Omega Phoenix

by Layla Heart

  Plus, I have no doubt that they’re using this whole mess to find the ‘best’ mate for me and once they’ve found someone, they’ll be coming for me immediately. They’re counting on me struggling so much by myself that I’ll gladly take whoever they offer me to. I also know that they will do everything in their power to keep ‘unworthy’ Alphas away from me, no matter the cost. And I don’t want to test what their ‘everything’ can include. Max, Liam, Zack and Spence do not deserve to have their lives ruined because of me, because I made a stupid mistake.

  I open the door to the building, but instead of waiting outside, Max crowds me inside, closing the door behind him. “Hey!”

  “Just trying to make sure you’re safely inside.” His voice is calm, like this is the most normal thing in the world.

  “I’m safe here. Look around, there’s nobody here. I’m safe inside. You can go now.” I put my hand to his chest, his very well sculpted chest under that button-up, but he just covers it with his own hand, holding me there.

  “I’m not leaving yet. Let’s go up.”

  I look at his eyes, try to see if he’s influenced by my Omega pheromones or something, but he seems totally lucid. Which makes this even scarier, and more infuriating. “Max!”

  “No.” He drops his voice, Alpha power coming from him in waves and even though I’m on meds, I feel my resistance to him slowly break. “We’re going upstairs, now. I’ll carry you if I need to.”

  I glare at him, but he just waits, impatient. “No. You have to—” He can’t stay any longer, this isn’t good.

  He lifts me up like I weigh nothing, cradling me against his chest, tender but tight enough to let me know he’s not going to let me go. Asshole. Strong and handsome, but still an asshole. “What floor do you live on?”

  “Put me down. Put me down now. You can’t do this.”

  “To the contrary. As you said yourself, I can do this. You’re my Omega and I’ve got every right to protect you at all costs.” He starts walking up the stairs. “Let me know when we’re on the right floor.” His voice is totally calm and that makes me even angrier.

  Fucking hell. No fucking way. I thought he was different from the others. Somewhere, I’d hoped he was different.

  But they’re all the same.

  All Alphas are the fucking same. Assholes, every one of them. Telling Omegas what we can and can’t do. Just doing whatever they like with us. Forcing their will onto us.

  Why did I expect anything else from him? Why do I feel so disappointed? I thought Max would be different, but he’s just better at pretending.

  I push my tears down. I’m not going to cry. What else should I have expected? This is how Alphas are. This is how they all are. I knew it, but I still let my guard down around him, desperately wanting to believe he was different. But he just proved that they’re all the same.

  Assholes.

  “Pack a bag with clothes and your medication and whatever else you need.” Max puts me on my feet as soon as we’re inside my apartment. His voice is rough and he looks like he’s fighting to keep control of himself. Serves him right. Then I realise what he just told me to do.

  “What?! No!”

  “We’re taking you somewhere safe. Pack what you need, leave the rest.” He crosses his arms over his chest, his gaze hard, but my Omega scent has to be pretty rough on him here and he doesn’t seem to be that strong against it.

  “No. I have my own life. I have my own life here. I’m not leaving just because of some gossip.” I’d momentarily forgotten what was going on with my parents and stuff because of how he was acting, but I can’t let him do this, not anymore. It ends here.

  Why would he put himself in danger? It would be so much easier for him to just dump me here and leave, so much easier. He wouldn’t be in danger from my parents or in danger from others who might want me. It’s like he’s purposefully inserting himself into the mess, staying when he could just leave and be free.

  I’m the one people are interested in, he’s just one of the Alphas, but I’m the one that people are most focused on. I’m the one they want, the life they want to ruin.

  It’s not like I can escape my parents anyway. I don’t have a passport, I don’t have anything. My parents will find me eventually and they’ll have me mate whoever they want. I won’t be able to get around that. Especially not now my parents know that I was spotted with four Alphas, four Alphas way below their standard...

  My parents will ruin them. They’ll run the guys’ lives, their companies, their families, all of it. My parents will do anything to get me back. That’s why I’ve been hiding, to prevent something like this from ever happening, that they couldn’t ruin even more lives...

  I don’t want to mate whoever my parents choose for me, but I know that they won’t let me mate someone that I want, so the only way out is not mating at all. Then they can’t ruin someone’s life or ruin my life. The solution seemed so simple.

  “You know as well as I do that it’s not just ‘some gossip’.” Max’ voice is softer now. “I can see your fear. I can see how much you fear your parents. I just want to take you somewhere safe. I just want to take you somewhere they can’t get to you.” His quiet words seep into me, the caring he puts behind them and it’s hard to be angry with him when he’s like that, when he acts like he really cares about me. “Let us protect you until everything calms down. It’s the least we can do after putting you in the spotlight like this.”

  I want to tell him, no, but the look in his eyes is too pained to keep arguing. “They’ll hurt you too. All of you. They’ll try to ruin you.”

  He steps closer, reaching out, putting his fingers under my chin, like he’d done before, the touch sending electricity through my body, heating the spot our skin touches. “We can take care of ourselves. We’ve got the means to protect ourselves, and the means to protect you.” His phone buzzes and he glances at the screen before accepting the call. “Yes? Good. We’ll meet you there.” He’s quiet for a moment, glancing at me. “I’m working on that. You just get everything ready on your end. Later.” He disconnects the call. “Liam and the others have found somewhere for us to stay. You’ll be safe there.”

  I want to believe him, but he’s got no idea what my parents are like. They have no idea.

  “Pack your meds, your laptop, some clothes and anything else you need, and we’ll go.”

  I nod. It’s not like I’ve got a choice at this point. He’ll take me anyway, no matter what I want. From what he did just now, I don’t doubt that anymore.

  It’s better if I at least take my meds and such with me, that will hopefully prevent them from jumping me...

  Not that my meds are going to last me very long, unless I manage to get more of the suppressants in the next two weeks. If I can’t get them, nothing will matter anyway... My life will be over either way, no matter who’s ‘protecting’ me.

  Sighing deeply, I’m about to go to my bedroom to pack some clothes, when Max stops me.

  “Where’s your phone?”

  I hold it up and he plucks it from my hand. “Hey! I need that.”

  He shakes his head. “We’ll get you a new one. If your parents have your number, there’s a good chance they’ve got ways to track it, even if you don’t know about it. We’re not taking that chance.”

  “Everything I need is on that phone. I can’t just leave it. I need it. Give it back.” Asshole.

  He dares to look at me like I’m the difficult one. “Fine. We’ll drop by a place on our way to meet the others. We’ll get all the data you need from this phone onto a new one, but we’re not taking it with us.”

  Fucking asshole. They’re all fucking controlling assholes.

  I stomp to my bedroom, grabbing a bag and stuff as many clothes in it as I can find.

  I hope he’s got a hard time fighting his instincts while he’s waiting in the living room. Serves him right. Serves him fucking right.

  20

  Zack

  It’s already p
ast midnight and I keep scrolling through the news feed, somehow not able to look away from what they’re saying about Cyra, or about us.

  We’re lucky that Cyra’s parents haven’t revealed what type of shifter she is yet, which is probably a good thing. They know as well as we do that once that gets out into the world, they lose all chance of ever getting her back. And that’s definitely working to our advantage right now. I was surprised when I first saw Cyra’s last name, when her Alpha’s last name showed up. They’re a famous fire-aligned family. There are fire dragons in their family, hellhounds and, yes, phoenixes. Though, for them to have an Omega phoenix in the family... I don’t think many people would guess that, because they’ve not had full-blood phoenixes in their family for a long time. So most people will think Cyra is probably a dragon or a hellhound, both rare types, but not as unique as phoenixes are. Still rare enough to make a fuss about, but not rare enough to put us in too much danger from mobs trying to get their hands on her.

  We’re at the local airport, waiting for Max and Cyra, who are taking a damn long time to get here...

  Spence plucks my phone from my hands and slides it into his pocket. “I think that’s enough of that. That’s not going to help anyone. It’s just making you angrier if you keep reading it.”

  “I don’t care.” I get up, balling my fists. “You don’t get a say over what I do. Give it back.”

  “Nope.” He shakes his head and walks over to the windows that line one side of the room. We’re in one of the special VIP waiting rooms, all empty apart from the three of us.

  “Don’t fight, you two.” Liam’s sitting at a large table, the laptop he grabbed from Max’ home office in front of him, as he keeps typing and scrolling. “Or, do fight, if it means you’ll stop bickering... Just make sure it’s, you know, enough to release that sexual tension you’ve got going on.”

  “There is no...” I stalk closer to him, but the bastard just smirks at me.

  “No? I was so sure that’s what I saw at the party... A lot of sexual tension between the two of you.”

  “Okay. Enough!” Spence comes over, his eyes blazing, his hand on my chest stopping me from punching the smirk from Liam’s face. “If anyone needs to release some tension, it’s you two. Can’t you just wait in silence without riling each other up the whole time? It’s like I’m with two fucking Alpha teenagers. Sit down. Be quiet.”

  I stare at Spence, not used to him blowing up like that. But I’m also not really looking to get my ass kicked by him, and with the way he’s glaring, that’s a definite possibility.

  After a few deep breaths, his eyes on me, daring me to do something stupid, Spence looks at Liam. “How long until they’re here?”

  Liam shrugs. “Don’t know. Max said he had to drop by a shop before he could come over. Something about getting Cyra a new phone.” He looks at his laptop. “We’ve still got time. We’re not flying out for another hour.”

  “I know.” Spence sighs. “I just wish she was with us already. Not out there, where we can’t protect her.”

  Right as Liam opens his mouth to reply, the door slams open and Cyra storms inside, furious, Max following her.

  “What part of ‘I don’t have a passport’ and ‘you’re playing right into my parents’ hands’ do you not understand? Arg!” She spins around, glaring at Max. Sexy!

  It’s way more fun if she’s not glaring at me. Although, she can glare at me all she wants if it’s followed by a good fuck. She’d probably be really hot during an angry fuck...

  “You want to wait for them at your place instead? Tell them ‘I’m here, come get me’?” Max drops the bag he’s holding on a chair, his voice level, acting like her anger doesn’t influence him.

  “I might have been able to talk them out of whatever they’ve got planned. But now there’s no chance of that, ever.” She turns to the rest of us. “I guess you’re all okay with kidnapping charges being brought against you? Because that’s what you’re going to get.”

  “It’s not kidnapping if you come willingly.” Liam shrugs, though he doesn’t sound entirely sure of his words. “And we’re not leaving the country. We’re just going somewhere else the fastest way possible.”

  “Arg!” Cyra throws up her hands and drops onto a chair. “You’re impossible. All of you. Don’t talk to me until we leave.” She digs through her bag and pulls out earbuds. “Can I now have my new phone? I hope your guy was able to get all my music transferred.”

  Max pulls a phone from his pocket. “Everything that’s safe should be on there. Just nothing that your parents would be able to use to track you.” He holds it out and she snatches it from his hand, plugging the earbuds in and tapping at the screen. Then she turns her back to us, closing herself off.

  “So...” I watch Max. “I guess the getting her to cooperate part didn’t go that well?”

  He shrugs, something behind his eyes coming down, his voice closed off. “She needed some convincing, but it worked out.” He goes over to Liam. “Anything yet?”

  Liam shakes his head. “Nah. Seems her parents like the extra attention they’re getting, and there’ve been some...” He sighs. “Seems they’re trying to use this to potentially find a ‘better’ mate for her. But nothing else.”

  “Any news about where they are? Are they coming for her?” I step closer to them. How is it that Spence takes my phone away from me for trying to do the exact same thing Liam is apparently doing on his laptop?

  “Nothing. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they can’t come here until the morning, at which point we’ll be far away.” He leans back, looking up. “Also, it seems we’ve not been followed and nobody knows we’re here yet. We should be able to get a headstart.”

  It would be good if we’re able to stay hidden until most of the drama is over, but with the speed of information spreading these days, that’s probably a vain wish. For now, all we can hope for is to keep her safe while we figure out the next step and then we can work from there. If there’s going to be a next step, that is, and we won’t just be swarmed with reporters as soon as we land... Or with lawsuits, like Cyra so helpfully pointed out.

  The small plane that Spence got us feels even smaller with all of us in it. Not because having five people in it fills it up or anything, but because Cyra’s anger is almost palpable in the space and it puts us all on edge.

  If I thought that her cold attitude towards us at the cafe was her being upset, I totally underestimated her. This is... Hell, it makes me nervous, and she’s just an Omega. I have no wish to test her anger any further at the moment... None at all.

  I lean over to Spence. “How long?”

  He levels a look at me. Cyra is obviously not the only one who’s annoyed right now. “Just an hour. It’s not a long flight.” He sighs as he goes back to the work on his tablet.

  “How can you work right now?”

  “Because I’ve got to do something and this is more useful than staring into nothing or worrying about things we can’t change.” He scrolls down the document, a contract of something or other. “And it might make my Alpha a little less... annoyed with me when she wakes up and finds this in her inbox.”

  “Have you heard from your parents yet?” Spence’s Alpha mum was furious when she saw us holding hands at the Gala. I’d almost forgotten about that in everything that has happened since. “My parents have been quiet...”

  “No, I’ve not heard from them. They’re probably way too busy trying to keep what the two of us did out of the press. Which shouldn’t be too hard, since we’re involved in a much juicier scandal at the moment.”

  “Right. I guess this would also have been a way to stop those potential mate folders all the time. We should have thought of just getting some Omega drama going much sooner.” I grin and quickly hold up my hands at his annoyed glare. “I’m kidding. I’m kidding.”

  Liam snorts from a couple of seats over. “You get potential mate folders? They must really only care about looks and not about personality if
you get them. If those people knew what you were really like...”

  That...

  I jump up and feel how Spence is just a tad too slow to grab and stop me. I lunge for Liam. He’s as good a subject to work my frustration out on as any. Liam keeps pushing my buttons on purpose, like he’s asking for a fight. He totally deserves anything I can give him.

  Max quickly jumps out of the way as I swing my arm back, ready to punch Liam in the face. Just... Fucking hell. This guy...

  Liam pulls his hand up and catches my fist, slowing it down but not stopping me and it still hits him on the cheek.

  He grabs my shirt and pulls me to the side so I end up against the wall of the plane with a loud thud. Then he jabs out at me and I manage to barely avoid his fist, which slams into the wall with a nasty crack. I’m not sure if the sound is from his bones or the wall of the plane.

  Oh, don’t think so.

  I grab hold of him and push him back against the wall himself, holding him in place as I punch him again, which he deflects with his arm.

  His leg comes up and he almost knees me in the nuts, I only avoid it because I was turning to have a go at him again. Oh, he plays dirty. Fucking centaur, you can’t expect them to play by the rules.

  I jam my shoulder into his chest and grab for his arm, gripping it hard. Even in my human form, I’m much stronger than a simple human and I could break his bones in my grip if I wanted to.

  I need this. I need this so much. Letting go of this energy. Finding a target to focus it on instead of having it bottled up inside and the guy who’s been pissing me off all evening is a great target.

  Liam manages to land a blow on my jaw, but I return with a blow to his stomach, which he doesn’t seem to appreciate as much. Well, shouldn’t have touched the face... That’s just... low.