29. Lucy
CHAPTER 29
Lucy
“Pardon me.” I grabbed my purse and pushed away from the table, hoping he wouldn’t notice just how badly my hands were shaking. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
Liam didn’t try to stop me or demand to know why.
He just let me go.
The hostess was waiting outside the private dining room and she pointed out the bathrooms. I could barely register what she was saying, let alone what her face looked like, but I thanked her anyway and kept my head down as I passed the main dining area of the restaurant.
No one looked at me twice without Liam by my side. My face wasn’t internet famous, but just being here in this restaurant meant I knew somebody.
I couldn’t give a fuck about that right now, not when my thighs were damp with slickness and my skin was flushed enough someone was definitely going to notice what was going on sooner rather than later.
All I had to do was get to the bathroom, then I could take my emergency suppressants and demand Liam take me home the second I got my shit under control.
I managed to ignore all the people in the restaurant and made my way to the restroom, really fucking glad to see they had one for a single occupant.
Shoving the door open, I winced when the bright lights accosted me, but it was private and empty which was all I needed at the moment.
Unzipping my purse, I pushed aside my gun, and grabbed the small glass bottle full of little pink pills beside it that looked and tasted like star candy. The sweetness always hurt my teeth, but they worked immediately. I’d been able to stop a few heats with these. Not having a regular cycle made it impossible to know when it would happen so this was the only way to manage it.
I grabbed two and popped them into my mouth as I avoided my reflection in the mirror. Seeing just how flushed and needy I looked was the last thing I needed right now.
Leaning against the door, I tried to catch my breath, practicing the breathing exercises the omega specialists had taught us back in school. Omega classes had always been a nightmare for me, but I’d paid attention and learned every little thing I could just in case I’d need it one day.
And apparently, today was that day.
Sliding down against the door, I sank onto the floor, feeling the cold tile through my tights and skirt. It helped ease some of the feverish symptoms, but the suppressants weren’t working as quickly as they usually did and I was trying really fucking hard not to freak out about that.
My entire body was trembling now and every inch of my skin was on fire. My clothes felt like sandpaper and I clutched my skirt to keep from tearing everything off. Even my bones fucking ached, but all of that was nothing in comparison to the ache between my legs.
The emptiness was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
All my heats had the same symptoms, but they’d never been this bad. It had always felt more like a weird cold. My stomach would hurt and the fever never failed to give me a migraine. The only way to get through with minimal pain was to fuck betas and then have Franke cuddle with me in between partners.
Now…
I think I finally understood why omegas took off a whole week during their heat cycle, because I really didn’t think anything could ever fill the bottomless pit of need inside of me. It would take…I had no idea what it would take to end this pain that was so fucking intense I was doubled over like I’d been sucker punched right in the gut.
God, it hurt so bad.
I reached for my phone, sweat dripping down my temples and neck, soaking into the sweater I couldn’t take off. Not here.
If the suppressants weren’t going to start working soon, I had to call someone to get me the fuck out of here.
Walking was impossible right now with how badly my legs were shaking – almost like that time I’d stood at the edge of a cliff with Frankie to go bungee jumping. I’d never been so scared in my life about something so stupid, but that feeling was exactly like this.
Only this time I wasn’t afraid of how high up we were – I was terrified of what would happen if these suppressants didn’t work.
Liam was already so sensitive to my pheromones and with my new symptoms, I had no idea how potent they really were. Would the suppressants at least dampen my scent? If not…
How much longer until I burned through my scent blockers?
I unlocked my phone with one hand and grabbed my gun with the other, instantly comforted by the cool weight of it.
Should I call Liam first?
No, I didn’t want him to find me like this in case my suppressants started working. I didn’t know how to deal with a normal alpha affected by my heat let alone a legacy alpha.
Thankfully, I’d put that doctor’s number into my phone as soon as I had the chance. He was the only one who might actually be able to help me since he had the most up-to-date information on my pheromone levels.
It was difficult to hold onto the phone and select the contact I needed, but I didn’t want to use a voice command and let anyone know what was going on either.
For the first time in my life, I was getting to experience the very specific fear an omega had with an unexpected heat that even a strong suppressant couldn’t touch. I’d always felt pity before, but now I felt horrified. They really went through this every single time?
Why did it have to be like this?
Maybe I wasn’t the defective one if this was how it was supposed to be. Nothing about this experience felt normal or natural. I just wanted to go home and get wrapped up in my blankets, but I didn’t want to go there alone…
Finally, the doctor picked up. “Ms. Parker? Is everything okay?”
Nathan had to know I wouldn’t call unless it was an emergency. Liam had definitely picked a good one.
“Actually…” Jesus, was that my voice? Why did I sound so fucking seductive and yet desperate at the same time? I cleared my throat and tried again, pressing my thumb to the safety of my gun. “I think I started my heat cycle. I took two of my emergency suppressants, but they aren’t working like they usually do.”
The silence on the other end of the line freaked me out even more. This was bad, wasn’t it?
Shit, what if Liam wasn’t the only alpha who could scent me?
“Do you know the brand and the milligrams per pill?” Nathan sounded a lot different than he had the first time I met him. It made me suspect he’d spent a decent amount of time working in an ER before becoming the Valor’s personal doctor.
“It’s a max dose,” I whispered, pushing the safety off the gun …
Just in case.
“Ms. Parker, how many exactly and what’s the prescription?”
“It’s 800 milligrams per pill and I took two. The prescription is Tratiflox.”
He had the decency not to curse out loud, but I could feel it in his silence.
I was fucked.
“How long since you took it?”
“Maybe five minutes?”
“Lucy, that’s supposed to work instantly. If you haven’t felt any changes, you need to get somewhere safe immediately. Where are you right now?”
Fuck , with my luck, I should have known this was going to happen. “Last night wasn’t pheromone sickness, was it?”
“I don’t believe it was.” Nathan sighed and I could hear him typing on a keyboard. “It’s difficult to tell by your tests, but it looks like it might have been pre-heat symptoms in tandem with an anxiety attack.”
Double fuck.
“It’s never been this bad before,” I whispered, knowing I didn’t have much time. Liam was going to break the door down if I didn’t come back soon. “What should I do?”
“Where are you?”
My stomach cramped so hard I thought I was going to throw up, and my turtleneck was drenched in sweat. “In a private restroom at Bite. Liam brought me here.”
“Oh, thank god.” The relief in Nathan’s voice scared me even more. “I’m going to call him and tell him where you are, okay, Lucy? Where do you want him to take you?”
I hesitated, knowing I should say my own fucking apartment, but I couldn’t forget the way Frankie had collapsed just because I was upset. If I ran into her during my heat, I could really hurt her.
“I want to go back to his house in the city,” I whispered, like this admission was a dirty secret. I felt so embarrassed and upset by how badly I wanted to go back there that I actually felt tears prick my eyes and this time I wasn’t sure I could keep them from falling.
“Okay, Lucy. It won’t take long, just hold on.”
His words became background noise when I heard the faint sound of footsteps just outside the door. They stopped instead of continuing past like all the others had and my heartrate skyrocketed.
Was someone waiting for the bathroom, or were my pheromones leaking out and they sensed what easy prey I was right now?
Remember, Daphne, any sign of weakness and they’ll use that as an excuse to sink their teeth into you. They like to bark and bite, tearing through flesh…
Being an omega without an alpha was already a weakness, but the fact that I was an unclaimed omega in heat on top of that? If an alpha was out there who happened to be able to tell what I was just like Liam could…
The gun felt heavy in my hand and the second the doc hung up I selected Liam’s contact, finger hovering over the dial button as I braced myself against the door. I was probably just overreacting. This paranoia could be explained away by the fear of something unfamiliar and the new pain I didn’t know how to manage, but there was always the chance my father was right.
The very moment my weakness was exposed, they’d scent it like sharks – sensitive to even the tiniest drop of blood in the water.
I didn’t know if I could even stand, but I had a gun. Squeezing the trigger was easy enough and this predator would soon find out just how sharp my teeth were. I almost laughed at the thought. To think how confident I’d been that this would never be a situation I’d have to deal with.
Being hunted simply because I was an omega.
The handle on the door turned slowly, and I held my breath. Would they leave it alone if they found it locked? Probably not, honestly. There was a fifty-fifty chance it was just a random person with no ill intentions, but my gut was telling me otherwise.
Either they’d force their way in to do whatever it was they had planned, or they’d force their way in because they’d lost their mind after scenting an unclaimed omega in heat.
All it took was one good twist and a shove for the door to open. The fucking lock snapped instantly and I was flung forward, my phone shattering as I tried to catch myself before smashing my face into the tile.
Shit, this one was strong.
My wrist twinged when I fought against the force, twisting my body at the same time that I brought my arm up to aim where their forehead should be.
“Daphne?”
Today really wasn’t going my way, was it?
Arturo Lopez stood in the doorway with a predatory gleam in his red eyes. Of course another fucking legacy alpha would be at a place like this on a Saturday night, but out of all of them in the city, it had to be him?
His scent clung to everything he touched like an overpowering cologne. It was thick and cloying and instantly made me sick to my stomach. I damn near threw up on the spot but I managed to swallow it down and keep my sights on his forehead.
That familiar, predatory grin made the shaking in my body worse and I could barely breathe let alone focus, but I had to stick it out just a little bit longer. Liam was supposed to be on his way, but even if he wasn’t I’d shoot this asshole right here and now and deal with the consequences later.
“Sorry, it’s Lucy now, isn’t it?” He came inside the bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaning against it with that massive body of his.
Arturo was nothing but a fancy thug, but he was still one of the strongest people I’d ever met. This was the fucking asshole who was chosen to take over the Lopez pack when Frankie’s eyes never turned red.
I hated him more than anyone else I’d ever met.
“Who would have guessed you’d finally act like an omega?” Arturo snickered, not the least bit bothered by the fact that my gun was pointed at him, not when I couldn’t even stand.
“ Leave ,” I gritted out, lifting the gun higher when his smile dropped and the only thing left on that annoyingly attractive face was hunger .
This alpha was here to rip me apart.