Page 83 of Unlikely Omega

“I’m fighting my body, not my heart.”

“But—”

“I feel things for you. Things I’ve never felt before and they have nothing to do with your scent and your body and… and mine and… and they have nothing to do with Fae-blood and—”

“Finn—”

“—duty,” he finishes in one breath.

I’m pressed to his chest and his heartbeat echoes through me, fast and ragged like his breathing. His scent seeps into me, as does his warmth, his worry, his words…

“I feel things for you.”

“I’m fighting my body, not my heart.”

The pain lets up a little, allowing me a deeper breath. Something relaxes in me just enough to let me lift my arms and wrap them around his neck.

“Finn…”

“I’ll find a healer,” he says, “to see what’s hurting you. How to help you. The village can’t be far from here.”

“You’re helping me,” I whisper, but I don’t know if he hears me as he grunts, heaving himself to his feet, still holding me in his arms, and starts walking.

What he said, what he implied—and the feel of his body against mine, it’s helping me and also killing me, and I don’t know how anyone in the world can help.

The village turns out to be far, after all. Finnen finally puts me down below a scraggly tree and all but collapses beside me.

The wind whistles, shakes the branches above us, making them creak. The ground is uneven, rocks jabbing into my sides as I curl up, my teeth chattering.

Finn places a hand on my shoulder. “Where does it hurt?”

I press my hand to my belly. “Here. But also everywhere. Every part of me.”

“Damn. I don’t know much about going into heat,” he says quietly. “But maybe this is what happens before it hits.”

Heat seeps into my cheeks. “Maybe.”

Why the hell do I feel embarrassed about this when I’ve kissed him, when he’s touched me and made me come before? It feels like I’m cutting myself open and showing him my heart every time we talk about it when it’s just my body doing things, when it should feel more like showing my hand in a game of cards.

As if hearing my thoughts, he says, “You shouldn’t keep this from me. The only way to help you is by knowing what ails you.”

“Maybe this is what ails me,” I snap, suddenly annoyed at him. “That you seem to treat this pre-heat or whatever it is like a sickness. I am an omega, Finn. My awakening bleeding, my frigging scent… it’s a done deal. No healer can help me, fix me. Do you want me to be fixed?”

He pales, blind eyes widening. “No, I…”

“What I need is an alpha to bed me. No, not just any alpha. My mates.”

“Mates,” he echoes hollowly. “How many of them?”

“How the hell should I know? Awakening as an omega didn’t come with a manual.”

He lifts his hands. “Whoa, okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. Nothing is. I didn’t ask for this and I know you made vows, but I need…”

“What do you need?”

“You,” I breathe. “Inside me.”

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