Chapter 3: OMEGAS DON’T FEEL LIKE THIS

ANDREA’S POV

I was burning.

I was burning from the inside out, and the heat of the male with his arms wrapped tightly around me wasn’t helping.

Kade slept beside me, his dark lashes casting shadows over his sharp cheekbones. In sleep, he looked almost... peaceful. Not the ruthless Alpha who had ruthlessly, and wholly claimed me with last night.

‘Explosive’ was the only word that came close to describing the passion of our mating last night. I’d never been…loved so thoroughly before. Kade had been dominant yet tender, passionate yet sweet.

It had been incomparable to anything else I’d ever experienced, and I was so glad I hadn’t shared last night with Beck, my cheating ex. The connection had felt raw, intense, and all-consuming, as if we were not just sharing our bodies but intertwining the very essence of our souls.

Now, I wanted to lay in this moment forever, just staring at the gorgeous face of my mate while he slept. I stared and stared and stared, memorizing how his long lashes cast shadows on his high cheekbones and the way his full lips parted every time he exhaled.

Watching him, a warm feeling spread through me. It was too much; I felt like I was being scorched.

A strange electric sensation spread from the mark he left on my neck to my entire body and deep inside me, something was different.

What was happening? Was this what it was like after mating? Sex with Beck had never felt like this; was it different if it was with your mate?

Gently, trying not to wake Kade, I lifted his arms off me and sat up. A cool breeze blew in through the open window, but the feeling was still there. It was not an illusion.

I looked back at Kade. He didn’t seem to be in any discomfort.

I pushed off the bed and stumbled into the en-suite bathroom, grabbing the sink to support myself when I suddenly felt dizzy.

I turned on the tap and splashed cold water on my face. I looked into the mirror—and froze.

I was glowing.

It was faint, and someone might have suspected it was a reflection of the morning sun, but my sharp werewolf eyes caught the subtle glow emanating from every pore in my skin.

But—

My eyes were never this sharp. I blinked, suddenly aware that my surroundings were different. Everything felt…sharper and more intense, like I was seeing the world in 4 K.

This wasn’t a mating thing, I realized, as my heart started beating wildly in my chest. This was a me thing.

Something was happening—specifically to me.

I felt something building up inside me, and instinctively, I bared my teeth at the mirror and felt my wolf growl.

My eyes widened further as my fangs elongated. They were longer and sharper than normal. Not the fangs of a lowly Omega who never stood a chance on the hunting grounds.

These canines looked like they could rip through anything, and my body…

Omegas were weak—the weakest members of their packs. It was a fate I’d come to terms with a long time ago. I was weak, I was frail, I was insignificant.

But now, even as I thought those things, Emrae growled, chafing at the derision. And I didn’t feel weak, not like I usually did.

I felt strong. Powerful.

I felt like I could run a hundred miles without breaking a sweat. Through my eyes in the mirror, I could see my wolf; I could feel her awakening with a strange new power.

"What is happening?" I whispered at my reflection, shaking.

'You are,' Emrae answered back, her usually small voice steady and firm, unlike I’d ever heard it. 'You feel it, don’t you?'

“Omegas don’t feel like this.”

I felt my lips pull back into a fierce grin, those fangs glinting viciously.

The shrill sound of my phone ringing cut through my thoughts, and I rushed back into the room. I grabbed the phone and answered the call before it could wake Kade up.

"Finally picking up?" Beck's voice came. "I left you ten messages."

I was beginning to regret answering the phone.

My grip tightened on the phone. "I was... busy."

"Spare me." A drawer slammed in the background. "Your shit’s in boxes. Be out by noon or it’s on the curb."

The call disconnected before I could respond.

Bastard.

I stared at my reflection—flushed cheeks, kiss-swollen lips, the unmistakable mating mark. Kade would wake soon. I should wait. Tell him.

Beck’s threat coiled in my gut like a snake. Every sweater my grandmother had knitted, every dog-eared novel, the photo of my parents—

I couldn’t risk it.

My dress was still at the foot of the bed, and I grabbed it, hurriedly slipping into it while putting my shoes on simultaneously.

I put a soft kiss on Kade's lips quickly. "I'll be back soon," I whispered and left the room.

But if I had known what chaos that morning would lead us to, I definitely would have made a different choice.