Stolen Omega (Her Vicious Pack #1)

1. Vera

1

Vera

My nose and lungs are stinging as the heavy bag over my head traps the smoke-filled air inside. A constant reminder of our situation, of how they woke us up in the middle of the night, of how they burned down our house and everything we owned when they took us, leaving us nowhere to return.

I have no idea where we are, or how long we’ve been driving, as I have no way to estimate time or distance.

Our kidnappers were pretty thorough, they didn’t just put the bag over my head but also put a set of thick headphones over it, making me unable to see or hear anything. My hands are bound behind my back and they’ve strapped us securely in the back seats of a car, the rough fabric of the seats uncomfortable against my bare skin.

There’s darkness and silence all around me, combined with the vibrations and soft swaying of the car and my Alpha’s fingers tightly entwined with mine. His touch the only thing that’s keeping me grounded.

I rhythmically tense my fingers around Caleb’s calloused ones, trying to soothe my nerves, trying to not freak out. I need a clear head, if we’re going to get out of this mess in one piece.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

I rub my pinkie over the rough scar on the side of his left hand. No number ten.

One. Two?—

The car swerves around another corner, nearly jerking us apart, breaking my counting.

Even though I can’t hear it, I feel Caleb’s angry growl through my body, letting me know he’s still there. Ready to protect me. Ready to fight off any danger.

I have no idea how those fuckers finally got to us.

We’ve been hiding from them for years now. Moving from place to place, keeping a low profile, and then, suddenly, they were in our bedroom in the middle of the night.

We didn’t go willingly, and they were clearly not expecting us to put up a fight. They prepared for a simple ‘grab and go’ job, not one where their victims would take out half their team before they overwhelmed us.

I grin.

I hope the bastard who tried to pull me from our bed wasn’t planning on having kids…

The car takes another turn, slowing down, the smooth ride becoming bumpier. We must be nearing our destination.

I squeeze Caleb’s hands twice, a quick pattern. As soon as we’re able to, we should try to make a run for it.

He squeezes back once, long. Stay in place.

What?!

Why?

I struggle against the restraints, but he squeezes my hands again, long, slow, hard. Stay.

No running?

Fuck.

The car comes to a stop and, not too long after, cool air hits my exposed skin as they open a door.

Rough hands grab for me, trying to pull me out of the car, but I hold Caleb tightly, refusing to leave my Alpha, my protector, behind.

Where one goes, we both go. That’s how we’ve been able to stay safe for so long.

More hands, more tugging. And this time, it seems they’re trying to get both of us out of the car at the same time.

The cold floor under my bare feet feels like concrete, the coarse sensation uncomfortable but also welcome after the sensory deprivation we’ve just been through.

I keep holding onto Caleb as they walk us through a room with cold tile floors, then smooth wooden floors and finally into a place with lush carpet.

The room is warm, welcoming, after the chilly ride we’ve just been on.

Suddenly, the headphones are pulled off and then the bag.

The bright light almost blinds me, and I squeeze my eyes shut.

Fucking hell. Some warning would have been nice, fuckers.

A low chuckle makes me freeze and I turn in the direction of the sound, slowly opening my eyes, blinking away tears as my eyes adjust to the light.

We’re in some ridiculously expensive office. All wood panels and cream carpets and clearly designed for someone with way too much money and no idea what to spend it on.

The room even smells expensive, filled with a light fragrance that smooths out our pheromones.

A lanky man in a dark red suit is leaning against a massive wooden desk, his long dark hair spilling over his shoulders, nearly reaching the papers spread out behind him.

The overhead lights catch on the silver rings in his lower lip, one on each side, snakebites, as he smirks and looks us over. “Welcome, welcome. I’m so sorry for the rude awakening. We didn’t see another way.”

I glance to my side, at Caleb, and notice that he’s also just in his sleep shorts and he’s got some nasty gashes on his arms and chest. As I look down, I notice that a pool of blood is forming under one of his feet. That’s why he didn’t want to run. Fuck.

He meets my eyes and softly squeezes my hands. I know he’s trying to tell me that everything’s fine, but it very clearly isn’t. His wounds need to be cleaned, or they could get infected.

“I hear you put up quite the fight.” The lanky man saunters over, his expensive suit perfectly tailored to enhance his narrow waist. He moves like a cat on the prowl, exuding danger.

“Fuck off.” I glare at him, wishing I had a knife so I could slit his throat and get out of here. Though, with the state Caleb’s in, that wouldn’t be so easy…

The man leans closer, still smirking, as his long hair slides forward, brushing over my bare breasts, and goose bumps appear all over my skin. “They said you were pretty, but nobody told me that you were dangerous too.” His lips are close to my ear, his breath warm against my skin. “I like danger.”

Heat flashes through my body and, suddenly, I’m perfuming.

What the fuck?!

The man puts his nose against my neck, way too close for comfort, and takes a deep breath, letting out an appreciative sound as he smells my pheromones, before he pulls back, his eyes dark with desire.

Caleb growls as he pulls me closer against him, his Alpha pheromones flushing around us. “She’s mine . Get away from her.”

Then, everything happens at the same time.

The people who brought us in are next to us in a flash, pulling us apart, pushing me to the side as they hold Caleb down. Someone even has a knife against his throat.

I hit the floor hard, landing on my hip and my shoulder and a pained yelp escapes me. Like I don’t have enough bruises yet.

The sound makes Caleb struggle more, his eyes wild, and I scream when a thin line of blood starts sliding down his throat.

“Let him go. Please. Let him go.” I try to crawl towards them, but it’s not easy with my hands still bound behind my back. “Please.”

“Stop!” The man’s voice is loud, his body rigid. “Step away from him.”

They let go of Caleb, who’s sitting on the floor uncomfortably.

“This is not how I had planned for this to go.” The man comes over to me and carefully pulls me to my feet, cutting the ties behind my back. As he steps away, I notice a slight floral scent in the air and my pheromones slip out again.

What the hell?!

Why does that keep happening when he’s nearby?

Then he goes over to Caleb, helps him to his feet too and also cuts his ties. “There. Maybe this will stop everyone from being so on edge.”

Caleb immediately comes over to me and wraps me in his arms, folding his broad body protectively around me. I lean against him, surrounding myself with his scent, trying to go up into him, as my fear slowly eases.

The man looks at us, not saying a thing, like he’s waiting. He licks his lips and I catch sight of another piercing, one in his tongue, as he plays with one of the rings in his lip.

Damn. How many piercings does this guy have?

As I look him over more, spotting a few more piercings in his ears, I notice that his suit pants are a lot tighter at the front than they were before.

Is he turned on by this? By our fear?

Does he have a kidnapping fetish or something?

The man leans back against his desk, his dark eyes not leaving us, as he slides up the sleeves of his jacket, revealing the edge of a tattoo on one of his arms.

“I was supposed to deliver you unharmed. But with the trouble we had to go through, I guess the client should be grateful that we got you here alive.”

“She’s mine .” Caleb’s voice is low, dangerous, his pheromones coming off him in waves. And this time I notice the way the other man’s eyes go wide. Not in fear or anger, but something more like… desire?

Then he pulls his smirk back into place. “My client tells me differently. From what I understood, you stole her from him.”

His client?!

The man Caleb stole me from?!

I start to shake.

No.

No way.

I’m not going back.

No.

Caleb’s growl deepens and he lifts me up against him, ready to haul my ass away from here. Bring me to safety.

I wrap my arms around his neck, trying to hide against him, trying to disappear into him. I’m not going back. I’m not.

“I’m simply doing my job. If you have any issues with it, you can take it up with the client.”

I hear a door open and a sickening scent seeps inside.

Hubert Russell. The leader of the pack that I was promised to. The man I was supposed to marry.

“You did it.” Hubert’s upbeat voice grates on my nerves. “I see you’re a man of your word, Mathew.”

“That’s Mr Page for you.” One of the men who brought us here steps forward, annoyed, but stops when his boss holds up his hand.

Mr Page?

My heart skips a beat, and I glance in their direction.

Mathew Page? The Cleaner?

What?!

That’s who Hubert sent after us?

“I am indeed a man of my word.” Mr Page saunters from the desk to the door, standing between Hubert and us.

“Thank you so much.” Hubert seems so excited, though every time he tries to look at us, Mr Page steps into his line of sight.

“We do have the slight issue of money. The price has gone up. You failed to provide us with some crucial details which made things a lot more complicated. You’ll now also have to pay for the hospital bills, cover the pay for the hours that my men can’t work because of injuries that could have been prevented and hazard pay.”

Hubert tries to say something, but Mr Page keeps going, positioning himself between us and Hubert.

“It’s the first time we’ve worked together, so I’ll presume that not providing those details was an accident and not done maliciously. Which is why I’ll be generous and round down the total amount to a nice simple million quid. How would you like to pay?”

Hubert sputters, moving his arms wildly. “How dare you! You’re nothing more than a con man. For that price, I can hire twenty people to get rid of them.”

“I doubt any of them would have succeeded.” Mr Page’s voice is calm, clear, but it sends a shiver down my spine. He’s angry, furious. He’s got a very short temper.

Caleb lets out a light rumble, like he’s agreeing with Mr Page.

“I don’t like to repeat myself. How would you like to pay?” I watch as a knife appears in Mr Page’s hand, almost as if by magic, and he plays with it impatiently, like he’s bored.

“For that price? Just kill the bitch. She’s not worth that much.”

“That wasn’t our agreement.” Mr Page’s knife flips from one hand to the other, the ease of the movements impressive but also slightly scary.

“I don’t care what our agreement was. I’m not paying you that much. If you won’t do it, I’ll take care of them myself.” The last of his words disappear into a gurgle as Hubert grabs for his throat, blood gushing from between his fingers.

I’m frozen in place as I stare. Unable to do anything as Hubert slumps down to the floor, bleeding out.

Mr Page kneels next to him and cleans the knife on his shoulder, looking disappointed. “I don’t like it when people take me for a fool. Once is an accident, twice becomes a pattern. I’m not letting you fuck me over three times.”

Then he stands up, the knife gone again, and looks at us. “Now, what to do about you two?”