Chapter 16 Rowan #2
I was free!
Well, not free, but at least free to leave my bedroom, and that was a win!
The common space was quiet, and no one was in the living room or kitchen.
Nevermind.
An absolutely massive alpha was sitting at the dining table, with his back facing me. He was so quiet that I almost didn’t notice him, which was surprising considering his sheer size.
I had thought Ryker was massive until I saw Cade.
And now I realized I had thought Cade was massive until seeing whoever this was.
How big did they get? Russian nesting dolls briefly came to mind, each larger than the last. Maybe the fourth pack mate was even bigger, although I couldn’t imagine how anyone could be larger than the man sitting at the table.
Hunched over, he shoveled what looked like fruity cereal into his mouth.
I didn’t need to announce my presence; my scent did that for me.
As soon as I stepped into the common space, he turned to look at me, with his head cocked to one side.
His expression wasn’t hungry or predatory like Cade and Ryker’s, but inquisitive, like a child watching a captured bug through a glass container.
His jaw reminded me of Cade’s. It was sharp and square, although he looked a few years younger and his eyes were a piercing icy blue.
A thick, angry scar ran through his brow, pausing at his eye, and continued onto his cheek.
Another older scar cut across his cheekbone, following the hollow of it and sloping along his stubbled jaw.
Jet-black hair fell from his head in a messy wave, brushing over his forehead and obstructing his eyes slightly, which narrowed as they roamed over me.
A chill of fear slid down my spine. Something about his appearance and sheer size told me this was not someone I wanted to provoke.
This man was a predator who hunted dangerous prey, as evidenced by his scars and a white bandage peeking out from under his shirt.
The dressing led me to believe that this must be Killian, remembering that Cade had mentioned he was recovering from an injury.
He also smelled of the T-shirt I was wearing.
“Hello,” my meek voice croaked out.
I was nervous and watched him cautiously.
Cade and Ryker were certainly intimidating, but I wasn’t concerned that they were going to kill me.
Maybe just fuck and control me to death.
Killian had a lethal energy surrounding him, and I was not disillusioned enough to think that his injury would buy me any upper hand.
He would and could snap me in half like the twig that I was.
Killian, done observing me, turned his attention back to his cereal, looking utterly disinterested. That's what I thought at least until his low, raspy voice cut through the silence.
“Come here, Little Omega.”
His voice was coarse and uneven, carrying a strange, unfamiliar tone, as though he hadn’t spoken aloud in a long time. Each word seemed to scrape its way out of his throat, roughened by silence and disuse.
I didn’t want to obey. But my feet moved anyway, carrying me toward him before my mind could catch up. For a moment, I wondered if he’d used his alpha bark. But when I realized I could stop if I wanted to; it hit me: he hadn’t forced me. His voice alone had compelled me.
I stood next to him, beside the table, waiting for him to say something else. His scent was intoxicating this close, and as afraid as I was, I tried to stand closer to smell him.
In a swift moment, he grabbed me. I thought he was going to kill me as I squeeked, too afraid to elicit a real scream. Instead of killing me, he sat me on his lap facing him. My legs straddled his wide thighs, straining to accommodate his mass between them.
Underwear had been a good call.
He pushed me up against his chest, wrapping his free hand around my waist and tucking my nose into the crook of his neck.
His scent was strongest here, and I breathed it in like a lifeline.
It was like being wrapped in a cocoon of safety and comfort.
I buried myself deeper as he chuckled a gravelly laugh, allowing me to rub his scent all over my face.
He stopped eating long enough to bury his own nose in the crook of my shoulder, scenting me in return.
He took one long and steady inhale as I felt something monstrous growing between his thighs.
What was that thing?! Why were these men getting hard all the time? Did they lack self-control completely?
We stayed like that for a moment, buried in each other’s warmth, until Killian flipped me around onto his lap, putting my back against his chest.
“Eat, Little Crane,” he said, holding up the cereal spoon to my lips.
“Uh, no thank you. I’m not hungry… Killian, right? Actually, I just ate,” I lied, despite being very, very, hungry. There was no way anyone was going to feed me, though. “Wait, did you just call me Crane? Like the bird? What does that mean?”
Killian let out a deep, gravely laugh, dropped the cereal spoon, and grabbed a paper napkin from the table.
He started folding the napkin delicately and precisely.
His fingers were surprisingly nimble, despite being the size of baby tree trunks.
At first it looked like nothing, but after a few folds, a small paper crane materialized in his palm.
He gave it to me explaining, “Little Omega, so pale and delicate. Like a little paper crane.”
Maybe he was a gentle giant after-all.
“Eat now. It’s not a request,” he growled, dashing my hopes.
I wanted to argue about being hand-fed, because that's where I definitely drew the line with feeling like their pet, but I was working on escaping by lulling them into a false sense of security.
Not to mention, I had no clue when the last time I had eaten was, so I decided just once, I would let it go.
Not realizing how hungry I had been until the first bite of fruity, processed junk food hit my tongue, I moaned.
When I was a kid, I used to love this cereal.
Closing my eyes, I relished the sugary taste that reminded me of my childhood.
He scooped another spoonful, feeding me more.
After a few more bites, he lowered his head to the crook of my shoulder and began sucking, nipping, and running the flat of his tongue up the column of neck, to my ear.
“Uh, Killian… um, what are you doing?” I mumbled, mouth still full of cereal.
“Marking you,” he stated simply, as if it were completely normal to lick people you had just met, without their permission.
I tried to squirm out of his hold and regain some personal space when he bit down hard on the crook of my shoulder. It was incredibly painful, and I screamed loudly trying to push myself away from him. What the hell?! He had definitely broken skin!
Tears welled in my eyes when I noticed a trickle of blood running down my chest. My initial fear was that he would snap me in half, but maybe I should have been more concerned about him eating me alive.
Now I was really frightened.
“Mine,” Killian snarled.
The giant held me firmly in place. I thought he was going to bite me again, so I flinched instinctively and fought harder to get out of his grip.
The sharp stinging pain from his bite was getting worse and worse, consuming my thoughts entirely.
Instead of biting me again, Killian started licking the wound and the surrounding blood that was now flowing steadily.
As he worked to clean up the mess he had made, he also purred, trying to calm me. The pain in my shoulder lessened, and my body relaxed like gelatin, unable to resist his purr and the ensuing comfort and calm that washed over me.
Killian resumed eating his cereal, tucking me against him, occasionally offering me a spoonful, which I refused to eat.
Terrified that he was going to bite me again, I kept quiet on his lap.
Just as I was hoping he might forget about me and loosen his hold so I could slip away, the front door swung open.
Cade and Ryker walked in, engaged in a conversation, but as soon as my scent hit their noses and they surveyed their surroundings, all hell broke loose. They were clearly not happy that I was straddling Killian's lap, covered in half-dried blood, crying.
“I’m sorry, Cade, I didn’t know what to do; he just picked me up and bit me, it really hurt, and now he won’t put me down -”
Cade and Ryker’s flurry of movement interrupted my explanation. Killian released me, and I scrambled to get out of the way, just as Cade collided with him at full force. Their collision was like two mountains crashing into one another. Ryker grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.
Cade and Killian clashed, two massive predators vying for dominance over each other.
The entire room shook as their fists connected.
Killian, while bigger, was slower than Cade.
Killian was also injured, to what extent I wasn’t sure, but I could tell he was favoring his right side.
He finally caught hold of Cade and had him shoved up against a wall, but just as he was about to land a blow, Cade ducked, grabbing Killian around the legs and bringing the giant to the floor.
The wooden coffee table did not survive Killian’s weight as he came crashing down onto it, splintering into a million pieces.
Ryker didn’t intervene, instead watching carefully, standing with his back to me.
Highly aware that the unlocked door was mere feet away from me, I considered slipping out unnoticed.
I would get at least a minute head start before they stopped fighting and realized my absence, but I wouldn’t get far enough.
Wearing nothing but a T-shirt and underwear, covered in blood, amid an Arca military base, meant I would attract a lot of attention.
My return to the dorm, kicking and screaming, was certain.
The failed escape attempt would also destroy any hope of gaining their trust to actually escape.