Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Flat Above Dough Knot Bakery, Haven
I stare at the photograph of Thomas that Lincoln is holding up on his iPhone.
Why does he have to look so gorgeous?
Thomas is standing in a sun drenched, manicured garden in front of the sweeping steps of a mansion. To my surprise, a slender peacock is perched on the steps with its iridescent tail spread wide.
The light makes Thomas’ hair glow like flames. Yet his skin is as pale as snow.
He’s commanding and beautiful.
For a long moment, I can’t look away.
I remember why I spent everything in my savings — am risking my future — for this Alpha.
“You understand why I choked on my coffee, when this photograph appeared at the top of my new contract.” Lincoln arches his brow. “I don’t see the bastard since high school, then I’m sitting there studying for my advanced close protection first aid course and I get this on my phone. You know how some people are pretty when they’re young but sort of glow up into themselves? Well, Tom’s a bad Alpha but he should be a fucking model.”
I scrunch up my nose, uncomfortable.
With difficulty, I shift around on the floor onto my knees to face Lincoln. “Don’t call him a bad Alpha.”
Lincoln’s face becomes shuttered. “He is bad.”
“We don’t choose what pack we’re born into. Hell, you and I know that more than most. Tom didn’t choose to be a Saint, no more than you chose to be a West or me a Snake.”
I reach to caress over Lincoln’s snake earring, lingering on the sensitive place behind his ear, which makes his breath hitch.
Got him.
To my relief, Lincoln’s expression gentles, as he glances back at his phone. “Tom still looks like he could freeze you into an ice statue with that Medusa stare of his. But fuck, I never could look away from those aquamarine eyes of his, even to save my life.”
Lincoln never could. He used to believe that Thomas was his fated mate like me.
What a joke, huh?
A snake and a saint.
Lincoln’s contempt tinged rage at Thomas, however, makes something sick curl in my stomach.
What’s with the sudden change?
Thomas is my enemy as well. But I don’t want to hate him.
Could I ever hate him?
We were three kids thrown together at school.
Are we to blame for the actions of our parents? For their choices?
For the packs that we were born into?
None of us can rebel against our Head Alphas, right?
I gently push down Lincoln’s hand, which is holding the phone, forcing him to meet my eyes instead. “So, Tom is your new boss. You can’t hold onto old grudges.”
Lincoln’s gaze darkens. “I’ve learned the hard way over the last three years how to hide how I’m really feeling. I’ll call him sir and act the good Beta. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not imagining him being the one on his knees calling me sir.”
I gape at him, as my cheeks redden. “Link!”
He smirks. “What? Don’t tell me that you never imagined it?”
So, Lincoln’s just as obsessed with Thomas as he always was. Except, now for some reason, there’s a darker edge to it.
I guess that he’s not the only one.
If Lincoln was my first love, then Thomas was my first crush.
It was heady, the way that my heart would beat faster and butterflies would flutter in my stomach every time that I saw Thomas in class.
Only, I don’t think that Thomas had a clue.
This is going to get messy.
I could never work out at school, whether Lincoln wanted to beat Thomas’ ass most days or do something…far more enjoyable…to his ass.
At the moment, I think that he’s falling on the beat side.
Anxiety spikes through me.
Lincoln will be joining Thomas’ pack on Monday. Thomas is the Chief Alpha. He’s deputy mayor and Lincoln’s employer.
It doesn’t matter how big Lincoln speaks with me or how dangerous a fighter he’s been trained to be. He’s only allowed to use those skills in the protection of the Saint pack.
Officially, he’ll become my enemy.
My stomach swoops at that thought.
When Lincoln and I were filled with teenage hormones, we were confused over our feelings for Thomas.
How will Lincoln act, however, when he’s forced to work closely with him?
I remember Thomas and his Omega sister, Mercy, at high school.
They were the most beautiful Alpha and Omega but they were cold and standoffish.
They were the unofficial king and queen of the school.
An elite gaggle of fangirls and fanboys hung around them. But none of those admirers appeared to be the pairs’ real friends. They were using the Saint siblings for their status or because they wanted to date one of them.
Yet the Saint siblings never dated anyone.
To me, they seemed lonely in the middle of a crowd.
I always admired the way, however, that Thomas protected his sister. He was vigilant and stood up for her against every other Alpha.
I was shocked that he never raised his hand to her or ordered her around.
He treated her like an equal.
No Omega was treated like that in the Snake pack.
It was the thing that drew me to watch Thomas.
I knew that the Saint pack was just as Traditional as the Snakes. I’d seen how brutal his dad, Raylan, was when he collected Thomas from the front of the school.
I’d stood, helpless and distressed, as Raylan backhanded Thomas, knocking him to the ground, before casually dragging him by the scruff of the neck to the car because he’d been a couple of minutes late at the end of the day.
I spent years, trying to work out why Thomas treated his sister as liberally as he did.
He was a beautiful mystery.
Thomas’ arrogant gaze would slide across me sometimes, as I sat next to him in class. My skin would goosebump like it was his elegant fingers.
Once, when we’d both been kept behind in the corridor for detention for failing a history exam, he sidled closer to me than he ever had before.
Normally, he was studiously careful about not touching any Omega but his sister, in order not to scent mark them.
The Saint and other traditional packs have strict rules about that.
Nervous about the detention, my scent was soured.
Dad hated it, when my actions put more stress on the pack or made them look bad.
Detentions counted.
I shuddered in fear.
To my surprise, Thomas stiffened next to me and then pulled out his most precious item: his iPod.
From my long obsessed (I refuse to call it stalker-like), hours of watching him, I knew that he was into his music as much as my brother was.
When Thomas was standing in the middle of his gang of admirers, he’d slip one earbud into his ear and another into his sister’s, allowing her to nuzzle close to him, soothingly.
It was like they were creating a safe bubble for themselves. It pulled at my heartstrings in a way that I didn’t understand.
Now, Thomas pushed one earbud into his ear, and to my shock, offered the other to me.
He didn’t say anything.
I croaked out, “Thanks.”
Warmth curled through me. The butterflies were back, as I edged closer to Thomas, sliding in the earbud.
The simple, comforting guitar and vocals of the White Stripes’ “We’re Going to Be Friends,” flooded through me.
My gaze locked with Thomas’.
Was he trying to send me a secret message? Had he been forbidden to publicly talk to me? Be seen with me?
I held my breath.
I’d never wanted something to be true so much in my life.
Or was it all in my mind because I was desperate for his attention… love ?
My gaze dropped to Thomas’ plush lips.
Had he ever been kissed?
Then I realized that I wasn’t trembling with fear anymore.
I was no longer scared of the detention or what came afterwards.
I was caught in a bubble, the same one that Thomas normally offered to his sister.
This was more precious — romantic — than a kiss.
For this short moment that we were caught together in the loop of the music, we were connected and we were safe.
Of course, it was only an illusion.
Delusion.
Just like our friendship or romance.
The moment that the teacher marched out, Thomas pulled his iPod back, winding it up and hiding it in his pocket.
He averted his gaze and went back to pretending that I was beneath his notice again.
What version of Thomas was real?
The haughty, elite jerk or the kind Alpha who’d shared his only comfort with me?
Now, sitting on the carpet in my bedroom, I don’t know how to explain any of this to Lincoln.
“Tom is a complex man.” I rub my temple that’s started to ache. “There’s more going on underneath the surface that we don’t know. And pretty as he is, he’s going to be your boss. You need to adjust to that. How the fuck did it happen?”
Lincoln pushes his phone back into his pocket. He runs his hand through his sleek hair, ruffling the waves and making him look more like the boy I remember.
“The Saints needed a new bodyguard. Elite as they are, it’s not surprising that they came to the best training academy that there is for one. Apparently, as soon as Tom saw my name, he wouldn’t look at any other applicants.” Lincoln can’t hide the pride in his voice. “The academy handle the hiring and the contracts. I haven’t spoken to Tom yet.”
I frown.
It sounds far too much like Lincoln has been sold to the Saints.
“Could you have said no?” I ask, carefully.
Lincoln laughs. “Why would I? Better the knothead you know and all that shit. And yep, I could have said no, if I didn’t mind being put on punishment duty, until I said yes to the next contract. Anyway, it won’t be much different to when we were young. I protected Tom then too.”
“Possibly don’t remind Tom of that. Alphas have their pride.”
“I call it knot ego. They inflate their knots to match their inflated egos. Tom’s knot should be fucking impressive.”
I chuckle at the same time as I flush.
But then, the laughter dies in my throat, when I remember the first time that Lincoln stepped in to protect Thomas.
In senior year, Lincoln and I had turned a corner and discovered Thomas trapped against a locker.
His sister wasn’t with him for once.
Three of the more persistent of Thomas’ Alpha fanboys, who’d definitely tipped into stalker-like obsession as the years had gone on, had him pressed hard against his own locker.
Their leader was Richard, a blue eyed, golden haired jock who thought that the entire world should kneel in front of him because his dad was the billionaire owner and CEO of the biggest chemical company in the state.
Lincoln stumbled to a halt, but I grabbed his arm.
“You already have a detention this week, gargoyle,” I hissed at Lincoln. “Keep walking. You can’t get into another fight.”
“It won’t be another fight,” Lincoln growled. His eyes appeared to have become molten silver, rather than gray, like they always did when he was about to let out his dark side. I shivered. “It’ll be an ass kicking , if that knothead doesn’t take his hand off Tom’s neck.”
Confused, I glanced back at Richard.
I gasped.
Richard had one hand to the side of Thomas’ head, caging him against the lockers and blocking his escape. The other one, however, was trailing suggestively down Thomas’ neck.
“Don’t move, Tommy,” Richard murmured.
Casually, he undid Thomas’ tie. Thomas’ throat bobbed, as he swallowed.
Slowly, Richard unbuttoned Thomas’ shirt, a button at a time, stroking the milk pale skin that was revealed.
One button.
Two.
Three…
Thomas’ expression was what made my blood chill.
Thomas looked young — lost .
Why wasn’t he fighting back?
But then, I’d barely seen him speak up for himself. It was like he was disassociated.
Had Thomas’ dad buried him underneath so many rules of how he needed to behave to be a good and upstanding Alpha that he’d become vulnerable to Alphas like Richard?
On the other hand, I was a Snake and Lincoln was my Beta.
We weren’t good .
We’d be punished but we could do whatever the fuck we liked.
Lincoln had the nickname at school: Destroyer of Alphas .
“ Kick their asses ,” I snarled, unleashing Lincoln on those three Alphas like an army of one.
Lincoln howled, launching himself on the Alphas. He used the martial arts skills that the triplets had been teaching him.
I was in awe of Lincoln; he was in a protective, primal rage.
He was terrifying but not to me.
He was my fated soldier.
Two of the Alphas scattered, as soon as Lincoln ripped them away from Thomas. Lincoln’s reputation proceeded him.
Richard slammed his elbow back into Lincoln’s stomach, however, twisting to face him.
“Beta Snake,” Richard sneered. “Who do you think you are, touching me? My father will have your scaly hide.”
Lincoln punched Richard in the face, before grabbing him by his golden hair and slamming him to the floor.
“When you tell him about this,” Lincoln growled, “make sure that you tell him you had your balls busted because you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself.”
Then Lincoln kicked Richard in the balls once, twice, thrice…
Fair.
Richard dared to open three of Thomas’ buttons, after all.
I glanced from underneath my eyelashes at Thomas.
Thomas wasn’t looking at us, however, merely doing up his shirt jerkily. He was paler than normal, as he shouldered his bag and walked away quickly down the corridor in the opposite direction.
I thought that I heard him say, “Thank you.”
I could have imagined that.
At the memory of Lincoln’s bravery, I launch myself into his arms, kissing down his jaw.
Lincoln grips me around the waist, before picking me up and bridal style carrying me toward the bed.
I love that he’s strong enough to carry me like this. I cling around his neck, kissing and licking along his raspberry tasting scent gland.
When he throws me onto the bed, I bounce.
I smile up at Lincoln, as his grin becomes dark and dangerous. He leaps onto the bed after me. He cages me, staring down at me with a wicked glint in his eye that makes me shiver.
He kisses me, nipping my lower lip. “I’ve dreamed of you for three years. I’m desperate to bite, bond, and claim you, my fated.”
It’s taboo and forbidden for a Beta to talk like that.
Then Lincoln does something even more taboo.
He lowers his mouth to my neck, licking first in a way that makes me writhe with pleasure, before sucking at my neck to mimic an Alpha’s bond mark.
I can feel how hard he is in his pants against my hip.
Together, we dry hump against each other.
The friction is delicious.
I whimper, desperate for him to bite me .
Fuck, it’s forbidden.
But I crave it.
I know that he does too.
Lincoln edges his hand to the top of my pajamas, teasing his fingers along the edges. “Can I touch you?”
“Please.” I push my hips up encouragingly against him.
He gets the hint, sliding his hand eagerly down the front of my pajama bottoms. I can feel his lips curl into a smile against my neck.
His strong fingers find out my clit and circle in just the way that we discovered I loved together in the explorations in high school.
We’ve shared all our firsts.
He’s the first and only person to kiss, tongue, or make me shudder with pleasure by the teasing of his fingers.
I can’t help asking, “Has there been anyone else over these three years?”
I don’t want him to have been lonely. It’s a long time to have lived celibate without affection or love.
Yet it’s hard to imagine him with someone else.
Lincoln’s fingers don’t stop their stroking, which is sparking pleasure through me. “No one. I made friends with the other Betas, and we supported each other to survive. But I was always going to find a way back to you. You’re my fated mate. I know that you don’t really believe me. But I’m going to prove it to you. You’re my first Omega and…” He slides two fingers down the wetness of my pussy, before pushing inside me in a way that makes me whine high in my throat. He waited for me like I waited for him . Joy surges through me. Then he fingers me — in and out, in and out — so perfectly that my eyelashes flutter, and I lose coherent thought. “…If we’re lucky enough to find a pack for ourselves, the treasured male Omega and good Alpha that we’ve always dreamed about, then that will never change. You’re my fated, and I would fucking burn the world for you…”
Pleasure slams through me, and I scream. “Link!”
Lincoln raises his head to seal his mouth against mine like he wants to feel every moment of my shuddering pleasure, at the same time that he works me through my orgasm.
I feel boneless and satisfied.
His touch is nothing like my own.
It’s like life next to a ghost.
Slowly, Lincoln pulls his hand out of my pajamas. He winks at me, as he licks his fingers clean like my slick is nectar, settling next to me with a satisfied smile.
I’m dazed and happy. “Fuck, that was good.” Then I notice how hard Lincoln still is in his pants. He hasn’t reached to touch himself like he’s only interested in my needs. “Shall I…?”
He shakes his head. “We have the whole weekend. I only wanted to make you feel good. You were stressed. After all, I have just surprised you at the window, before announcing that I was working for an enemy pack. But still, it feels like there’s something else going on. Am I wrong?”
Sadly, the good feeling is chased away.
My shoulders stiffen. “This is why you’re my best friend. You know me so well. Dad’s visit last night wrecked me. The mayor has been threatening to close down our bakery. So, Dad threatened to kidnap Tom. He gave us the choice of paying for him instead with our last savings to stop him from claiming him. Of course Vito and I did. How could I let Dad take Tom, when he told me that he fancied redheads?”
Lincoln immediately sits up, smoothing down his suit. His eyes flash with controlled fury.
He’s back in professional mode, as if he hasn’t just been fingering my pussy.
“That’s a high level threat. I’d break every one of Cesare’s fingers, if he tried to touch…” Lincoln’s jaw clenches, as he forces himself to not to finish the sentence. “Theoretically, you bought Tom. Does that mean you sort of own him? Whose side are you on in this? Will you tell me if the Snakes intend to kidnap him again?”
My eyes widen.
Annoyed, I push myself up. “Hey, I’m the one who saved Tom’s ass. But his pack is why my bakery is likely going to shut down. Why Vito will have to sell his motorcycle, which is the only possession that he loves. Why my dreams may be destroyed.”
Lincoln sits next to me with his back against the headboard.
He reaches to squeeze my arm. “Are you sure that it’s not all happening because of the Snake pack?”
For a moment, I feel trapped by his truth.
I panic, struggling to breathe.
Lincoln pulls me into his arms, and I nuzzle against his neck.
“Can’t it be both?” I whisper. “Vito and I are trying to fly from the Snakes but that doesn’t make us friends of the Saints. I’m seriously freaked out about you working for Tom. He’s protective of his sister, and I’ve seen moments of kindness from him. But he’s been raised as a Traditional and he works for a corrupt political system that’s oppressing everyone in this state, Omegas, Betas, and Alphas alike.”
“On Monday, so will I.”
“You didn’t have a choice.”
“I did. A shit one but still, a choice. You’re the one who told me that Tom was born into the pack and had no choice.”
Hell, defeated by my own logic.
I smile. “I shouldn’t be so smart, huh?”
“You’re perfect.”
I glow at his praise.
Gently, Lincoln pushes me back, pulling his iPhone out of his pocket. “I’ve got something to show you. And before you get excited, nope, it’s not sexy nudes with my piercings on display. I can take some of those later for you.”
I nudge him with my elbow. “You’d better. You’ve promised now.”
“Do bad boys pinky promise? Oh, fuck it.” He links our pinkies together. “I’ve always fancied some boudoir photography in suggestive poses with my gun, and take that any way you want.” Then his expression becomes unexpectedly serious. “It’s on my phone. You’re smart. Words tend to blur together for me. As soon as I got the contract, and it was hundreds of pages of tiny small print legalese, I wished that you were with me to check it before I signed.”
He flicks back to the photograph of Thomas and then to the contract on the next screen.
Hell, that is a lot of small print.
My brow furrows. “You want me to read this?”
He shakes his head. “It’s actually the last page. Under the contract, the Saints included my work schedule and job description. Then there was a file that I think was added at the last minute. At least, that’s my gut feeling. It’s advice on the job. See, I’m employed specifically as Tom’s bodyguard but also his male Omega’s guard.”
I pale. “He has a male Omega? And guard ?”
How didn’t I know? Shouldn’t I have seen the male Omega in Haven? Shouldn’t the bonding have been in the society magazines?
“They may not be bonded. Before you make up your mind about Thomas, you need to know this. The male Omega is called my charge in the paperwork.” Lincoln’s expression is grim. “When my younger brother, Swan, loved to dance, it was your sisters who encouraged him. Do you remember that? Your mom too? She’d play “Swan Lake”, saying he was named after the ballet. She’d clap as Swan danced around the kitchen, as if a servant’s son had any right to be in the main house.”
My heart aches because I know where this story is going.
It’s why Lincoln has dedicated his life to protecting me and every other Omega at school.
Because he couldn’t protect his little brother.
“Link,” I say, softly, “don’t…”
“That’s what I said. Don’t take him, don’t hurt him, don’t send my baby brother away . But that didn’t stop your dad. He sold him to that ballet academy for Betas, owned by the Romeo pack, just another pretty nobody to be exploited. I’ve never been allowed to contact him.” Lincoln’s eyes gleam with tears. “So, you understand, right?”
My heart is beating too fast. My pulse is roaring in my ears.
“You’re scaring me,” I whisper. “Understand what?”
“I can’t let it happen to anybody else.” Lincoln pushes the phone into my hand like it’s venomous. “Will you hate me, if I can’t work out the seven years of my contract with Tom? If I feel like I have to risk everything because doing the right thing is more important than doing what I want?”
“This is about the male Omega.” The realization hits me hard.
It’s not a question.
Lincoln nods.
“Okay.” I clutch the phone hard with white knuckles. “How many beatings did you take from teachers to protect Omegas and younger Betas? I get it. If this is about saving an Omega, then I’m in. It’s not even a question.”
“Fuck, I love you.”
Lincoln slides his hand into my hair from the base of my neck, dragging me into a passionate kiss that makes me shiver.
Then he rests his forehead against mine for a long moment, before he grips my chin and turns me back to face the phone. “It’s a page from a log that was recorded in June. I guess Tom…or some knothead who I really hope isn’t Tom…thought that it’d be educational for me to learn about what’s effective with my charge, before I start working with the Omega on Monday.”
I look down at the screen, nervously.
What the hell am I about to read?
Saints Cage Basement
June, 1 st
Reject Omega G refuses to listen again today. OG to sleep on the floor without the mattress as a consequence.
June, 3 rd
OG won’t stop its feral growling. Its blanket has been removed as a consequence.
June, 8 th
Some success in teaching OG that it will only receive food, if it kneels immediately. Tomorrow, I will be working on teaching my charge that instinctual movements like drinking when thirsty or reaching for food when hungry will be punished. This will be a significant step in the training.
June, 16 th
Warnings that feral chirping is forbidden no longer proving sufficient with OG. It is continuing to rebel by growling and pretending innocence in its flinches. Ten strikes issued from discipline strap.
June, 23 rd
OG can’t talk but can still lie with its tears. It attempts to manipulate my sympathy. Offered soap and chance to wash for the first time. OG was pathetically grateful and kneeled for the first time willingly.
June, 25 th
OG makes false promises of good behavior, seeking mercy. Do not be tricked. It’s defective. It has earned four hours in sensory deprivation this afternoon. It is well deserved. Tomorrow, I intend…
I toss the phone away from me onto the cushions, unable to read anymore.
Tears trail down my cheeks.
“We’re saving him,” I say, horrified. “The log calls this male Omega defective . It could be me in that basement.”
Lincoln’s blazing gaze holds mine. “I’d fucking tear out the throats of every single one of the Saints, if that was you. Vito would too. I don’t care if going on a mission to rescue this abused Omega makes me a terrorist in the government’s eyes.” Then he appears to read my guilty expression; I never could hide anything from him. “You’re already a member of the resistance, aren’t you?” He gives a sardonic grin. “I knew it. This is why we’re fated.”
“Or perhaps, why we’re both awesome.” Joy winds through me. “Are you truly ready to rebel together? If we’re caught going on a mission like this, then I’d be sent to the Institute like my mom was, and you’d be…”
“Executed.” He arches his brow. “That’s why we’ll be smart about it. The Saints are the dumb ones because they’ve literally sent me over a contract that gives me permission to enter their heavily guarded estate. No one from outside is normally allowed in there. They’re secretive. Now, I can scout intel and be your inside man. You can work out a plan from the refuge of this bakery that gets us all out of this safely.”
Yet my insides are twisting. “Does that include Tom?”
I have to ask.
Lincoln’s expression darkens. “Monsters can be beautiful. But they’re still monsters.”
“Please, Link.” I desperately catch his gaze with mine. “You call him bad , devil , and monster . But Vito and I have been called the same things because we’re Snakes. Tom wasn’t in Haven in June, when that log was written. He’s been away for months, I don’t know where, probably on business for his dad. Until we know if he had anything to do with this treatment of the male Omega, keep an open mind on whether he’s our true enemy. You’re part of the Saint pack now. Perhaps, this is a rescue mission for only the male Omega G, or perhaps, we’re also risking our lives to save Tom.”