Just...not right now.
Chapter twenty-nine
Camelia allowed herself nearly fifteen minutes to sulk and feel bad for herself over her failed masturbation session before she yanked her pants up and marched into the bathroom. She didn't shower, like she really knew she should have; instead, she just washed her face and brushed her teeth, and convinced herself that it was because she hadthingsto do. Things that simply could not wait for something so pedestrian as a shower.
It wasn't because she could still smell hers and Evan's and James' scents clinging to her hair, and knew that a shower would wash away the last remnants of the week they had spent together. Nope. Not that atall.
The pharmacy that she used was walking distance between her dad's house and the school bus stop, so she tucked her prescription in her bag and set off at a brisk pace, relishing the nip in the air. It had been too warm for fall, for her liking. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a gold and red leaf detach from a tree and drift peacefully down to the sidewalk, one of the lastfew bits of foliage that still clung to the skeletal branches, and allowed herself a small smile as she picked up the pace.
The pharmacy was nearly abandoned when she walked in, the only person in sight the young girl behind the counter who was staring at her nails with a bored expression. Camelia made sure to clear her throat loudly as she approached the desk, not wanting to startle her, and the girl lifted her eyes to look at Camelia with an equally disinterested expression.
"How can I help you today?"
Camelia dug out her prescription, sliding it through the small slot in the glass protection. "I need to get this prescription filled, please."
"I'm going to need your date of birth and your license..." The girl turned to the computer, already rattling off the necessary information that she would need before she even looked down at the prescription that Camelia had handed to her. Once she did, though, her eyes widened a little and she turned back to Camelia with a slightly nervous expression on her face.
"My birthday is..."
"I'm sorry," the girl cut Camelia off before she could give the information she'd been asked for. She slid the prescription slip back across the counter towards Camelia, a hint of apology on her face as she shook her head. "I can't fill this."
Camelia took the piece of paper, slightly confused as she looked down at it. "Is there a problem? I know that I was supposed to come have it filled a few weeks ago, but there was apparently a shortage and then there were extenuating circumstances beyond that..."
The girl shook her head, cutting Camelia off again before she could ramble further. "No, no problem. A recent change in legislation has made this particular medication illegal, so I can't fill it for you, unfortunately." The gleam of regret in her eyes toldCamelia that her canned response was, at least in part, genuine, but that didn't change the confusion that Camelia felt.
"Recent? How recent?"
The girl turned to her computer and clicked a few times, eyes scanning the screen before she turned back to Camelia. "Day before yesterday. You didn't hear?"
The day before yesterday, Camelia had still been deep in the throes of her heat, though the effects had been starting to wear off. She certainly hadn't had the awareness to be listening to the news. She shook her head. "Um, no. I was otherwise occupied for the last week and a half."
A moment passed, and then understanding flashed through the girl's eyes. "I see." She pressed her lips together, shaking her head. "I wish that there was something I could do for you, hon. Really."
Camelia tucked the now-useless prescription back in her bag, her mind already far away from the poor clerk who'd had to give her the unfortunate news. "Yeah, sure. It's...not your fault," she said faintly, turning and walking back out of the pharmacy without another word.
The walk back to the bus stop was quick, and as Camelia sat and waited for the bus to come, her mind whirred. She pulled out her phone and checked the news, and sure enough, there was article after article detailing the legislation that had made Omega suppressants illegal. Activists from both sides of the aisle had come out with strong opinions on the legislation. Pro-Omega activists were infuriated, screeching how it removed an Omega's right to decide what she wanted to do with her body and when she chose to endure her heat cycle, if she ever wanted to at all.
Pro-establishment protesters – i.e. Alpha sympathizers – stated that this merely restored the natural balance to their biological world. It was natural for an Omega to go into heat andto need an Alpha to help her get through it. It was the way things were supposed to be. It was the best way for Alphas and Omegas to find mates, and anyone who believed otherwise clearly didn't believe in the beauty of a mated bond.
Reading all of it made Camelia's stomach turn as she rode the bus, bumping along as they made their way up the hill to the university, and by the time they had reached her stop, fear was starting to overtake the shock.
And not a small amount of anger, too. Had Evan and Jamesknownabout this? Camelia knew that she had been...rather out of sorts for most of the time that she'd been staying with them, but...had they found out and chosen not to tell her? Had it been a plan to try and entrap her? They could have mentioned it when she saw them at breakfast that morning...
Even if they had known and wanted to tell you, you left too quickly for either of them to say much.The voice of reason was quiet but rational in her head, but Camelia steadfastly ignored it in favor of being irritated. Better than being scared.
Better than wondering how she was going to finish her degree when she was going to be out of commission for a week or more every one to two months. Better than worrying about what was going to happen when her Omega scent reached full force again and started pulling every Alpha within a mile to her, even outside of her heat.
She was unclaimed. Unmedicated. Sure, she had just had her heat but...
"Fuck." Camelia scrubbed her hand across her face as she started making her way towards the poli-sci building. She had received a very nice email from her academic advisor while in the throes of her heat that all of her assignments were being held in her office once she was feeling better, with no rush, of course.
The kindness of the email had almost made Camelia feel bad for taking advantage, but now she was wondering what she wasgoing to say. She couldn't very well keep this to herself anymore, not with...the news. Her advisor was a female Beta, there was no chance of anything inappropriate happening there, but she knew for a fact that a few of the male professors were Alphas, though she’d never personally met any of them...
"Camelia!"
Camelia stopped dead in her tracks at the familiar bark, and when she slowly turned on her heel she saw James and Evan making a beeline for her. Evan's expression was concerned, James' expression was hard and bordered on pissy. They had both changed from the comfortable clothes they had been wearing that morning, both donning jeans and button-down shirts. James' was blinding white, making the gray of his eyes even more intense, and Evan's was light gray.
They came to a stop near her, and Camelia was painfully aware of the eyes on the three of them, glancing curiously their way from fellow students passing.
