Something shutters in his gaze. He looks away, staring at the blank wall. “We should go to sleep.”
“Yeah, okay. Let me just…” I pull my shirt off and use it to wipe the cum from his stomach, the muscles flexing under my touch. I expect him to get up and maybe go take a shower, but he just gives me a weak smile, says goodnight, and rolls over.
The fact that he’s going to bed marked by me feels significant in a way I’m not sure I’m ready to examine.
“Night,” I whisper, before climbing up onto the top bunk and staring at the ceiling. It takes me a while to get to sleep, but when I do, I dream of more than just Raven this time.
45
RAVEN
As soon as we get back to the hotel, I know what I need to do. I was able to push all of the drama and fear out of my mind while I was out with Orion, but now I need to face it.
A sense of foreboding permeates each movement as I walk down the hall to the bathroom where I keep my pills. I can’t decide which outcome would be worse. I don’t want to believe someone tampered with my heat suppressants, but if they didn’t that means someone probably drugged me, and maybe that’s worse. Although, someone drugging me in a club might not have been personal, and someone messing with my pills definitely would be.
This is so messed up.
I dig around in my toiletries bag and pull out the little bottle of pills. Unscrewing the lid, I tip it over, letting a small handful spill into my palm. I search for the marking the doctor showed me, but don’t see it right away. Panic grips me as I frantically flip pills over to see both sides, leaning in close to be sure I can see them clearly.
Nothing. They’re all blank. Every single one.
The pills fall from my hand, scattering along the counter and beyond. What should be the light tapping of the meds as they hit the floor sounds more like a snare drum with how quiet this bathroom is. My ears ring, and I clutch the bathroom counter to stop myself from collapsing, my stomach roiling. Who could have done this?Whywould they have done this?
Warmth blooms along my skin as a steadying hand lands on my back. Foster. I didn’t even hear him come in.
“What’d you find?” he asks softly.
“They’re fake. Placebos. All of them,” I whisper, still shocked and confused. My normally pale reflection looks slightly green in the mirror. What would have happened if I’d had that heat spike and Orion hadn’t been there? Pack West was horrible to me in high school, but it was all childish pranks and embarrassment. They aren’t the best. But this could have been so much worse. I could have ended up bonded to rapists or criminals. Someone could have stolen me out of that club and sold me to the highest bidder. Every omega knows those kinds of horror stories even if there are protections in place to try to prevent those things these days.
This all could have been so much worse. And someone did this to me personally.
I barely have time to make it to the toilet before I lose my dinner. Foster holds my hair up and rubs my back, whispering comfort that I barely hear.
I wipe my mouth and sit back on my heels. “I can’t stay here.”
“I know,” Foster says, not needing me to explain. He kisses my forehead and stands. “I’ll pack a bag.”
Thirty minutes later we’ve filled the new heat suppressant prescription and made it to the guys’ apartment. I try not to think about what the doctor said about how it might be too late to stop my heat from coming, and instead focus on swallowing down the pill. Exhausted, I lean heavily against Foster as he knocks on the door. Tanner’s the one who opens it.
I wish it was Orion or Rhodes. They would be easier to deal with right now.
“This means nothing,” I say as I push inside.
As soon as I’m surrounded by their scents, I feel better. It’s like the first sip of coffee in the morning after a rough night or that moment when pain meds kick in. The tension melts out of my shoulders.
“Are you okay?” Tanner asks.
“No. I’m too tired to think. I can’t sleep in my own bed. I need… I just need… I don’t know what I need.” I drop my purse on the counter.
“Whoa, whoa, alright. You can obviously come in, but what happened?” Tanner asks like he’s talking to a scared animal, which isn’t that far off.
“My room isn’t safe anymore. I-I can’t stay there. Someone… my heat…” I trail off and my breathing starts to pick up speed. Strong arms band around me, Foster’s familiar warmth keeping me from spiraling completely out of control.
“What does she mean?” Tanner asks Foster.
“Someone tampered with her heat suppressants,” Foster explains.
“What the hell?!” Tanner yells, fists curling as he takes a step toward Foster.
