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A sharp shot of jealousy hit me right in the center of the chest. He marked the omegas who lived with them to keep them safe.

I couldn’t stand the thought of him with an omega.

Was he with one now, comparing her to me?

They would be able to take his knot. They wouldn’t wince if he went a little too deep.

It would drive them delirious with pleasure and make them beg him for more.

I couldn’t change what I was, so it was for the best that we’d cut things off.

Tomorrow, I’d accept that job offer, sell the apartment, and find a smaller one-bedroom.

I could pack up Sloane’s stuff and work out how the heck to courier it into Desparion.

I was sure there were ways. People must take goods in and out.

Such logistical nuances served me poorly as a distraction from the great hole a man I barely knew had left in my life.

My call to collect the diploma interrupted my musings.

As I stood on the stage erected on the campus playing fields, the words I’d practiced flowed, only they felt like they didn’t fit me anymore. All my future plans were cast into turmoil by the events that had followed my sister’s reveal as an omega.

As I came to the final part, the authenticity returned. I dedicated my achievement to my big sister, who’d stepped up when we lost our parents. As I spoke, I imagined Sloane on the other side.

Sloane wasn’t a sentimental person, but my words were heartfelt, and I knew, even without her being here, that she would be proud.

But as I exited the stage, I experienced a sharp cramp low in my belly.

My stomach churned, and heat washed over my body. I groaned and pressed my hand into the ache. I could feel wetness seeping. I had a sickly feeling that being with an alpha might have broken something in me.

“Are you okay, love?” Jude asked. “You’ve gone pale.”

“I need to get to the restroom,” I said. I knew I sounded panicked, but I just had to go. I made it to a cubical before another savage contraction spasmed through my gut—no, lower. Like a tiny little fist was abusing my womb.

Another wave of heat hit me. Why was it so hot suddenly? Was it some kind of virus?

The dull strip lighting in the ceiling hurt the back of my eyes. My skin felt feverish, hot, and clammy…and the place between my legs was gushing.

I dragged my dress up, expecting blood.

What I got was clear sticky fluid.

Slick.

The scent hit me. I knew that scent. It was the same one that had saturated the nest Sloane made in the apartment.

Fuck!

Another wave of cramping tore through me, and the fire dancing across my skin morphed into pain, diving deeper, igniting muscles, setting them twitching and pulsing.

Sweat popped out across my brow and between my breasts. This had to be a bad dream. This couldn’t be happening to me.

I was so fucked.

* * *

I experienced instant empathy for all Sloane had gone through.

What had happened to her was now coming for me.

What were the chances? As far as I knew, there were no omegas in our family.

Families who’d revealed an omega or an alpha in the past were registered in a database.

I’d never thought about the details, but now, there was a sinister overtone to it.

Ryder had alluded to bad things happening to omegas in the Dawn Agency, even before Sloane told me about her ordeal.

She’d only narrowly escaped.

Everything was coming through a tunnel. As I fumbled in my bag, I grabbed my cell. My fingers turned to jelly as I jabbed buttons.

“Jude. It’s happening to me—what happened to Sloane.” I dragged the cell from my ear and bit back a groan as another wave of pain engulfed me. I was going to black out if it got any worse. “I need to get out of here.”

I swallowed hard, terrified I was about to be sick.

“Fuck!” Jude muttered. “Can you get out of there? I don’t want to draw attention, but there are two guys here who’ve been subtly watching you.

I didn’t want to alarm you earlier, and I wasn’t even sure…

They’re only watching us, but if I suddenly walk into the lady’s restroom, I have a bad feeling they’re going to act… I’ve flagged Jewels down.”

I sucked in a deep breath. “I’m coming out.”

Somehow, I staggered out of the stall, splashed water on my hands and face, bracing myself against the pain, and pushed out. The area was crowded. Two girls brushed past me going into the restroom.

The light momentarily blinded me, and I blinked through the tears pooling in my eyes.

“Fuck, Em!” Jewels said. “If anyone sees you like this, they’ll send for fucking medical assistance, even without the assholes watching. We need to get you back to the car.”

They wrapped their arms around me. “Nice bright smiles,” Jude said. “We’re going to walk as casually as we can back toward the car.”

I didn’t feel casual, but I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood because it helped me to keep the whimpers inside.

I wanted to curl up in a ball. I wanted softness surrounding me to ease this pain.

I wanted strong hands on me, holding me down, pinning me into the softness as he filled this terrible ache ripping through my womb.

I needed Ryder.

I needed his husky voice in my ear.

I needed his stillness to calm the frantic beat of my heart.

“Why the fuck did I park so far away?” Jude muttered under his breath.

“Where are you going to take me?” I asked, my voice slurred. My eyes were streaming against the sunlight, and I couldn’t see a thing.

“She can come back to my home?” Jewels suggested.

“Not in this state,” Jude said. “We don’t have the kind of painkillers that are going to help this. I don’t even know if painkillers work. We need to get her back to Desparion.”

“They won’t let us in,” Jewels said. “It’s not open day!”

The sky felt like it was closing in on me as the sleek gray BMW loomed before me, but I was so out of it, I couldn’t follow what was happening. The door opened, then someone pressed me in, a seat belt clicking around me.

“They’re coming,” Jewels said, voice high and urgent. “I’m going to distract them.”

“How?” Jude asked.

“I’ll work something out. Just get her away from here!”

Another door slammed shut, tires rumbling over gravel, and then a dizzy sensation hit me that set another round of cramping as Jude tore out of the parking lot.

“I’m calling Sloane. Her alpha got her out of the Dawn Agency. Sloane won’t let him do anything less for you.” He hit the call button on the interactive dashboard, the ringing sound coming through the car speaker.

Please pick up, Sloane. Please don’t be busy.

“Jude!” Sloane’s cheerful voice was the sweetest sound. The words I’d intended to say were lost under a groan as another wave of heated pain assaulted me.

“Fuck! What’s happening?” Sloane demanded. “I’m putting you on speaker.”

“It’s Em,” Jude said. “We’re in the car. It started at the graduation ceremony. I think Em is revealing as an omega too. We don’t know what the fuck to do or where to go. We think somebody is following us, but we’re on the move.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” That gruff voice could only be Jace.

“What are you going to do?” Sloane demanded. “Jace, we need to get her out of there. We can’t let her be taken to that place.”

Her panic crawled under my skin, latching onto frayed nerves like a pit bull with a juicy bone.

“I’m going to sort it out, baby. Don’t worry.”

More words followed, but I rolled in and out of awareness. I was going to pass out or throw up, and I couldn’t decide which was worse. I curled up into a ball on the seat as best I could.

“I’m going to message you an address,” Jace said. “Head straight there. Don’t let any fuckers stop you. Got it?”

“Gotcha,” Jude said.

“I’m coming with you!” Sloane said, her voice distant.

“No fucking way, baby. You’re pregnant with my child. I can’t concentrate on doing what I need to do to get your sister out if I’m worried about you.”

“Fine!” Sloane hissed. “I’m staying on the phone with her.”

“Good girl,” Jace said. “I’ll patch into the call. Here’s the address.”

“You want me to take her where?!” Jude asked.

I blinked, trying to see what was on the satellite navigation, but the light hurt my eyes and it was all a colored blur.

“Fine. I trust you. Derick will pop a fucking blood vessel when he finds out I took his BMW there! I’m pretty sure we’re being followed. Just get Emma out!”