Page 123 of Defiant Beta

A fist grips the back of my hair. Yanks. I cry out at the sting on my scalp. My fingers fight to dislodge his hand as my back slams against the cold concrete, stunning me.

A man laughs. "Not so fast, pretend omega. Now is the time for play."

I blink away tears of pain as the alpha approaches, his face contorted with rage and a taser in hand.

I’m scrambling to my feet when he flings himself on top of me.

An electric crackle makes my heart skip a beat.

“Hold her,” a cold male voice orders as two alphas approach, unbuckling their belts.

I scream as white-hot agony floods my body. I’m still screaming when he pins me to the floor and shoves my thighs apart.

I shoot up, sweating and panting so hard that I can hardly breathe.

Just a nightmare.

Outside, my balcony is pitch black. I’m in bed, still wearing my clothes, even though I had no intention of going to sleep. I hadn’t felt ready to confront Levi, Vincent, or Xavier about my feelings for them, so I hid in my room, trying to identify the killer at Haven Academy.

Someone left a tray outside my room.

This time, it didn’t end up flushed down the toilet.

I had a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, along with coffee and orange juice.

Later, a quiet knock at my door signaled the arrival of another tray: leftover Chinese food, heated and served on plates instead of in a container. And a soda.

The last tray had been pasta rigatoni with meat sauce, salad, and an ungodly amount of grated parmesan cheese. There wasa glass of red wine and another soda. The pasta dish looked and tasted homemade.

I imagined Vincent quietly cooking in the kitchen for me and carrying the tray upstairs. Something about that image made my heart feel warm and soft, though I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the idea of being taken care of that I’m struggling to get used to. How new it is, and how much it makes me feel loved.

I ate everything.

I must have crawled under my sheets and fallen asleep after leaving the tray outside my room to be quietly removed, just like all the previous trays had silently disappeared.

“Just a nightmare,” I remind myself, fingers clenching the cool cotton sheets as the terror forces its way back into my mind. “That’s all it was. Stop thinking about it.”

Trembling, I get out of bed and cross the room to the bathroom. I need something to shock me awake, something to chase away my desire to sleep so I can’t fall back into that terrifying nightmare.

I turn on the shower, step inside, and sit down, wrapping my arms around my raised legs.

I don’t know how long I sit in the shower, cold and shivering in my clothes, eyes wide open as the water washes away my tears, when I jump, startled as the water temperature rises.

I blink up at the man wearing black pants and a blue shirt as he steps under the spray, dropping into a crouch in front of me.

Vincent.

“Go away.” I swipe at the moisture on my cheeks with a shaking hand.

His expression doesn’t change, and he doesn’t seem to care that he’s getting as soaked as I am. “I can’t do that.”

“You can,” I snap at him, furious and wanting him gone so I can cry. “You just don’t want to. Go.Away.”

He offers me a towel.

I knock it away.

He offers it again.

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