Chapter 3
three
JUDE
C ool air drifts across my face as I blink open my eyes. It takes me a moment to realize the stupid bag is gone, and I’m lying face down on … grass? Did that Alpha drop me somewhere? What was the point of grabbing me off the streets if he was just going to let me go?
Groaning, I sit up. Or at least I try to sit up. My bound hands make it hard for me to rise as quickly and unencumbered as I want to. I pull against my bindings, hoping they have some give. They do, but I’m unable to free myself.
Frustration flows through me as I tuck my feet under me and look around at my surroundings. My chest heaves as I take in my environment. The moon is full, illuminating my surroundings as I twist my head this way and that. I have no idea where I am. Overgrown hedges form a distinct shape all around me.. An opening is across from me, but I can’t see beyond it. The space is too dark for me to make out more than the faint shapes of the hedges.
Where am I? The wind blows across my skin, sending goosebumps scattering across my flesh. A gasp tears from my throat. I’m no longer wearing the clothes I left my home in, now in a pair of shorts that barely cover my ass and an undershirt so thin, it may as well not be there at all, showing my pebbled nipples. What the fuck is going on?
I stand cautiously, allowing the twined strands of the rope around my wrists to slide through the hoop bolted into the ground. Once I’m on my feet, I turn in a circle, trying to glean more information of exactly where I am. I should be at home, relaxing and snuggling in with a good book while the savage Alphas run around like mongrels.
The moon is fat and heavy, hanging differently in the sky than it did when I was walking home—before the bag was thrust over my head. A sense of dread overcomes me. I must get out of here, now.
“Hello?” I call, hoping someone around can help me. “Please! I don’t belong here!” I’m not sure who I’m speaking to, but I’m hoping my pleas reach sympathetic ears.
The blaring siren rings, and my stomach sinks. It’s signaling the start of Game Night, and I’m tied up, stuck outside.
I pull against the ropes while simultaneously trying to watch my back. I have to get out of here. I have to go.
Shouts and screams, jeers and shrieks drift over the din of the siren, and I pull harder against the ropes. Pealing laughter splits the night after the siren stops, and echoes of heavy footfalls sound around me. Running? Why are people running? Where are they going? What?—
Then it hits me. I look around—oh shit. It's a maze. Oh gods, I'm in a maze.
Alphas are hunting omegas, and all around me, one by one, they fall to their desires, groans of pain and pleasure drifting loud enough for the Gods to hear .
Who will come for me? Why am I still bound? Is someone playing with me, watching me sweat? Do they want me scared, thinking I’ll be next? Or will I be left here, forced to listen to omegas being fucked and Alphas roaring their release?
The hair at the nape of my neck stands up and a chill runs down my spine. Someone is behind me, I can feel their presence. Slowly, I turn, my heart hammering in my chest. A towering figure fills the space. He’s wearing all black—a skintight black shirt that shows every ripple of his torso, his abs standing out in sharp relief. Black cargo pants cling to his muscular thighs, thighs eating up the distance between us at a leisurely pace. His pair of thick soled black boots are made for one thing and one thing only—gripping the ground as he gives chase.
My heart thumps as I track the Alpha approaching me, his face in shadow for only a moment more. Then it comes into view, and my heart beats wildly in my chest. Slick leaks from my ass. Nonononono, not right now. Not when my eyes land on him.
Aldric.
I stop trying to free myself and stare at him as he advances. Why isn’t he attacking me? Taking me to the ground and fucking me hard? His implant is turned off, he doesn’t have to hold himself back. I’m surprised he’s not feral, seeing as the implants must be turned off if the noises of the night are anything to go by. He moves with control, with more self-assurance than I’ve seen in all the years we’ve worked together. That’s a feat in itself—Aldric is the most self-assured Alpha I’ve ever met.
But his eyes. They give away that he’s in his element. The orbs shine with feral energy, flashing with need and a savage fucking glee. My heart thumping and sweat drips down my back .
Swallowing thickly, I hold up my hands as much as possible. “Are you behind this?”
His low laugh drifts over my ears, and I wince as if he shouted at me. “Of course. And I went through a lot of trouble trying to claim you.” He circles me, and I turn to keep him in my line of sight. “You’ve been teasing me far too long, omega. Now you can’t run from me.”
“You had me kidnapped!” I shriek. He’s fucking crazy.
“I did. Well worth the credits I paid to have your tight ass around my dick and my claiming bite on your neck.” He steps closer to me and breathes in deeply. I shudder in a mixture of disgust and delight. Damn my omega instincts.
“Let me go.” I demand, pulling at the ropes again.
Aldric steps closer still, pressing his hard body to mine. His cock is long and thick against my thigh, and I try to move away. The bindings cut into my wrists, trapping me. Aldric is fucking huge. My heart sinks. There's no escape for me.
Quickly, he slots his arm around me and I’m unable to move. My cock twitches, growing half hard, even though I don’t want this. He noses up my neck, his breath tickling my flesh. Shivers run up my spine. I’m not sure what I feel right now, his pheromones making it hard to think clearly. It’s like he’s pushing them out so they can cloud my mind.
I headbutt him, making contact with his mouth. Blood drips down his chin. He grunts and stumbles backward a step, wide eyes meeting mine. Then he gives me a feral grin, bloodied teeth showing as he wipes his mouth and licks the blood from the back of his hand. “This will be fun.”
“Fuck you,” I mutter, steeling myself to fight. My forehead throbs from where his teeth connected with bone, but I ignore it. Seeing his blood is well worth the small amount of pain.
Instead of getting upset—which I expect from the implant being off and his aggression being high as it is—all Aldric does is smirk. His calm demeanor is betrayed by how rapidly his chest is rising and falling and how his nostrils flare. He must have amazing self-control to not be going absolutely fucking wild right now.
Taking my tightly bound hands in his, Aldric pulls me closer and forces his lips on mine, swiping his tongue inside. The coppery taste of his blood settles on my tongue, and anticipation and fear building in me. His kiss is desperate, forceful. His very energy thrums through me. This is it. My reprieve is up, and it’s time to fight my way out.
Clamping my teeth together, I’m rewarded with more blood flowing in my mouth. Aldric hisses and pulls away, his tongue dripping bright red liquid. His eyes flash, and real primal fear seizes my heart. To goad him, I spit his blood near his feet, eyeing him with as much disdain as I can muster.
With a growl, he pulls a knife from behind his back, sliding the flat of the blade down my face. “When I let you go—” A hint of anger colors his otherwise seductive tone as he lowers the knife down my face, to my neck down, and my chest to the ropes, “—I want you to make this worth my while. Don’t give up so easily on me, Jude. I love the chase.”
With quick movements, he slices through the ropes and pushes me away. I stumble back, landing on my butt and scraping my hands. I hiss but don’t look away from the Alpha in front of me. Now that he’s really mad, it’s obvious he’s fighting to keep himself in control. His shoulders are heaving, his lip is curled, and he’s breathing like a bull. He seems to grow larger in his aggression, towering over me more than he normally would.
I shuffle back and get to my feet, walking backward to put some distance between us.
Aldric stalks towards me, but not quickly. Taking that as my cue to try to get as far away from him as I can, I turn and dart off, listening hard for his footfalls behind me. I take the first left I see, then run for a few yards before making a right, distancing myself from the Alpha that wants to fuck me in the grass under the stars, whether I like it or not.
When I glance back over my shoulder, I don’t see him. It doesn’t matter—I keep sprinting. I lose track of what direction I run in, other omegas rushing past me in the hopes of getting free of those that want to claim them.
As I’m making another left, I crash headlong into a frantic looking female omega, once again landing on my ass and skinning my hands. She falls as well, looking worse for wear. Her shit is torn and her tis are hanging from the tattered material. A claiming bite mars her throat, large and angry red against her pale skin. She looks over her shoulder, chest heaving and eyes wide as she tries to get back to her feet. Like me, she’s a little dazed from our collision.
“Are you alright?” I ask, holding a hand to my head to clear my vision.
“Please!” she cries, scrambling away from where she came. “Please help me.”
I don’t get the chance to move closer to her. An Alpha almost as big as Aldric stalks toward her, a gleam of triumph on his face. He lifts her off her feet and grabs her around her chest, a hand clamped possessively over one large breast. Once he has her secure, he carts her back to where they came. She screams, looking at me for assistance. I try to rise to help her, hand outstretched in her direction, but I’m hauled off the ground with speed. Just as the Alpha did to that female omega, a possessive arm locks around my chest, keeping me in place.
“Too slow, angel,” Aldric growls in my ear, just before he roughly pulls my head to the side and sinks his teeth into my neck.