Broken Angel: The Complete Collection: A Dark Omegaverse Romance

by Penelope Woods

  He winces; he’s more injured than he thought, but he can get through the night.

  He can use his bike to get to the north wall of the dome in minutes, no problem. A much needed reassessment of the plan can come after.

  “Fine. End this madness. I’ll go,” he says.

  Despite the trade of chips for entrance, the alpha knew they’d be met with force upon exit. You can’t take the prize omega without expecting a fight.

  “Do you have the detonator ready?” Vash asks.

  “Should’ve set a timer,” Lucas remarks.

  Vash eyes the omega hugging Killian’s strong shoulders.

  “He’s got it ready,” Killian says.

  Vash shoves past the threshold of the door.

  Outside, the sun is burning in a haze against the dull atmosphere of the gigantic dome. The wind rushes against his weakening body, but it isn’t enough to cool him down. The dust from the fields brushes against his eyes, catching like tiny blades before he can blink.

  “Fuck this.”

  Once at the parked bikes, Vash presses his hand against a wound that is becoming a genuine issue.

  Killian grunts. “I’ve got her,” Killian says.

  “I can see that,” Vash replies.

  For a moment, Killian stands taunting him. Bending his nostrils against the back of her thick auburn hair, he inhales. Vash notes when Killian’s pupils change into thin needles.

  He knows Killian loves the girl. That isn’t an issue. When they are back in Dagon, they can figure out a system that works. But if any of them impedes his lead, he’ll be buried in less than a week.

  Firmly planting his ass against the ripped leather seats of the motorcycle, Vash nods to himself. “I’ll get through this,” he whispers.

  Lucas starts his engine. “You will, brother. Now, quit worrying. We’ve got a doctor to find.”

  Reaching into his vest, Vash pulls out the detonator to the incoming blast. An impulse leads him to press the pad of his thumb against the button.

  At once, the west entrance of the dome crumbles. A crack threads through the glass, threatening to break above their heads.

  “We have thirty seconds,” Lucas shouts.

  Finding a sudden kick of energy inside him, Vash hammers his heel against the pedal.

  “Fine. Take her. We’ll meet in Dagon.”

  Vash is pissed. He didn’t even get to taste her.

  Chapter Four

  “I told you the maps were off. Drove fifteen miles, and there hasn’t been one sight of another pack,” Vash says.

  Killian grins, though Rae isn’t sure what could be funny. This place is a nightmare zone. Hell on fucking steroids.

  “Guess you were right, huh?” Killian asks.

  “This is one case where I wish I hadn’t been,” Vash comments. “The detonation was sizable. It’ll be easy for hunters to track us, so we need to get a move on.”

  “We should ditch the bikes here,” Lucas says.

  Vash can’t believe his ears. The city is a place of liberal debauchery and fun, but some take the train cars and never return. “Are you suggesting we ride public transport?” he asks.

  “If we’re able, we should avoid the subway cars. It won’t be difficult to find a driver for hire in the pipes,” Killian says.

  A merchant eyes them from a street corner. “I’ve got desensitizers, I’ve got scent kits, pre-loaded with three hundred unique scents to choose from. Cost you twenty big ones or one thousand chips. That’s the deal of the century, brother.”

  Rae’s eyes are fixed open, and she doesn’t know what she’s seeing. An alpha lunges forward with a wobbling cart of tinctures. A separate cart holds machinery and individual instruments she never wants to learn the details of.

  The street vendor drops his winning facial expressions and pants, saliva sliding onto his chin. He gasps. “An omega? You are an omega…”

  Rae shudders back and clutches the alpha holding her, blinking as Vash barrels through the carts, effectively shattering a year’s worth of the alpha’s sales. The merchant collapses to the ground.

  “Don’t you fucking touch her, beta-scum,” Vash weakly rumbles.

  The hungry street vendor scurries like Rae had done earlier, like a rat. “I did nothing!”

  “Let’s keep it that way,” Vash mutters.

  They continue walking until they reach an alleyway lit by thin candles, all melting onto the cobblestone streets, yet they continue to burn. In the distance, enormous neon signs flash like splintered memories. Rae has never seen such a place.

  It’s a carnival of evil.

  She feels pulled in like a moth to a light bulb. Hungry to see more, she flinches against Killian’s body until he drops her to the ground. She cries out, clutching her bruised hip.

  Killian takes her hand and drags her until she stands on her feet again. His eyes are distant. “You’re right. We’re not safe here,” he mutters.

  Clutching his gut, Vash lunges forward. A wicked grin seizes his jaw. “Maybe it doesn’t matter to anyone, but I will rot if we don’t get back soon.”

  Indeed, his face has started to lose color, and the blood has not stopped running from his navel, a curious side effect from the parasite his brother fed him. His affliction might kill him sooner than he thought.

  “Hey, I said that I’d carry you if you needed it,” Lucas says.

  An electronic speaker near an alley storefront blares, “Omegas for sale! Knot-rings: Awake the inner alpha in you!”

  “If you would have let me test her with my kits in the facility, you would have saved me considerable time,” Vash barks.

  “What is this place?” Rae chirps.

  With force, Lucas grab her and kisses her cheek. “Darling, we are in the heart of Dagon, where the dream is big.”

  Rae’s body aches, but her head throbs the most. “Dream?”

  Killian walks too close behind her for comfort. “Stop talking to her. She doesn’t understand a word we say.”

  They stop at a junction where hundreds of people, alphas and betas alike pass through to the other areas of the city. Although it isn’t unheard of omegas walking these streets, it brings a considerable amount of attention from the hungry alphas nearby, and Rae soon finds herself latching onto Lucas’s chest for support and hiding.

  The thick crowd winds down a steep staircase that leads to a bustling courtyard of seedy, rundown buildings. On the corner of the enclosure, hollow-eyed alpha soldiers search every person who passes through. Those who are unlucky are hastily beaten. Others are fucked and taken away.

  Above their heads flash the alpha pack’s insignia, the ouroboros, a feasting black mamba, and it looks ready to explode.

  Slowly, the image turns, circular like the moon. The snake threads its tail in its throat until the words Omega Unlimited shine underneath the insignia.

  Rae perks up and points. She sees the same insignia tattooed on their forearms, shining almost as bright as the neon sign. “You’re… You’re one of them.”

  Vash grabs hold of her waist. Coughing, he hoists her off the ground and carries her, walking fast with the pack.

  “Hey,” Rae shouts.

  His greasy, weathered palm closes around her mouth, leaving her gasping. “Trust me. You don’t want to know what that place is.”

  They are going to torture her. She knew this would happen again. All alphas resort to their instincts, but these alphas in particular have gone rogue.

  Their eyes twitch like those of hungry wolves that have just caught dinner. What is their end goal? Murder?

  Rocking against his chest, Rae has very little doubt she has seen this place before, perhaps in a dream. Was that what Lucas tried to explain to her minutes ago?

  The outside world bewilders her. She’d always thought of alphas as meticulous beings, but the fervent men she shares glances with on the street seem barbaric and inhuman.

  After walking for a considerable length of time, Lucas stops. “Time for a check.”
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  Running forward, he scans the forking alleyways before whistling the pack forward.

  Vash sets Rae onto her feet, but not without a quick shove.

  Potentially, she has seen too much. Then again, Vash likely thinks of her a complete fool. It is highly possible she got swept up in the mundane glitter of lights.

  When they reach a small door, Killian punches in a code and lays his thumbprint flat. The door opens to darkness. They climb the staircase toward the rooms above.

  Rae searches for an escape. Always searching.

  But once upstairs and inside the empty flat, her heart sinks yet again. The only window that allows a view of the superficial hub below is barred, and on the outside, a tapestry of rope spreads from building to building, ready to catch anyone who makes the mistake of canceling their season.

  Lucas lightly taps her neck. She flinches. “Go ahead. Jump,” he says.

  Rae lowers her body to the floor, defeated. Lucas adjusts his undershirt against his strained biceps and then wags a finger. “No sleep tonight, doll. We’re going to inspect you in the other room.”

  Killian grabs her neck and tows her forward. “Come.”

  Rae shuffles and bites on her battered hand as she stains her face more with tears. She’s exhausted, and suddenly wishes she had never left that horrible facility. Now, the option to disappear is gone forever.

  Rae swallows, but her glands are swollen. Suddenly, her stomach feels heavy. Her body shakes until she retches her liquids onto the floor.

  Off-colored bits hang from her mouth. Cheeks burning, she feels completely devoid of any life at all. “Please,” she whispers. “Can I have one night without any more painful prodding?”

  Killian looks at the other two alphas. “Can we wait until morning, Vash?” Killian asks.

  Lucas’s eyes flash, red and scathing. He grabs Rae and forces her onto her knees, nearly mounting her. He tears through her thin and ruined dress, sliding his fingers up her legs.

  Perching his mouth against the back of her ear, he claps his teeth together into a snarl. “Not yet ruined, but we will ruin you soon,” he grunts. “You don’t get to call the shots.”

  Mouth open with striking glee, Killian bucks and huffs, inhaling in rapid succession. “We can take turns bleeding her.”

  “Not. Yet,” Vash growls.

  Clammy with sweat, Vash struggles to stand. His tongue slithers between his front teeth. “Show us your markings, or I take you now.”

  They let Rae out of her bindings.

  Twisting and covering her body with her birdlike hands, Rae whimpers as Vash rips the last fragments of cloth once shielding her precious parts.

  His hands search every fold and contour of her pathetic body, even the tuft of hair that forms over the mound of her clit. There are no markings to be found.

  “Succulent treat thinks she’s somebody else,” Lucas says. “Or else, somebody was lying to us. Eh, Vash? You sure this is the right omega?”

  “What?” Rae chokes on the stale air of the flat. “What is he saying?”

  Killian kicks off his boots and grumbles, “He’s saying you’re not who we thought you were. All omegas have special markings to discern them from the others.”

  Vash shudders and reaches into his bag where Rae notices the kits for testing and scent capture. She doesn’t know what they are for, but she’s sure it can’t be anything good.

  “She is the right omega,” he says.

  Inching forward, Vash reaches only for her to scamper away. “Rat,” he cries out.

  Rae cuts into the flesh of her collarbone with her nails, nearly enjoying the pain. “I don’t want to remember. I’d rather die.”

  There, in the throne of her memory sits the devilish slave trader, Cassian. He stares as the town collapses over the melted flesh and bone of the townsfolk. The flames still whip violently against her eyelashes, and she’ll forever bear the mark of him.

  Now she remembers what happened. The logo earlier. The snake. She has seen it before.

  “I will show you my marking,” she whispers.

  Lucas claps his hands together and exhales. “You will be our good girl?”

  She hates that the phrase sends a slight rush to her heart. None of the emotions she felt are adding up to clarity. The heaviness of the alphas’ belligerent handling and hypocritical treatment is throwing her into the throes of insanity.

  Rae pauses, mouth wide open for them to look inside. If they want her to speak, they will tell her, she decides.

  Bending forward, Killian wraps his thick fingers around her lips. Rae closes them and turns her head. Why do they have to use force when she would have shown them in the first place?

  “Open,” he says.

  Suddenly, she feels the lubricious hands of her first captors open her jaw like the hinges of heaven’s gate. They break her and manage to squeeze all of their pain into her until she gives a depraved and wet cry to be killed.

  Her frantic actions have turned those alphas into burning pillars of punishment. Now, the memories are coming to light, but Rae still has work to do. She is too fragmented to see it all at once. Still, she tries.

  Lucas rouses Rae with a light smack on the back of her head. “Open the jaw bridge, bitch.”

  Her tongue pries her lips apart. Despite her reluctance to let go, she has been molded before. It is simply a question of whether these alphas are better than her former captives.

  She has more questions to ask, but she realizes now that she isn’t only to be used like a dirty sock puppet. There is more to her captivity.

  “I’m Lucas. The big guy you seem to trust is Killian. You’ve met Vash. He pretty much leads our section of the pack,” he says.

  Rae is confused. “Pack?”

  Killian groans and smacks Lucas’s arm. “Get back to it,” he says.

  Lucas drops to the floor. Waving for Vash to bring the syringes, cotton swabs, and various holders, he lets out a sigh of deep calm.

  Killian takes a cotton swab from Vash and collects her saliva. She tastes the oil from his hands and hacks, dry. Snatching her tongue, he exhales, low.

  “Here it is,” he says. “Odd placement.”

  The ouroboros marking has been burned on her tongue.

  Rae slithers her tongue back and rests the slippery muscle behind her front teeth. “I’ve never seen it,” she whispers.

  She’d felt it—although, at times, she forgot about it. She knows ownership is important to the alpha race. It keeps families together. It is the backbone to a healthy household.

  But, as all the omegas experienced back at the facility, powerful prayers went to the dead and came back empty. The omegas that were owned found themselves on their kneecaps every night, whispering away the demons and chirping for the light that never came.

  The world is more rigid than she knows. It still runs in the same way as before. Only, now, alphas feel less of their shame. They are emboldened to take.

  Business is cutthroat. Instability ravages economies. Cities are held together by the quality of their industries. Sex, violence, and voyeuristic needs for glamour bathes their citizens in ravenous poverty and unappeasable thirst.

  “Got it?” Vash is too dazed to pay attention, but he is sure he saw it on her tongue. The serpent choking on its own asshole. There is no mistaking it.

  The image is a metaphor for the world.

  He jerks his hand into a drawer and pulls out a small glass vial. Hands shaking, he bites into the cap and chokes back the drops of medicine that remain inside. He shivers and let out an exasperated cry of regeneration.

  Lucas breathes a sigh of relief. “Will you manage to survive? This could take weeks.”

  Vash nods, but the writhing, gnawing sensation coming from his leaky gut arches his body against the wall. With a sharp inhale, he laughs. “With the omega, I can make my own serum.”

  “Myths,” Killian warns.

  “I believe the tales are real. An omega’s filth is our vitality. From the m
oment they give their cunt to the world, it’s our burden to cowl and ride them into the womb of the earth,” Lucas says, neck inching forward.

  “She is the cure,” Vash states.

  The other two alphas look about as uncomfortable as he feels. The city is bustling with travelers, and they must have heard about the black site attack.

  The crime is huge. The omegas inside will go to waste, like spoiled produce. Cassian will post the bounty. And the alphas of the region will hunt for the whore like a toolpusher drills for oil.

  Feeling quick exuberance take over his body, Vash takes the swab and inserts it into a glass ampoule. Forcefully, he takes Rae’s hand and pokes her finger with a sharp needle, collecting the thin blood.

  Rae yanks her hand back. “Ouch!”

  Lucas squeezes her cheek and bends to lick her finger. “Precious. We’re almost done here.”

  Vash towers above with extra strength. He could have broken her if he only wanted to break a female, but he has more important worries than forcing an omega to submit to his cock. The wounds that cover his body have faded into small markings, only hints of devastation.

  He holds the needle and waits for the tip to heat. Rae backs, scurrying across the cement floor until the base of her spine hits the drywall.

  She can hardly speak. “What is that?”

  Vash grins and kneels toward her. She rolls into a ball. “Oh, come now. Don’t tell me you’ve never had your scent stolen before.”

  Killian rolls his fingers into a fist. “You’re taking her scent for your own pleasure?”

  Vash swipes the hot needle away from his sight but clicks the vacuum on. “Stay put.”

  Lucas looks betrayed. He takes her tongue once more to inspect.

  Curiously, Vash observes as the hood above her clit swells. Beneath her nest of pubic hair, her lips are closed, but a drop of liquid drips down the hanging flesh. Vash reaches down and collects the dew with a swab.

  That’s when he arches the hollow needle against her neck. The prick digs inside her skin, latching into neighboring pores. Her scent flows through the tube underneath until it sits enclosed in a plastic bin below, invisible to the naked eye.