Page 13 of Cursed Love

A choice. As if there’s really an option here. Either I go home with one of the men Damien picked out for me—men who are careless, cruel, and already planning what they’ll do with me—or I go with Amel. With them. With the St. Clair Valla.

Amel’s dark eyes search mine, waiting, but the weight of it all is too much. The trembling in my hands spreads, my breath catching in shallow gasps as I glance at the two Valla again. Their presence is suffocating, their size, their strength, the raw power they don’t even try to hide. They terrify me. They’re so much more than I’m used to.

But Amel is different. Calmer. Softer, even with his sharp edges. I cling to that as my last thread of hope. Amel crouches slightly, catching my gaze. “We can take you home for the night,” he says gently, “or drop you off somewhere safe. I don’t know who Damien is to you but he’s your Alpha, right? The one who’s overseeing your care?” I manage a small nod. “I won’t give you back to him. That’s not happening.”

I glance down, hoping and praying that I’m not making the wrong choice. “Promise me. Promise me you won’t hurt me.”

“I promise. We won’t hurt you Koa.”

There’s no hesitation but it’s so hard to trust his word. To trust anyone after that first heat experience, even more so now that I know who was behind it. Slowly, I nod, allowing Amel to wrap an arm around my waist and guide me to a sleek black car. There’s still chaos running around us, people leaving the venue but that’s behind us for now.

The car ride is silent, my sorry ass stuffed in the back corner, my knees hugged to my chest, as I try to make myself as small as possible. It doesn’t help. Their scents are all-consuming, thickening in this small space, making me want to submit and give myself over to men I don’t know.

Every time one of the Valla turns to glance back at me, it feels like they’re looking straight through me, peeling down every wall I’ve put up, tearing away all my defenses in just one stare. Mybody reacts before my brain can catch up, the heat flaring under my skin, making my breathing shallow and my thighs press tighter together. Slick pools in my panties, an embarrassing whine sitting at the back of my throat.

If I’m not careful, I’ll go into heat tonight and even though these men saved me from the alternative, I might have just stepped into another den of monsters. My gaze moves to Amel who’s sitting back here with me, the Alpha giving me these pitiful looks, his dark eyes full of concern, and I hate it. I hate that he can see me like this—weak, trembling, barely holding it together.

He shifts closer, his hand reaching out as he opens his arms, gesturing for me to come closer. “Koa,” he murmurs. “Come here.”

I hesitate, my body frozen in place as my mind wars with itself. But then he pats his thigh, his arms still open, and something in me gives. My body curls against his automatically as he lifts me into his lap, my head pressing into his chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat drowning out the chaos in my head.

I try so hard not to make a sound, not to embarrass myself more than I already have, but my body betrays me. The heat in my belly flares again, more slick coating my panties until it’s soaking through my dress. My entire body stiffens, my face burning with humiliation as I try to pull back, but Amel holds me steady. But that’s when my scent blooms, filling the car until two low growls pull from the front seat.

The one with hazel eyes, the one that ran after me, looks like he’s barely holding himself back, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. The blue-eyed one is just watching, that fierce look on his face making me want things no sane Omega should want. My breath catches in my throat as I try to ignore the desire running through me, Amel’s purr vibrating against me. Itsoothes the chaotic emotions and the panic bubbling up in my chest.

“Sweet girl,” Amel starts but I furiously shake my head, burying my face farther into his chest. I don’t want to hear him placate me or tell me that this is okay. It’s embarrassing as fuck and I wish a hole would open up and swallow me.

By the time the car stops, I’m on the edge of losing my mind. My impending heat is making it nearly impossible to focus, Amel having to steady me when he helps me out of the car. But the moment my feet hit the ground, I take off. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to run but I need space. A door, a wall, something to keep them out. The entrance is unlocked—probably some electronic mechanism because no one in their right mind would leave their door unlocked. I make a beeline down the hallway, eyes peeled for a bedroom, and then shut myself in it before dropping to my knees on the cold tiles.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I mumble to myself, heat tearing through my body as slick pools between my thighs. It’s dripping down my legs at this point, a cramp settling in my belly. It’s humiliating, my pussy starting to throb as it yells for relief. My Omega is chanting ‘knot’ over and over again, my instincts telling me to walk back out there and beg for one of them to fuck me. But I can’t trust myself in this state.

Slowly, I pull myself toward the bed, hoping that this is just a spike and that tomorrow I can start on a new round of meds. A whine tears from my throat as I curl into a ball, pain and pleasure surging through me until I can’t take it anymore. My hand snakes down between my thighs, my dress caught between my legs as I massage myself through my panties. It does nothing but aggravate me, the pressure nowhere near enough.

Their scents wrap around me, another gush of slick pooling beneath me as I ruck up my dress and shove two fingers up inside me. It’s a brief moment of relief before I’m trying to ridemyself to completion and can’t. “Fuck, just let me come,” I plead to myself. My words are soft, almost a plea and I’ve never heard myself so fucking needy. Well, not since that one night.

No matter what I try, I can’t come. I can’t find relief. So, I just curl up into a little ball and pray it’ll be over soon.

Hunter

I’m staring at the closed door like it’s a wall between me and the only thing that matters. My fists clench at my sides, the ache in my chest bleeding into the pit of my stomach as I breathe in the thick, sweet scent that’s seeping through the cracks. Blueberry and honey. Warm, rich, and absolutely fucking intoxicating.

She took my room.Myroom. She’s wrapped up in my scent, rolling around in it, soaking it in while she cries and suffers, and I’m stuck out here. My jaw tightens, a low growl slipping from my throat before I can stop it. She’s in pain and I can’tdo anything about it. Can’t touch her. Can’t help her. And it’s driving me insane.

I press a hand against the doorframe, trying to anchor myself, to shove back the beast that’s clawing its way to the surface. My instincts are screaming at me to go in there, to tear the door off its hinges and gather her up, to soothe her the way she needs. To knot her. To claim her.

But she doesn’t know us yet. She’s scared, trembling, crying, and the last thing she needs is for me to barge in there and make it worse. But fuck, it’s hard. Hard to stand here and listen to her soft cries, to know she’s so close yet completely out of reach.

If I had it my way, I’d have taken her right there in the parking lot. She was so soft, so pliant in Moses’ arms, her body trembling with need. She didn’t even realize how much she was calling to us, how badly we’ve wanted her from the moment we caught her scent. I would’ve dropped to my knees for her, pressed my face between her thighs, and tasted every sweet drop of slick she—

“Hunter.”

Amel’s voice cuts through the haze, pulling me back from the edge. He steps in front of me, blocking my view of the door, his gaze steady as he looks up at me. “Come to the living room,” he says, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Now.”

I grit my teeth, my jaw clenching as I glare at him. The last thing I want to do is leave this spot, to walk away from her when she’s right there. My beast roars inside me, furious at the idea of abandoning her, even for a second. “I’m not leaving her.”

“She locked the door,” Amel says calmly, trying to soften my instincts. “She needs space. She needs time. And if you stay here, staring at that door like you’re about to break it down, you’re going to scare her.”

It’s one of the few times we truly listen to Amel—when our instincts are riding us hard and only our little Alpha can bring us back from the edge. He’s not small in any part but our largerframes swallow him so easily. A small grin plays on my lips, Amel laughing as he shakes his head, dragging me into the living room. Moses is already sitting, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable, but I can see the tension in his jaw, the tightness in his shoulders. He’s holding it together, barely.

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