“Hey, Pierce,” Benji called. “We’re done. You can come back in.” He turned to me as I got up from the couch. “Hey, where are you going?”
“I wanna spend some time playing games before my shift,” I told Benji, hoping he wouldn’t know I was lying. “Sorry. Maybe we can hang out another time. You should come to my place.”
“Sure. Okay, then. See you, Cale.”
As I headed for the door, Pierce put his hand on my shoulder as he came in the opposite direction.
“Hey,” he said in a soft voice. “Adriel hasn’t been bothering you too much, has he?”
The way he stared into my eyes made me think he knew exactly what was going on between his brother and I.
“Um… No,” I said honestly. “We had some issues but we’re getting through them, I think.”
Pierce nodded. “All right. Just know that Adriel can be difficult, and it’s not a reflection on you. Honestly, he’s more immature than he thinks he is.” He smiled. “He might even be the most immature out of all of us. Remember that.”
He gave me a friendly pat, then returned to Benji’s side. I waved goodbye and then left the lounge. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what Pierce said.
Themostimmature? How was what possible? When I thought of someone who was immature, Adriel wasn’t the kind of person who came to mind. I thought about schoolyard bullies and people who got into obnoxious arguments - the opposite of how the cool, calm Adriel held himself.
I wandered the mansion until I found the front hall again. I couldn’t tell if it was just my nerves or not, but my skin prickled. I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. The hall was empty, except for a pair of beady black eyes a dozen feet off the ground. A bat blinked down at me from the ceiling, its small furry body almost lost in the ceiling’s intricate pattern.
I sighed in relief.Just a bat.
That meant no one would notice if I left. I was free to leave… until anyone noticed I was gone. But I wasn’t going to let that happen. I didn’t even have to go all the way to work - all I had to do was run to the corner store and grab a cheap pack of heat suppressants from there, which would work well enough to tide me over.
I can’t afford to go through a heat now,I thought desperately. I knew the changes in my body when it happened - the gradual rise in temperature, the strange itchy sensation in my muscles, the distracted mind. The signs could be different for every omega, but they all meant one thing. They all signalled a coming heat.
And I wasnotgoing to let that happen.
As my hand gripped the door handle, I cast one last uneasy glance over my shoulder. The hall was empty. And most importantly of all, there was no sign of Margaret. Just the thought of her face made my skin crawl.
There was no question about it. The night she attacked me… that was a worse memory than the entire time I spent sick in the hospital. My brain made sure I didn’t forget it, either - hence the constant nightmares.
Thanks, brain!I thought sarcastically.
I opened the front door as quietly as possible. Then, when it was clear, I made a run for it. The long driveway was a hassle, but at least it was all downhill. Soon, sweat dripped down my face. My muscles screamed for air, but I feltfree.No Margaret, no illness, no Adriel hovering over my shoulder...
Thinking of Adriel made me frown. I didn’t mean to feel so ungrateful. I should’ve been glad for him going out of his way to help me instead of resenting him. But I didn’treallyresent him. That wasn’t my problem, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. My mind was a chaotic, confused wreck. Frustration welled within me.
Whydid I feel this way? Why couldn’t I just realize how I really felt?
I slowed to a walk when I reached the gate. Thankfully, it easily opened from the inside. But I had another problem now. How the hell was I going to get back in?
“Shit,” I muttered. I looked around and found a stick, then jammed it in between the gate and hoped it would last long enough for me to return. “Please don’t break...”
It didn’t, so I took that as my cue to book it for the nearest corner store. I grabbed a pack of heat suppressants - thank god the Shadowcity government implemented widespread birth control - and got out.
With my prize in hand, I needed to get back as soon as possible, hopefully before anyone realized I was gone in the first place. Although my muscles were sore and I was tired from the burst of exercise, I pushed myself to run back.
By the time I reached the gate I was dripping with sweat and exhausted. I reached for the gate and -
The stick wasn’t there anymore. The gates were completely shut.
I gasped. Instantly I was filled with dread.
“Ohh, no, no, no...” I moaned.
A cold voice from behind me made me jump. “Is there a problem, Caleb Foster?”
I turned, slowly and miserably, to see Adriel’s furious expression glaring down at me.
