Page 127 of Sawyer

“You did,” he snaps back and grabs my bicep with his free hand, twisting me around to look at him. “Listen, they can squawk, but you don’t have to listen.”

“You think it’s just that easy?” I cross my arms and glare at him. “My chances of being an omega are high. Mom is an omega and our sister is already showing signs of being an omega. Those pricks know it, and I know it. Plus, I’m ten, and you shouldn’t let them talk to me that way.”

“Sawyer, not everyone is going to come to your rescue. Sometimes you need to learn to stand up for yourself. What happens if you become an omega? Or maybe even a gamma? What then?”

“I won’t be a gamma.” I huff at him. “And sometimes, I need my big brother.”

“And I won’t always be here for you.” He jostles the fishing rod in his hand. “Then what will you do?”

“I’ll kick them in the knot.”

“By the fates, Sawyer. You can’t always resort to violence.”

“Like hell I can’t.”

“Don’t let Mom catch you cussing,” he warns me.

I roll my eyes at him. “It was the right context, even if you think it’s wrong.”

“You will have to learn to use your words instead of violence to get out of a bad spot, Sawyer. What would have happened if I let you hit him?”

“Then I hit him, and he would have deserved it.” I don’t see the issue here.

“Sawyer, hitting an alpha can land you in a delta holding cell, even at ten.” He sighs, glancing over his shoulder at the small beachy area. “Look, learn to play their game without someone running to your rescue and without violence.” He shakes his head before whispering, “There’s enough violence in this world as it is.”

Shepard wasn’t always there for me in the ways I needed him to be. He wasn’t an avenging angel, and he didn’t throw fists. He fought with words, which makes his betrayal cut even deeper.

Still, that lesson stuck with me all these years. Play the game.

What game am I stuck in right now? The doc’s game. He wants to see if I match with an alpha.

I breathe in the fog once again before blowing it out. The entire room is hazy now, and the fog shuts off. The numbers blink on the wall before a countdown begins from thirty seconds. At the bottom right, a one flashes.

No one told me how long this would go on, and the only saving grace I have is the promise that Doc won’t allow anything nefarious. His reasons aren’t all sound, but I can work with them.

The mirror across from me blinks away, revealing an empty room beyond. My eyes flick over to the countdown, and I stare with my heart pounding as I sit there.

When it hits one, the door opens, and my head swims.

I see his red hair first, then his ruddy complexion.

The smile Freddy wears scares me more than anything. Even from here, I can see his pupils blown out with lust as he steps closer to the mirror, his gaze riveted to me.

“How could you?” I question as the fans begin, and with it, Freddy’s scent wafts into the room. A gag instantly builds in my throat, but I hold it down.

“Sawyer, everything I did, I did it for you.” He presses a hand to the mirror, closes his eyes, and inhales. His entire body shudders, and his other hand reaches for his belt.

“Don’t.” I close my eyes as nausea swells inside me, both from his scent and actions.

“We are going to be together one way or another,” he says so softly, I’d almost think he cares, but obsession isn’t genuine affection. It can’t be. “I’m here as a formality, Sawyer. I’ve already put my offer in with your brother.” His shoulders relax, and his posture inflates.

“I won’t accept it. Freddy, I will never accept you.” I open my eyes to find him massaging his dick through his pants, and I want to puke again. Grinding my teeth is the only way I can keep myself from vomiting, which forces me to breathe through my nose, giving me another whiff of his scent.

“You will,” he says with an odd, calm assurance. “You just can’t go into a heat. Can you do that for me, Sawyer?”

I push my glasses up my nose, almost debating taking them off so I don’t have to look at him. A countdown begins on the wall, and sweat beads at the base of my spine.

“I have no control over that.”

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