Page 13 of Ruined By the Mafia Kings
It was a low blow, pointing out their unwanted physical responses, but I was beyond caring. The heat was making it hard to think clearly, hard to remember why I shouldn’t just throw myself at them and beg for relief.
Mr. Iceflare’s eyes flashed dangerously, the chain at his wrist rattling as he clenched his fist. “The difference,” he growled, “is that we’re still in control. We still have our honor, omega. What do you have left of yours?”
The question stunned me into silence. What did I have left? My freedom was gone. My dignity was in tatters. My future was a terrifying blank. All I had was my father and the desperate hope that somehow, we’d both survive this nightmare.
“I have my reasons,” I said finally, lifting my chin. “And they’re good enough for me.”
“Then come closer,” Mr. Iceflare challenged. “Let’s see if your reasons are strong enough to protect you from what comes after.”
I took a hesitant step forward, then another. The alphas watched me with predatory focus, their bodies responding to my heat-scent even as their eyes promised retribution. I was close enough now to touch Mr. Iceflare if I reached out. Close enough to see the faint sheen of sweat on his brow, the way his pupils had dilated, the rapid pulse at his throat.
“That’s it,” he murmured, his voice a silken threat wrapped in velvet. “Just a little closer, omega. I want to make sure you hear every word of what I’m going to do to you when I find you.”
I leaned in, drawn by some masochistic curiosity, by the alpha command in his tone that bypassed all rational thought.
He beckoned me closer with a slight tilt of his head, and I found myself complying, bending down until my ear was inches from his lips.
Without warning, his hand shot out, fingers closing around my wrist with surprising strength, the chain at his wrist rattlingwith the sudden movement. I gasped, instinctively trying to pull away, but his grip was iron despite his injuries. The contact sent a jolt of electricity up my arm, his skin burning hot against mine.
“I’m going to hunt you,” he whispered, his breath hot against my ear, his thumb pressing against my racing pulse. “I’m going to track your scent across continents if I have to. And when I find you, when you’re trembling and begging for mercy, I’m going to make you mine in ways you can’t even imagine. Not because I want you, but because you’ll have taken something from me that wasn’t yours to take.”
A shudder ran through me, fear and unwanted desire tangling together in a confusing knot. His scent surrounded me, making my head spin and my core clench with need. My body betrayed me completely, my head tilting slightly to expose my neck in instinctive submission even as my mind screamed at the danger.
His nostrils flared, catching the change in my scent, and for a heartbeat, his grip tightened, his body tensing as if he might pull me closer. Then, with visible effort, he released me, pushing me away with enough force that I stumbled backward.
“Your heat will save you today,” he continued, his voice rough with the effort of control, a fine tremor running through his powerful frame. “But it won’t save you tomorrow, or the next day, or the day I finally catch you. Remember that, little omega, when you’re deciding whether to go through with this.”
I rubbed my wrist where his fingers had left marks, my skin tingling from the contact. The look in his eyes told me he meant every word. This wasn’t just anger or wounded pride speaking; this was a solemn vow from an alpha who never broke his promises.
“Still think we’re worth the risk?” Mr. Enigma asked, watching my reaction with calculating eyes, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he fought his body’s response to my scent. “Stillthink your father’s life is worth three alphas hunting you for the rest of yours?”
I backed away, my legs trembling beneath me. The heat was still there, a raging inferno that demanded satisfaction, but it was temporarily eclipsed by the cold fear their threats had instilled, and the disturbing realization that part of me had responded not just to their bodies but to their dominance, their power, their control even in this vulnerable state.
“I… I need to think,” I stammered, retreating toward the door. “I need time.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Mr. Iceflare said. A muscle jumped in his jaw.
I fled back to my quarters, slamming the door shut behind me and sliding down against it until I hit the floor. My body still burned with need, but my mind was crystal clear for the first time since my heat began. The alphas weren’t just angry; they were dangerous. And they wouldn’t just forget what happened here once they were free.
They would hunt me. They would find me. And whatever happened then would make my current situation look like a pleasant dream by comparison.
I wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to control my breathing as another cramp seized me. De Luca would be furious when he discovered I hadn’t made any progress. He might hurt my father. He might hurt me. But right now, those threats seemed almost abstract compared to the very concrete promises the alphas had just made.
My wrist still burned where Mr. Iceflare had gripped it, the phantom sensation of his touch lingering on my skin. I couldn’t decide what frightened me more, his threats or the way my body had responded to his touch, the instinctive submission that had made me bare my neck despite knowing better.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” I whispered to the empty room, tears of frustration and fear burning behind my eyes. I was trapped between De Luca’s threats and the alphas’ promises of retribution, with no way out that didn’t end in someone getting hurt.
Someone like me.
five
. . .
The pounding on my door jolted me awake from a nightmare where I was drowning in omega pheromones and alpha scents. Honestly, reality wasn’t much better.
“Mr. Hart! Open this door immediately!”
De Luca’s voice slithered under the door, toxic and invasive. I scrambled up, wincing as another wave of heat cramps doubled me over. Fuck. It was getting worse, not better.
