Page 37 of Unhinged Omega

Back?

I must have had another episode. They're happening more often than usual. But I guess that's to be expected, considering I've been off the pills for… how long now?

Shit. I'm starting to lose track during my lucid times, too.

But I've got bigger concerns now than my own fucked up brain. Like the fact that my captor has been keeping the demon from my nightmares in a pit.

I don't remember much before I blacked out, but I caught a glimpse of the shock on Nikolai's face before he pulled me back from the edge.

Enough to know he didn't plan this.

I think I'd almost prefer that, considering the alternative is that fate brought us together.

"The monster," I begin slowly, watching his face for any reaction. "How do you have it?"

Nikolai tilts his head, folding his arms across his broad chest as he studies me through those ridiculous red lenses. "You're not really in a position to be asking questions here," he says smoothly. "I think the real question is how do you know it?"

I grit my teeth, refusing to answer. When he moves closer, I flinch back against the headboard instinctively, pressing myself as far away as I can get.

To my surprise, he stops.

"Relax," he mutters, raking a hand through his choppy white hair. "I didn't touch you while you were out, and I'm not planning on it now. I may be many wicked things, but I'm notthatkind of monster."

I hesitate, considering his words. I don't feel any evidence of violation. Something deeper, more instinctive, tells me he's speaking the truth. Something the logical part of my brain refuses to indulge.

He's an alpha.

They're all the same.

All but one.

"No," I say bitterly, "you just sell omegas into slavery to other alphas who will, and then you pocket the proceeds."

He scoffs, the sound harsh in the quiet room. "You have a lot of assumptions about me for a spoiled princess. For the record, I'm notsellingyou to anyone. You're here because the Ghosts needed an impartial middleman to hold you until your daddy sends someone to pick you up."

"You? Impartial?" I can't help the derisive laugh that escapes me as I look pointedly around the room. "You have a fucking lair. I don't even know what you are. Warlord? Mercenary? Mafia?"

"Right on all three counts, little psycho," he says, dragging over a chair and dropping into it backward. He leans on themetal back, watching me. "Trust me, you're better off with a few dirty outlaws than any rat who managed to survive the fall of Reinmich. But I expect you'll figure that out soon enough."

"I know exactly what those rats are capable of," I hiss. "Far better than you ever could."

I expect Nikolai to argue, to tell me I don't know anything about the world outside my gilded cage. But instead, he goes silent, and I find myself unsettled that I can't read his expression behind those red-tinted lenses. The silence stretches between us like a taut string until he finally breaks it by speaking.

"Maybe you do."

His quiet acceptance makes me more uncomfortable than any argument would have. I press on, desperate to change the subject. "How did you manage to get the monster into that pit?"

A slight smile curves his lips. "I'll make you a deal," he says, leaning forward on the chair. "You answer my question, I'll answer yours."

I clench my jaw in annoyance, but I know I don't have much choice here. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," he says with a shrug. "I'm a surprisingly open-minded man."

I sigh, pulling my knees up to my chest, his coat still draped over me. I tell myself it's only for modesty's sake, and not because of his scent. The man himself is a nuisance, but his scent… it grounds me for reasons I don't want to even entertain right now.

The memory of the monster's haunting blue eyes makes me shiver despite the blankets surrounding me. "I've had visions for as long as I can remember. Dreams of it stalking me. Hunting me." I wrap my arms around myself tightly. "Devouring me."

I wait for him to tell me I'm crazy, just like my father did. That's how I ended up on the pills in the first place. Azarel says it in kinder words, but I can tell from the look in his eyes wheneverI speak about it that he thinks the same. It doesn't matter, though. Whenever I fall asleep in Azarel's arms, it's the only time I sleep without dreaming.

---