No. I couldn't risk revealing myself, ever. I needed the suppressants.
I sighed, once again faced with the harsh reality of my designation. It hadn’t always been this way.
A long time ago, before I was born, omegas weren’t forced into hiding to save their lives. Back before the alphas became merciless, ruling everything with an iron fist, things were better. Omegas weren’t always kidnapped and forced into pack bonds to breed them.
My stomach pitched at the thought, bile burning up the back of my throat. I knew there were no alphas nearby—I would have scented them a long time ago—but the thought of one finding me made me sick to my stomach.
Alphas ran every aspect of our world, from elected government positions to back-alley deals. They took what they wanted, eliminating anyone who stood between them and what they so desperately sought, and omegas like me… we were nothing but prizes for them to claim.
Unfortunately, we were a dying designation.
Over the last decade, there had been a steep decline in omega births, though no one could explain why. It was a terrifying prospect. We were already rare to begin with, and with the rapidly declining birth rate there were talks of extinction.
If the omegas died out, our entire societal structure would collapse. Alphas would no longer be able to breed. They would turn to betas, who couldn’t even survive a mate bond.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that countless betas would die…
In the distance, sirens wailed, and my heart skipped a painful beat. Emergency personnel would be on the scene very soon. I didn’t know the protocol—whether they’d take everyone’s name or leave us in peace—but I wasn’t keen to find out.
I knew myself too well. I could lie all I wanted, but my face gave me away every time. It was one of the many curses that came with my designation; I was far too expressive for my own good. My eyes would convey my panic, and my panic would betray my guilt.
Then, it would be jail or a forced bond, and I didn’t want either.
I stared down the dark road that disappeared into the distance. It would be all too easy to hide in the brush until the scene cleared, but then what?
I couldn’t walk all the way to Houston, but I could potentially catch a ride. Maybe. There wasn’t a single car on this little side road, but if I trekked back up to the highway, I could stick out a thumb and hope for the best.
My stomach sank again. I knew hitchhiking was a horrible idea. An unbound omega in hiding hopping into a car with a stranger? Yeah, that reeked of poor judgment and bad consequences.
But what choice do I have?
The sirens grew louder, and I knew I didn’t have much longer to decide. Should I stay with the crowd and hope no one needed my name for an incident report? Or should I disappear into the foliage and work out another way to Houston?
I could call an Uber, but I was already painfully low on cash. I needed something to survive on for the next couple of days, and I hadn’t packed any snacks. I brought only what I could fit in the backpack, which wasn’t much after the suppressants and some clothes.
Shifting my weight back and forth, I swallowed down a whine.
Red and blue lights whipped onto the road, blasting through any lingering indecision, and my feet moved before I told them to. I spun around and darted straight into the trees, letting the darkness swallow me.
I’d take my chances on my own and figure things out, but there was no way I was getting caught. I’d come too far, fought too hard, for it to all end now.
I watched from the bushes as two patrol cars, a firetruck, and an ambulance arrived on the scene. The back half of the bus was completely engulfed in flames now, and I could feel their heat from my hiding place.
Policemen made their way through the crowd, and I clutched the strap of my backpack so hard my knuckles ached. Dread swept through my system at the thought of them finding me, of them finding the illegal suppressants buried in my bag.
I was right to hide. It was too dangerous to stay.
Mind made up, I turned and hurried deeper into the trees.
My plan? Walk until I could catch a ride to the next big city. Hypothetically, it sounded easy, but something told me it would be a pain in the ass to find a ride with someone who wouldn’t ask questions.
After that? I had no idea.
But anything was better than getting caught by the Stone pack or going to prison.
CHAPTER TWO
REVEL
