“I’ve got you.” Myrick catches up to me, keys already out of his pocket.
The second we step into the apartment, I make a beeline for the couch. Every part of me hurts—my back, my stomach, even my eyes. The cool spring air from earlier did nothing to help. Being inside is better, but barely.
The door clicks shut behind me, but I don’t really register it. All I can think about is getting to my room and curling up in my own bed where everything’s quiet and it smells like me. Not a sweet omega scent. Not sharp alpha musk. Just me.
Wanting desperately to go to bed, I push off the couch and stagger, falling against the nearest wall. My legs are like lead.
“No, Autry!” Rhett’s voice cuts through the fog in my head, deep and commanding. I flinch and turn, shocked to see Autry right at my back. “Go to our room.”
She turns sharply. “No?—”
“Now.”
He doesn’t yell. He doesn’t have to. His voice dips just enough—alpha-deep and absolute. I see it hit her like apunch to the gut. Her lips part in disbelief, and then they press together, trembling with rage. She wants to argue. I know she does. But she sucks in a deep breath, then she walks past me, Rhett quietly following.
I catch the flash of something in the omega’s eyes before she disappears down the hall. Hurt, maybe. Or guilt.
Myrick hovers beside me, one hand on my back. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you to bed.”
I nod but don’t move. I can’t. The second I try to push away from the wall, my knees buckle. Myrick lunges forward, catching me halfway—but I’m deadweight.
“Shit,” he hisses, trying to support me. Dolly barks somewhere nearby, making me wince. “Oli?—”
“I got him,” Oli says, already moving.
I feel the alpha’s arms slide under me like it’s nothing. One behind my knees, the other at my back. I’m lifted off the ground, pressed against his chest, and every part of me tenses. Not from fear. Not even from pain.
Just...something else.
He smells like cool mint and wet earth. His body is firm, but warm, like he’s radiating heat from the inside out. It sinks through me and my brain’s spinning. I should say something, make a joke, tell him I’m fine—but I’m not fine. I feel awful.
Still, the worst part isn’t the ache in my bones or the dizziness in my head. It’s the weird, restless heat crawling under my skin from touching him. And the way he’s looking at me…
Like I’m prey.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but it doesn’t help. I can still feel it. That stare. Like teeth grazing my throat.
I need a shower. A long one.
And then I need my bed. My blankets. My pillows. Myspace. Something familiar to hold onto while everything inside me feels off-kilter and wrong.
Oli carries me down the hall like I weigh nothing. I can hear Myrick’s soft steps behind us. Rhett, somewhere deeper in the apartment, saying something low to Autry behind their door.
But I can’t focus on that.
Right now, it’s just the alpha holding me.
And the way I can feel every beat of his heart, like it’s trying to sync up with mine.
Myrick leads the way, flicking on the hallway lights as he goes. “Guest bath,” he murmurs, opening the door wide. “C'mon, let’s get you cleaned up before you crash. You’ll feel better.”
Oli’s still holding me—still solid and silent. I’m too tired to argue, but when we step into the bathroom, a flush of dread creeps up the back of my neck.
Myrick turns on the light. It’s too bright. The mirror’s too big. Everything in here is too much.
“Alright,” Myrick says as Oli sets me on my feet. I sway, scared I’m going to fall over again. “Let’s get this off.” Myrick pulls my shirt, trying to free it from my waistband.
I flinch, trying to twist away from him. “Wait—can I—can I go to bed?”
