Page 58 of Frenzy
I gasped as I ratcheted upright, my body feeling shaky and weak. Someone was there, their hands smoothing over my shoulders. “Shush, Bonnie. It’s okay,” came whispered words, and it took me too long to recognize Pryce’s voice, though his Omega essence flowed over my skin like cool water.
It was dark, and I wasn’t in my room. I didn’t remember anything. Well, anything except Courtland asking me to be his Beta.
“What happened?” I said, but my throat felt rough.
“You’ve… uh, you’ve been in a coma. Or unconscious, at least.”
I ran my hands over my body, looking for injuries or something that would explain Pryce’s words. I felt wrong, that much was obvious. My skin was on fire, and my body felt like it had been wound up like a spinning top. Also, I could feel my hip bones a little more prominently than usual. “For how long?”
“The longest five days of my life. And I lived in a damn white-walled cell for sixteen years.”
I frowned at him, but he really did look a bit crazed. “Are you okay? Am I okay?”
He hesitated. “I should get Courtland or Radic or someone,” he choked out, and then he was out of the bed and gone.
Shit, was I dying? Is that why I felt like this?
The door slammed open, and within a blink, the familiar weight of Radic was on top of me. He kissed every inch of skin he could reach: my face, cheeks, my neck. He didn’t stop kissing until I groaned under the weight of his body. He rolled off, but didn’t let me go. “Baby, I’ve never been so fucking scared in my whole life. Thank the Goddess you’re awake.” He squeezed me tightly to his body.
“Radic, Bonnie needs to breathe,” came Courtland’s dark voice, and something shuddered over my body like a caress. I whined low in my throat, an embarrassingly sensual sound, and Radic sprang away.
I curled my fingers in bedsheets that smelled clean, but all the blankets around me smelled of the guys. “What’s wrong with me?” I asked again, and it was Courtland who came over, sitting beside me on the bed like he was made of stone.
“Bonnie, you were unconscious because your body was changing.”
I cringed. “This sounds like the speech Doc gave me when I hit puberty, though there were more diagrams then.” I shuddered. That had been awkward for us both. Radic snorted a laugh, because he remembered my horror.
Courtland huffed, shaking his head, and I swore I could feel his scent brush across my face like a stroke of his hand. “It’s not much different. Bonnie, by some quirk of nature, you have changed designations. You’re now an Omega female.”
The whole room was silent. I didn’t even breathe, waiting for the punchline to the joke he was obviously telling, but no one was laughing.
“Come on, that’s not possible,” I argued, because it was legitimately the insanest thing I’d ever heard. And I was from a race of beings where the men gave birth.
Radic grabbed my hand. “It’s true, Bonnie. Happened to you and every other unmated female Beta in town. And Susannah,” he said, frowning. That made no sense at all.
I just blinked at them slowly as my brain tried to process. “Are you sure?”
Courtland nodded. “The smartest person I have ever met proved it, and Doc agreed.” He paused. “Plus, your scent,” he groaned.
I sniffed my armpit, but that was a bit gross. Ew. I didn’t smell any different to me though. I looked over at Pryce and my body clenched, which made him make a pained noise.
Radic swallowed. “Also, you’re about to go into heat, and smell like…” He trailed off like there wasn’t a word, but judging by the look of absolute lust on his face, it was good.
My eyes whipped to Pryce. “You need to get him out of here!”
His face fell like I’d kicked him straight in the gut, and I felt like shit. I crawled over the comforters toward him. “No no, not like that. I would love to, uh, make love to you. Actually, it’s the only thing I want to do right now,” I moaned, leaning forward to nip his chin with my teeth. “But this isn’t how you should experience your first time, with this out of control feeling pushing you into it. You should choose, with a clear head.”
The smile he gave me made both my heart and my lady parts clench simultaneously. “I could be sober as a judge, and I’d still choose you, Bonnie. Omega. My Omega,” he purred, and I let the word roll over me. Me. An Omega.
Oh shit. I swung my head to Courtland. “You aren’t going to try and impregnate him, are you?” Ice traveled down my spine, cooling the fire in my belly. “Oh shit, the other Beta, I mean Omega females. You’re protecting them, right? Shit, how? How can you protect them? The whole Legion Force is unmated males. Oh, shit, Courtland, you have to do something... Where's Dominic?”
The panic was beginning to spiral out of control inside of me, like everything was heightened to eleven. Courtland gently pulled me to my feet and into his arms. He thrummed low in his chest, and my whole body went lax. “It’s okay, Bonnie. Dominic is acting in my stead, and between himself and Loren, we got word out to the families of the new Omegas. It doesn’t seem to affect males who already have a female Omega either, so I’ve had to beg Gatlin, Finlo and Seven to drag themselves away from their own mate to make sure everyone is safe. They have an impressive cell system down in the Legion basement, and anyone who messes up will go straight to the brig. Doc will shoot the ones who are too wild with a tranq strong enough to bring down a bull elephant. Loren isn’t exactly a weakling, and this will be good for his abilities. To incapacitate and not kill.”
I swallowed hard when I realized I’d been stroking my face across his chest as he spoke. He ran his hand down my hair soothingly. “To answer your other question, no, I don’t intend to get Pryce with cub. I can control myself, Bonnie, so you guys do what you need to.Ifyou choose to let us help you with the heat, that is entirely up to you, Omega. Your choice is the most important. But to assuage any lingering fears, no matter your decision, I do not intend on knotting the Omega tonight.” His voice was confident, but there was a tight strain around his eyes that said that might not be as easy as he made it sound. “Radic will be here, guarding us all, so if you feel uncomfortable at any point, you can call for him. Either of you.”
My eyes swung to Radic, and I tried to read his face. It was a face that I knew as well as my own, and he’d never been able to keep a secret from me.
“You’re okay with this?”
