Page 14 of Unravel Me

I grimace, but he’s got a point. I have no idea what kind of situation I’ll find myself in once I get there, so better safe than sorry. I swallow one with some mineral water.

Alex watches me closely, his beautiful, delicate face is full of worry.

I place my other hand on his slender shoulder. Then… I hug him on impulse, pulling his small body tightly against mine.

Alex is so tiny and frail, around 5'2", while I'm 6' tall. I'm a giant for an omega, and fairly athletic at that.

"Thank you, Alex. For everything. For being so good to me and Tommy, and… for your incredible patience."

"No problem, Jared. Drive safely, and don't worry about your son. I'll take care of him. He'll be safe here."

I let him go, then bend down to pick up the small suitcase I'm taking with me. It has enough clothes and supplies for a few days, along with two bottles of strong pheromone-blocking deodorant.

If I find him… if my heat happens to start, maybe we'll get to skip straight to the more intense part of the relationship?

Well, heat could certainly make breaking the ice a lot faster.

Storm's car is already waiting outside Alex's house. He lent it to me. It's his spare car, one he says he lets people use when they need it because someone once did the same for him when he was in need.

I have a printed map with me, with the exact area that caught Storm's attention marked with a thick circle.

I place it on the passenger seat beside me, then start the engine.

Alex stands in the driveway, raising his hand in a wave. I smile, trying to reassure him, because I can still see the worry on his face.

I roll down the window and say, "Even if I don't contact you all day, that doesn't mean something's wrong. Only if you don't hear from me for a full twenty-four hours should you start thinking I might be in trouble."

Alex snorts, "I’m warning you, if you stop checking in, I’m sending Veyron to look for you!"

I chuckle, "Take care, Alex, and remember that Tommy likes to sleep with his OmegaCat plushie. If he doesn't have it, he might get fussy even if he doesn't say anything, so don't forget to put it beside his pillow."

"I'll remember."

I roll up the window, give him one last smile, and drive away.

My journey into the unknown begins, and for the first several minutes, I feel almost giddy with excitement.

But the smile on my face quickly fades as I get onto the interstate and the miles on the odometer start piling up.

My heart aches at leaving Tommy.

And as the car takes me farther away from him, the guilt fills me to the brim, because I know he'll wake up and I won't be there. I talked to him before he went to sleep, but he didn't seem bothered. He's still too young for me to explain all the details, although I hope someday he'll understand that I had to do this. I had to go find the person who might change his life, too.

Feeling a gnawing tension, maybe even fear, I press the gas pedal, bringing my speed up to 85 miles per hour. Only occasionally do faster luxury cars pass me, but I keep pushing, determined to get there as quickly as possible.

I keep my stops short, mostly at drive-thrus, because I don't want to get out and attract the attention of potential fans who sometimes recognize me from Instagram, or just random alphas. But it's not like I'm setting out completely defenseless. I have a gun with me. I'm well aware that my appearance tends to turn heads. I know how to make myself less noticeable: a baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and my hair tucked under a loose plaid shirt, preferably a dark one.

No makeup. Sometimes I even wear lipstick that's paler than my natural lip color, just so my lips don't stand out as much, since they're naturally a deep, vivid pink.

At times, people still aren't fooled, but thankfully, if I really put some effort into my outfit, I can cut down on the number of people who take an interest in me. I even have a pair of non-prescription glasses with thick, horn-rimmed frames that I sometimes wear to give my face an extra dose of librarian-like seriousness.

But of course, my final line of defense is my gun. I'm a pretty good shot. Well, after being approached and harassed so many times, anyone would eventually feel the need for something like that.

With my fingers on the steering wheel and my eyes fixed on the road, I set off to meet my fate.

◆◆◆

Throughout the entire trip, I'm forcing both my mind and my body to ignore the fact that my heat is coming, and unfortunately, I think it's going to arrive sooner than I'd hoped.