Page 50 of Feral Alphas

He winces and I know I’ve hit a sore spot, but I don’t care. “They were all I had! Their lives have meaning, Colt! They just never got achance to live normally.” I sit up, staring him down. “If they’ve got no chance at being people, then adopt them as dogs.”

A strange look crosses his face, and I realize with inner glee that he wouldn’t look like that if it were completely impossible. If there’s even a remote possibility I can save them, I’ll grasp it with both hands.

I press my fingers flat against his chest. “You can’t let them die, Colt. Don’t omegas get what we want? I don’t need a fancy house or even a nest, but I want dogs. Those dogs. I want them to live.”

He gets such a pained look that I feel I should regret speaking, but I won’t take it back. Not ever. Colt looks over at Leslie. “Is it possible for me to have a word in private with Rose?”

Leslie stiffens, then runs a hand through her bob cut hair. “Normally no, but seeing how you’ve calmed her, I know you’re her match. This room is monitored. The video recording will still run, but I’ll switch the sound off for privacy. For ten minutes.”

Once we’re alone, Colt levers me onto the seat, and then he gets down on his knees. I watch him in stunned silence as he takes my hands.

“Rose, the truth is, I’m dirt poor. I want to give you the world, but I can’t, and I hate myself for that. The Center doesn’t know the money I had is gone; I have a tiny pack, and we have no resources.”

His brow furrows like there’s a painful history, then he plunges on. “There are some rare circumstances where a wild alpha can be rehomed in the way you’re talking about, but there’s no guarantee of recovery. It’s also expensive, not to mention the danger they pose to you.”

I hold myself rigidly, but I don’t pull my hands away. “Leslie said I get an allowance because I don’t have a family. Use that. I’ll share mymeals with them. I’ll give you sex every day. I’ll get a job, if someone will teach me what to do. Anything Colt, just save those alphas.” I don’t care if I have to throw myself on the floor to beg. “They’re living, breathing people.”

He groans and drops his head into my lap. “Please, don’t say that. You never need to trade with me for anything, especially not sex.” He cradles my thighs with his hands. “This beautiful body isn’t a tool to bargain with, sweetheart.”

A fresh batch of tears rolls down my cheeks as he sits back on his heels.

“Fuck, it breaks my heart to see you cry,” he murmurs, leaning close to kiss them away with a sigh. “I can’t make any promises to you, Rosie. None whatsoever. But you are looking at one of the few OCB special agents who is licensed to rehabilitate wild alphas. I needed to talk to you about that anyway because that’s how I met my packmate.”

My breath catches. “He used to be feral?”

He shakes his head and the bright light coming through the windows catches in his spiked ginger hair. “No, sweetheart. He was a criminal who momentarily went wild. He’s not like that anymore. I promise he’d never harm you, and in fact he’s excited to meet you. But the staff here aren’t keen on you coming to stay with me, because he used to—”

I gently touch my finger to his lips. “Don’t tell me.” I can see it hurts to talk about his packmate’s past life. “I’ll trust whatever you say. What’s his name?”

“Luka.”

I nod, liking the man’s name already. “If Luka is your family, then he’s my family too.”

Colt rewards me with the sweetest, most genuine smile I’ve seen in my life, and he kisses my hand. “If you need those alphas, I’ll do my best, but you must understand we’re fighting an uphill battle. I’ll see if we can get a grant, or maybe fundraise to keep them in a home. They may never have quality of life though.”

I shake my head stubbornly. “But they’ll have a chance. They don’t get that if they’re dead.” The word fundraise makes me vibrate with possibilities, and I already have one rather crazy idea. “And what about bringing them home?”

“It could take months before we get the paperwork and renovations sorted out and I can only rehabilitate one, sweet girl.”

I lift two fingers.

Colt’s brow furrows. “Two, why two?”

I’ve spent two days scouring the Omega Center’s scent samples, and I can point to three scents in my life that have made me come alive, body and heart. This man in front of me, the unknown apple scent in the book, and Mufasa when he crouched over me at the ring and tore a man’s fingers off. And I’m taking a guess there’s one more.

“Because two are my scent matches.”

He loses his balance and lands on his ass, color draining from his cheeks. “What did you say?”

Chapter twenty

Kye

Rain splatters against the glass, blurring the tapestry of city lights spread out below me. I rest one hand against the window, the chill burning into my palm. The one-bedroom apartment feels lonelier than ever, even though nothing’s changed inside the modern, industrial designed unit. It’s the owner who’s changed.

My phone vibrates and I tap my earpiece without checking who it is.

“What have you done now, Kye?” my sister chirps down the line. “Dad’s been drinking himself into a stupor for days.”

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