Page 24 of Omega Island
“But you shouldn’t be having to deal with something like this.”
I let a half smile quirk at my lips. “I figured I might see omegas in heat while staying here. I mean, I got all the details of this place before I came.”
“Yes, but I’m not a patient. I’m going through something right now and it’s just bad timing. I wanted to be here foryou, to lend my friendship to my dear friend Luca’s brother-in-law. Not the other way around.”
“Maybe focusing on something outside myself is what I need.” I pushed at the pool bottom and floated to one of the higher steps, watching Senta intently, glad he could finally relax.
Senta looked up, eyes glinting from the reflected light on the water. “You’re a lot stronger than you might think you are.”
“Hah. I disagree. I’m sorry I can’t control myself better.”
“You’re an alpha. I’m an omega in heat. What do you expect?”
I blinked. My voice went low. “It’s just been a long time.”
Senta’s arms were stretched out from his body now, twirling to keep himself in place. “I get it.” He ducked his head under, then came up, dripping. “For me, too.”
“Why?” The question was out before I realized I shouldn’t have been so personal. “Uh, you don’t need to answer that.”
“I will. I haven’t had a heat in two years. I went through the change early in life. The doctors said I had no more eggs. So I threw myself deeper into this place. Every aspect of it obsessed me. I’ve had two lovers in two years and only then when I left the island for a vacation.”
“Do you know why you’re having a heat, then? Isn’t that impossible?”
“I thought so, too. I worried something was wrong with me. But my tests checked out. I’m healthy. The doctor here told me it’s like a final dance for the body, so to speak. It’s rare, but not impossible.”
“But the pain you feel isn’t normal. I mean for you. Is it?”
“Not at all. It’s never been this way.”
“I wish I could help more,” I blurted. Again, my word choices were not the best. I wasn’t trying to throw myself at him. I found him quite attractive, but other sorts of motives were still distant to me even if my body said otherwise.
His lips thinned, pressing down. His cheeks hollowed. He took a deep breath through his nose and spoke. “I don’t know how to read you, Raimi. You have come here to heal, yet you want to help me?”
“Uh. Yes?” It was true. But now my body, though hot and aroused, grew shivery inside, as if a cold wind had suddenly pulsed through my veins.
“I can only think of one way, and I would never presume—” He stopped, glancing away.
That was when I realized I would do whatever he asked. It was a strange truth ringing through me, and I wasn’t sure if it made me weak or strong, passive or in charge of my own feelings.
I was affected by his scent, no question. He knew it. That was why he’d stopped talking. He was making a decision about something he thought I wouldn’t want or be able to give. Something I hadn’t had a choice in for so long.
“Are you only into alphas?” His question was almost a whisper.
“No.”
Senta nodded. “I’m sorry your past experience wasn’t a good one.”
A warmth spread through my eyes and cheeks. “At first I thought it was. I liked the feeling of being dominated.” I flushed even harder at my confession. “I didn’t know it would be one-sided, but when it turned out that way, I let it be. I didn’t think, I just did. It started to turn from fun to a control thing. I kept thinking I’d get used to it, learn to like it, but it got worse. I thought I should want what he wanted if I cared about—if I loved—him.”
“Love by force.” Senta drifted closer to me. “Some say when alphas rut and omegas go into heat, it’s nature. Natural, but not necessarily free will.”
“I’ve heard that said all my life. Mostly about alphas.”
“And?” he asked.
“We’re not beasts. At least not most of us. I’ve learned, maybe a little too late in my life, that urges can be controlled.”
“Yes. I preferred my heats with a partner, but that was a choice. I did have some alone. It’s done all the time.”
