Chapter 2 Rowan
Rowan
Istare down at my buzzing phone, my heartbeat picking up the moment I see who’s texting me.
Jett
Get your ass out of your trailer, shitstain
Daddy dearest is calling a meeting in the main house
My saliva instantly turns sour at the sight of my older brother’s texts. The fucker’s beaten the shit out of me ’til I’ve thrown up so many times, I guess my body’s just ready for it now.
The tiny, rickety table in my small kitchen wobbles as I stumble to my feet. I almost knock the stack of papers I’ve spent hours working on to the floor, but I don’t care. I probably should, considering the fact that working the books is the only thing my dad thinks I’m good for.
And to be completely honest, I’m not even very good. I never even graduated high school. But I guess that just says more about how stupid the rest of my family is.
He thinks I’m a prissy little beta who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty.
I walk almost mindlessly to my bathroom, catching sight of myself in the mirror.
I don’t think he’s fucking wrong. I am a beta. There’s no denying that fact.
It’s obvious in the way I carry myself, my baby face, my build. Hell, no matter how much time I spend in the gym practically killing myself, I can’t get the physique alphas like my brother and dad can get just by looking at a dumbbell.
So I guess compared to them, I am a prissy beta.
I’ve also never been fond of the family business, but what the fuck else could a guy like me do? Trailer trash like me doesn’t get out of this kind of life.
My phone buzzes again, burning a hole in my pocket.
Jett
You’ve got five minutes before I drag you out myself
He’d fucking do it too. He’s done shit like that plenty of times. And I wouldn’t be able to do a single thing to stop him. Not with how pathetic I am.
The medicine cabinet makes a satisfying, sharp bang as I slam it open with a little too much force. I reach for the autoinjector like its second nature, twisting off the cap and slamming it into my shoulder.
The needle pierces my skin with a click before it pumps what feels like liquid fire into my veins. With each of my heartbeats, a faux sort of confidence spread through my body.
A rush shoots down all my limbs, lingering in my fingertips as I clench my hands into fists.
I know this shit is bad for me. I know I’ve got a fucking problem with using it, but it’s the only thing that makes me feel remotely close to human when I have to deal with my family.
Most of the time, they treat me like I’m shit under their shoe.
Me
Be there soon
These are the same kinds of enhancement drugs they give the fighting dogs to keep them feral. I know deep down that just because I’m taking these drugs, I won’t magically turn into an alpha, but it sure makes me feel better.
My trailer door slams shut behind me, rattling the thin walls. My boots kick up dust as I weave through the trailers of all the other guys who work for my dad.
The main farmhouse is at the center of the compound. Mercer Stables. My dad’s pride and joy. Probably the only thing in the entire world he actually cares about.
I pump my legs, relishing the stretch of my muscles, the drugs making their way through my system. I feel more alive than I have since... well, since my last dose a week and a half ago.
I’m dosing myself more frequently. Should I seriously slow down at some point? Yeah. Not today, though. Not when my dad’s called a fucking family meeting.
Even though this was the house I grew up in, there are hardly any warm fuzzy memories as I walk through it.
I hate this home. I hate my fucking family.
I hate everything about my life.
As my knuckles rap against my dad’s office door, I have to fight the urge to slam my entire fist against it. I always get angrier after a dose.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m always angry. I just have a harder time keeping that in check.
“Come in,” my father drawls from behind the door.
Well, nothing to do other than brace myself for what I’ll find.
My dad glances up from his laptop, which looks almost comically small against his huge hands.
“Hey, Dad. Jett said you called a family meeting?”
“I did,” he says, not sparing me a second glance.
I lean against the wall across from him, settling in. I’m more than happy to be ignored.
Actually, scratch that.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that being ignored by him is the best-case scenario.
I’m surprised to see that Jett isn’t here yet.
Not a second later, there’s a dramatic banging against the door. It’s almost like it’s being kicked.
“Hey, get the door for me!” Jett yells.
My dad’s sharp hazel eyes, the same shade as mine, cut to me, and I immediately move to open the door.
“Took you long enough,” Jett grumbles.
In his arms is a large rectangular box-looking thing with a dusty blanket tossed over the top so I can’t see what’s inside.
That blanket does nothing to hide the delicious perfume that instantly fills the entire room.
Strawberries.
Fuck, I love strawberries.
The scent makes my blood thrum through my veins almost as much as the dose I just took. It’s like a drug in and of itself, and I know instantly what it is.
An omega’s perfume.
My gut twists with dread as Jett drops the box onto the floor and a soft gasp comes from inside.
Oh no.
My eyes go wide as my gaze cuts to my brother and my dad’s faces. They both share an excited grin.
“Got the goods, Dad,” Jett smirks before he tears away the blanket.
My brother just brought in a fucking cage.
A cage with a naked omega.
She’s curled into a ball, trying to hold herself together. Her strawberry scent sours as she glances up with big emerald eyes at the surrounding room.
My mouth goes dry as I stare at her. At her auburn hair and the pale expanse of the skin along her back, freckles dancing across like a constellation.
She’s stunning. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
And my fucking family has her curled in a dog cage. Naked. Terrified out of her fucking mind.
“She’s prettier than I expected for the price we got her at,” Dad hums, standing up from his desk to get a better look at her. “Still cost a fucking arm and a leg, but omegas who no one will look for are pretty rare, so we got a good deal, in my book.”
Omegas no one will look for?
What in the world does that mean?
“She is, isn’t she?” Jett adds, slapping the top of the cage and making her flinch. “Cute tits, but she’s got an especially nice ass. If an omega like her can’t tame the dogs, then I think nothing can.”
“What the fuck?” The words leave me before I realize what I’m saying.
Jett and my dad’s gazes cut to me, with genuine surprise on their faces. Maybe it’s because I’m normally a wallflower at these sorts of meetings. I know better than to question whatever insane plans they have going on.
“Do you have something to say, Rowan?” My dad asks, raising a thick, expectant eyebrow.
The omega looks at me, her arms crossed over her chest to hide her modesty the best she can. She telegraphs every single emotion she’s feeling with that one look.
Terror. Confusion. And there, hiding beneath the depths of all of that negativity? Hope.
This omega sees something in me that she doesn’t see in either of the alphas in this room.
It does something to me. Rewires my brain chemistry.
I don’t know whether it’s the high from the booster dose I took or the high of being on the receiving end of this omega’s pleading gaze, but it makes me want to do something stupid.
It makes me want to protect her.
Might as well be like climbing Mt. Everest while hogtied, considering I can’t even fucking protect myself.
“What’s going on here?” I ask, my gaze cutting back to my dad’s. I meet his stare head-on, straightening my shoulders and trying to pretend I know what I’m doing. “You’re trying to use this omega as—as bait for the feral alphas?”
“We are,” my dad says, crossing his arms over his chest. “It was Jett’s idea. The two dogs we’ve got are losing it, and with the group showcases coming up soon, they need to be on their A-game.”
My hands clench into fists at my sides. My dad is right. The two feral alpha fighters we keep in the stables are going crazy from their ferality.
Makes sense, considering the conditions they’re kept in and the ridiculous dosages of the enhancement drugs they’re forced to take. Sometimes I feel like I’m fucking losing it, and I’m taking a fraction of what they’re forced to take multiple times a week.
But this? Bringing in a helpless, innocent omega to… to sacrifice? It makes bile roll in my gut.
“We’ve got a new alpha a couple days ago too, in case this plan doesn’t work out. Paid a pretty penny for him. If this plan doesn’t work and one of the current dogs needs to be put down, then we can still take part in duos. Trios if we’re lucky and things go to plan,” my dad continues.
Jett nods eagerly, an excited, bloodthirsty grin on his face.
“This is an awful lot of money to be throwing around,” I say slowly, trying my absolute hardest not to look at the omega. It’s hard because I can feel her eyes on me. Wide and unblinking.
“It’ll be worth it when we fucking dominate the group showcases,” Jett says.
“We got the omega at a good price,” my dad shrugs. “Seems like they wanted to get rid of her. It’d be a shame if the plan doesn’t work, but she’s the kinda collateral damage we can afford.”
I hear the omega’s breath hitch. The small noise, almost like a choked-back whimper, makes me want to destroy the entire room around me and carry her to safety.
Instead, I swallow down my fury like I’ve done all my life and force my tone into something less insane.
“Let me help take care of her,” I grit out. Despite my best attempts, my voice still sounds far harsher than it normally does when I’m speaking to my family. I’m not one to make demands like this.
My dad knows this too, if his raised brow is any sign.
Jett burst out laughing.
“Look at you, baby bro, finally trying to pull your weight. Funny how you only offer to do that when pussy’s involved,” he sneers.
My gaze cuts to his face, and my lips curl back in an unnatural sort of snarl. —
His features are darker than mine. Darker eyes, darker hair. He takes after our mother. Or at least I think he does. I don’t really remember what my mom looked like. She disappeared when I was six and never came back.
That was fifteen years ago.
One of the few things I remember of her was the way she’d run her fingers through my hair as she sang me to sleep. Pity the son that looks more like her is such a fucking asshole.
“Shut up,” I snap back.
Jett tilts his head at me, his gaze growing sharp and assessing. I never talk back to him like that. I think he’s wondering why I suddenly have the balls to do it now.
“Why?” My dad asks, his voice slow and drawling.
“You think he’s got the skills to keep an omega alive?” I say, shrugging my shoulder in Jett’s direction. “Training alphas is a different ballgame than—than training an omega.” My voice wavers on the word training.
I hate it. Always have. But if I want a shot at keeping this poor girl out of Jett’s hands as much as possible, I have to play the game.
“Hmmm,” my dad says, stroking his beard.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually gonna let him train the bitch!” Jett growls, his eyes narrowing.
The venom in my brother’s voice makes fear skate down my spine. It’s only magnified by the way the poor omega’s sour perfume swirls in the air around us. Understandable. You’d need to be insane not to understand that Jett’s not right in the head.
Maybe he was fucking dropped on his head as a baby.
“She’s supposed to be mine to play with,” Jett continues.
The quiet, terrified whimper that leaves the omega has my already racing heart jump into overdrive.
“You know I’ll do a better job keeping her alive,” I snap.
My dad glances between my brother and me, and I know I’m losing him. He’s never had faith in my ability to do fucking anything hands-on. Partly because I never expressed any interest in the more hands-on parts of the industry.
“I’ll train the new alpha too,” I rush to add.
This catches my dad’s attention.
“Really,” he drawls.
“Yeah, I will,” I say, nodding, partly to convince him and partly to convince myself. “And I’ll do a good job. I promise. And if I don’t, then Jett can have the omega.”
What the fuck am I saying?
Why am I tying this omega’s safety to my ability to do something I’ve never done before?
“Oh, this is fucking rich,” Jett growls, throwing his hands up in the air, but I ignore his theatrics.
My dad’s the one who’s ultimately going to decide here.
“Fine, if you want to train the omega badly enough that you’re finally going to take part in the family business, then yes,” my dad says.
“What the fuck!” Jett snarls.
“Let me finish,” my dad snaps, his dominance rolling off of him in waves. It makes all of us, especially the omega on the floor, freeze. Dad cuts his gaze to Jett. “You came up with the plans to use her as bait, so you’ll still be in charge of that. Take it or leave it.”
“Fine,” Jett says, his jaw clenched so hard I’m surprised he hasn’t broken a tooth yet.
“Thanks, Dad,” I breathe out.
“I expect actual results from you training the new alpha. No results, and you lose the privilege of training the omega you’re so fascinated by. You can get started once he’s done with his intake process.”
“Got it,” I say, swallowing hard.
“She’s all yours, then,” my dad says, nodding down to the omega, still silently curled in the cage at our feet.