Page 20 of Happy Halloween, Omega

“I don’t know how to…” I say, my voice weak and shaky, fear lancing through me. I don’t want to go insane, and I don’t know how to be a proper Omega that goes through heats.

He frowns and shakes his head, “No, none of that. You’re coming home with me and we’ll get through this together. I’m going to take care of you.”

My knees wobble and my vision swims. “Okay,” is all I manage to get out.

He scoops me up into his arms, cradling me to his chest, and starts walking.

I hear distant shouting and his pace picks up, breaking into a run.

I cling to him. “Alpha, please. It hurts.”

“I know, Kitten. I’ll make it better. I promise.”

He stops at a black, nondescript cruiser and settles me into the passenger seat, taking care to buckle me in and kiss my forehead. When he closes the door, a mix of a whine and a sob rips from my chest. I can’t bear the thought of him leaving. Even for a second.

He quickly circles the cruiser and hops in the driver’s seat. The engine roars to life and we take off.

The trip is a blur of pain and pleasure. The heat under my skin is unbearable, and I bring myself to climax twice with my fingers, trying to create some kind of relief. It’s not enough. My channel clenches repeatedly, seeking something to clench down on.

My Alpha doesn’t touch me. Not once during the drive. His knuckles turn white as he grips the steering wheel. I hate it. I need him.

I’m sobbing by the time we arrive. I can barely see a thing through the tears welling in my sensitive eyes, but the place feels familiar. It’s not until he’s bundled me into the elevator that I realize where we are. He’s brought me to my apartment.

I frown. I thought he said we were going to his home.

The elevator dings as the doors open, and he carries me out into the hallway.

I squeak in protest as we walk past my front door. He of all people should know which one is mine. The bugger has broken into it at least twice. He stops in front of my neighbor’s door and pulls out a key. I gape up at him in confusion as he swings the door open and carries me inside.

“What—“ I choke, the sound wet from my tears.

“You didn’t think I’d leave my Omega living all alone, did you?”

I look around in a daze as he carries me through the apartment. I’ve never been inside the other apartments in my building before, and this one is far bigger than my place. Mine is a single room with a small kitchenette and an ensuite. This is a full three-bedroom apartment.

“You live here?”

He chuckles, tapping the tip of my nose with his finger like my confusion is adorable. Even in my vulnerable state, I swat at him like the kitten he accuses me of being.

“I own the building. You don’t live here by accident, Kitten. I made sure you’d be somewhere I could control and keep watch over.”

He nudges open a door and soft light floods the room. It’s dim enough that my eyes don’t hurt, and they quickly adjust. There’s a huge bed in the middle of the room, and the walls are covered in photos.

I gasp.

They are all of me. Hundreds of them. I recognize some from Halloween and others from my daily life. There are ones of me asleep, taken from the park across the road through my windows. Others are from inside my apartment.

I should be afraid, terrified beyond belief, but I’m not. I purr, a deeply content sound at odds with the situation. My mind is foggy and all I can think is, I wasn’t alone. I was never actually alone.

“You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Always.”

He sits down on the edge of the bed, but doesn’t put me down, arranging my legs to straddle him. Holding me close to his chest, he runs his hands up and down my back in soothing circles.

I giggle. It’s a strange sound for me. I’m not the giggly type, yet this whole situation is so absurd I have to laugh.

He grins and presses his thumb to my bottom lip, pulling it down.