Page 11 of Omega Shattered
Trapped
The alpha pheromones in the room were suffocating me. It didn't help that the white-blond guy, Kade, came and sat himself on the arm of the chair I was in. His presence was overwhelming. Not only was he large, his spread legs taking up too much space, his coffee scent permeated my air.
Something about that sharp, bitter scent made my mouth water and I wanted to lean against him and rub myself all over him, covering my skin in his fragrance. Just the thought of it made me shy away, as far as possible. I huddled against the opposite side of the armchair, watching him stab a fork into the chicken on his salad.
I was hungry. The last thing I'd eaten had been from the dumpster and that was last night. The aroma of fried eggs from the sandwiches on the coffee table and the chicken from Kade's salad cramped my stomach. They hadn't offered me anything though and from experience, I knew alphas would object heavily if you took what they considered theirs.
My eyes darted from alpha to alpha, keeping them all in sight. If any of them made a move toward me, I wasn't sure what I could do about it, but my body didn't care. It was prepared to run. My heart pounded in my chest at the same time my mind begged me to lick and scent mark them. The omega side of me was really coming out with the four alpha men sitting around me.
Orion scooped up the last sandwich and I watched him bite into it. My stomach chose that moment to let out a loud rumble. I pulled my legs tighter to my chest, wincing at the noise. It was one thing to be hungry, another to let them know. Now they could use it against me.
"You didn't eat." River frowned. "You're hungry, but you didn't eat? Are you too precious to eat egg sandwiches?"
"Hey!" Kade protested from beside me.
"You are kind of precious about food," Archer told him.
Kade shrugged and went back to his salad, spearing the last bit of creamy lettuce at the bottom of the container and shoving it into his mouth. A little of the dressing smeared on the corner of his lips and I had to look away before I did something stupid, like lick it off.
"We're talking about the omega," River reminded everyone.
They all looked over, four pairs of eyes focused on me.
"You didn't offer me anything, I didn't want to take it without permission." My fingers tightened on the pajama pants I was wearing, twisting into the fabric as I waited for the jeers and taunts.
They didn't come. River let out an exasperated huff, got up and disappeared into the kitchen where he started banging things around like every plate in there had offended him personally.
A minute later, he stood in front of me, holding out a plate with two egg sandwiches neatly cut diagonally. "Eat. Is that direct enough for you?"
"Thank you." I took the plate and bit into the first sandwich half. It was perfect. Runny yolk spilled under the crisp lettuce and tomato, salted just right. The mayo coated my tongue and the toast was crisp and tasty.
A groan escaped my lips as I stuffed the rest of the sandwich into my mouth. The other three halves were gone in a minute as I tore through them, my stomach finally feeling full for the first time in months. I set the plate aside and looked up to find all four alphas still staring at me.
"When did you eat last?" Archer asked curiously.
"Last night."
"You're that hungry after a meal last night?" He raised an eyebrow.
I just shrugged. They already knew what the ORC was like, they were working for the center. At least, River was. Now that I thought about it, I wasn't sure exactly how the others fit into the whole thing and I wasn't about to ask.
After a minute, the alphas went back to watching television. They talked about the weather, then found some comedy show to watch.
Needing to escape the pheromones filling the air, I slid out of the chair, staying as far from Kade as possible and gathered the plates and napkins. Taking them into the kitchen, I quickly washed the two plates and threw away the trash before filling a glass with water and sucking it down. I refilled it to take back to the living room with me, turning and nearly bumping into Orion who was standing right behind me.
A yelp escaped me and he gave me a dark smile, leaning over so he loomed above me, pressing me back against the counter.
"Don't get any ideas about seducing my pack," he said quietly, his voice like iron, raspy and deep. "We don't like omegas and we don't want one."
"Don't flatter yourself. I don't want a pack," I snapped back, shoving him with my free hand. His chest was rock solid against my palm, hot through the thin shirt he wore. Maybe touching him was a bad idea.
"For your sake, I hope that's true," he said darkly.
We returned to the living room where everyone looked at us curiously before returning their attention to the television. Kade had taken my seat and I stood there awkwardly with my water until Archer patted the space between himself and Orion.
"Come sit."
I shook my head. No way was I sitting between the two of them.
