The doors exploded outward into the night, glass shards landing with musical clinks onto the balcony and beyond. Outside air rushed in, kissing against my overheated skin, yet it did nothing to calm the inferno raging inside me.
"Shit!" Tray moved around into my line of vision, both hands up and palms pointed at me in surrender. “You got to chill, Dix. Fuck, I should have held you back. I didn’t think you were that out of control, man.”
“You guys are freaking insane!” A woman shouted.
“Let’s get out of here,” another said, her voice trembling.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” a third chimed in.
The sound of scrambling ensued.
Someone dropped something, then said ‘shit’.
The door to the suite whined open. It didn’t slam shut.
“They are, most definitely, going to send security up here.” Mac strolled towards the destroyed doors. “This is… worse than normal, dear Dixon.”
I don’t know what it was about Mac, but something about him usually got through to my adrenaline-addled brain every time it got twisted. My surroundings began to refocus. The feral haze began to dissipate. I started to digest what I’d done.
“Fuck me,” I mumbled, slamming my large, clammy hand against my face.
“I believe that’s what started this, so maybe not,” Tray quipped.
“Tray,” Mac warned, “Obviously this is not the time for jokes.”
“Not a joke,” Tray shrugged. “If they’d have screwed him as expected, we probably wouldn’t be standing in an apocalyptic hotel suite.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I muttered over and over. “This isn’t me. This isn’t fucking me.”
“We know, Dixon.” Mac was near me now. I kept my face covered. I couldn’t look at him or Tray right then. A hand touched my shoulder, tentatively at first, then when I didn’t blow up, it wrapped firmly around. “You have always been gentle. We know this isn’t who you are.”
“Come on, let’s get our shit together. You know we’ve got about five minutes before they kick us to the curb.” Tray bumped my left arm affectionately. “Don’t stew on it, Dix. Shit happens.”
I dropped my hand finally, eyes connecting with his. I envied Tray sometimes. He was the youngest, further away from his Alpha nature detonating. Because that’s what it did. You got old enough, lonely enough, and you became a time bomb. It was part of the balance of the world. An Alpha needed an Omega to survive. Sure, we could keep downing tonics and rut dampeners, but eventually, it wouldn’t be enough. Hell, it already wasn’t enough.Why couldn’t I just calm down with Tray by my side? Why couldn’t our pack of brothers, bonded in so many important ways, not survive on our goddamn own?
“Here,” Mac held something out to me. I blinked down at it. Speak of the damn devil.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, taking the calming drink from him. “Don’t think this does much. The synthetic shit’s better.”
“I know,” he said, and I could tell by the tone of his voice that Mac really did know.
“How the hell are you doing it, Mac?” I stared at him desperately, feeling lost. “I even saw you drink earlier and you’re acting totally fucking sober.”
“I wait to fall apart in private.” He gave me a sad smile before moving to collect his personal shit.
He waited.Why couldn’t I be like that? Why couldn’t I stay in control until it was convenient? Fuck.
I downed the terrible ass tonic in one gulp. Tasted like the bottom of a boot, one used for shoveling farm animal shit. Seconds later though, as the adaptogens and skullcap hit, I did feel slightly less on edge.Maybe I just needed to shoot back a hundred of these crap-cocktails every day?
Unfortunately, the effects didn't last—or they just weren’t strong enough to combat renewed anxiety.
Before I could even hit the bathroom for a quick piss, fucking hotel security walked into the suite. My glands secreted a spicy, irritated warning scent at the sight of them. The largest guy in front, a bulky Beta who never skipped leg day, stared me down. The smarter guards behind him subconsciously took a step back. A small woman, no taller than five feet, stepped around the men. Her golden tag said she was the lead Beta manager.
That shit pissed me off too. Why the fuck did Betas have to put their secondary sex on their uniforms like that? I never saw fucking Alphas running around with a big ass A on their clothes.
“We are preparing to vacate the premises,” Mac’s reasonable voice chimed up before anyone else could speak. “We also fully understand that we will be charged for the damages. Please create an itemized bill and charge the card on file.”
It probably wasn’t a good thing that Mac could preemptively address everything hotel staff would say after massive room destruction.
