by V T Bonds
Under the unassuming building across the road is a safe house, of sorts. A bunker, we call them, with enough basic supplies for five Alphas to stay hidden for a month.
I scan the surrounding area again but find nothing amiss. This area has light foot traffic compared to the main roads, but it isn’t so far removed from the pathway that people would notice men ferreting themselves away into a building and not coming back out. Still, I can’t shake the sensation that something is wrong. Her fist shakes in mine, so I turn to study her. Something beyond her exhaustion is bothering her.
I’ll make her tell me what it is once we’re locked inside the bunker for the night.
I lean against the corner of the building and pull her against my chest. Any passerby would assume we're on our way to having a tryst with how I plaster her to me, but I try to pinpoint the reason for my unease as I run my hands over her.
No whir of electronics disrupts the sound waves, and a lack of heartbeats tell me no foes lurk nearby. It’s been a while since we’ve visited this bunker, so the sand sits higher along the sides than I remember. There are no suspicious mounds or holes in the landscape, so unless someone was meticulous, there are no traps in the area.
We can’t linger out in the open anymore.
I caress her face and look into her pale blue eyes. Her bruising and swelling has healed, and her light skin almost shimmers in the sunlight. Her face has rounded out—her cheekbones are less pronounced and her jawline is sharper.
The ache to see her whole and healthy grips me every time I look at her, a pinch under my ribs that acknowledges my failures.
We haven’t kissed since that first brush of our lips when I stole a taste of her mouth’s heat and warmth. I hate to break her trust, but to keep the pretense of our tryst, I must kiss her. And not a peck on the lips like last time. No, this one needs to be more like the first time we met when I devoured her delicious pussy, but unlike then I have my instincts and urges in check.
I plead for her permission, my control fighting with my need to consume every inch of her. Her eyes portray conflict, but desire shines through. Not permission, but the situation doesn’t allow for more hesitation. I lean my head down, palming the back of her head, and press my lips to hers. Her lips stay closed, and without my approval a growl rumbles from my chest. Her jaw opens on a gasp and I can’t deny myself the pleasure of her mouth. I plunder, her sweet innocence threatening my ability to function. Her mouth is so tiny that my tongue explores every millimeter in mere seconds.
It may be my tongue entering her, but it’s her that robs me of my senses, her beautiful flavor bursting inside my skull. Hanging by an unraveling thread of control, I jerk away from her, yanking her back by her headpiece.
I wrap my fingers around her delicate wrist and pull her towards the building, surveying the area, trying to take back command of my body. My cock throbs in demand, and the hole in my heart thumps a constant plea.
As we enter the building, the hairs stand up on my nape. On instinct, I shove her back through the doorway—away from where I sense danger, the sharp movement making her lose her footing—and reach for my weapons.
An explosion detonates in the room to my right, the adobe wall providing a slight buffer before it thrusts heat and debris at me. The force lifts me from the ground and carries me sideways, my skin scorching in the blaze. I land in a crouch on high alert, ready to sprint to Nova, angry that I ignored my senses and entered the building.
The door the explosion threw me towards ricochets open, and Alpha males covered from head to toe in protective gear barge into the room. Two barrel in full steam, and I sense at least another two behind them.
Fuck. Moving with more speed than I’ve ever forced myself to display, I attack. Two throwing knives pierce the first Alpha’s neck, sliding through the narrow gap between his helmet and his bodysuit. My nondominant hand pulls the trigger on my gun, the second male’s ankle shattering with the bullet. As he falls, the third man sights in on me, stepping through the doorway.
I roll to my right just as the first rounds whizz through the air, my left calf screaming as a bullet grazes through skin and shallow muscle. Using my momentum, I complete my roll standing and fire one bullet, and his scream fills the air. Blood spatters the wall behind him as his fingerless hand sprays blood everywhere, the bullet lodged in the delicate tendons of his wrist. His gun bounces on the cracked concrete, no longer within his reach.
A shadow alerts me to movement from the front door as the last Alpha clears the doorframe with his muzzle, sweeping the room in search of me. I roll again, positioning myself away from the front door and nearer to the Alpha’s blind sector.
Another explosion wracks the building as I’m getting my feet under me and I struggle to catch my balance. The flooring rises in rapid shockwaves and I know it has annihilated the bunker. Before the ground settles, a high-pitched shriek of pain and fear comes from outside. My thread snaps. The training that kept my monster at bay dissolves, leaving a deadly beast eager for destruction and chaos. I use my gun to punch through the wall, drop my weapon, and grab the attacking Alpha by the throat. I squeeze and his windpipe collapses, but I’m not satisfied so I pull, smashing his helmet into the wall with a sickening crack. Chunks of gore return with my fist, bits of his trachea dangling from my fingers.
An electrical weapon clicks, the sound warning me of its deployment. My left shoulder burns as the laser skims it, my dodge a fraction of a second too slow.
I roar in rage, my vision sparking to black and white, the sound vibrating the building. Debris falls through the air, the chaos of the last few seconds apparent in every corner of the room. Despite the distance between us, the Alpha soldier in the front doorway has no chance of survival. His weapon discharges again, but my blade knocks his aim off course. I rip his helmet off, flip it over, and smash it straight down onto his head. A few more rage-filled movements, and his lifeless body sinks to the floor, his skull caved in and crimson goo oozing down his carcass.
I turn from the destruction and roar again.
They have their hands on her. Their unworthy filth taints her, and red fills the white in my vision as I become an unstoppable demon intent on doling out justice.
One Alpha holds her up by her midsection, her arms already bound behind her, while another locks her ankles in high-tech bindings. She jerks and kicks between them, fighting with all her strength but getting nowhere. A gag muffles her screams, the band around her head digging into her cheeks. She looks tiny and fragile between the big males. The Alpha holding her to him slides his hand upward—her breasts too great a temptation for him to ignore. I will decimate them both.
But the threat is bigger than those two soldiers. At least a dozen more line the street at odd intervals, making uneven targets too spread out to pick off cleanly.
I snarl at the situation, intent on ripping each one to pieces with my bare hands in retribution.
Four shadows move like wraiths amongst the off-shoots of alleys, just as deadly as I. In a movement only accomplishable after decades of building our brotherhood, we attack as one.
Knives impact weak points, bullets tear through flesh, lasers melt organic matter, and hands get dirty.
The first male I kill dies a sudden death; my laser discharges and enters his neck at an angle, traveling upwards and cooking everything in his helmet.
The second male isn’t as lucky. I grab the Alpha from behind, my fingers wrapping around the sides of his jaw and neck. He gives a startled yelp as I wrench him away from her feet, lifting him up by his head and flinging him over my shoulder. His body follows, a terrible crunching noise emitting from his neck, his feet making a wide arch about an inch to the left of Nova's side. The momentum of his sudden movement swings him like a pendulum, the full force on his fragile neck.
His dead weight thumps the ground a few feet behind me.
I glare past Nova at the Alpha daring to touch her, his hand mauling her breast. Black encompasses his irises, and
his lips reveal elongated incisors.
Fuck.
He doesn’t look like a soldier ready for war. No, he looks like an Alpha ready for Rut.
Her scent hits me, and my rage explodes from my chest in a ferocious growl. Her face scrunches in pain as the first tear trails down her cheek. The sweetest, most alluring aroma wafts from her and my attention snaps to her in disbelief.
Her pleading, tortured eyes tell me everything I need to know.
She’s beginning her heat, but his hands are repulsive. She doesn’t want him touching her, even with the lust of her biology.
He hefts her tighter to him, his palm taking liberties that will cost him his life.
I grab his wrists and rip them off her. As she plummets toward the ground, I snap the enraged Alpha’s neck, brute strength fueled by outrage giving me more speed than he could ever hope to possess.
I shove his chest, sending him toppling backwards and snatch Nova from her descent. My right hand cradles her skull as my forearm supports down her upper back. My left arm wraps around her waist, and I fill my palm with her delectable ass. Pulling her flush against my front, I grind my hard cock into her belly and lick her ear, unable to go without a taste of her for a second longer.
Battle drunk, adrenaline-high, the smell of her slick overrides any logical thought. The gag halts my progress into her mouth, so I nip and lick her stretched lips, then descend to the sensitive column of her throat.
She tastes spectacular. I will mark her here, right where her neck meets her shoulder. I will leave my mating mark for all the world to see and cover her with my scent. Her clothes still hold the other Alpha’s smell—it must come off. Now.
I wrench her neckline apart at her nape, ready to expose her and fulfill the call of her slick. Her bound arms stop me, and I sneer.
“Seeck! Stop!” Vander demands. My head snaps up, outraged that he’d dare to intrude.
Bodies litter the alley. Blood puddles on the street. Four strained faces focus on us, a rectangular shiny patch under their noses, with weapons pointed in our direction. They stand away from us, just far enough to halt me from attacking, but my monster demands that I eliminate them all.
At my snarl, her belly hardens against my cock and her knees dig into my thighs as she tries to curl into herself. The Omega in my arms shakes. When I look down at her face, my ardor cools.
The tentative trust I’ve worked so hard for has splintered. She looks so broken and lost that guilt batters my insides.
I try. I try to apologize, to let go, to step back and beg for her forgiveness.
But I can’t.
She’s mine. I can’t release her. I need her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nova
I hurt. The last few minutes happened so fast I can’t process what’s happened. All I know is that my skin crawls from the stranger’s groping, my stomach hurts when Seeck growls, and I think I’ve shamed myself—my legs are wet.
The man holding me isn’t the same man that cared for me during our travel. This is the man I first met, the one that takes more than I want to give. The man I can’t trust. The big brute that scares me.
My jaw hurts from the gag, a disgusting taste permeating my tongue—as though I’ve eaten a rotten potato—and a headache begins from the tight strap. His slobber coats my lips, chin, and neck. I’ve never felt so helpless—I have zero use of my limbs.
His growl ends, my pain recedes, and his hands soften on my exposed back.
Big tears drip down my face, and I sob, confused and overwhelmed. I hurt and I hate this.
His groping turns to caresses, but still I cry, memories bleeding into the present. Bile rises in my throat and I panic, knowing I’ll choke if I throw up with the gag. I fight it, but it’s on too tight, and still my stomach tries to purge.
He rips away my restraints, including the gag, and I’m freed in a single breath. His purr seeps into my senses, and I melt, falling into the familiar comfort.
Instead of cradling me, he mashes my front to his, parting my knees and wrapping my legs around his torso. I balk, embarrassed about my wetness, but he purrs louder and ignores me.
My original tormentor, a monster who stole my innocence after years of abuse, fades from my vision. The snippets of a different beast, one who snatched me up and took a much more intimate part of me, stop flickering through my nightmare until I’m left with a blank slate—only a thumping heart, wet legs, and his solid strength and comforting purr exist.
He pulls my hair and forces me to look up at him. Shock makes me gasp, and the deep breath fills my lungs with the most wondrous of smells. His wild scent has bloomed, darkened, become spicier and more robust, just like his eyes—the deep green has receded to tiny rings and his pupils are enormous pools of blackness.
My body reacts in ways I don’t understand, my stomach drops and nerves catch on fire. An unfamiliar voice awakens in my head, a possessive and needy thing, and more wetness flows from me. I whimper, overwhelmed and confused.
I want to run away, but I also want to rub against him.
His fierce tone brooks no argument, but a hint of repentance colors his words.
“I can’t let go. You’re mine. I need you.”
That sensuous stretching happens in my abdomen, the sensation that’s been strengthening over the last few days in his company. The new voice in my head moans her acquiescence, enjoying his desire and attention. As more heat blooms in my veins, liquid gushes from my womanhood and soaks his front.
I want him. I need him.
My hips flex, rubbing my clad core against his trapped cock, and my eyes roll back as a breathy moan escapes me.
“Yes. No, wait. Ngh—” his fingers dig into my rear and he grinds his massive cock against my sensitive folds. Fire erupts inside me and my ability to form words hides amidst the clouds.
My tongue demands a taste of his marvelous scent, so I jerk forward to lick his neck, but he refuses to let go of my hair.
“Wait, my little Omega. We have to get somewhere safe,” he says, his growly voice exasperating my need.
I pant and try to get control of myself, but my body is in overdrive. It’s as though the adrenaline and exposure to so much testosterone has burst a dam within me. The tide of need drowns me.
Little bits of conversation break into my frenzy, and every time I hear a male voice that isn’t Seeck’s I snarl, offended that another should be so close. Deep inside my mind, fear boils, something I saw as a child haunting me. On the way to market with the kitchen maid long ago, we passed an alley full of men. One woman had been screaming between two of them, agony in her every noise. I never want such vile things done to me.
Even with my Alpha’s hypnotic purr and sure hands, I can't stop the trembles of fear that wrack me.
If his need is as great as mine, he'll rip me in two or use me until I have nothing left.
He takes a step forward, and I lose myself. His massive cock hits the perfect spot and my womb clamps down—my vision goes white, my breasts swell, and more fluid gushes from me.
“Damn it, Nova. You were only supposed to be ready to mate, not go into heat. Fuck, baby, hang on,” he groans, holding my head away from him as he speeds along.
The orgasm loosens its hold on my insides. His face is too beautiful and masculine. The red beard hides his sharp jaw, but his determined grimace shows his battle for restraint. I lurch, the pink of his lips calling to me, but he denies me.
“No, beautiful. You lay those lips on me and I’ll claim you here and now. Just fucking wait. I’ll get you to a nest and we can do this the right way,” he growls, a noise so potent that my core tightens again.
I suffer. This is nothing like the hunger I grew up with or the punishments I endured. No, this is worse. It swallows me up and alters everything I am.
He needs to fix this. He needs to take away this pain. Now.
“Nova. Nova look at me. Focus, my little Omega,” his baritone voice reaches deep inside me and plucks a
t my organs. I look to the beholder of such richness, the unsated cravings holding me captive.
“Nest, my new Omega. Make a nest for us,” his words make no sense, and he peels me off him. A shriek builds in my throat. How dare he take away my relief? How dare he stop that glorious pressure between my legs? Without his turgid cock rubbing against me, the need grows even stronger.
Before I can scream, he twirls me around, grabs my chin, and points, directing my attention. A mound of assorted fabric sits on a little cot in the corner. We’re in a tiny room so little that the raised sleeping pad seems to take up half the space. The bed is the same design as the one I grew up on, and equal parts despair and outrage rise in me.
It’s wrong. I will not lay on that—I will not give myself to this man on something so horrible.
I have no words, just animalistic screeching. Launching myself at the cot, I pick up one side and dump the material off it, then fling it away. Watching me, Seeck purrs, attempting to calm me, but I’m past reassurance. I kick at the bed, not feeling pain as my toes catch on the support rod.
He grips my hair and flings me onto the pile of materials and picks up the cot with his other hand. He opens the door wide enough to toss the offending object out of the room before slamming it shut and flipping the locks again.
This rumpled mass is the second most comfortable place I’ve ever lain. The most cozy is Seeck’s chest, when nightmares intrude and I wake to find myself curled on top of him. The third was when I woke after my attack, naked between two sheets.
These blankets somehow smell clean. But they’re wrong. And my clothes are filthy, staining the air with putrid smells. I roll off the bedding, slide out of my ruined garments, and move on instincts—I put the two pillows where I want them and start moving blankets. Still not satisfied, I heave an unhappy noise and rip a sheet off the tiny pile, bundling it up and tossing it to the side. I snatch it up again, snarling at Seeck’s attempt to take it, and lay it a different direction. I fluff, pull, and fold, an odd sense of accomplishment rolling through me as I burrow into the middle.
