Chapter 17 #2
“Don’t be greedy, Wings.” Piper smirks. “Pass our wild cat between us. He needs to be tamed with our lips.”
Lionzio appears dazed and overwhelmed but eager.
Icarus is just as eager — enough to ignore the fact that Piper is commanding him.
I love how dominant Piper looks, leaning with half-hooded eyes against the wall like an Omega without a cause.
Icarus finally releases his fellow Alpha, as if it’s actually painful for him to stop touching him. I have often wondered if it’s possible for Alphas to truly bond. But these two could pull it off.
Icarus straightens his cuffs, before taking a step back and politely gesturing to Zero and me like we’re next in line in a kissing booth.
“Thank you,” I reply back, equally politely.
Zero winks at me, before we both slam Lionzio back against the door, kissing one side of his mouth each at the same time.
Piper pushes himself off the wall to cage Lionzio in at the side. He dips his mouth to kiss down Lionzio’s neck, moving up hungrily, until all three of us are desperately swapping kisses.
Lionzio looks happily drugged caught between our pack.
“Is this a dream?” He murmurs, throwing back his head. His eyes flutter closed. I’m not sure that he even knows that he’s speaking aloud, while we ravish him. “Everyone I love is kissing me.”
Our bodies rub against each other in delicious ways. Zero strokes across my breasts, Piper palms Lionzio’s cock, and I caress Piper’s bare abs.
Then Icarus is pressed against my back, his hard cock is nudging against my ass, and my skin is tingling because he’s kissing me behind my ear just as I love.
“So good,” I moan. Then alarm shoots through me. “Everybody, stop. I can hear something. Bells.”
“That’s just the angels because of my touch,” Zero murmurs seductively. “Come on, love, I was just about to truly take you to heaven with my cock. These rooms are empty, right? Shouldn’t we at least christen a few of them?”
Piper wriggles away from us, however, dragging a tiny black device out of his pocket, which is emitting the sound of bells. He switches it off.
Unease worms through me at the quick way that he slips the device back into his pocket and then Zero’s attempt to distract me by pulling me around to face Lionzio again.
“Where were we?” Zero caresses my arm.
“Where were we?” Icarus levels Piper with a stare that is the type he uses to reduce misbehaving staff into blubbering messes in his office without ever laying a finger on them.
I have to give Piper grudging respect that he merely arches his pierced eyebrow, unbothered.
Icarus looks taken aback, before crossing his arms and doubling down on his harsh boss face.
Nope, still no impact. “How about you telling me why you have that alarm in your pocket, Piper?”
I wince at the use of the Omega’s full name.
Yep, Piper is in serious trouble if Icarus is going there.
“I’d probably be bothered to think up a lie, Icarus,” Piper replies like he has as much of a death wish as when he was balancing along the roof’s parapet, “if this wasn’t a device that I had rigged in the main elevator to go off if anyone traveled to this floor.”
What the fuck?
Panic shoots through me.
Icarus growls. “You. Are. All. Getting. Spanked.”
“Who the fuck are you?” I demand in shock.
“I’ll answer that — and whatever you say, Wings — but first, let’s dive into one of these rooms and hide, yeah?” Piper replies. “Please tell me that you have your key that unlocks them?”
Icarus turns to the door behind him, shoving Lionzio and Zero out of the way.
His movements are jerky with fury.
Icarus hates being lied to.
He has trusted this pack and allowed them into his life, when he never has anyone romantically apart from me.
My heart is beating too fast. I want to cry, demand answers, and scream.
Who the hell are the Idols? What are they really doing in this hotel?
If they have been faking their feelings for Icarus and me, I will destroy them myself.
“Sir,” Lionzio is pale, “we didn’t—”
“Silence,” Icarus barks, batting Lionzio away when he tries to rest his hand on his Chief Alpha’s arm, but I notice that Icarus is still careful not to hurt the other Alpha’s wrist. “Don’t talk to me.”
Lionzio can’t hide the hurt that flashes across his face.
He can’t be acting right?
The kisses can’t be pretend?
Nor can us being soul mates and scent mates?
The I love yous?
Icarus swipes his keycard over the panel, shoving open the door into the nearest bedroom. Lionzio yanks Zero after him into the dark.
Piper snatches my hand and drags me after them.
“What we are is yours, Gracie,” Piper whispers, urgently. “Please don’t forget that. We’re pack.”
Icarus pushes the door quietly closed. Then we’re standing in silence in the pitch black.
My heart is beating too fast. My breathing is ragged.
Then I feel each of my men — my pack — rest their hands on my arms or shoulders, reassuring me. My breathing steadies.
“Won’t they be able to smell us?” Zero hisses.
“The corridors have excellent scent ventilators,” I reply. “Plus, they’re cleaned with scent canceling products. I should know as I had to use them.”
“But what if…?” Lionzio whispers
“Be quiet,” Icarus cuts him off, sharply. “I don’t know who you really are. But it appears that we are now hiding from the Frosts. So, be fucking quiet.”
“You’re the one who is talking,” Piper grumbles.
I elbow Piper, when I hear voices coming down the corridor outside.
I grit my teeth.
It’s Maya.
She sounds angry as well.
Dad does too.
It sounds like a heated argument.
This won’t go well for Dad.
I rest my fingers around the door handle, unable to stop myself. Then I lay my head against the door, listening as hard as I can.
“He needs a doctor.” Dad sounds worried enough to have forgotten that he is talking to Maya.
She never accepts Omegas making demands like that.
My heart is in my throat. Stop talking, Dad.
Just stop. “I have had to put up with a lot over the years. I have suffered and I haven’t said anything.
You can beat my ass, but I won’t stand by while you put my kids at risk.
How can you be so heartless? Maya, don’t you feel anything for any of us?
Are we…your family, Omegas…just pretty dolls that you can break and then throw away when we don’t bring in money for you anymore? This is your son. He could die.”
I gasp, before I can stop myself.
Icarus’ palm slams over my mouth, but his hand is shaking too.
Bird.
What’s happened to my brother?
Slowly, Icarus removes his hand, and I squirm out of the men’s hold to sneak the door open just a sliver to peer out into the corridor.
I have to know what is happening to Bird.
When I see that Maya has stopped outside the door, blocking it with her back, I hurriedly crouch down.
Fear crashes through me.
It’s worse when I look up, and Maya takes several steps away from the door. Then I can see that Dad is standing facing her.
His cheeks are streaked with tears.
My stomach drops.
I have never seen him look like that — broken, like he said.
He has always hidden his pain behind smiles.
But the mask has been shattered.
Dad is clasping Bird in his arms, nuzzling him desperately as he would do when we were sick as kids. But even I can tell that it won’t help Bird now; my brother is too deeply into pheromone imbalance.
Too close to death.
I slam my own palm over my mouth to keep in the sobs.
Bird’s eyes are closed.
He could be sleeping, but it’s obvious that he’s not by how ashen his warm brown skin has become. His black tangled hair hangs almost to the floor, while I feel ill when I notice that his Hotel Omega uniform has been ripped.
What pushed him into this collapse?
Ellington stands to the side of the corridor. To my surprise, he is pale and silent. His cheeks are dry, but his eyes are red-rimmed like Dad’s.
“I am going to forgive — just this once — how you spoke to me and put it down to grief. Omegas are such weak, emotional creatures.” Maya crowds Dad, flooding him with deliberately thick pheromones that make him gag in punishment.
“Do it again, however, and we’ll be having a conversation.
He will have access to a doctor in the Omega Institute. ”
No…
I collapse, rocking.
I feel that my pack are gathered behind me on their knees too, supporting me.
Yet my brother is out there, and there is nothing that I can do.
“Please, no.” Dad sobs, pulling Bird to his chest like he’s still his young son that he would play airplanes with around the penthouse, when Maya was out. “Don’t take my son, my son, my son…”
It’s heart wrenching.
“Stop that wailing.” Maya snorts. “Do you know how ugly you’re making yourself look for me right now? Your eyes will be puffy and unattractive at this rate tomorrow.”
To my shock, Ellington rushes forward and falls to his knees in front of Maya.
He lays his hand gently on her ankle. “My Alpha, this is my mistake and not that Hotel Omega’s.
I shouldn’t have overworked him. You know that I am only an Omega and need your correction.
Why don’t you punish me? Then this HO can recover in the dorms. I am certain that he will be better and able to work again in no time. ”
Maya reaches forward, petting Ellington’s hair. He relaxes into her touch, purring.
For a moment, I am filled with hope.
But only for a moment.
Then Maya’s hand tightens, as she fists Ellington’s brunet hair and drags him to his feet. “You will be disciplined. But this HO is used up. Why should we waste time on a breeder’s Rej son? He does nothing but bring shame on this pack.”
She shoves Ellington away from her.
Ellington turns away, reaching his hand out to hover over Bird’s fevered temple.
He raises his tortured gaze to meet Dad’s.
I’m certain that I see Ellington mouth, “I tried.”
“Bird!” The soft voice of my papa, which I haven’t heard in years, rises in a desperate howl that makes my skin goosebump.
I have never heard Papa sound like that, no matter what Maya has done to him.
Papa sprints down the corridor. His long black curls fly around his narrow shoulders.
He is only dressed in a black jumper over joggers. He’s never given glamorous clothes, unlike Ellington.
His pretty face is twisted in distress, as he wraps his arms around Dad.
Dad whispers to Papa calmingly. He sits on the floor, allowing Papa to take Bird from him and cradle his son to his chest.
Papa kisses Bird’s ashen cheeks, rocking him.
He starts to weep. “Wake up, buddy, for Papa?”
He hasn’t seen his son for years, and now, the reunion is like this, while I have to hide in the dark.
They don’t even know that I’m here.
But what good would one more Omega begging on their knees be? Maya has even denied Ellington’s plea, her favored First Omega. She wouldn’t listen to me.
Maya’s lip curls in distaste. “Stop this disgusting display. Who told the breeder that…?”
“I told Jelani,” Ellington swings back to Maya, putting himself between the Alpha and the other Omegas, “what was happening to his own son. He has a right to say goodbye at least. This time.”
Fury flashes across Maya’s face, before she backhands Ellington hard enough to knock him crashing against the wall.
I jump.
Ellington only wipes at his lip coolly like it’s nothing.
Familiar.
“Be careful, Omega,” Maya stalks to Ellington, tugging his head to the side to bare his neck, “or you won’t see your son.”
She’s threatening Hatton.
Icarus tried to warn me that Ellington was trapped in his role because of his responsibilities as a parent.
I understand now.
Ellington whines in distress. “Alpha, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t do this, Maya,” Dad says, quietly.
“One more rebellious word from any Omega,” Maya snarls, “and Hatton, Grace, and Zoe will also be sent to the Institute.”