How to Fail at Escaping an Alpha Orc (How to Fail #3)

9. Chapter NineMarcus

Chapter Nine

Marcus

Earlier

W hen I woke up, the butt-naked bear was gone, but my head still felt like it was swimming in a fog. Wait, no, I thought that too casually. There was never a dancing bear, right? I mean, anything was possible, but no, that wasn’t right.

I looked around me. How’d I end up in the downstairs guest room? I looked at the bed and the walls. Everything looked slightly off. The colors were bolder, brighter, almost like a painting. I tried to move my arms and legs, but they were tied together. Not very tightly, either. Who had done this? It took me no time to loosen up and free my wrists, and I easily untied my ankles. It did make me slightly winded. I usually thought of myself as in fairly good shape. That should not have tired me out.

I laid back on the bed, touching the fabric. The thick bedspread felt odd, like satin liquid. I spread my legs wide and arms out, making an invisible snow angel with my body. This was fun. No. This was not right. I was not right.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my eyelids, trying my best to think about what had happened recently. Things were still a bit fuzzy. I remembered making cookies with Daria. I liked that. It felt domestic, almost normal. We were getting along despite the situation. She was sweet and funny; we had more in common than I imagined. I ate a bunch of the cookies. They were delicious. Then I got tired, but also there was a bear dancing behind her, and I got a call. I called someone a bitch. God, I hope it wasn’t her.

Where was she now? How late was it? I looked at my watch. It was after 7pm, and I was getting hungry. I sat up and blinked several times as the world around me seemed to blur and flash in electric colors. I slowly stood up like an old man, back hunched forward. My balance was off, and my body felt separated from my mind. It was as if I was looking at myself from across the room. And then it hit me.

I’d been drugged. It had to be the cookies. How had she done it?

“Daria!” I roared, slowly walking to the door. A stiffness moved down my spine to the backs of my legs. A side effect, maybe?

My face slammed into what felt like a brick wall when I opened the door. “Fuck!” I shouted as the dull pain from impact vibrated through my face.

I rubbed my nose angrily. Had she actually put up a ward AND drugged me? Who knew a necromancing baker had that kind of power? I’d prepared for some things but not a magical drugging. I went inside my jeans pocket and pulled out a tiny blue vial. I then opened the top and splashed the liquid inside the invisible ward. I watched patiently as the liquid dripped down slowly in the air. I’d purchased a ward-breaking potion. It had been part of my job in the past, and since I was kidnapping someone with magic, I thought it was a good idea to bring some with me. I was right about that. The potions weren’t always foolproof. Wards came at different strength levels. This was a particularly potent breaker and a pricy one at that. I couldn’t imagine a necromancer was the most potent ward builder, so this had to work.

Once the liquid had made its way to the wood floor, I took a slow step forward and walked out of the room. Good, just as I hoped, her warding abilities weren’t that great. I called her name again, but she didn’t answer. I then went up the stairs to look for her, but she wasn’t there. I went down to the first level foyer area and saw the cracked door. I looked to the left and saw that my alarm was off. She’d actually broken my first ward and figured out the code? Well, it was possible she had help with breaking the alarm from that ghost friend of hers.

I swung open the door, praying she hadn’t broken the second ward. I couldn’t let her escape. My brother’s life depended on it. When I saw her standing at the fence, I let out a deep sigh of relief. I pointed at her. “You, stay right there!”

Of course she didn’t; instead, she screamed and ran. That was the last thing she should have done. Not only was there no place for her to escape with the ward-up, but I was also an alpha and the primitive side of me loved a good chase. Especially if it was after an omega. The stiffness in my body lessened, and I had a renewed sense of energy take over me. Excitement grew in my chest that I could barely contain. I felt almost giddy at the prospect of grabbing her. My teeth ached with the need to sink into her flesh. To mark her. No, she should not have run. I would have her. I would keep her.

I took off after her, chasing her as she made her way toward the back of the house. “Where are you going, Daria? The ward is still up!”

“Don’t hurt me!” she cried.

She was moving much faster than I thought she could. Either that or my drugging had slowed me down. It was probably a little of both.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I want to talk.”

“I don’t believe you!” She moved faster.

“I promise. Would you slow down?”

She looked behind her, yelped when she saw how close I was, and then pumped her arms faster. At this point, we were rounding to the front of the house again. This was pointless.

“I may be chubby, but I can move!” she stated.

“That’s very clear, but I promise I won’t hurt you. I swore I would keep you safe and that includes when you act a fool and drug me.”

“That wasn’t foolish. It was very smart, and I would have succeeded if you hadn’t broken my ward,” she replied, sounding a bit winded now.

Good, because I was hitting a wall myself. Clearly this drug spell had more of an impact than I first thought. “Do you know what could have happened if you got out or if the gang knew I was drugged? You weren’t thinking this out fully.”

“Can we… speed walk… instead… of running?”

I could have laughed if I didn’t think that would take up more of my breath. “Sure, you go first.”

She turned slightly back at me and shot me a death glare, slowing her down. That was a mistake. I pushed the last of my strength through my legs and gained ground on her. I was over a foot taller than her, after all. I grabbed her around her midsection and brought her up in the air. She wiggled in my arms, and her head snapped back, hitting me in the chin.

Throbbing pain vibrated through my jaw. “Fuck!” I shouted, stumbling, and like an uncoordinated klutz, I fell backwards with her on top of me. Damn these drugs in my system. My chin throbbed against my teeth, but I ignored the ache. I wasn’t letting her go. Instead, I rolled to my side, resting her back on the ground. I then pinned her beneath me, moving between her thighs and holding her hands over her head with one of my own.

She tried her best to break free of my grip, but she was no match for my strength even while drugged. However, her wiggling had the unfortunate distraction of causing her very large chest to jiggle beneath her tight T-shirt, and I fought with all my might not to look down. “Let go of me!”

Her scent was the strongest it’d been since I encountered her, and I took in a deep whiff, like the hit of a drug. “Not a chance. I’m trying to keep you safe.” I tightened my grip on her, agitation fully setting in. She had no clue about the risk she was putting herself in. “Do you think if you’d gotten out, it would be safe for you? We talked about this. The police can’t protect you from them. You’re better off with me.”

She paused her movements and looked up at me, her angry face relaxing. She seemed to be searching my eyes as if looking for something. Perhaps the truth. Still, there was something else. It looked like hope. Yes, she wanted to believe me. “But you didn’t grab me to protect me. You’re turning me over to save your brother.”

I let go of her hands, confident she couldn’t escape from me at that moment. I wouldn’t say I liked holding her down. I wanted her hands free to touch me, although I realized that was unlikely to happen in any intimate way. “Yes, I’ll admit, that was my initial plan, but I promised not to let them hurt you. I don’t break my word.”

She narrowed her eyes, moving her hands slowly down to her sides. “An honest criminal? You think I’m an idiot, don’t you? Sure, I can seem a little na?ve because I’m so positive, but I know that just sitting around until that Death Mask group calls for me is stupid.”

I dropped my head, feeling exhausted mentally and physically. I wanted her desperately; her scent was starting to infect me. It was all I could smell and taste. Perhaps the drugs had heightened things, but I wanted it. I should be smart and back away. Even if she ran again, she had nowhere to go. However, I liked having her under me. I liked having her look up at me with those large, warm eyes. “How can I convince you that I can protect you? That I will protect you. Just like an alpha should.”

She pouted and my eyes homed in on her full lips. My arms shook with the need to drop lower and press my own to her mouth. Taste that part of her on my tongue.

“Why do you care?” she asked.

My lips quirked up in the slightest of smiles. “How could I not? Do you know how special you are?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because I’m a necromancer and an omega. I’m not the only one in the world.”

I shook my head slowly. “That’s not why you’re special to me, little flower.”

She snorted. “Nothing’s little about me.”

I frowned. That was the first time I heard her put herself down. Even if it was a joke, I didn’t like it. “I will take that comment as an unfunny joke. Compared to me, you are tiny. And I like your thick thighs, your soft belly, your full ass, your generous breasts. Every part of you is mesmerizing.”

Her cheeks slightly reddened against her light, golden-brown skin. “Is that your way of saying I’m sexy, because I’m not going to fall for it. If that’s why I’m special to you, it’s going to take a lot more than that to get me to trust you.”

I swiped my tongue over my lower lip and lowered down slightly, keeping my weight off her. My chest pressed lightly against her own, and a welcomed sigh at the contact slipped through my lips. I expected her to try to push me off her, but she didn’t move. Maybe that was a good sign. “There is more than what your body looks like that I find special. You’re kind. You care about people, living and dead. You can bake a hell of a cupcake and cookie, despite the drugs. From what I see, you can cook well in general. I enjoy being in your presence, watching TV together, reading. We don’t even have to speak. There’s a comfort that I’ve never had with anyone. In just a week. If that’s not special, I don’t know what is. How could I let you go knowing that?”

She looked up at me with an astonished gaze, lips parted. “Why’d you have to say those things? I’m trying to hate you!”

I smirked, desperately wanting to kiss her. “Yeah, you should give that up.”

She harrumphed in disbelief. “Well then, I’ll strongly dislike you.”

“What’s the next stage after strongly dislike?”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Because I want to kiss you.”

She didn’t speak, instead her eyes instantly went to my lips, the crease between her eyes loosening. Did she want to be kissed? By me? I slowly pressed further into her until our lips touched, and then I kissed her. Soft at first; her mouth felt like warm silk. Encouraged when she didn’t pull away, I deepened our kiss, careful of my tusks against her mouth, and she began to reciprocate. My stomach tightened like a teenager experiencing the thrill of their first kiss. Was it from the drugging? No, it had to be something deeper. In all my years, a simple kiss had not affected me to this degree.

I wanted more.

I stuck my tongue out, flicking it over her lips before dipping into her mouth and tangling with her own. A small moan escaped her lips, and she gripped my T-shirt. She nibbled at my lower lip, and my mind short-circuited as the feel of her teeth on me went straight to my dick, causing it to jerk in response. I wanted to tear off her pants and bury myself inside of her, force my knot into her, and never let her go. My teeth itched to bite her, claim her as rightfully mine.

I lifted my hand to cover one of her breasts, tensing to see if she would knock me away. She did not and instead pushed up in my hold, kissing me harder with an almost out of control passion. I groaned into her mouth and began to massage her breast, flicking my thumb over her covered nipple. This seemed to set her off, and she began to squirm under me, producing a whine that almost made me come. The omega whine was like nothing else. It could frazzle an alpha’s brain and make him heel or even go into a rut for those lesser controlled.

I reached over to massage her other breast, giving the same attention as the other one. Her hands lifted up my torso and around to my back. She rubbed at my muscles in a combination of massage and intimate connection that I craved. I pulled back from her mouth and enjoyed the disappointed look on her face. She wouldn’t be like that for long. I had no idea why she suddenly gave in, but we both knew there was something between us despite the insanity of the situation. Life was too short to ignore it, and perhaps she was finally seeing that as well.

I lowered myself down her body and lifted her shirt, taking her sports bra with it to expose her perfect, beautiful breasts. I leaned in and blew a breath over one already hardened nipple. She gasped, trembling slightly, and her sweet scent of arousal tickled my nose. I swiped my tongue across her nipple before taking it into my mouth and sucking. When I slid my hand between her legs, I found her damp through her tights, her center like a fire. I groaned, rubbing my fingers over her covered pussy lips as I continued to suck and circle her nipple.

Daria panted, running her fingers through my hair as she wiggled beneath me. “Faster, please.”

I smiled before switching to lavish her other nipple. “Yes, ma’am.” I rubbed faster, avoiding too much pressure over her clit. She was soaking my fingers now through her material. “Come for me, little flower, please.”

And then she fell apart in my hands, her slick coming down so forcefully it was as if she had no bottoms on. Her body spasmed and she cried out, her screams of my name ringing in my ears like sweet music.

I lowered her bra and T-shirt, pressing a kiss on both breasts before doing so. I prepared to sit upright, mind already spinning with my next move. As much as I desired her, she’d still tried to run away, and I was still not back to normal. She could not do this to me again. If she couldn’t understand the danger she was in, I would have to make the decisions for us both. I needed to take more precautions that would make her more than strongly dislike me.

She reached up, grabbing the top of my bottoms. This move was unexpected. I looked back at her face, and she seemed very sure. Distracted from any other thought, I let her lower my bottoms until I was exposed, fully hard and dripping pre-cum. She wiped a finger over the tip, and I shook over the contact. Her hands spread the liquid slowly up and down my shaft, her eyes fixed on it with a comical curiosity. I knew that I was large in her hand; it didn’t fully wrap around it, but she would not have to worry about me causing her pain if I was ever fortunate enough to do more with her. She was an omega, and her body would fit with mine if the time ever came.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said through gritted teeth as she continued to stroke me, shifting speeds. She didn’t have to, but damn how I wanted her to. I struggled to balance above her on my forearms, my body already trembling with the anticipated release.

I felt another hand on me and looked down to see her rotating her hands in opposite directions, mixing the movement with a swipe over my tip. Every nerve tightened, and I could feel my knot expand at the base, wanting to connect us as I drove into her.

Finally, she spoke. “I know I don’t have to, Marcus. I want to.”

I grinned down at her, satisfied. “And I want you to know that because I’m drugged, I’m going to come faster than I ever have. I’m normally not this quick.”

She snorted, but before she could say another word, I came in a succession of jerks and groans. Ropes of cum shot from me, splashing onto her chest and hands. When I came down from the exhilarating high she’d given me, my eyes widened as I looked at her, covered in a mess of my fluids. I should have been shocked by the amount, bothered that I’d gotten her so covered. Instead, I felt something very primal rumble within the deepest part of me. She was mine.

I kissed her, smooshing my body to hers. Her mouth parted easily for me, and I was less gentle, this time nipping lightly at her lips. Her arousal was still strong, and my own had barely waned. I wanted this omega. This woman. Daria. I wanted to keep her safe. Make her mine. I moved my lips to her jaw, ear lobe, and down to her neck, sucking on the thin skin before moving to her collar bone. All the while, she gyrated under me, whining. My head should have been clearer, but now it seemed as if she were my drug. And I couldn’t get enough.

Logic of what I needed to do and the ramifications did not stay in my head long. Things made more sense when you didn’t think too long about them. And so, I did the very thing I said I would not do.

Hurt her.

I bit her shoulder.

She yelped underneath me, but I barely heard it. Instead, my body seized, and I was swept away in a swirl of visions. Of a life that wasn’t my own. A mix of emotions poured into me and left just as quickly.

I had claimed her, and it was no mistake.