Chapter 12 What’s A Mythical Heat? #2
“Sometimes to amuse themselves, sometimes when they were forcing me to learn how to fight. It got better after I learned how not to trigger them.” Killian squeezed Crush’s hand when the alpha began to say something else.
“I didn’t want to give them an excuse to hurt me.
Not only that—they needed me for my free labor; they took me out on jobs more often than the other omegas.
“But because they didn’t trust me, I was only given weapons on the way to a job.
They took those weapons back when the job was over.
There were always alphas watching my every move, ready to take me out if I disobeyed.
” Killian cringed. Most days, he refused to think about those eyes on him; they made his skin crawl.
“I wanted to escape so badly. When I first got there, I thought I would be there for the rest of my life.
No one would realize I was gone. Then they taught me how to fight and use weapons, and I began to hope there was a way out of there. So I bided my time and waited.
“One day, there was a job that involved a lot of armed guards at an Asian restaurant. I realized there were too many enemies for my supervisors to track, so when I took down the guards, I stole two of their smaller handguns. I ducked into the restroom and took out all their bullets, then picked the better gun and dismantled it.”
Crush frowned. “How did you manage to get the gun past the frisking?”
Killian’s mouth twitched into a smile. “I didn’t have a solid plan, because I was still figuring it out. But! While I was running toward the kitchen, I caught a whiff of this terrible stink.”
“Fish?”
Killian shook his head. “The chefs had been picking durian flesh out of their spiky shells. I don’t know how they got fresh durian in Colorado.
But it was a really expensive Asian restaurant, so maybe they had it specially shipped in.
Anyway, the chefs were hiding from the gunfire.
There was no one guarding the durian flesh container, so I grabbed handfuls of it and began stuffing my pockets. ”
Crush snickered. “Correct me if I’m wrong. Doesn’t that smell like garbage?”
“Yeah! And it was really gross, too. I don’t know if you’ve ever touched it; durian flesh is yellow, squishy, and slimy.
Kind of stringy. I shoved it into all my pockets, on top of the gun parts.
And down my underwear. I smeared it all over my clothes, and inside my clothes too.
I rubbed it into my face and hair. When there was no more left in the container, I grabbed the durian flesh out of their shells; those still had big round seeds in them. Kind of like balls.”
Crush was thoroughly amused. “They brought you back with them, smelling like crap?”
“Like I was freshly scooped out of the garbage truck. I didn’t actually think that far ahead.
I just grabbed a huge tub of ground pepper in case I needed more ammo.
When everything was wrapped up and we finished the job, they tried to get my clothes off.
I ‘accidentally’ spilled pepper all over myself.
When they tried to grab me again, they started sneezing.
They couldn’t stop sneezing, and the cops were closing in.
“So we got into the car and drove back. Everyone in that car sneezed nonstop all the way back to base.”
Crush laughed, his chest vibrating against Killian’s back. “What about the frisking?”
“By then, I had realized that they wouldn’t let that stink into the base.
They would want to tear the clothes off me and burn them.
So I, uh. I tried some reverse psychology.
I whined that I wanted new clean clothes, that the durian ones were gross and sticky.
I said I did nothing wrong, so I deserved to get clean clothes the moment I got back to my cell.
Please don’t punish me by making me wear them.
“You could see the idea forming in their eyes,” Killian said dryly.
“I didn’t think it would work, but it did.
Especially when they reluctantly frisked me and grabbed my ass first—I had shoved a huge handful of squishy heavy durian flesh between my cheeks.
The alpha who grabbed me thought it was something else. I think he was going to puke.”
Crush was crying, he was laughing so hard. “S-so they sent you back to your cell, practically untouched?”
“Yeah.” Killian grinned. “They said I wasn’t getting dinner or breakfast, either. I spent all night picking durian out of my gun parts. It was so horrible. Then because I was starving, I ate some.”
“Bad?”
“I... acquired a taste for it,” Killian admitted. “It smells worse than it tastes; durian flesh is dense and really sweet. Strong flavor. The thing was, that was the first time in a while that I had enough to eat. It was so nice not to feel hungry.”
Crush sobered, rubbing Killian’s thighs. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“I’m not the only one who’s experienced some fucked-up stuff,” Killian said, craning his neck to look at the mottled skin running from Crush’s forehead to his jaw. “Does your face hurt?”
The alpha shrugged. “Sometimes. I have lotions for it. But I’d much rather you didn’t have to go through all the crap that you did.”
Killian leaned in, carefully nudging his temple against Crush’s cheek.
Crush nuzzled him. “Tell me the rest of your prison break story.”
Killian made himself comfortable against the alpha’s chest. “It took me a while to clean the gun. I wasn’t gonna use it without knowing if the durian had gotten into all the parts, and I had to scrounge up some oil to clean it with.
When I was finally ready, I picked the lock on my cell door.
I’d had the picks for a few months while I was trying to come up with the rest of the plan. ”
Here, Killian paused, twisting his fingers together nervously. This next part might turn Crush against him completely.
He was surprised to realize that he really, really didn’t want Crush to hate him, after hearing the rest of his story.
“Sweetheart?” Crush pressed a kiss to his hair.
“Nervous,” Killian mumbled. “I don’t want you to judge me.”
Especially since they were still knotted together.
“You’ll be fine,” the alpha said soothingly. “If it’s what I suspect it is, I won’t think badly of you for it.”
Killian looked over his shoulder at Crush’s steady gaze. Crush squeezed Killian’s hands; Killian took a deep breath.
“Once I was out of my cell, I tracked down the nearest alpha. He didn’t see me. I went to an empty room and pulled the cable from the TV. Then I sneaked up on him, pistol-whipped his head, and used the cable to strangle him. Same with the rest of the alphas I found.”
Crush nodded. “Because it’s quieter than a gunshot?”
Killian looked back at the alpha, holding his breath. “You’re not disgusted?”
Crush narrowed his eyes. “Bunny rabbit. How long did those slimeballs hold you against your will, and force you to kill other people?”
Killian sagged. “Three years.”
“You did what you had to, to get out of there. They were never going to let you go. If you had left them alive, they would’ve killed you the first chance they got.”
He understands. Relief loosened the icy grip around Killian’s insides. “After they were all down, I went back and shot them in the head. Just to make sure they were really dead. In hindsight, maybe I didn’t need to have my own gun; I could’ve stolen the first alpha’s. But I felt safer with it.”
“Do you need one right now? You can have mine, if it helps.”
Killian shook his head, his heart swelling.
“I feel safe here. Anyway, I got the omegas out. We took all the alphas’ cash and weapons; those who could drive took the cars so they could drop off everyone else.
I made sure everyone had money for food.
Then I—” He breathed out the tightness in his chest. “I went home. And found out that my parents had already thrown out all my things. I hadn’t even been gone that long. I was seventeen.”
“Fuck,” Crush growled.
Killian pulled Crush’s arms more snugly around himself.
“After all that time away, I had hoped that... maybe they would miss me. For so many years, I tried really hard to please them. I wanted to get good at something so I could gain their approval. And I finally did it! I got really good at shooting a gun. Killing people. I could track down alphas and take them out without them ever knowing I was there. But Mom and Dad just erased me from their lives like I never even existed.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Killian swallowed hard. “Why do people have children if they don’t want them? Why is this still bothering me? It happened years ago!”
“Fuck. I don’t have an answer for you.” Crush hugged him tightly, so it was almost difficult to breathe. But those strong arms held Killian together. They helped him stay upright, and gave him a safe place to hide.
Suddenly thankful that he was facing away from Crush, Killian bowed his head, tears dripping down his cheeks. They splashed onto Crush’s arms.
Crush breathed in. Then he swore, carefully turning Killian around on his knot, so Killian was now facing him. Killian tucked his face away, reluctant to let Crush see him cry.
Instead of commenting on it, Crush gathered Killian back into his arms, tucking Killian’s head under his chin.
“Just because your parents don’t treasure you, doesn’t mean no one else does,” Crush murmured, stroking his hair.
“I know that,” Killian mumbled. “I have friends. It’s just... Parents are supposed to be the ones who love you the most, right? It feels like I’m defective somehow. Like I’m not enough to earn their love.”
“No,” Crush growled, hugging him again. “It’s not your fault that they can’t see how perfect you are. Look, here’s a suggestion: How about I share my parents with you?”
First his pack, and now his parents?
“Why would they want me?” Killian winced. “That sounded really pathetic.”
Crush muttered several choice words under his breath. “You deserve to have parents who care, bunny. Besides, you’re carrying their grandpup. They have to be nice to you.”
I’m carrying Crush’s baby. That still hadn’t sunken in. Killian gulped. “I guess that makes sense.”
Crush sighed and rubbed his back. “I know you don’t believe me yet. Just give me a chance to provide for you, alright? Let me show you that there are people who have plenty of love to spare.”
“Fine,” Killian said.
Crush’s expression softened. He brushed his fingers through Killian’s hair, working his scent through all the strands.
Then the alpha broke the comfortable silence between them.
“How would you like me to build your nest?”