Chapter 52
When I came to, my head was throbbing. I tried to sit up, but my body quickly pulled me back down, my muscles too weak to lift me yet. The mattress beneath me was thin, its springs bouncing back as I flopped onto it.
My vision blurred as I stared at the ceiling. Where was I? I remember being home. Cameo and I fighting. He came in that mask and…
I shot up again, the room still spun, but I was able to hold myself up. It wasn’t Cameo in the mask at all. Someone else was there. The fight was all a blur now, and I never got a look outside of that cheap Halloween mask.
And now, I was in a room that looked to be a basement.
The entire thing was concrete, with a single staircase in the corner.
I was lying on one of many rollout mattresses on the floor.
Were there normally people here? My stomach rolled at the possibility of what that meant.
I couldn’t think about it—that would only slow me down.
Where’s your knife?
Cameo’s voice rang in my head. I patted around my body, but it obviously wasn’t there. Whoever took me disarmed me. My mind tried to focus on his instruction. I’d stabbed him before, but now I was defenseless.
It took me a few tries, but I managed to get myself up and standing. I pressed a hand to my aching head, feeling what I guessed to be a bruise on my forehead.
Don’t think about that either.
These were all things I could worry about when I was at home, safe with my pack. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I could feel Marcus’ unease. I wondered if he could feel mine. At least that made me hopeful they knew I was missing.
My eyes started welling up at the thought of them noticing I was gone.
They’re probably so worried. This wasn’t the time to be sobbing, but I couldn’t stop the barrage of tears suddenly falling down my face.
I made sure to stay quiet as the tears fell and I walked around the room, looking for any potential exits.
There was nothing, not a window, or even a crack in the concrete.
The only in-or-out was the door at the top of the stairs.
I took a deep breath before hauling myself up there. It wasn’t really what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have a choice. The steep steps were wooden and old, creaking with my every move, even as I willed them not to. There was no light at the top, so it was hard to see, but the door looked metal.
When I reached it, I tried the handle. It would be too simple if it were just unlocked, but I had to try.
I bent down to try to look at the lock. I didn’t know the first thing about lock picking, but it might be my only chance.
In the movies, everyone used a bobby pin.
I remember seeing online people using those protective keychains with, like, ninety tools on them to break into a lock, but that knowledge was useless.
Come on Eva, pull it together. I ran back down the stairs and started looking around.
It took a bit of searching, but eventually I found a slight piece of scrap metal on the floor.
Maybe it was a piece of broken spring from one of the mattresses?
I couldn’t be sure, but it would have to work.
My feet pounded the creaky steps as I went back up.
I knew I needed to be quick—there was no telling where I was or when whoever took me would come back.
Without any experience, my best guess was to shove it in and poke around until I heard… something? All of the horror games I played really glazed over this part. Maybe if they’d been more specific, I’d be better off. Mentally, I made a note to ensure whatever game I made was thorough on the topic.
The piece of wire fit right in, and I moved it around, hoping for some sign that the lock disengaged.
The mechanical sound never came, not before I heard movement from outside. It was faint, but with the room silent save for me jingling the lock ineffectively, it was unmistakable.
I slid the small piece of metal into my pocket and bolted back down the stairs and onto the cot I’d awoken on.
The minutes seemed to drag on as I lay there, facing the wall, waiting for that door to open. Eventually, it did. I closed my eyes, hoping to feign sleep again.
“Boss is all fucked sideways about that bitch who got away. What was her name? Heidi? Avery?”
“Ivy,” a voice answered back. A very clear voice, one I recognized. “I know. He bonded with her and everything. I think he’ll get her back, though.”
My stomach dropped. What the fuck was Jason doing here? And what happened to Ivy? I’d only met her the one time, but she seemed so nice.
“Think he’ll keep this one as a replacement?” the other man asked. “She’s pretty enough.”
“She was promised to me,” Jason said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“Yeah, well, things change. Just don’t fight him if he wants her. Trust me, it’s not worth it.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in silence for a moment.
“Looks like she’s still out,” the other man said. “I’ll wait outside, just don’t be too rough with her in case the boss changes his mind.”
“I know,” Jason said, sounding distracted.
One set of footsteps ascended the stairs, leaving just Jason down here.
I did my best to keep my breathing calm and even, as if I were asleep.
My ears perked as he walked closer, until he was right next to my cot.
His minty scent, which I usually associate with strong toothpaste, turned bitter, leaving a menthol aftertaste that made me nauseous.
“I know you’re not asleep,” he said. “That stupid beta might not have been able to tell, but your scent is sour, like you’re scared.”
I still didn’t move. Just hoped he would think I was having a bad dream and leave me be.
Instead, he kicked the cot, jostling me hard. I opened my eyes and sat up, facing him head-on.
He looked like he always did, painfully average, even for an alpha.
“What do you want?” I asked him.
He smirked. “Isn’t it obvious?” He squatted down to get closer to my height. “It’s you.”
“This isn’t the way to make someone like you,” I spit. “Let me go.”
His hand shot out and gripped my face. His fingers were cold, making the feeling even more uncomfortable.
“I don’t care if you like me,” he said. “Omegas don’t know how to pick good alphas anymore.
You don’t know what you need. Omega’s need to be told who’s good, need to feel owned to know their true place in this world. ”
It sounded like he was reading the script from one of those alpha podcasts that constantly spewed vitriol against omegas. They were like a vile alpha-centric echo chamber of their own idiocy. It was obvious he subscribed to some of that bullshit before, but this was on a whole other level.
“I don’t need that,” I insisted, pulling away until he released me. “I’m my own person, who can make my own choices.”
“No, you can’t,” he said. “Obviously not. You chose those fuckers in Indi’s pack.
Why would you do that when I was right there?
We have everything in common, don’t we? And what do you do?
Skip out on our time together for them? I even buy you drinks when we go out, and for what?
For you to fuck another alpha on your stream right in front of me?
I knew you did camming, but you never acted like a whore until you met them. ”
The word was hurled at me like an insult. Sometimes someone in my pack would say it, but then it was used as a praise, something to feel good about, and nothing out of his mouth felt good.
“Is that why you trashed my apartment?” The same word scrawled across my wall became a vivid image in my mind.
“You needed to pay!” he spat, the viscous liquid from his lips flying; luckily, none got on me.
His scent was already horrid enough—I think if he actually spit on me, I would have thrown up.
“You needed to understand I was right there for you. Like your car. It was trashed. Why didn’t you call me?
I would have helped you, proved to you what a good fucking alpha I was. ”
My eyes widened, realizing just how deep this was going. “H-how did you know about my car?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he took a deep but shaky breath. It was obvious he wasn’t in his right mind, maybe he never has been. “None of it matters now. The only thing that matters is you’re here where you’re supposed to be now.”
He reached for me again, my arm this time, and I couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden contact.
Especially somewhere so important to me.
It obviously angered him, but he didn’t yell at me again.
“I’m going to take you somewhere to remove that mark, and then I’ll bond you, and we’ll go somewhere else, start over.
And you won’t have to stream anymore. You won’t have to do anything except take care of me and our children.
We’ll have a perfect, normal family. Yeah? ”
My blood ran cold at the mention of any of that. I had to get out of here, but there was no way I could fight him—he was so much stronger than me. And he obviously wasn’t alone.
Frustration and despair washed over me. Longing for my pack was heavy; I just wanted it all to go away.
He reached up to swipe one of my tears away, but I smacked his hand, the sound ringing through the room.
He clutched his fist tight, like he was preparing to hit me. I braced for it. “I’ll give you a pass, because today has been… abnormal.”
Abnormal? That’s not how I would describe it.
“But you don’t pull away from me ever, understand?”
I shouldn’t talk back, I knew I shouldn’t.
“You don’t fucking own me,” I said. “And you never will.”
Suddenly, I went from sitting up to flat on my back, his body pressed over me as he had in Marcus’ room.
“Let’s see about that.” His hand reached down, obviously going for the button of his pants. My heart sank. I started fighting back, kicking my feet and trying to free my arms that were currently locked in his grip above me.
“Once you get a little of the right knot, you’ll fall right in line.” He had me pinned down quickly, his hands beginning to paw at me.
“No, stop,” I pleaded, but he wasn’t listening.
I was obviously making this hard for him, but he was persistent. A faint memory back in the bedroom came to mind. I’d landed a solid blow to him somewhere. My legs kicked harder, looking for that spot on his leg.
It was clear I hit the perfect spot when he let loose a scream, one of his hands flying to his injured leg. I took the opportunity, trying to slide away, but even with one hand, he was able to hold me pretty steadily.
“Don’t think you won’t fucking pay for that.”
His hand reached for the hem of my shorts, and I could feel my body tiring from all the fighting.
Just as I was about to give up hope, a creak from the door up the stairs rang out in the room.
“Help!” I started to scream, but Jason put his sweaty hand over my mouth.
“There’s a problem back at base,” the man from before called down. “We need to go back.”
“I’m a bit busy,” Jason yelled up. “Go by yourself.”
“I’m here to keep an eye on you,” he said. “Now get your ass up here, or I’ll tell the boss, and your agreement probably goes right out the window.”
He growled, an ugly, irritated sound. “Fine, I’m coming.” Jason turned back to me. “Stay here and don’t do anything fucking stupid. I’ll be back for you.”
He pulled off of me, readjusting his pants before climbing up the stairs.
The door shut, and I was left alone in the hollow silence. At least it was better than what I knew was coming. My entire body trembled, as I sobbed real, loud tears this time.
I turned on my side and curled in a ball, my knees tucked up and my arms around my middle.
Please, please find me soon.