I knew he wanted to impress me so that I would join them, but that wasn’t helping. I didn’t know what was behind those cool eyes. What did he, personally, want with me? Maybe this was all business to him. As a leader, he had told his crew that it was time to find a new omega. This was a leadership decision, and that made me feel uneasy. My life couldn’t be a transaction. On one hand, I wanted to feel more with him than sheer lust. On the other hand, maybe that was good. It would protect my heart so I wouldn’t fall for him and keep my path of being alpha free so that I didn’t get bamboozled or hurt in the end.
A nurse stepped in the doorway, disrupting my thoughts. “Your next patient is here. Room three.”
I nodded her way. “Thanks.”
Daniel stood up to head out of the room. He wouldn’t go in the treatment room, but he would stand outside like a bodyguard.
When we got to the room, I walked in to find a very badly bruised woman. She had a black eye, split lip and she was holding her wrist. She couldn’t have been more than eighteen.
I tried to control my face so I wouldn’t look so shocked, and instead, looked down at my pad for her name. “Hi, Mya. I’m Dr. Bellamy. Call me Billie. So, what’s going on?”
She looked down at her lap. “I was hurt.”
“What happened?”
She looked at my closed door with fearful eyes. “There’s an alpha out there, isn’t there?”
I frowned; she could scent Daniel. That would be distracting if she was scared of alphas. “Yes, he’s my bodyguard.”
She looked back at me with rounded eyes. “Why do you have a bodyguard?”
I didn’t mind telling her the truth. Something told me it would make getting the truth from her easier. “I’m an omega, and he’s looking out for me until I find my proper pack.”
“He’s good?”
I tilted my head, considering her question. She seemed genuinely surprised. I didn’t blame her. “So far, he has been. Mya, did an alpha do this to you?”
She looked back at the door and then down at her hand, but she didn’t answer.
I decided her lack of response was answer enough. “Tell me everywhere it hurts.”
“My eye, cheek, lip, right wrist,” she said in a shaky voice. “And my…down there.”
A scream blared in my mind. I was livid. I wanted to find whoever this monster was and tear him to pieces. But first, I needed to heal her. I reached over and gently placed my hands on her shoulders and spread my magic throughout her body. I wished it worked on healing her mind. I knew it would take some time for her to recover.
Once her injuries disappeared, she finally looked back up at me, a sad smile on her lips. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Can you tell me who did this to you? Have you gone to the police?”
She shook her head slowly. “My friend did this. I thought he was good. I’ve known him since middle school. He wanted to claim me, but I told him I didn’t like him in that way. Then he did it anyway. He said he’d kill me if I went to the police. He said they wouldn’t do anything because he claimed me.”
Ah, she was an omega. I clenched my teeth. Of course, that asshole would tell her that lie. “That’s not true. You were claimed against your will. And even if you did agree to it, that doesn’t mean he has the right to hit you. There is an omega counselor on staff here. She can help you. I healed you, but his DNA is still on you if you didn’t shower. You don’t have to let these alphas run you.”
Tears ran down her cheeks. “So, I’m not tainted. Another alpha would want me?”
I got a tissue box from the counter and gave it to her. “Of course. If that’s what you want. You are special and precious. No one can take that from you. Is he here?”
She sniffled, as she nodded. “They made him wait in the waiting room. He told me to tell you someone else did it.”
That fucker. “I’m going to page the counselor and call the police. He’s not getting away with this.”
By the time I was done with the patient and talking to the counselor and police, I opened the door to find Daniel still waiting. His face was tight, his lips a thin line. He looked angry. Then I noticed that his shirt was wrinkled and missing a couple of buttons. He also had a swollen left eye and a patch of blood in the right corner of his mouth. What the hell had I missed?
“What the hell happened to you?”
He turned from me, putting a hand to the left side of his face. “I tried not to eavesdrop, but when I heard the word alpha, I got curious.” He flexed his right hand, and I noticed his knuckles were red and scraped.
I pointed to his hand. “Keep going.”
