Cade whirled and socked me. I grunted, absorbing the fist to the nose. The sharp pain did nothing to dull the agony in my chest.
I wanted more. I swung at him, and my knuckles split as he slammed against the wall. He smiled, blood staining his teeth and dripping off the corner of his burst lip.
He spat blood and swiped the back of his hand across his face, smearing it across his cheek. The bridge of my nose throbbed with sharp pain.
“Enough,” Dorian spat, voice fueled with dominance. My chest heaved with each of my breaths, exploding out from my lips. Dorian turned back to the screen where he’d zoomed in on her huddled on the cold cement, sleeping. My heartached. “This is what we’ve driven her to. We hurt her. She won’t return to us.” Dorian dropped his head, shoving his fingers through his hair.
“You, fucking stop,” I snarled, storming over to him. He whirled on me. I gripped the front of his shirt and shook him, making him sneer. Depression almost took over before giving way to anger. Dominance came from him like a slap, but I didn’t cower as I gritted my teeth. His eyes narrowed, and he gripped the front of my shirt so we were left glaring at each other.
“Usually, the first place the ORD sends Omegas is The Bungalows,” I bit out.
The thought of her surrounded by Alphas boiled rage to the surface. Dorian must have had the same thought. The Bungalows, a place where Omegas could linger and find a pack to satisfy their heat. There were plenty of places like that across the country, but the closest to us was an hour out.
“She’s ours,” he bit out and released my shirt angrily. I did the same and clenched my hand hard, making my knuckles pop. “Let’s go get our Eva.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Cade was already out the door.
Chapter 29
Ilifted the mug off the table and sipped the hot tea. The restaurant bustled with movement and energy. It was packed in here, and it didn’t help that they’d set up the tables so closely together. For a hotel restaurant, it was posh.
Fern was taking a sip of her coffee, and the scent kept wafting over to me, making my stomach spin. It reminded me of Ironwyld’s scent even if it was a poor substitute.
As my assigned mentor, Fern was amazing. She’d been kind and quick to answer all of my questions.
“You’ll get on your feet, and I can also help you find a job if you’re interested.”
“Yes,” I blurted. A job with pay that no one could control. It sounded heavenly.
So why was I still aching?
I rubbed my sternum.
The program wasn’t forever. It would help me get on my feet. They would review my case yearly, but my goal was to be able to afford my own place sooner than later.
“I have a few places in mind, but I’ll get you the list in time for your move-in date.”
An Alpha sitting behind her snagged my gaze, and I quickly turned away. So quickly Fern noticed. She looked over her shoulder and turned back.
“The perks of The Bungalows. You won’t have to go far to have your heat sated. Once you’re set up in your permanent apartment, you can come here whenever you’re hunting for a Pack for your heat. When you’re out of the program, you can use HeatLink to match up with Alphas if you need.” The app’s name made my stomach drop. “It should be easy to find a pheromone-complement.”
Since all Alphas smelled the same, I just had to make sure that being near the Pack I selected wouldn’t make me sick.
I scooted the porcelain cup around the plate, fiddling with the little handle. Alphas were everywhere here, and their attention was making me anxious.
“I want to go through my heat without Alphas.”
Fern winced.
“Why would you want to suffer?” She shivered. I pressed my lips together, and her eyebrows twitched. She must know I was hiding something, but she hadn’t pried. “As long as it’s not your first heat after meeting your Scent Matches, which as you should know, could be fatal without an Alpha’s help, you should be okay with toys, but not having Alphas sate you will elongate your heat.”
“Can you really die from the first heat brought on by meeting your Scent Matches?” I’d never heard of that. Of course, it didn’t surprise me considering I hadn’t received the appropriate education since everything I knew was funneled through Father.
“I have so many horror stories. I saw it happen to an Omega at a Matching event. The Alphas provided their Pack scent for the Omegas to sniff . . . She caught their scent, and it sent her into a severe heat. The problem was they didn’t show up to the Matching. It was a mistake on our part too. We can only offer the scent of Alphas that are present. She had no choice but to accept another pack to soothe her heat, but there have been others that didn’t. The heat almost killed them.”
She shivered dramatically. “It’s more common than you think. It’s the last thing you want happening to you. You should be fine, but we’ll definitely have to visit the sex-toy store.”
