7. Trapped
Trapped
T he alpha pheromones in the room were suffocating me. It didn't help that the white-blond guy, Kade, came and sat himself on the arm of the chair I was in. His presence was overwhelming. Not only was he large, his spread legs taking up too much space, his coffee scent permeated my air.
Something about that sharp, bitter scent made my mouth water and I wanted to lean against him and rub myself all over him, covering my skin in his fragrance.
Just the thought of it made me shy away, as far as possible.
I huddled against the opposite side of the armchair, watching him stab a fork into the chicken on his salad.
I was hungry. The last thing I'd eaten had been from the dumpster and that was last night.
The aroma of fried eggs from the sandwiches on the coffee table and the chicken from Kade's salad cramped my stomach.
They hadn't offered me anything though and from experience, I knew alphas would object heavily if you took what they considered theirs.
My eyes darted from alpha to alpha, keeping them all in sight.
If any of them made a move toward me, I wasn't sure what I could do about it, but my body didn't care.
It was prepared to run. My heart pounded in my chest at the same time my mind begged me to lick and scent mark them.
The omega side of me was really coming out with the four alpha men sitting around me.
Orion scooped up the last sandwich and I watched him bite into it. My stomach chose that moment to let out a loud rumble. I pulled my legs tighter to my chest, wincing at the noise. It was one thing to be hungry, another to let them know. Now they could use it against me.
"You didn't eat." River frowned. "You're hungry, but you didn't eat? Are you too precious to eat egg sandwiches?"
"Hey!" Kade protested from beside me.
"You are kind of precious about food," Archer told him.
Kade shrugged and went back to his salad, spearing the last bit of creamy lettuce at the bottom of the container and shoving it into his mouth. A little of the dressing smeared on the corner of his lips and I had to look away before I did something stupid, like lick it off.
"We're talking about the omega," River reminded everyone.
They all looked over, four pairs of eyes focused on me.
"You didn't offer me anything, I didn't want to take it without permission." My fingers tightened on the pajama pants I was wearing, twisting into the fabric as I waited for the jeers and taunts.
They didn't come. River let out an exasperated huff, got up and disappeared into the kitchen where he started banging things around like every plate in there had offended him personally.
A minute later, he stood in front of me, holding out a plate with two egg sandwiches neatly cut diagonally. "Eat. Is that direct enough for you?"
"Thank you." I took the plate and bit into the first sandwich half. It was perfect. Runny yolk spilled under the crisp lettuce and tomato, salted just right. The mayo coated my tongue and the toast was crisp and tasty.
A groan escaped my lips as I stuffed the rest of the sandwich into my mouth. The other three halves were gone in a minute as I tore through them, my stomach finally feeling full for the first time in months. I set the plate aside and looked up to find all four alphas still staring at me.
"When did you eat last?" Archer asked curiously.
"Last night."
"You're that hungry after a meal last night?" He raised an eyebrow.
I just shrugged. They already knew what the ORC was like, they were working for the center. At least, River was. Now that I thought about it, I wasn't sure exactly how the others fit into the whole thing and I wasn't about to ask.
After a minute, the alphas went back to watching television. They talked about the weather, then found some comedy show to watch.
Needing to escape the pheromones filling the air, I slid out of the chair, staying as far from Kade as possible and gathered the plates and napkins.
Taking them into the kitchen, I quickly washed the two plates and threw away the trash before filling a glass with water and sucking it down.
I refilled it to take back to the living room with me, turning and nearly bumping into Orion who was standing right behind me.
A yelp escaped me and he gave me a dark smile, leaning over so he loomed above me, pressing me back against the counter.
"Don't get any ideas about seducing my pack," he said quietly, his voice like iron, raspy and deep. "We don't like omegas and we don't want one."
"Don't flatter yourself. I don't want a pack," I snapped back, shoving him with my free hand. His chest was rock solid against my palm, hot through the thin shirt he wore. Maybe touching him was a bad idea.
"For your sake, I hope that's true," he said darkly.
We returned to the living room where everyone looked at us curiously before returning their attention to the television. Kade had taken my seat and I stood there awkwardly with my water until Archer patted the space between himself and Orion.
"Come sit."
I shook my head. No way was I sitting between the two of them.
"Sit down!" River barked and I was compelled to stumble forward to the space between the two alphas.
I glared at him as I sat unwillingly between Orion and Archer, the scents of amber and snowy nights converging and forcing me to relax against my will.
With my gaze fixed on the television, I may have looked like I was enjoying the show, but my senses were completely focused on the four dangerous alphas in the room. It was exhausting, especially after the long run through the snow.
The warm room, my full belly, and the comforting scents around me had me drifting off.
I didn't fully fall asleep, jerking awake before I completely went under each time, but it was impossible not to float in that pre-sleep haze.
Their alpha voices murmured around me, not quite registering, until finally, I succumbed to the restful darkness.
***
I woke with a jerk and sat up straight. I'd been leaning against Archer and his amber scent was all over me as I pulled away. The others were gone and the fire had burned down to embers. It was dark outside the living room window.
Disorientated, I looked around and realized that River was still in his chair, he was just slumped down and sound asleep, too. Both of us had spent the past few days on the move and he must have been as exhausted as I was.
"Have a good sleep?" Archer asked, setting his phone down and stretching.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"You needed it. Both of you." He jerked his head at River. "Especially if that was the first real meal you've had in a while."
I looked at him questioningly.
"You're skinny as fuck," he pointed out. "Doesn't take a genius to figure out you haven't been eating well for a long time."
"You know how they are in ORC."
He studied me for a moment, his eyes a darker shade of grey than my own. "Actually, I don't. I thought they fed their omegas. Were you punished?"
A snort left me before I could stop it. "Don't lie, you work for them."
His eyes flicked to River and a crease appeared between his eyebrows, barely visible under the shock of dark hair hanging over his forehead.
"I don't work for them. We installed their security system and we do updates from time to time, but River is the only one actually employed there.
I've only been inside to put up cameras and alarms."
"That should have been enough to know then," I said simply.
Before we could talk any further, River's phone rang. He bolted upright and dug the phone out of his pocket. "James speaking."
His voice didn't even sound sleepy as he blinked at Archer and me on the sofa, listening to the person on the other end of the phone.
"Yeah, I've got her, I'll send confirmation in a sec. We're trapped in *** though, there's a blizzard. Looks like it's going to be raging for a few days." He listened again. "Yeah, my pack is here, so we're staying with them. I've got extra eyes on her at all times."
A moment later, he said goodbye and then held up the phone and took a photo of me before tapping away on the phone again. "I should have done that the moment we got here."
"She'll understand," Archer told him. "It's a freaking white out blizzard outside."
"Still, shouldn't have fallen asleep." River rubbed a hand over his face and looked over at me. "You stink."
There wasn't much I could say to that, I did stink. I'd been out in the woods, I was dressed in random clothing that hadn't been washed in far too long. Despite the cold weather, I'd ended up sweating at some point and now I could smell it on myself.
"There are five showers in this house," Archer pointed out.
"I have no clothes to change into."
"You can borrow something." Archer looked over at River. "You good with that?"
"Yeah, whatever, just don't leave her alone."
"In the shower?" I asked. "You want to watch me shower?"
"No, I want Archer to watch you shower."
"Come on, we'll figure something out," Archer stood, grabbing my hand and pulling me up off the sofa. "You can use my shower. My stuff will probably fit you best anyway."
I followed him up the stairs, my anxiety turning my scent sour again. It was probably unbearable to the alpha noses, but I couldn't help it.
In Archer's room, he tossed his suitcase on the bed and threw it open. "Any color preferences?" When I just stared at him, he nodded and started digging through the contents of the suitcase, tossing clothing on to the bed.
"Here." He held up a green t-shirt that would easily cover my thighs and a pair of black gym pants. "These are the smallest things I own."
We moved into the bathroom where I eyed the man nervously. He seemed nice enough, but he was still an alpha and I was an omega. Not to mention, he'd been instructed to watch me shower.
The glass shower door was clear and I stared at it despairingly. At the center, we'd had to shower in communal showers, but that had been with other omegas and the occasional beta. At least Archer didn't have a cattle prod.
"Okay, I'm going to sit right in the doorway and check my emails," Archer said. "Don't go out the window, you'll freeze your ass off before I can rescue you." He plopped himself down in the doorway and faced away from me, pulling out his phone.
After a few minutes of watching him, I felt a little more secure in slipping off my clothes and stepping into the shower. Turning the handle, I was shocked as hot water poured down, letting out a little squeak.
"We all good in there?" Archer called, not turning around.
"Just . . . the water's hot," I said. "It startled me."
"You can turn the handle to the left and it will cool down."
"No, it's nice. It just surprised me. The showers in the center are usually cold." I tipped my head back and let the steaming water pour over my hair and down my back. It was wonderful. The heat penetrated down to my bones, finally thawing what the fire hadn't and I sighed blissfully.
There was no telling how long I stood there under the pounding water, but after a while, Archer spoke up. "Just so you know, there's a hot water tank and it's going to run out in about ten minutes."
"Shit." I grabbed a bottle of body wash and quickly scrubbed myself clean, then shampooed, conditioned, and rinsed my hair. Just as the water started to cool, I turned it off and wrapped myself in a giant fluffy towel.
"Feel better?" Archer asked, face focused on his phone.
"So much better. And warm." I grinned. "Don't turn around, I have to get dressed."
"Let me know when you're done." He went back to tapping on the screen.
Hurrying, I pulled on the shirt and let it fall down over my hips before I pulled on his gym pants. The hems dragged on the floor and the waistband drooped around my hips. "These pants really don't fit."
"Hang on, is it safe to look?"
"Yeah."
He turned and studied the problem for a long moment. "Okay, I think I know what we can do. I'll cut the elastic in the waist and tie it tighter. That should work for you. The legs we'll just roll."
He led me into the bedroom while I toweled off my hair. After a moment of rummaging in a backpack, he stood up with a triumphant grin, holding up a pair of scissors. "Stretch out the waistband."
I grabbed the waist of the pants and held a section taut. "Are you sure you want to cut your pants? I'll be gone in a day or two."
"I have plenty." He carefully slit the fabric vertically and tugged out the thick elastic before snipping it in half. "There, let go."
I did and Archer pulled the elastic ends until the pants cinched comfortably around my waist. He tied the ends in a bow and grinned at me.
"Problem solved. Do you want to go back downstairs or hang out here for a bit?"
"Depends. Is River still down there?"
Archer laughed, shaking his head. "Not a big fan of our fearless leader, huh?"
"You wouldn't be either if he caught you in your hiding spot that you worked very hard to find and then dragged you back to a torture cell."
Archer raised an eyebrow, looked around the room, and said, "This is a torture cell?"
"Not here. This is just a temporary stop before I get dumped back in hell. At least for another two weeks."
"What happens in two weeks?" He shoved the suitcase onto the floor and sat down on the bed, patting the mattress beside him.
I'd fallen asleep on the guy, sitting by him wouldn't hurt anything. I crossed the room and hopped up on the bed, sitting cross-legged. "I get sent to the heat dens."
"Your heat?" he guessed.
"More like no heat. I've had one heat in my life. Apparently, if you're in the center for a year without having a heat, you're marked defective."
Archer stared at me, obviously shocked that I was heatless. "One heat? How old are you?"