How could I be matched to a god?
And Dan was right. There was no scent exchange. But… he had said I was his, and somehow, that was the truth, too.
Maybe he didn’t mean a match, maybe he just meant he was choosing to claim me like Dan never had.
The impossibility of that tripped me up. It was the thing I’d never had.
My stomach twisted. Dan swore I was worthless, even for an Omega, and… My lip trembled and I bit it hard.
And I’d believed him…
Oh… we’ve been so stupid, Bunny…
I’d failed before I’d ever even met him. I was used up and broken and worthless, and I’d believed them when they said I could never have a chance at more.
My failure.
Dan’s jaw ticked as he watched, clearly unsure.
“Have they had you?” the god asked.
“Yes.” The word slipped out before I could stop it. Dan’s eyes burned, but I didn’t care. He didn’t understand. He wasn’t the most frightening thing in the world anymore.
I’d come to hate any Alpha who had touched me without claim, and now I knew why—I knew what it was I had been waiting for.
We should have done more, Bunny.
Fought harder.
Kept myself for him…
He beckoned me, and I stumbled to my feet, trying desperately to figure out where to cast my eyes now he was so near. I was small, even for an Omega, and this close my gaze fell easily along the top of his shirt and the few buttons undone to reveal that porcelain skin. I traced up past the ridges of his collarbones, the lean muscle along his neck—and this sight of that flesh made my stomach churn as I failed to stop my imaginings of what it would be like to sink my teeth in.
I’dneverwanted to bite an Alpha before.
In a daring moment, I glanced at his face, not ready for how flawless it was, even up close. Dan and his pack weren’t Alphas any Omega would want to draw, even from a distance, but they got worse up close, with unkempt stubble, clammy skin after too much drinking, or foul breath mixing with their horrible scents.
But not my god Alpha. He was as perfect—I almost reached out and cupped his cheek, needing to be closer.
Fuck.
I had to get a hold of myself.
I dropped my eyes, tracing the cut of his pants, and the sharp black of his oxfords instead. But I knew the moment he exhaled, as if that very movement was permission to draw my own breath. Just as I knew when he took another, I could release mine.
“What do you think, Omega?” the god asked me. “Are you mine?”
My gaze slid to Dan for a brief second, knowing my answer, and knowing what it would cost me, but a whine slipped out as his fist closed in my hair. He dragged my gaze up. “Are you looking at anotherAlpha for permission?—”
“I’m yours.” My eyes darted about, knowing I shouldn’t hold his gaze. “Completely.” The answer was easy and my head tilted on instinct, even in his grip.
To… reveal my neck.
No Alpha had ever drawn that need from me. I hadn’t even known those instincts lurked anywhere at all…
It wasn’t deference that had caused me to look at Dan. It was the stark realisation that when I gave my answer, it would mean my end.
Painful and slow, Dan would beat me tonight until my breath gave out, just like he had beaten Penny last year for trying to get away when she was going into heat.