Page 16 of Omega on the Rocks
“Highway Nine,” I whispered, barely managing the words between clenched teeth. “Right before the overlook—there’s adirt road. Two boulders mark the entrance… and a rusted road sign—half fallen.”
“And after that?” she asked, already pulling onto the road, eyes wild.
“The trail splits,” I gasped. “Take the right fork. You’ll think it’s the wrong way—it’s overgrown, steep. But keep going. You’ll see a wooden fence with blue paint, just barely visible through the trees.”
I tried to suck in a breath. Failed.
“Then what?” she urged.
“There’s a clearing behind the fence,” I wheezed. “His cabin’s there. You won’t see it until you’re right on top of it. It hides. Hehides.”
“Got it,” Jules whispered. “I’ll find it. I’ll get you there.”
And as the next wave of heat slammed into me—hotter, crueler,emptierthan all the ones before—I believed her.
I had to. My fingers slipped on the leather, my body soaked with slick. It was everywhere—soaking through my pants, dripping in hot, humiliating streams. My thighs stuck together. My scent filled the car in an instant, sharp and sweet and desperate.
“It’s okay. Okay, I’ve got it,” she whispered.
Another wave hit. This one was brutal. I screamed, legs kicking out, arching so hard my back cracked. My vision went white. I clawed at my pants, yanking them down, needing the pressure gone, needinganything.The cold air hit my slick-coated skin and I sobbed with relief—but it wasn’t enough.
It wouldneverbe enough without him.
“Jules—” I begged, teeth chattering. “You don’t understand—his knot—it’s the only thing that’ll stop this. I need it. I needhiminside me—deep—full—tied. My body won’t stop until I’mclaimed.”
“I believe you,” she said softly, and I could hear the fear and awe in her voice. “I don’t get it, but I believe you.”
Tears flooded my eyes. “He’s the only one who’s ever touched me during a heat. I trusted him. I— I ran. I told myself I could live without him. But I can’t. I’m breaking.”
She was silent for a long beat as the engine roared.
Then: “We’ll get to him.”
“Faster,” I begged. “Please. Jules, I don’t care if you get pulled over—I’ll die if I don’t feel him again. Ineedto be claimed—I need to feel his knot lock me down and fill me until this agonystops.”
I doubled over, hands pressed between my legs, trying to soothe the fire—but it only made it worse. The emptiness, the gaping void inside me throbbed with every heartbeat. I needed to be filled, to bestretched,to beused.
Every second without Keiran was a second closer to madness.
“Drive,” I whimpered. “Drive like hell. Please.”
Jules didn’t speak—just gripped the wheel harder, white-knuckled, and pressed her foot harder on the gas. The tires skidded and kicked gravel, but she didn’t slow down, not even when the forest thickened and the sky turned violet-black with dusk.
The boulders. The overgrown fork. The fence with blue paint like bruises in the trees. And then—The cabin.
It came into view like a salvation wrapped in shadow. My heart lurched. My whole body seized with anticipation. I clawed at thedoor before the car fully stopped. But the moment I stumbled out, collapsed to my knees in the gravel and wet leaves, Iknew.
The scent was muted. Keiran wasn’t here. The cabin stood silent, dark, empty.
“No,” I gasped. “No, no, no—” I dragged myself to the porch, fingers shaking as I reached for the handle. It wasn’t locked. It didn’t need to be. No boots by the door. Just the muted scent of him having been here. NoAlpha.
He wasgone.My legs gave out and I crumpled against the doorframe. My body trembled, seized. Slick soaked my skin, pooling beneath me in warm, humiliating streams.
“Malachi—” Jules was behind me, breathless, terrified.
I screamed. Loud and ragged. A sound that didn’t sound human—because it wasn’t.
“Where is he?” I sobbed. “He promised—he said if I needed him—"
