Chapter 22

When Cassie entered the room, she was surprised to see someone else instead of Ari there with Eli.

The girl beside him was struggling to keep her composure, and it was no doubt hard for her to stay in a closed room with an omega in heat, but she was doing her best to comfort Eli. A mated beta wouldn't last long before she falls for the effects, but at least she wasn't at risk of biting him.

Still, Cassie wasn't comfortable with the hazy-eyed look she was given when the girl had finally noticed someone else's arrival and she frowned at her in confusion.

"Who are you?"

"I'll take it from here." Cassie told her bringing the girl's hand away from Eli. "I am an omega, too."

The girl stared at her for a moment before she reluctantly nodded her head and stepped back. She went to the door, but still stayed standing there observing her. "It is better if you leave. It's for your own sake." She smiled at the girl who begrudgingly did so.

It wasn't a surprised that she was easily convinced to leave because her face had told Cassie that she was on the verge of losing her control.

Eli himself was too far gone, and Cassie regretted taking so long as she took out a small bag from her purse and took out one of the needles. Poor Eli was squirming in his place hoping to find some comfort, and thankfully he wasn't moving too much to make her task of providing the comfort he needed harder.

She easily held down one of his wrists and carefully plunged the needle into his skin with a bit of difficulty.

While she often had to do this for herself whenever she had an unexpected, or an especially brutal heat, this was the first time she had done it for someone else.

As she told Ari before, Eli was very young. The youngest she had come across, and his heats are bound to be irregular before they finally become more stable and easier to manage. This was a sensitive period for any omega, and those who didn't have someone to help them had it rough.

Cassie was one of those lucky ones who had someone else to guide them, and it seemed like Eli was a lucky one, too.

Dealing with heats wasn't common knowledge, and most didn't even bother to learn it because the chance of encountering a situation with an omega in heat would be so slim due to their rarity. It was justified, but it made any omega's life hard.

Still, it always felt good to help someone and she smiled when she fondly watched Eli's breaths become steadier as the heat symptoms subsided.

It wasn't entirely gone, but at least it was controlled.

Heats never go away on their own, and all the medications in the world wouldn't be able to stop it, only suppress some of it. The only way to completely get rid of one would be with the interference of an alpha, but it was easy for Cassie to guess that this was not an option for Eli who was still in the early stages of his relationship with Alec.

It was something she felt like she could relate to when she thought back on her own relationship with her mate, and she couldn't help but smile down at Eli as she moved his hair away from his face.

"Are you feeling better now?"

In his exhaustion, Eli managed to nod his head slowly with hum. His eyes were still closed, and he was still warm to the touch, but it was still much better than his earlier state.

"Heats are awful, aren't they?" She chuckled to herself watching a pout forming and his eyebrows knit as he gave a confirming whimper. The fact that he was responding was a good sign, but he still needed to be taken back home to be a lot more comfortable and safer.

She kept him company for a while, but then someone knocked on the door before entering without waiting for a response, and Cassie saw a young alpha enter the room casting a worried look towards Eli.

Wisely, he kept his distance.

"Is he okay?"

Smiling at how Alec had grown from the last time she saw him, Cassie nodded her head as Eli's breath shuddered making her treat his displeasure with a few shushing noises. The appearance of an alpha was detrimental to his heat, but she knew it won't do much harm as long as Alec kept standing where he was.

"I gave him something to help ease it. He needs to be taken home."

"His parents are being informed," He told her nervously putting his hands in his pockets looking away. At first she thought it was because of Eli's heat affecting him, but it wasn't that judging by his next words. "I wish you hadn't left him alone like that."

She looked up at him in confusion. "But I didn't."

"No, I know." He shifted uncomfortably and she realized he looked anxious as if he had just averted a crisis and was shaken by it. "I just don't- You left him with an unmated beta. When we came here Eli was about to be bitten."

It was a polite way to tell her that she should have known better as an older omega, and that made her realize that a few things slipped her mind. For some reason, she thought about the frustration Eli had displayed when she mentioned Ari to him, and everything became clear. People were pushing them away from each other, and Eli was too attached to comprehend why.

"You mean Aurelius?" She sighed beating herself up because Eli had mentioned earlier to her that Ari was an unmated beta. "I am so sorry; I didn't realize he was unmated. I was too preoccupied with getting the medication that I left Eli with him without much thought."

Alec nodded his head still looking like he wanted to say much more, but his politeness was stopping him. "No harm done, it's just…"

"Actually, no. You're right." She smiled up at him leaving Eli's side. "An unmated beta would have easily lost control. I apologize for being so careless, but please don't blame Ari. I was the one who told him to stay."

"I wasn't blaming anyone." Alec told her quietly not sounding too convincing, but she didn't plan on dwelling on that as she began to guide him out of the room.

It was time for Eli's parents to take care of the situation, and she made sure to leave the door closed as she guarded it from outside. Things had ended well for now, and she gave a small smile to Alec before she walked away when Eli's parents arrived.

There was someone Cassie had hoped to see before everyone left home, and she walked towards the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

It was only when it got late and people started heading back home did she finally see the beautiful boy she's been looking for.

To her, he seemed a bit out of sorts as he walked outside wringing the fabric of his sleeve nervously, and he was looking around for someone as she approached him.

"Aurelius." She called and was shocked to see how jumpy he was when he turned around at the sound of his name with a gasp. "Are you alright?"

His hands disappeared in his sleeves as he nodded his head biting his lip. His behavior screamed of nervousness and his eyes weren't focused when they met hers. "Yea, um, I am okay."

Even the way he had spoken sounded unsure, and she tried to give him a sense of security when she placed a worried hand on his shoulder, but the moment she touched him it felt as if he withdrew even more into himself. It didn't take long for her to notice something was wrong.

"You're shaking."

Ari licked his lips with a breathless dismissive laugh. "It's cold out here."

Refraining from pointing out that the weather wasn't that cold outside, Cassie dropped her hand to hold his and squeezed it looking up at him worriedly, apologetically.

"Aurelius, I am so sorry. I heard from Alec what happened."

"That, uh, it is fine. Completely. Really. Is Eli okay?"

Cassie felt intense amount of guilt at the state of him. Something had happened, and she didn't know what, but he spoke too quickly and was overly assuring. He was avoiding looking at her more than necessary, and was still shaking from what she can tell as she held his hand.

Whatever it was, she hoped that Alec didn't do anything too rash.

"Eli is fine." She told him getting that out of the way. "I don't know why you're doing this, and why you keep making things harder than they are, but betas and omegas can't be friends. Not when they're unmated like you and Eli."

Ari stilled and she squeezed his hand again. "I know."

"Aurelius, I really don't know what to say. Just please take care of yourself."

With a face that looked like it was about to break into pieces, Ari looked up at her for a few moments too long, and she gave him a smile that he understood.

It was a silent message that she was there for him.