He was starting to sound frustrated again so I nodded. I only wanted to be helpful but it seemed like I was bothering him just by existing. Feeling dejected, I walked behind the manor, into its deep shadow and sat down. The grass was cool against my butt.
I felt a little weird. I didn’t how to explain it, almost like a cramp in my side but not painful. I ignored it. Probably just from the stress of my packmate scolding me.
I was curious to explore the human town, or to evenseeit, but the dark looming manor stood in my way. From my point, I couldn’t see past it. I grumbled to myself. The first time I got to see a human town and I didn’t even get to do anything.
I strained my ears for any sign of Remington. There was no sound coming from the manor, so I assumed nothing was wrong.
Careful to be quiet, I got up and inched my way to the opposite side of the manor so Remmy wouldn’t notice and bark at me to get back to my time-out zone. Now that we were separated, I felt a little lingering annoyance at him. We were around the same age—in fact, Remington was younger than me! Where did he get off bossing me around like that? Just because I’d never been here before didn’t mean I was automatically going to get in trouble.
A dirty window caught my attention. My reflection was messed up, because of all the dust and grime, but there I was anyway. I always thought it was funny how my golden fur as a wolf translated into blond hair as a human. I tentatively smiled at myself. I was pretty cute!
I thought of shifting back to be a wolf, but after Remmy’s warning about guns, I decided not to take the risk. I’d heard that humans weren’t naked as often as shifters, but it wasn’t like they werenevernaked. I guessed it would still be more normal to see a naked dude walking around than a wolf.
As I secretly explored the opposite side of the manor, I noticed that annoying cramp hadn’t gone away. I frowned, looking down at my body. It looked fine. I willed my body to get over it, whatever it was.
The outside of the building was overgrown as hell. I found a lot of tall weeds, wildflowers, bugs, and even some mice. Thinking maybe the cramp was from hunger, I ate one. It tasted worse than I expected, probably from dining on human garbage.
“Bleh.”
Unfortunately, the cramp wasn’t from hunger. I had no idea what it was, and it was starting to get on my nerves. I felt wound-up, almost feverish. I put the back of my hand on my forehead, like Dax and Hugo did to check my temperature, and found I was warmer than normal.
Ugh.
But I was determined not to let my stupid body get in the way of my exploration. I ignored all the mysterious body-happenings and approached a rickety door, practically rusting off the hinges. It was ajar. My curiosity got the best of me; I grabbed the door and slowly pulled it open.
It was empty inside the room, except for about a million books lining the shelves. I didn’t hear Remmy rummaging around anywhere. He must’ve been on the other side of this gigantic place.
But as I took a step inside, a weird jolt seared in my side. I grunted and stumbled, falling to my knees.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
The weird thing was, it wasn’t painful.It was… desperate, forceful,needy.
I wasn’t afraid, but my heart began to race. It wouldn’t stop. Confusion took over me. I wanted to go back home, or at least find Remington.
“Remmy?” I called. My voice was weak. I sounded pathetic.
What was happening to me?
The floorboards creaked, followed by a creaking hinge. I turned, relieved that Remmy had found me already.
“Oh, thank gods you’re—”
The man who had been hiding in the closet wasn’t Remington. It was a human watching me. The lower half of his jeans were wet and his eyes were wide. There was a book held lazily in his hands, which he slowly put away.
“Oh. Hi,” I said. I didn’t bother getting up. The annoying not-painful cramp made it hard for me to move properly.
“Hello.” The man sniffed the air, tentatively at first, then breathed it in deeply like he was smelling a flower. “What… Why do you smell… good?”
I blinked, slightly more on edge now. “You’re a shifter?”
“No.” He scoffed, but his eyes flickered. “Those are just a myth.”
I was more confused than ever now. I wasn’t a myth, and neither was my family. We existed.
But if this man wasn’t a shifter, how did he know I was an omega? He knew by scent alone. Humans couldn’t discern heat scent so well. That shouldn’t have happened.
I groaned as another pang made me clutch my side. I really,reallywished this conversation was happening at any other time.
