Page 57 of The Alpha: Part One
"Moving on," he chirps, smiling like he hasn't been dismantling my life and ripping out my heart for the past few hours. "You're going to be our omega. We'll make a show of courting you, but before your next heat we'll register you as ours, and that will be that. You'll take my surname, of course, and have my child first."
"I won't."
"You will. And I'll remind you why you'll do it. Right now, Michael and Benjamin are alive. So long as you're a good girl for me, they'll continue to be alive. The minute you misbehave, you can have the pleasure of watching me cut pieces off of them until what's left stops bleeding. Then I'll start in on your family. You will be my omega, and you will be a good omega for my pack. Is that clear, Miss. Romero?"
I don't answer him.
He smiles at me again and pulls out his phone. He taps the screen a few times, then holds it up for me to see. Michael is on one half of the screen, Benny on the other. Neither look good, but they're both alive. He pulls the phone back and it looks like he sends a text before he holds it back up for me to see. I watch, completely terrified and furious, as a man walks over to Benny and hits him. And hits him again. Then the phone is taken away. "Is that clear, Desir'ee? Can you be my good omega in order to keep your twins alive?"
The tears come again, and I nod.
"I thought you would. You'll keep your position at the hospital and you'll keep communication open with your family. I don't need the headache of trying to convince them that you're where you want to be, that will be your job. If anyone so much as twitches an ear in my direction, there will be consequences. Do you understand?"
I nod again.
"Good. When is your next heat due?"
I hear myself respond flatly. "Six or seven weeks. Maybe more, maybe less."
"What does that mean? You don't know?"
A kind of numbness is washing over me. I don't know if I should be relieved or alarmed. "I took suppressants through finals. I've only had one heat since coming off of them. My body needs time to recalculate before I'm on a regular cycle again."
"What is your regular cycle? How often do you go into heat?"
"Nine weeks."
He reaches over and takes my hand. I let him. He said to cooperate. I might die if I have to watch someone hurt Benny or Michael again. "We'll just keep an eye on things, then. Ideally, we'll figure it out in time to get you registered with my pack before, but if it comes on sooner or more suddenly than we anticipate it won't be an issue. It's just a nicety for you, anyway. If it were up to us, we'd sign the forms right now. You'll be marked during your first heat with us. I'll mark you first, followed by Elijah, then James, and Brian last. Just so you know what to expect. I don't want you overly stressed by the unknown."
I could laugh. He doesn't want me to be overly stressed.
"But I'm already marked." I turn my head so he can see their marks stacked against each other on the side of my neck.
"It's nothing for the four of us to override their marks. It's been done. My bond with you will keep you well enough until you get over it."
Get over it. He thinks I'll get over it.
"Do you understand?"
I nod, cold sinking into my bones.
"You will need to answer my questions, Desir'ee. I want a good omega. I understand that it may take a while before you're a happy omega, but I'll settle for well-behaved in the meantime."
"I understand."
He smiles and pats my hand. "Good, good. Would you like to call us by our first names, or are you more comfortable addressing us by our titles?"
I look at him, the mask of numbness slipping just enough for my brow to wrinkle. "I don't care."
"Don't be rude, Desir'ee. You're being given a choice. What would you prefer?"
"Titles."
He looks disappointed. "Fine. Alpha Lopez, will show you to your room."
Alpha Lopez stands and offers me his hand. I take it, the numbness falling blessedly back into place. I let him lead me out the door and down the hall to an elevator without seeing any of it. If I can maintain this numbness, I might survive this. I might survive letting these horrible men mark me while they… I might survive it if I can hold onto the numbness. I don't think I'll survive having their children, though. I really don't. I can't think about that now, though. If they let me keep my job at the hospital, I can take care of any pregnancy that might occur. Maybe if I never stay pregnant, they'll let me go, let us all go. Or get rid of us. Either way, we'll be free.
Once the elevator starts moving, Alpha Lopez squeezes my hand. "It could be worse, Miss Romero. Will it be so terrible to live in a penthouse and be spoiled and doted on by the four of us? Our betas will do a fair amount of spoiling, as well. You'll be their omega, too, after all."
