Page 29 of Wild Omega

“February twenty-third.”

The last date I remember was December twenty-first. “How many days between December twenty-first and today?” Looks like I spent Christmas trapped in that damn room.

She gets out her phone and scrolls through a calendar, mouthing the numbers as she counts by sevens. “Sixty-three.”

Fuck me.

A second ache joins the faint stitch in my side, and I grit my teeth together to keep a whimper locked inside. I’m going into heat. Only one certainty exists in my life and that’s my heats—three days long and exactly sixty days after my previous one ends.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Samantha asks, stepping closer and reaching for my shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” I snap, jerking away. I needed a few more days to collect myself because I don’t have a battle plan. “Shower. I need to shower,” I grind out, striding for my room. A freezing cold shower might keep the heat at bay for a few more hours and buy me some time.

“You seem really upset, Red. If you tell me what’s going on, I can help.”

“No one can fucking help,” I hiss, speeding up. The last thing I need is to leak slick in a hallway. The last time I did that, well—

Panic claws around my lungs as the memories crowd in, stealing my oxygen.

“Red?” Samantha’s voice deepens with concern as we reach my room, but it can’t penetrate the stony barrier forming in my body—the one that locks me out of control.

I spin around in my doorway. Can I trust these people, or are they lying through their teeth waiting for this moment to prey on me? I guess I’m about to find out.

“I’m going into heat, Samantha.”

Chapter twelve

Red

I watch Samantha closely, but all I see is a softening of her expression that says she understands. Like hell she does, but at least I can’t read any greed in her eyes. I’m all too familiar with what that looks like.

Samantha holds her hands wide where I can see them. “Okay, Red, that makes sense. We have lots of options for you, so you can be as comfortable as possible. The Center has cozy nest rooms where you can go, or we can bring materials here into your room, where things are familiar. We have a team of experienced alphas certified to assist you—”

I snarl as waves of heat clash with terror. “Bring a motherfucking alpha into my heat, and I’ll burn the whole damn building down!” I growl at her. “I dare you to try.”

She backs up a step. “Okay, Red. Let’s get you comfortable first. Where do you want to go?”

Billowing fire under my skin scorches out both my sanity and the Red Hawk until all that’s left is the real me, damaged, scared, and alone. The omega at the mercy of her own body. “Nowhere!”

Samantha smiles sadly. “I know this has been traumatic for you until now, but it doesn’t have to be like that. We could sedate you through it, if you prefer.”

I laugh shrilly. “A needle? I’ll stick it through your eyeball if you so much as show me one.” With a rough shove, I push her out of my room and slam the door on her ass. My fingers tremble as I activate the electronic lock, but I know her swipe card will get her inside. Frantic, I run through the room, looking for options. The window doesn’t open wide enough for a body to squeeze through, and it’s the second floor anyway.

I peer into the bathroom and notice a manual lock on the door. So be it.

The outer door beeps as I drag the cover and a pillow off my bed and tuck a water bottle under my arm. Three days; I just need to survive for three days.

“Red, please,” Samantha calls. “We need to talk about this. It’s too dangerous to go through a heat alone.” The bathroom door locks with a satisfying click behind me, smothering her shrill voice.

Wrapping the duvet around my shoulders, I slide down the tiled wall to plop in a shivering heap on the floor. Sweat covers my hands and trickles down my back, and it feels like someone’s turned the central heating to its max setting. A groan slips between my clenched teeth.

Have I mentioned I hate going into heat?

Raw energy crashes through my blood. No pretending, no acting. Just me and a losing battle with mindless desire. Samantha knocks on the door, and I scream at her to go away, but soon even sound fades. I rock into the blanket and hug a pillow against my raging belly.

It’s hard to say which is worse, going through a heat with an alpha you don’t want, or having no alpha at all. My body’s hard-wired to suck on an alpha’s knot like a pussy lollipop, and now I can’t do anything except whine and shake with need.

At least plenty of daylight pours through the window, but as the agony stretches on, even the light fades.

---