Page 1 of Omega and the Beast
PROLOGUE
Callista
Hot need flaredand cramped her insides as her muscles clenched. Biting down hard on the knotted cloth in her mouth, Callista whimpered and curled into a tighter ball. Tears streamed down her face as she pulled the blankets more firmly around her.
Being an Omega was a curse. For more reasons than one. If anyone found out what she was, she would be thrown out of the village – or worse. But even with her and her father keeping her secret, she’d suffered monthly since her first heat. It felt like her cramps were becoming more and more painful with each one.
Panting through the worst of it, more tears spilled as the cramps receded, tears of relief, although she knew the cycle would start again soon. At least for now, her muscles could loosen, and it didn’t hurt so much.
The sound of the door opening made her tense all over again, fear pulsing through her, nearly drowning out thearousal that wracked her body, but it was her father’s voice she heard next, soothing her anxiety with his whisper: “It’s me, sweetheart.”
Footsteps followed his soft announcement, heavy treads down wooden stairs, all the way to the stone floor where she’d made her nest. Peeking out, she saw him carrying a tray, his creased face lined with worry. As he set the tray down beside her nest, he picked up a glass and held it out to her.
“You need to drink something,” he urged. “Drink, my little Callie.”
Unable to speak, Callista reached out and took the glass from him, greedily guzzling the cool water. It did little for her heated insides, but it did clear the parched feeling in her mouth and throat.
“Thank you, Papa,” she whispered, now that she could. Her throat felt sore from all the muffled screams she’d uttered.
Dark liquid eyes met hers, tortured because he knew she was suffering, and there was nothing he could do to ease her. Not without putting her very life in danger. If Father Conal knew she was an Omega, there was no telling what he would do. The village priest would likely punish her father, and as for her…
Sacrifice.
She shuddered.
Her father put both of them in danger by protecting her, providing her with the suppressants that kept her Omega nature at bay most of the time. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to retrieve any on his last trip, so she was now suffering through her very first heat — and she never wanted it to happen again. It was even more painful thanshe’d imagined it could be, but the fear of being discovered was even greater.
They were taking every precaution they could, but when she wasn’t shaking with the hot need that overpowered all of her senses, she was quivering in terror of what might become of them.
“As soon as the worst has passed, I’m making a trip. Iwillreturn with more suppressants,” Papa whispered, anguish in his voice. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. I should have tried harder.”
“It’s okay, Papa,” she whispered back, reaching out with one hand to take his. The only blessing was, even though her body ached for a male, she was not so far gone she wanted him.
Father Conal taught that when Omegas went into heat, their lust was so complete, so sinful, they would take any male, no matter their age or relation. But Papa was more well-traveled than Father Conal, and once he’d realized what she was, he’d taken pains to hide her nature. Suppressants kept her heat at bay, and when that failed, hiding her in the basement with blankets and pillows to make a nest, caring for her through the pain and ensuring she ate and drank.
Callista had never been particularly fond of Father Conal and was even less so now that she realized he hadn’t been speaking the truth about Omegas. For so long, she’d worried she was an evil, lustful, sinful creature at heart, only to discover, while her body might have certain demands, she remained unchanged. And she certainly didn’t lust after her own kin, no matter how urgent the needs of her body were.
Papa gave her hand one last squeeze for comfort, then released her, lifting his head up to the ceiling.
“I have to get back upstairs to mind the shop,” he saidquietly. “I will return later with more food and water for you. Eat and drink something.”
“Yes, Papa,” she answered, wincing as she felt a small cramp twinge inside her. She might be able to drink something, but eating right now was out of the question. Maybe later.
She took small sips of water as Papa went back upstairs, shutting the door firmly behind him. He’d told her that he would tell anyone who came in that she was sick.
Which she was. Just not in the way they would assume.
She risked another small sip of water, cringing as her insides twisted again.
Part of her wanted to run out into the woods and let the Beast tear her apart. At least that would end the pain.
Only another day or two… it doesn’t last forever…
That was what Papa said.
She trusted him more than she trusted anything Father Conal said about Omegas. Maybe after this, she’d finally be able to convince him they should move somewhere else. Somewhere there wasn’t a Beast roaming the forest or an Omega-hating Beta preaching lies about her.
Papa always insisted they were safer here, where they knew people, where everyone had known her since she was born, rather than with strangers… but Callista didn’t feel so safe. Not anymore.
