Page 24 of Feral Alphas

“So I’ve heard.” I’ve seen the TV ads hawking supposedly famous omegas’ scents, guaranteed to ‘support’ alphas through their ruts. The high prices always shocked me.

Groman nods and takes the bottle back. “It’s quite valuable on the black market. Something I’m considering expanding into since your heat scent is intoxicating.”

I touch my fingers to my collarbone instinctively, where our glands lie under the skin. “But you can’t register my scent, right?”

He snaps his fingers and points my way. “See, I knew you were a clever girl.”

“And what if I refuse?” I don’t even know how they get that omega scent loaded into a carrier oil, but the idea of selling my scentfor this man’s benefit repulses me. It’s already done enough damage to those feral alphas.

The kennel boss shrugs. “Then I’ll take it anyway and you’ll remain living in the cages with the dogs. But—” he pokes his fork at me, “if you agree to work with me without fighting it, then you’ll get something more like this.” He spreads his hands, indicating the room.

Although the room is beautiful, it feels strangely alien after so much time spent in a tiny cell. “I’ll have to think about it.”

“Suit yourself.” He gets up and squats beside the couch. Metal clinks and suddenly something cold closes around my ankle as he locks a cuff around my foot. I squeak in shock as he dumps loops of chain onto the table. “The chain’s long enough to reach the bathroom, so go wash up and then get into bed. Tomorrow’s a big day and you’ll need your rest.”

Like hell I will, but for now I’ll play along.

As I climb between the chilly sheets I wonder if there are sharp knives in the kitchen drawer and whether I could drive one through Groman’s throat, like a feral alpha would. But then I’d be stuck in here on a chain until Petrov came to get me, and he’d kill me, or worse.

The hum of car engines on the street below sounds foreign, and as I hug a pillow into my chest, I realize I’ve grown used to falling asleep to the snuffles and snores of the fighters over the past few weeks. An hour later, Groman slips into the bed next to me, and I lie stiff as a rod until I hear him fall asleep.

I don’t pose enough of a threat for him to worry about falling asleep, which is deflating in itself. I squeeze my eyes shut and pretend the car noises are snores, and gradually my busy mind quiets.

Groman places two familiar tablets on the table between the lunch plates and smirks at me as I clench my fists. “Now I’m pretty sure you have all sorts of wild ideas going on in that pretty head of yours but let me ask you one question. What happens to the alphas if you don’t take these?”

Bitter adrenaline races through my blood as that one simple question short circuits all my plans.

He nods knowingly. “Today is the championship match, where the best fighters in the world come together. All those dogs are going to face the toughest opponents they’ve seen all year, and their odds are fifty-fifty at best.” He pushes the tablets closer to me. “But juiced up on your heat scent, those odds climb to seventy or eighty percent. You want to take the risk and let them die?”

It’s such a low blow that tears choke my throat. My freedom weighed in the balance against their lives, and I’m the one making the decision.

Not just my freedom, because there’s no forgetting Groman’s promise to fuck me through my heat. Will I have any chance of escaping when my body’s on fire like it was during my pre-heat?

I glare at him. “I hate you!”

He laughs. “Hate away, little omega. Your hatred isn’t going to give those dogs a fighting chance.”

No, my answer is no. But then Mufasa comes to mind and my resistance caves. He didn’t have a strong win last time and I couldn’t bear for him not to return from that arena.

Numbly I reach forward and pop the pills into my mouth. Water splashes down my chin as I lift the nearby bottle to my quivering lips. Groman’s brows jump with question, and I open my mouth wide to prove I swallowed them.

“Good girl,” he says, spoiling the phrase every omega wants to hear. He unlocks the shackle around my ankle. “There’s a bag in the closet with your clothes. Get dressed and we’ll go see the dogs.”

I stumble to the closet beside the bed and take the black bag to the bathroom, my breath catching as I pull out the tiny piece of sequined material. The feral alphas might be sacrifices to the blood-thirsty masses, but this outfit leaves no doubt that I’m a sacrifice to lust.

A whine catches in my throat as I slip the strap around the back of my neck and tug the drapes down over my chest. The pale salmon color reminds me of the blood-stained flooring at the home arena. After I shimmy into the skintight glossy black shorts, I review myself in the mirror, barely recognizing my own form. My breasts half spill out of the backless, plunging top and I can see my pussy folds in the fabric clinging to my thighs.

I suck in a deep breath.

Well, if I’m going down, I might as well do it in style, so I finger-comb my lank blond hair and dampen it before braiding it across the back of my head. My arms ache by the time I’m done, just as Groman bangs on the door, startling me.

He whistles as I sidle out. “Now you look like a real omega.” It’s true in the sense that I’ve seen so many omegas float down the red carpet in glittering outfits, with half their bodies on display, and I envied their grace. But I thought I’d get to do that sort of thing with my own pack, not this sorry excuse of a criminal.

“Let’s go,” I say, striding to the door. Something new and potent washes over me, an anger I didn’t know I was capable of feeling.

Before opening the door, he drops his coat around me, a sly grin on his face. “Weather’s cooling these days.” His alpha scent closes in as he presses on my shoulders, and I shudder.

Groman touches his scratchy lips against the back of my neck. “Oh, and Rose, keep this in mind. When we come back, I’m going to tear those clothes off you and destroy that bed fucking you through your heat. Something to look forward to.”

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