Doctors.
Places of exposure. Vulnerability. Pain.
My still feral instincts beg me to leave. To go somewhere else. Anywhere else. The closest clinic besides this one is twenty minutes away. Too far when the omega waiting in my den needs me back soon.
I check the grip of my mask again, making sure it's secure. My fingers trace the familiar edge. Pull it tighter, though it's already rubbing my skin raw.
For her.
That's all that matters.
One step. Another. Halfway across the parking lot when a shriek cuts through the evening air that makes me jolt instinctively, my hand flying up to my mask.
"OH MY GOD!WRAITH?!"
Fuck.
A group of young omegas spills out of a car two spots away. College freshmen, dressed for a night out. Five of them, eyes wide, phones already coming up like weapons.
“It’s really him!” One grabs another's arm, practically vibrating with excitement. “Holy shit! He’s so tall!”
They swarm toward me, cutting off my path to the clinic entrance. Blocking my escape route back to my blacked-out SUV. Surrounding me.
Too close.
Invading my space.
My lungs constrict.
Just one of many reasons I don't go out.
Not before midnight.
"Can we get a picture? Please?" The boldest one positions herself beside me before I get a chance to answer. Another steps in front, phone ready. She takes a picture with a click. I flinch.
Words pour from them, overlapping, suffocating. The smell of their excited omega scents—candy sweet and cloying, like maplesyrup left in the sun—fills my head. The muscles in my forearms and hands tremor as I try to endure this for them.
Not their fault I hate this.
They mean well.
Just fans.
One leans in, whispering to her friend but not quietly enough. She's giddy with nerves. "Holy shit, the group chat was right. I think the scar's real..."
My jaw tightens beneath the mask.
As if I'd want to look like this.
"Just one more picture? Our friends will never believe we met you!"
I step back, giving a single reluctant nod for a final photo.
They crowd around me, arms stretched, phones angled.
More pictures.
More whispers.
