Page 68 of Puck Your Friend

I never got their numbers or their full names. Finding them would be near impossible. I thought I had more time to get that kind of information.

My hand raises to the pendant and grips it hard. It’s all I have left of them.

I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.

The clinic looks like something out of a horror movie. Gray building, no signs, only one door and windows covered in bars. My mom doesn’t say anything as we pull up. She parks and stares ahead like she might throw up, too.

Every part of me screams that this is wrong. That I don’t belong here. I need to get back to them. The second she undoes her seatbelt, I shove open the door and bolt.

“Francesca, stop!” My mom shouts, but I refuse to look back.

Pain burns low in my belly. My dress catches on a bush near the curb. The skirt tears, but I don’t stop. I don’t know where I’m going.

If I can get far enough, I can find a gas station. Maybe someone will give me a ride. I could make it back to the camp. Back to the guys.

I need to see them. Every fiber of my being won’t rest until I can be held by them.

That voice returns and says they’ll be disgusted by me, not want to hold me, but I have to try.

The pain spikes higher. I keep running.

Something hits me in the back, like a bee sting. I stumble. The ground tilts toward me and my legs give as I skid along theground. Darkness creeps into the edge of my vision and my body goes numb.

My eyes flutter open. Lights buzz above me. I blink and glance around. I’m on the ground with something like a foam pad beneath me. Padded fabric covers all the walls.

I sit up too fast and the room sways. My body burns and it’s as if fire ants crawl over every inch of my skin. Everything inside me is screaming for something I can’t name.

A speaker in the corner crackles. “Miss Darian, your mother brought you to a heat clinic and admitted you for the next week. We can help you through your heat.” A woman’s voice drones.

My mother left me in this place? It’s like a prison.

“You have three options. Alpha Aid with early-presenting Alphas. Go it alone and we’ll provide nutrition. Or sedation for the next seven days.”

Unless it’s the guys, I don’t want anyone touching me. “No Alpha Aid. I want no pain and I don’t want to remember.”

“Sedation it is. You won’t remember anything.”

My gaze shoots up to the vent above my head. Something in the air wavers as a hiss meets my ears. The heaviness returns and my eyes close as I fall back.

The last thing I feel is betrayal. Not from them, but from myself. Being an Omega is a curse.

Whatever it takes, I’ll make sure this never happens again. Somehow, I’ll stop my heats from happening. There has to be a way.

Present day…

My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. It’s so dry. I groan as my head still pounds. I wish it would stop.

Cracking my eyes open, I stare up at the ceiling’s off-white square tiles. Vents hum overhead. Antiseptic lingers in the air.

I try to sit up. But all my muscles move at a sluggish speed. My arm’s tethered to an IV line and it stings with the movement. Something cold seeps through the needle into my vein.

I’malone.

The last thing I remember is the rink. Ford somewhere behind me. Logan tossing a sweaty towel over his shoulder. Jace grinning. Then nothing.

A sharp cramp hits below my navel. It causes panic to flare up, as it reminds me of that night. I don’t want to go into heat here, not while I’m conscious.

At least, not withoutthem.