Page 2 of Absolute Devotion

A chuckle comes through the earpiece. There’s some shuffling and then a whine before Joel starts humming. A smile spreads across my lips as I try to guess which one of my nephews is the one keeping everyone up in the house. Probably Leo. “Leo’s been a bit fussy. I offered to take him and then I saw you read my messages. Nala, I hate that you’re in that apartment all alone. You didn’t need to move out. There’s more than enough room here. I just got you back and now I feel like you’re pulling away.”

Tears fill my eyes as I try to keep from letting my emotions surface. Joel only remembers me as the little girl who idolized him at home—he has no idea what I went through, the nights I spent hating my designation, and the days I wished someone would just end my suffering. Joel and his pack believe no one touched me at the academy. They would be right. Unfortunately, the leering and reaching and putting me on display against my will while they find their release was so much worse.

I swallow a whine as I curl into myself tighter, ignoring the heat in the pit of my belly. Images plague me every night of those Alphas, pleasuring themselves, yelling obscene things as they all promised me a future I wouldn’t be able to resist. All the while I just stood there, hoping and praying the night would end. Every Saturday for three years, I was dragged into that room to be their object for the evening. Saying no was worse than being objectified as my scent burst through the room.

I can still hear their grunts and growls and pleasured sighs as they spilled their release at the edge of my cage until a step in any direction would coat my bare feet in a sea of cum. Nothing rids me of those moments.Nothing.It's like I never leftthe academy, like there's no safe place regardless of how much distance I put between myself and that place.

“Nala, I know you need time but you don’t have much of it. Dr. Ashford says you’re due for a heat at any moment.”

Fuck, I forgot I was still on the phone. I scrunch my eyes shut, trying to block out the doctor appointment Kieran coaxed me into going to. I thought it had been for my baby nephews and instead found myself under the microscope. “I know,” I mumble. Calling the rent-an-Alpha service is my best bet or asking Dr. Ashford if he’ll sedate me. “I’ll figure it out.” My thoughts move to Xylo’s brother, Bear, who’s been unofficially tasked as my protective detail. I've asked what his real role is and the brothers keep saying they just want to make sure that I'm safe.

Tense laughter spills through the phone. “Nala, you don’t have to do this alone. You have three very willing individuals hovering around you, all eager to be noticed and accepted by you. Please tell me you aren’t planning to use one of those services?”

My nose turns up at the way Joel says that even if I know he’s saying it out of love. “I don’t have three. Bear is just protecting me.” Even as the words tumble from my lips, I know that isn’t true. A tendril of jealousy runs through me at the thought of anyone taking that man from my side. “And it doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t work anyway.”

“Just think about it. You deserve happiness just as much as everyone else if not more. Get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

I hang up without answering, my body growing hot as I look up the number for the local rent-an-Alpha service, praying that they service this area. “Hello?”

“You’ve reached the Ohio Rent-an-Alpha service. May I ask who’s calling and what services you need?”

I run through the same requirements I always give; a soft Alpha, my address, the size of my room, and my limits. When I get to my personal details, I get the same response I always do.

“21? That’s really young, Ms. Guthrie. Let me refer you to the Omega Center in Havens Creek, Ohio, about twenty minutes from where you are. I’m sure they’ll have some scent cards that you’d find interesting. You’re so young and you have your entire life—”Click.

I don’t need a fucking pack. I need to get through this heat without being attacked by an Alpha or stuffed in a cage with slick running down my legs as they get off on my scent. My next call will be to Dr. Ashford tomorrow morning to see if he’ll sedate me for the next few days. Even as that thought runs through my head, my Omega pines for the three that have situated themselves around me.

I can’t have them but my Omega hasn’t gotten the fucking memo.

two

ZAHRIA

I stare at the brownish liquid in my mug, grimacing at how long it’s been sitting there. The milk has started to separate from the mixture, little grease spots bubbling along the time which just tells me how cheap the coffee brand Xylo swiped from the store is. Unable to sleep, I thought a good dose of caffeine and reviewing case files would tear my thoughts from the beautiful Omega who's captured my attention. A few weeks ago, I had been stuck in the dreary woods of Grimsby, Vermont and now I’m trying to find my footing in Emsboro, Ohio, across the street from the pack that brought us all together.

Had Michael, a rogue agent of POCA, stopped being a shit in Grimsby after being locked up, I would have never found myself here, pining over a pair of bold green eyes and the most precious smile in the entire world. Nala is both fierce and timid, wrapped up in a little ball of uncertainty. The world dealt her a bad hand, Nala believing that she will be better off on her own than in thecomfort of my arms. Not that I have given her much to work with.

A heavy sigh falls from my lips as I grab the mug and dump it in the sink, opting to make a fresh pot. It’s just past three am and there’s no use trying to go back to bed now. Heavy steps slap against the tile into the kitchen, a grouchy Beta glaring at me as he tries to wake up. His mussed dirty blond hair hangs over his eyes, his jaw pulled tight in annoyance that I left the bed. “What are you doing awake?” Xylo muses as he stalks over to me and wraps his arms around my waist before pulling me into his chest.

At a few inches over five feet, Xylo towers over my small form. Most people think he’s the Alpha in this strange relationship and they’d be even more convinced if they knew he was the dominant one in the bedroom. I enjoy my day job as a detective, commanding respect and obedience but at home? I gladly hand that task over to Xylo.

He runs his nose along the top of my head, watching intently as I prepare another pot. “Zahria, why are you up right now? Couldn’t sleep?”

Xylo knows why I’m awake. It’s the same reason he’s awake.Nala. The problem is that we can’t do anything about it because she’s not ready for what we have to offer. Whatever happened at the academy she left scarred her. She flinches when she doesn’t think we’re watching, her eyes wide as they search for any possible threats. The few times she’s allowed me to sit on her bed and pull her close are moments I constantly replay in my head.

It isn’t enough but if we push, we’ll lose her.

“Just thinking about the task force Chief Hart is setting up,” I lie. As important as this investigation is, my thoughts are firmly focused on Nala and making sure she’s safe. An organization tasked with stealing prized or unconventional Omegas has been slowly unraveling but there are still a few stragglers, Alphas that need to be apprehended before anyone else is hurt. Chief Hartthought it best that he create a fact-finding task force comprised of individuals with the most experience to locate the last few.

Unfortunately, we’re still waiting in the wind two weeks after Michael was killed by the very Omega he was hunting. A chuckle falls from my lips at the irony of Kieran tearing apart the man of his nightmares. Very few victims get the chance to stand up to their abusers. Hell, even Nala swung a pan at the man’s head, protecting her nephews—Kieran’s sons. She made me so fucking proud and I still can’t even call her mine.

“Bullshit,” Xylo barks out, leaning back against the corner. He folds his arms across his chest, the ink covering his left side rippling as his muscles constrict and flex. “She’ll be okay. Bear is looking after her.” He throws me a sloppy smile and I scowl in response.

Xylo’s brother is an enigma at best, a P.I. that sings to his own tune and an Alpha that I’ve only actually seen a few times. He prefers his silence but apparently, he’s been watching out for Nala and Kieran the last two weeks in the shadows. Or, however he does it. “Please tell me that Bear has at least introduced himself to Nala? Xylo, she’s fucking skittish as it is, and sticking some unknown detail on her is going to terrify her.”

He merely shrugs, reaching over to drag me into his chest again. “They’ve met.”

I angle my chin against his chest and narrow my gaze up at him. “Xylo.”

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