Page 8

So amazing.

There was no cell service, and I couldn't see anyone behind the counter in the small convenience store, but there were lights, so I had that hope at least.

"She's on an extended break," a voice said to me out of the dark.

"Fuck!" I cried out, jumping around to face where the voice had come from. "Warn a girl, why don't you?" I admonish before I finally make out the person walking from the shadows.

It's a girl around my age, maybe a bit older. Tall and lean, with long limbs and dark, glowing skin. Her braids were twisted up into a high knot, loose curls escaping around her face. She wore a patched denim jacket over a silky shirt that shimmered when she moved. And boots. Badass boots, I felt immediate envy over.

Our eyes met.

She hesitated, then offered a lopsided smile. "The attendant. She's on a break. But she has been on one for like... over an hour now."

"Oh," I respond, wondering what the hell this girl is doing standing in the dark in a creepy-looking gas station.

"You look like hell," she told me.

I blinked. "Uh... thanks?"

She walked over casually, hands in her pockets. "Didn't mean to be rude... Just... I've been there."

I stepped back a little. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," she said gently. "But it's okay. I wasn't either when I first ran away."

The word hit me square in the chest.

I froze.

Is she one too? Fuck. What if she... no... she wouldn't, right?

"Don't worry," she adds quickly, almost soothingly. "I'm an Omega on the run, too."

My knees nearly buckled. I grabbed the side of the car and sucked in much needed air. She stood there patiently, not coming closer or pressing.

"And you're okay now?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yeah. More than good. Free."

The silence stretched between us after that. Thick and strange, but not uncomfortable.

"What's your name?" I eventually asked.

She hesitated just a moment too long. "Marigold."

"Like the flower?"

"Exactly like the flower." Her grin returned, slow and sharp.

"I'm Cindy."

Her eyes flicked to my face like she was cataloguing something. "Well, Cindy, you got a plan?"

I shook my head. "Just driving for now. My escape did not go as planned. This morning I woke up a Beta, getting ready to flee the nest as soon as my eighteenth birthday hit. Throw in an unplanned Omega presentation, followed by meeting a scent match to the worst possible pack, and you got the makings of a crazy story."

She hummed softly. "First things first, you'll probably need to get rid of the name. And some meds to help with those... hormones."

I shrugged. "Yeah. I used to be a waitress. I don't really have the skills or knowledge of where to get either of those."