Page 95 of Carmichael's Omega

I keep walking without responding, Mattie hurrying after my long strides. His breath is choppy from nerves, but I can't stop to soothe my male when my female is such a wreck.

How much did she drink? She's barely cognizant. Can omegas get alcohol poisoning? Are they like humans?

"Can omegas get alcohol poisoning?" I ask Mattie.

"I suppose? I don't-"

"You are in training to become a doctor,no?" I snap out, my wolf adding a low growl to the end of my sentence. We both want answers. Cassidy may have endangered herself in more than one way.

I hear Mattie's shoes scuff the sidewalk. He takes a deep breath before saying quietly, "our immune systems are not quite as strong as other shifters, but still better than most humans. I suppose alcohol tolerance is about the same. Cassidy's really small, though, so her tolerance would be lower."

I walk into a dark frat house. Most of the Alpha-Ups are at other parties. The Kappas hold their parties on Friday nights, so they don't compete with us and the other larger frats. Losers.

My room smells stale when I open the door. I left the window cracked, so at least it wasn't moldering for over a month without any fresh air. Still, my dirty clothes are lying on a heap in the corner. A bag of potato chips is in the trash. The smell is a little rank, but at least I cleaned the food out of the mini-fridge.

My bed isn't the cleanest, either, but it won't stink of other females. I haven't been able to touch another female since I laid eyes on Cassidy.

I take Cassidy to the bathroom and set her down on the toilet. Caramel eyes blink up at me slumberously. She sways but stays upright. I make sure that my right thigh pens her in against the vanity to keep her from crashing to the tile floor while I rummage around in my medicine cabinet.

I take out some pills for her impending hangover. "Mattie?"

"Yeah, Carm?"

"Grab a bottle of water from the fridge."

I hear him rush across the room and open the fridge before he's running to us. I take the water and help Cassidy swallow her medicine and half the bottle of water.

"That's it,Conejita, drink it all for me,si?"

She drinks, then smiles at me. "Doberman-man," she whispers.

I start the shower and help her stand up so that I can whisk her dress off. "I'm a wolf,Bella," I tell her patiently as she starts to protest getting under the spray.

"A wolf!" she slurs. "That's even better."

I wash her and myself, holding her up most of the time. By the time we're finished and toweled off, it's nearly two in the morning. I know without asking that my male is an early-to-bed, early-to-rise type of wolf. He's probably exhausted.

I carry Cassidy back into the room, only to stop short. The bed is clean, made, and I can tell from here that those are new sheets. Looking around, I notice that the trash has been emptied, and all of my books are straightened on the shelves. I suppress my amusement at Mattie's squeak of embarrassment when I catch him folding my pile of clothes that had been thrown onto the coffee table shoved in one corner of the room.

"I'll just go and take a shower while you get dressed," Mattie blurts out. The tips of his ears are bright red.Mi Chulito.He won't make eye contact, head bowed so that his chin touches his chest. He's embarrassed by more than getting caught cleaning like a female. Of my nudity or his sister's? Surely he must have seen her naked on pack runs before.

"Bueno. You need to sleep. I wanted to take you to the bar tomorrow."

I watch Mattie hurry into the bathroom before I look down at my female. She's finally fallen asleep naturally instead of passing out drunk. Her face has lost the constant animation of wakefulness. She's wan, pale. There are circles under her eyes, and her lips are chapped and nibbled on.

I tuck her in gently. I don't like seeing the stress on my Cassidy's face. Smoothing my thumb over her cheek, I just look at her,appreciatingher. My wolf examines her, takes in her scent, makes sure she hasn't been hurting and unsatisfied when he sees all the signs of her anxiety that I do. It's not possible to see it when she's awake. All of our attention is on her shining eyes, her smile, her happy glow. Now she looks exhausted, diminished, and so fucking fragile.

I glance at my phone and send a text to the Beta.

ACR - Is the bitch ready, Jefe?

Pinche Beta - You have no fucking patience, Punk.

ACR - ¿Sí? And?

Pinche Beta - She's made contact with Morales. Offered him our friend. They took the bait. I didn't know they traded in males, too. Fucking assholes.

ACR - Good. Soon, then.

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