Page 12 of Puck Your Charity

Rounding the corner past the supply closet, my boots skid to a halt.

Olive leans against the painted drywall outside the staff lounge. She looks like a total wreck.

Her navy scrubs hang off her petite frame. Dark sweat stains patch the fabric. Her sleek bob sticks to her cheeks in damp, messy strands. A wicked flush burns across her skin. It turns her chest and neck a deep, feverish crimson. Gripping the metal handrail on the wall with white knuckles, she pants through her open mouth.

My control shatters.

Closing the distance between us takes three strides.

"Olive." I grit her name out in a harsh, demanding rumble.

Her head snaps up. Her wide, blown-out brown eyes lock onto my face.

The potent scent hijacks my system. The instinctual pull takes over. It drags me toward her with an undeniable force.

A desperate, high-pitched whine rips from her throat. Her eyes roll back. Whatever held her upright gives out. Her knees buckle, sending her dropping toward the hard linoleum floor.

I lunge forward and catch her before she hits the ground.

Pulling her against my chest, her body feels like a furnace. The heat radiating through her thin cotton scrubs burns against my skin. She's soft, pliant, and fragile. Burying her face into the crook of my neck, she inhales my scent with frantic, greedy gasps.

The smell of her slick arousal hits me. It smells sweet enough to make my teeth ache.

My inner Alpha roars in victory. The need to carry her away consumes me. I need to scoop her up, carry her out to my Jeep, and lock her inside my bedroom. I need to drag her into a nest, strip those scrubs off, and bury my knot deep inside her.

"I got you." My nose buries into her damp hair, my arms wrapping tight around her waist. "You're safe."

"Finn." She whimpers my name. Her hands grip the fabric of my t-shirt with no strength at all.

Rushing footsteps break through my tunnel vision.

"Hey! Back away from her!"

Brenda, the head charge nurse, sprints around the corner. Two huge hospital security guards follow close behind her.

Baring my teeth, a vicious snarl tears from my chest. I pull Olive tighter against my body, shielding her from the intruders. My instincts scream at me to fight. They demand blood from anyone trying to take my Omega.

Brenda ignores my warning. She recognizes the danger of a dropping Omega in a public space. Hospital protocols kick in fast.

"Code Silver in the north corridor! Unbonded Omega in heat distress!" Brenda shouts into the radio clipped to her collar. She points a shaking finger at the guards. "Separate them right now! Get him out of here!"

The two security guards rush me. They grab my shoulders and yank me backward.

Thrashing against their grip, my muscles bunch. I prepare to throw them into the drywall. I have enough strength to shatter their jaws and take Olive back by force. The urge to bash their heads in burns hot in my veins.

But Olive's limp body slumps against the handrail. Brenda catches her, supporting her weight and shouting for a stretcher.

My rational brain fights a bloody battle against my instincts. Throwing punches in a pediatric ward risks hurting people, including Olive. Forcing my fists to unclench takes everything I have. I stop fighting the guards, even though my chest caves in with sheer agony.

"Let her go!" I roar. My voice echoes down the sterile hallway.

"You need to leave the premises, sir." The larger guard shoves me toward the exit doors. "She needs medical isolation. You're making it worse."

They shove me through the double doors and out of the ward. The thick metal clicks shut. It cuts off the sweet smell of apple pie and the sound of her distressed whining.

Standing in the elevator lobby, my chest heaves. My heart hammers a chaotic rhythm against my ribs. Agitation burns through my entire nervous system. The hospital just dragged my Omega away from me in the middle of her first heat.

Punching the metal elevator button, the metal dents under my knuckles. I'm forced to leave the building without her, but my pack will burn this city to the ground to get her back.