Page 22 of Captured

A low growl tightened his chest, fists clenching at his sides as his wings mantled. Flea’s pupils expanded as she took a step back, swallowing at the sudden threat he’d become.

Fighting to ignore the rage that swamped through him, he rolled his shoulders and settled his wings again. There was no reason to get possessive over her, he just needed to get her back to the Center where they could deal with her properly.

With her still clutching the last of the bar he couldn’t go back to dragging her along by her cuffs, so he placed a hand on her shoulder instead. She was so tiny his thumb reached all the way across the back of her neck, curling around the opposite side. His palm covered the entire top of her shoulder, fingers reaching below her collarbone.

Shaking thoughts of what he wanted to do to her tiny form from his head, he thrust her ahead of him, heading back the way they’d come. He hoped Flea was being honest, but he was wary of her plans if she had been. She was too feisty to have given up yet, but if he didn’t get her back to the Center in time she was going to find herself in a totally different situation than the one she was trying to run from.

One rutting alpha was bad enough, but down here, in the open, one wasn’t all she had to worry about.

Chapter Fifteen

Flea

She was making a gamble by helping her captor get to the stairs, but blatantly heading into gang territory while she was restrained wasn’t a viable option either. She knew this area too well to risk that. The alpha who’d caught her may be massive and have advantages others didn’t with his wings, but he was still only one man.

Scarfing down the last of the second bar, Flea kept her eyes peeled for movement in the alleys they passed. It was too dark for her to see far, but she had to hope her instincts were honed enough to warn her of danger before it was too late.

The hand on her shoulder pushed her at a steady pace, fast enough that sweat was breaking out along her spine and between her breasts. It was a little strange since she usually found herself freezing on the lower levels without a coat, but she wasn’t going to complain.

Even though her previous complaint had earned her a meal.

The bars hadn’t tasted like much, but her belly bulged comfortably and the thirst that had been plaguing her eased. If she got the chance to run she’d at least have the energy to do it.

The thumb on the side of her neck moved, stroking along the top of her shoulder and making her nipples tighten into pebbles as it brushed the lobe of her ear before reversing and repeating its path. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder at the beast holding her she decided it had to be an unconscious action since the alpha seemed to be watching their surroundings and not her.

Fighting the urge to shiver and press into his touch, Flea’s mind scrambled to find something to distract herself from the way her body was responding. Turning her eyes back up to his face, she blurted the first thing that crossed her mind.

“What’s your name?”

Golden eyes tipped down to hers, one brow quirking. The thumb’s motion stopped, and she had to swallow the sudden disappointment that surged through her.

“I don’t know what to call you, and Captor seems a bit rude.”

A flash of something predatory flared in his eyes that made Flea’s belly clench. She didn’t know what was going on since she’d never responded to any of the other alphas who’d tried to buy her from the Center. Perhaps the bars hadn’t been a good idea after all.

“Gra’ar.”

It took a moment for her to realize he hadn’t just opened his mouth to make a strange growling sound. Brows drawing together, her nose scrunched before she tried to say it.

“Graar?”

“Gra’ar,” he repeated, emphasizing the pause between the two guttural sounds.

His head turned back to scanning their surroundings, seeming not to care about her pronunciation. She watched him for a few more seconds before shrugging the shoulder not carrying the weight of his palm. She didn’t have the most usual name either, so she couldn’t really say anything about his. Fledorina was a mouthful. There were some species that couldn’t speak the common tongue at all or were so isolated that few of them learned it and had names impossible for her to say.

“So, Gra’ar, when you’re not hunting down helpless omegas to kidnap them, what do you do?”

His huff stirred her hair and brought a smirk to her lips, though his next comment wiped it away.

“I generally go after more challenging targets than little girls. Criminals. Traitors.”

Her eyes narrowed though she kept them locked ahead of her. Increasing her pace, she tried to pull out of his hold but the fingers on her shoulder refused to budge.

“They never smell this good though. I might have to make a change and see if I can find more omegas to hunt.”

The last words were breathed against her neck, the alpha behind her blatantly scenting her. The low rumble in his voice caused her belly to quiver, a shameful wetness seeping into her pants even as another flare of anger lit her chest.

Ducking and twisting out of his grip, Flea glared up at the alpha looming over her. The slight smirk on his lips only irritated her more as she tried to get ahold of the strange pang of jealousy the thought of him hunting other omegas inspired.

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