“Yeah. When she shifts, her eyes glow blue instead of green.”
Gage cursed. “Xander, find Carter and tell him to get in here.”
Brooks frowned. “What the hell does Carter have to do with this?”
His boss leveled his gaze at him. “He’s an omega.”
There might have been an audible thud as Brooks’s jaw hit the floor. Carter Nelson was an omega?
Omegas were violent and out of control.
Not like Carter.
Besides, what did that have to do with Selena? Unless…
Shit.
Brooks opened his mouth to ask if that was what Gage meant, but Zane leaned in the open doorway. “Ray just called. They have a lead on one of the guys distributing the spiked energy drinks to the clubs. They’re getting ready to arrest him, and Ray wants SWAT there ASAP.”
Gage muttered another curse. “Brooks, take Carter with you and the other guys. Tell him that Selena is an omega and that you need him to bring you up to speed on what that means.”
Brooks’s head spun as he raced outside. Selena couldn’t be an omega werewolf. Gage had to be wrong.
Omegas were violent and out of control.
Exactly like Selena.
Double shit.
* * *
Selena knew Becca was home long before she heard the rattle of keys in the door of the apartment. It had been impossible for her to miss the echoing slap of low heels on the concrete stairs at the far end of the complex. How she’d somehow known those footsteps could only belong to her friend was something she didn’t like thinking about. The implications were too scary.
The door burst open, and Becca ran in, slamming it behind her. “Selena? Are you okay?”
Selena didn’t move from the throw she was huddled underneath on the couch in the living room. “I’m here.”
Thankfully, she and Becca had keys to each other’s apartments. If not, Selena wouldn’t have had anywhere to go. Her own apartment was out of the question. Jayden would almost certainly look for her there.
Becca hurried into the living room, dropping her purse on the overstuffed chair as she came around the couch. She stopped and stared, her mouth open.
Selena knew she probably looked like hell. Her eyes were red from crying, her face was streaked with tears, and her hair was a complete train wreck. The funny thing was that she felt even worse than she looked. She couldn’t explain it, especially since she’d felt fantastic when she’d woken up this morning in Jayden’s arms. But from the moment she’d attacked him, she’d felt crappy. Stealing his truck and running away had only made it worse.
If it hadn’t come on so suddenly, she would have thought she had the flu or something. But after what had happened this morning, she knew the horrible sensations twisting up her insides were yet another symptom of the drastic changes taking place. The changes that were slowly turning her into a monster.
“This is even worse than I thought,” Becca said, sitting on the edge of the couch and wrapping Selena in a warm hug. “I knew there was something wrong when you texted and said you needed me in the middle of a school day. I’m just sorry it took me so long to get here. Eva had a hard time getting a sub for my class.” She pulled away. “What’s wrong? Did you and Jayden have a fight or something?”
Selena shrugged, the throw slipping off her shoulder. “I guess you could say that.”
Becca frowned, her eyes locked on Selena’s exposed shoulder. Reaching out, she yanked the throw down, exposing the sleepshirt Selena had nabbed out of her friend’s dresser.
“What the hell did he do to you?” Becca asked, her face going pale at the sight of the half-healed bite marks peeking out from the collar of the shirt. “Oh my God. He bit you.” Cursing, Becca stood and grabbed her purse from the chair. “I’m calling the police.”
Selena shoved off the throw she’d been huddled under for the past few hours and jumped to her feet. “You can’t!”
Becca didn’t look at her as she dug through her monstrous purse, coming out with her phone. “Why? Because he’s a cop? I don’t care. He can’t treat you like that. I won’t let him.”
Selena reached out and gently took the phone from Becca’s hand, surprised at how easy it was. Then again, she seemed to be a lot stronger than she used to be. “You can’t call the cops, but it’s not because Jayden is in SWAT.”
