Page 7 of Omega Shattered
"You good?" That deep voice asked.
Ignoring him, I took a shuddering breath and tried to calm myself. Panic was doing nothing to help right now. I'd have to wait until the alpha's guard was down.
We reached the parking lot by the diner far too quickly. I was shivering, but the heat from the alpha kept the cold from taking over.
"I'm putting you down for a second. Run and you'll be riding home in the trunk," he said. The alpha waited for a second before he slid me down his front, my wobbly legs barely holding me ashe set me on my feet, pressing me against a vehicle as he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.
"Get in." He pulled open the driver's side door and jerked his head.
"What?"
"Get in and slide to the passenger seat."
Shakily, I did as he'd said, catching his frown as I crawled into the far seat. The door was locked over here, of course, and he was in the driver's seat before I could even think about unlocking it.
"Seatbelt. Can't let our precious cargo get hurt," he muttered, leaning over me and pulling the seatbelt across to jam into the closure.***
"Please don't take me back," I whispered, as his smoke and leather scent enveloped me. It was almost chokingly strong in the SUV, but I caught notes of snow and coffee and honey apples, too. Like other alphas sat in this vehicle regularly. Despite my fear, I felt the scents soaking into me and relaxing my body.
"Don't even think about using those omega wiles on me. I'm immune," he snapped with a sideways glance. Then we were pulling out of the truck stop and back onto the highway. Headed back to my own personal hell.
I leaned back in the seat, determined to get warm and rest up while I could. All too soon, I'd have to run again and it was going to be a lot more difficult this time.
While we drove, I carefully studied my captor. He was nothing like the beta guards at the center. He was huge, the seat pushed back so he could fit behind the wheel without cranking his knees up to his ears. Strong, calloused hands sat confidently on the wheel, thick veins visible. For some reason, the sight of those hands made my mouth water.
Quickly, I moved my eyes to his face. He had a strong jawline, covered in a dusting of dark hair, like he hadn't shaved in acouple of days. Maybe he hadn't, if he'd been chasing me. His nose was a little bit crooked, like he'd broken it and he he had dark blue eyes surrounded by thick black lashes that were almost too thick for a man. Sharp cheekbones set off his eyes and his hair, cut fairly short, stuck up in neat spikes, despite his pursuit over the past few days. It was dark brown, but the ends were lighter, bleached by sun, it seemed.
Overall, my captor was a ruggedly handsome man. One I might have been attracted to if he wasn't taking me back to the Omega Reassignment Center. At the reminder, I frowned and turned away from his attractive face, looking out the window instead. The scenery flew by in a blur of whites and grays, the snow falling thicker and faster now. When I faced forward, it was like staring into a wind tunnel, with the snow streaking straight at the windshield and nearly obscuring the view.
"Fuck." The alpha hit a button on the dash and a moment later, a silky smooth male voice filled the car.
"What's up, River? You find the omega?"
"Yeah, but it's getting hairy out here. How far are you guys from Harrison?"
There was a shuffling and the tap of keys, then, "Maybe 20 minutes in these conditions. You heading our way?"
"Yeah, I'm going to have to wait until this storm blows over. Got an extra bed in that Airbnb?"
"Of course."
"Drop me a pin and I'll be there in half an hour."
"Got it. I'll come back to open up for you."
River tapped the button again and the car went silent. Then the dash pinged and a little screen showed up with roads marked on it and a red path laid out to a green dot that I assumed was the Airbnb they'd been discussing.
"You're not taking me back to the center?" I asked hopefully.
"Not yet. You'll get there, so don't get your hopes up. And my men are all trained to stop you if you get any funny ideas," he warned.
Great. Now I'd have two or three men watching me instead of just one. I dropped my head against the cool glass and stared out at the falling snow as River drove carefully, creeping along roads that were barely visible.
In the end, it took nearly an hour to reach the house. Visibility was barely beyond the nose of the car and I was certain that without the tracker on the screen, there was no way we'd find the house. But finally, the green dot was right there and River let out a long breath, like he'd stopped breathing the entire time we'd been driving.
"Home sweet home," he said, sounding exhausted. Maybe he was.
I found myself wondering how much sleep he'd gotten while he was searching for me. Then I shook that thought from my mind. He was my captor. The more exhausted he was, the easier it would be to escape again. Though with the current whiteout conditions, it seemed like a very stupid move to run.
