Page 36 of Worthy or Knot (Serendipity Omegaverse #3)

Thirty-Six

CHARLOTTE

“ H ow is everything going?” Kirsten asks as I run the scalp cleanser through the roots of my hair, trying to get the worst of the oils out before they can make my skin itch.

My cheeks flush, and she giggles.

“That good, huh?” She adjusts her low ponytail, slicking back the strawberry blonde strands until they lay flat against her head. “I mean, I suspected, but always nice to have it confirmed.”

“You suspected?” I ask dryly.

She nods. “Marcus hasn’t left a hickey on you in the two years you’ve been dating.”

Her eyebrow rises as she focuses on me, not even looking in the mirror as she twists her hair into the claw clip.

It takes all my self-control to not put my palm over the dark bruise Cole left on my throat last night.

I’d covered it before leaving for the gym, but the makeup’s obviously worn off throughout the workouts.

“Raelynn was curious about meeting him,” she says when I don’t offer more of a response. “We only have another week before the all day rehearsals start. She thought maybe we could go out for lunch before we’re all too tired most days.”

I swallow down the irrational urge to keep Cole hidden away, even from my own friends, and give a smile.

“Sure.” And then, to distract her, I ask, “Want to grab a coffee and bagel?”

“Always,” Kirsten says with a bright smile. “Let’s go.”

Desire blooms under my sternum, a foreign sensation that has my stomach clenching and my scent weaving around me. My nipples tighten. I suck in a breath. It takes me too long to realize that it’s Cole’s desire, his arousal that’s sending pulses of heat through my limbs.

“Charlotte?” Kirsten’s voice is a distant echo. “You good?”

I breathe through the intoxicating sensations.

“I’m fine,” I manage to say. Kirsten purses her lips.

“You sure? You don’t look fine.”

Well, no, I’m not fine. I want to find Cole and climb him like a tree until his scent blooms around me so thick it’s all I can smell and taste and feel .

But no matter how good of a friend Kirsten is, I’m not about to admit what I’m feeling.

Not in the least of which because it would necessitate I admit to someone other than Marcus and Megan the bond Cole and I accidentally forged last night because I didn’t have the sense to keep my teeth away from his skin while riding him.

Even now, the memory has a fierce, possessive pleasure warming my chest.

As if in silent response to my thought, another wave of need rushes through me, so intense it makes my hands tingle.

I swallow a sound that is absolutely not appropriate for the gym and grab my bag without really seeing it.

As I toss in my shoes and warm-ups, Kirsten pulls her own bag together, frowning at me the entire time.

The ringing of my phone cuts through the awkward silence.

I answer it without checking the number.

“Lottie?” Marcus asks, his voice frazzled.

As if summoned by his voice, a faint thread of worry weaves through my chest. Shock slices through me as I realize it’s his .

How had I forgotten the bond was shared?

It’s one of the things the Council has made sure to broadcast loud and clear for any Alpha and Omega wanting to forge the connection.

It’s unbreakable, yes. But it’s also communal.

Every person bonded to the Omega can feel each other.

“Are you finished with your classes?” he continues without waiting for me to respond. “Or did you add an extra one today?”

“Just packing up,” I say. The words are a bit breathless, but maybe everyone around me will think I’m still winded from the pilates.

They certainly don’t give me a second glance as Kirsten walks with me out of the gym and onto the busy street, her hand in my elbow steering me around the small hoards of people.

Marcus curses viciously.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Now my own worry fills my chest.

“I’m…” There’s the sound of something falling and doors closing and then murmured voices that are too indistinct to understand.

I frown as I glance at Kirsten. She frowns, too, but keeps us walking toward the cafe on the corner of the next block, pulling me into the small dining area on the sidewalk and out of harm’s way of the foot traffic.

There’s more noise on the line and someone else talking before it goes entirely silent. I check that the call hasn’t dropped for some reason, my worry clawing deeper even as another wave of Cole’s desire floods my limbs.

“Marcus?” I ask. My hands tremble with the force of Cole’s need.

“Jesus Christ,” Marcus says, breathless like he gets when I drop onto my knees in front of him. “I think Cole’s gone into heat.”

My mind just… stops.

“H-heat?” My voice is small.

Kirsten sucks in a startled breath, her eyes widening.

“I’m leaving the office, but I’m at least half an hour away.” Marcus ignores me. “Can you get to the townhome as soon as you can? He mentioned wanting to be sedated through it.”

When had they discussed heat preferences? Oh God, was that something I should have talked with Cole about, too? I don’t even know the ballet’s policies when in comes to packs and an Omega’s heat. Dang it, I’m already messing this up.

His worry grows stronger in my chest, like it’s becoming more acute for him.

It’s nearly drowned entirely by another wave of Cole’s arousal.

I clench my thighs even as my scent explodes around me.

I glance over at Kirsten, but she doesn’t react to the sharp edge in my sage scent.

Thank goodness she’s a Beta. One of the diners looks up from his meal behind her, though, frowning.

I swallow compulsively and shift on my feet, trying to alleviate some of this foreign ache.

“You need to go?” Kirsten asks, her entire body tight with worry. When I nod, she hugs me quickly and then urges me back onto the sidewalk. I’m only a couple blocks away from the house, ten minutes at most. I lengthen my strides, eating away the distance as best I can.

The pulses of desire are longer now, not fading away like just a few minutes ago, building on each other. The edges of my vision blur, just a bit. I swallow down a moan as my body tightens with need.

“Lottie?”

Marcus’s voice is a jolt. How had I forgotten he was talking to me? I try and wet my mouth with a quick swallow.

“Sorry, still here. It’s… I…” A stronger wave builds, and I can’t help but groan.

“Yeah, I know,” Marcus murmurs, his voice apologetic. “It helps to find something near you that you can focus on.”

I clutch the strap of my bag, trying to pay attention to the rough feel of the fabric and the cool metal of the slider. Some of the haze recedes.

“I… think…” Marcus grunts as undiluted need runs through the bond.

This time it doesn’t dissipate at all. “Hopefully he’s still lucid when you get there.

If he is, he can dose himself with the temporary sedative he was given just in case something like this happened.

Then you’ll need to call the Haven near us. ”

I increase my pace, practically running. “Just… just their normal number?”

“Yes.” Now his voice is ragged, too. “Jesus fuck , it’s setting in fast.”

The townhome comes into view as I turn the final corner. A sudden, horrid burst of pain whips through the bond and steals my breath.

“Marcus?” I ask. I’ve heard that heats can be painful if the Omega is neglected or ignored, but that felt especially awful.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he says, my trepidation reflected in his tone. “If he isn’t lucid, the sedative is in a small bottle in his bathroom.”

The call ends, and I drop the phone into my bag as I climb the four stairs to our door.

It takes three tries to get the door unlocked because of my shaking hands.

The minute it swings open, I’m met with a deluge of Cole’s apple scent.

It’s sweet and potent, the primal need laced through it like a siren’s song.

The strange bit of bitterness sits heavy in my stomach, though.

I’ve never smelled that from him. In Alphas, it means they’re worried or frightened. I try to remember the classes I had to take over the January break when I designated unexpectedly, but I can’t manage to grab onto whatever it was that bitterness meant in an Omega’s scent.

I close the door and let my eyes adjust to the dark entryway. None of the lights are on, and all the curtains are still pulled closed. The bond sits quiet in my chest, and the sudden loss of his desire disturbs me more than the strange addition to his scent.

“Cole?” My voice shakes as bad as my hands.

There’s a groan from deeper in the townhome and the bitterness grows stronger, twisting his scent completely. A smaller wave of pain fills my chest. I drop my bag on the floor and run toward the sound.

Cole is on the floor of the kitchen, crumpled in on himself, his face turned away from me.

He’s shirtless, both of his bond marks on full display.

Despite my unease, pride fills me at the sight of the scabbed-over bite I’d laid on his left wrist last night.

I’m so caught up in the vision, it takes me a few minutes to realize there’s blood on the floor near his head.

“ Cole ,” I gasp and rush forward.

He groans as I clutch his jaw, trying to figure out where he’s injured. There’s a gash on his temple that’s bleeding freely. The bitter, twisted version of his scent rolls off of him in pulsing waves, like… like a distress beacon. I swallow my fear and try to channel Megan’s calm poise.

I grab the hand towel hanging from the oven’s handle and lay it to over the wound. Cole jerks at the press of the cloth. The bitterness grows stronger. Fear tightens my throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

“Cole?” I ask again.

This time, he doesn’t make any sound at all.

I reach for my phone but only feel the empty pocket of my leggings.

Shit . I’d dropped it into my bag when Marcus hung up.

An odd haze, different from earlier, crowds my vision.

I focus on the counter, trying to see if his phone is nearby.

When I spot it near the sink, I gently let his head rest on the floor again, the towel acting as both bandage and pillow.

Fear crowds my throat, shallowing out my breathing. I try and focus on something like Marcus had suggested. There’s two pill bottles on the counter, one knocked over and the small yellow pills spilling across the stone. A small device sits next to them.

A glucose monitor? Cole never mentioned he was diabetic. The display screen flashes the number 76. Is that high or low?

With a shaking hand, I pick up the small device. The brand is scrawled on the back, a pretty white font that’s stark against the black plastic. Beneath it, Acute OBS Blood Monitor .

All at once, I remember what the bitterness means in an Omega’s scent.

I remember the somber Council staff that taught the class on bonding, the way he spent an entire hour talking about the dangers of being separated from an Omega once you’ve bonded with them and the way his dark eyes grew haunted as he described the neurological disease that can develop sometimes when an Omega is separated from their bonded Alpha for too long.

My gaze catches on Cole again.

Cole, who accidentally bonded with Marcus over three years ago and hadn’t seen him again until the gala last month.

He groans again. I set the monitor back on the counter and then drop to my knees, running my hand along his neck and over his jaw.

His skin is burning, like he has a fever—or is in heat.

“Charlotte?” His voice is rough gravel.

“It’s me,” I say, trying to keep my voice from betraying my fear. Not that it matters. He’ll be able to feel it. I override his lock screen, swiping until the emergency call button appears and then pressing it. It takes a moment for the call to start ringing.

His eyes open, unseeing for a minute before focusing on me.

“S-sorry,” he whispers. “I tried… It came on too fast.”

“Your heat?”

God, someone please pick up the phone.

“The flare.”

His eyes roll back as soon as he says it, and his body spasms. A seizure , my mind supplies. Horror mixes with the fear, replacing everything I might have felt before this moment in one sweeping, violent rush of emotion.

On the third ring, the line finally picks up.

“911. What is your emergency?”