Page 6 of Feral Alphas

The driver whistles under his breath. “That oughta do it.”

It’s just a casual comment for them, but they’re talking about my life, built on a house of cards and lies that crumble with every second that passes. My heats have been suppressed? How could I never realize? O-18 was right after all. I suck my lip between my teeth and press down, willing tears not to fall.

Shadows interspersed with limp yellow lighting flicker like a crazed carousel for several minutes before we pass through a gateway that slides shut the moment we’re through, and I blink in surprise to see it’s camouflaged like the side of the hill. I scoot across the backseat and glue my nose to the window, taking my first look at the outside world.

“What’s up with her?” the driver asks.

Petrov scoffs. “Probably never seen grass and trees before.”

He’s not wrong. “Can I put the window down?” I ask, wanting to be as close as possible to all the beauty I’ve only experienced through screens. Yeah, my mind and heart are a mess, but the rolling hills covered in trees with ferns and bushes below capture all my focus.

The glass slides down halfway, and a cold breeze slaps into my face, bringing me a thousand new scents. I lift my nose, savoring it.

“Another dog for the kennel,” the driver says with a laugh, but I ignore him. Everything is new and I plan to enjoy it while I can, even if my world is collapsing.

When I get a crick in my neck, I sit back to rub it, eying the two men in the car. “Where are you taking me?” I demand.

Petrov smiles and scratches at his stubbly beard. “You’ll find out. It’s more fun that way.”

I curl my hands into fists but there’s nothing I can do. The car’s moving so fast I’d die if I tried to throw myself out, and there’s nosign of civilization around here. Both men have veiny muscles stretching their shirts, and old white scars cover their hands and wrists like they’re used to putting up a good fight.

We drive for so long I doze off, scrunched up against the edge of the door and the backseat, only waking when I feel the car slow down. Daylight fades and obelisks of towering steel and concrete replace the living trees and fields, and everywhere I look crowds of people bustle on the sidewalks, thick as the cars zooming through the streets.

“Welcome to Laversham City, Rose.” Petrov winks at me. “Enjoy the view of the top, because it’s probably the only look you’ll get.”

I frown, looking around the towering buildings. “The top of what?”

He doesn’t respond as the car turns away from the high-rise skyscrapers and toward an industrial zone, the acrid smog biting my nose hard enough for me to cover it. A cement mixer pulls out of a fenced yard, and a crane towers over a half-done block of steel and brick. I’ve only ever seen this sort of thing in movies before today. The driver rolls up the window and then the car tilts forward down a rampway into darkness.

He puts his window down long enough to wave a pass at a rusted box beside the car as he inches past, and the concrete wall at the end of an abandoned car park slides open to reveal another tunnel. My heartbeat pounds loudly in my ears as we idle into the dark recess.

Petrov watches me with a smirk, the shadows obscuring the upper half of his face. “These are the blacklands, omega—Laversham’s underworld. Home of Grom Kennels, the country’s finest fighting mutts.”

Those words sink through my skin, bitterly cold and dark as the barely-lit tunnel. The chill stays with me as we turn into yet another tunnel and park in a kind of garage. The heavy whir of industrial fans sounds overhead, dragging gusts of air through the underground maze.

The moment Petrov tugs me from the car, I gag on the rancid air, thick with powerful scents. Petrov laughs at me and lifts his nose. “I can barely smell it, but it must be overwhelming for you.”

I want to jerk free and run as far away as I can get, but a shrill sound layered under the whirring fans catches in my ears and I hesitate long enough for Petrov to drag me inside the building. The chorus of growls and snarls grows louder as he shuts the door, locking us inside this buried bunker.

Petrov snorts and flips on a light. “Meet the dogs. They’re going to love you.”

All the air leaves my chest as I stare down the double row of barred cells, each filled with a muscled, naked man who grips the bars, straining to see us. Noses lift in the air as the angry chorus grows wilder, and I draw back as the brown-haired one closest to me froths at the mouth.

Further down the line, a man with bleached-hair strains up against his bars, eyeing me with a narrowed gaze. The violent intensity in his look sends a strange shiver down my spine.

Instinct and the thick musk in the air click together. Every single one of these caged men are alphas.

Chapter three

Rose

I back away from the double row of caged men, running into Petrov’s chest. He laughs darkly. “What’s the matter, little Rose? Aren’t you attracted to them? They’re our pride and joy.” His hands dig into my shoulders. “The Grom alphas are some of the best in the circuit, and with you being our little ace up the sleeve, they’re about to become the champions.”

A terrified whine slips through my throat, and I slap my hands over my mouth as every alpha silences for a moment, before rattling the bars holding them back. Their eyes dig into me in a predatory way which sends my heartrate spiking.

The frothing one closest to me lets out a howl that’s definitely more animal than human, and they don’t seem to care one bit that they’re naked in front of other people. The only silent alpha is the one with bleached hair, who backs away from the bars at the sound of my voice.

“What are they?” I murmur, repulsed but unable to drag my gaze away.

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