Chapter 10
Logic and reason returned to him slowly, like a trickle, filling his cup until it was impossible to ignore the things he’d done or how unhinged he’d become.
Elm slowed his eating, noting there were only three grapes left, too afraid to confront the monster in the room.
The one who’d shifted his hand to the back of Elm’s nape and held him there ever since the Butcher had fled.
If the Butcher was scared, it served to show Elm should be terrified. And he was…but mostly he was embarrassed. So he nibbled on a grape, stalling, and kept his eyes glued to the white ceramic bowl holding the mostly skeletal remains of the bushel of fruit.
He could feel the alpha at his back, staring down at him, watching closely, and struggled not to give himself away.
When Elm had decided to trick Fiora into coming close so he could overpower her and flee, he hadn’t thought much further ahead than that.
Certainly hadn’t considered what he’d do if he was caught.
Botching his escape all on his own definitely hadn’t been in the forefront of his mind, but it probably should have been.
He’d known something was wrong with him, that his moods were wild and this new, strange energy source within him called pheromones was chaotic and out of his control.
All week, he’d played along with Fiora for that reason, hoping to glean some information, some magic way to fix him so he could be free of this nightmare.
So he could go back to being himself.
Not eating…that’d been an active choice.
A risky one, sure, but when locked in a cell with nothing but a mattress and a toilet, it wasn’t like he’d had anything else to utilize.
Because he’d been faking the extent of his lack of appetite, he’d been clear headed enough to convince himself the other signs were nothing to be overly worried about.
That the strange cravings for specific alpha pheromones, and the growing desperation to seek them out, were all in his head. Side effects brought on by hunger and conditioning.
The latter was still true.
Elm may not have experienced pheromones prior to this, but he understood them on a base level, same as every other Glyphian. In the beginning, thousands of years ago when their species first came about, they’d all been feral.
There was no verbal conversation, no laws or order.
The strong survived, and the weak endured.
Alphas claimed omegas, choosing solely off of instinct.
Pheromones helped identify genetic compatibilities in potential mates.
When things like morality, ethics, and social norms were stripped away, society was left with a fairly basic construct.
Dominant alphas were at the top of the hierarchy.
Dominant omegas directly below them, and so on.
Alphas were aggressive, territorial, and possessive.
Their sole purpose for being was to find a mate and procreate.
Omegas back then weren’t much different.
Like with the majority of creatures in the vast universe, it boiled down to continuing the species.
The claiming bite had to be delivered by an alpha, but nature had given omegas one advantage.
They had to accept the bite in order for the bond to form.
To make it more likely this happened, alphas used their pheromones to lure and subdue the one they were interested in.
Without language and preconceived principles, there wasn’t much else that needed to be considered.
Likes and dislikes, dreams, goals, none of that mattered because there was only pairing up and surviving to the next day.
But then they’d evolved, grew more intelligent, formed factions, gave names and ideology to things like friends and family.
It stopped being socially acceptable to choose a mate based off of pheromones alone, especially since their population continued to grow and therefore more and more options became available.
In today’s day and age, people went to school, and work, and hung out with friends. Their entire lives didn’t revolve around finding and securing a mate. Pheromone addiction was still a thing, but only in extremely rare cases, and with medical assistance, it could be corrected.
Rebirth had forced Elm’s biology to reset to base instincts.
To reprogram to such an extent that he had to relearn himself, not just consciously, but subconsciously as well.
His system had latched onto the Leviathan because he was the most dominant alpha around.
He was struggling to regulate himself, to purge the excess pheromones his body kept overproducing while it fought to learn how much was enough and how much was too much.
The dominant alpha’s pheromones called to Elm’s. Helped drain the extra and steady the rest. Helped make him feel balanced in a world that seemed like it was forever tilting on an axis.
Elm wasn’t grateful. But if nothing else, his first attempt at escape had taught him one very important fact.
Right now, he needed Levi.
“If you’re done, go wash your hands,” the alpha’s steady voice cut through Elm’s thoughts, making him wince.
And absolutely giving away that he was present, if the alpha hadn’t figured that out already.
Elm tested the waters by slowly easing up out of the seat, trying to see if the hand on his nape would force him back down. When the alpha’s grip never tightened, Elm exhaled and stood the rest of the way, making his way over to the sink.
He considered dragging it out, but decided not to risk it, washing then turning, keeping by the sink until he was given another order.
The Leviathan seemed to find humor in that, because he gave a rare chuckle. “Playing the docile omega are we? Who do you think you’re fooling? Should I give you a count of all the bodies strewn across my floors less than an hour ago?”
Elm’s head snapped up, eyes going wide. He glanced between Levi and the entrance that led out of the kitchen, memories returning of how he’d stormed through the house like a wild beast, attacking anything that moved that didn’t smell like the alpha he was seeking out.
“Did I…” he had to stop himself, couldn’t finish the sentence for fear of what he’d hear, but of course the alpha picked up on his meaning.
“You didn’t kill anyone,” Levi said. “But you did make them suffer. Would you like to know how?”
It was odd, but Elm got the sense he was legitimately giving him the option to say no.
He nodded his head in the affirmative anyway.
And instantly regretted it when a targeted wave of aggressive alpha pheromones brought him to his knees.
Tears formed and spilled over, turning his vision blurry as he gasped and fought for air, his lungs constricting under the pressure.
It felt like a heavy weight was squeezing him from all sides, like his skin was being seared off layer by layer.
It didn’t last long, ten seconds max, but when Levi cut them off, Elm slumped to the ground as though he’d endured three marathons back-to-back.
He pressed his cheek against the cool tile and breathed, working on centering himself and collecting his scattered thoughts and senses.
“It took me fifteen minutes to make my way here,” Levi told him.
“I came as soon as I realized something was wrong. That means some of those people were suffering just like that for long enough many will most likely require medical attention. That kind of torture to an untrained individual can fracture a mind.”
Elm pictured his fuzzy memories, saw soldiers and others. The first group he didn’t feel all that guilty toward. They were White Frost. They’d signed up for attack. But the others… “Workers.”
“Yes,” Levi confirmed. “Maids and kitchen staff. While some of them are here to help pay off debts they or a loved one owes to the White Frost, they aren’t mafia. I hardly think they deserve the pain that you gave them.”
“You can’t paint this out like it’s my fault.” Elm may have been the one who’d lost control, but none of this would have ever happened if he hadn’t been held here against his will.
“Oh? So it’s my fault?”
“Yes!”
“All right.”
Elm stared at him, but when he didn’t follow that up with anything else, heaved a sound of frustration. “Don’t do that! You don’t get to pretend to agree with me—”
“Did it sound pretend?” Levi quirked a thin brow. “I hardly ever say what I don’t mean.”
He frowned, then realized, “You just don’t care. Like how you didn’t care when I was in a coma.”
“Explain.”
“The second I stopped being useful, you left me down there to rot!”
“Is that what you think?” Levi began rolling up his sleeves, careful to smooth out any wrinkles as he did. “Is that what Fiora told you?”
“She didn’t have to tell me anything, the fact I haven’t seen you for a week was telling enough.”
“Did you miss me, omega?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“That would probably hold more weight if I hadn’t found you rolling around in a nest made of my clothing.”
“A chemical response,” Elm snapped. “Nothing more. The second I’m around an alpha more powerful than you—”
“Well, that won’t be happening. Should I tell you why?” He finished adjusting his outfit and then eased his hands into the front pockets of his pressed slacks. His silver eyes were intense when he rested them back on Elm, his expression inscrutable.
Elm had honestly expected more anger. He’d expected to be beaten and immediately dragged back down to the basement by his hair. This, this calm, unhurried conversation, was discombobulating. But it did the trick. It conveyed exactly what he imagined the alpha wanted it to.
That Levi was in charge, that he’d never stopped being in control, even when Elm had been running amok losing his marbles and collecting the man’s clothes.
“You won’t be leaving my side for the foreseeable future,” the alpha said.
“But more importantly, there are no alphas stronger than I.” He clicked his tongue when Elm opened his mouth to speak.
“No, Kian isn’t. He can hold his own, but in a fair fight between just the two of us? I would come out victorious.”
“Cocky motherfucker,” he grumbled, only realizing too late that he probably shouldn’t be insulting the guy.
“Do you need another taste of what you put my people through?”
Elm shifted on his feet. “No.”
“Since you caused this mess, you’ll be the one to clean it up,” Levi announced.
“What?”
“Every inch of this place has to be returned to its perfect state. Spotless.”
“Or what?” he snorted. “Going to threaten to lock me up again? Kind of redundant. Or,” Elm admittedly sobered some, “are you going to make me go through my heat alone the next time?”
“Is that the last thing you remember?”
“Yes. You watched me like a pervert.”
“But touching you wouldn’t have been considered perverted?” The left corner of his mouth tipped upwards ever so slightly. “Interesting.”
“It’s just sex.” Elm had partaken in his fair share of it over the years.
“Oh?”
“I’ve been to college,” he reminded, making himself sound casual, even though this was a somewhat private topic, despite the fact the alpha had already seen him naked and creaming himself.
“Would I pick you if I had options? Hell no. But…” He shuddered thinking about the intense cramping and the waves of dizziness.
How helpless he’d felt while lost to his heat. “I don’t want to feel that ever again.”
“Did your brother not teach you that it’s best to hold your weakness close?” Levi asked. “Telling me what you fear only gives me more power.”
“According to you, you’re already all-powerful,” he reminded, then he ran a hand through his hair, sneering when he felt how sticky and damp his locks were.
“Just punish me and get it over with already.” He loathed the idea of washing up in the tiny sink next to the toilet in his cell, but it was better than nothing.
“I already told you,” Levi stated. “You’re cleaning.”
Elm blinked at him. “Huh?”
“I was clear.”
“Okay…and then what?” He licked his lips, preparing himself. “What happens once I’m finished fixing up the place?”
“Complete the task and find out.”
He scowled. Stupid White Frost prick wasn’t going to tell him.
“Did you just curse me in your head, omega?”
Elm paled, giving himself away, but the alpha still didn’t lash out with his pheromones again.
“We’ll start with the kitchen since we’re here already.” Levi motioned to the bowl on the table, and then the counter space which was littered with half cut vegetables.
“What are you going to be doing?”
“Supervising.”
“Of course.”
“You managed to slip free from a barred cell under the nose of one of my best,” Levi reminded. “If I wasn’t so livid, I would be impressed, but I most definitely won’t be leaving you to your own devices, especially not as you move about my home.”
“This is you mad?” Elm opted to start with the mess on the counters, since it was furthest from where the alpha was. “Hate to break it to you, but I don’t think you have a very strong grasp on the emotion. What type of personality disorder do you have? Machiavellianism? Kian’s—”
“I have no interest in your brother’s medical history.”
“You sure? Doesn’t that count as a weakness?” Elm found the trash bin and hauled it over, sweeping the food scraps into it before checking drawers for containers or bags he could put the good parts away in.
“I already have his biggest weakness,” Levi said. “It’s you.”
Elm grunted. “Kian will come for me, but that doesn’t mean he loves me.”
“Is love so important?”
“Isn’t it?” He supposed to people like Kian and Levi, it probably wasn’t.
They most likely considered it more weakness.
That was why he’d been so surprised when he’d learned his best friend Sky had gotten with Kian.
Knowing his brother was capable of loving at least one person had been a relief, though…
Elm had felt a bit of self-pity, even knowing it wasn’t the same type of love he would have received if his brother could love him.
“Love wouldn’t make him find you any quicker,” the alpha replied. “It’s been months now, and he hasn’t even found his way to my doorstep.”
“I know you’re clever enough to throw him off the scent, at least for a while.”
“A compliment?”
“An observation,” Elm corrected.
“You’re rather calm, omega.”
“What? Thought I’d start crying and begging and pissing myself?”
“Most would.”
“Maybe I’m just burned out.” He shrugged. “That whole going half feral thing took a lot out of me.” He finished bagging the veggies, set them in the refrigerator and then turned back. “That was one hundred percent your fault, by the way.”
Levi stared at him for a lengthy moment, clearly debating with himself over something. But whatever it was, he seemed to decide against it. “Hurry up. Stalling won’t save you.”
No, Elm knew that already.
The only thing that could get him out of this nightmare was himself.
If only he could regain control so he could do that.