Page 122 of Sawyer

I’m missing something big here.

Before us is a large pool of water with steam rising from the surface. It looks so damn inviting, and I want to soak away all of my aches and pains. On the side is a wall of towels and changes of clothing, all in individual little bags so the steam doesn’t reach them.

“Don’t even look at it, baby doll.” Vee steers me around the small pool, grabbing towels and clothing on her way to an opening that leads into private showers. She guides me to the end, tosses the towels and clothing on a bench, steps into the shower, and turns it on. “Give me a minute.”

Feeling woozy again, I sink onto the bench seat and watch as the crazy gamma turns all the showers on in the tight hall. It reminds me of the showers at the dorms from the community college I went to, which is weird.

For some reason, I trust this woman. I’m not really sure what it is about her, but she almost makes me feel normal in this odd setting.

“There we go.” She comes back out, and the sound of the shower is almost deafening. “Go in and wash up. I’ll wait for you here where I’ll give you real advice, not the bullshit Thea spills from her mushy, brainwashed brain.”

“All right.” I give a slight chuckle, but I’m tired, and it’s off. Just the trek here has me needing a nap, and my hand slowly pulses again. I strip out of my clothing and then set my glasses on top of them before I step through the curtain.

Friend.

That is what she feels like. A friend. Aside from Jenny, I don’t have many friends, and even she was more of an enemy.

I don’t have a girlfriend with whom I spend Saturday nights where we watch movies and drink wine. I don’t have someone I call when my world falls apart. The only person I ever really had was Freddy, and, well…that did not end well for me.

“So here is the thing.” Vee slouches on the bench. She’s built like me, maybe a little curvier, and her hair is darker. Our eyes are similar in color though. “This place isn’t what Thea would have you believe. This fucker kidnapped me.”

I step under the spray of water and nearly sigh when the heat hits me. Bruises in dark yellows and greens splotch my body from the hike through the mountains and then my subsequent fall.

“I purposely got caught,” I tell her, saturating my hair. There are pumps of liquid in the shower, each labeled appropriately.

“You’re a damn fool.” She snorts. “The doc… What he’s doing isn’t right. Listen, observation isn’t the dreamy moment Thea would have you believe. He’s trying to invoke a scent match to thus create a heat in a gamma.”

“Why all the omegas?” I ask before I can overthink her words.

“He’s studying their parts,” Vee sneers. “Listen, I need you to know what will happen during observation. That mirror in your room? It’s a two-way mirror.”

“I assumed as much.” I swallow down bile as I continue to wash my body and my hair and then do it all over again.

“Smart girl. You’re going to need that for what’s about to happen,” she says, and there’s pity in her voice, as though she’s sorry for me, sorry for what is about to go down. “They have designation volunteers.”

“What do you mean, volunteers?” I freeze, because that can’t mean what she’s saying it means.

“I mean male volunteers. Packs. Girl, we are on the black market,” she says, her words so matter of fact, I know she’s disassociating from the truth, and I don’t blame her. “Those less savory packs and even a few of the heirs.”

“Who?” I toss the shower curtain to the side so I can see her and not just hear her speak. Now I know why she brought me down and turned on all the showers. It’s so no one hears our conversation.

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. You’re a hot commodity. The men will see you as a challenge. The only, and I mean only saving grace we have is the fact that the doc is a monster with fucking morals.” She grunts and changes her position. Reaching over, she grabs a towel and tosses it at me. “He’s here for research. Hence, the men stand on the other side of that glass in a little fucking room, and Doc fills it with some kind of stimulant.”

“What the hell for?” I rip open the towel and wrap it around my body.

“To get them to react to you.”

Sparks dance behind my eyes. “He pumps something in our room too.”

“Yep.” She pops the words. “They use it to enhance our natural pheromones. He’s trying to make a fucking match.”

“How…” I clear my throat and sink to the floor, my eyes closing. The doc said one of my guys was here. My alpha. “Oh, by the fates.” My head hits my kneecap, and the tears finally fall.

“Hey, I’m so fucking sorry to lay it on you like this.” Vee sinks to the floor beside me. Little sprays of water hit us, soaking her and me all over again. “I’m so fucking sorry, Sawyer.”

“I’m a horrible person.” Those words are an echo in my soul. I lift my head, letting my eyes burn with unshed tears, and my throat tries to close. Sure, this whole situation is fucking awful, but it’s knowing that Thea’s true mates are here and I’m about to lose them that’s getting to me.

How fucked up is that?

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