Tobias waved his free hand. “Doesn’t matter.”
Doesn’t matter?
But they were worried about someone else getting to me before they did. Why didn’t that matter anymore? I looked frantically at Leighton, trying to quell my panic. The anxiety was making my hormones spike. I was too close to heat to be panicking. This might be too much for my delicate state.
“What do you plan on doing in a public restaurant?” Leighton asked.
“Nothing, of course. We’re going to eat, as expected of us. This public venue was to help improve your mother’s reputation—I’m not sure having me join your meal is exactly what she had in mind, but we’ve got extenuating circumstances.”
“Extenuating circumstances?” I blurted, finally finding my voice.
Tobias gave me a scathing look, squeezing my shoulder so hard it hurt. “Your mating. Obviously.”
“I’m not mating yet.”
“You are. Time has run out. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you have any choice in the matter.”
I spiralled.
My fear increased in intensity so much it spiked my scent. The Ashby pack’s pupils dilated and Leighton snarled at them. Cramps grabbed my stomach in a vice grip, so much more intense than they’d been in the lead up.
This was it.
Heat.
I jumped from my seat, and Tobias was too slow to catch me. He might have been stunned from the sudden change in the air. Had he known I was close? He couldn’t have, or he wouldn’t have risked stressing me out in public.
A rumble of growls rang out from around the restaurant. Betas cowered in their seats at the sudden presence of alpha auras. Omegas clung to their packs, glaring at me with vitriol in their eyes.
I focused on Leighton, who’d gotten to her feet when I had. She reached for me, gaze darting to the nearest exit. An emergency exit off to the side with a glowing red sign above it.
Our hands had almost clasped when Leighton was pulled back by a sneering woman with a sharp black bob. Her mother. I stared desperately at her hand for a second, before another wave of desperation hit me.
There were so many scents around. So many alphas. Their scents heightened as my arousal did, but while the thought of them was tempting in theory, I knew I would hate it. I needed one of four alphas, and Leighton wasn’t easily dragging herself out of her mother’s hold.
Tobias had recovered from the shock too, standing from his chair with a scowl. “You couldn’t have fucking kept a hold of yourself?” he snapped. “You’ve gotten yourself into a big mess, Kiara. You’re exactly what I always knew you were. A desperate omega.”
I couldn’t listen, not when I felt like his words were true.
I spun and ran, leaving Leighton behind but wishing I didn’t have to. My arms hit the doors and they gave beneath my weight, shoving open and letting me sprint into the waning sunlight of the late afternoon.
My heart was beating so hard I had no idea if I was being followed, but whether I was or wasn’t didn’t matter. I kept going, my legs pumping in a mad dash away from the brother who’d made my life hell and the pack I never would want.
Away from Leighton, too. That thought made discomfort slice through me and I ran faster, trading the heat cramps for the kind that came from too much physical activity.
I didn’t stop until I was sure no one was behind me. People had moved out of my way on the streets, but none had followed. It was only me.
Ducking into an alley, I leaned against the wall and panted. Slick drenched my thighs, and I was a creature of pure need. Need to get off. Need to have an alpha. Need to have a knot. I whined, shoving my fist in my mouth to stifle it.
Here wasn’t a good place to draw in an alpha. Anyone could find me, and my body wouldn’t be opposed to a stranger even if my mind was. My mind wasn’t even completely against it, at this point. Having someone give me a knot would let the pain leech from my limbs.
Half-crazed, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with myself. All I wanted to do was lay down on the ground and rock back and forth. I wanted an alpha to come along and ravish me, but I didn’t want just any alpha.
My alpha. I needed my alpha. Any one of the four of them.
This time the whine was too loud to stifle, and I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed.
My alphas had to find me before someone else did.
