The Omegas

by Annie Nicholas

  “Nice night to take a walk. Who do you have there, wolf?”

  The brute stopped moving forward when he saw Daedalus. “None of your business, blood sucker.” He squeezed Sugar’s arm harder, making her cry out.

  Quick as a blink, Daedalus stood a breath away with his hand on the brute’s wrist. With a quick snap, he broke it. “You’re hurting my Sugar.” The words came from behind clenched teeth.

  The werewolf cried out in pain, releasing her arm. His cries grew louder when Daedalus twisted his injured joint.

  “Stay here, Sugar, this won’t take long.” He dragged the brute into the forest, where his pleading screams ended abruptly.

  She lay in the dirt and cringed with each of the brute’s cries. Something innocent died within her when those shrieks stopped. Tears burned behind her eyes.

  Daedalus returned, wiping the blood on his chin with a handkerchief. He crouched in front of Sugar, a small satisfied smile on his face.

  Before he could say anything, she pushed him, knocking him on his ass. “Get away!”

  “Hey.” His stunned response echoed off the warehouse.

  She crabbed back from him, then stood. “Sorry, it’s... Well...” She gestured to the woods.

  “You ate him?”

  He remained on the ground. “Sugar, I’m a vampire. The world won’t miss the likes of him.”

  “I know. It’s just with focusing on the challenge and my own quiet...” She looked at her feet.

  “I’m starting to realize how naive I’ve been.”

  The side exit door opened. “I’m telling you, Katrina, I smell her this way.” Tyler and his girlfriend hurried out to find their quarry. “Hey, I thought you were in trouble.”

  Sugar spun, thankful for the interruption. “Not anymore. Daedalus saved me.” How could she explain to Daedalus she’d never thought of him as a monster until tonight? And now he terrified her?

  He stood, brushing the dirt off his jeans. “Can you take Sugar home, Tyler?” He looked at her and sighed. “I think she’s had enough supernatural excitement for one night.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Daedalus walked up to Sugar as if approaching a frightened fawn. He lowered his face to hers, expecting a kiss. His lips lingered, soft and velvety. Eyes closed, he murmured her name.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered back.

  Chapter 9

  Sugar woke with a start early the next morning. Nightmares had plagued her sleep; something chased her through a dark forest threatening to eat her. Sometimes the hunter wore Daedalus’s face. What a horrible night.

  She rolled out of bed and rubbed her eyes. Her arm ached where the brute had squeezed it.

  A purple handprint was her souvenir from the challenge. When Tyler and Katrina dropped her off last night, they saw the marks on her arm and knew something had happened, but she didn’t want to discuss it. She needed time alone.

  On her way to the kitchen, she found Eric on a chair in her patio garden. He gave her a little smile and a weak wave. There were dark circles under his eyes. Looked like she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t slept well. She signaled for him to wait, then set the coffee maker to start brewing.

  The crisp morning air showed signs of an early fall. She pulled her robe closed and tied it tight. The clear, blue sky brought light to everything around them.

  Eric sat bent over in the chair, leaning his arms on his knees. He lifted his weary head. “Hope you don’t mind my breaking in. I love sitting here. It’s like a small island of solitude.”

  She pulled a chair next to him and looked closer at his face. It seemed he’d aged overnight.

  The worry lines between his brows were new. She reached out to smooth them away. “You look like crap.”

  He jerked in his chair with a surprised chuckle. “I got into a fight last night.”

  She smiled in return, finally recognizing some of the old Eric. “Really?” She allowed her voice to drip with sarcasm. “I heard it was a doozy. Did you at least win?”

  His smile faded, and he leaned back to stare at her with sad eyes. “Yeah.”

  It tore her heart apart to see her childhood hero upset. Maybe joking about it wasn’t the best way to cheer him up. He should have been celebrating. The Omegas were safe, and he ruled the Ayumu. He’d accomplished the impossible. She reached out for his hand to find it trembled under her touch.

  He released a heavy sigh. “I didn’t think killing Michael would affect me much. We hunt in the woods and kill regularly. I thought it would feel the same, but it doesn’t.” He looked away.

  Helpless, she watched him suffer. His kind and gentle nature took a worse beating than his body did. It would make him a great leader. She squeezed his hand and tucked away her own selfish misgivings in relation to werewolves and vampires. Her best friend, even if he had swallowed someone’s throat, needed a shoulder to lean on.

  “I’m glad you feel bad.”

  His head snapped up to face her. “What?”

  She smiled, hoping it would soften her words. “Hold on to this feeling. It’s right to suffer after you’ve killed someone, Eric.”

  His eyes widened, a flash of anger reflected in them.

  “You killed a monster last night. That was a good thing to do, I’m glad you didn’t enjoy it though. I think Michael would have loved killing you, and I think the majority of his pack would have loved watching him destroy you. It’ll prevent you from turning into a monster like Michael.”

  She tilted her head and pleaded with her eyes for him to understand.

  He stared at her a moment as the anger melted away, then he nodded. “My suffering protects what I have left of my humanity.”

  “I don’t know much in regards to pack life, but after what I witnessed last night, I’d say what the Ayumu have left of their humanity needs to be saved.” She released his hand. “Tell me about the Accords.”

  A light of interest sparked in his saddened face. “The Accords were developed centuries ago by paranormal creatures, even the ones who refused to ‘come out’ with the declaration of citizenry. They’re laws to protect humans, to protect our identities, and to protect against one individual gaining too much power.” He grinned at her. “Let’s face it, you humans outnumber us. In a war you’d win. Also, without humans there wouldn’t be Weres, vampires, or merpeople.”

  “Merpeople?” Delight twinkled through her, making her want to do a dance. She always wanted to be a mermaid as a little girl. Some dreams don’t die. “They really do exist?”

  He threw back his head with a belly laugh. “I thought you’d like to know. Don’t be running off to a beach yet, they secluded themselves long ago.” His face split with the usual goofy grin.

  “Thanks.”

  “My therapeutic garden is always open to your pack.”

  “The pack’s grown.”

  She blinked. “I guess I’ll have to start charging.” They shared an easy laugh.

  His nose flared. “Coffee’s ready.”

  She got up and fixed them each a big mug, then returned with the steaming hot brew. She handed him one with the logo ‘Got Blood?’ on the side.

  He read it. “Daedalus give you this?”

  She nodded.

  He took a careful sip. “He’s pretty sweet on you.” He watched the city, and she looked at her plants.

  She hated talking relationships with Eric. He knew her too well and thought she guarded her heart too much. She could never just give it away, especially after last night. She started wondering if she truly knew anyone in her life.

  She could fall in love with Daedalus easily, but she wanted him to be human. Tears swelled in her eyes.

  “He’s a good guy, as vampires go. I don’t think he’d lead you astray.”

  Like she predicted, Eric defended the guy. “Why?”

  “’Cause he doesn’t have to. He’s got all the time in the world.” He sighed. “He could have moved out last night, Sugar. Our contract is complete. Instead he’s resting
in my cramped, crappy apartment. He didn’t say much, except he scared you. That’s got to mean something.” He sipped his hot coffee.

  “We don’t fit. It was supposed to be a fling. He turned it into more and expects me to…”

  She found herself at a loss for words.

  “Accept him for what he is?”

  She nodded and stared at her mug, fighting the tears.

  “You have a chance at a relationship, even if it lasts a day, a month, or a year. Who cares? It’s better to have experienced happiness in life, even with a vampire, than through those stupid romance books.”

  She wiped her eyes and smacked his arm lightly, it spilled some of his hot coffee from his mug onto his hand. “I didn’t buy those books, Casanova. Now I feel worse, thanks.”

  He shook his fingers and splattered coffee in her direction. “Payback’s a bitch.” He grinned at her.

  Chapter 10

  Sugar placed a fuzzy, pink throw blanket over Eric’s sleeping form. He’d curled up on one of the love seats after she filled him with scrambled eggs and bacon. Then he asked her to read him to sleep.

  They’d done this before. Initially after he’d been turned into a Were, he hated to sleep. The nightmares stalked him until she found him secluded in his apartment half-crazed. She shuddered at the memory. This reading ritual began then. The sound of her voice soothed him, and the stories distracted his tortured soul. They did this for months until he met Robert and founded the Omegas.

  Sugar closed the book sitting on her lap. Everyone assumed she was the romance junkie, but the books all belonged to him.

  The Omegas probably still slept and Daedalus, well, he became unconscious or something with the daylight. She couldn’t help the shiver which ran down her spine at the thought.

  Her arm throbbed in time with her heartbeat as the muscles in her back knotted like pretzels.

  A hot bubble bath sounded like nirvana. The world would hold itself together while she soaked and reflected on her own troubles.

  She filled the tub with near scalding water until the bubbles threatened to overflow, then eased in, enjoying every heated moment. The suds engulfed her, allowing enough space to breathe.

  She struggled to clear her mind of the lust, unease, discomfort, and happiness thoughts of Daedalus created. The last wistful one being, I wish he was human.

  The small pops of bubbles hummed in her ears, mesmerizing her, and brought her to a languid meditative state. A thump in the next room startled her. Eric had probably rolled off the love seat and fell on the floor. She concentrated on thinking of nothing once more. Even though under water, she distinctly heard a yell. She pulled herself out and threw on a robe.

  When she reached her living room, chaos was underway. Two men grappled with Eric on her rugs. She stared at the unbelievable scene, shock freezing her to the spot until one of the men noticed her. His eyes glowed with an inner amber light. Not men, Weres.

  He jumped for her, but Eric grabbed his ankle and pulled him away. “Get the Omegas!”

  Eric’s voice cracked at her like a whip. She raced through the kitchen, out the apartment door, only to get tugged back in.

  One of the Weres held the back of her robe and dragged her through to the kitchen. Eric knocked his Were off, strode across the room, and kicked her attacker in the knee. It sent him howling to the floor. Unfortunately the Were pulled her robe with him.

  She ran out of the apartment and down the hall to Daedalus, in her birthday suit. With the racket in her apartment, the Omegas should have come to check it out by now. Except their door looked busted in.

  She peeked around the corner. The chaos in her apartment couldn’t compete with the havoc in this one. Tyler and a stranger were the only ones in the room still in human form. They fought one another on the far side of the kitchen. Beasts struggled against each other within the tight confines of the kitchen and hallway leading to the bedrooms. The clash of cutlery with dishes as they shattered on the kitchen floor made her cringe.

  Daedalus’s closed, shiny, black coffin lay on the floor by the outside wall.

  Sugar spotted a portable phone on the floor between her and the coffin. They needed help, she hoped the police could handle this. She crawled toward the phone, staying close to the floor to avoid attention.

  One of the Weres approached Daedalus’s coffin. She gasped when she saw he held a stake and mallet.

  Katrina’s high-pitched scream from the bedrooms made Sugar twist away. She saw Tyler snap his assailant’s neck and leap over the others blocking the hallway to reach the bedrooms where Katrina fought.

  The sound of hammering drew Sugar’s attention back to the coffin. The beast banged on the stake, driving it through her sexy, sweet love. His screech froze her blood. It must have done the same to his attacker since he paused in his assault.

  Daedalus needed her. Without thinking, she threw the portable phone with all her strength at the beast. It bounced off the back of his head and he stumbled forward, close enough for Daedalus to knock him out with a punch.

  The Were’s leg wobbled like licorice before he toppled over.

  She hurried to Daedalus’s side, her breaths coming in short gasps. Please, let him be all right.

  She’d never told him how she felt about him, the paranormal, or their future. Now that creature had taken away her chance to tell him. She knelt by the coffin. A boulder dropped in her stomach.

  Daedalus looked at her with wide, unfocused eyes. They were dilated to black bottomless pits. The stake still protruded out of his chest. As he attempted to sit, a small stain of blood appeared on his pale blue t-shirt around the wound. He lay back down, closed his eyes, and his body went limp.

  She wanted to pull the stake out but didn’t know if she should. She didn’t know what vampires did when they died. Maybe his reaction was a reflex of some sort. She checked for a pulse at the base of his neck. Stupid, he never had a pulse!

  A crash behind her made her duck. When she turned she saw Katrina’s limp body tumble to the floor, leaving a small dent in the wall. Someone had thrown her across the room.

  Hands clasped to her mouth, Sugar watched her world fall apart. All she could hear was her blood rushing past her ears like a freight train. She struggled for breath around a sob that racked her chest. Trembling, she crawled to Katrina’s listless body. Weres heal fast. She kept repeating this to herself like a mantra over and over in her head. This kept her urge to scream under control.

  If she started, she’d never stop.

  A huge werewolf stomped through the Omegas’ apartment door from the hallway. It paused to contemplate them, then examined the coffin before it leaped onto the remaining beasts wrestling in the hallway.

  Sugar rolled Katrina over and checked her breathing. Her chest rose in a strong, steady rhythm. Sugar sobbed again, this time in relief. Her friend’s right eye swelled and her lip bled.

  Those were the only visible injuries.

  The noise of the fight faded behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see three battered beasts come out of the bedrooms. Tyler pushed his way past them to get to Katrina. His freckles stood out on his pale skin.

  Sugar touched him gently as he knelt beside her. “I think she’ll be all right.”

  He nodded, but examined Katrina anyway.

  The remaining beasts changed back to human form. It was Eric who had passed them earlier in his wolf form. He slumped to the floor by the hallway while Robert and Sam rustled through the fridge getting what looked like food and drinks.

  Her sense of incredulity must have shown on her face since Eric explained, “I’ve changed twice in one day, Sugar. I need the calories to recuperate and so do they.” He turned his gaze to the living room. “Tyler, how’s Katrina?”

  “She’s hurt, but I can smell her injuries healing.” He glanced at Sugar. “Why are you naked?”

  She looked down at herself, horrified. Flames of embarrassment burned her cheeks. “Give me your shirt.” She helped pull it of
f his back, then slipped it over her head. The t-shirt reached her mid-thigh and acted as a small dress. “They tore my robe off.”

  She stepped over the unconscious Ayumu Were lying by the coffin. “He staked him, Eric.”

  Her chest tightened around another scream. A tear spilled from her eye, tracing its way down to her chin.

  Eric attempted to stand, but his legs buckled, causing him to stumble to his knees. “Is he dust?”

  She shook her head.

  “They’re supposed to turn to dust when they’re staked. The Were must not have hammered it all the way through.”

  She ran her fingers along Daedalus’s face and paused to trace his lush lips. Her tears dripped silently from her chin, splattering one by one on his shoulder. The passion, the violence, and the sorrow, she couldn’t handle anymore.

  Something brushed her ankle. When she tried to swipe it off with her other foot she met resistance. Cold terror gripped her chest when the touch tightened. She glanced down to make eye contact with a pair of amber glowing eyes.

  The Were who had staked Daedalus pulled her leg, and she fell to the floor. It crawled on top of her. The screams she’d held back came out as a herald of anguish and fear.

  Tyler wrapped his arms around her aggressor’s chest, but the Were back-handed him away like a fly, while its long fingers wrapped around her throat. “At least I’ll get your mate, Eric.”

  She gasped for air, nothing passed through her throat. Her vision tunneled while she grappled with his hand. All she could see were his hate-filled wolf eyes.

  This was the last thing she’d experience? Getting killed over werewolf politics?

  Suddenly, the Were’s weight jerked off of her.

  Daedalus grasped the back of its shirt and lifted the Were in the air. Her neck remained clenched in the creature’s hand when it yanked her off the floor. The angle of the Were’s grasp, as she dangled, gave her enough room to wheeze in a breath. Relief swam over her. Daedalus would save her, he’d protect her, like he’d promised her.

  She kicked and twisted mid-air until the Were’s grasp broke loose. Crashing to the floor, she gulped for air.