Page 58 of Pack of Crooks
My breath catches. Alphas can go feral, a chemical imbalance phenomenon, and it’s never good. If they’re too far gone, they’re put into an institute, some are even killed out of mercy. Feral alphas aren’t common, but we’re all warned early and often the damage they can cause. The terrifying truth is, most feral alphas aren’t caught until they’ve harmed several omegas.
There’s no one else down here.The thought slams into me. I fight my omega instincts which are screaming at me to start fawning and try to act normal. The thudding of my heart is more pronounced at the pulse point on my neck. I feather my fingers over my throat as if I can press a button and everything will reset.
The more scared I act, the deeper into his madness he’ll fall. For both of our sakes, I have to try and maintain until I can find a way to get away from him.
The rumble of an approaching train roars through the tunnel. The alpha makes a kissy sound at me. “Why don’t you come on over here, baby?”
My skin crawls, but I tear my gaze away as dread sluices through my veins. The last thing I want to do is get on the subway with him, but he’s blocking the only exit. The empty subway roars through the tunnel, brakes squealing as the coaches lurch to a stop before us. The sound is an echo of the scream inside my head that I can’t let out.
“Aw, don’t be like that,” the guy calls as we wait for the doors to open.
Where he’s standing is a few coaches down from the one I’m going to get on, and he can’t pass through the cars unless he wants to set off alarms and cause the train to stop. I cling to that flimsy sense of safety as the doors swoop open. I wait until the last second when he won’t have enough time to join me and dive into the empty coach and stand at the far end of it. Through the windows covered in a film of dust and fingerprints I can keep an eye on him.
Heart pounding, I swallow a lump of fear, tightening my jaw and reaching into my bag, but all I have is the stupid, small can of mace. The dinging that indicates the doors are going to close stops. I watch my doors, breath held tight, and when they start to slide closed, I exhale and glance at the window for the other car again.
The guy suddenly appears there, inside the car just after mine, a feral grin pulling at his mouth as he presses his forehead against the window and points at me.I’m coming for you. My heart leaps into my throat, pulse hammering so fast oxygen rushes out of me and in its place, icy cold dread fills my lungs.
The subway begins to gradually pick up speed. Air screams around the coach. The wheels turn over the rails with heavy thuds that match the hammering of the organ in my chest.
Badom. Badom. Badom.
Even as the train cars sway, the guy continues staring at me. I glare at him before glancing up at the stops to come. The next platform is closed, and the one after that is the one I need to get off on. The stations after that. . . are worse parts of the city. I won’t be any safer there than I am in this coach.
I have to get out. Minutes pass. That lecherous stare has invaded every inch of my body and I want to scrub my skin in bleach to cleanse myself.
A robotic voice announces the next station, and I try not to react. The goal is to run out without the creep knowing that’sthe plan. Any seconds I can gain will help me get away. The hand holding the mace shakes, and as my gaze strays back to the window and the guy’s taunting stare, my chest threatens to cave in.
He has that same look in his eyes that all of my abusers did. I’m not really sure how to describe it other than there’s something missing. A piece of their humanity, their soul, and it reflects in their irises.
Screeching brakes send my heart galloping even faster. I take a deep breath, holding the guy’s gaze, faking him out. The beeping that indicates the doors will open sounds. A twisted sort of delight flashes in his eyes.
Fuck this guy.
The doors open. I dash out of the car, not bothering to look back as I run for the exit. A demented whoop sounds far too close, followed by the pounding of his feet. My stomach clenches.
The stairs are close. I’m almost?—
His hand clamps around my arm, thumb brushing a scent that’s like acid upon my skin, before he pulls me back so hard I fall onto my ass. The impact sends the can of mace tumbling out of my hand. Concrete shreds the bottom of my thighs as I skid across it, pain tearing through me, and I cry out.
The guy comes for me fast. I scramble onto my feet, putting up my hands and backing away, not willing to turn my back.
“Stop.”
I don’t know why I say it. They never listen.
“Where do you think you’re going, cunt?” It’s not just his irises that place every instinct on edge. It’s the crimson bleeding into the whites of his eyes. A late-stage symptom of an alpha going feral.
“Fuck you,” I snarl.
An unhinged smile cuts across his face, stretching too wide. Baring too much teeth and gums. Lips glistening with saliva. He cracks his neck, a silver capped tooth gleaming at me, and charges.
My pulse skyrockets. A gasp wrenches from my chest.
His chest is rattling with a sound I’ve never heard from any alpha I’ve encountered. Like a rattle snake warning you to back the fuck up.
I turn to run but immediately crash into a solid form. Strong hands catch my elbows to keep me from catapulting back into the arms of the man chasing me. My gaze flies up and collides with Kill’s gray stare. It’s hard and furious. Maddox and Ezra are with him, both focused on the alpha who tried to attack me.
I’ve never been more relieved to see them. The subway departs the station, and the ground tremors beneath us as it rumbles through the underground tunnels.
