Page 14 of Omega on the Rocks
I couldn’t answer.
The heat was rising, slow and cruel, clawing up from the base of my spine and spreading through my bloodstream like wildfire. I was dizzy. Shaky. Too aware of how the waistband of my pants felt too tight, too rough. And worst of all—I could smell it.
No. No, no, no—
The sickly-sweet scent curled around me, unmistakable toanyoneof my kind, even if every human in this room stayed blissfully unaware. The dampness beneath my waistband slickened, grew heavier, and then—
A thick, hot line of slick slid down the inside of my thigh.
I staggered back, nearly tripping over the C-stand behind me.
This isn’t happening.
My wolf howled in the cage of my mind, furious and wild.You waited too long. You ignored the bond. You thought you could run from a mate?
Shut up.Shut up.
“I have to go.” My voice cracked like dry wood. I didn’t even try to hide it. I just turned and started walking.
“Mal!” Jules chased after me, catching my arm near the wardrobe racks. “You can’t just—what’s wrong? Is it a panic attack? Is it—” She stopped mid-sentence. Her nose wrinkled, just slightly. “Did something spill on you? Did a bottle break or—”
Her hand brushed my hip.
She felt it. The wet. My breath caught in my throat as shame erupted under my skin, burning hotter than the heat itself.
“Don’t,” I whispered, backing away. “Please, Jules. Don’t ask me.”
Confusion. Concern. She looked ready to call someone—maybe medical, maybe the producer—but I couldn’t let her. Iwouldn’tlet anyone see me like this.
“I just need air,” I choked out. “That’s all. I just need—”
Another pulse of heat ripped through me, sharper this time, as if something inside me was curling open. My knees buckled slightly, and I grabbed a rack of blazers to steady myself. My heart pounded so loudly it hurt my ears.
You didn’t let him knot you,my wolf snarled, pacing.You took him. You teased fate. And now you think you can hide from what you are?
My vision blurred. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. I needed to leave. Now. Before the next wave hit. Before the scent turned undeniable. Before I collapsed in the middle of a soundstage and exposed myself for what I truly was—an omega in heat with a bonded mate miles away and no one to hold me down through the fire.
I stumbled toward the exit, dragging my body forward like every limb was made of sand. The bond had awoken. And it wantedhim.Not fame. Not lights. Not the weight of someone else’s script. Justhim.And I was breaking apart under the need of it.
The doors slammed shut behind me, muting the chaos of the set. I barely made it to the alley behind the soundstage before I dropped to my knees.
The asphalt scraped my skin, but I didn't care. I needed the pain. Needed something—anything—to ground me in my own body. But even that was slipping away. The heat wasn't just rising now—it wasconsuming.Every breath I took filled my lungs with the scent of myself, sickeningly sweet, cloying and humid like syrup poured over fire.
He’s not here,my wolf whispered.He’s not here, and you did this. You starved yourself of him. You let pride keep you from our mate—and now look.
I clutched my chest, sobbing through clenched teeth.
Another wave hit—this one hard enough to arch my back and knock the wind from my lungs. I choked on a scream. My thighs were slick with it now, drenched and useless, trembling against the cold ground.
I needed him. I needed Kerian.
I needed his hands, his scent, his voice. I needed him to hold me down and take the pain away—to fill the hollow, to silence the ache that was chewing through me like rot.
The door behind me slammed open.
“Malachi!” Jules’ voice cut through the fog. “What the hell is going on?!”
I curled into myself, shaking. “Go away.”
