Page 6 of Dream Girl
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.” He stood and left.
The woman in the lab coat came back in. She, too, was wearing some scent that smelled nice, spicy. “Sorry, this morning has been busy. Let’s try this again.” She had two more pricky things with her. Again, one went into the vial, the other turned black. “What’s your designation, Hun? Am I giving you the wrong test?”
“I… I don’t have one.” My nose scrunched in confusion.
Her expression softened. “Hun, if they told you that because you haven’t awakened, they’re full of bullshit. It should show up on the test. Do you remember whether someone gave you any drugs? Maybe a guy handed you a drink that you didn’t see being made? Are you taking any medication? Trevadol maybe?”
“I don’t remember.” I frowned as a few memories bubbled to the surface. Once I might have taken medicine. Yes, my mother made me and I didn’t like them. While I could be taking things now, I had no idea what.
It seemed the further back the memories, the easier they came.
But there were things I didn’t want to remember.
“That’s okay, you sit tight now.” She left, the door still open.
“What do you think, Doctor?” Sergeant Hawthorne’s voice drifted through the open door, though I couldn’t see anyone.
“I think you’re right. My guess would be an omega in hiding, using heavy-duty blockers and suppressants. Or she hasn’t fully awakened. At her age she’d get some bullshit about being a late-bloomer. She could also be a petite beta on Trevadol or one of the other medications that can make the prick-test glitch. She should get a scan. And those bruises, I want to hurt whoever did that to her,” the lab coat lady said.
“What do you think, Detective Lawson?” the sergeant added. “Thanks again for making the trek from Mid. No one handles these cases like you.”
“Thanks, Sarge. I miss this place,” a new female voice said.
“She mentioned alphas not existing. Maybe we’re dealing with someone escaping from an extreme equalist cult?” he said.
“That’s frightening. I’d like to talk to her, but first I want to make a call,” the unfamiliar voice said. That must be Detective Lawson. Their voices faded as they walked away.
Was this a dream? This didn’t feel like a dream. It was almost…
Another memory-bubble popped, and I squashed it down as fast as I could.
No. I didn’t even dare to think such a dangerous thing.
I wasn’t in another world any more than the guy from my dreams was real.
This was all just some weird, concussion-induced dream. I curled up in the chair and covered myself with the blanket. Maybe when I woke up everything would make sense.
Chapter Two
Wes
My cell phone rang, as I sat at my desk in my office, trying to work, head pounding. I winced, answering, “What?”
I felt like shit all morning. Even a breakfast burrito and three cups of coffee hadn’t fixed it. But I had work to do–even if it hurt to stare at all my monitors.
“Hello to you, too,” my older sister chuckled.
“What do you want?” I growled, not appreciating the interruption.
“I need you to come down to the Eastside station.”
“Eastside?” I frowned at my phone. Lexi usually worked at the Midtown station. My sister was a detective with the Special Victims Unit.
Her voice grew soft. “Some betas tried to assault a young woman sleeping on a park bench. She’s fine but shaken–and clearly suffered some traumabeforethe betas bothered her. She doesn’t remember her name or where she’s from and has no ID. We contacted every hospital, shelter, and in-patient facility in a hundred-mile radius, and no one matches her description. We even checked local universities and missing person reports.”
“Wow, that’s awful. Why are you calling me?” My pack was powerful–and rich—and my sister wasn’t afraid to use our resources. But her pack had plenty of their own.
“When we ran her prints and facial recognition, since she has no ID and can’t remember her name, they came up blank. It’s as if there’s no record of her. When we asked for her designation, she said she was a woman. We can’t tell exactly what her designation is from her scent, so we did the prick-test, and it came up asunknown. She also seems to think alphas aren’t real–”
