Page 53 of Deadly Ties

I struggle to hold on to myself. To Kelly. To Sunshine. To Angel’s omega. But a black rage is pulling me under and the echo of Arben’s words fades to nothing:Tell me what you want, wolfling…

I stare at the alpha in front of me. He’s my mate, but I don’t wear his bite. He holds me tight, but his scent has barely soaked into my skin. He watches and waits, never gives me what I want. There for his brothers, but never for me. He offers up easy words, but they’re lies, lies, lies…. And when he sinks into my body, it’s never the comfort of his knot.

A poor alpha.

A lying friend.

An unworthy mate…

I break free of the prison of his arms and he staggers back a step, but I’m already launching myself at him.

Him or me.

Only one will leave this cage.

Elvana

I wake to something cold slithering down my neck. My nose is pulped – I can barely breathe through it at all – so it makes sense I’m drowning in my own snot and blood. But then a gentle hand brushes back my hair and I open my eyes to an Italian film star. Or, that’s what Glo looks like in her black dress, her hair piled on her head and her lips painted a deep red. But her face is pale and strained, her eyes wild and streaked with silver. I don’t know Glo very well – she’s my neighbor more than a friend – but I sense that she’s tough. Or tougher than most omegas. So why does she look like she’s about to shatter into a million pieces?

“Are you alright?” She presses a cold compress gently against my cheek and I realize that’s what was trickling down my neck. “You have a broken nose, I think. And a bad lump on the back of your head. Did thatlupacut your cheek as well?”

I wince as I feel all my injuries throb at once. “Yeah, with a diamond ring.” I wince again at the flat, nasal tone to my voice. My nose is well and truly fucked. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure Bisha gave her a fake.”

Glo hums at that, but helps me sit up, and I realize I was sprawled in her lap. And that we’re the only two omegas left in the room. “Kelly. The guy I was with. They didn’t bring him back here?”

“Kellman Prior,” she says with a hint of awe in her voice. “I cannot believe he’s here. Who has been holding him all this time?”

It’s such an omega question. Not where has he been hiding, or who has been sheltering him, but who has taken him away from everything he knew in the world and locked him up. Rage prickles through me, and as I suck in an angry breath, my nose throbs. Good. Anger is better than lying on the floor feeling sorry for myself. “A dead man,” I tell her, then press a hand to my throbbing skull. “Have you seen him again?”

She bites her lip, shaking her head. “They come and take one of us every ten minutes or so. No one has come back.”

That’s bad, but I can’t worry about the other omegas right now. “Do you have any idea why we’re here?”

That pale, pinched look is back, and she covers her face with her hands. I think she might be at her breaking point, but then a stream of angry Italian leaves her lips, and when she looks at me, I can see the fury under her fear. That’s good, too. I need all the allies I can get, and a pissed-off omega is better than a cowering one.

“We’re the entertainment,” she spits. “That bitch who hit you told us enough. The Head Alpha has some important guests here, and he wants a display of his power. That means making the other alphas in his territory kiss his boots. Or, in this case, sign over land and business interests he wants for himself.” She shakes her head. “He must be trying to expand his territory. My father is an important alpha back in Roma, but I can’t imagine he’s trying to push that far. How power-hungry can a man be, for God’s sake?”

I grunt, because I’m not sure Bisha has any limits at all, but then my thoughts go to Ferrier. Is that why I’m here? Has Bisha finally decided to use me against my real father? “And if they don’t? If they refuse to give into his demands?”

“He gives them a reason to change their minds.” She waves a hand between us, and I nod. It’s not all that surprising. Bisha has been taking the heirs of other alphas hostage for years. Threatening their bonded omegas would mean nothing to him.

“Okay.” I lift my cuffed hands and touch my face carefully, feeling my injuries for myself. I’m a mess, but they don’t seem to be swelling too badly. I wonder if I have my wolf healing to thank for that, and when I check in with her, she brushes up hard against my spine. She’s pacing, her anger at the cuffs on my wrists almost as strong as her murderous thoughts about Bisha and Paige. “Is there some water somewhere? I need to clear my head.”

Glo nods and goes to a sideboard, returning with a full glass. I have a moment to wonder if it’s drugged, but I don’t think that’s what they have in store for us tonight. Bisha wants a show of power, not omegas who can’t stay awake. It immediately makes me think of Kelly, and I take a careful sip, then close my eyes.

Checking in with him is as easy as breathing. Well, at least it was before I was snuffling through a broken nose. But as soon as I try to follow the bond back to him, my head throbs and my hands clench into fists. Holy shit!

Fury swells through me, red hot and mindless. The urge to kill something – anything – makes my tongue burn and my claws throb inside my cuffed hands. I pull back so quickly my head spins and bile tears up my throat.

No. No. No…

Glo is hovering next to me, her face panicked. I swallow down the wave of nausea and curl my clammy hands over my churning stomach. “Kelly… he’s going into heat.”

Glo moans. “I saw the cage. I’ve heard stories…”

I surge to my feet, the glass tumbling to the carpet. “I need to help him.”

She grabs my shoulder, and the lingering rage urges me to throw her off. But I look into her frightened eyes and hold myself still. “He hates his heats. He was learning to control it, but he doesn’t have a chance here. He feels so wild…”

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