The spicy curry we’d ordered had arrived, and I placed it on the table.
“Can I stay a few more days? I feel a lot better, but I need a plan,” he asked as he took a seat on the couch and unzipped his backpack.
“Of course.” Never leave. Please. Dread curled in my stomach, but I kept my expression neutral.
“I have to charge my phone and think of options. There aren’t any omega safe houses in the area that I know of…” He plugged in the device and took out several other items out. “Shit, the watch.”
“What about it?”
“I got it from Dryden.”
A growl rose from my chest, and I had a need to smash the shiny bracelet. “Do you like it?”
“I don’t care for it but I needed one, and I destroyed the previous two he got me in a fit of rage. Without any money of my own, I kept it. I swear I double-checked if I turned off tracking on it as well as my phone, but—” He groaned and tossed the device on the table with a clatter. “He probably has remote access to it and meddled with the settings. That’s how he foundme. I’m so stupid. Of course he couldn’t get me a diamond gadget for any other reason than to control me.”
“He got zapped and left. Hopefully, he’d be too ashamed to return.” If he ever would, I was ready for him. He would never hurt Sol again. In truth, I was planning to track him down after Sol left, so he’d be safer out there, even without me.
“Soon, I’ll be far away from him, anyway.” Sol reached for his plate of food and avoided my gaze.
Chapter Fifteen
Sol
Iwas in hell and heaven at the same time. In a cruel contrast to the heat, now I was freezing and uncomfortable no matter how I positioned myself on the bed. My body hurt from my ass and insides to every muscle. Rhys stayed away like I’d asked, but kept checking on me quietly and bringing everything I needed. That was the heaven part. Rhys doted on me as if I were a prince, giving me the illusion of a happy life that was not in our future.
It was all too good to be true. I had to run before my dream bubble popped. Rhys had a life and a career. We’d both kept our end of the deal, and now it was time to move on. A day or two of planning my next step should suffice; then I’d be out of his hair. I’d keep the money he’d paid me the evening we’d met, since Idesperately needed it, but wouldn’t ask for the rest. I’d brought too much trouble on him. Between my needy heat and recovery, and Dryden shooting at his windows, I was sure Rhys had had enough.
Full of delicious food, I was scowling at the watch I had been so careless about. Even if I turned off the location, I should have known Dryden had a way of tracking it.
My body hummed with a quiet need, and I racked my brain as to what else I could want. Of course I was stressed about planning my future, but it wasn’t that.
“I think there’s something wrong with me.” I rubbed my stomach, then leaned closer to Rhys.
Rhys traced the top of my hand with his fingertips in a tentative move. “Why? How are you feeling?”
I closed my eyes and inhaled his pleasant Alpha scent. “This heat didn’t end properly, or my body is failing.”
Rhys kissed my forehead. “You’re scaring me, Sol. Why would you think that?”
I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. “I’m horny again. You’re sitting right there and I want to fuck you.”
“Hows that bad?” His light tone irked me.
“It’s not funny! I’m not supposed to feel like that. Between heats I’m dry and I have no sex drive. I had to always force myself to smile and pretend I was enjoying myself when I was sucking some rich old man’s cock. Arousal only happens during heat and a few days before it.”
“Sol, baby…” Rhys turned me to him and took my hands in his. “Who told you that?”
“My parents. And Dryden. He said he’d fuck me only when I wouldn’t be in heat, when I’d be dry and it would hurt. Why am I aroused now? Why is my body betraying me?”
“Hey, it’s okay. That’s a load of crap. That bastard lied to you.” Sol wrapped his arms around me, and I snuggled into him likeI’ve never done with anyone before. “You can get wet and horny between heats, that’s normal. If you didn’t want Dryden, you probably wouldn’t be aroused, so yes, it would hurt. So I guess you feel a bit different about me, huh?”
I pulled away to glare at him. “Yeah, obviously. But why would they lie to me about this?”
Rhys let out a long sigh, shaking his head. “Gatekeeping is a form of control—the less you know, the better. They may have given you drugs to keep your libido down too. That way omegas wouldn’t fall in love or cheat… You can feel pleasure and arousal at any time. Heat is only your fertile period and when you need to be serviced and knotted. That’s when your body needs it, not wants it, if that makes sense.”
“I took the pills my mom gave me every morning. I don’t know what was in them but she wouldn’t leave me until I swallowed them all. But I also got illegal shots for myself.” I looked away, feeling like a naive idiot. “I’ve been delaying my heat for years to avoid Dryden’s clutches and his deal with my parents. Then I came up a plan to trick an Alpha on the night of the hunt into breeding me. For that to work, I stopped taking the shots just in time to go into heat that evening.”
“So you knew?” Rhys frowned.
