwave
Aurora
It’s sweltering in my hotel room. I’m in my pretty periwinkle panties, spread-eagle on my bed, and it’s not helping. You know what would help? A long, thick…popsicle.
Gaaaawwwd, I need a popsicle.
Even though it’s close to midnight, I don’t care.
I throw a baby doll, floral dress on my body, against all logic since I’m so fucking hot, put on my little black sandals, and head out to the corner convenience store.
As I walk down the street, I tie up my hair into a messy bun.
Good Lord, does no one else feel this? There should be a weather advisory.
I walk down the surprisingly busy street lit by neon signs and cool-tone streetlights.
In the store, the A/C must be broken because the air does nothing to help me. Opening the freezer helps a lot, though. I moan into the foggy air and rifle around until I find a golden orange and red popsicle bigger than a cucumber. I pay the clerk and stand outside to take my first lick.
It’s heaven.
I take a few more licks before I notice the man across the street staring at me with an angry face.
I’d know that mean, ugly face.
Padrick.
That 6’7” all-bullshit, no-brains thug throws some trash into a bin so hard it lands on the sidewalk.
Oh, fucking hell no.
Of all people.
He stares straight at me as he crosses the busy city street. If I run, he’ll chase me, so I stand still holding my popsicle. He comes up to me, toe to toe. I lick my popsicle.
“Padrick.”
“What the actual fuck are you doing? You sent us out for the fucking weekend after Legs died. I came back to find it locked up. Everyone told me you just abandoned the pack house! I had to break a fucking window.”
I pretend as though he didn’t say anything important and keep licking my popsicle. I’ve nailed the nothing between my ears look for years. It hasn’t failed me yet.
“Explain!” he shouts.
“What do you want me to say? I’m sorry, I didn’t want to open the pack house where my dad was mauled to death by a fucking tiger!”
He reaches out to wring my neck or shake me, then second-guesses himself. I guess I’m still untouchable to him. Or at least I hope.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Where have you been?” I shoot back at him. Not that I care.
“Sleeping on the floor of my fucking cousin’s apartment! Everything is gone! All the money your father was saving for me. It’s gone! I went to the bank, and there’s nothing there!”
He’s very angry, so I hold back on telling him my father wasn’t keeping shit in a special account just for him. Padrick was basically working for him for free. Like a lot of those in the clan.
The only reason I have money is because I sold a bunch of shit recently, and because I wasn’t actually spending it on all the shit he thought I was spending it on.
“Daddy! I need $700 to buy this limited edition Calvin Klein bag!” Then I’d pull out the one he bought me last year and thank him for it. Pocketing $700.
You gotta hustle if you want to have the freedom to make your own choices.
He grabs my arm, and my popsicle goes flying. No!
“Hey!”
He drags me down the street with a vice-like grip. Guess he decided I am no longer untouchable. That didn’t take long.
“Stop! Hey! Stop! Let me go!” I scream, looking for help, and not seeing a single soul look over our way. “Where are you taking me?!”
“There’s a heavy price on your head, omega. I’m first going to take what was promised to me and then sell you to the highest bidder to recoup my loss.”
I scream and scratch his fingers, but he doesn’t let go.
“Help!” Even though the street is populated, no one does anything. Some of them look like they are considering doing something, but don’t know what.
Oh my god, am I going to get out of this? What the fuck am I going to do? He’s a huge alpha, and I’m a tiny little omega with a weak grip.
“Please, no! Stop! Let me go!” I cry out, not knowing what else to do. How do I get someone to step in? We are already at the next intersection. The hotel is right there.
Blood coats my wrist from his hand that I’ve been scratching.
I bend down and bite his hand, trying my best to get to the soft tendons.
He yells and grips my hair, pulling me off of him.
He lets go so he can touch his wound. For a split second, his hands are off of me, and I bolt to the hotel.
There’s a door next to the rotating doors, so I burst through that.
I know exactly where the elevators are, so I run to them and slip inside.
I pull my keycard out of my bra and use it to select my floor and slam the close elevator button a hundred times with my blood-coated fingers.
The seconds stretch as it takes for-fucking-ever for the doors to start closing behind me.
Just before they close, I see Padrick’s red-angry face through the crack. He was too late. The doors close.
My hands brace myself on my knees.
Oh my god.
He was going to take me somewhere and force himself on me. He was going to fucking rape me!! And then sell me!!
I select a couple of floors above mine, so it shows the elevator going further up after I get off. I get into my room, slide the safety bar across it, and sink to the floor.
I’m not safe here.
I’m not safe.
Suddenly, my body shows me how not safe I really am, because I flush all over and my pheromones fill the space around me.
I’m going into heat.