Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Saint Cage, Haven
I lie on the hard earth of the basement, spooning Ghost. His lean back is warm against my front. I absentmindedly kiss the back of his head over his white-blond curls.
For once, Sugar isn’t down here with us but has taken herself off to stalk around the sunny gardens or possibly, hunt.
Do cats hunt Alphas?
She’s so loyal to Ghost that she probably would for him.
Thomas’ tie hangs around Ghost’s neck, where it’s become my habit to place it, when I come down into the basement each morning. It’s become our ritual like I’m dressing Ghost up for the day.
He poses like he’s at a model shoot for me.
“Perfect,” I’ll reassure.
His smile will be blinding, before he’ll strut the length of the basement like he’s on a runway.
Over this last week that we’ve spent together in the basement, we’ve developed other little rituals: I bring down the latest copy of magazines like Omega Weekly, which I read first while Ghost drinks his black coffee, he passes Sugar from his lap to mine for at least half an hour of petting, and he teaches me a new card game every day (and I lose, apart from one game).
Ghost still won’t communicate directly with Lincoln but he’s less wary of him.
Lincoln only spends a short amount of time with us.
The mayor has become more demanding, and Richard is a violent shadow.
Together, we’ve agreed that Lincoln needs to stay at Thomas’ side for his protection.
When Lincoln does spend time in the basement, I notice Ghost glancing more and more often at him, when he thinks Lincoln isn’t looking. Sometimes, he can’t stop himself laughing at his jokes.
He no longer growls, when Lincoln approaches or kisses me goodbye for the day.
Once or twice, I’ve caught a longing look, as if Ghost wishes that he could relax and allow himself to connect with Lincoln, just as he has with me.
But he’s not quite there yet. I won’t rush him.
Ghost’s already made incredible progress in this last week. I’m proud of him.
I sniff at Ghost’s neck, breathing in his rich scent. I smile happily, resting my arm over his middle.
I tug the soft blanket more snugly over both of us.
It’s mid-afternoon, but Ghost’s gently snoring. I’ve found out this week that he naps a lot. It’s probably normal for someone who’s been kept in prolonged solitary confinement.
Hell, I wish that I could get him to a therapist. Are there therapists for Omegas?
Even if there are, how could an Alpha or Beta truly understand what we need support with? Our trauma?
Perhaps, if I could show the world that an Omega can be a professional baker, then one day Omegas will be allowed to go to college and train to become anything they like, including therapists. Then we can get the support that we need.
I smile at the thought. But then, my smile fades.
Despite my whispered discussions with Ghost, Thomas, and Lincoln this week about how to break Raylan’s iron control over Haven and his pack, we haven’t come up with one idea that feels like it’ll truly work.
Thomas made it clear that he’s been working with Ghost on a long term plot.
But long term won’t work anymore.
Now that we’re fated mates, with bonds so deep that the connection can’t be broken, our matching can’t be hidden for much longer.
Thomas has been trying to prove a legal backing for the fated bonds aspect.
But what will happen after that?
Anxiety swirls in my stomach.
This week of calm feels like the eye of the storm.
I’ve fallen for these three men. Yet we’re from three enemy packs.
If we’re going to survive, then we’ll have to fight.
All of a sudden, Ghost stiffens in my arms. His legs twitch, before he jerks.
He whimpers. Then he growls.
This has become a daily ritual.
His nightmare.
He turns around in his sleep, searching for my comfort.
I reach for his hand, clasping it. “Ghost.”
He growls again. His brow is furrowed.
“Hey, it’s okay, I’m here,” I murmur.
Ghost shakes his head like he’s desperately trying to tell someone no .
His eyes are still closed. Beads of sweat run down his porcelain pale forehead.
Fuck, he’s scared.
Not only scared.
Terrified.
I press my hand gently to his forehead, pushing his damp hair back from his eyes. “Ghost, my Ghost, I’m here. Ghost…”
It’s all I can think to drive the nightmare away and bring him back to me.
I reach out, caressing my thumb across his forehead, down his cheek, and along his jaw. It calms him.
Ghost’s expression smooths out.
So, I repeat the gesture.
I release my pheromones to help him further.
Ghost growls like he’s trying to throw something — someone — off him.
Is he remembering that night in the casino at the black market auction, when he thought that he was being sold, or something else that happened to him here in this basement?
I shiver.
“I see you,” I whisper, staring at this achingly beautiful Omega who has stolen my heart with his bravery. “I hear you. Come on, wake up, little gambler.”
The moment that Ghost’s sky blue eyes open and meet mine, and his growling turns to purring, is everything.
“Okay?” I ask.
He takes a shuddery breath but nods.
I think that I’ve become addicted, however, to Ghost’s favorite activities on waking.
With a mischievous look, Ghost slips his hand down my side, along my hip, tracing maddening circles on my leather trousers.
When he presses his body against me, I can feel his hard cock.
His innocent act no longer convinces me, no matter how sweetly wide his eyes are.
I twist to lie on top of him with a slow roll, thrusting my hips against his.
He whines.
“Hi.” I snatch Ghost by the tie and yank him into a hard kiss. “Want something?”
Ghost’s purr deepens and becomes rougher with lust. His smile, however, gives away that he’s got the exact outcome that he wanted already.
I yank him up by his tie for a second time and kiss him again simply because I can and his lips are so fucking kissable.
Then I grin. “I almost forgot today’s gift.”
Ghost’s face lights up.
I haven’t broken my promise to bring him something each day.
So, maybe I am courting him.
I’ve never been a conventional Omega. I bonded first with a Beta. I became fated mates with my matches. And now I’m giving courting gifts to a male Omega.
I’ve never been happier in my life.
I sit up, straddling Ghost’s hips.
I wriggle my hand into the pocket of my pants and pull out a small pot of clear oil.
Ghost wrinkles his nose in confusion.
My cheeks flush. “Lincoln gave me this. He swears by it, something about how he spent a lot of years alone with nothing but his hand for company in Alaska, and this stuff was a life saver.”
Ghost is staring at the oil like it’s poison or part of Lincoln’s scary bodyguard training.
I redden further.
“I mean,” I roll my hips across Ghost’s crotch, and he moans, “he winked and told me that if he’d had to jerk off dry all that time, then he’d probably have given himself friction burn on his cock.”
Ghost’s eyes light with understanding at the same time as he winces.
Then he reddens too.
To my surprise, he points at me, before gently lifting my hand from his tie.
He kisses the back of my hand, across the head of the snake tattoo.
He’s thanking me for the gift.
Accepting my official courting like I’m an Alpha.
Butterflies swarm in my stomach.
What we’re playing at now is dangerous, challenging society’s expectations and laws, but I don’t care.
He turns my hand and kisses my palm as well.
I jump, as his cool tongue licks me. His brow is creased with concentration, however, as he licks me in a pattern.
Are those letters?
Lick, lick, lick.
I hold my breath at what he’s spelling out.
M
Y
H
O
M
E
I’m his home.
My eyes sting with tears. “You’re mine too, my Omega soul mate.”
Ghost gives my palm a final kiss.
I wriggle off him, and he sits up.
I shake the bottle. “Want to try this out together? I don’t know if you’re a virgin…?”
For the first time, Ghost’s expression becomes genuinely shy.
When he nods and points at me with a determined look, I know what he means.
He wants me to be his first.
I want that too.
When I kneel up opposite him, he mirrors me.
“Well, then why don’t we show each other what we like?” My lips quirk. “When we explore each other’s bodies, it’ll help. Plus, it’ll make me hot to see your hand wrapped around your cock, stroking yourself in just the way that makes you gasp and jerking off like you do when you’re alone and nobody can see. Do you want that too? For me to show you how I love to be touched?”
Ghost’s eyes are wide and glassy.
Have I short circuited his mind?
Then he undoes the button on his jeans with a challenging quirk of his brow and shoves them down.
Wow, he goes commando.
I wasn’t expecting that.
Ghost’s cock is pale and gorgeous like the rest of him. It’s already curving up half-mast toward his stomach.
Ghost sits back onto his haunches with his knees spread as wide as they can go, since his legs are caught in his jeans.
I ache to kiss and bite along the tantalizing line between thigh and hip.
Slowly, never taking my gaze from Ghost’s, I push down my leather trousers.
When I toy with the edges of my white lace panties, his breathing speeds up. His tongue darts out to trace along his pink lips, as I tease him.
I torment Ghost, delighting in the way that his cock fully hardens, until it’s swollen and thick against his stomach. The tip is already beading with precum.
He doesn’t reach for his cock, however, clenching his hands at his sides.
All his attention is fixed on the way that I toy with my panties, before slowly pushing them down, inch by inch, to reveal my pussy.
Ghost whines, reaching out his hand like he can’t stop himself.
“Pleasure yourself.” I unscrew the pot, pooling the oil on Ghost’s palm. “Get yourself wet for me, good Omega.”
It feels like a sacred ritual.
An anointing.
Ghost’s eyes darken.
He closes his hand around his dick, making it slick with oil.
His cock glistens.
I can’t look away.
Our knees are touching but nothing else. There are no sounds but our panted breaths.
My heart is beating fast.
“Watch how I like it.” I slide two fingers to tease along my pussy. I’m already dripping wet. “Fuck, that’s… See how I like to circle my clit, outside it first slowly, then tapping across the clit itself? Fuck, fuck …”
I bite my lip.
I never thought that this could be as intense as it is. This is a first for me as well.
Ghost stares deeply into my eyes as he twists his hand over his dick. I notice how he likes slow strokes but is gripping harder than I’d have used for a hand job on Lincoln.
I’ll remember that.
Ghost whimpers, when he thumbs over the glans.
He must be most sensitive there.
I can’t wait to do the same to him.
I circle my clit again, as pleasure builds in me. Then I stroke up and down with two fingers, alternately dipping my fingers in and out of my pussy.
I shudder.
Fuck, that’s good.
Ghost tilts his head, studying me intently. At the same time, his cock slides in and out of his hand, as his hips thrust, desperately.
“Fuck, I’m almost…” I play with my sensitive nipple, rubbing my thumb across it.
My breath hitches, when Ghost lowers his other hand to fondle with his large balls, lightly pulling at them to draw out the pleasure.
My heart speeds up. My pulse roars in my ears. I’m slicked in sweat.
I can see the way Ghost’s strong abdominals are flexing underneath his t-shirt on each roll of his hips. His brow is furrowed in concentration.
I’m close to coming.
So. Fucking. Close.
I’m shaking.
Except, I know what’s holding me back from coming.
This experience has to be for both of us at the same time.
“I want us to come now.” I catch Ghost’s gaze and hold it. “Show me how you...”
He growls, deep and rumbling.
And that’s what tips me over the edge because it’s such a fucking hot sound that it feels like it’s dragging my orgasm from deep inside my core.
My eyes close. My whole body tenses up and shudders.
The pleasure hits me like a fucking wave.
I tip forward, and my forehead rests against Ghost’s.
He’s shuddering, stiffening, coming .
I open my eyes and am shocked by how close we are.
I feel dazed and unmoored.
For a moment, I forget where I am.
Ghost appears to feel the same way. His expression is soft and vulnerable.
Our gazes lock.
Ghost’s blue eyes hold so much depth and love in them that it steals my breath. His silky hair falls over his forehead, brushing his pale skin temptingly.
I ache to push it back from his face.
For a suspended moment, we simply kneel with our knees and foreheads touching in the aftershocks of our joined pleasure.
I drop my gaze to Ghost’s petal-soft lips. His bottom one is swollen. He must have been biting it.
I slide a hand to his shoulder, then up to stroke at the base of his slender neck.
Ghost’s throat bobs, as he swallows.
Ghost’s cheeks tinge pink, as I run my thumb up and down his scent gland.
He’s giving off delicious pheromones, and I know that I am too.
I can’t hold myself back.
I run my hand up into Ghost’s hair, burying my hand in his curls. I tighten my hold and yank him toward me into a kiss.
Ghost gasps, and his eyes widen.
Then he melts, leaning into the touch.
When he slides his tongue across my bottom lip, I moan. My lips part, and he deepens the kiss by slipping his tongue inside my mouth. My tongue twines around his like two snakes dancing.
There’s no fight for dominance, only the equal pursuit of joyous pleasure.
I use my hand on his head to drag him into a better angle.
The sweet taste of his tongue, while I flicker mine against his, back and forth, is like nectar.
I start to purr at the same time as Ghost does.
In this man’s kisses, I am free.
Until the sudden burned coffee stench of angry Alpha invades our sanctuary, slamming the door of our cage shut again.
How the fuck did we miss the opening of the basement door? Were we that lost in each other?
Loud footsteps — more than one person — troop down the stairs.
My heart stops with terror.
“That’s not Link or Tom,” I hiss.
Instantly, I back away from Ghost, dragging up my trousers.
At the same time, faster than I’ve seen anyone move, Ghost pulls up his jeans, smearing his cum on his clothes without a thought, then leaping to his feet.
He prowls in front of me, protectively.
He’s transformed into someone different to the Omega who was just sweetly kissing me.
A man who was raised in the criminal Ace pack and trained by Fletcher.
A man who even as kid was surrounded by death and blood.
A man who’s been shattered into a feral state but only to protect those who he loves.
Ghost growls, low and terrifying.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise.
The footsteps stumble and stop on the lower steps.
I push myself to my feet and turn to peer through the shadows.
Richard is standing looking back at us with Beta enforcers, whose muscles stretch the sleek material of their black suits, at his shoulder.
Richard’s wearing a casual pair of jeans, preppy white shirt, and trainers.
He’s trying to look triumphant. His sneering smile wavers, however, when he takes in the way that Ghost is standing with dark eyes in front of me.
“I knew that Tommy was hiding something. But I didn’t dream that my inspection would reveal this,” Richard crows. “That fucking brat doesn’t know his place still, if he thinks that he can get away with this.”
“Please,” I beg, “we were at school together, remember? You must have known even then what Tom was going through. Why are you making things worse for him now? Can’t we be friends? If you let us explain—”
“ Friends? Are you fucking with me? You’re a Reject Omega from a pack that would be locked up, if it was down to me. You dare to think that you have a right to belong to an elite pack like this one? You have no fucking clue what I suffer every day just to… And Tommy…?” Richard’s expression hardens. “He could have bonded with me . I offered, when we were in high school. Then we’d both have been free of this shitshow. As long as he was prepared to be obedient and good (and I’d have taught him how), as my Second Alpha, he could have helped me run my business empire. Instead, he rejected me. Me! Now we’re both trapped in this nightmare. And that’s on fucking him. He’s a bad Alpha, and you’re both bad Omegas. I hope that Raylan destroys each and every one of you.” He smiles viciously at me. “Starting with you.”
With a roar, Ghost leaps across the basement at Richard.
An Omega is attacking an Alpha.
What the hell is happening?
No Omega can fight an Alpha. This is unheard of.
It’s suicide.
“Ghost,” I call. “Ghost, don’t…”
It’s like he can’t hear me.
He’s wild.
Feral.
Ghost snarls, punching Richard across the face and then in the chest and stomach in a flurry of fluid moves.
It happens so fast and unexpected that nobody reacts.
Then Ghost knees Richard in the balls.
Richard collapses to the floor with a scream.
Ghost shoots me a cocky wink, before leaping on Richard’s back.
Ghost pins the Alpha down, scratching and biting him.
I can’t look away.
I’ve never seen such a beautiful sight as an Omega kicking the ass of an Alpha.
I truly understand how dangerous the Ace pack is now that they produce Omegas like Ghost.
When the Betas flood further down the basement steps to join in the fight, I don’t hesitate.
I’m shaking with fear and horror but I throw myself forward as well to join my brave but recklessly psycho Omega in the first real fight of my life.
One that I know we’re going to lose.