Consider The Lilies (Broken Omegas #5)

In The Car

Stefan

T he drugs are slowly leaving my system, leaving me cold and scared.

Trying to calm down, I inhale deeply. The thick aromas around me pull deep into my lungs.

There are so many smells that overlap—worn leather, sharp rough cinnamon, something citrusy, and a weird warmth that’s clinging to the inside of my nose. I concentrate on the last one, zeroing in on it. I think it’s the she-alpha sitting in front of me. Her scent is so interesting. It’s kind of smokey but earthy at the same time. It reminds me of the fires we’d burn on early winter mornings. Mari rarely agreed to burn anything—she didn’t want to give our location away—but some days were too cold and we needed them. Those were my favorite days. Surrounded by snow and snuggled up with my sister. But Mari will never feel the warmth of a fire ever again.

She’s gone forever.

Deep sadness pulls within me, and I sniffle.

“It’s okay,” the bearded alpha says, and I look up. His dark eyes sparkle as he glances at me over his shoulder. “You’re safe now.” His voice is nice. Smooth and deep.

The alpha next to me lets out an angry growl, and the bearded alpha turns back around in his seat. “Go to sleep,” the angry alpha says, and I allow myself to glance at him. He looks so scary, like his eyeballs might burst into flame at any second. “Now, omega,” he barks, and I snap my eyes shut.

But how the heck am I supposed to sleep? I have so many questions.

Where are we going?

What do they want with me?

Are they going to hurt me? Touch me? Kill me?

A few tears slip down my face, but I refuse to wipe them away. So instead, I rest my head against the window, until exhaustion finally takes over, and I drift off.

I’m floating off the ground.

No. That's not right.

Someone is carrying me.

Strong arms hold me tight, hooked under my knees and around my back. My feet sway slightly as I’m taken up a long staircase. I can hear overlapping voices in the distance. Multiple alphas barking over one another. Their voices are loud and kind of echo like I’m in a castle or cave. One of the alphas lets out a horrible roar, making me tremble. The arms instantly tighten, holding me closer.

“Stanley!” a man yells. “You got a minute?”

“Speak to Yuki or Bear,” the alpha—Mr. Stanley—holding me says. “I’m busy.” His voice is deep in his chest, vibrating against my body. I try to fall back asleep, but the alpha smells weird. It’s almost sharp, like nasty smoke, but there’s a trace of something familiar underneath the gross smell. I inhale deeply, trying to figure it out, but then a door shuts behind me, and everything goes quiet.

Curious, I take a peek, and a fresh wave of fear slams into me.

I’m in a bedroom.

I can’t see much—a large black desk and a fancy chandelier overhead, but it’s off. The only light seems to be coming from a lamp on the other side of the room. The walls are painted a deep red, trailing up, up, up to the highest ceiling I’ve ever seen. The alpha shifts me in his arms, and I snap my eyes shut. I pretend to be asleep as I’m placed on something soft. It must be the bed.

The plush black comforter is soft under my fingertips, but I don’t move them. Maybe if I stay completely still, he’ll go away and let me sleep. I know it’s not likely, but I can hope.

A single finger trails up the outside of my bare leg, over the hem of my shirt, grazing my hip. I tremble with fear, praying he doesn’t try to “fill me” like the button-nosed beta said he would.

Just in case, I’ll keep my mouth clamped shut tight. Then he won’t be able to fill anything.

“Are you going to keep pretending to be asleep?” The scary alpha’s deep voice rumbles above me. “What’s your name again? Stefan?” My thin dress shirt is lifted off my legs, and my face burns bright red. He’s looking at my privates! “Are you in pain or sick?” he asks as his fingers slip across my testicles.

“No!” I push his hands away, pulling my shirt back down. I curl to one side, finally allowing myself to look up at the mighty alpha above me. I should have kept my eyes shut.

He’s a monster.

The massive alpha has glowing, angry eyes and huge hands. A shadow seems to cross his face, and my heart pounds harder and harder.

Scared to look at his face for too long, I drop my gaze to his chest. His jacket and tie are gone. He’s wearing only a fancy dress shirt and slacks. The material is tight, showing off every flex and tick of his bumpy muscles. His sleeves are cuffed at his elbow, allowing me to see protruding, thick scars that litter his forearms. They look like rolling hills on his skin. How did he get them? Fighting other alphas? Or killing them? He looks like the kind of alpha who kills people.

I stare at the scars, imagining all the horrible ways he could have gotten them. And then they begin to pulse. They move like waves, growing bigger and bigger until they start bubbling. Terror cuts through me, and I snap my eyes shut.

It’s the drugs, I tell myself. They’re making me see crazy things, and when I wake up, this alpha will look charming and sweet.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with you?” Mr. Stanley growls low in his chest, making me tremble. Wait. Was it Stanley? Or Steven? Or something else completely?

My mind is too tangled up in fog and fear and that horrible medicine. Worried I’m going to call him by the wrong name, I decide to call him Mister until I can figure it out.

“Where did you come from?” Mister asks.

I shake my head, not sure how to answer that. I mean, he picked me up at that camp. Does he not remember? I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to make sense of everything, but my mind is still foggy. Slow. Will I feel like this forever? Did those drugs change me forever?

“Omega.” The scary alpha’s voice rises. “Where did you come from?” he asks again, but slower this time.

“The woods,” I whisper as sharp anger fills my nose.

“The woods?” he says flatly, clearly not happy with my answer. “Are you a woodland creature?”

I can tell by his tone that he’s mocking me.

“Were you raised by wolves?”

Does he actually want me to answer that?

I peek up at the alpha face, then quickly snap my eyes shut once again. His rage is undeniable. His mouth is set in a tight line, and the muscles in his jaw tick. He looks like I've done something to personally offend him. Overwhelmed, I tuck my chin to my chest, trying to hide my face.

“Do you not know how to answer a question?” he growls, placing one knee on the bed next to my hip, and my fear spikes.

Instinct takes over, and I twist my hips away from him. I kick out, crawling to the other side of the enormous bed. I don’t make it more than a few feet before a large hand curls around my ankle and jerks me back. My knees slip out from underneath me as I’m dragged backward. The motion makes my shirt ride up, exposing my entire lower half.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mister growls as he flips me onto my back.

He can see every inch of me.

My jutting bones and my sunken stomach.

“P-please don’t hurt me!” I cry, trying to pull my shirt back down, but it’s twisted beneath me, not budging. My heart is going to burst through my chest. Panicking, I hit his face and chest as he settles on top of me, pinning my legs in place. “Stop!”

A shadow crosses the alpha’s face when I punch his chest especially hard, but instead of flashing his teeth or lashing out at me, he smirks. It’s a slow-spreading smile. The kind that makes you tremble in fear and beg for your mommy. But my mommy is dead. Just like everyone else who ever loved me.

“Please, d-don’t,” I sob, praying someone will come in here and save me. Maybe that bearded alpha. His voice was so nice. So calm.

“Calm down,” the angry alpha snarls. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

But I don’t believe him. Of course, he’ll hurt me. That’s what alphas do to omegas. Every single alpha who found me and my sister in the woods hurt her in one way or another. She always sacrificed herself for me, saying I was too young to endure what alphas wanted. She never told me what that was, but, based on the bruises they left on her body, it wasn’t good.

“Puh-please,” I whine high in my throat when he grabs my hands and forces them over my head. His grip is tight, squeezing my wrists so hard, it feels like my bones might break. “Let me go,” I beg as hot tears spill from the corners of my eyes. They fall into my hair, curling along the top of my ears.

“Relax, omega.” Mister ignores my cries. His gaze darts across my face, looking at me like a ravaged beast. Then he moves, shocking me by dropping his head into the crook of my neck. I freeze up, terrified he’s going to bite me. I don’t know much about alphas, but I know that once they bite your neck, you belong to them forever. “Fuck, you smell amazing.” His wet tongue slips up my throat, pausing right beneath my ear. Then he sucks. Hard .

It pinches at first, making me wince, but then my abs tighten, and I suddenly feel a flash of heat. I don’t like it. Something is wrong with me. Am I getting sick?

“You taste like heaven,” Mister rumbles in my ear. His breath is so hot, it makes me tremble. “Do you like how I’m touching you?” He rises up to look at my face. He’s such an intimidating alpha. Sharp jaw, dark brown eyes, and a rough five-o’clock shadow. “Do you like being dominated?”

“I don’t…” I press my lips together, not sure how to answer. If I say no, will he hurt me?

“Stefan,” he says my name softly. Almost as if savoring it. He shifts, grabbing both of my wrists with one big hand, then he brings the other hand down and brushes the hair out of my eyes. “Have you ever kissed anyone before?”

I jerk at his question. Shocked. Is he mocking me? But his dark eyes hold mine, and I realize he’s waiting for me to answer. I think about telling him I’ve kissed my sister on the cheek many times, but I know that’s not what he means.

“No,” I mumble, half expecting him to laugh at me the way that button-nosed beta did.

But instead, his eyes flash with excitement as he slowly lowers his face to mine. He’s so close, breathing the air that escapes my mouth. Then, ever so slowly, he presses his lips to mine. It’s surprisingly soft. Maybe even nice. But he tastes weird. That gross smoke smell is stuck in my nose.

“How did that feel?” He breaks the kiss, keeping his face close to mine.

But I don’t know what to say. “It was okay,” I whisper, hoping he’s happy with that answer. And I’m relieved when he smiles.

“So innocent.” He chuckles softly before looking down at my exposed body. I test his grip on my wrists, but it’s no use. He’s too strong. “So, no one has even touched you here?” Fingertips graze my hip and my whole body tenses.

I’m completely immobile while he touches my most intimate area. His rough fingers fondle my privates, lifting my soft member off my stomach. My face burns while he plays with me, squeezing my penis a few times before finally releasing me. A strange tingle slips over my groin, making me wince then shift. The sensation is weird. Kind of uncomfortable. Am I getting sick?

“Are you really eighteen?” Mister’s hard gaze snaps back to my face.

I nod, unable to look him in the eye. He’s not only looking at my naked body, but he touched me there too. How humiliating.

"Your body isn’t reacting.” He brushes the back of his hand over my privates. I have no idea what he means by that, but for some reason, I still feel ashamed. If there’s something wrong with me, will he hurt me? Kick me out or kill me? “Do you normally struggle to get hard?”

My brows pull together, confused by his question. “ Hard ?” I repeat the word. “What do you mean? What gets hard?”

Mister’s expression shifts from worry to wild surprise. His eyes widen, and his mouth falls open. “Omega,” he says so softly, it's almost shocking. “Have you never had an erection?”

I shy away from his crass question. I know what that word means…kind of. It’s something alphas get when they want to mate you. I think it has something to do with the bite alphas give you. But omegas don’t do that. We slick. But I honestly don’t know much about that either. I was so little when I was pulled out of school, and I never got to attend an omega academy.

I feel so stupid.

“Do you know what’s expected of you here?” Mister looks deep into my eyes. When I don’t answer, he huffs then asks, “Do you know what mating is?”

My face burns bright red as I comb through the faint memories of my parents. My alpha fathers would kiss my mother, dote on her, and compliment her all the time. But I was so young when I lost my family that I don’t remember much else. After Mari and I ran away, I didn’t have anyone to teach me that stuff. And the only thing my sister ever told me about mating was to avoid alphas at all costs. That they’d hurt me.

“Omega!” Mister snaps at me, pulling me from my thoughts. I flinch at how loud he is, squeezing my eyes shut tight. “Answer me.”

“No,” I finally force the word from my mouth. “I don’t know what you want.” Then I hold my breath, waiting for the alpha to react. But when he doesn’t yell or touch me again, I open my eyes. His hard expression shifts, and undeniable pity pulls at the corners of his mouth.

I close my eyes slower this time, preparing myself for him to laugh or mock me. But then, Mister releases my wrists and pushes himself up, getting off the bed. I pull my arms to my chest, trying to rub the sensation back into my fingers. I don’t dare look at the alpha, but I do hear the rustling of clothing, followed by the click of a lamp. The room goes dark, and the bed dips once again.

Large hands grab me by the upper arm, manhandling me until I’m under the blankets. I don’t fight it, too tired and scared. Mister arranges me just the way he wants. My back is pressed against the alpha’s bare chest, and his big legs curl up under mine. One arm slips around my middle, tucking me close. The familiar position makes me even more confused.

Is this mating? I hope not.

Mari and I slept this way many times on cold winter nights. This can’t be what alphas do to omegas. It’s too… snuggly . It might be the lingering effects of the drugs in my system, but I like it…I think.

“Stefan.” Mister’s lips are right at my ear. His breath is so warm. “Go to sleep, omega.”

And my body eagerly obeys.