Chapter 5
I was so warm. Everything around me felt comfortable. My body was lax, and as consciousness tugged at the corners of my mind, all I could gather in my hazy sleep state was that I felt comfortable for the first time in God knows how long. My bed in the basement wasn't comfortable—the bedding was synthetic, scratchy, and covered in frilly little bows that made my skin itch. The house smelled damp and disgusting, like everything wrong in the world. But that wasn't what I could smell now.
I was wrapped up in the most delicious scents imaginable—warm, comforting, woodsy. A corner of my brain was trying to push me into waking up, but my body was so relaxed that I wanted to stay in this peace for a moment longer. When was the last time I truly got to rest? It had been years, and even if it was only for a brief moment, I wanted to enjoy the serenity of being cocooned in such delicious warmth. The fabric I was wrapped up in was so soft, and I didn’t recognise it at all, but I didn’t want to think about it too hard because then I would have to realise this was probably nothing more than a dream.
The air around me smelled fresh, like I was near the seaside. Salty air infected my nostrils and made my entire body lax. There was something else about the scent that was instinctually comforting—almost like I was in the presence of an alpha.
Wait.
My heart stuttered as I realised that was the scent of an alpha . It dawned on me that I knew exactly what I was smelling, even though it had been so many years. The reason my body was so relaxed was because I was wrapped up in the scents of several different alphas, only there were no alphas in the basement. There was only Alec.
Was I dreaming? Was I hallucinating? Had I finally cracked? I’d known I was going to crack one day, but I thought I had managed to escape. Had I escaped, or had I simply imagined escaping with Lavender? She wasn't a figment of my imagination, was she? I’d had an active imagination as a child—Kane would often joke with me that I could imagine entire worlds in my little brain. But surely I hadn’t imagined the stubborn omega also being kidnapped and helping me escape.
Opening my eyes, I forced my body to sit up. Everything ached. I felt like I’d run a mile. My body hadn’t been this sore since Alec had locked me in the cupboard for six days because I had talked back to him. I squinted as I looked around the room—even the dim light felt far too bright for me. I’d become so used to the darkness that bright light was a struggle, even though they had clearly dimmed the light and only turned on a few lamps in the room.
Whoever they were.
I definitely wasn’t in the basement anymore. I was in what appeared to be a cabin. There were wooden floors and wooden walls, decorated with paintings of landscapes. The entire place felt rustic, and I was lying on a bed covered in tartan blankets and deep red flannel. The bed itself was made from actual logs, so clearly, I had fallen into a lumberjack’s paradise.
Glancing around the room, I sat up straighter, running my hand through my hair, shocked when it glided through my dark curls with ease. I was sure my hair had been matted and tangled. It was then that I realised my hand had several bandages on it, and my nails were clean. What had happened to me?
Someone had clearly taken time and effort. The cut on my arm had been bandaged with such precision. Alec never bothered to bandage me up. He would just throw supplies at me and tell me to get rid of it. He hated seeing any imperfections on my skin, even when he caused said imperfections. He wasn’t really a sane man, so his logic was somewhat fucked.
Deep in my mind, I knew I should have been panicking over the fact that I had woken up in a strange place, surrounded by strange smells, but there was something deep inside me that was making me feel so safe. My entire body was relaxed, and my mind was oddly clear. The blankets wrapped around me were exceedingly comfortable, and there was even a fire roaring in the fireplace.
Taking stock of my body, I noticed that I was no longer wearing that stupid frilly contraption that Alec had forced me to wear. The fabric had been scratchy and had infuriated me, but it wasn’t like I could say no to the psychopath who had kidnapped me. Instead of that, I was wearing what I could only describe as a male’s jumper, but it had to belong to an alpha, because it was easily ten sizes too big for me. I was drowning in soft, knit fabric that felt so warm and soft against my skin, I wanted to bury into it and ignore the world to relish in the softness against my skin.
My legs were bare, and I was wearing a pair of men’s boxers—that gave me pause. Who had undressed me? Had it been the alpha in the woods? What was his name? Carter.
Panic gripped my chest at the thought of being undressed. Had they touched me? I had been spared that one cruelty from Alec; he’d wanted to wait for a heat to touch me sexually.
Memories slowly started filtering back into my brain. I had run and it had been raining. I had been so cold, I had been damp. Had Carter brought me back to his place and put me in his clothes? I didn’t know if I should be thankful or terrified. Had I just run from one psychopath into the arms of another?
Slowly, I got up from the bed, my legs trembling as I did so. I could hear movement from outside the door, but no one was in the room with me. As I took a deep breath, the cacophony of male scents hit me again—the most delicious, warming, clarifying scents I had ever smelled but also another equally delicious smell. Food.
When had I last eaten? Alec hardly fed me. He preferred to keep me trim. He wanted me to be the picture-perfect omega. He honestly believed himself to be an alpha, so in his warped mind, I needed to be that much smaller than him. Since he was already a small and insecure man, he had starved me to make me even tinier.
Whatever was cooking smelled orgasmically good. It was rich and spicy, and it was the best thing I’d smelled in years. My stomach growled violently at the prospect of food. I wanted to get out of bed and run toward it, only there was a good chance I’d run into Carter if I did that.
My instincts were telling me he was safe, but I didn’t know if I should believe my instincts. After everything I’d been through, my intuition could well and truly be destroyed. Glancing around, I noticed a door to the left of me that was slightly ajar, and it clearly led to a bathroom. Getting up on shaky legs, I wobbled over there and quickly did my business.
It was shockingly clean, considering alphas lived here. Carter had mentioned he had a pack. I hadn’t imagined that, had I? That meant more than one alpha probably lived here. I had grown up with brothers, so I was well aware of the mess alpha males could make. As I washed my hands with a delicious rose-scented soap, everything smelled so good. I had always been led by my nose. I was an omega—that was to be expected—but for everything to smell so good in this room was baffling.
Maybe I was truly broken.
I checked out myself in the mirror—my hair had been brushed out, and my face had been cleaned. I had a few scrapes and scratches, and my face looked gaunt. Dark circles were under my eyes, making my face look almost hollow, and my left eye was swollen and bruised. Shaking my head, I forced my gaze away. I refused to dwell on my appearance, especially since my injuries made the memories resurface.
As I padded out of the bathroom, making my way back towards the bed, I was slowly starting to feel a bit stronger.
My ankle hurt, and it was pretty swollen, easily twice the size of my other ankle, but it didn't hurt too much to walk on. It only gave me a slight limp.
I didn’t think I was brave enough to go to the door yet, but I didn’t have to think too hard about that, because as I clambered back into bed, the door opened and Carter reappeared.
"You're awake," he said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
I stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say, nodding dumbly.
"Are you hungry?" he asked. "We've got chilli on."
My stomach growled in answer. I loved chilli.
Carter, having heard my stomach growl, grinned. "There's even fresh cornbread, the sweet kind, made with honey."
My stomach growled again at the sound of that. An alpha who smelled delicious was standing in front of me, offering me food. Frankly, I didn’t care if he was also a psychopath—because as long as I got food and to smell that delicious scent, I could probably die a happy omega.
Cocking his head at my lack of answer, Carter spoke again. "When was the last time you ate?"
I cleared my throat, which felt scratchy and almost painful. "Too long," I croaked, my voice far too thin and weak.
Carter nodded thoughtfully. "Okay," he said. "I'm going to get you some food, and then we need to have a discussion about why the hell you were running around the woods, barely dressed, and nearly dying of hypothermia."
My eyes widened at that, and I started to breathe deeply, panic setting in. Carter stepped forward, his hands raised in surrender, giving me a pleading look.
"Look, I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re safe," he said. "How about we focus on getting you fed, clean, and warm? How does that sound?
I nodded.
"Now, do you feel comfortable coming into the living room to eat with us, or do you want to eat in here?" he asked. "Asher is going to want to check the cut on your arm soon," he said, and I looked down at the bandage I had been admiring only a few minutes earlier.
"Asher?" I asked. "Is he the one who was a medic?"
Carter’s face broke out into a smile. "You remember?"
I cocked my head to the side. "Considering I was in a very adrenaline-fueled situation, I kind of remember things quite well."
Carter beamed. "That’s good. He is the medic, and he’s been making sure you’re okay. Dylan is the chef, even though he is not a chef by trade—he's actually a security analyst. But he’s the one making the chilli and cornbread. I just supervise them. Usually Asher is the cook, but Dylan makes a mean chilli." He smiled. "Come on, let’s get you some food."
He held out his hand and I didn’t take it. I crossed my arms, keeping to myself as I slowly padded after him. I would’ve followed him anywhere for food. Any other instance, I probably would’ve been hiding in the bathroom, but I was starving.
Never question an omega who is hungry. They’re vicious creatures.