Page 29 of The Omega

“Oh, sweetheart. How long have you been fighting it?” Penelope rushed to my side and ran her hand along my back, spreading warmth and comfort where she touched.

“It came on fast this morning.” I breathed through the pain as it morphed to something sweeter. But I didn’t have to be embarrassed about the rising pheromones in the air.

Penelope nodded knowingly as she opened her bag and started prepping the syringe. “I’m glad we were on call for this. We figured it might happen.”

We. I ignored the implications. Now wasn’t the time to complain.

“I’m assuming this means you met your fated mates.” Penelope couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.

Yep! My wolf yipped. And they’re perfect.

I glanced at the door, worried someone with shifter hearing would pick up on our conversation.

“Don’t worry, I signed an NDA. I wouldn’t do anything that jeopardized our community.” Penelope stood in my line of view and drew out the serum with the needle, winking as she did. “Or do anything to get in the way of your love story.”

“Thank you for coming,” I tried to be polite. My jaw clenched as I held out my arm. The needle was a cool bite against my skin.

“I’m glad I could be here.” Penelope dispensed the serum. “After last season, the whole Omega community is in a tizzy over what happened to you. Our lawyers worked hard to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. We’re all rooting for you, like always…”

She stopped talking, not wanting to push me any further. I knew they cared. They’d sent letters and tried to visit and made sure Alpha Journey knew I could go to them at any time.

I hated this. The tight feeling in my chest at hearing the sweet words of other Omegas. It was in our nature to care. To love deeply and with our whole hearts.

But it was a stark reminder that love could also be a weakness that destroyed you from the inside out if you let it.

I forced a smile, but it was useless.

She’d be able to read my distress.

“What’s wrong?” A frown marred her pretty face as she looked at the syringe to make sure she’d given it all.

I didn’t want to tell her the truth. It was no use ruining her fairy tale of how life was supposed to be. And despite them abandoning my mother in her weakest hour, Omegas weren’t inherently evil. Sure, there was always one bad apple in the bunch, but most of them really did feel concern for all living creatures.

I could tell by the diamonds on her neck collar and rings on her slender finger that Penelope didn’t have to work. She did this out of the goodness of her heart. Being a nurse couldn’t be an easy job. I commended her for it.

Instead of being rude, I changed the subject.

The serum working its way through my veins and easing the pain helped make my smile real. “Is this enough to last until the Worm Moon?” I asked.

Omegas didn’t necessarily follow the traditional wolf patterns of heat—especially in situations like this—but if I could make it to their mating season and the rut, I’d have a chance of surviving this show.

Penelope put a pink and white Band-Aid over the puncture wound in my arm. “It’s a starter dose to get your heat under control. You’ve had it before?”

I hummed my response. Last season had not been great, healing in the Omega ward of the hospital, but at least I’d gotten through the worst of it without needing to go hunting for partners.

Not that those hadn’t been fun times over the years, but even knotted toys and voracious appetites had a hard time meeting my needs.

“I can give you some maintenance pills to keep it under control. But I don’t need to warn you how dangerous those are.” Penelope’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“I’m very aware,” I spoke softly to ease her discomfort, ignoring mine. At least the physical pain from denying the rising heat was gone.

It was the mental stuff that hit harder.

“Just enough to get through the next week,” Penelope hurried to say as she started counting pills into an orange container on the counter.

I felt the shame wash over me.

I wasn’t my mother, but they didn’t know that. Partially, it was my fault for turning down every invitation to a summit or wellness retreat. But the little girl in me was still sad that they’d had to send formal mail at all. It seemed like everyone knew each other and had all these memories and support systems. While I was an outsider, always looking in.