Page 6

Youth wasn’t soft on the boy, it was a jagged thing. A new blade, untried, but sharp.

I tasted iron in the back of my throat.

“Nobody would listen to me, Puck. No matter how I tried.”

Puck darted ahead, tossing back looks to make sure I followed. I waded through the strange hurt. My parents would have told me to stop wallowing and get stuck in with helping. To use who I was for good. But I’d already given up on the dreams they had for me, especially now I was fleeing the city for good.

The camera bounced in the bottom of my bag, unused since my parents died.

I thought I could change the world, like Esta Hartlock once did. But there was no secret power that came from being a Hartlock omega, only the weight of failed expectations.

I breathed in the scent of The Barracks, the pervasive scent of disrepair. Much like my insides.

Someone could keep this city safe, but it wouldn’t be me.

2

Tully

Fenella barreled toward me and some of my herbal tea sloshed over the rim as she jammed her finger into my chest.

Thank gods for my threadbare robe. If she saw what I wore underneath, it would only raise questions. I’d showered off the lingering scent of The Barracks earlier today, but not the disturbing emotions that the visit stirred up.

I was like muck in a pond clouding the surface.

Maybe that’s why I kept thinking about dark-lined hazel eyes, and a smile too dangerous to enjoy.

“Where is that leather jacket you were wearing yesterday?” She raked her bright green eyes over me, staring down her nose.

The form-fitting gray dress, which highlighted her striking red bob, was designer. My elbows poked through my wornnightgown, so useless against the cold, I had wrapped a scarf around my neck in a careless knot.

She was elegant, and I was… amess.Classic Tully Hartlock.

I tugged my scarf tighter. I didn’t realize the cold had teeth until my parents died. They weren’t warm parents, but at least they could afford heating. Now they were both gone. My parents and the money.

“I’m just getting some tea.” I proffered the mug.Idiot. Like she couldn’t see that herself. “Besides, it’s dirty.”And drenched in my scent.

Fenella shivered, as if she didn’t realize how cold it was. She refused to let me use the heating during the day. Did she want to freeze me into submission? If I wasn’t so desperate for somewhere to stay, I would never have taken Clay’s offer.

I’d rather my fingers fall off than find refuge at The Omega Center. The second I walked through that door, my hard-fought anonymity would be lost. I hoped Thorn finished my paperwork soon, so I could finally leave this city.

“Oh gods, that doesn’t matter,” Fenella snapped. “Hurry up, I’ve got a date and I’m late.”

Perhaps it didn’t. Her beta nose was less sensitive to scents, not like mine was.

My mother was the same. She walked blithely through a crowd, while I had to cover my nose.

“Y-you’re not doing anything…” I retrieved the jacket and passed it over with a frown.

“Careful, Tully.” Her gaze narrowed. “I’m doing you a favor, and I don’t enjoy being accused of things.”

I flattened my lips and let her go in silence. I didn’t want to start another argument with Fenella. She was difficult to live with, and her compassion had an expiry date, which soured the minute Clay left us alone. But why did she insist on borrowing my clothes? Especially when she complained abouthow unsophisticated my style was. Fenella gained perverse satisfaction in bringing me down.

If she was scent stealing, it wouldn’t end well for her. Especially when I didn’t plan on being here for much longer. I hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to find work, and my nest egg dwindled at an alarming rate.

For such a rundown apartment, the rent was staggeringly high.

“Make sure the kitchen is clean by the time I get back, and I have a hamper full of fresh laundry that needs folding.” Fenella arched an eyebrow as she swiped her bag off the counter. As her key turned in the lock, my limbs loosened with relief.