Chapter 10
Opal
We’ve got to get out of here. Now.
My hair hung down over my face and my knees knocked together as I waddle-ran out of the cafeteria.
Or we could stay…
I ignored my horny beast. This was all her fault. As an Omega, I couldn’t afford to stick around and play the dangerous games she was starting. I should’ve known. The warning signs had been flashing neon red this morning.
In my defense, those are our fated mates.
I know, but couldn’t you give me time to meet them first?
My wolf snorted. It’s biology, babe. Take it up with the goddess.
I rested against the wall outside the cafeteria, taking a moment to catch my breath.
Which I shouldn’t have done.
“What’s that smell?” a female voice asked as a group of Alphas and Lunas rounded the corner.
I knew the exact moment the males in the group caught scent of me. Their rising pheromones sent shivers down my spine. Pungent and wrong and so very dangerous.
I inched backwards, trying not to run and give them the wrong impression, as nostrils flared and glowing wolf eyes turned my way.
If we’d stayed where we were, a hot mate could’ve protected us, she whined.
And then we would’ve ended up presenting in the middle of the cafeteria.
Nothing wrong with that.
I continued to scoot along the wall, praying the Alpha males wouldn’t do something foolish like leave the females they were walking with as they continued to sniff in my direction.
“Is she in heat already?” One Alpha nudged another and—
I ran.
Thankfully, I was fast. It’d saved me more than a time or two. I reached for the phone in my pocket as I booked it, looking up at the cameras in the hall and waving like a lunatic. Please see me.
I slid to a stop in the reception area. The familiar rock fireplace and leather couches did nothing to ease my panic.
Everywhere I looked, Lunas and Alphas were turning in my direction with nostrils flaring and eyes glowing bright.
Some of them didn’t even know why. Their wolves were taking over, assessing the new threat.
Stupid, stupid.
My wolf whined again.
“Smells like heaven.” A male coming out of the elevator sniffed the air, blocking my escape down the hall. His Alpha friends piled out beside him and the three moved forward, drawn by my scent.
I tried to make myself smaller even as the throbbing between my legs intensified and sweat broke out on my skin. I hated when I couldn’t control this. The fear and pain mixed with pleasure. Teasing and taunting as it tried to drag me under.
“Hello there, beautiful.” The alpha closed in on me, leaning his arm on the wall above my head and trapping me in plain sight. “Do you need some help?”
“No.” My gaze went past him to the hall and admin offices beyond, just far enough that they felt miles out of reach. “I need to go.”
“Or you could stay with me,” he said as he reached to touch my hair.
The scent of male and sex and wrong made my stomach churn as my knees knocked together. Going into heat sucked when it happened at the wrong time.
“Please leave me alone,” I begged in a breathless whisper.
He chuckled.
I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, the scent was gone and I could breathe again.
“No is a full sentence, asshole,” someone said.
I inhaled sweet, fresh air, opening my eyes to see my savior.
Oh no.
Her fiery red hair was pinned back into a low bun and her green eyes full of dominance looked me over.
My wolf’s whine got stuck in my throat.
Not again.
Cindy Frazier stood towering over me in her nude pumps and tailored suit.
Maybe she forgot who we are.
“Look what we’ve got here. I wondered when I’d bump into you.” Cindy smiled with all her sharp, white teeth.
No luck. I tried to stand upright and face her, but a cramp rolled through my middle, making me double over in pain.
It would only get worse the longer I ignored it.
“Oh no.” Cindy held her hands in the air, looking over her shoulder to the camera crew headed our way. “I didn’t touch her this time.”
“It’s fine,” I hissed through my teeth as I held my belly and started forward. I had to keep moving, especially before the cameras caught up to me.
“Which room are you in?” Cindy seemed to realize what I was doing and she… helped.
The crowd of Alphas and Lunas backed off as she pushed me like a freight train toward the elevators.
“I need medical,” I told her, trying to make sure I steered us in the right direction before I collapsed.
“You better not be trying to die on us again,” Cindy growled as she looped her arm under my shoulders, practically carrying me down the hall.
“I’m really trying not to.” I panted as we came to a stop outside the door with the red cross. “Thanks for… Why are you helping me?”
The pain was too intense to be as polite as I should’ve been and I winced as the words left my mouth.
Cindy didn’t seem to care. “Let’s just say I’ve had an attitude change since last year.
” She threw a smile over her shoulder to the cameras who were rushing to catch up and then lowered her voice so only I could hear, “Also, you can tell Ranger and Aspen to back off. I’m not here for trouble.
I just need to get through this season.”
Heat flushed my skin as I nodded. “Same.”
“And sorry about the, you know…” Cindy pushed open the door. “I’ll keep the cameras away.”
“Thank you,” I breathed as I hurried inside.
A human male with a clipboard and stethoscope rushed toward me, brow furrowing with concern as I slumped onto the chair. “What happened? Where are you hurt?”
“I can’t talk to you,” I mumbled as I rested my head back against the wall and crossed my legs, repeating the words I’d been taught to say if I ever had an emergency. And this was an emergency with a capital E. “Please call the Omega hotline and tell them Opal Morganton needs assistance.”
*
Once, when I was young and my mom wasn’t messed up—which takes a lot for a wolf but she had three times the reason to numb the pain—she took me to my first Omega doctor visit.
Come to think of it, maybe it was Alpha Journey who drove us. Mom wasn’t driving at that time, and it was a four-hour trip to the clinic in Pennsylvania. We went by a place called Hersheypark and I imagined it’d be just like Willa Wonka’s chocolate factory, but we sadly didn’t stop to check it out.
I remember getting a handful of almond chocolate kisses, though. And the Zen Garden with the waterfall in the middle of the hospital lobby. The rooms were so clean. The chairs were soft. Beautiful and gentle women spoke in singsong voices as they took me to the back rooms.
Alpha Journey wouldn’t have been allowed inside, so that’s probably why I didn’t have him in the memory.
Actually, my mom didn’t come inside either.
But I wasn’t scared. Who could be? Not with women as nice as this.
“Is she in here?”
I cracked one eye open at the voice intruding on my memories. I didn’t know her, but I didn’t have to. Our souls called to same.
Omega, my wolf sighed in relief.
“What’s going on?” Ken Damar stood behind the willowy, tall, and beautiful older Omega nurse whose golden hair was braided into a mane hanging down past her shoulder and stethoscope. She had kind eyes and a spattering of freckles across the cutest pert little nose.
I nodded to answer her, staring pointedly at the cameras until the door closed and blocked them out.
She seemed in no rush to talk, either.
It was Ken who panicked. “Someone tell me what is happening.”
“Everything is fine.” I smiled at him even as the pain cramped my belly again. “I just needed the nurse.”
I felt bad about enacting this part of my contract and requesting specialized medical care, but I couldn’t talk to a regular medic about these specific… troubles.
“Are you sure you’re okay? We don’t want a repeat of last season.” Ken hovered by the door, looking worriedly at the nurse. “She’s going to be fine. Right, Penelope?”
The Omega—Penelope—gave him a serene smile that even soothed some of the tension in my shoulders. I mirrored it, waiting until she guided the producer back out of the room, and the door shut again.
“It hurts,” I cried, bending at the waist to hug my knees.
“Oh, sweetheart. How long have you been fighting it?” Penelope rushed to my side and ran her hand along my back, spreading warmth and comfort where she touched.
“It came on fast this morning.” I breathed through the pain as it morphed to something sweeter. But I didn’t have to be embarrassed about the rising pheromones in the air.
Penelope nodded knowingly as she opened her bag and started prepping the syringe. “I’m glad we were on call for this. We figured it might happen.”
We. I ignored the implications. Now wasn’t the time to complain.
“I’m assuming this means you met your fated mates.” Penelope couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.
Yep! My wolf yipped. And they’re perfect.
I glanced at the door, worried someone with shifter hearing would pick up on our conversation.
“Don’t worry, I signed an NDA. I wouldn’t do anything that jeopardized our community.” Penelope stood in my line of view and drew out the serum with the needle, winking as she did. “Or do anything to get in the way of your love story.”
“Thank you for coming,” I tried to be polite. My jaw clenched as I held out my arm. The needle was a cool bite against my skin.
“I’m glad I could be here.” Penelope dispensed the serum. “After last season, the whole Omega community is in a tizzy over what happened to you. Our lawyers worked hard to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. We’re all rooting for you, like always…”
She stopped talking, not wanting to push me any further. I knew they cared. They’d sent letters and tried to visit and made sure Alpha Journey knew I could go to them at any time.
I hated this. The tight feeling in my chest at hearing the sweet words of other Omegas. It was in our nature to care. To love deeply and with our whole hearts.
But it was a stark reminder that love could also be a weakness that destroyed you from the inside out if you let it.