Page 34 of Pack of Crooks
HAZEL
It’s still dark outside when I jolt awake, sucking in a lungful of vanilla and chocolate. Kill’s scent is so heady in the air, aftermaths from the dream, that I whine softly, wishing it were real. But the fantasy crashes around me as I feel a familiar lump beneath me. I’m still lying on the crappy couch in the crappy apartment I got for me and Lottie.
Alone.
Unmated.
Much to my dismay.
Sighing, I breathe in again, not really surprised I can still smell Kill. He ravaged me in my dream. My clit pulses, aching for attention, and I slip my hand into my panties, sighing in relief as I swirl my finger over the nerves. My dream was so hot and heavy, it doesn’t take much to relieve the pressure. My eyes flutter closed, back bowing, and I bite my cheek to keep from crying out as stars burst around me. The orgasm is amazing, though there’s a bone deep ache. A yearning for warm hands that aren’t mine. Strong bodies. Two alphas and a beta.
My skin is so warm and tight, desperate for attention, it makes me want to plunge into cold water. The bathroom is in Lottie’s room, so there goes that idea. I guess I’ll simply suffer through this torture. Sighing, I roll over, eyes landing on the coffee table. What the? Sitting up, I reach for the mask, fingers tracing over the plastic face, dragging it up a bunny ear.
Electricity zips down my spine.
I breathe in, pausing as Kill’s scent coils around me, gaze shooting to the door. He was here. My heart flips. In my apartment. My breath catches. Inches away from me. My eyebrows press together. Is that why I had the dream? Did my body realize an alpha was near?
Or maybe you’re just a horny omega. Shaking my head, I stare at the mask again.“I’ve always wanted a bunny costume.”They remembered what I said? They’re so sweet. With a dreamy sigh, I set it aside and grab the envelope. It’s too dark to read so I reach over and turn on the lamp. My name is written in small, neat letters. I bring the paper to my nose and breathe in. Fudge brownies. Ezra. A smile breaks across my face despite the very real fact that not only did Kill stalk me, he broke into my apartment.
The letter is short. An address for the job. Instructions for the mask. And a line from a . . . poem maybe?
The bunny’s heart, a frantic drum. Beats of fear, it knows what’s come.
To the average person, that might seem threatening, but the delusional omega in me reads into the words and the mask. I’m the prey. They’re the predators. They’re not going to kill me, though. They’re going to consume, devour every inch of me until there’s nothing they haven’t owned.
Stomach fluttering, I set the note aside and grab the amber glass jar. I unscrew the top, bring it to my nose, and breathe in. A soft, sweet scent like strawberries and honey mixed with amusky scent. It almost smells like. . . no. It can’t be. I breathe in again, my mouth watering.
“That’s so fucked up,” I whisper, a demented smile cutting across my face as I dip my finger into the rich creamy lotion. I smooth it between my thumb and finger, breathing in again and fighting an unhinged giggle. I knew they liked me! Enough that Mad sent me much more than lotion. Taking another dollop, I smooth it over my wrist, grinning as his scent blankets the air around me.
He definitely rubbed one out. Bottled up his cum. Gave it to me.
Okay, so at this point, most people would probably realize this pack has crossed so many lines. Murder. Stalking. Breaking and entering. Cum lotion. I only need one more thing to fill up my bingo card and then I win. (Also, winning probably isn’t what most people would call it in this situation, but I’m not most people.)
Body buzzing with Kill’s and Maddox’s scent so heavy in the air, I clutch the letter from Ezra and get off the couch, walking to my sorry excuse of a nest. I thought about not making one at all when we moved in, but turns out it’s harder to fight that particular omega instinct than I thought. I’ve never used it.
Which is probably as sad as me opening the accordion door of the only hallway closet. A small two by six foot closet. That’s all the space I get, but my body doesn’t know the difference as I sink onto the soft pillows covering the floor. My stapled sheer curtains on the wall make it a little less pathetic. The shirts I stole from Pack Lennox are neatly folded in one corner. I lie down, cover myself in the shirts, press the letter into my chest, and breathe.
After a few minutes drowning in their scents, the feverish feeling begins to fade, and I sigh, staring up at the popcorn ceiling, dreaming of a happy ending I’ll probably never get.While my omega-ness is screaming that this pack is ours, the parts of me that Mom broke are wary. I’m a shiny new toy. What happens when they get tired of me?
Mom found so many that she swore were it, her true loves, but they always left her. That’s when the benders were the worst, but an omega with a broken heart is usually better off dead.
I guess Mom finally came to the same conclusion.
Chewing on my cheek, I wrap my arms around myself, giving my body the embrace it desperately craves. It’s not even close enough to what I need, but it’s enough to take the edge of desperation off.
I have my sister to think about.
This job could be the best thing that ever happened to us. That type of money has the power to change our lives. To send Lottie to college without her having to take one of those government stipends. She could find a good career, something she’s passionate about, and then a pack that’ll love her like she deserves.
And me? Who am I without someone to take care of?
Lottie is sacked out early, but her fever finally broke. I manage to avoid catching the plague, which is a good thing because tonight is the night I see the pack again. Milly came over earlier so I could stop by the store to get some basic groceries and more medicine.
She sets her dishes in the sink, and I move to start cleaning, but she shoos me away. “You need to get ready.”
“It’s okay, I have time.” Besides, she’s already done so much to help out today.
Looking at the clock, she shakes her head. “No, you don’t. Go get ready. I can take it from here.”
