Page 47 of Omega Shattered
"Maybe, but still. I know you hate omegas and I'm sorry you had to get involved."
He shrugged. "It's fine."
River just sat in his chair, silent. He was the only one who hadn't knotted me and I didn't want to say anything about it. He hated me, I knew that. I'd begged for his knot in the truck and he'd been willing to let me die rather than give me what I needed. That told me everything.
Chapter 25
Final Throes
She was perfection. Watching Quinn ride Orion, her naked body glistening with sweat as she undulated on his thick cock made me harder than I'd ever been in my life.
She'd gone from barely breathing to climbing atop my second in command and taking control of her own pleasure, in just a few hours. The strength the little omega held was breathtaking, but I couldn't say or do anything.
I'd failed her in the most spectacular way.
Not only had I tried to take her back to the ORC in the dead of night, in a storm, I'd failed to give her the knot she needed when she was dying. In the moment, I'd thought it was the right thing to do. I couldn't violate an omega in heat, but I had to admit that part of it was the fact that I didn't want to have any sort of bond with her.
It would be too easy to fall into her gray eyes, let her take over my heart and soul. Something I could see the rest of my pack doing right now.
Archer knelt on one side of her, tweaking her nipples and watching her face as she threw her head back and wailed, her entire body convulsing.
Orion held her hips, staring up at her with a worshipful look on his scarred face. Then his own face twisted into a mask of pleasure as she sank over his knot and he erupted. It was obvious in every touch of his fingers on her flesh that he had fallen for her.
Kade wasn't far behind. I'd met him after his last run-in with an omega and his bitter hatred of the entire designation had resonated with me. Now, he was slowly pumping his cock while he watched the beautiful woman slumped over Orion, her eyes glazed with pleasure now instead of heatshock. Kade stood up and walked over to run his hands over her back, making her moan. He was falling too.
I was the only one still holding back, as my entire pack was caught up in the wiles of the omega heat.
Standing up from the uncomfortable chair I'd been sitting in for far too long, I left the room. Out in the hall, the air was fresh and clean. Scent scrubbers worked full time in the hospital and I sucked in plain air that didn't taste like honey and apples. No spices tickled my throat, though her arousal still faintly clung to my clothes.
I walked down the hall and out the main doors, surprised to find that it was barely morning outside. It felt like we'd been in that stuffy room for hours, but the sun was just tipping over the trees now, sending golden rays across the snowy parking lot. At some point, I'd run out here to move the SUV and it was now covered in a layer of snow an inch deep.
The crisp air reminded me of our night in the truck. Of her broiling skin on mine and the ice creeping in elsewhere.
Shaking my head, I threw off the thoughts and pulled out my phone. I needed to let the director know what was going on.
"Heatshock? You're sure? That's very rare."
"I know," I ran a hand through my short hair. "We have her at the hospital now and the others are making sure she gets through it. I just thought you should know."
"Thank you for the update," she sighed. "This severely impacts her potential placement. Omegas who have suffered heatshock once are more likely to deal with it again in the future. Most packs don't want an omega with that sort of defect."
"What does that mean for her?"
"Well, most likely, she'll need to go to the heat dens where her condition can be better managed. There will always be a knot available for her and that should prevent a relapse."
"The heat dens." My mind buzzed with everything I'd learned from Quinn over the past few days. "So she'll be a glorified whore?"
"Consider it a medical intervention. Did the doctor give a timeline for when she can be released? We'll contact the hospital and arrange payment, of course."
"He wants her in here for another 24 hours for hydration and observation."
"Excellent." She sounded almost bored. "Well, I can imagine you need some recovery time with your pack after this incident, so I'll send one of our other retrieval experts to bring her in tomorrow morning. Thank you for keeping me updated."
She hung up and I was left feeling cold and empty, like I'd just done something truly awful.
I headed to the cafeteria where I had a cup of bitter coffee while researching the heat dens. There wasn't much information on them, just ads letting alphas know there was a place they could ease the rut with willing omegas in heat. It sounded like a dream for alphas, all the pleasure of knotting an omega with none of the commitment, but there was nothing about the omega side of things.
Frustrated, I shoved my phone back in my pocket and looked around the cafeteria. It was full right now, with families looking worried, men with drawn faces eating sandwiches rapidly, in a rush to get back to their mate or child. All of them seemed to be eager to return to the people they'd left in order to nourish themselves. I was the only one dragging my feet.
