Page 13 of Heat Lightning

His mouth stretched into a sharp smile. “Just needs a push over the edge.” He looked at Dain. “Do it. We don’t have all night.”

Primal fear, the likes of which I’d never known before, shot through me. Dain lunged forward, and I sprang away, instinctively going for the door, but he was already on me, shoving me back against the wall to hold me still while he covered my mouth and nose with a piece of cloth pulled from his pocket.

The smell was pungent and rank, like perfumed rot. I gagged and choked, trying to fight my way out of his grip, but there was no point.

Realizing too late I’d inhaled whatever was on the cloth, the room tilted sideways. I flailed, attempting to steady myself, but he let me crumple to the ground with a cruel laugh.

Joey merely watched, eyes glazed.

The world kept spinning when I rolled onto my back. I tried to stand, but my limbs wouldn’t work right. Heavy and uncoordinated, I could barely lift an arm before it flopped back to the ground.

Panic choked me. Hyperventilating, my fear only ratcheted higher each time I tried to move and couldn’t. The three of them multiplied into six, and then twelve, until they circled me, spinning, spinning, spinning.

What was happening to me?

“The paralytic worked quickly this time,” one of them said, head cocked to the side.

Joey only hummed in reply.

My mouth was sluggish, and I couldn’t form the words to beg him to help. It wouldn’t have made a difference, anyway. He’d brought me here. He was meant to be my friend, and he’d brought me to this hellhole so he could… so they could…

Breath ragged and shallow, I stared at the door. And stared. And stared. I just wanted to leave. That was all. Just to go. I’d never tell anyone what they’d already done, as long as they let me go.

But right when I thought things couldn’t possibly get worse, they did.

The room grew even hotter, and I felt funny. Almost lightheaded, but not like I was going to pass out. It was closer to the way I felt while in the middle of⁠—

A sharp pang shot through my belly. I groaned and instinctively tried to double over, but ended up rolling sideways into the fetal position instead.

We’re not safe, my omega wailed. I really only ever heard its voice when I was in heat, which meant…

We need to hide and make a nest, it said. Quick!

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no! This couldn’t be happening.

Joey knelt next to me, doubles and triples of him fanning out as the room grew harder and harder to focus on. I blinked, trying to pinpoint where he actually was in the rotating hellscape my reality had turned into.

“Stimulants are kicking in, now,” he said, leaning over to smell me.

Deeply mortified by his assessment, I realized it wasn’t just sweat pouring down the back of my legs. It was slick. And he could smell it.

Which shouldn’t be possible. I wasn’t even close to being aroused.

“Better than the last one,” one of the others grumbled. “Sedation was way too strong.”

With a hard push, Joey shoved me onto my back again. My movements were so slow and lethargic I couldn’t fight him at all anymore. My glasses slipped off as I rolled, landing somewhere beside me.

Tears tracked down my face. I just wanted to leave. I wanted to hide far, far away from their cold, unfeeling gazes.

A loud crash came from down the hall, out of sync with the low beat of the bass. One of the alphas looked up, but the others didn’t seem to notice.

Joey grabbed my chin, thumb pressing into the flesh of my cheek. I tried to jerk my head away, but couldn’t.

His grin was sickening. “I wonder if he’s ever⁠—”

Another crash, this time closer. The screams next door cut off abruptly, followed by shouting and a scuffle. All three of them looked up this time, alerted to the commotion.

Joey stood. “Go see what that is,” he ordered the other two.