Page 4 of Feral: Part Two
“Why do I feel like you destroying your nest was to add to Slate’s den permanently?”
I shrug, a sly smile tugging at my lips. “I like the den. It’s safe and dark in there.”
Kael scoops me up and carries me into my room before setting me on the bed to grab a pair of cloth panties and an oversized shirt from the drawer. I slip into the panties, the fabric soft but snug against my belly, confused because it’s never fit like that before. The shirt’s no better, stretching over my stomach, and I bite my lip, refusing to say anything. It’ll just worry Kael and that’s the last thing I need.
He lifts me again and carries me to Slate’s room, the bond buzzing with his protectiveness. However, I can’t get out of his arms fast enough. Now that I’m back with Slate, my grin spreading wider at the sight of Slate passed out.
I scoot under the bed and right into Slate’s arms—well, as much as our bellies allow, Slate molding against me. I stuff my face into his neck and breathe in his earthy scent, the ache in my chest settling immediately.
Kael kneels beside the bed as I look up to meet his gaze once more. “If you could bond him, would you?”
“Yes, I would. He’s already mine, but if I could mark him, I would.” My fingers trace Slate’s shoulder, where Kael’s bite mark sits. “Now go away and build us a den, Alpha, while I hold my Omega.”
Kael snorts at my demand but leaves anyway as I try to snuggle impossibly closer to Slate. I wait until I hear the bedroom door close before letting myself relax completely, my true fear voiced in a whisper. “I think something is changing, Slate, and I’m scared. I don’t understand it.” I cling to Slate, wondering just how muchThe Collectivedid to fuck around with us before setting us here in Wolfscorge.
Nathan mentioned something about Omegas being given to packs to createFeralpacks, but what if… what if we had already been aFeralpack and didn’t know it?
What if I had been on my way to becoming aFeralOmega and Slate’s presence had accelerated it?
I stare down at our bellies brushing against each other, confused when I realize that I’m still bigger than Slate. He’s farther along in his pregnancy than I am as a shifter, but I…It’s not possible.
But is it?
Thane
The weekly grocery run is by far my least favorite activity, but it’s also one of the only activities that allows me out of the house without suspicion. While we could go every week, we’ve stopped taking Preston, and none of us really wants to part from him longer than we have to. Add in the fact that the guards are usually everywhere, prowling through the little pathways they’ve created, and it just feels like more and more of a hostile situation every day.
How I didn’t figure out until just a few days ago that weweren’tgetting out of here, I have no fucking clue.
A heavy sigh falls from my lips as I lean back against one of the oddly placed trees in Wolfscorge, staring at Malik rustling the fruit stand just a few feet away. Malik’s fingers sort through the apples, turning each one to check for blemishes. Wolfscorge hasno currency, just a barter system where guards decide who gets more based on credibility. Our pack’s influence means we get better food, especially with two pregnant Omegas to feed now.
The food gets brought in here at odd times, so no one can actually determine when the gates will open. There’s never been a successful escape, not that it mattered. For a long while, we were only supposed to be here for three years. Now that that has gone up in flames, I’m going to need a better fucking plan.
Whispers swirl around us, eyes darting our way like they have been for the last few hours, no doubt everyone having heard of Slate’s arrivalandthat he’s pregnant. There aren’t many secrets here in Wolfscorge, even less with one of the Betas running gossip around the compound like it means something.
I fold my arms across my chest as I lose myself in my head. Watching Slate and Preston wrap themselves around each other over the past day or so has been wildly entertaining. It’s adorable as fuck and when my cousin gets all huffy and puffy about it, it’s just hilarious. I will say I miss holding my Omega, some part of me wanting to slot myself between them. Feeling them through the bonds has changed my perspective on things.
Including the Beta chewing on his bottom lip as he turns an apple over and growls at a rotten spot.
Over the years we’ve been together, I never once felt something romantic toward him. He’s gorgeous, with that silky hair and hazel eyes, a man with two sides: one kind, nurturing, pulling people in with soft words, the other sadistic, ripping them apart with a grin. I’ve watched him charm someone to pieces, then turn around and make Preston or Slate melt with a whisper, and it’s always been a thrill to see.
However, since this morning, there’s been this thread of curiosity, of intrigue, wondering if I just pushed the bar a little bit. If I decided to find out if those thin lips taste as dangerous as he looks. If I just…
Someone bumps my shoulder, and I look over to see Beck, one of the few Alphas I don’t hate in this godforsaken place. He carries a newer weariness about him that wasn’t there a few weeks ago, Beck nodding towards the veggie cart where his other Alpha, Monet, picks through squash and zucchini.
Monet is wildly smaller than Beck, nearly the same size difference between Kael and Preston, although Monet’s shoulders are broader than Preston’s. I will never understand how that Alpha has held his own in here, but I’ve heard he’s like a rabid animal when protecting what’s his. Rumor has it that he tore some guy’s face off for trying to steal Beck.
Not sure I believe it.
“Did you finally tell him how you feel?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
Beck snorts, his lips twitching into a smile. “No, he’s still skittish as fuck. Says all of five words every night, and the Omega they gave us locked herself in our basement. She’ll open the door for dinner, but other than that? I haven’t seen her. Fuck, I thought she was a guy at first and I don’t even know her name.” His voice is tinged with frustration, but there’s a shrug in his tone, like he’s accepted it.
I raise an eyebrow, shifting my weight onto one leg as I continue studying Monet. “Wait, what? Monet’s been here for like, what… three weeks? And they already gave you an Omega?” Three weeks of nothing sounds like hell. I couldn’t imagine being an Alpha in that house, my instincts pushing me to bond with the others, to make them mine, and not being able to.
Beck shoves his free hand into his pocket, the other holding a few bags full of produce and other items. “I don’t know. Nathan’s the only one who’s really been able to get them to talk. He’s talked to my Omega and apparently, they’re both healthy. I heard her voice the other day. It’s… sweet.” Beck used to be one of the more vibrant Alphas in the compound, hope swirlingaround him like a drug. Now, he just seems resigned to his fate and it won’t be me telling him that we’re not getting out of here.
“Does it bother you that they didn’t accept you right away? That the council just kind of threw stragglers your way?”
