5. Captured
Captured
R ecovering from the momentary paralysis created by the scent of the alpha, I twisted in his arms, going limp. It worked. He couldn't hold me and I slid right through his hands, dropping to the ground.
"Stop!" he growled and I nearly did. His voice was as deep and smoky as his inviting scent.
I hummed in my mind, a trick I'd learned years ago, and scrambled away from him, toward the trees. Snow was falling in fat, heavy flakes and if I could get far enough away, he wouldn't be able to track me. I was on my feet and running before he could recover from my escape.
"Omega! Stop!" This time there was the edge of a bark in the words.
I covered my hears and kept running, slipping into the woods and immediately slowing as the brush caught at me. It took him seconds to catch up and grab me again, his strong arms pinning mine to my sides.
My breath was ragged with panic and I kicked back, trying to hit his knee. A year of minimal food and the cold made me weak, though and my kicks were mere taps to the massive man holding me.
He huffed out an annoyed breath. "Stop fighting, you little minx. You're not getting away from me. If you think you can somehow hide now, after I tracked you half-way across the country, you're dumber than I thought."
At his words, I froze. He wasn't a random alpha, he was sent by the ORC. The cold suddenly seemed to dig into my chest, icing my heart over. I hadn't escaped at all, not even for a few hours. They'd somehow known where I was the entire time.
"I'm recommending they start tagging their omegas with trackers," the alpha muttered as he easily carried me back to the clearing.
He suddenly twisted me around and flipped me up so I was hanging over his shoulder, my face halfway down his back, his arm over the back of my legs.
"What the fuck do you have on your feet?
" He snorted, shook his head, and started walking.
I was going back. And my heat was nowhere to be found. I knew this was going to be the end for me, I'd be sent to the heat dens as a useless omega, set to serve as a toy for the alphas in rut. The thought made bile rush up my throat and I choked, spitting bitterness out onto the snow behind us.
"You good?" That deep voice asked.
Ignoring him, I took a shuddering breath and tried to calm myself. Panic was doing nothing to help right now. I'd have to wait until the alpha's guard was down.
We reached the parking lot by the diner far too quickly. I was shivering, but the heat from the alpha kept the cold from taking over.
"I'm putting you down for a second. Run and you'll be riding home in the trunk," he said. The alpha waited for a second before he slid me down his front, my wobbly legs barely holding me as he set me on my feet, pressing me against a vehicle as he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.
"Get in." He pulled open the driver's side door and jerked his head.
"What?"
"Get in and slide to the passenger seat."
Shakily, I did as he'd said, catching his frown as I crawled into the far seat. The door was locked over here, of course, and he was in the driver's seat before I could even think about unlocking it.
"Seatbelt. Can't let our precious cargo get hurt," he muttered, leaning over me and pulling the seatbelt across to jam into the closure.***
"Please don't take me back," I whispered, as his smoke and leather scent enveloped me.
It was almost chokingly strong in the SUV, but I caught notes of snow and coffee and honey apples, too.
Like other alphas sat in this vehicle regularly.
Despite my fear, I felt the scents soaking into me and relaxing my body.
"Don't even think about using those omega wiles on me. I'm immune," he snapped with a sideways glance. Then we were pulling out of the truck stop and back onto the highway. Headed back to my own personal hell.
I leaned back in the seat, determined to get warm and rest up while I could. All too soon, I'd have to run again and it was going to be a lot more difficult this time.
While we drove, I carefully studied my captor.
He was nothing like the beta guards at the center.
He was huge, the seat pushed back so he could fit behind the wheel without cranking his knees up to his ears.
Strong, calloused hands sat confidently on the wheel, thick veins visible.
For some reason, the sight of those hands made my mouth water.
Quickly, I moved my eyes to his face. He had a strong jawline, covered in a dusting of dark hair, like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days.
Maybe he hadn't, if he'd been chasing me.
His nose was a little bit crooked, like he'd broken it and he he had dark blue eyes surrounded by thick black lashes that were almost too thick for a man.
Sharp cheekbones set off his eyes and his hair, cut fairly short, stuck up in neat spikes, despite his pursuit over the past few days.
It was dark brown, but the ends were lighter, bleached by sun, it seemed.
Overall, my captor was a ruggedly handsome man.
One I might have been attracted to if he wasn't taking me back to the Omega Reassignment Center.
At the reminder, I frowned and turned away from his attractive face, looking out the window instead.
The scenery flew by in a blur of whites and grays, the snow falling thicker and faster now.
When I faced forward, it was like staring into a wind tunnel, with the snow streaking straight at the windshield and nearly obscuring the view.
"Fuck." The alpha hit a button on the dash and a moment later, a silky smooth male voice filled the car.
"What's up, River? You find the omega?"
"Yeah, but it's getting hairy out here. How far are you guys from Harrison?"
There was a shuffling and the tap of keys, then, "Maybe 20 minutes in these conditions. You heading our way?"
"Yeah, I'm going to have to wait until this storm blows over. Got an extra bed in that Airbnb?"
"Of course."
"Drop me a pin and I'll be there in half an hour."
"Got it. I'll come back to open up for you."
River tapped the button again and the car went silent. Then the dash pinged and a little screen showed up with roads marked on it and a red path laid out to a green dot that I assumed was the Airbnb they'd been discussing.
"You're not taking me back to the center?" I asked hopefully.
"Not yet. You'll get there, so don't get your hopes up. And my men are all trained to stop you if you get any funny ideas," he warned.
Great. Now I'd have two or three men watching me instead of just one. I dropped my head against the cool glass and stared out at the falling snow as River drove carefully, creeping along roads that were barely visible.
In the end, it took nearly an hour to reach the house.
Visibility was barely beyond the nose of the car and I was certain that without the tracker on the screen, there was no way we'd find the house.
But finally, the green dot was right there and River let out a long breath, like he'd stopped breathing the entire time we'd been driving.
"Home sweet home," he said, sounding exhausted. Maybe he was.
I found myself wondering how much sleep he'd gotten while he was searching for me. Then I shook that thought from my mind. He was my captor. The more exhausted he was, the easier it would be to escape again. Though with the current whiteout conditions, it seemed like a very stupid move to run.
"Don't even think about taking off in this," River told me, as if he could read my mind. "I won't even bother looking for you until the snow stops. You'll be a popsicle and I'll just pop you out of your snowy grave to take you back."
"What if I'd rather that than going back?" I asked quietly.
His keen ears picked up my voice anyway and he frowned, looking at me for a moment. "Just stay put. I'll come around."
River got out of the SUV, nearly disappearing in a flurry of snow before reappearing beside my door. He tugged it open and grabbed my arm. "Let's go."
I was glad he had hold of me when we stepped away from the car and suddenly everything became white shadows through the falling snow. The flakes caught on my lashes and made it hard to see, so I just blindly stumbled after the massive alpha that loomed next to me.
Then we were climbing steps, my feet so numb already that I stumbled. River's grip on my arm kept me from going down and I almost thanked him, before remembering who he was and what we were doing here.
"River! I didn't think you were going to make it." The door was open in front of us and another huge alpha stood there, eyeing us.
"It was touch and go," River responded. "Didn't want to spend the night in a snowbank."
The other alpha stepped back and River pulled me through the door and into a cozy living room. A fire blazed in the fireplace, drawing me in with its heat. As soon as River let go of my arm, I moved instinctively toward the flickering flames.
"This is the omega you were after?" The new alpha asked, sounding sceptical. "Doesn't look like she'd make it halfway across the country on her own."
"Well, she did." Their voices faded as they walked out of the room.
For a moment, I was shocked River had left me alone, then I realized there were two other alphas sitting on the sofa behind me.
I'd been so focused on the fire that I hadn't noticed them, though I'd definitely registered their scents at some point.
Warm amber and coffee essences surrounded me as I stood in front of the fire, staring at the two men seated at opposite ends of the sofa.
One of them was nearly the same size as River, with shockingly white hair flowing down over his shoulders.
His face was a mix of pretty and rugged, with full lips and icy blue eyes that regarded me coolly.
He narrowed those eyes when he saw me staring and cracked his knuckles, his stare never leaving my face.
The other alpha was lean and tall, sitting cross-legged on the leather cushion, his head tilted slightly to the side as he studied me. Tousled black hair matched the five o'clock shadow on his sharp jaw and his grey eyes were curious, not hostile like the other alpha's.
"What are you wearing?" the thin alpha asked, leaning forward to study my choice of footwear.
"Whatever I could find," I told him honestly. His voice was calming and non-judgemental. Not like River's rich, harsh tones. It made me want to talk to him.
"Trash," the other alpha said. His voice was lighter, almost musical, but it was filled with disdain. I wasn't sure if he was talking about my clothing choices or me.
"It was cold," I said, moving a little closer to the fire.
"What's your name?" the thin alpha asked.
"Quinn." They probably already knew that if they'd been talking to River. I was sure he had my file.
"I'm Archer," he said. "The grumpy one is Kade."
"We're all grumpy, except for your sunshiny ass," Kade snapped.
"Nice to . . . " I trailed off and Kade smirked.
"Yeah, not the best circumstances, but hey, it's warm here and we have food. You'll be fine until it's time to leave. We don't bite."
Kade snorted at that, but Archer just gave him a sharp look.
"Okay." I didn't know what else to say. Tell them I had no intention of going back to the center? Then they'd be on the lookout for any escape attempts. It was best to keep to myself, get fueled up and rested, then I could take off when the snow let up a little.
"Have a seat. You won't be going anywhere for a while," Archer encouraged.
He was right. I sank into the armchair closest to the fire and tried to relax.
The cold seemed to have seeped right into my bones and even the external heat couldn't thaw me.
But it felt good to have the heat from the flames scorching my skin.
This was okay. Not ideal, but I'd escaped worse, I told myself. This time would be no different.