Chapter 5
Vinny
Omega abuse happened every day, especially in higher-ranking families. Fuck, my own brother, Tony, abused his omega, Xenia, until she had no choice but to shoot the bastard dead. But never, and I mean never, had I ever seen an omega in as rough a shape as Violet.
My hands shook as I stared at them, resting uselessly on my knees.
My skin still hummed with the memory of what I’d felt earlier, not the euphoria of her wet heat as she took my knot, or how silky her hair felt as we soothed her after sex, but the way her bird-like bones gave her edges an omega should never have.
I’d counted them, her ribs, the ridges of her spine, without meaning to.
And don’t even get me started on the fucking bruises. Sure, Serena was a shitty driver and almost committed vehicular manslaughter today, but that only explained the fresh ones.
But, Violet didn’t have just angry purple marks; she had layers.
Rings of yellow, smudges of green, brown remnants of fingerprints on her arms and thighs, everything in locations that would be easily hidden by her sweater and dress.
Textbook perfect cruelty.
I did not like that Serena marked Violet without asking, because even if she wasn’t mated, someone clearly thought they owned her, but I understood.
That one little bite changed everything, because now our entire pack, except for me, was bound to their new mate.
Benji melted into the sofa as he draped his arm over the back, as he stared at Serena on the other end. Violet refused to let go of her new alpha, not that I could blame her. Obviously, there was something fucking wrong with her, seeing as her heat seemingly ended the second she had sex.
She was asleep with her face buried in Serena’s neck, small hands fisted in Serena’s shirt like she expected someone to pry her away if she didn’t hold tight enough.
Every slow breath she took was uneven, like even in sleep her body hadn’t figured out how to relax yet.
Serena kept one arm wrapped around her, palm splayed between her shoulder blades, thumb stroking slow circles meant to soothe.
Benji exhaled through his nose and looked down at his exposed chest before rubbing the mark Serena had given him on his pec.
To us, pack marks were a link to let us know how our omega and beta were feeling.
We could tell if they were scared, or sad, or horny, we could even tell if their basic needs weren’t being met, which was great considering Skye would rather die than drink water.
But, where our bond gave Serena and I a little peek into our boys, a small window into their emotional weather, Benji, as the pack’s only beta, got the storm full-force.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this fuckin’ tired in my life,” he muttered, accent thickening as he stifled a yawn. “Dios mío, esto es demasiado.”
“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Serena ran a hand through Violet’s hair. “But, to be fair, if I had known Vinny would let us keep her, I wouldn’t have marked her today.”
I scoffed because if Serena hadn’t marked Violet, we wouldn’t be keeping her. An omega that poorly treated had to have someone who cared an awful lot about keeping them, mark or not.
Did it fucking suck that she was–I stopped myself, teeth grinding as the truth flickered through me like a match to gasoline.
Violet was a perfect scent match. I didn’t think she smelled good, or pretty, or pleasant.
Having her in the same room as me was driving me crazy.
I’d fucked Violet to help get her over her heat, but whatever drugs the clinic forced into her system had her scent flaring so bad that it burned itself into my veins.
Marking an omega against their will was illegal, regardless of whether or not they were in your pack, but I wanted nothing more than to pluck her off of Serena’s lap and sink my teeth into the milky skin of her thigh.
Every instinct I had worked in over time as I counted the times Violet’s back rose in her sleep.
I needed to hear her breathe.
I needed to verify she was breathing.
Over and over.
I needed her to be mine so badly that if it wasn’t for my pack, I’d have chained her up in my basement just to keep her safe.
And that level of obsession wasn’t good for me, or for her, or for anyone in this fucking house.
I dragged my hand over my face, trying to scrub the thought out of my skull.
“Vinny,” Serena hummed.
“Shut up.” I didn’t need her to say a god damned thing.
“You need to breathe.” Benji finished for her.
I cut him a glare because I was breathing, and that was the fucking problem.
“She can’t sleep in the nest.” I grit out, nails digging into my jeans. “If she’s not marked by both of us, it’s not the place for her. We don’t need to stress Skye out right now.”
Thank God for our pregnant omega.
Serena’s fingers stilled in Violet’s hair. “Are you sure that’s for Skye? He and Violet seemed pretty content with each other earlier.”
“Yeah, but now he can feel everything she does.” I crossed my arms. “We don’t need them to be close enough to share nightmares. He’s in his second trimester; the pack’s baby is the number one concern.”
“Hate to admit it, but Vinny’s right.” Benji hummed as he rubbed his mark once more. “Skye’s always been sensitive; we can't risk her stressing him out.”
“Then where’s she supposed to sleep? I can’t hold her like this all night,” Serena snapped.
Violet shifted in her sleep at the sound, nuzzling deeper into Serena’s neck like the idea of being put down terrified her even unconsciously.
Lifting a shoulder, I silently ran through our options.
The nest thing was more for me than Skye, if she wasn’t going to let me mark her, I wasn’t going to sleep in the same room as her.
The last thing we needed was for me to bite her in my sleep.
But… I wasn’t exactly tired right now, and I could go a bit without sleep.
“I’ll go to the store tomorrow and get the shit to turn the closet in my room into a makeshift nest for her.”
Serena blinked at me. “The closet?”
“She’ll feel safer in a small space,” I muttered. “Closed-in walls, no windows, nothing to freak her out. I’ll reinforce it, scent it down. It’ll be hers.”
If she panicked from being alone, Benji would probably wake up and go soothe her; it worked.
“Okay, but what about tonight?” Benji asked.
“Well, thanks to her–” I nodded toward Violet. “You’re both exhausted… I’ll take her.”
Benji eyed me for a beat. “You realize I can feel that was exactly what you wanted, right?”
I clenched my jaw. “That’s not why I’m doing it.”
“Mhm. Sure. You keep telling yourself that,” Benji snorted.
“Look, the quicker she warms up to me, the quicker I can mark her and—”
“Vinny, I swear to god if you mark her tonight—”
“I won’t bite her without permission!” I barked.
The room fell so silent I could hear Violet snoring against Serena.
“Just let me take her,” I said, softly. “I’ll hold her. That’s it. Nothing else. She’ll be safe.”
Serena hesitated for a moment, but the dark circles under her eyes gave her away.
She was exhausted.
Benji was exhausted.
No one in this house was in any state to watch over a traumatized omega, other than me.
“You’re no use to Violet like this,” I said, arms out. “Give her to me.”
Serena’s expression tightened, but then she sighed.
“Fine,” she whispered. “But if she wakes up scared—”
“I’ll be right here,” I promised.
Serena swallowed hard, then carefully shifted Violet toward me. The girl whimpered at the movement, fingers tightening in Serena’s shirt like her subconscious knew what letting go meant.
Serena gently unwound her hand. “You’re okay,” she murmured. “You’re alright, little one. I won’t let anyone else hurt you.”
And then, reluctantly, she placed Violet into my arms.
The moment her weight settled against me, something inside my chest cinched tight, sharp enough to bruise bone. Violet let out a small, relieved breath. Her head tucked under my chin like she’d done it a thousand times, like she’d been made to fit there.
Her tiny hand curled into my shirt as if she had no intention of ever letting go.
My whole body went still.
Don’t bite her.
Don’t bite her.
Do. Not. Bite. Violet.
My jaw locked so hard that pain shot up to my temples, and I forced myself to lower my head and press my lips to her forehead. A completely innocent kiss to prove I could be gentle with her.
The touch soothed her instantly.
It did not soothe me.
Serena’s shoulders sagged; Benji nodded once, satisfied enough to leave this fragile little mess in my arms. They slipped out of the room, footsteps fading.
What they didn’t realize, or more so, what they couldn’t realize, was that I didn’t need to sink my teeth into Violet to claim her.
When tonight started, I had wanted her to be dosed with emergency contraception by morning. Having a kid with a stranger wasn’t responsible or smart or ethical or logical or any of the shit I pretended to care about.
But with all the chaos of the day, and emotion, and the fucking pheromones, no one was going to remember my request.
And without that?
Violet would, more than likely, get pregnant.
With my child.
And once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before she begged me to mark her. To bond her. To keep her.
Pregnancy was hard enough with a fresh bond connecting you to the alpha who put the baby there.
Without a bond?
It was next to impossible.
Violet would need me.
And I’d be right where I wanted to be. Holding her. Protecting her. Listening to her breathe.
There was no possible way for this situation to get any better.
I’d made good on my promise to hold Violet for most of the night anyway. But around three A.M., one of my capos, Marco, called me.
It wasn’t anything major. Not really.
Even though my pack had dropped the Rossi name a few weeks ago, I was still the head of the family business. Which meant one annoying thing: I had to keep the Stellar clan on a short fucking leash.
Those bastards were always up to something.