Page 14 of The Omega Verse

I nudge Jett in the ribs, keeping my voice low. Silva is hanging around the bathroom door, his hand raking through his hair, and I don’t want to spook him before I know for certain. “I think we have a problem, and you need to be sensitive about it, okay?”

He cocks a brow at me as he steals a sip of my coffee, then adds a splash of whiskey. “Sensitive is my middle name, babe.”

“I’m not dicking around, Jett,” I hiss. “I have to check, and I might be wrong, but I think she’s going into heat.”

He drops the whiskey bottle, making Silva look over. But all I can see is the flash of fear in Jett’s eyes. “What the fuck did you say?”

“Yeah,” a soft voice echoes from the bathroom door. “What the fuck did you say?”

Cass

I must be losing my mind. Or maybe Tom ruptured something in my brain when he chewed me out on the phone. Because I’m pretty sure River Ryder – one of the most famous omegas on the planet - just said I’m going into heat.

Was he talking about himself and I misheard? Jesus. Is River about to go into heat on the tour bus? He definitely has a glow about him, even though he’s wearing skinny black jeans and an old cable-knit jumper that’s so out of shape the sleeves are falling down over his hands. But the loose fit puts a wide swath of his neck on show – pale, with jutting bones, and a scent that makes my tongue tingle…

“Shit,” he hisses, pushing Jett’s shoulder to get past him. When he doesn’t move, he stands up and climbs over him, landing in front of me in bare feet. The dull thud of him hitting the carpet sounds muted, like my brain can’t catch up with what’s going on around me. I shiver. Am I in shock? I’m vaguely aware that Silva is right there, his arm around my shoulders as I wait for someone to tell me it’s a joke.

But River just takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m sorry I said that, Cass. I could have it wrong, but you’re showing the signs of a first-time heat.”

“I can’t be,” I say through numb lips. “I’m a beta.”

“Yes, I know…”

“I’m twenty-five, River. No one presents that late.”

“No, but…” There’s a kind of apology in his eyes as he squeezes my hand tighter. “I’ve read that some people have a latent presentation. They get triggered by extreme emotion, and it comes out. It’s not necessarily permanent, but for as long as it lasts, you’ll be an omega.”

“Just to note, River reads a lot of science fiction,” Jett says fondly as he tips some Jack Daniels into a coffee mug. “So, it’s also possible you’re a sexbot from a far-flung galaxy that’s just been activated.”

River gives him a filthy look, but I want to take comfort from his mockery. Jett’s an alpha, after all. If I was going through some kind of delayed designation change, wouldn’t he be able to sense it?

Although, I’m not sure how good his faculties are since he’s belting back whiskey at eight in the morning…

“Have you got someone in the city who can look after you?” River asks, looking at me like he thinks I’ll crack down the middle if he says the wrong thing.

I blink at him, still completely disoriented. “In the city? No.”

“There are clinics,” he says cautiously. “Omega tending facilities. They have professionals who can help you through this. We can ask around and find you a good one.”

“Or there’s always the guy who promised to fuck us up if we touched her,” Jett says with another swig of his spiked coffee. When he catches my eye, he gives me a wolfish grin. “He sounded like an up-for-anything kind of alpha.”

“Jett!” River hisses at him through his teeth, but then sighs and turns his soft, grey eyes back my way. “Is Tom special to you, Cass? Could he tend you through your heat?”

I gape at him, trying to picture that conversation with Tom in my head. We talk about everyday things – work, bills, music, food, the tourists, and how much they drive him nuts. We don’t really discuss our hookups, and I can’t remember the last time we talked about our designations.

That’s the beauty of being a beta. My hormones are always on the down low. I mean, I know Tom’s an alpha. There’s no way to miss it when he’s so big and dominant. And then there’s his protective side. He’s always looking out for me, even when I don’t need it. So yes, I think he’d tend me, if I asked. And if that kiss just before I left was anything to go by, it would be hot as hell….

“Holy shit,” Silva says softly, and my gaze snaps to his face. His pupils are completely dilated, his nostrils flaring. “That's some perfume you’re putting out, sugar.”

What the hell? I instantly clamp my arms to my sides, my face burning. I’m perfuming? Or is this another crack about me needing a shower?

“That's slick,” River says as he eases me away from Silva. “And it’s completely normal, Cass.”

Slick?

As in… omega lubricant that gets me ready to be mounted by multiple alphas?

Oh my God. Oh my God!

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