Chapter 48
Cameo had to be the most pigheaded, annoying alpha in the whole entire world.
How didn’t he get that I wanted him last night and he just fucking… abandoned me? Disappeared like he had better things to do than deal with a crybaby omega for another minute.
And the bugs! How was a guy like that supposed to be a reasonable father to our baby? What was he going to do, bring them out to collect slugs to keep in his freaky, weirdo jars?
No, no! Absolutely not!
I wouldn’t stand for it.
Okay, maybe I was focusing on the wrong thing a little, but that didn’t really matter. What mattered was that he was being a pigheaded asshole and I wasn’t going to listen to a single second more of it. If he wanted to sulk in the garage like a weirdo, fine!
Go play with your tool and leave me the fuck out of it.
I don’t need you, anyway!
Dick.
I thumbed through the VHS tapes on the shelf in Marcus’ room, considering my options. For the most part, his collection was made up of horror movies, though, every so often, I’d be surprised by the odd romance film.
Titanic really didn’t seem like his kind of thing, but maybe he had some deep seated fear of open water that I wasn’t aware of.
Though I was tempted, I didn’t reach for the alpha in our bond. He had a lot to work through when it came to Joon and Indigo, and he deserved the time to do it without me meddling. Besides, I’d get my fill with him later.
And, for the time being, I had his big comfy bed to wait for him to get home in.
Deciding that now was as good a time as any to watch a three-hour and fourteen-minute movie about a poor alpha trying to romance an omega well out of his tax bracket, I pulled the double case down.
It wasn't like I had any other plans for the day, not unless Cameo magically decided to develop some manners and apologize.
I shoved the tape into the player and turned on the TV to let the previews play.
That tell-tale crackle that I always associated with old movies permeated the air, the announcer reminding me that I wouldn’t download a car—wrong, if my time playing the Zims told me anything, I would use the fuck out of being able to download anything I wanted. Or infinite money.
Rosebud.
Motherlode.
Rosebud again for good measure.
And yeah, I’d download a boat if I could. Though, I guessed I really did need to get a new car sooner rather than later.
Ugh. Not only had this creep destroyed my apartment… But it had to be the same person who’d murdered Dorothy, too.
Before, buying a new car was going to be inconvenient, but now that I couldn’t stream to a big part of my audience… It was going to be way, way harder.
Even if the clips from the stream had gone viral and I’d seen a bump in subscribers to my SLCK’d account, it wouldn’t have totally solved the issue. It did help a little bit though, or it would, if I had a setup to stream with at all.
Fuck.
Feeling a little helpless, and way more than a little sorry for myself, I headed into the walk-in closet, digging around Marcus’ well-organized drawers until I found a black T-shirt to pull on over my pajamas.
Caramelized sugar and cream enveloped me instantly, and I climbed into the alpha’s bed, cuddling under the blankets until I was totally engulfed in my mate’s comforting scent.
Did Cameo always have to be such a massive dick?
He had his moments, but sometimes—most of the time—it was like he didn’t think about anyone’s feelings but his own. And I was sick of it. I was in a really, really uncomfortable position, the least the alpha could do is try to be nice.
Tears blurred my vision, making it difficult to make out the movie. But it didn’t really matter, I’d seen it before. I’d probably see it again.
Even though I was happy for Indigo to get more time with Joon and Marcus on this date, I kind of wished they had stayed home with me.
Or let me go with them. It wasn’t fair, honestly, it was pretty damn selfish.
They needed an opportunity to get on the same page on neutral ground after Joon had surprised everyone and bonded with Marcus.
To try and rebuild that easy trust that I’d been so envious of…
But I really, really, wished it didn’t have to happen right now.
I closed my eyes, rolling to bury my face into the pillow for another deep inhale of Marcus, trying to steady myself.
It was only a couple of hours. There wasn’t any reason why I shouldn’t be able to manage it on my own. But still… the temptation to reach for my alpha in our bond was real.
Come on, Eva! You are so tougher than this…
The door creaked open, and I groaned, sitting up as I rubbed my puffy, tear-stained eyes.
“What? Have you finally decided to come apologize?” I asked, assuming Cameo had finally realized that he was being a massive dickhead.
But, instead of appropriately apologetic, he lingered in the doorframe silently, gloved hands flexing at his sides.
His matching black-on-black outfit wasn’t much of a surprise, but the mask covering his face was.
Unlike the mask that’d become my stupid, annoying alphas’ trademark, this one was starkly white.
The eyehole cutouts basic circles in the overly shiny plastic instead of the semicircles that I came to expect.
If anything, this thing looked like the sort of mask that you’d get at a party store.
Cheap.
I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not in the mood, Cam. If you want to talk, fine, but I’m not playing your games right now.”
He didn’t say anything, I didn’t even hear him move.
If I wasn’t so used to this pack’s unique ability to act like movie villains, I probably would’ve been creeped out. But really, Cameo’s inability to talk about his feelings were so not my problem.
“I don’t like that mask,” I told him as the bed dipped beside me. “It’s not as nice as your other one.”
Cameo grabbed my arm, pulling me to the side with a sharp yank that made my shoulder ache. I tried to pull away, but he was persistent, keeping hold of my bicep with a grip that was just on this side of too-tight.
“Fuck off, Cameo,” I snapped, irritation really starting to take hold. “Free use doesn’t mean free of consequences.”
He didn’t even have the decency to listen, yanking me hard until I landed on my back, the alpha’s body looming over me.
Something started to feel… off. Cameo was an asshole, but he never pushed boundaries…
Oh! Right!
My safeword.
“I mean it. Stop. Red,” I strained the last word, making sure it was nice and clear.
The masked figure above me didn’t move, tilting his head as he continued to press me into the mattress.
“Cameo, red. It means stop.” I said, giving his shoulder a hard shove, my pulse racing as the first whisper of menthol cigarettes hit my nose.
The figure leaned into my space, so close that the cold plastic nose of the mask brushed mine.
“I’m not your precious fucking alpha,” he said, in a voice that definitely wasn’t Cameo’s.
My first thought was my knife, my hand plunging into my pocket to find it empty.
I screamed, bucking and thrashing in an effort to get free of the intruder. But he was heavy, and from my prone position, it was harder than I thought it’d be to get him to overbalance and grant me a couple inches of precious movement.
Fuck.
Cameo was right about one thing.
Maybe Marcus had something in his nightstand? My alpha didn’t seem like much of a fighter, but even a paperweight would go pretty far at the moment.
“Let go!”
With all my body weight, I attempted to roll over, reaching for the drawer. Really, I maybe made it a couple inches before he adjusted his weight to force me back down, but it was all I needed. In the struggle, I felt a familiar weight shift against my other side.
I plunged my hand into my other pocket, freeing my knife from the loose fabric, the blade popping open with the press of the button.
As much as I was pissed at Cameo, some of his bullshit was actually useful as I flipped the knife over in my hand, making sure it was pointed away from me before slamming it as hard as I could in the alpha’s thigh.
It wasn’t the dick, but it was the best I could do at this angle.
Besides, it didn’t really matter, he shouted, rearing back and it was the opening I needed.
I forced myself up as quickly as I could, hacking and slashing anything that I could reach.
The sleeve of his hoodie was sliced with a loud rip and splatter of blood as I screamed.
I wouldn’t stop fighting. I wouldn’t stop yelling until Cameo heard me and came to help.
My stupid alpha might be emotionally stunted, but he wasn’t entirely careless. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he would’ve left me alone, no matter how angry he was.
“Now you’ve pissed me off,” my assailant grumbled, grabbing my arm and twisting it hard, forcing me to drop the knife after I’d landed a blow to his chest that didn’t quite meet its mark.
Maybe it was the adrenaline, but this time, I could’ve sworn that I’d recognized his voice from somewhere.
With my weapon on the bed between us, the alpha’s blood dripping onto Marcus’ duvet, I was quickly running out of the small glimmer of hope the element of surprise gave me.
“Cameo!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, lunging for the knife.
“Stupid bitch, stop fucking screaming,” the alpha growled.
Victory shot through me as my fingers grazed the handle of the blade. “I’ll fucking kill you!”
“Yeah, about that… I don’t think so.”
Pain exploded from the side of my head, and then the room went dark.