Chapter 5
five
Jo
“Could you be a doll and change the channel?” I ask the beta woman staring off into space next to me.
She doesn’t answer.
Typical.
You know, last time I was here, I jumped at every little noise and motion, but now that I’m sitting on a couch in front of a staticky black and white TV next to a catatonic, middle aged woman I’ve nicknamed Susan?
It’s just…sad.
Susan doesn’t answer me. She hasn’t, not one time since the asshole orderlies sat me here two hours ago and left everyone unattended. How irresponsible of them. I could be a serial killer who takes people out using only my feet.
Huffing, I look around the room. It’s pretty much the exact same as it was when I came here last week.
The alpha that had started screaming at me is scribbling away with a crayon, there’s one staring at a puzzle.
What do these people do all day? What if they have to pee?
How do they eat? This can’t be sustainable.
I sigh. “Susan. Listen, I know you’re goin’ through a rough time right now, but if I have to listen to some cowboy wannabe say ‘howdy’ one more time, I might break out of this straitjacket and shank someone.”
It’s obvious she’s never going to answer me, but I’m doing my best to not crawl out of my skin.
If I don’t talk to someone, then I think about how my hands are bound and I can’t move.
And if that happens for too long, I might start screaming, and that might make them actually sedate me, bond sickness research be damned.
“Maybe your name isn’t Susan.” I muse, twisting to look around the room again. Still no orderlies. Not that I want to see them, but it’s always good to know where the enemy is. “Could it be you’re more of a…Sarah?”
Nothing.
I try again. “Or a…Jane?” Her head whips towards me so fast I shriek, nearly jumping a foot in the air. “Holy fuck. Jane?”
The woman tilts her head, her eyes unfocused, but it’s like she’s trying to figure out who I am.
My heart is racing as I look into her hazy brown eyes. “Jane, can you hear me?”
Her face screws up like she’s in pain. “Who…” Her voice is hoarse from disuse, and I’m so intent on her next words, I don’t see anything but opportunity. “Who are you?” she asks, her brows furrowing, like she’s waking up for the first time.
Maybe this is it. Maybe I can wake them up one at a time and slowly gather my own army of mentally unhinged people to sneak out Mabel. Given, I’d have to magically guess everyone’s names first, which might be a problem.
“I’m Jo, I—”
“Who are you?” she asks again, her voice growing slightly louder.
“Jane,” I huff, annoyed that she cut me off. “I’m Jo—”
“Who are you?!” She’s yelling now, getting to her feet and pointing a shaky finger in my direction. My body goes cold with dread. “Who are you?!” She starts screaming the words, and then there are angry footsteps rushing into the room.
“What did you do?” Steve snaps, grabbing Jane by the arms while Jones snags me up from the couch. He has a pretty nasty bump on his head, but what was he expecting, calling me “Josie”?
“I didn’t do anythin’” I bite back, fighting against Jones’ hold. “She just started screamin’ for no reason!”
“Gods, you’re fucking trouble aren’t you?” Steve shouts over Jane’s continued screaming. My omega revolts at the sound of Sam’s nickname for me coming out of this alpha’s mouth. “Maybe you just need to stay in solitary permanently!”
“You can’t do that!” I snarl, pulling against Jones again. The beta yanks me back, making me stumble.
“Just shut up! You’re sending fucking distress pheromones everywhere.
” Steve manages to shove a syringe of something into Jane, and he lets her fall against the couch.
At least nobody ended up on the floor this time.
“You’re going to have to go back to your room if you can’t get that stench under control. ”
As if on cue, I become aware of another body approaching us.
An alpha. His scent of burnt rubber might have been different at one point, less offensive, but now it’s all I can scent as he approaches.
It’s the same alpha who ten minutes ago was absent-mindedly picking puzzle pieces off the table and putting them back.
“Omega.” I stiffen at the words, looking up at a giant of a man. Not as big as Kole, but pretty damn close.
This is either really good or really bad.
I hesitantly turn towards Steve, who’s looking at me with a smug grin on his face.
Okay. So, it’s really bad.
I scramble in Jones’ hold again. “Come on Jonesy,” I give a nervous laugh, “you’re not still mad about earlier, are ya?
What’s a little head bangin’ between friends?
I hear it’s all the rage at metal concerts.
You like metal? No? I’ve always been more partial to country myself, but none of that, ‘my girlfriend left me for my dog and my truck broke’ type shit—”
“Would you shut the fuck up?” Jonesy snaps, jostling me a little bit. Touchy. Guess he’s not a fan of metal or country.
“Do you want to know what Asher here was admitted for?” Steve asks, taking a step forward and pulling me from Jones’ hold.
I swallow and shake my head. No, I can’t say I do.
The words won’t leave me though, and for the first time since being taken to the Cathedral, I feel genuine fear. This alpha…there’s something not right about him.
“He bonded five omegas against their will,” Steve says darkly. “Now he’s feral, brought out of the fog by your stress pheromones. Maybe we need to let you learn a little lesson that there are much worse monsters than Jones and me in this asylum.”
Punctuating his statement with a thrust at my back, my feet shuffle forward, right into Asher’s arms.
“No!” I shout, terror swimming through me. He can’t bond me. He’s not mine. I have my alphas, and he’s not one of them.
“Omega,” the alpha command leaves his throat, and I’ve never been more thankful for Declan’s training than I am right now. “Mine.”
“Not yours, Ash-hole.” I snap, reaching for the anger filling the holes left by the fear. Reaching for the strength Hayden’s bond gives me. “Never yours.” I turn my head to the orderlies. “Brooks will kill you if he bonds me, you know that right?”
Unfortunately, my position gives the feral alpha the perfect opportunity to run his nose up my neck.
His hands tighten on my arms, and I use one foot to try to kick at him. I barely make contact, and he growls at me, his timbre low and threatening. “Omega. Bite.”
Jones and Steve chuckle quietly behind me, enjoying the show. My stomach drops when the alpha roughly grabs my jaw. “Stop it!” I shriek. “This is goin’ too far!”
It seems like Steve realizes just how bad things are about to get, because his voice suddenly sounds unsure.“Um, maybe…”
“The bitch knocked me out, Steve. Let’s see what a little scare does to her.” Damn, I really bruised Jonesy’s ego.
Looks like I’m only going to get out of this one way. Drawing courage from the ball of warmth in my chest, I force my muscles to relax, and go limp in his hold. Ash-hole lets out a rumble of appreciation before grabbing me and lifting me up.
At this angle, he could slip me right onto his dick, which I know is what he’s going for because he starts lifting his hospital gown.
Not fucking happening.
“Wait—” Steve is cut off when I take the opportunity to throw my upper body forward and latch my teeth onto the feral alpha’s ear.
He roars in pain, trying to pull me away from him, but it seems that I’ve conveniently formed a case of selective lock-jaw, because even as his blood fills my mouth, I don’t let go.
I won’t let go. Not when the alternative is him taking something I never offered.
His fingers dig into my arms as he pulls with all his might to get me off him, but the pain only makes me clamp down tighter. Then, his fingers go lax right as my head flies back from his and he drops to the ground.
A syringe sticks out of his neck, and Steve stands above the sedated alpha, his expression stricken.
I spit the piece of ear out of my mouth, cackling like a mad woman. They think that tying me up in a straitjacket is going to keep me from giving alphas what they deserve?
They think they can throw me to the wolves and I won’t come out stronger on the other side?
Fuck them.
I’m Jo Fucking Harding, Destroyer of Alphas.
At least, that’s what they call me in Hell.
Asher and Steve? They’ve officially earned a place on my hit list.
As for Jones? Well, I’ve never killed a beta before, but there’s a first time for everything. I had planned on letting the honor go to Hayden’s daddy, but I have a feeling my good boy will understand.
Meep meep, motherfucker.