The Bear’s Broken Omega (The Grizzly Ridge #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

REID

I dug my fingernails into my palms until they broke the skin, desperate to distract myself from the lonely ache in my chest that felt like it would swallow me whole if I let it.

My instincts screamed at me to seek out Trent, my mate, but I refused to give him the satisfaction. He might control me in all the ways that mattered, but I was determined to hold onto whatever shreds of dignity I could.

Flopping onto the ratty bed, I winced as a broken spring poked my back and I adjusted my position, pulling a threadbare blanket over myself. God, I wished they’d give me a better way of staying warm. They might be shifters, but I wasn’t, and I didn’t run as hot as them.

Curling into a ball, I breathed in slowly, trying to calm my nerves, but grimaced when my nose filled with the scent of mold from the stained walls. How could the pack stand it? Surely their sensitive noses should mean they’d make more of an effort to keep the place clean—or at least livable.

But no, it didn’t seem to bother them.

Then again, not much did.

No one had protested when Trent violated me by mating me against my will.

No one said a word about the omegas who were kept in the basement or the ones who’d been assimilated into the pack but were still little more than prisoners.

The alphas under Trent’s rule happily took advantage of their prisoners—in every possible way—without a second thought.

They were monsters who ought to be put down.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t figured out how to do that yet.

I might be a powerful warlock, with more magic reserves than most, but between my lack of training and inability to do anything that might harm my mate, I’d never been able to bring myself to either escape or take down the pack.

I loathed the Pack Alpha with every fiber of my being, but a twisted part of me that was controlled by my magic loved him too. It fucking sucked.

If only I hadn’t been stupid enough to fall for his charming lies, even temporarily.

That had been all it took to condemn me to this life where the only choice I had was whether to give in and lose all sense of self or cling to the remnants of the person I used to be, even when it only seemed to cause more harm than good.

Voices filtered through the wall and a moment later, I sensed Trent tug on our bond.

I’d heard mate bonds could be pleasant, but the warped thing between us only ever caused me pain.

It wrapped around my ribs and made it difficult to breathe, the sensation tightening with each second.

I knew it wouldn’t let up until I did what he wanted.

I resisted for as long as I could, until my chest felt like it might explode, and then stumbled out of the pitiful room and into the living area. No one was there so I followed the sound of noise to the foyer just inside the front door, then came to an abrupt halt.

What the fuck?

The room was in absolute carnage, with the pack all in their wolf forms, facing off against an eclectic set of adversaries. Bears, a mountain lion, a big wolf, and several birds that flew above heads and dive-bombed Trent’s wolves, pecking at their eyes.

My heart stuttered, then lifted.

Fucking finally.

Someone had come to help. Trent must have fucked with the wrong clan and they were going to make him pay.

But as quickly as my spirits rose, they dropped again as a bear lunged at me. Luckily for me, one of Trent’s wolves intercepted it.

Terror flashed through me, freezing my blood in my veins as I realized that the interlopers wouldn’t help me if they thought I was willingly on Trent’s side. They’d kill me too.

A snout shoved me from behind and I stumbled.

Move, Trent said in my mind. Do something.

I lifted my hands and sent a shower of blue sparks into a space between two shifters, praying I wouldn’t hurt anyone.

I’d never been taught to use offensive magic—that was the last thing my coven would have wanted me to know—but I’d figured out how to throw sparks when I’d reacted instinctively to being hit by one of Trent’s wolves, and I’d been practicing it since then.

Unfortunately, my aim was shit and the sparks struck one of the larger bears even though I’d meant to miss. He roared in pain and shied away.

I glanced at the door that led through to the kitchen, wondering if I could make a run for it through the kitchen window, but at that moment, the massive wolf fighting on the side of the interlopers leapt at Trent and they collided in a flurry of claws, teeth, and fur.

Attack, Trent barked, yanking on the bond once again.

Reluctantly, I sent out another shower of sparks, wishing I could vanish as they hit the enemy wolf and the smell of singed fur soured the air. I was just glad he hadn’t thought to ask me to shield him. I hoped someone did what I couldn’t and took him down.

Something smacked into me from the side, knocking the air from my lungs. I stared up into a snarling mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Briefly, I considered trying to get the shifter off me, but Trent hadn’t ordered me to and I wasn’t going to do anything to help him if I didn’t have to.

Agony tore through me. I looked around frantically, feeling like my insides were being ripped out through my belly button. The wolf that Trent had been fighting had gotten the upper hand.

An awful ringing filled my ears and I clutched at my chest, tears leaking from my eyes as a part of my very soul itself was destroyed. I screamed, the pain worse than anything I’d ever experienced, as if the skin was being peeled from my body and salt poured on the exposed tissue.

Trent was dead.

All of a sudden, the beast was off me, and I rushed across the room, throwing myself on Trent’s body. He’d already returned to his human form and his throat was a pulpy mess of blood and bone.

Sobs wracked me and I grabbed his shoulders and shook him, that traitorous part of myself that considered him a true mate desperate to force him to open his eyes and blink up at me, even as the rest of me was horrified by the humiliating display of grief for a man who’d been no more than a captor and abuser.

Reality didn’t seem to matter. He’d been a part of me, and now he was gone. My psyche was splitting in two.

I reared back and screamed, light blazing around me in a visible display of my sorrow that I had absolutely no control over. My magic reacted to strong emotions, but I’d never had much say in how it responded or what it did.

The same wolf that had taken out my mate pounced on me, bowling me onto my back. His green eyes stared into mine as he lowered his blood-covered muzzle to my throat.

So, this was how my life would end.

Gulping, I shut my eyes, preparing for the fatal blow.

“Stop!”

My eyes flew open. The wolf above me looked as startled as I was.

A naked man dropped to his knees beside us, bleeding from a shoulder wound. He was broad and muscular, with an immense build that made me think he was one of the bear shifters I’d seen earlier. His face was craggy and his eyes were a deep shade of brown, like chocolate melting in the sun.

The fractured pieces of my broken heart shifted, a couple of them knitting back together.

“He’s my mate,” the man said, his nostrils flaring as if he was inhaling my scent to confirm this ridiculous allegation. “I couldn’t smell it before. The bond with Trent must have altered his scent, but now it’s clear. Don’t hurt him. Please.”

The wolf growled, but a moment later he shifted into a muscular man with long, dark hair. “Keep him secured. He’s dangerous.”

The liar nodded, his gaze never wavering from my face. “Clay, get the cuffs that are spelled to bind magic.”

Another man jogged over with a pair of cuffs. My breath caught in my throat and I thrashed but couldn’t break free.

Use magic, idiot.

I only wished I knew how.

One of the cuffs was slapped onto my wrist and my muscles went slack. I stared at the ceiling, tears prickling in the backs of my eyes.

Trent had been killed, but I wasn’t free. I was still a prisoner with no say over my own fate. Honestly, I should have known better than to hope for more. I was a tool that people used. Had been for my whole life.

Gods only knew what fresh hell would await me once these new shifters figured out how to control my magic.