Page 3 of Feeling the Heat: Part One
She snorts. “Don’t sound so excited.”
“Ugh, sorry!” I groan. “You’re trying to help and I’m being a total bitch.”
The omega shakes her head. “You’re good, babe. I’d be crashing out, too. Do you have anyone here with you? If you’re alone, I can take you to the omega clinic.”
I flush at the thought of this pretty, perky omega escorting me out of the bar and to an omega clinic. Especially since I’m still not convinced there isn’t another much more reasonable explanation for what’s happening to me. “Oh, no, my friend is here with me. You’ve already done much more for a stranger than most people would. Crap, I’m sorry, I didn’t even get your name.”
“Steph,” she says with a soft smile. “And it’s not a problem at all. Us omegas have to stick together.”
I nod back at her weakly, fighting off the urge to protest her calling me an omega so I don’t come off like even more of an asshole. “Nice to meet you, Steph. I’m Camille.” I reach a hand out—the one that didn’t touch my soaked panties—but she bypasses it and pulls me into a hug.
Her spring rain scent washes over me, and I’m transported back to an afternoon walking home from high school when I got caught in a sudden downpour. The long forgotten memory of huddling under the umbrella with Nick, my best friend and unrequited crush back then. He’d revealed as an alpha a few weeks before, and things had shifted between us. I remember his eyes locking with mine as we crowded in close. My breath hitching as his rich pine scent enveloped me and his lipsmoved close enough to brush against mine as he inhaled deeply, then pulled away with a disappointed half-smile.
That was the first and only time I let myself wish I was different. That I could be the sweet-scented omega that would attract an alpha like Nick, not the boring beta who smelled like weak coffee.
A tear rolls down my cheek.
Guess I got my wish. Too bad it’s twenty-five years too late.
I let out a slightly hysterical chuckle as I pull back from Steph’s embrace and wipe away the dampness on my cheeks.
The omega raises a concerned brow at me, but I wave her off. “I’m okay,” I say with a shaky exhale.
She narrows her eyes at me. “Are you sure?”
I huff out a weak laugh. “Well, no. But I will be.” I say more to reassure myself than to convince her.
“Alright. Let’s go find your friend before your scent has the alphas busting down the door looking to get a piece of some MILF omega ass.”
“I’m not a mother,” I protest, but she giggles and shakes her head
“That won’t keep some eager young alpha from calling you mommy,” Steph says, laughing harder as I gape at her in disbelief. “What? Who doesn’t like a sexy, experienced older woman? If you didn’t seem on the verge of a panic attack, I’d offer to help you out. I’ve got an amazing knotted strap-on at my place.”
I make a choked sound, and she squeezes my arm. “Breathe, babe. It’s a joke. You’re going to get through this. After all, you’re an omega. Don’t let the blustering alphas fool you—we’re tougher and stronger than the lot of them.”
I nod, certain that’s true, at least in Steph’s case. After taking a moment to scoop up my discarded panties and tossthem in the trash can, I let Steph guide me out of the bathroom. My skin burns and I swear it feels like everyone in the room is watching me. That everyoneknows. And fuck, I think at least some of them do, because I hear a low growl as we pass by that silver-haired alpha still sitting at the bar.
“Mmm, baby, where are you going?” he asks, and the cloying scent of overripe fruit makes me want to gag.
I’m about to reply, but my new omega protector beats me to it. “Not interested.”
A leathery hand grabs my upper arm to keep me from moving away. “Let your friend speak for herself.”
Any other time I’d be yanking away and telling him to keep his hands to himself, but something about his tone has me frozen in place. What’s wrong with me?
Steph forcibly removes his hand from my arm with surprising strength. “Fuck off, grandpa. I already told you that no one wants your shriveled knot.”
A stunned laugh bursts from me as Steph tugs me away. The alpha mutters something about her being a bitch, but doesn’t make a move to follow us when the bartender levels him with a glare.
Astrid stands up as I approach. “Hey! I thought you fell in or something,” she says with a chuckle, but it dies when she sees my stricken expression and my omega companion. “What the hell happened in there? Who is this? And why do you smell like you bathed in cold brew?”
“This is Steph. I—” A groan escapes me as a spike of heat washes over me and my stomach cramps again. The other alpha in the bar looks our way, his nostrils flaring. A throbbing need builds between my thighs as he looks at me, and my eyes widen in horror as I let out a soft whimper.
Steph moves to block me from the alpha’s line of sight. “Camille needs you to take her to the omega clinic. The closest one is a few blocks away off of Peachtree.”
Astrid gives her a bemused look, then turns to me in confusion. “Uhh, what?”
“She’s going into heat,” Steph says matter-of-factly. “She needs someone to take her to the omega clinic to help. If you can’t take her, I will.”
