by Maia Star
Catarina had made me change my mind on these issues.
“I don’t think that’s how this works for her. We need to start treating her better or she’s going to leave.”
“Whatever could you mean? She’s an Omega; she’s property of the clan; she can’t just leave because she feels like it.”
“I mean that she’s going to run away if we don’t do something to make her feel more comfortable and at home here.”
Several emotions flashed through James’s eyes that I couldn’t quite place my finger on. Finally, his face landed on a pure cold expression. I couldn’t read him at all.
“Is that how it is? Well, it’s something to consider. But I want you to consider this, Beta Kyle: whatever happens next is your fault and your fault alone.”
“I take full responsibility,” I said. “I want to make sure she doesn’t leave.”
“Good. Then we’re throwing a party tonight. Inform the clan, and make sure to bring our little Omega. We’ll make her feel welcome, that’s a promise.”
In hindsight, it was a threat, not a promise, but I was too optimistic at that moment to take notice, to realize that I had made a mistake.
I had fucked up, and there would be no going back.
“All right, I’ll make sure she’s there, and I’ll inform the rest of the clan,” I said. At this point, my mind should have been screaming at me that it was a trap, that it was all a trap. But it was doing no such thing.
“Was that all you had to talk to me about?” James asked, tilting his head to the side.
“Yes. That was all. I figured it was a pretty important matter, though.”
“Agreed. Definitely a serious matter.” He looked down at the watch on his wrist. “Now, don’t you have to get back to work? It looks like your lunch is almost over.”
“Oh yes, I’ll be going now, then,” I said and took my leave.
On my shorter breaks at my job, I began to organize the invitations to the party that night, sending them to James for approval before sending them out to the rest of the clan.
Then, once it was time to head home, I headed out and stopped on the way back to the apartment for takeout.
Once I arrived back home, I set my things down in the living room with a sigh and stopped in the kitchen to set the bag of takeout down before heading back to Catarina’s room. The family she had been helping was on a little trip today, so she had the day off. I wanted to make it special for her, especially considering we were going to a party that night.
“Catarina?” I knocked on her door and then entered. “Can I interest you in some takeout? There’s some in the kitchen.”
She looked up from the bed where she was reading her book. “What kind?”
“Chinese.”
“Oh, yum.” She set her book down and sat up before standing and coming over to me. “Let’s go eat then.”
I smiled. “I have a surprise for you later too.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Oh? I hope it’s what I think it is.”
“You’ll see,” I promised her. “You’ll see. Now, let’s go eat before the food gets cold. It’s from one of my favorite places so it should be absolutely delicious.”
We headed out to the kitchen together and sat down at the counter while I spread out the assortment of things I had ordered.
The two of us dug into noodles, fried rice, and spring rolls with no hesitation. It was quiet as we filled ourselves with the bounty I had brought home.
It was a lovely moment, one that I wanted to experience many more times. It filled me with a sense of affection for her, as well as a sense of peace in general.
Once we had eaten to the point where we couldn’t anymore, I got up and tucked the leftovers away into the fridge.
“We’re going somewhere,” I said then. “You should go get changed.”
She looked down at what she was wearing with some confusion—a pair of jeans and another tank top, with a sweatshirt thrown over the back of the sofa that she had taken off before we started eating.
“Shouldn’t this be fine? Should I go get packed?”
I shook my head. “No, you should go get dressed as if you’re going to a party, and don’t pack yet, just trust me.”
She gave me an incredulous look but scurried off to her room and got changed, nonetheless. When she came back, she was wearing a tight light blue mini dress, some fishnets, and a pair of strappy heels.
“Does this work?”
I smiled at her. “Yes, that more than works. Now come on, let’s get going.” I extended my arm for her to take, and she did. Then I guided her downstairs to the car. As she got into the passenger seat, she turned to look at me.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” I promised. “There’s another party tonight, and there’s a surprise there for you.”
She looked at me suspiciously then. “Can’t you just tell me what it is? This is making me feel strange.”
I shook my head and smiled. “No, just wait, you’ll see. I promise that it will be a good one.”
“Okay.” She settled into her seat and remained quiet, but I could tell that she was still suspicious of me and the surprise that I had in store for her. Oh well, it was no matter. What mattered was that I knew it would be a good one and she would forgive me for keeping a secret in the end.
She was going to be so happy that I had stood up for her, just like she had wanted me to.
I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face.
Then we got closer to the apartment, and I knew that she recognized the route. She turned to me with fear in her eyes.
“What does this surprise have to do with James?”
“I told you, we’re going to a party. Now just relax; it’s going to be fine.”
“Relax? Tell me, why are we going to his apartment?”
“Because there’s a party. Don’t worry about it; you’re completely safe.”
This didn’t seem to calm her at all, unfortunately. She kept sitting on the edge of her seat, looking out the window in fear.
“Will you just relax, Catarina? I told you it’s fine. Why can’t you just trust me?”
“Because you haven’t given me much of a reason to yet,” she replied with blunt honesty. “I would trust you, but something doesn’t feel right. Please turn the car around and take us home.”
“Just relax; it’s going to be okay. Why would I bring you into a situation that was dangerous?”
“For your own benefit? I don’t know. Please just turn the car around.”
“Catarina, you’re being unreasonable. We’re almost there. Just trust me, okay? I’m right here with you.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to.”
“I’ll be right by your side the whole time. Now come on, let’s go.” I had parked the car, and I got out to go around and help her out of her side. “It’s going to be okay, Catarina. I don’t know why you’re so anxious.”
Chapter Thirteen
Catarina
I felt I was anxious for a good reason, even if Kyle was saying I was being unreasonable. There was just something about the whole situation that felt entirely off.
“Because something feels wrong!”
“Why can’t you trust me?”
“Because you haven’t given me a reason to yet,” I admitted. “Tell me, what have you done that warrants trust?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Catarina, maybe providing you with clothes and an ear to listen and a home to stay in and overall better treatment than anyone else in this clan. Haven’t I done that much?”
I nodded.
“Okay, then tell me why you can’t just let me do this, trust me enough to trust that I wouldn’t lead you into a bad situation. I’m not going to do that to you; it just wouldn’t be right. And it certainly wouldn’t help my cause either.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay, but if this is a bad situation and you’re lying, then I’m never trusting you ever again.”
<
br /> “Deal,” he said, a smile on his face. What was it that he was so happy about? What was the surprise that he was so excited to share with me? These questions swirled around in my head as I took the arm that Kyle extended to me and stepped out of the car.
I let him lead me into the building, then into the elevator that would take us to James’s penthouse.
Another wave of fear went through my body. Nothing good had ever happened in this apartment for me. I had been shunned and ignored at parties and had my body used for breeding by James. There were no good memories to ease my anxiety.
The elevator doors opened then, and the two of us stepped out into the apartment. People were dressed finely, drinking drinks at the bar, or chatting amongst themselves in small groups. Everyone turned to look at me as the two of us entered, and I shied away.
“See, look, everything’s fine,” Kyle said.
“I don’t know that yet,” I replied. “Something bad could still happen.”
“Would you quit being so paranoid?”
“Would you quit expecting me to be anything else when I’ve been mistreated and lied to my whole life?”
He sighed. “I guess that’s a good point. I just wish you would trust me. I only have your best interests at heart.”
“All right, I’ll believe it when you prove it to me.”
“I intend to, tonight.”
I was still wondering what in the world it was that he could have planned for me that would prove, without a doubt, that he had my best interests in mind. Whatever it was, it better be spectacular for all the anxiety he was causing me.
Or maybe we were going to one last party before we ran away. I certainly hoped that was the case.
People were already shooting me dirty looks, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before they were demanding things of me or calling me names.
“Come on, let’s go grab something to drink,” Kyle said, dragging me over to the bar. He stepped up to the counter and asked for two wines from the dragon-shifter who was working it.
“Here you go,” the man said, sliding across two glasses of wine and shooting me a dirty look.
As Kyle handed my drink to me, I turned to him.
“I don’t think anybody wants me here,” I said. “Can we please just go? Do we really have to be at this party?”
Just then, James appeared next to us with a large smile on his face. I was getting weird vibes from him, though. He seemed too jovial, or something.
“Ah, there’s our guest of honor,” he said, then grabbed my elbow. “Won’t you come with me for a second, darling? There’s something we need to take care of.”
I looked to Kyle for help, but he was just smiling at me encouragingly, throwing me a thumbs-up as James led me away.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
James’s grip on my arm tightened in response.
“You’ll see.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on? What is this about a surprise that Kyle is talking about?”
“You talk too much; now just shut up.”
He had dragged me to the middle of the living room, and then he stopped, releasing me and pushing me a few steps away.
“Clan, friends, gather around. Our special guest of honor is here. Won’t you give her a warm welcome?”
There was a chorus of laughter from the crowd, and I shrunk into myself a bit.
“Oh, come on, you can do better than that. Why don’t you show this little Omega just how special she is?”
There was a chorus of boos from the crowd. I looked around to try to find Kyle in the crowd, but he was nowhere to be seen. That bastard, was this what he meant when he said that he had a surprise for me? Some surprise this was.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“Oh, don’t you know?” James walked over to me and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I hear from a little birdy that we weren’t treating you well enough, that you were planning on running away, so we’re remedying that now.”
He grabbed the glass of wine from my hand. “You won’t be needed that now, will you, dear? Now, I would douse you in this, but you’re too cheap to waste good wine on. Oops.” He tilted his hand to the side and began to pour the wine out onto the floor. “My mistake. Now clean it up.”
I looked at him in surprise. “How am I supposed to do that?”
“Lick it all up from the floor like a good little Omega, won’t you?”
I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest, determined to stay strong.
“No way in hell.”
“You’re gonna regret that, little Omega,” James said, grabbing my arm and forcing me to the ground. “Now, if you don’t want to experience my wrath, you’ll start licking, now.”
I shivered. I certainly didn’t want to know what he would do to me if I kept refusing him. It might even be something that would rival how I had been treated by my last clan.
So I lowered my head and began to lick the puddle of wine on the wood floors.
“Just like that, you little slut,” James said. “You’re such a slut, aren’t you? Thinking that you could escape? Thinking that you deserved better. Let me tell you one thing: you don’t deserve anything.”
There were cheers from the onlookers at this.
“Yes, that’s right,” he said. “Cheer for this little bitch and her worthlessness. You haven’t even produced me an heir yet, you slut. You don’t get to act entitled to kindness until you make yourself useful.
I raised my head for a moment to glare at him.
“I’ve been useful to you, haven’t I? Haven’t I eased your fucking horny ass? Haven’t I sucked that little dick of yours good?”
There was a gasp from the crowd. Being with Kyle and not having any consequences for speaking out had made me too bold. I was regretting the words the moment I uttered them.
“Oh? Is that so? You think my dick is small? Why don’t I shove it down your throat here and now and we’ll see what’s small and what’s not?”
I kept glaring at him, even though I knew it was a bad idea. In response, he shoved my head down with his foot. “Keep licking, slut. I’m not gonna let you up until you finish cleaning up what you wasted.”
I didn’t waste it. He had. But that didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was putting me back in my place.
I should have known that I would be betrayed, that I couldn’t trust Kyle. He was a Beta, after all, and he probably wanted to keep his status. If I escaped under his watch, he would lose it, be exiled, etc.
So better to report me to the Alpha and have me put back in my place where I wouldn’t be able to do any more harm.
There was just one flaw in his plan: I had no intention of ever being put in my place again. I was going to escape, whether or not he was going to help me. It was his loss, especially since I was probably the best thing to ever come into his life.
His loss, my grief.
I really had been beginning to fall for him, but now he had to go and do this?
I didn’t know if I would be able to trust anyone ever again after this.
At least, not for a long time. And certainly not about anything pertaining to the fact that I was an Omega.
Finally, I finished lapping up the wine. I had a long time to think as I slowly cleaned the mess with my tongue, James standing over me and insulting me the whole time.
I would find Kyle and demand that he take me home. I could work from there; it would be fine. I would find a way to escape, even if he was watching me like a hawk.
James let me get back up. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson, you little mutt,” he said.
Just to make sure that no one would be watching me too carefully, I nodded and hung my head submissively.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Good. Now get out of my sight. You’re giving me a headache.”
Immediately, I scurried away and began searching the crowd for Kyle.
More people shoved me around as I sear
ched through the crowd, and even more hurled insults at me. They were so awful that I would never want to repeat them.
Finally, I found Kyle sitting down, looking absolutely distraught. His head was in his hands, and his body was shaking a bit.
“You son of a bitch,” I hissed at him, and he looked up at me.
“Catarina, I can explain—”
“You better.” I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the bedroom that we had first fucked in and pushed him down onto the bed. He wasn’t even putting up a fight.
“What did you do? And why? You knew what would happen if you told him that I wanted to run away, and you did, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “And it was a mistake. I realize that now. I just wanted them to treat you better. And I thought that if I made Alpha James think that was the best option, then it would happen. I thought he was really going to make a change, or else I never would have taken you here. I would have gotten you far away, to somewhere safe.”
“And will you do that now?”
“Can’t you see? They’ll be watching us like hawks now.”
“Then why did you fucking betray my trust? Why didn’t you just tell me no, or come with me? I don’t understand why you would do this when you claim to care about me so much.”
“Because I thought it would change things, Catarina. I know that I would be able to provide you with a comfortable and luxurious life if the two of us continued to live here. I can’t say the same if we run away.”
“Don’t you see? I don’t care about luxury. I care about being free, about not being mistreated by literally every person in my life.”
“Catarina—”
“No, you know what? Just no. Take me home right now. I’m not talking to you.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Why can’t we talk this out?”
“Because I’ve already tried to talk things out with you before, Kyle. And you clearly never listen, or else you never would have betrayed my trust.”
“Come on, you can’t really mean that.”
