AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, sir.” I press my hand to my heart in salute, and he walks out.
Alone again, I sink back in my chair.
My father never bluffs. I’ve known that in my bones since the day I mouthed off as a toddler and he confiscated my teddy bear.
Now I have so much more to lose.
***
Four
LILAH
The cool thing about spending the next day in the infirmary is that it smells like rubbing alcohol instead of ragey omegas, and when I can finally sit up without puking, Nurse Betty brings me a plate for breakfast.
It’s heaped with French toast, sausage, and fancy fruit salad—the kind with dragon fruits and rambutans that I absolutely cannot afford to be added to my ever-growing tab.
There’s no free brunch at the OCC.
I mentally add another chunk of cash to my debt for the food, the overnight, and medicine.
As a rule, I don’t fill my stomach. I don’t dare let myself get to a healthy weight where my body could be like, hey, aren’t we supposed to be doing that puberty thing?
This once, I sop up every drop of syrup with my toast and lick my fingers clean. I need my strength to heal this head wound and survive the recital from hell.
Knowing I’m a flight risk, Evgenia shows to drag me to the auditorium and sit my ass in one of the dressing room makeup chairs backstage.
Hair mostly covers the spot where Rachel hit her home run, but so much purple swelling bleeds onto my forehead that I need the heavy-duty concealer. It’s not my first time hiding my hurts under foundation and powder.
It won’t be the last.
All I can do is brush over the marks, wing my eyeliner sharp enough to slit a man’s throat, and promise myself I’ll keep fighting.
Evgenia stops to hand over the hanger with my skimpy spandex costume, giving a curt nod at my expert bruise-hiding skills. “No one will notice.”
“Hope they don’t.” I’d happily blend into the back row, or better yet, ooze into the shadows and never make it to the stage.
“Oh, they’ll notice you. You’ll be in the arms of your forever pack before morning.”
I freeze, mid-blusher. Evgenia isn’t exactly a mother figure, but I can trust her not to bullshit. “What else have you been told?”
“Just that you’ll be graduating soon. It’s nothing to worry about. Any pack would be lucky to have you.”
Would they, though?
And why would I want them?
“I’ll graduate right now,” I mutter.
Evgenia tsks. “So you say. Wait until your first heat. You’ll be begging for your alphas to—”
“I know how it works.” I’ve taken the class, done the reading, and seen the omega “education films” that are just well-lit amateur porn. I know exactly what I’m in for.
An omega in heat is a mindless creature, all need and no logic. We crave sex and security. The bite of our alpha. Knots and sweet nothings.
It’s supposed to be bliss when you have it all.
The cozy nest and the pack of growly protective alphas bending over backward, sideways, and doggy style to make you scream and make you smile.
