"I said, okay."
There’s a beat of silence as he stares at me, then he whispers, "It smells weird here. It’s wrong."
"I know."
Adam’s sense of smell is better than mine. In fact, when we were kids, my parents were convinced he was going to be an omega. They were relieved when we both presented as betas.
“Can you smell it?” Adam turns toward the massive tents.
“Yeah,” I say simply.
I don’t have to ask. I know he means the omegas. Even with my dull beta senses, I can smell them all over this camp. Weirdly sweet and overly floral, cut with something medicinal.
It makes my skin crawl.
The idea of selling omegas has never sat right with me. I know they're different. They have different biology, different drives, and even different needs. I've never actually known one personally. Growing up, omegas were talked about the way people talk about exotic animals. Rare, valuable, and kind of unpredictable.
But I'm pretty sure they're just people.
People who are scared, and drugged, and lined up in holding tents while alphas bid on them like livestock.
My fists tighten at my sides, but I make myself loosen them before anyone notices.
Angelica's sharp blue eyes land on me suddenly, and her glossy lips curve. "You." She points one of those talon-nails in my direction. "Beta?"
"Guilty," I say, easing my hands into my pockets. I’m so fucking uncomfortable, but I’ll be damned if I show it.
"Good." She turns to Raff and extends her hand, palm up. "The manifest?"
Raff pulls a clipboard from under his arm and hands it over. Angelica flips through the pages, scanning them with the speed of someone who's done this a thousand times, then holds the clipboard out toward me.
"Take this to the pharmacy tent and let them know more supplies have arrived. They'll need to update their stock counts." She gives the clipboard a small shake when I don't grab it fast enough. “The auction starts in a few hours so this needs to be done quickly.”
I hand the keys to my van to Cliff, then I take the clipboard. "Where am I going?"
"Follow the main path east until you hit the medical cluster. The pharmacy tent is the white one. You can't miss it." She's already turning back to Raff. "It shouldn't take you more than twenty minutes."
Cliff's eyes find mine, silently asking me if I’m good.
I give him the smallest nod, and he returns a slight dip of his chin.
Adam shifts beside me, and I lean close enough to murmur, "Stay with Cliff. I'll be back in twenty."
My brother’s jaw flexes, but henods.
I tuck the clipboard under my arm and start walking.
The camp is packed. Extension cords snake across the dirt in every direction, while techs and nurses weave between tents with their heads down, moving fast. Nobody looks at me twice.
I skirt the main path, figuring I'll loop around the perimeter and find the white tent from the outside. The white canvas should be easy to spot, but all I can see are dark peaks of fabric.
Not wanting to take too long, I flag down a tech hauling a crate of bottled water. "Pharmacy tent?"
She barely slows down. Her arm shoots out, pointing past the medical cluster toward the far edge of the clearing. "White tent. AC units on the side. Other end of the quad."
"Thanks."
And she's gone before the word leaves my mouth.
