Page 18 of Consider The Lilies

“Stanley!” a man yells. “You got a minute?”

“Speak to Yuki or Bear,” the alpha—Mr. Stanley—holding me says. “I’m busy.” His voice is deep in his chest, vibrating against my body. I try to fall back asleep, but the alpha smells weird. It’s almost sharp, like nasty smoke, but there’s a trace of something familiar underneath the gross smell. I inhale deeply, trying to figure it out, but then a door shuts behind me, and everything goes quiet.

Curious, I take a peek, and a fresh wave of fear slams into me.

I’m in a bedroom.

I can’t see much—a large black desk and a fancy chandelier overhead, but it’s off. The only light seems to be coming from a lamp on the other side of the room. The walls are painted a deep red, trailing up, up, up to the highest ceiling I’ve ever seen. The alpha shifts me in his arms, and I snap my eyes shut. I pretend to be asleep as I’m placed on something soft. It must be the bed.

The plush black comforter is soft under my fingertips, but I don’t move them. Maybe if I stay completely still, he’ll go away and let me sleep. I know it’s not likely, but I can hope.

A single finger trails up the outside of my bare leg, over the hem of my shirt, grazing my hip. I tremble with fear, praying he doesn’t try to “fill me” like the button-nosed beta said he would.

Just in case, I’ll keep my mouth clamped shut tight. Then he won’t be able to fill anything.

“Are you going to keep pretending to be asleep?” The scary alpha’s deep voice rumbles above me. “What’s your name again? Stefan?” My thin dress shirt is lifted off my legs, and my face burns bright red.He’s looking at my privates!“Are you in pain or sick?” he asks as his fingers slip across my testicles.

“No!” I push his hands away, pulling my shirt back down. I curl to one side, finally allowing myself to look up at the mighty alpha above me.I should have kept my eyes shut.

He’s a monster.

The massive alpha has glowing, angry eyes and huge hands. A shadow seems to cross his face, and my heart pounds harder and harder.

Scared to look at his face for too long, I drop my gaze to his chest. His jacket and tie are gone. He’s wearing only a fancy dress shirt and slacks. The material is tight, showing off every flex and tick of his bumpy muscles. His sleeves are cuffed at his elbow, allowing me to see protruding, thick scars that litter his forearms. They look like rolling hills on his skin. How did he get them? Fighting other alphas? Or killing them? He looks like the kind of alpha who kills people.

I stare at the scars, imagining all the horrible ways he could have gotten them. And then they begin to pulse. They move like waves, growing bigger and bigger until they start bubbling. Terror cuts through me, and I snap my eyes shut.

It’s the drugs,I tell myself.They’re making me see crazy things, and when I wake up, this alpha will look charming and sweet.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with you?” Mr. Stanley growls low in his chest, making me tremble.Wait. Was it Stanley? Or Steven? Or something else completely?

My mind is too tangled up in fog and fear and that horrible medicine. Worried I’m going to call him by the wrong name, I decide to call him Mister until I can figure it out.

“Where did you come from?” Mister asks.

I shake my head, not sure how to answer that. I mean, he picked me up at that camp. Does he not remember? I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to make sense of everything, but my mind is still foggy. Slow. Will I feel like this forever? Did those drugs change me forever?

“Omega.” The scary alpha’s voice rises. “Where did you come from?” he asks again, but slower this time.

“The woods,” I whisper as sharp anger fills my nose.

“The woods?” he says flatly, clearly not happy with my answer. “Are you a woodland creature?”

I can tell by his tone that he’s mocking me.

“Were you raised by wolves?”

Does he actually want me to answer that?

I peek up at the alpha face, then quickly snap my eyes shut once again. His rage is undeniable. His mouth is set in a tight line, and the muscles in his jaw tick. He looks like I've done something to personally offend him. Overwhelmed, I tuck my chin to my chest, trying to hide my face.

“Do you not know how to answer a question?” he growls, placing one knee on the bed next to my hip, and my fear spikes.

Instinct takes over, and I twist my hips away from him. I kick out, crawling to the other side of the enormous bed. I don’t make it more than a few feet before a large hand curls around my ankle and jerks me back. My knees slip out from underneath me as I’m dragged backward. The motion makes my shirt ride up, exposing my entire lower half.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mister growls as he flips me onto my back.

He can see every inch of me.

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