Page 8 of Claimed Omega

“Girl, you are dangerous, and it’s why I liked you the moment you arrived in the mansion. You know, I’m not jealous of just anyone. Just the best kind of people.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, then felt terrible for doing it while Shadow lay near us in pain.

I didn’t remember how long we sat there chatting, but I embraced the sense of calmness he brought me. After the shitty day we’d had, I needed the soothing.

“Poor Shadow didn’t even get to enjoy the birthday cake I made him.” Leaning against Daniel’s chest, I couldn’t take my gaze away from Shadow, at how pale he appeared, at the bandages stained with blood.

“It’s for the best. Shadow hates his birthday and refuses to let anyone make a big deal over it. He calls it his cursed day.”

A soft quiver travels up my spine. “That sounds ominous.”

“His parents died on his birthday, and he insists that every year, something goes bad on that one day.”

I raise an eyebrow, glancing up at Daniel. “Like beings shot.”

He nodded, a grimace spreading over his expression. “But everything’s going to be alright, you’ll see. The Alphas will find a way for us to stay alive.” His words were like velvet. Like the rest of us, he worried for all our lives, but I didn’t want to think about that. Not when every time I did, nausea came over me, and I felt sick to my stomach that we were about to be hunted down.

A knock came at the door, and I stiffened.

Thelma entered before either of us could respond. “I’ll stay with Shane a bit. You two go have something to eat, then get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day.”

Out in the corridor, I slipped into the bathroom, where I scrubbed my hands and arms free of blood. Looking in the mirror, I realized red spots had splattered over my chest and my chin. I washed those with soap, but the dried blood on my tank top was a lost cause. I didn’t even try to get the stains out.

The bloodied water swirled down the drain, reminding me of Don being stabbed right in front of me. How quickly life was snuffed away, and how the world moved on without you.

I suspected if I lost any of my Alphas, my world would stop and never start again. I wouldn’t want to move on without them, to only hold on to their memories in my heart, to try to go on in this terrible world. The more I thought about it, the more my eyes pricked.

“There’s my little Omega,” Aspen said from the bathroom doorway, shrouded in shadows, with the lights from the hallway behind him spilling into the dark bathroom. I hadn’t heard him approach. “How are you doing?”

“Scared. Worried. Confused. Everything’s happening too fast.”

Stepping into the bathroom, he was everything I could have ever wanted for my Alpha. His hands slid over my hips as he turned me around to face him, and his touch sent excited shivers down my spine.

“It’s going to be okay. We have connections and aren’t going to let you get hurt. I give you my word, gorgeous.”

His words comforted me as much as his body curling around mine. I pressed up against his chest. Warmth radiated from him, and I buried my nose against him. Taking in his sweet, fruity scent mingled with the masculine smell I absolutely adored, I melted into his embrace His finger slipped under my chin and raised my head as he leaned down, his lips closing over mine.

The kiss quickly turned into something more—an urgency to get closer, to lose ourselves from the chaos following us.

Aspen kissed me as though he was born to do just that, as if he always needed to, from every stroke of his tongue to the hunger of how close he held me. I was burning up, my nipples hardening, and I wanted nothing more than to fall into bed with him and have him put out the flames of my heat, then I’d fall asleep on his chest. When he broke our kiss, we stared at each other in the dimness of the bathroom.

“I hope you can forgive me for how I behaved back in the cabin… I’m not great at talking about my past regarding my brother. I shouldn’t have run out on you.”

He’d told me about how he accidentally killed his brother and to this day, still blamed himself. My heart hurt for him, for everyone one of my men who carried their past like the weight of the world on their shoulders.

“Let’s not talk about that right now. I liked when you were just kissing me, and I could pretend we weren’t in so much trouble.” My lopsided grin felt awkward as if I had no right to happiness.

“We can do that, but first, you need to eat something. We’ve hardly eaten today.” Before I could protest, he took me by the hand and walked me into the living room, where he handed me a plate with ham and cheese sandwiches cut into triangles.

The clock on the wall ticked to one a.m., and as if on cue, I yawned.

“Thanks.” I moved to sit on the couch in the space between Daniel and Viper.

Maybe it was a mistake to sit next to Viper. Butterflies were beating their wings wildly in my stomach, heightening the earlier ache from my heat and the arousal Aspen brought out of me. I was hyper-aware of Viper’s body next to mine, the way the sides of our legs touched, his arm propped up behind me over the back of the sofa. Every so often, he shifted, rubbing against my side when his hand moved to my thigh. A whining sound purred past my lips at his touch, and his gaze was filled with desire.

He felt it, too. The electricity between us, the gush of slick on my panties so much more instant than in Aspen’s presence—all the things Viper did to me because of one touch… because he marked me. I was so turned on, my head spun, but with it came my anger at him that he never asked for my permission.

“Trinity, sweetheart,” he whispered, gently sliding his hand up my thigh.

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