“Well, we best be getting back to the library. I talked Diane into letting me take a longer lunch since it was a special occasion and all, but I don’t like to leave her alone too long. You know how she gets if anything on the computer goes wrong.” Peggy chuckled as we got up to leave.
As I stood, a wave of dizziness hit me and I stumbled into the table, almost crashing into it. Peggy reached out and grabbed my arm to steady me but I recoiled from her on instinct, slamming into another body. The sound of dishes smashing on the ground followed by a man swearing up a storm told me I’d taken out the bus boy I’d seen running around. Scrambling off him while panic clawed at my throat as I desperately needed to get away from having that much contact with a person. I was better with women but men, men were a whole different story.
“Fucking bitch watch where you’re going!” the man snarled.
Panic clouded my vision so I still couldn’t see straight and another sensation tingled all over my body. Terror the likes of which I’ve never known before sank deep into my bones, as a new perfume in the air around me was proof that my designation had reveled itself. In a twist of cruel irony, when we come into our designation we learn the truth the same way others did upon picking up our personal scent. My scent of heady vanilla that was sweetened by a hint of nutmeg screamed Omega.
“Cambrie,” Peggy called, her voice filled with urgency. “You need to get up now.”
Breathing was hard and what little air I could get into my lungs did nothing to ease the burning I felt. Tears spilled down my cheeks and I let out a whine that only an Omega could make, which was the worst possible thing I could have done. Alphas might be powerless to resist an Omega’s whine but Betas felt the pull as well just to a lesser degree.
“Cambrie, we need to get you out of here this instant and I’m going to have to touch you,” Peggy whispered harshly as she grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet with surprising strength.
My vision started to clear as she dragged me out of the restaurant. Looking back I saw three men watching us with a look that would have crippled me if it wasn’t for Peggy. Walking as fast as our legs could move we headed for the safety of the library, or at least I thought that’s where we were going. It was almost too late when I saw Peggy was bringing me to the police station. It was protocol that all Omegas were removed from their parents and placed in a secure location until a pack was selected for them. The Omega didn’t get a say in the matter even if there was no connection to the pack they were placed with, it was all decided by the government.
“No!” I screamed, jerking away from her. “I won’t. I won’t let them lock me away until I’m whored out to some pack. I’d rather take my chances on the streets than be forced into the life of a breeder.”
“Cambrie, this is for your protection,” Peggy pleaded, her eyes begging me to understand. “If you don’t do this something worse could happen. What if the black market dealers find you? They will sell you off just the same but it won’t be to someone who gives a damn about you and your wellbeing. Being placed with a pack is the best you can do in this world.”
Tears flowed down my cheeks as I kept shaking my head. “Don’t make me do this,” I begged.
When I tugged my hand from hers she let me this time and I didn’t question it as I bolted down the street. I ran as fast as I could back home where I was going to pack up my meager belongings and disappear. I didn’t know how I was going to do it or where I was going to find suppressors but I wasn’t going to be used. I’d been my father’s punching bag most of my life. I wasn’t going to let a group of strangers tell me what the rest of my life would be like.
The front door slammed as I entered making me flinch and internally scolded myself for making such a stupid mistake. I needed to get my head on right or I was going to get caught before I could even make a run for it. Quietly I padded down the hallway to my room making it past my father’s slightly ajar door.
I paused to listen.
The room was silent, maybe he wasn’t even home and he’d gone to the bar. I prayed that was the case and I would be able to get out of this hell hole before he returned. Finally in my room, I snatched up my backpack and started to jam in the two shirts and one other pair of pants I owned. Lifting my mattress I grabbed the two hundred dollars I’d managed to save over the past year, keeping the leftover change from buying beer.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Father snarled from behind me.
I froze. The sound of his voice had my body locking up against my will, unable to convince it to do anything. There was a long deep intake of breath as father caught my newly acquired scent and was quickly followed up with a husky laugh. “Seems keeping you has finally become beneficial to me for once.”
Ever so slowly I turned to face him, and the look on his face told me I wasn’t going to leave this house, not on my own two feet that is.
“Did you think you could just run away and live out in the world on your own as a fucking Omega? How stupid could you be? Good thing I caught you before you threw away your life to the government before making me some kind of profit. All I have to do is wait for you to turn eighteen when your heat starts and I’ll sell you off to the highest bidder. Finally something is going my way and I’ll be set for life.”
Lunging forward, Father grabbed my throat and dragged me to him. His breath reeked of stale beer. “Don’t worry Cammy, I’m going to take such good care of you and make sure no one finds you until the time is right.”
Sliding his hand to the back of my neck and fisting my hair he dragged me after him. We came to the door of the basement. A whimper escaped my lips as I knew what awaited me down there. This was his favorite punishment, making me feel like I was nothing more than a worthless dog. He pulled the door open and tossed me carelessly down the stairs. Tumbling down the steep steps I landed at the bottom on the hard, cold, concrete floor.
“Welcome to your new home, Cammy. I know how much you’ve enjoyed your days down here. I’m off to get some suppressants, can’t have someone walking by the house and smelling you, or risking an early heat now can we? Wouldn’t want you to be taken before I can get my profit out of you,” Father informed me as he cackled to himself, slamming the door and locking it with the five deadbolts.
Listening to them each slide home sealing my fate took all the fight out of me. I didn’t bother to get up off the floor and find the moldy mattress that was down here. What was the point? It’s not like it would make any of this better. Instead I curled around my backpack that I’d managed to hold on to and sobbed. I should have listened to Peggy. She was right, there were worse things than being at the whim of the government. Unfortunately, I’d made my choice. Now I had to live with it until I could escape—because mark my words I would not be sold off and make that bastard any money. It would be my final revenge but it would take careful planning.