Page 7 of Feral: Part One

A snarl plays on my lips as I stalk toward him, fingers wrapping around the front of his throat as I tug down his turtleneck to reveal his neck. Sure enough, thick scars line his shoulder, revealing the worst reality. He’s not just feral. He’s been abandoned.Six times.I’m not adding to that shit.

A temporary bond will have to do. Just enough to fake it, to keep the council off our backs.

Slate’s breathing quickens as I step a little closer, casing him in between Thane and I, my fingers tightening around his neck. “We’re just following orders. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we figure out what happens next.”

That does nothing to soothe him, Slate scratching at my arms again. A terrified squeal rips from his throat as I sink my teethinto his scarred flesh. Blood fills my mouth as he cries out, writhing for help that won’t come. And then he starts chanting one word over and over again, nearly breaking what little bit of a heart I have left.

He repeats the word ‘no’ like a broken record, his face twisted up in anguish, his body bucking against me, fighting with everything he’s got, tears streaming down his face.

Thane wraps his arms around Slate’s waist to relax him, the Omega’s energy slowly fading as I pull back, the temporary bond snapping into place like a chain. Terror and anger flood through it, hitting me like a punch in the gut. Everything about Slate seems chaotic but I can’t have that in this pack. “Settle,” I bark out, pushing as much of my Alpha into that one word as I can.

Feral Omegas rarely submit but this one does, almost immediately, slumping back in Thane’s arms. His eyes don’t waiver, though, defiance burning with a hate that mirrors my own. “We’ll wait a few minutes to make it look like I actually fucked you and then we’ll leave.” I turn my gaze to my cousin, hating how he looks holding another Omega. “Keep him the fuck away from Preston. As long as he’s still alive, I don’t care what happens to him.”

The Omega growls, a weak sound but full of venom. I roar back, my Alpha bark ripping through the room, making him flinch. “If you fuck up what we have going, I will end you,” I growl, leaning close enough for him to feel my breath on his face. “There will be no redemption. No getting out of here.Nothing.”

He meets my gaze head-on, trembling in Thane’s arms, his voice a ragged whisper. “An ending would be better than this.”

I have absolutely no idea what to say to that. Most Omegas we deal with are on edge but they want to live. They want to survive. They want a pack.

Slate… doesn’t.

I also have absolutely no idea how to break an Omega who is already broken.

Slate

The temporary bond burns through my veins, a throbbing pulse that I already hate. I’m barely here, my body limp in the arms of an Alpha whose scent I couldn’t catch if I tried and a face I can barely focus on. He’s older, that’s for sure, salt and pepper hair but everything else is just a blur.

I don’t register the world moving until I’m set down on a bed, softer than anything I’ve ever felt, the mattress giving under me like a sigh. Everything in me is telling me to fight whatever is going on but it’s like ever since that Alpha told me to settle, I can’t fight back.

And I don’t even want to.

I just want all of this to go away.

I blink a few times, trying to clear my vision, two large figures coming into focus, standing a few feet away from the bed.They’re both Alphas and even through the haze, I can see they’re gorgeous. The salt and pepper one is all muscles and angles, his beard framing a pale face carved from stone and blue eyes that seem to look straight through me. The other’s younger, his skin a gorgeous dark brown that catches the light and an amused expression on his face that makes me more than a little worried.

Something inside me stirs, a pull I want to give in to, maybe because of the bond or maybe because I’m so fucking tired of fighting. But I’m not rolling over for these men that I don’t know.

The older Alpha, the one who bonded me, steps up to the side of the bed, crouching just enough for us to be eye level. Blood stains his lips, a dark smear that makes my stomach twist a little tighter. His blue eyes are cold, a deep growl on the edge of his words. “I’m not going to tolerate any bullshit from you. Our release is on the line, just like yours. Stay here, stay quiet, and stay the fuck out of our way.”

I swallow, my throat dry, the bond pulsing like a second heartbeat. I hate how strong this Alpha feels through it, how much of his power seeps through and is trying to get me to submit. “You’re notactuallygoing to bond me?”

He snorts, his lips curling into a sneer. “Did you think this was fucking paradise? You’re not getting an Alpha out of your bullshit. I’m not bringing a feral Omega into my home. You don’t get a happily ever after.” He just shakes his head as he stands and leaves the way he came in, leaving the other Alpha who somehow seems even more amused at what just took place.

A heavy sigh comes from him, a sound that’s more tired than angry. “That was Kael and I’m Thane. You’ll answer to us while you’re here and he’s not as much of a dick once you get to know him. Now, tell me why you seem relievednotto get bonded. It’s never been required of us before but all the little Omegas they send here want us. What makes you different?”

I frown, my good hand clenching the soft blanket beneath me. The bond’s still coursing through me, making my head foggy which makes it hard to focus. Thane seems like less of a hard ass than Kael but I don’t trust him. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

And yet, I need him to know why I won’t submit. Why Ican’tsubmit to someone I don’t trust.

Slowly, I tug off my turtleneck, wincing as the fabric pulls at my newest wound. The cold air hits my skin and I let the shirt fall to the floor. Every last one of my scars is now on display for this Alpha, my shoulder an art piece all on its own, Kael’s bond still slightly bleeding. I meet Thane’s gaze, daring him to do something, to pity me, to laugh, to do…anythingother than just stand there.

Thane’s eyes widen for a second, before they harden again. He steps closer, his gaze locked on my shoulder. “Fuck,” he says, his voice almost a whisper. “They did a number on you, didn’t they? But you didn’t answer my question. Why don’t you want the bond?”

“I don’t need another bond to put me in hell,” I say, scooting back on the bed a little. “If he’s not going to take care of me, then I don’t need him or you or anyone else.” My good hand reaches up, brushing across the new bite, and I pull back bloody fingers, the red stark against my pale skin. I hold them up, glaring at Thane. “And I know you’re trying to be nice about Kael or whatever, but he’s pissed. Beyond pissed, and I get it. For me, it was either this or a lifelong stay at the crazy house, so I’m here.”

Thane tilts his head to the side, his gaze narrowing as he observes me, a flicker of curiosity breaking through. “You’re nothing like the terrified, feral Omega from half an hour ago.”

I laugh, a sharp, bitter sound tearing from my throat. “I can’t control that. If I had my way, everyone would leave me to wither and die.” I’m in a constant flux of fighting my changing biology and still hoping that maybe, just maybe there’s a happyending out there for me. I’m tired, so fucking tired of fighting, of surviving, of being a problem no one wants.

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