Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Tunnels, The Alpha Underworld
I lean over my scarlet, flame painted Harley, speeding through the tunnels.
On my motorcycle, I can finally let myself go.
I can taste freedom.
I can fly free, even here below the earth in the Underworld.
I’m dressed in matching scarlet leathers with a flame helmet.
It’s three hours, until the start of the ball that will officially announce me as the Battles first ever Omega heir.
It will be one hell of a party.
I’ve been dodging my siblings all day.
When I tried to sneakily creep up to see Feral in the attic with Laurent, however, I was forced to pass Lionzio and Allegra.
My siblings were deep in conversation.
Lionzio had deep shadows underneath his eyes like he hadn’t slept for days. His normally black hair was disheveled. He’d forgotten to do up one of his shirt buttons.
I itched to tidy him up. Dad would beat my brother’s ass, if he saw him looking anything less than immaculate.
Allegra shot me a sharp glare, however, when I tried to approach Lionzio. She grabbed possessively onto his arm.
Was Allegra hedging her bets, in case she lost the Heir Contest? Sucking up to Lionzio?
Yet there was a nasty edge to Allegra’s smug smile, as she led Lionzio away down the corridor like she knew something that I didn’t.
My stomach dropped.
Was Dad lying about choosing me as heir?
That would destroy me.
I’ve been on edge ever since, unable to stop pacing.
It was Feral who suggested that I take out the motorcycle, which Dad named me after, and test the new race track that Lionzio has just finished building.
I’m going to let the ride wash away my stress like it always does.
It’s my one hobby that Dad allows me, outside my practice.
I grew up around motorcycles, but it was only after I won my first fight when I was eighteen, that I had the daring to become the first Omega biker, as well as first cage fighter.
“Pick a reward. I promise that you can have one thing,” Dad said, magnanimously. He was glowing with pride that his Omega daughter had achieved something that his Alpha son had failed at. “Would you like new blankets? A feast in your honor? How about your choice of the Alpha fighters to rut you through your next heat?”
I wanted to ask for Feral to be released from his contract.
Yet I knew that Dad would reject such a large request.
In fact, if I dared to ask for anything that helped Feral, River, or even my brother, then he’d take it as an insult, and they’d be the ones who paid for it.
He was expecting me to ask for a typical Omega reward like fluffy bunny slippers or a knotted dildo.
I tilted up my chin. “My own motorcycle.”
Dad looked shocked but he didn’t go back on his word.
Now, I may only be able to ride my present every couple of months, but every time that I do, it reminds me that no matter how close I come to death, I am still startlingly alive.
The powerful engine rumbles, echoing through the concrete tunnels.
The vibrations are intense.
All sense and emotions are magnified. I can smell the mingled scents of the dank, oily tunnels, as well as the Alphas that I pass.
I relax, heading through the entrance into the empty hangar that holds the new race track.
Like everything in the Underworld, however, it’s not as simple or innocent as a race track. There are secrets, dangerous tunnels, and deadly traps like barrels and insanely tight corners.
That’s the influence of the Hades bikers, as if our lives aren’t dangerous enough as it is.
Perhaps, gambling with their lives is how they get their kicks.
I’d settle for a Pepperoni pizza.
Laurent would settle for a beer.
See, Omegas are a lot easier to please than Alphas like to make out.
Laurent and I are surprisingly less high maintenance than you’d expect from an elite billionaire and a mafia princess.
I smile, studying the tunnel that leads to the starting gate.
This isn’t like any track that I’ve seen before. It’s going to be fun to try it out.
Best of all, I’m no longer thinking about the ball tonight.
All of a sudden, a dark figure on a battered, all-black Harley roars out of the tunnel directly at me.
“Shit.” I slide to a desperate stop, applying maximum pressure to the front lever.
My heart is in my mouth.
Are we going to crash?
I’m breathing hard; it’s all I can hear inside my helmet.
We’re going to hit each other.
We’re going to…
The other rider skids skillfully at the same time as I do.
Our front wheels crunch to a rumbling stop inches apart.
For a moment, I sit frozen, as my hands grip with white knuckles to the handlebars.
Then I’m ripping off my helmet and tossing it to the ground.
“Are you crazy? What the fuck are you doing?” I yell.
This close, I can see that the man is athletic and dressed in tight but well-worn black leathers. His helmet is decorated with a wolf.
Wait, I recognize that design.
I’ve seen it before.
My heart speeds up, but this time, it’s because I hope that I know who is seated opposite me.
When the man pulls off his helmet, placing it behind him, silvery hair cascades out.
Harbinger.
Butterflies swarm in my stomach.
When my cheeks heat, I hope that it’s not obvious how much he’s affecting me.
How much he now means to me.
Even if the jerk has just gained my attention by knocking me off my bike. Or is that only wishful thinking?
Didn’t Harbinger realize that it was me? Is he simply a bad rider?
“But we didn’t.” Harbinger runs a hand through his hair, smoothing it down. “Having fun yet, Kitten?”
“I could have killed you.”
“I’m touched that you care about me. Or do you just want another chance at me in the octagon?”
I try to hold onto my anger, but it’s impossible when the evidence of the beating that Harbinger took yesterday is so obvious.
Harbinger’s cheek is swollen. Both his eyes are purple and bruised. His lip looks painful.
After the discipline he took, I don’t know how he’s sitting so casually on the bike.
Maybe he’s used to it.
I can’t hold myself back. And I can’t waste this opportunity.
I put my feet down, then park the Harley, kicking on the stand. I climb off the motorcycle, before rushing to Harbinger.
Harbinger watches me warily. “Or are you going for that assassination attempt now?”
“Shut up.” I gently cup Harbinger’s swollen cheek, and he flinches. He watches me with wide, surprised eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t hit me, Kit. I would have remembered. Your jabs hurt.”
“So do your attempts to strangle me.”
“We’re really a match made in—”
“Hell?”
He chuckles.
I’m fixated by the mess of bruises across Harbinger’s beautiful face. There’s hardly an inch of skin that isn’t purple or swollen.
“I’m trying to say thank you,” I say, softly, “for what you did in the study. It meant everything to both Laurent and me that you’d risk your life for us like that. It’s obvious that Vinnie is forcing you to fight for him. If you need my help, then you have it. I promise, I’ll protect you."
“ You’ll protect me …?” Harbinger looks at me in amazement. Then he sighs. “My brother was right about me. I am shit at this.”
“You have a brother? Is he safe?” My brow furrows. “Plus, shit at what?”
Harbinger’s eyes become icy. “What do you really want?”
Carefully, signaling my movements, I push myself up on tiptoes and kiss Harbinger’s injured lips like I’ve been dreaming about doing (if I’m honest with myself), from the moment that I saw him under the lights of the octagon.
I kiss him, as if I can kiss him better.
“Is this gratitude?” Harbinger asks. “Is it an Underworld thing to give kisses as a thank you? Or am I only getting this special treatment because I’m just that sexy?”
This is it.
I didn’t expect the opportunity to come this soon but I need to be honest with Harbinger.
He’s my Alpha, no matter how much he tries to hide behind his barrier of banter.
I rest my hand on his arm, indulging in the feel of his hard muscle and the way that he doesn’t pull away from my touch.
“This is me trying to tell you that my pack, all of us, have talked,” I reply. “We want to get to know you because if there’s a way to make it possible, we’d like to take you into our pack.”
I’m shocked, when Harbinger bares his canines. “Sorry, but I’m already owned by one psychopath. I don’t fancy belonging to another.”
Hurt, I take a step back.
Then realization dawns. “I’m not talking about my dad.”
Harbinger’s shoulders relax. “Who then?”
I give him a sideways glance.
There are too many mysteries surrounding this man to trust him with all my plans just yet.
The ball is happening tonight, when the different packs will be invited to the Battles estate as well.
If I can get through that, then I will find Harbinger again. The members of my pack will be known to everybody because I will have claimed them as my reward at the ball.
I can’t risk telling Harbinger, since he still belongs to my enemy.
What did Laurent say about keeping the information to himself because then only he will be interrogated for it?
If I tell Harbinger, then Vinnie has a reason to hurt him.
“You’ll find out at the ball,” I reply. “Are you coming to it?”
Excitement rushes through me, making me feel giddy, at the thought that I’ll be able to be openly seen with Harbinger.
Could we even dance together?
Harbinger’s lips quirk. “Do you want me to?”
“Yes,” I reply, simply. “Laurent will be disappointed if you don’t.”
Pink creeps up Harbinger’s neck, as soon as I mention Laurent.
“How could I disappoint the two prettiest Omegas in the Underworld?”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand you.”
“Right back at you.”
Suddenly, it hits me that this is the first time that I’ve seen Harbinger during the daytime, when he’s not chained or surrounded by Hades pack members.
“Why aren’t you chained? How have you got away? Fuck, this isn’t your escape attempt, right?” When I snatch at Harbinger’s gloved wrist, he flinches.
He shakes me off. “Wow, I’m devastated at your level of belief in me. Actually, I managed to persuade Vinnie that the chain was damaging my wrist permanently like your Sunshine told him. If he continued making me wear it, then I wouldn’t be able to fight for him and take him back to his Champion glory days.”
“So, that is what’s making him pop his knot.”
“He’s like the popular jock who plays quarterback at college and then turns into a nasty drunk with a mid-life crisis because his life will never be as good as those teenage years, when he was drowning in Omega pussy, locker room Alpha banter, and trophies.”
“Wow, that sounded strangely specific.”
“I was just bullied by a lot of those jocks.” Harbinger cradles his wrist to his chest, and I realize that he doesn’t realize he’s doing it. “Vinnie spent a couple of hours making it clear to me what would happen to me if I disobey or try to run.”
He touches his black eye.
I wince.
“Are you going to run?” I demand.
The tension rises between us, when he doesn’t answer.
I stiffen, too aware that Laurent gave Harbinger the exit codes.
Harbinger doesn’t answer.
His expression blanks, then he deflects, “Are you?”
I meet his gaze.
Stalemate.
We stare at each other.
Why do I still feel like his enemy?
I know that Harbinger is Laurent’s scent match.
Harbinger was prepared to die for both of us yesterday.
He protected River.
Yet it feels like he’s playing a game that I don’t know about.
He’s as wary of me, as I am of him.
How do I get him to truly talk to me?
Then a thought strikes me.
I stroll back to my motorcycle, scooping up my helmet from the floor and slipping it on. “Want to race, Wolf? I haven’t tried out the new track yet.”
Harbinger revs his engine. “Want to lose again, Kitten?”
I hide my smile underneath my helmet.
Harbinger won’t know that no one in the Underworld has beaten me in a race around the tunnels.
Harbinger didn’t play fair in the octagon. I’m fine with playing dirty now, if it means finding out the truth about this man who was worked his way into my heart.
But I need to work out how best to protect all my pack.
“Cocky.” I swing my leg over my Harley, turning it back on. “Want to add some stakes?”
Harbinger slides on his helmet. “Winner fucks the loser over their bike…?”
My mouth drops open.
Did he seriously just say that?
Is he joking?
It’s hard to tell with him.
I’ve never wanted to say yes so much to a fantasy in my life. But should I give in to the temptation?
“Ehm…” I hedge. “I was thinking more like the winner gets to ask the loser three questions, which the loser has to answer.”
“Boring. But accepted.” Harbinger turns his bike, before glancing over his shoulder. “See you at the finish line, little Kitty.”
I narrow my eyes.
I’m going to be the one who asks those questions.
Then I’ll find out Harbinger’s real name. What he owes Vinnie that led to him being dragged down to the Underworld. And what his escape scheme is.
I smirk, speeding off at the same time as Harbinger into the tunnel that leads to the start of the race track.
I’m shocked at how fast Harbinger is.
Shit, he’s good.
He’s better than any of the other bikers.
How is he this talented?
This is going to be hard.
Everything is focused and narrowed down to the looping track ahead of me. I accelerate smoothly, allowing the powerful engine to do the work.
Harbinger is keeping up with me.
He’s close.
I swerve to stop him overtaking me.
I suck in a sharp breath, when we almost collide.
I tighten my hold on the handlebars, pushing the Harley faster.
It’s thrilling — a fucking rush like a fight.
When I glance behind me, I realize that I’ve pulled ahead of Harbinger.
I grin, exhilarated.
All of a sudden, everything goes dark, as I reach a tunnel with neon red lighting.
Lionzio did an incredible job on this tunnel. If Dad won’t praise him for it, then I’ll make sure that I do.
I focus on coping with the tight corners.
I’m confused, however, that when I emerge from the tunnel, I appear to have lost Harbinger.
Has he crashed? Lost control? Or simply fallen behind?
I push my advantage, speeding ahead.
When I take a tight corner, I find myself careening toward a line of flaming oil barrels.
I cuss in panic.
I’m going to crash.
I slow, skidding to the side.
Please work…
Narrowly, I miss the barrels, which scorch my leathers. I wobble but don’t fall, before I can balance.
I’ve survived.
I’m almost at the finish line.
I’ve won, right?
Sweating, I race to the finish line, which is at the end of the hangar. It’s sprayed with graffiti flags.
Yet I almost fall off my Harley, when I see that Harbinger is not only already waiting for me at the finish line but is resting casually beside his bike with his helmet on the saddle.
He claps, as I cross the line.
How the hell did Harbinger get here so far ahead of me?
The relaxed way that he’s leaning against his motorcycle only makes me more frustrated but also, makes me shake my head in wonder.
How many tricks does this Alpha have?
I park my motorcycle. Then I pull off my helmet and shove it behind me, leaping off.
I storm toward the Alpha, no longer caring that I’m an Omega or how many taboos I’m breaking, as I poke him in the chest.
Harbinger looks amused.
“How did you get here before me?” I demand.
“There’s a secret shortcut in the tunnel,” Harbinger admits.
I gape at him.
“How did you know?” I say, through gritted teeth.
“I scouted the track, before you arrived.” He looks far too pleased with himself. “There’s something hidden beneath everything. You simply have to look for it.”
“You’re a good racer.”
“So are you. But it appears I get to ask those three questions that you were so keen to ask me.”
I take a deep breath. “Go on then.”
When Harbinger straightens, it reminds me how much taller he is than me.
He doesn’t look casual anymore but deadly in a calculating way that makes me shiver.
“I only have one.” Harbinger’s piercing gaze pins me in place. “Why do you want to be the heir so much that you’d break into the Hades estate? Risk your life? Risk the life of your male Omega? ”
That’s what he wants to know?
He could ask me anything. Why that?
Harbinger’s gaze is so cold that it could give me frostbite.
Is he trying to figure me out?
I rest my hand on his arm, but he doesn’t break his gaze from mine.
We promised each other truth, but this is the one question that I can’t answer.
At least, not fully.
Harbinger is a smart man. He knows that I have as much of a plan as he does. Yet he’s focused on the danger that I put Laurent and myself in.
I duck my head. “It’s complicated.”
“That’s as good as a lie.” Harbinger leans down to ghost his lips over my ear. His voice is low and seductive. “What was it that tempted you? The money? Status? Power? ”
Horrified, I tighten my hold on his arm. “ No. ”
I can’t bear that he thinks I’d endanger Laurent for those reasons.
That I’m no different to Dad…or Allegra.
“Talk to me then.” Harbinger’s gaze is searching. “What do you truly care about, little Kitten?”
I feel sick.
Judged.
It’s almost like he’s begging me, however, to show that I’m the good Omega he believes I am, rather than being a typical Battle.
Yet I can’t do that without blowing a plan, which could save everyone in the Underworld.
I can’t do that yet.
Conflicted, I shove his chest, stronger than I intended to, and he stumbles back. “You’re the bad Alpha who works for the Hades.”
He becomes ashen.
Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that. I regret it the moment that it slips from my lips.
Calling someone a bad Alpha is the worst thing that you can say.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Why? It looks like I am a bad Alpha , doesn’t it?”
“Laurent doesn’t think you are one.”
“Rook’s my scent match. He’s not thinking clearly.” All of a sudden, Harbinger surges forward, grabbing me by the arms and hauling me against his chest. “But if I’m so bad, why did you cry when I was beaten? Why did you yell for the other Alphas to stop hurting me?”
He’s breathing hard. I can feel the rapid beat of his heart through his leathers.
His powerful pheromones are wild and uncontrolled.
I don’t think Harbinger knows how powerfully he’s putting them out.
I’m trembling, overwhelmed.
His vanilla bourbon scent surrounds me. I never want to stop breathing in its sweetness.
Yet I still boldly meet Harbinger’s gaze. “And if I’m a power hungry Omega, why did you bare your neck and take that beating to save me?”
“Because I…” Harbinger breaks off with a snarl. Then he licks over his dry lips, before continuing, “I can’t love you. I can’t… but I do .”
Then he kisses me.
It’s hard and passionate.
It feels like a denial and an admission all at the same time.
I kiss back just as hard.
The kiss is a revelation.
It has the same spark and electricity that has always existed between Harbinger and me.
I’m already aflame, just from the touch of our lips.
I moan, and Harbinger holds me tighter, crushing me to his chest.
“The winner fucks the loser over their bike,” I say, between sucking and kissing on his lower lip.
Harbinger’s eyes flame. “It’s only fair. Ready, Kitten?”
“I’ve been ready from the moment that I met you.”
Harbinger pushes the hair from my eyes in a move that catches me by surprise with how tender it is. “I can’t wait to ride you. Are you sure?”
“I’m already soaking wet.” I wriggle free of him, before squirming my tight leathers and panties down my legs. I flush at the heated way that Harbinger watches me. “I’m your prize in the bet. Use me.”
I drape over the saddle of his Harley, spreading my legs.
I’ve flicked the bean in the shower to fantasies of being rutted over a motorcycle.
It was always Feral doing the rutting.
Yet earlier, I discussed Harbinger with Feral because Feral had to be okay with another Alpha joining the pack.
Being a feral Alpha, he could have torn out the throat of another Alpha who challenged his authority. I needed to ensure that both Alphas would be safe.
Feral made it clear that as long as Harbinger didn’t expect to be the Chief Alpha of our pack, then he’d be welcome.
I knew how hot Feral had found Harbinger, when we’d fought him.
Feral would happily bend Harbinger over, as much as he would the rest of the pack.
Feral is such an uber dominant Alpha that no Alpha could upset his place within the pack. When he heard about how Harbinger had stood up for his Omegas, when he hadn’t been able to be there to do it himself, then Feral had been even more on board with accepting Harbinger.
Yet I hadn’t thought that it would happen this soon.
I’m not complaining.
Harbinger traces his gloved finger up and down my slick pussy, until I whimper.
I whisper, “Do you have a condom?”
“Always.”
“Of course you do.”
“Quiet.” When Harbinger lightly smacks my hip, warmth spreads to my core. I push my ass back in invitation. He smacks my ass this time, and I moan. “Good Omega, lie there and let your Alpha pleasure you.”
I don’t know if it’s the good Omega or the your Alpha that makes me slide into the warm fuzzy place in my head.
I feel like I’m floating already.
I start to purr.
I hear the rip of a condom packet behind me.
Then Harbinger presses his body over mine, kissing the back of my neck and then down my spine.
“Good Omega. Such a good Omega.”
Harbinger taps his gloved finger like a tiny paddle gently on my clit, before circling it.
The sensation is driving me wild.
Then he draws his finger back into my folds, stroking them.
When he dips one into my pussy, I whine. He rests one hand on my shoulder blade, pinning me over his Harley, before he adds another finger.
He’s hitting just the right angle with his fingering to make me see stars.
My thighs are quivering.
I’m going to come…
I howl, when Harbinger removes his fingers just before I hit the crest of the wave.
“Not yet.” He lines up his cock.
I feel the head of Harbinger’s cock nudging at my pussy.
I’m warm all over.
“Anybody could see us here.” Harbinger leans over me, kissing behind my ear. “Another biker could use the track. They’d find the boss’ daughter bent over her enemy’s Harley about to be rutted. What would they think of you?”
My eyes widen.
I should care. I don’t.
I know that I’d hear the engines long before anyone else arrived here.
We’re alone.
Harbinger knows that too.
Also, he’s shielding me with his body. Nobody can see me from the track.
Yet the idea that they could is making him harder and me wetter.
“They’d want to join in, forming a line to fuck you because your muscles are so fucking gorgeous.” He traces his finger down the crack of my ass. “They’d beg to use your other holes at the same time. You could take it. But I wouldn’t let them touch you. In fact, I’d cut off their hands for daring to touch you and put out the eyes of anyone who dared to look at you.”
Romance, Harbinger style.
Harbinger thrusts into me in a single motion.
I keen, as pleasure bursts through me.
Harbinger is large but not the same size as Feral.
He fits me like he was made for me alone.
“Yes,” I groan. “Deeper.”
Harbinger grips my hips, fucking into me hard and deep. He pistons in and out, relentlessly.
He’s not as rough as Feral, but somehow, he seems to know how to shift me to get the perfect angle, which has me screaming out on every thrust.
He’s experienced and he knows how to use his cock.
This is mind-blowing.
“F-f-fuck.” I gasp.
I can hardly think.
I’m falling apart.
I need this man.
He’s my Alpha. I know it now.
I’m going to answer Harbinger properly next time. I owe him that. He won the race and all he wanted to ask was why I’d risk my life to become heir.
He wants to know who I am as an Omega.
And I need to know who is as an Alpha just as much.
“May I come?” I beg. “I’m close. I need to…”
Harbinger’s teeth rest dangerously near to where my bond mark would be.
I stiffen with both terror and hope.
Is he going to bite me?
“Come, Kitten.” Harbinger grazes his teeth without biting over my scent gland. “Come for your Alpha.”
And I do.
I scream, shuddering with a wave of intense pleasure that crashes over me, at his promise that…somehow…he’ll be mine.
And I will be his.