“I’m not in heat yet, Alpha, but if you want to take me, you can,” he offered.
And now Ben wished he hadn’t been so quick to dismiss Sam’s offer of help. What the hell was he supposed to do with that?
“You sound like you’re in pain,” he blurted out.
The Omega stiffened at his words, body pressing closer to the floor.
“I’ll be quiet, I promise. I won’t make noise.” His words were a harsh whisper.
“That’s not what I meant,” Ben said, at a loss for how to make this okay. He leaned towards the Omega, who cringed closer to the ground.
“Look, I’m tired, you’re tired. We need to sleep. So how about I help you back into bed so you can rest?” He stood up, reaching out to grasp the Omega’s arms, ignoring how the younger wolf flinched beneath his hands, and tugged him to his feet. Leading him to the bed, he threw back the covers and guided him in, tucking the cover up around him. He should have left the room then, but instead found himself taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
“Do you feel it? Your Alpha’s death? The break of your bond?”
The Omega nodded. “My skin burns, especially my neck. And everything aches.” He rubbed at the nape of his neck, grimacing at the touch.
“Would an Alpha’s touch help?” Ben asked, holding out one hand slowly. The old stories told that the link between Alphas and Omegas wasn’t just about strength or sex, but about connection and healing.
The Omega considered his offer for a moment then rolled over so he was facing away from Ben and bent his head forward to bare his neck.
Ben took that as agreement and reached over to lay his palm flat against the nape of his neck.
The effect was almost instantaneous, a long sigh escaping the Omega as the tension in his body eased.
“That’s it,” Ben coaxed. “Just rest now. You’re safe.”
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, keeping contact with the other man. Minutes. Hours maybe. Only when he was sure the younger wolf was sleeping peacefully did he pull away and stand.
He was almost to the door when the whispered words reached him. “My name is Adam.” Words so quiet he could almost believe he’d imagined them.
“Goodnight, Adam. Sweet dreams.”
Chapter Eight
The Omega appeared in the kitchen only minutes after Ben had come downstairs. Sam was busy making breakfast.
“Morning,” Sam called cheerfully, waving a spatula at Adam.
“Good morning, Adam,” Ben added, seeing the surprise on Sam’s face at the appearance of a name for their guest.
“Morning, Alpha. Morning…” Adam stumbled when addressing Sam but the blond wolf took in it his stride.
“You can call me Sam. And he’s Ben. None of that Alpha crap. Right, Ben?”
“Right,” Ben agreed, waving the Omega into a seat at the table. “Are you hungry? You barely ate anything last night.”
Adam shrugged.
“Well, try some anyway. You won’t heal if you’re not eating.” Speaking of healing, they needed another pair of eyes to check the Omega over.
“Sam? Do you know any Pack medics who would look him over and be willing to keep it quiet?” Ben asked.
“One or two,” Sam said. “You want me to make some calls?”
“Yeah.”
Sam’s phone rang while they ate and he left the room to take the call.
“Probably his girlfriend,” Ben said when he noticed Adam tracking Sam’s departure. “He’d spend hours on the phone with her if he could.”
Sam had been dating Lianna for over a year, since shortly after he’d rescued her from a group of rogues who’d been involved in trafficking. They’d rescued six female wolves from the group, returning four to their Packs of origin and finding homes in other Packs for the last two. Something about their setup hadn’t sat right with Benjamin. They’d gone unnoticed for far too long. He’d kept his suspicions largely to himself, but Sam had come to the same conclusion he had; that the rogues had managed to do what they did because they had Pack protection.
A call from Sam brought Ben out into the corridor while Adam ate. Sam’s face was troubled.
“That was Lew. He said Eric took off late last night, didn’t tell them where he was going. Said he was talking a lot about….” Sam nodded towards the kitchen where Adam was.
“Think he’s gone home to Eagle Creek?”
“That’d be my guess. And Lew said Kyle wouldn’t shut up about the whole thing either. Said there was a lot of interest.”
“Great, so we’re going to have multiple Packs on our back over this. It would have been easier if he had been an accomplice. Nice, clean death.”
“Ben,” Sam hissed, indicating the door. Ben turned to see Adam in the doorway. There was no way he hadn’t heard them, though his head was down so Ben couldn’t see his face.
“Sorry, Adam, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Something occurred to him, a potential solution to their problem.
“Adam, do you have a Pack? From before you were mated.” That would make things much simpler, they’d just return him. But the younger wolf was shaking his head.
“Okay then,” Ben said. “I guess you’re staying with us for the moment.”
He took a step towards the Omega, which had Adam huddling against the door.
“Hey, Adam.” He gentled his voice. “Can you look at me please?” The Alpha side of him wanted to demand, close the distance between them and tug the Omega’s head up but he could just imagine the kind of response that would elicit.
The Omega peeked his head up, scared eyes watching Ben’s hands almost as much as his face.
“I’m sorry about what I said. We don’t hurt innocent people. We’re Enforcers for the Packs. We enforce Pack laws against shifters who have broken them. That’s why we killed Harvey, because he had been murdering humans and potentially risking discovery. But you weren’t his accomplice, you suffered at his hands too, so you won’t be harmed.”
“We can’t just let you leave, though,” Sam chimed in. “You’re an Omega and you don’t have the protection of a Pack. That makes you vulnerable until we find a mate for you.”
“You could mate with me.” Adam’s words were barely above a whisper as he glanced up at Ben.
“Now there’s an idea,” Sam said, raising his eyebrows at Ben.
“I… that’s not…” Ben floundered.
“I won’t be any trouble. I don’t eat much. I don’t even need a bed.” The Omega seemed to shrink as he spoke, looking younger and more vulnerable than he had only minutes before.
Ben couldn’t do more than stare. Sam, beside him, looked equally lost. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Ben reached out and drew Adam towards him, letting one hand slip behind to rest on the nape of the Omega’s neck. Adam shuddered at the touch, then relaxed against him.
“Shh. It’s okay. Look, I’m not Harvey. You’ve been through a lot. You need the safety and shelter of a Pack, I can’t give you that. For right now, you’ll stay here with us. You’ll have the run of the house, and the kitchen.”
“But you shouldn’t go outside by yourself,” Sam added, nodding in agreement. “We’ll accompany you on runs or hunts.”
Adam pulled back, looking up at Ben. “You don’t want to mate with me?”
Ben struggled to give an answer. “Adam, we’ve only just met. And I don’t have a Pack.”
“But couldn’t I help with that? I heard what Sam said last night.”
“You overheard all that from upstairs?” Ben’s tone turned serious. Had the Omega been eavesdropping on their quiet conversation?
The Omega jerked in his arms. Surprised, Ben let go, and Adam sank to his knees. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I didn’t mean to overhear.”
When Ben reached for him again, the Omega stilled beneath his hand.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not angry. You could hear us, from all the way upstairs?”
Adam nodded. “In the basement, it w
as always dark.”
It took Ben a moment to work out what Adam meant.
“I guess that would give you exceptional hearing, even for a shifter,” Sam commented lightly as they shared a look of dawning understanding at the horror of what the Omega had gone through.
“Come on, up you get,” Sam coaxed, helping the Omega to his feet. “You shouldn’t be kneeling with your injuries.”
Once Adam was on his feet, Sam led him back to the kitchen. Ben followed, taking a seat next to the Omega as he resumed eating. Adam was tense, flighty, his heart thumping in his chest. Ben felt like his own hearing was unnaturally sharpened and he couldn’t tune it out. He lifted his hand and let it rest against the back of Adam’s neck again, relieved when it seemed to help, the Omega letting out the quietest of sighs.
Across the table, Sam frowned at him.
Ben shrugged. “He’s in pain from his bond breaking. The contact seems to help.”
Sam’s frown changed to something far more calculating. Ben pointedly ignored him as he drank a mouthful of lukewarm coffee.
Chapter Nine
The Alpha didn’t want him. Not that Adam could blame Ben. He wasn’t much to look at, not anymore. Weak and scrawny and injured. He didn’t understand why Ben would sit next to him, would lend his Alpha touch to comfort him and ease the pain left by his bond being torn apart. Adam wasn’t sad Harvey was dead, but he dreaded the uncertainty. Harvey had been bad, but he was sure there was worse out there.
This Alpha didn’t seem too terrible. He was impatient, even angry at times, and his strong hands weren’t always that gentle but he’d shown Adam more consideration than Harvey ever had. But how to convince him that Adam would be a good choice for a mate, beyond the obvious? He just had to make sure he stayed with Ben until his heat came. Then Ben would be hard-pressed to resist the mating.
After breakfast, Sam brought him to the bathroom, handing him a towel. “I’d like to look over your wounds, make sure they’re healing up okay. We’ll try and get a shifter medic in to check you over, but it might take some time.”
Adam turned his back and pulled off his shirt. He heard Sam hiss through his teeth as he took in the beaten skin and felt himself flush from shame.
“I can do better. I can be obedient,” he promised the other man. Sam had Ben’s ear, had been the one to suggest they mate. Adam needed him on side.
Sam’s hand rested on his shoulder and Adam jumped.
“Easy, Adam. Look, nothing you could have done justifies how you’ve been treated. We treat our worst criminals better than Harvey treated you. While you’re here, with us, you don’t need to worry about being obedient, beyond not leaving the house by yourself.”
Adam didn’t believe that. Surely there was more?
“I can clean. And cook.” Not that Harvey ever let him.
“Great, well, we take turns with all that, so you can do your fair share if you’re up for it. But you’re not a slave or a servant.”
But Adam was. That’s what being an Omega meant, being subservient to another wolf, to an Alpha. Still, if they let him, he could prove himself in other ways.
“You’re an Alpha too, aren’t you?” he asked Sam. He could sense it, though not as strongly as with Ben.
“That’s right. Secondary lineage in my Pack. They have more than enough in their primary. And everyone knows spare Alphas make trouble.” There was bitterness in Sam’s voice as he spoke.
“So, you could mate with me?” Adam ventured. Maybe all wasn’t lost if Ben didn’t want him.
“I’m sorry, Adam. I’m promised to someone else. And even if I wasn’t, what Ben said was true. Without a Pack, without strength behind the bond, you wouldn’t be safe.”
Adam bore the disappointment as well as he could. It had been a long shot, but he was glad he’d asked.
After he showered, and dressed in the ill-fitting clothes that Sam laid out for him, he was shown around the house.
There was a large living room and a study with wall to wall bookshelves. Ben was there, sitting in a large armchair in the corner, a heavy book in his hands.
“There’s plenty of books to help you pass the time,” Sam suggested as Adam glanced around the room.
“Omegas don’t read,” he mumbled.
“Well, there’s some magazines and a pack of cards somewhere,” Sam said. Adam saw him exchange a look with Ben and ducked his head, flushing.
Ben put his book down and stood up. “I’m going out for a while,” he said and then he was gone.
Sam left Adam alone in the study, explaining he had to finish the report about Harvey for the Interpack Council. For the first few minutes, Adam just stood there, then he walked around the room, letting his fingers trail across chairs and bookshelves but not daring to touch the books.
That evening, they took Adam out for a run. It had been so long since he’d been in wolf form that the change itself was slow and painful. But it was worth it to feel the freedom of being on four legs again. Both Alphas were careful to stick close to him, shepherding him through the unfamiliar forest. When Adam made no attempt to escape from them, they relaxed and became more playful; chasing each other, following scent trails and encouraging Adam along with them.
Exhaustion caught up with him quickly and they led him back to the house, Ben staying with him as he changed back to human form and helping him into bed.
These Alphas were different. They didn’t see him the way Harvey had, the way Tobias had. And maybe that was a good thing. If only he could convince them to let him stay.
Chapter Ten
Ben spent most of his time outdoors and Sam was always on the phone or his laptop. Other than meals and going for runs, Adam felt like he rarely saw them. He found it harder to bear the boredom now that he was free to move around. It was almost like his mind had been locked away with his body. And now he was physically free, his mind was set adrift.
Again and again, he gravitated towards the study. He knew he should stay away, knew the dangers that lurked there. But with nothing else to occupy his thoughts, the books called to him.
He lasted a day and a half before he found himself standing at the shelves, fingers gliding along the spines of the books. Listening carefully for the sounds of Sam or Ben moving about, he carefully slipped one from the shelf and moved to sit in a chair. It was a paperback book with a faded cover. He’d chosen his seat carefully, so he wouldn’t be in view of the door if anyone was to come in. Besides, he’d hear them long before they reached the room.
It had been years since he’d held a book in his hand. Remembering back to those moments of excitement and joy when Tobias would be away and Jason would throw some books into them. They were always stained, with torn covers, but they’d cherished them and the heady feeling of doing something forbidden and getting away with it.
Until Tobias had found out. The cane had torn strips off both their hands that day. And Tobias had blacked out the small window and taken the light bulb, leaving them in darkness for weeks. Punishing the hands that held the books and the eyes that read the words. Tobias was traditional like that.
Adam shook off the memories of the past and opened the book up to the first page. He was rusty, his brain struggling to remember the sounds of the words. But it came back to him and he became engrossed in the story of the grizzly starship captain in a clunky old ship trying to save the galaxy from a newly discovered enemy.
The clearing of a throat was the first warning he had that he wasn’t alone. His whole body froze as a shadow fell across him, blocking the light from the window. ‘Please let it be Sam’ was the only thought his brain could muster. But the scent that met him was Ben’s. He turned his head up, feeling like a clockwork boy, each movement a small jerk.
“What are you doing?” Ben asked. His voice was quiet and it sent alarm bells ringing in Adam’s mind. Quiet meant angry, anger meant danger.
“I was just looking,” he said, belatedly wondering how long the Alpha had been standing there.
Holding out the book, he offered it back to him.
“I’m sorry, Ben,” he added.
Ben pushed the book back towards him, using one hand to open up the pages.
“Read it. Aloud.”
Shaking his head, he tried to talk his way out of it. “I can’t. Omegas don’t read. I was just looking.”
He knew his explanation wasn’t bearing weight. There were no pictures in this book and the Alpha must have seen him turning the pages, given how his face now creased in a frown.
“Read,” he demanded, folding his arms and waiting.
Adam let his eyes drop to the pages and holding the book up with shaking hands, started at the top of the page.
“Cap- Captain Laney strode onto the bridge, the first officer a step behind him…” He peeked up at the Alpha a few times as he read, hoping to be granted a reprieve. Each time he got a curt “keep going” in answer. Tears began to fall from his eyes, hitting the pages and making small splashes.
Reaching the end of the second page, he was about to turn to the next when the Alpha’s large hand closed over the book and pulled it from his grasp, holding it up above Adam. The Omega pushed himself back into the chair, curling up, hands raised to protect his head. The Alpha was strong. Stronger than Tobias, stronger than Harvey even. This beating would be bad. He pushed his face into the side of the armchair, tears wetting the fabric, and waited.
Nothing happened.
And then a hand grasped the arm covering his head and lowered it to his side. Then that same hand reached out and brushed a curl of hair from his face. He held still, determined not to fight back, but the hand continued to stroke his hair, touch gentle.
“Hey.” The Alpha’s voice was soft and quiet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Adam turned his head to see the Alpha crouched next to his chair.
“So, you can read then?”
There was no anger or censure in Ben’s voice, just curiosity.
“It’s forbidden. But Lacie taught us.”
The Alpha's Choice: Lost Omegas Book Two: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 4