Page 76 of Ruled By The Alpha

Chapter 4

Imogen

They showed us across an underground parking garage and into an elevator. A real elevator with power that moved. It freaked me out. Cooper and Aiden’s jaws locked tight.

The door opened onto a corridor with dark walls and plush carpet underfoot. If I felt unsettled before, it only increased when they showed us into a room empty of furnishing and people. A single closed door on the right wall, floor-to-ceiling windows banked the wall opposite the door. Hanson informed us, "I'll be back shortly," and I walked over to stare out.

I hadn't looked at the counter in the elevator. I was too busy trying to breathe normally, but I'd guess we were at least twenty stories high. The view overlooked the river, where I could see ferry and transport boats. Beyond the river in Myra, Taylor's renamed home city, the tall skyscrapers were whole, derelict, and everything in between. Breathtaking and tragic, while it wasn't my home city, it still held a familiarity that touched nostalgia for a forgotten time.

"Been a long time since I saw a city view like this," Cooper murmured beside me, his gravel pronounced.

"What's with the empty fucking room?" Aiden asked. "Is the asshole worried we're going to mess up his shit?"

I didn't have time to answer because the door opened, and we all turned to face it.

Alphas entered, armed and wearing the familiar black and gray fatigues I associated with Taylor. They filed in, fanning out along the wall inside the door, making space for yet more to enter.

I caught a faint tendril of his scent even before Rowan entered my view, and every nerve in my body sprang to attention. Like last time, he wore understated black combat pants, and this time a dark gray T-shirt, which stretched lovingly across acres of muscle. From what I could see, he bore no weapons. Only a chunky, multi-function watch on his wrist.

At his right temple was his mark, a unique blue and black tattoo. If he claimed me, he would put that same mark on me, branding me as his so everyone would know.

I shuddered, but not entirely with loathing. How fucked up was that?

"See that we’re not disturbed," he said to Hanson at his side.

Hanson left. The armed alphas remained. As the door closed, a rattling growl rose from Aiden's chest on my left, his arm snaking possessively around my waist. Cooper settled his big hand at the back of my neck. They both inched closer. They may not be my mates, but they were staking a claim. There was little cause for a show of force within the compound. The alphas among us were already mated or my lieutenants, of which Cooper and Aiden were indisputably dominant. Did they sense, as I did, that Rowan was their superior? I'd heard it was instinctive for alphas to recognize their place within any hierarchy unless they were closely matched. Today, I acknowledged that I, too, could sense such things.

Rowan’s warm, spicy scent tickled my nose, one I'd caught a hint of that night long ago. Despite the growing tension in the room, traitorous slick gathered between my thighs. Cooper's growl rattled, and his rough fingers at my nape squeezed lightly before he leaned down for a possessive kiss. I leanedinto him, shocked by his bold move yet finding comfort in the connection. Aiden nuzzled the side of my throat, and my arousal skyrocketed.

Were they posturing before a more dominant male?

I believed they were.

If my arching like a cat in heat between them was any indication, I liked it too.

A fresh flood of pheromones hit me. Not the alphas in the room. I could only surmise that they were masked from my scent or mated, for the only response came from one alpha, Rowan.

Too soon, the connection to my alphas broke, and when I finally remembered myself and looked up, I found Rowan smirking in amusement with the game.

"Are you done now?"

That voice, one that had featured in secret erotic dreams, sent a shudder through me. How could he sound so cultured? How was it possible for a brutish, dystopian leader to present a civilized facade?

My alphas retained their hold, their hands moving restlessly against me in a continued show of possession, guarding me. Though the leader of Rivervale, I was an omega, defenseless save for the knives hidden on my person.

Why hadn’t they removed my knives? An oversight, perhaps? I didn't think Rowan, or his beta Hanson, were men who made oversights, which led me to conclude that he didn't see me as a threat, with or without the knives.

They checked both Aiden and Cooper and liberated them of weapons before we got in the SUV. Tempers were sure to flare if anyone tried to separate us. Better if no one accidentally shot or stabbed someone in the heat of the moment. Perhaps that was what this was about? A closed room, a wall of alphas… Had they decided it was too risky to separate us at Rivervale, and were about to do so now?

"Terms," Rowan said, bringing a pause to my spiraling thoughts. "Perhaps we could start the conversation with terms."

My jaw locked so tight it ached. I didn't want to portray the tremble I felt in my voice, so I nodded.

"Your community, formerly Rivervale penitentiary, and all the people within it, will be assimilated under Taylor's rule."

I'd been expecting this, had already been informed as much, but it still felt like a punch in the gut.

"We have drugs that can protect a beta against the viral change. This isn't forced, but we discourage refusal unless they are a good candidate."

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