by L. V. Lane
The sickness in my stomach wasn’t only from the blow, a terrible, pervasive ache also came through the bond. I had imprinted and now bonded. Leaving him was not an option.
And my baby? They would not want the baby, it would not fit with whatever plans they might have.
I couldn’t be here, I couldn’t.
I tried to climb over the Alpha on my right, as crazy as that was. And even got my hand on the door lock before he tossed me back into the seat. The open-palmed slap to my face sent me sprawling into his companion and robbed me of all thought.
By the time my wits returned, we were stopping at an automated security checkpoint that scanned the car for weapons. Soon after, the vehicle pulled under a huge roller door. Doors opened, I was dragged out and dropped onto a hard-concrete floor. We were in some kind of storage room. The nearest Alpha closed his fist around my arm and hauled me to my feet as the roller door clunked and clattered shut.
I was wild, frightened, and suddenly sure that docility would not save me from whatever cruelty was in store. Perhaps sensing my fight, the Alpha shook me. My teeth rattled with the force of it, and I thought he might shake me apart before a barked order brought it to an end.
That voice; I wished I hadn’t recognized that voice.
Blood leaked from my nose, and I wiped it with the back of my hand. My ability to think coherently once more was gone, buried under a crippling fear.
The hand on my arm disappeared.
“Madelyn.” A big hand cupped my bruised cheek, and I flinched away. I had never liked Dino’s scent. Tolerated it at best, but now it made me want to hurl.
“His stench is all over you. Why did I wait so long, hmm?” His thumb rubbed over my bruised cheek in a way he probably thought was soothing, but it only exacerbated the pain. He sighed heavily as he tugged at the collar of my t-shirt. His eyes hardened as they settled on the bites that covered my throat.
Seeing the glint of a knife, I tried to jerk back, but he gripped my throat in one hand and sliced straight through my top. Using the tip, he parted the flapping material and growled.
I cowered under his scrutiny, terrified of what he would do next.
“The bastard likes to mark his property.” His smile was cold. I was relieved when he returned the knife to his belt. “Should’ve come to me, where you belonged. I take care of my Omegas, don’t let the Alphas who use them knock them around. Killing him won’t be easy, and no one wants to fuck a bonded Omega who’s grieving—don’t have the patience for that shit myself.”
Another piece of my soul crumbled away. Bad enough that I thought he had wanted me for himself, but the reality of how he intended to earn his money back was a million times worse.
“Her bonding won’t matter on Lyus.” The new voice was female, and her Alpha scent washed over me as she neared. “The scum there don’t know what a willing Omega feels like,” she said, her voice as devoid of emotion as she was. “But it’s doubtful she would survive long there anyway.”
Lucian had talked of his former home, Lyus, and although his exact words eluded me, I remembered him calling it savage.
Releasing my throat, Dino took a slow step back.
The female Alpha who entered my view was tall and striking. Her dark hair was cut military short, although she wore a smart business suit. Her cold eyes inspected me. “Pregnant,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “Maybe we do need to eliminate her mate.”
I shivered and instinctively purred like that might sooth the dreadful Alphas who surrounded me. I could bear the thought of Lucian's death no easier than the threat to my unborn child.
“We’ve yet to successfully breed within our Alpha program. We’ll delay take off until he is dealt with. She won’t bond with another while he lives. Once he is dead, she should bond easily to an Alpha of our choosing. See how she purrs for us. Yes, she will adapt.”
Her words triggered all kinds of odd warnings, but I couldn’t piece them together into anything coherent.
“I can’t take him out on my own,” Dino said, turning to face the woman who stood on par with his height. “You willing to help?”
Her eyes turned calculating.
No, no, no!
“The Uncorrupted can’t be seen to play a direct role on Chimera,” the Alpha female said. “But we have a few associates we can call on. Hold her here as bait. We’ll take the others to the ship ready for departure.”
My head started spinning. My terror increased.
She was our enemy, part of the Uncorrupted, and Dino was helping her.
The world was moving in slow motion, and it defied all my attempts to speed it up, but finally, we were moving—it was time.
Ethan was the master of collecting favors, and had it been any other occasion, I might have racked up another debt. But Ethan had also misplaced his Omega and was busy with his own shit.
The notorious Alpha wasn’t the only reason I’d gotten where I was today. People did not necessarily owe me favors—but they did owe me, and today I was collecting.
As soon as Kais told me who Dino was partnering with, I’d gotten Jordan and Kade to organize a team. Discovering that he also had connections to the infamous dive bar by the name of Reapers Revenge, had sealed the deal.
“We’re gonna need weapons to get Mads out,” Kais said as we exited the automated security checkpoint. Given the transformation his body had gone through, I was impressed that he was walking, never mind getting ready to take on Dino.
“Call her that nickname again in my presence, and I will off your insolent ass,” I growled, because as impressed as I was with his transition into a hulking Alpha with enough bulk to rival Kade, he was still a mouthy punk…and that nickname really wound me up.
“What the fuck?” He scowled at me. “Insolent? What, you eat a dictionary for breakfast? Who uses the word insolent in the same sentence as the threat to kill someone? You’re not better than me, asshole! Delusions of fucking grandeur.”
His bold statement lost its impact as he tripped on a rough patch of paving—he wasn’t too stable on his feet yet.
Kade chuckled. “Too much mouth, not enough focus on your boat sized feet.”
Kais offered a sheepish grin—the damn kid was growing on me.
Chimera’s central cargo docks covered an area of several square miles. Although the main cargo processing area was fully automated, a sprawling annex complex handled the smaller, ad-hoc shipments, and my business had an office here.
Today, it wasn’t my smart business side of the docks I headed for, but the workshops adjoining the container stores. An incident two years ago had seen dock security ramped up to an insane level—even I couldn’t get weapons inside.
But I knew where I could get the next best thing.
“Lucian!” The grizzly Alpha greeted me with a firm back slap. Owen was a beast of a man with a thick brown beard, tan skin, and a full head of dreads that reached as far as his shoulders. I’d met him in the military where he’d been an engineer. Not a typical Alpha gig, but he was built like a bear and had a temper to match. The army had soon ascertained that keeping him away from the front line was in their best interests.
He’d established a small construction company after leaving the military and had successfully bid for the gig here at the docks. A while back, he’d mentioned that he was getting the run-in with a local gang.
I was happy to step on a few cockroaches to help him out.
“I’ve got everything ready. Told my boys about your Omega being taken.” Owen thumbed over his shoulder, where his construction team wore grim expressions that told me they were also in. “And soon as the boys heard, they were more than happy to help out.”
I grinned as I took in the burly Betas holding their tool-weapon of choice. “Good. She’s being held at a bar by the name of Reapers Revenge. You know the place?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “It’s got a reputation. Ties with that terrorist group Salvation.”
I shared a look with Jordan, whose fac
e was stony even for him. If Dino was playing with Salvation, that explained how they’d gotten past Rhett’s tighter than tight security.
We wasted no more time. Changed into the construction worker's clothing and gathered our tool-weapons from the stores. The arm length wrench in my right hand felt solid and had to weigh twenty pounds—I intended to get it bloody.
My temper was as infamous as I was—no one wanted to see the results when it escaped my tight control. But with every step I took, I felt it slipping from my hold.
As the cultural capital, Chimera received regular flights delivering goods from the farthest reaches of the Empire. It was busy—it was ever busy here. But as if sensing an approaching storm, the crowds parted for us. I wished Rhett was on point for this, but he was in recovery. The doctor had sedated him…for his own good because he was talking shit about helping.
On this side of the docks, the food courts, bars, entertainment, and betting venues had taken on a seedy vibe over time. We came to a collective stop at the entrance. Jordan shrugged.
“Time to kick some ass,” Kade quipped before pushing open the door and stalking in.
I’d been in my share of dive bars; on Lyus, this was the norm, but this place was a special kind of dump. Mismatched paneling, loose cables, broken, blinking neon lights. Not a single table, chair or bar stool matched. My feet stuck to the floor as we shouldered our way in between deadbeat dock workers and mouthy shipment personnel.
“What a fucking security nightmare!” I said.
“Tell me about it,” Jordan said with a roll of his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m back in this cesspit again.”
The man behind the bar did a double-take as his eyes alighted on me…and his arm reached under the counter. My bulky pockets were filled with a collection of screwdrivers.
I’d been quite the master of knives back in my younger days on Lyus. The screwdriver whistled through the air as it left my fingertips…and embedded in the side of his neck. The hand that had been reaching clasped his throat. A gurgled screech left his lips, and his eyes widened in terror.
A heartbeat later, the room degenerated into chaos. Patrons fled, we stormed through to the back.
A warren of rooms greeted us, along with Dino’s mutts.
I didn’t try to control my fury anymore. I let the demon out. The heavy wretch became an instrument of destruction, and I wielded it with joy.
I crouched in the corner behind a table, trying to become as small as I possibly could. The bat lay on the table, still stained with Rhett’s blood, and was a beacon of terror in my mind.
Dino was talking on his communicator, and his voice, fast and vicious, perversely delighted me. He was asking for backup; I got the impression it was not coming.
Lucian was here, I could feel his fury like a black oil choking light and life from any who stood in his way.
He was coming for me.
Beyond the closed door, the sounds of death ensued. Tormented screams and the heavy thuds of things being destroyed grew ever closer.
Dark eyes alighted on me, and Dino’s lips twisted into a sneer as he stalked toward me. Fingers bruising my arm, he dragged me out of my fake safety. I batted at him—he shook me, and heedless to my struggle hauled me over the desk.
I kicked, fought, screamed, and raked anywhere I could find with my nails. Lucian was near, and I could not be taken away.
His palm connecting with the side of my face took breath and thought away, the crash of the door flying open brought them rushing back. Discarding me, Dino took up the blood-crusted bat that lay on the table.
Lucian stood in the open doorway like a dark specter come to collect souls. Blood splattered over his dark cargo pants and heavy work-shirt. There was a massive wrench in his right hand—blood dripped from the tip.
His eyes didn’t stray from Dino, but his presence battered at our connection. Hide!
I obeyed without question, stumbling toward the corner.
Dino roared, and the Alpha’s cry set a wild thump to my heart. He was bigger and stronger than Lucian. Where were the rest of his men?
Amusement trickled through the thread.
Lucian’s arm drew back and forward so quickly the wrench became a blur as it sailed through the air. It slammed into Dino’s chest, sending him crashing into the wall. Lucian was upon him before he crumpled. Taking Dino’s head in both hands, he slammed the Alpha’s dazed head into the rough concrete floor.
A dull thud was accompanied by Dino’s scream.
The second bang produced a garbled grunt.
The third—silence.
Not yet satisfied, he snatched up the fallen wrench in both hands and smashed the end over the back of Dino’s head. The crack was loud and horrifying. The wrench was tossed aside as Lucian stood and slammed the heel of his boot down onto Dino’s lifeless skull.
It shattered, and blood and bone splattered over the nearby floor.
Lucian’s face swung my way, and his emotions battered at me as his slow, predatory steps brought him to me.
Intense, endless, and ruthless possession.
My chest rattled with a manic purr as I sought to soothe the aggressive Alpha.
Gripping the back of my neck, he mashed my face into his chest.
“Breathe,” he commanded, and I did, sucking great, heady, gulps of his pheromones into my lungs. My small hands grew impatient as they clutched. I whimpered.
Hoisting me into his arms, he understood that I needed more. I wrapped arms and legs around him, pressed my nose against his throat…and bit. Tasting blood, I ground my teeth harder. Lucian was mine and I needed to mark him as such.
He cupped the back of my neck, pressing me deeper, half suffocating me, and my purr became a desperate rattle.
He growled, low and deep beside my ear, and my body answered the call, back arching and slick gathering in anticipation. His knees bent, taking me down onto the floor. My torn t-shirt and bra were ripped over my head, and his lips closed over the pebbled peak of my nipple as cold concrete scraped against my back.
He bit, then sucked hard, producing a ripple of pleasure that plunged from my nipple to my clit. His hands between us tugged my zipper down and stripped me with systematic efficiency. I felt his skin against mine as he shucked his pants far enough to free his cock.
With a savage growl, and rough hands holding me still, he filled me in a single thrust. His mouth covered mine, swallowing my scream. The knot locked instantly, and his mouth lowered to my throat, and he bit deep as his cum bathed the entrance to my womb. The pain of his marking was as welcome as his scent and his thick cock filling my emptiness.
His emotion rolled over me. I was where I belonged, safe with him—always safe.
Perfect. I was perfect to him, me, the baby that had yet to be born, we were the center of his world.
Utterly perfect.
The pleasure swamped me. His pleasure, my pleasure—it rose like an incoming tide, slow, inescapable. Lifting and lifting, and although I thought I should tumble over, I still rose.
The sounds of my heart beating thundered through my ears.
His lips lifted from my throat and pressed kisses over the shell of my ear, heated breath that cast an otherworldly spell.
Perfect.
Heart surging to a wild tattoo, I finally came.
My moan was animal and steeped with rapture. His cock jerked inside me under the fierce rhythmic milking of muscles. There was nowhere that I did not feel him. Cold concrete scraped again as he shifted over me, forcing his cock deeper, and taking me higher still.
Mine.
The thought was pervasive, all-consuming—Mine too.
I had no recollection of how I came to be on his lap in the back of the ground transport, but the rain once more made patterns against the windows. Only this time, the heavenly scent of my Alpha surrounded me. His chest was naked and I now wore his shirt.
His cock still filled me, his trousers undone, and his arms banded around me, to hold my face p
ressed against his chest.
“Rest, love.” The sound of his voice—this smooth version of him soothed me, and I sniffed more of the heady scent in. Rolling his hips as he gripped my waist, he stuffed me deeper onto his knot.
Warmth bloomed in the center of my chest and my stomach tumbled over. I loved this version of him, the gentle, wicked Alpha.
But if I loved this version, I must also acknowledge the other side of him, the ruthless savage who destroyed another Alpha to save me.
His chest offered that soothing rumble, and I sank into peace.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
SUMMERS COULD BE scorching in Chimera, and despite the onset of evening, it remained a hot and sticky mess. An overgrown jasmine bush poked through a window, and although the blooms were past their best, the sweet scent permeated the air.
I lit a cigar and sucked in a heady shot of nicotine. Holding it in my lungs, I savored the slight rush before releasing it in a slow exhale.
I nudged my head at Jordan. “Wake the bitch up.”
The abandoned warehouse made for a grim setting. Most of the windows had been shattered, and glass layered the dusty floor and scattered junk. There was no homeless man when we arrived today, but perhaps the burnt stain from one of Dino’s mutts had persuaded him to relocate.
A female Beta had been chained to a metal girder. She wasn’t hurt, although the smeared make-up and disheveled clothing suggested she’d been handled without care. It had taken us a while to track her, but I was a man of means, and I paid back those who crossed me. It didn’t matter who they were, man or woman, dynamic or non-dynamic. This bitch had handed my Omega off to the Uncorrupted. She was lucky I wasn’t dousing her in fuel and turning her crispy.
The thought had crossed my mind, but there were worse outcomes than dying—I smirked.
Jordan popped a revive capsule under her nose, and she came to. Her squeal was muffled behind the gag as she twitched on the chain, setting her body spinning. Her shoes had been lost somewhere along the way, and her naked toes danced over the gritty floor as she sought to find purchase.