Omega Lost

8. Broken Omega

Chapter eight

Broken Omega

" M elody, you're here because you are coming up on nine months at the center," the woman across from me said.

I nodded, sitting perfectly straight, my hands folded in my lap.

"You've excelled in your classes," she continued.

That surprised me. None of my teachers had said a single uplifting thing to me in the entire nine months I'd been here.

"It's time to make a decision. You are going to be released next week, either to the heat dens or to be assigned a pack. Originally, you said you didn't want to be reassigned a pack, does that still stand?"

I stared at my perfectly manicured nails, thinking. I didn't want a pack, but surely being with the same men would be better than the heat dens. In my nine months in the center, I'd been in heat six times and lost count of the number of strangers who had been inside me. Could I do that for the rest of my life?

"Look, I think you have a decent chance of being accepted by your next pack," the woman said smoothly. "We need more omegas to assign to packs, so your choice will make a big impact."

I nodded. "I'll take the pack."

"Good! That's excellent news!" She beamed at me and tapped something into her tablet before handing me a slip of paper. "On Monday, after breakfast, give that to your assigned attendant and you'll be moved into the pack hall."

I took the paper and stood. "Thank you, ma'am."

Back in my room, I sank down on my bed. Everyone who had been here when I first arrived was gone now, replaced by fresh faces. We didn't bother getting to know each other. No one would be in contact once we left.

The one good thing that had happened was that I'd moved into the bottom bunk when my bunkmate left. No more climbing when my muscles were sore from the strenuous yoga classes.

The weekend was like every other weekend in this godforsaken place. Every room was given a cleaning assignment. I was on yard work this week. My room worked methodically through the courtyard, raking up dead leaves and watering the flowers. It was probably the best assignment out of all of them, but I couldn't take joy in it, not when I was going to be thrown to the wolves in just two days.

When Monday rolled around, I drank my protein shake and slurped down my plain oatmeal before going to the beta attendant at the door. I showed her my paper and she took me through a door I'd never noticed before. We walked down a long corridor and finally arrived at a space with big windows facing the street. Comfortable armchairs were set around the room and a table with fresh fruit in a basket sat in the center of the space.

Confused, I looked at the beta, but she just hurried me up to the desk on the far side of the room. "I have your 9 am."

"Melody Dasch?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Take a seat and your assessor will be here in a moment."

Too confused and tired to ask questions, I sank into one of the armchairs, relishing the softness. It had been nearly a year since I'd had any sort of comfort in my life.

The assessor arrived a minute later, a frazzled-looking man with glasses and a tablet tucked under his arm.

"Melody, I'm Mike France, I'm sorry I'm late. We don't have a lot of time, but you've been assigned to a pack that will arrive in a few minutes. If they like you, you'll be signed off to them and will go with them today."

I nodded dully. I had no choice in the matter if I didn't want to go to the heat dens permanently.

"This is the Aguilar Pack that's coming in. They've had some runs with the law, but have been approved for a secondary omega."

In other words, they weren't good enough for a proper omega, but a secondhand, used-up omega would be right up their alley. I knew I wasn't prime goods anymore, but the thought of going to criminals was almost enough to change my mind about the heat dens. Only the lingering pain on my hip where an alpha had dug his long nails into me, leaving four crescent cuts in my skin during my last heat kept me from changing my mind.

"They've already had your scent card so they know what they're getting," Mike said. "Oh, here they are." He jumped up as five massive alphas came through the doors.

I was already shaking as they approached and barely noticed the man following them. He was smaller and obviously a beta, but he looked just as terrifying as the others. They LOOKED like they belonged on the wrong side of the law. All of them were wearing dark jeans that had seen a lot of wear, black shirts, and three of them had on leather jackets. They all wore leather motorcycle boots. They looked like a gang with their tattoos and dark clothes.

The first man stepped up close, looking at me with inscrutable black eyes set in a ruggedly handsome face. His black hair curled slightly over his forehead, showcasing a scar over his left eye.

"I'm Angel."

I just stared at him, overpowered by his scent. He smelled like dark chocolate, heady and a little bitter, but in a good way. I could almost taste him as I breathed shallowly, trying not to take in too much of that delicious scent.

He huffed, seemingly annoyed by my lack of response. "I'm the leader of the Aguilar Pack. These are my fellow alphas, Zeke, Micah, Max, and Tiago. And this is our beta, Ari."

"Hi," I forced out. "Melody."

Angel looked at the others and they all stepped up to surround me, their scents washing over me and instantly calming me. Each one leaned in to sniff me and I shrank back a little, trying to get a look at them. Their smells overwhelmed me, coffee, caramel, hazelnut, citrus, and cinnamon mixed with Angel's chocolate smell.

"We'll take her," Angel said, snapping me out of the alpha aroma haze I was in.

"You'll need to sign here and here," Mike said, holding out some papers. "We'll check with you in six months to see if all is well. If you bond her before then, of course, you'll need to fill out the forms to register her as a bonded omega."

"Fine," Angel grunted. He grabbed my arm and lifted me up out of the chair. "Come on, omega."

The huge men clustered around me as we left. My new pack. I didn't even feel happy about leaving the reassignment center. These men terrified me even as their scents calmed me.

Outside, a black SUV was parked right in front of the doors. One of them opened the back door and jerked his chin for me to get in. I slid into the back row and one of them, Max, I thought, slid in to squash beside me. Ari took the driver's seat and Angel, unsurprisingly, sat shotgun.

We drove in silence and it was awkward as hell, but I didn't dare be the first to speak. I'd learned my lessons well. An omega doesn't speak until spoken to.

The SUV left the city and I shivered. Was I about to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with this rough-looking gang of alphas? They could do anything they liked to me and no one would know for another six months.

It was a long drive and it was late afternoon by the time we pulled up to a two-story house on a river in a city I'd never been to. Everyone piled out of the vehicle and headed into the house, so I followed, dragging my feet a little.

The place was beautiful. The house itself looked older but was well-maintained and had a wrap-around porch that I loved at first sight. There was a huge lawn that sloped down to the river and a big gravel driveway where the SUV was parked. There were six motorbikes parked there, too, which I decided made sense for these men.

"Come on, omega," Angel's deep voice startled me from my observations and I scurried to catch up to him. He stood, holding the door open for me. The rest of them had disappeared inside already.

"Ari will show you around," Angel told me shortly.

I nodded, looking around. The entrance to the house was small, but neat, with hooks for jackets on each side of the space. The men had kicked off their boots and lined them up along the wall. I didn't have shoes, so I just tried to discreetly wipe my feet on the mat.

"Ari!" Angel bellowed, making me shrink. "Get down here and give our omega the ten-cent tour."

Ari came pounding down the stairs in front of us and I caught sight of rainbow bunny slippers on his feet. He stopped dead in front of me and grinned. His dark eyes sparkled and he was the friendliest-looking man so far. He ran a hand through his dyed blond hair. "It's going to be good to have someone who isn't a grumpy alpha in this house finally. Come on, let's show you the place."

We moved quickly, with Ari hurrying through the house, popping into rooms just long enough to tell me what they were before we were on the move again.

The place wasn't huge, but it was comfortable. Hardwood floors were softened with rugs throughout and the kitchen was a decent size. Downstairs was open design, with the kitchen to the back and the dining room and living room all in one space. The entire back of the house was windows overlooking the picturesque river.

Upstairs were the bedrooms. Angel and Zeke had their own rooms, but Ari shared one with Max while Micah and Tiago shared a room.

"We're putting you in here," Ari told me, opening the door to the master bedroom overlooking the river.

There was a huge California king bed in the space, but nothing else. It was obviously a room meant for rutting, which I assumed would be my primary role here. Once again, I reminded myself that six men were better than hundreds.

"I know it's simple, but we can spruce it up," Ari assured me.

I nodded and walked to the window. The room had sliding glass doors that led out onto a balcony. For a moment, I imagined a hammock chair out there, with flowers blooming everywhere. Then I tamped it down. I was here for a reason, not for pleasure.Not mine, at least.