Chapter 25 Zack #2
Al snorts. “You really are one of a kind. Okay. Let’s see if you can follow.
” He crosses his legs and leans on his knees.
“You know how your omega has a special scent?” The alpha taps his nose.
“Well, during heats, omegas produce more of that scent. It’s thicker and stronger, and comes from channels near the collarbone.
” His hand moves to the long protrusion in his skin below his throat.
I nod. Mine’s scent is strongest there, which is why I bonded her close to the source.
“Well, some people get needles—those are the sharp bits of metal that the nurses put in your arm in the hospital—and stick them into the channels when an omega goes into heat, and they sell that scent to other people.”
I growl and touch my fingers to the spot in my elbow where the drip needle came out of. Red had rows and rows of tiny dots like these on her chest. “Needles leave scars?”
“Yes, when used often.”
I walk toward the door, the growing irritation in my veins forcing me into movement. “Why? Why people sell scent?”
Al sighs. “Because it’s valuable. It makes money.”
“Why?”
“It’s like a drug, or medicine.” He groans and rubs his chin. “The haze makes people feel good and helps them have great sex.”
I stop walking to stare at him. Faint connections lock into place in my mind. “So, Ray stuck needles in my ohm-ga to get scent?”
He nods, but the look on his face tells me that’s not all. I didn’t like the needles the nurses put into me, especially the one in my elbow that I kept ripping out until Cal-ee told me to leave it alone, but surely the nurses didn’t break the law.
What am I missing?
“There’s two more parts to it,” Ray says. “First, some omegas ask for the needles and sell their own haze scent. Your omega said no, but Ray and his people took it anyway. That’s breaking the law.”
I curl my hands into fists. “Red say no?”
“Correct. Omegas should always have a choice. But the second part is worse.”
I stiffen, feeling in my alpha heart that a terrible understanding is on its way.
Ray sighs. “An omega produces the most haze when they orgasm . . . I’m talking about when they have sex.”
I nod. My pack smells best when quivering and leaking in our bed.
“The alpha you’re talking about wanted to get the most possible scent out of your omega. He did something horrible and illegal, which we call rape. He had sex with her to make more haze.” Al watches me closely, his face tight. “Even though she said no.”
An icy spasm runs through me, shocking a twitch from my hands. “He asked, and ohm-ga said no, but he still . . .” My brain pools like runny eggs. “He still put his cock inside her?”
Al’s upper lip curls. “That’s correct.”
No. That’s the first rule Mine taught me: to ask and accept the answer. I stagger. White Mine said the beta who hurt his neck also ignored his no. Darkness floods through the small window above the beds, and the room shrinks, stripping away everything I’ve learned. An alpha attacked my ohm-ga.
I howl in rage and accept the challenge.
Pressure squeezes around my wrists. “Stop!” a broken voice screams.
My world shivers, red swirling into the blackness. I will destroy the walls, the door, the guards, and all who stand between me and that despicable alpha. “I’ll kill him!”
“You . . . can’t!” the nearby voice wheezes. “Fuck! Why’re you so strong?”
Something strikes my inner arms. I grip tighter to the destruction, but a sudden blow lands on my still-healing ribs. I gasp and look down. Al thrashes in my grasp, clinging to my wrists to keep me from choking him to death.
“Are you a dog or a man?” he roars, punching my gut again. My ribs creak in protest.
I drop him and leap backward, gasping for air. The little that fills my lungs comes bitter and full of alpha challenge.
“Fuck!” Al cries, voice thick with pain and rage. He rolls to his feet and postures up.
I drop onto my haunches, trembling. Fuck, I didn’t even realize I’d attacked him, but now I broke our promise to each other. “Deal,” I mutter. “Sorry. Me sorry.”
“You should be sorry, punk!” His foot lashes out to strike my knee, but I take it, knowing I’ve done much worse to him.
Al stalks up and down the cell, one hand clasping his throat.
He radiates alpha aggression. “This is why they didn’t tell you, you stupid mongrel!
” he hisses, shaking out his fists. “You’re too psycho. ”
My legs tremble so much I let my ass sink right onto the cold floor. My vision swims as I gaze up at the angry alpha. “I’ll kill him. I must.”
“You can’t!” he snaps back. “Your omega told you not to kill, remember?”
I whine, a broken sound full of liquid rage and agony. “Then what? Can’t forgive. Can’t not punish. What can me do?”
Al drags in a shaky breath and plants his feet. “There’s something you can do, but you have to plan it. Be sneaky. Hold your anger in until you can trap him, and most important—” He shakes one finger in my face. “Don’t get caught. To do that, you’re going to need help from other alphas.”
I wrap my arms around my knees, trying to claim back the thinking pieces of myself. Not destroy Ray the moment I see him? The idea makes me want to empty my stomach on the floor, but I can’t risk doing anything that keeps me here, locked away from my pack.
I clench my teeth. “Tell me. Sorry squeezed throat.”
Al sniffs, and one side of his mouth lifts as he rubs his throat. “Not many men attack me and live to tell the tale, just so you know.”
I lift my chin, staring him down. Even if I made a mistake, Al isn’t trying to hurt me now.
He squats in front of me. “Fine. Let’s give that bastard a taste of his own medicine, but you have to do exactly what I tell you.”
I nod. No one will get away with hurting my pack. Ever.