Only then did she still…for a few seconds, anyway, before she started up again.
Fuck.
This omega was going to be a hell of a lot harder to tame than Gray imagined.
Chapter Seven
Olivia wanted to think she'd won this round with the alpha since she managed to keep struggling against him until his massive knot finally receded, but the victory was a shallow one.
For one thing, she'd torn something in her efforts to wrench herself free. The area between her legs stung like hell, and when she'd explored there with her fingers, they'd come away smeared with blood.
But wounds would heal soon enough.
What wouldn't heal—probably ever—was her pride. Not only had she only started fighting the alpha after fucking him, but now she was slung over his shoulder again, being carried around like a bale of hay.
He was taking her to his cabin...at least, she thought that's where he was headed. But being carried upside down with her head bumping against a rock-hard shoulder, it was impossible to be certain exactly where he was headed. Once she spotted the sapling growing near the stump of a redwood, however, Olivia knew they'd made it to his front steps.
The alpha opened the unlocked door, and seconds later, Olivia's ass landed hard on the wooden floor.
The bastard hadn't even tried to cushion her landing. The shock to her tailbone radiated through her body, reminding Olivia that she'd used all of her energy on that marathon session of mind-blowing sex.
The alpha, on the other hand, had no such problem. He went straight to the sink and poured himself a glass of water, downing it in one gulp. His easy posture made it appear like he'd already forgotten all about her.
Or maybe he simply didn't care. Why should he? He'd determined she was no threat, gotten his rocks off, and now he had other things to do.
Anger flared up inside Olivia at the thought. Yes, she'd been on his land, but it wasn't her fault, and she didn't want to be there any more than he wanted her there. She was getting sick of being hauled around like an animal carcass only to be tossed aside when he got where he was going.
If only she could somehow go back in time and make a run for it the second he'd grabbed the camera. Or before, for that matter. Hell, Olivia should have run the second the crew had dropped her off—or even when the black government sedan had pulled up in front of her house.
She should have taken off and not stopped until she was somewhere far away. She should've called her mother and told her to disappear, then told the government suit that he could shove his "offer" up his ass.
But shoulds wouldn't do Olivia any good now, and wishing was a waste of time. She knew she couldn't go back. She was well and truly screwed.
The alpha had set down the glass and was headed for the door by the time Olivia managed to get her sorry butt off the floor. She couldn't believe he was leaving her there alone in his house—what happened to his disgust at her presence anywhere on his land?
"I'll be right back," he grumbled at the last moment, his hand on the door. "Don't even think about running."
"Or?" Olivia shot back, too unsettled and angry to make any more credible attempts at submission.
His eyes narrowed. "Or you won't like what happens."
Olivia bit back a snort. As if she'd been so damn happy with everything that had happened so far. Humiliated and dripping wet, naked except for her bra, trapped inside a cabin in the Boundarylands with a torn pussy—yeah, she was really living the dream.
"I liked it better when I thought you were going to kill me."
The alpha didn't even bother replying, slamming the door shut behind him.
Olivia stared at the backside of the door, trying not to give in to the panic that came rushing back on the heels of his departure. She crossed her arms tightly to stop herself from trembling in fear, even though there wasn't anyone around to see.
If there had been, they would have observed a woman struggling mightily to keep calm by taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly. But the only thing that mattered right now was convincing herself that she was strong enough to survive this nightmare.
Olivia wasn't scared that the alpha was going to kill her, not anymore. He'd had plenty of opportunities if that had been his intention.
Now she was afraid he planned to let her live only to lock her up in some cage and use her as a sex toy.
Goddammit. Olivia bit her lip in frustration as a gush of liquid heat ran between her legs, a thoroughly ridiculous response to the thought of his toned and muscled body propped above her.
Another gush.
Olivia willed her traitorous body to stop, but it seemed she wasn't in charge of these reactions. It was as if the alpha's touch had fractured her into two separate beings—her old, rational self and this new needy sexpot.
Right now, the needy side was winning by a mile.
Olivia knew that she needed to act. Standing here fretting in the empty house wasn't going to do her any good.
First things first. She scanned the room for something to cover herself with and only came up with a lightweight blanket draped over the back of a chair. Luckily, it was large enough that Olivia was able to fashion it into a sort of toga. It was far from a perfect solution—the thin wool was more than a little scratchy—but it was a hell of a lot better than tramping around naked.
Especially if she decided to make a run for it after all.
The thought gave Olivia pause. Why was she still here? Every passing minute brought her closer to the alpha's return, and there was no scenario she could think of in which that was a good thing.
Unfortunately, she knew she didn't stand much of a chance of making it to the border either. Even if she did somehow manage to get off this alpha's land, she would still be stuck in the middle of the damned Boundarylands…barefoot, sore, exhausted, and naked under a blanket.
It was that moment when Olivia considered succumbing to despair.
Fortunately, the urge didn't last long. She might not have a snowball's chance in hell, but she still had her training and her brain. Those had to count for something.
She forced herself to go over the situation again, weighing the pros and cons of her few options. In the end, she determined that her best course was to try to regain some of her energy before attempting to escape, which meant eating and hydrating.
Olivia went into the small kitchen and started going through the plain pine cabinets, scavenging for food. Now that she had a plan, her natural curiosity returned, and after she assembled a sandwich from a loaf of sliced whole-grain bread and creamy yellow cheese she found in the cupboard, she went exploring while she ate.
This was her chance to learn something about the alpha who had shattered her world, who promised not to harm her only after shredding everything she owned. What other contradictions might she find?
Olivia moved swiftly, knowing she only had a little time to look around before he returned. If he was headed back to the campsite where the agents had left her, it was a kilometer away. It would take even a fast-moving alpha some time to cover that distance.
Besides, his cabin wasn't that big. It would only take a few minutes to see everything there was to see.
The main room was simple and surprisingly cozy, with beamed ceilings that rose to a peak and large windows looking out on the hills and trees beyond. Two huge armchairs were positioned to take in both the view and the warmth from the fire in colder months.
For someone whose work involved spending most of her time in nature, Olivia had always believed that a simple city apartment with views of neighboring buildings offered the ideal balance, but as she gazed out at a deer leading her spotted fawn across the clearing to take a drink from the gentle waterfall at the base of one of the cliffs, she realized she had been wrong.
It was one thing to observe nature from a hunting blind or the recesses of a cave or on her stomach on a rock formation, but to do so next to a crackling fire in her slippers with a cup of cocoa in her hand—rat
her than flopping on her Ikea couch to watch Netflix between assignments—sounded like heaven.
Olivia tore herself away from the view and returned to her tour. The huge mantel surrounding the fireplace was made from large stones carefully placed to account for their different shapes. Whoever had built it had been both skilled and patient. The walls were paneled in the same knotty pine as the kitchen cupboards, burnished to a rich, warm shade. The enameled stove was old but perfectly maintained, as was the old-fashioned trough style sink. A huge table was built from a single slab of wood, the rough edges contrasting with the beautifully grained surface that had been polished to a shine.
A hall off the kitchen led to a bathroom and large bedroom, the latter dominated by a bed so huge that most of a basketball team could have slept in it. It, too, was constructed of pine and covered with a patterned woolen blanket in gorgeous earth tones.
The alpha stored his possessions on simple shelves built into the walls and a small closet. They seemed to consist entirely of rugged clothes, an extra pair of boots, and a few dozen books, a library of mostly mystery novels and carpentry manuals.
The bathroom featured a tub surrounded in granite that looked a lot like the rock formations past the meadow, but even an alpha wouldn't be able to split stone to create tiles without huge machinery…could he? Still, someone had to have done the skilled work to build this place, and somehow Olivia doubted any beta artisans had been hired for the job.
She peeked in the bath cabinet to discover a perfectly ordinary toothbrush along with a few other toiletries and chided herself for being disappointed. It was ridiculous to expect the alpha to make his own toothpaste and shampoo…and, yet the beauty of his home had so impressed Olivia that a part of her wouldn't have been surprised.
She returned to the main room and was about to sit down in front of the view when she realized there was one door she'd missed. A linen closet, perhaps? She turned the handle and discovered that the door was a little sticky and had to put her full weight into pulling before it burst open—and a cascade of items tumbled free.
The contents must have been packed in tightly because Olivia barely avoided being struck on the head by a shower of metal chains that clattered to the floor. Some were fairly new and well oiled, others old and almost rusted through, and their links ranged from the size of her little fingernail to the size of a small potato. The force of yanking open the door must have been too much for the shelves already groaning from the weight because metal objects continued to rain down onto the pile. Some, like bear traps and manacles, were easily identifiable, but there were others whose purpose was impossible to guess.
A shiver swept throughout Olivia's body like an icy wind as she stared at the strange implements and gears. Who the hell kept this kind of stuff in a closet next to his damn bedroom?
Nobody she wanted to be stuck in a house with, that was for sure.
This time Olivia didn't even stop to think but backed away from the closet with her heart pounding. Screw the fact that she had no shoes or clothes—she was leaving... now. It no longer mattered that she had no chance in hell of making it all the way to the Central Road, let alone the border. All Olivia knew was that if she stayed, chances were good she'd be chained up like a medieval prisoner before dinner.
She broke into a run, threw open the door, and burst outside into the open.
At least, that's what she attempted to do.
Instead, Olivia didn't make it two steps before slamming directly into an impenetrable barrier as hard as any brick wall. She ricocheted off, landing on her ass once more. She looked up in horror to see the alpha glaring down at her. In one massive fist, he held the bundled remains of everything that was at the campsite.
Olivia felt the blood draining from her face as his eyes made a slow, deliberate path from her to the tangle of metal torture devices on the floor and back.
"I thought I told you not to run." He sounded more tired than furious and not even vaguely surprised.
Olivia lifted her chin, reminding herself to show no fear. The alpha would undoubtedly be able to smell it…just like a wolf.
"And I thought I told you to fuck off," she shot back. "Looks like neither of us knows how to listen."
The alpha sighed, a grumble emanating from his chest, and tossed the sack of her shredded supplies onto the floor before closing the door firmly behind him. The latch sounded like a prison door to Olivia's ears. "I see you've been sticking your nose where it doesn't belong again."
"And I see that you're into some pretty sick and twisted stuff," she countered, crab-walk scuttling behind the safety of one of the chairs.
"You think those are for..." A flicker of amusement crossed his face, the first she'd seen from the alpha. "Those chains are for hauling tree trunks, and that closet is for keeping my metal tools out of the rain and rust-free. I'm sorry to tell you that you're the only one here with a dirty mind."
Olivia pressed her lips together hard in embarrassment. So, she'd gotten this one wrong. "Who the hell are you to blame me for jumping to conclusions?"
"You can stop doing that. I don't know who you're trying to fool, but I can tell you it ain't working."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The alpha was so tall that he could see right over the chair to where she cowered on the floor—and the intensity of his scowl left no doubt of who was in charge here.
"Matching me line for line," he growled. "Trying to show no weakness. Fighting even when it's clear you don't have a chance. You're trying to prove yourself my equal—but it's not in your nature."
Olivia heaved herself up angrily. "You don't know a damn thing about me."
"The hell I don't." The alpha took a step toward her. "You're scared and confused, hurt and alone. You don't know what to do, but you'll anything to stay alive. I'll say that for you—you've got a hell of a survival instinct."
Olivia's jaw tensed, and her fingers dug into the back of the chair, wishing she could ignore the accusations he was throwing at her, that she could avoid the painful truth.
He'd only gotten one little detail wrong.
"I'm not trying to stay alive," she muttered without meeting his eyes. "I'm just trying to stay away from you."
This time the alpha's laugh was cold and humorless. It chilled her right down to the marrow of her bones.
"Well, that's too fucking bad, Olivia," he said, using her name for the first time. "Because now that you're an omega, your alpha is the one person you can never escape."
Chapter Eight
"Tell me again why they sent you here."
"For the thousandth time," Olivia sighed from the spot she'd claimed for herself behind his favorite chair. She'd been there for a good twenty minutes now and showed no signs of moving.
Gray circled the jumble of broken and shattered equipment one more time, looking for answers. Just like with every other sweep, though, this time didn't yield any answers.
It wasn't for lack of trying. Gray had been pacing the length of the room ever since he got back, something he always did when he was trying to work through a problem.
While most of his alpha brothers were more comfortable defaulting to violent solutions first, Gray never minded thinking a puzzle through.
And the tangle of wires and circuit boards scattered across his floor certainly qualified as a puzzle.
Maybe not one that was as distracting or complex as the omega currently cowering behind his furniture, but close.
Something told Gray he'd tease out the real purpose of all this high-tech gadgetry long before he'd figure her out.
At least she was staying put behind that damn chair of his. If she made another break for it, Gray knew he'd have to chase after her. That would lead to catching her. That would lead to touching her again.
And that...well, that would lead to something that made his cock hard just thinking about.
What the hell was it about this omega? She made him feel like a damned teenager again. It hadn'
t even been an hour since his knot had been locked inside her, and here he was already itching to do it again.
That's why he needed to stay focused on other things. Things like, why the hell there was so much equipment at her campsite?
Gray bent down and turned a green plastic logic board over in his hand. They'd gotten a lot more complicated than back in high school.
"Do you usually need this much equipment for your shoots?" he asked.
"No.”
"So what's it all for?"
"They didn't say."
"And you didn't ask?" The question was made necessary by the fact that his omega didn't often give him the whole story despite being truthful. Which made her smart: she knew he'd sense any dishonesty and cagily adapted.
Her glare answered before her mouth moved. "I'm not in the habit of making conversation with people who threaten my family."
Understandable. Frustrating but understandable.
And it didn't bring him any closer to figuring out what the betas were really doing on his property. What exactly was all this crap? What information was it recording? And most importantly, what the fuck were the betas planning to do with all the data?
He needed answers, but all he had was a pile of mismatched puzzle pieces.
"Maybe if you explained what's confusing you, I might be able to help."
Doubtful.
In Gray's experience, most betas had an overly simplistic view of the world, so focused on the big picture that they missed the details.
But maybe not this one. Olivia had already proved that she was different. She had to be a pretty skilled photographer to catch the attention of whatever agency was involved, which meant she already had a keen eye for detail.
And then, of course, was the simple fact that she was no longer a beta. It was possible that the change in her nature had already sharpened her senses.
Gray pressed his lips together. Fine. He'd swallow his pride and accept her help...but just this once.
"I'm trying to understand why this Alpha Control Division really sent you," he said.
Gray: The Boundarylands Omegaverse: M/F Alpha Omega Romance Page 5
