In a moment of weakness, Vash briefly let go of her wad of greasy hair. As soon as he got his bearings, he leaned forward and took the trembling omega into his arms. He calmly stroked her hair, lowering his eyelids to hide the dryness of his own eyes. He never cried. None of the alphas did. That was what made them alphas.
Vash observed the tightness of her lips, the fragile pussy that seemed to beg to be filled. “I can’t be gentle this time,” he said.
The revelation came too soon for her to feel okay. She could now see the etchings of his scars, running across his cheek.
He wanted to break her, but he wouldn’t kill her. He’d take her for days, and he’d make sure she remembered the details to spread the trauma to others like a sick parasite.
She was scum, and no amount of learning would change his mind.
His hand fell against her arm. Shaking, Vash turned perverse, but disdain quickly overcame him. “I didn’t tell you to look at me!”
Dropping to the floor, Vash pressed his chin against the crook of her neck. Violently inhaling her scent, Vash jerked his hands against the front of his wear, hurriedly trying to thread the buttons that housed his throbbing cock.
He needed to take her fast, before the spell of her scent wore off. She had already ruined the fucking foreplay.
“You don’t want to talk? Fine.”
The taste of iron hung in his mouth. Every bit of him ached with disheartening rage. He didn’t want the girl, but he needed her. Without her, he might never be a true alpha.
He just hoped he could find the doctor in the city…
Underneath those streets was a network of sewage pipes leading into a world of filth and misery. It was a breeding ground for dejected alphas and betas. Anyone who walked that path was sure to die. However, the intelligent few used it to conduct business in an already too surveillance city.
After Cassian fed the parasite to Vash, he’d gone underground to seek treatment. A specialist promised him his help. All he had to do was bring the medical swabs of the omega’s DNA, a few drops of slick to bind to the woman’s uterus. When the omega lowered her tired and bruised rump, he would transfer it to her. She wouldn’t feel a thing.
If she was who Vash believed to be, her body’s natural rhythms would rid herself of it in less than a day’s time.
Vash retched. He could feel the light tickle of something foreign and feathery fasten inside his esophagus. A thick membrane of ocular discharge draped his eyes. It was already starting to happen. Death. The insect was binding its body to his nervous system. Yet, all he could wonder was if she thought him ugly.
Wren did take Vash to be an ugly hound, and there was no way around that. The scars were bad enough, but with the sores running down his arms, and the green sacs under his eyes? He was a monster.
Wren knew what to do with monsters.
Hunching her neck forward, Wren felt the dirt from her auburn strands trickle over her cheekbones, although she knew filth meant nothing to men. He pushed her ass high into the air, taunting the others with her sex. “Do you want to take me now?” she asked.
Lucas stared through the window, grinning.
Wren went to new lengths to get the alpha to notice her. Slowly, she ran her palm against his thigh. “Tell me,” she whispered.
Vash lowered her back down. “No,” he sneered. “Not like this.”
Lucas let out a cry of pleasure, so loud it caused Wren to dart back an inch. “I told you she wouldn’t take to you. You’re an ogre,” he cried.
Vash hammered his fist against the wall. “We do it my way. Sit the fuck down,” he said. “And close your eyes.”
Wren did not close her eyes. She forcefully kept them opening, even as she witnessed the alpha jerk his hand over his cock. He was much harder than she expected, and she knew he might explode quickly.
When she felt the light patter of his seed hit her face, she shut her lips and twisted her jaw with annoyance. This wasn’t exactly what she expected out of a first date.
“If you need to unwind,” she said, wiping a gelatinous glob off her cheekbone, “You don’t need to go to such great lengths.”
Swinging open the front door, Killian stood, rifle loosely straddling his chest. “What’s wrong? Can’t knot?”
Vash flushed and collapsed to the floor, panting. “Don’t fuck with me.”
Killian silently walked toward Wren and offered his hand. At first, she took it for a ploy, but when he knelt and removed a strand of sticky hair from her eyes, she allowed her trust to carry her into his arms.
Vash couldn’t bear to see this act of kindness. She was a slave girl, the muck of the human race. She existed for one purpose, and that was her sex.
“Just what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Vash asked.
With her arms draped around Killian’s shoulders, Wren placed her cheek against him. He hoisted her ass onto his palms and started for the door. “My maps register a pack of bounty hunters four miles south. We need to leave.”
“We’re in a dome. You won’t get an accurate reading. We wait until night,” he said.
Lucas pounded the glass window. “Vash!”
Vash bundled his kits in a hurry and collected the girl’s dress for her to wear. He winced through more pain before stumbling through the doorway. He was more injured than he’d thought, but he could use his bike to get to the north wall of the dome, no problem. Reassessment could come after.
“Fine. End this madness. I’ll go,” he said.
Despite the trade of chips for entrance, the alpha knew they’d be met with force upon exit. “Do you have the detonator ready?”
“Should’ve set a timer,” Lucas remarked.
Vash eyed the girl hugging Killian’s strong shoulders.
“He’s got it ready,” Killian said.
Vash shoved past the threshold of the door.
Outside, the sun was burning in a haze against the dull atmosphere of the large dome. The wind rushed against his weakening body, but it wasn’t enough to cool him down. The dust from the fields brushed against his eyes, briefly catching like tiny blades before he could blink.
“Fuck this.”
Still eyeing his catch, he waited for her to come to her senses and run to him. If she didn’t, he’d be forced to punish her.
“You,” he whispered.
Once at the parked bikes, Killian turned and grunted as Vash pressed his hand against a wound that was starting to become a real issue.
“I’ve got her,” Killian said.
“I can see that,” Vash said.
For a moment, Killian stood taunting him. Bending his nostrils against the back of her thick auburn hair, he inhaled. She hadn’t showered in weeks and was at her peak of sweaty scent. Vash noted when his pupils changed into a thin needle.
He knew Killian already loved the girl. That wasn’t an issue. When they were back in Dagon, they could all figure out a system. But if any one of them got in the way of his healing, he’d be buried in less than a week.
Vash let go of the idea of handling the girl before he got his strength back. Firmly planting his ass against the ripped leather seats of his motorcycle, he nodded to himself. “Fair enough,” he whispered.
Reaching into his vest, Vash pulled out the trigger to the incoming blast. An impulse led him to press the pad of his thumb against the button until he felt the smooth click of plastic snap.
At once, the west entrance of the dome started to crumble. A crack threaded through the glass above, threatening to drop.
“We have thirty seconds!” Lucas shouted.
Finding a sudden kick of energy inside him, Vash hammered his heel against the pedal.
“Fine. Take her. We’ll meet in Dagon.”
Vash was pissed. He didn’t even get to catch her scent.
Chapter Four
“I told you the maps were off. Drove fifteen miles and not one sight of another pack,” Vash said.
Killian grinned. “Guess you were right, huh?”<
br />
“This is one case where I wish I hadn’t been,” Vash commented. “The detonation was sizable. It’ll be easier to be tracked.”
“Then, we ditch the bikes here,” Lucas said.
Vash couldn’t believe his ears. The city was a place of liberal debauchery and fun, but people were known to take the train cars and never return. “Are you suggesting we ride public transport?”
“If we’re lucky, we can walk. It won’t be difficult to find a driver once we’re in the pipes,” Killian said.
“I’ve got desensitizers, I’ve got scent kits, pre-loaded with three hundred different scents. Cost you twenty big ones or one thousand chips. That’s the deal of the century, man.”
When Wren opened her eyes, she didn’t know what she was looking at. A man lunged forward with a wobbling cart of droppers. A separate cart held machinery and individual instruments she never wanted to learn the details of.
The street vendor dropped his winning facial expressions and panted, dripping saliva onto his chin. “Omega… omega!”
Wren shuddered back and clutched the man holding her, blinking rapidly as Vash barreled through the carts, effectively shattering a year’s worth of sales. The man collapsed to the ground.
“Don’t you fucking touch her, beta,” Vash weakly rumbled.
The hungry street vendor scurried back like Wren had done earlier, like a rat. “I did nothing!”
They continued to walk until they reached an alleyway lit by thin candles, all melting onto the cobblestone walls, yet they continued to burn. In the distance, large neon signs flashed like splintered memories. Wren had never seen such a place.
She felt pulled in like a moth to a light bulb. Hungry to see more, she flinched against Killian’s body until he dropped her to the ground. She cried out, clutching the bruised hip.
Killian took her hand and dragged her until she caught on her feet again. His eyes were cold and distant. “You’re right. We’re not safe here,” he muttered.
Clutching his gut, Vash lunged forward. A wicked grin seized his jaw. “Maybe it doesn’t matter. I will rot if we don’t get back soon.”
Indeed, his face had started to numb, but the blood had stopped running from his navel, a curious side effect from the parasite his brother fed him. His affliction might kill him sooner than was told to him.
“Hey, I said that I’d carry you,” Lucas said.
An electronic speaker near an alley storefront blared, “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 barked.
“What is this place?” Wren chirped.
With force, Lucas grabbed her and kissed her cheek. “Darling, we are in the heart of Dagon, where the dream is big.”
Wren’s body ached, but her head throbbed the most. “D-dream?”
Killian walked too close behind her for comfort. “Stop talking to her. She doesn’t understand a word we say,” he said.
They had stopped at a junction where hundreds of people, alphas and betas alike passed through to the other areas of the city. Although it wasn’t unheard of women walking on these streets, it brought a considerable amount of attention from the hungry alphas nearby, and Wren soon found herself latching onto Lucas’s chest.
The thick crowd wound down a steep staircase that led to a bustling courtyard of seedy, rundown buildings. On the corner of the enclosure, hollow-eyed alphas searched every person who passed through. Those who were unlucky were hastily beaten. Others were raped.
Above their heads flashed their insignia, the ouroboros, a feasting black mamba, and it looked ready to explode. Slowly, the image moved. The snake threaded its tongue in its throat until the words Omega Unlimited shone underneath the insignia.
Wren perked up and pointed. She saw the insignia tattoos on their forearms, shining almost as bright as the neon sign. “You’re… you’re—”
Vash grabbed hold of her waist. Coughing, he hoisted her off the ground and quickly carried her, walking fast with the pack.
“Hey!” Wren shouted.
His greasy, weathered palm closed around her mouth, leaving her gasping. “Trust me. You don’t want to know.”
They were going to torture her. She knew they would. All alphas resorted to their instincts, but these men had gone rogue. Their eyes twitched like those of hungry wolves that had just caught dinner. What was their end goal with her? Murder?
Rocking against his chest, Wren had very little doubt she had seen this place before, perhaps in a dream. Was that what Lucas had tried to explain to her minutes before?
The outside world bewildered her. She’d always thought of alphas as meticulous beings, but the fervent men she shared glances with on the street seemed barbaric and inhuman.
After walking for a considerable length of time, Lucas stopped. “Time for a check.”
Running forward, he scanned the forking alleyways before whistling the pack forward. Vash set Wren back onto her feet, but not without a quick shove. Potentially, she had seen too much. Then again, Vash likely thought her a complete fool. It was highly possible she got too swept up in the mundane glitter of lights.
When they reached a small door, Killian punched in a code and thumbprint. The door opened to darkness. They climbed the staircase toward the rooms.
I will jump from the window, Wren thought.
But once upstairs and inside the empty flat, her heart sank yet again. The only window that allowed a view of the superficial hub below was barred, and on the outside, a tapestry of rope spread from building to building, ready to catch anyone who made the mistake of canceling their season.
Lucas lightly tapped her neck. She flinched. “Go ahead. Jump,” Lucas said.
Wren brought her body to the floor, defeated. Lucas adjusted his undershirt against his strained biceps and then wagged a finger. “No sleep. We’re going to inspect you in the other room.”
Killian grabbed her neck and towed her forward. “Come.”
Wren shuffled and bit down on her battered hand as she stained her face more with tears. She was exhausted, and suddenly wished she had never left that horrible facility. Now, it was gone forever. The women would be scattered amongst the rest of the guards.
Just forgotten.
Wren swallowed, but her glands were swollen. Suddenly, her stomach felt dull heavy. Her body started to shake until she retched her liquids onto the floor.
Off-colored bits hung from her mouth. Cheeks burning, she felt completely devoid of any life at all. “Please,” she whispered. “Can I just have one night without any more prodding?”
Killian looked at the other two alphas. “Can we wait until morning, Vash?” Killian asked.
Lucas’s eyes flashed, red and scathing. He grabbed Wren and forced her onto her knees, nearly mounting her right then and there. He tore through her thin and ruined dress, sliding up her legs.
Perching his mouth against the back of her ear, he clapped his teeth together into a snarl. “Not yet ruined, but we will ruin you soon,” he grunted.
Mouth open with striking glee, Killian bucked and huffed, inhaling in rapid succession. “We can take turns bleeding her.”
“Not. Yet,” Vash said.
Clammy with sweat, Vash struggled to stand. His tongue slithered between his front teeth. “Show us your markings, or I take you now.”
They let Wren out of her bindings.
Twisting and covering her body with her birdlike hands, Wren whimpered as Vash ripped the last fragments of cloth once shielding her precious parts. His hands searched every fold and contour of her pathetic body, even the tuft of hair that formed over the mound of her clit was pressed for scars. There were no markings to be found.
“Succulent treat thinks she’s somebody else,” Lucas said. “Or else, somebody was lying to us. Eh, Vash?”
“What?” Wren choked on the stale air of the flat. “What is he saying?”
Killian kicked off his boots and grumbled, “He’s saying you’re not who we thought you were.”
Vash shuddered and reached into his bag where Wren noticed the kits for testing and scent capture. She didn’t know what they were for, but she was sure it was nothing good.
“She is,” he said.
Inching forward, Vash reached only for her to scamper away. “Rat!” he cried out.
Wren cut 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 sat the devilish slave trader, proudly staring as the town collapsed over the melted flesh and bone of the townsfolk. The flames still whipped violently against her eyelashes, and she’d forever bear the mark of him.
Now she remembered. The logo earlier. She had seen it before.
“I will show you my marking,” she whispered.
Lucas clapped his hands together and exhaled. “You will be our good girl?”
She nodded and hated that the phrase sent a small rush to her heart. None of the emotions she felt were adding up to clarity. The heaviness of the alphas’ belligerent handling and hypocritical treatment was throwing her into the throes of insanity.
Wren paused, mouth wide open for them to look. If they wanted her to speak, they would tell her, she decided.
Bending forward, Killian wrapped his thick fingers around her lips. Wren quickly closed them and turned her head. Why did they have to use force when she would have shown them in the first place?
“Open,” he said.
Suddenly, she felt the lubricious hands of her first captors open her jaw like the hinges of heaven’s gate. They broke her and managed to squeeze all of their pain into her until she gave a depraved and wet cry to be killed.
Her frantic actions had turned those men into burning pillars of punishment. Now, the memories were coming to light, but Wren still had work to do. She was too fragmented to see it all at once. Still, she tried.
Lucas roused Wren with a light smack on the back of her head. “Open the jaw bridge, bitch.”
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