9. Chapter 9
Rosalina
My body seized and stuttered to a stop. All thought fled as the ground dropped out from under my feet. “What did you just say?”
“I said you are to be married, Rosa. It’s long past time. You’ll be a good wife and give us many little alphas to carry on the family business.”
The unspoken jab at my mother’s refusal to provide him more children was not lost on me.
He might as well have slapped me.
“No. No, absolutely not.” Marrying anyone in the organization would mean I’d never be free of this life. Let alone to that degenerate, Lorenzo.
“Rosita, my daughter. I should have done this long ago. There are few enough omegas to go around. This is a good solution for everyone.”
“But, papá, please.” I reined in the torrent of my emotions. “You promised I could finish school, get a job, and have a normal life.”
“That was before. Now this must be done.”
It was as if he dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. I loved my father; he was the only family I had left, but all his promises were nothing but empty platitudes. He was selling me.
“But why? Don’t you remember what happened to his last omega? I won’t do it! I refuse!” My earlier resolve crumbled under the threat of being shackled to a monster.
“Don’t be silly, Rosa. That was just a rumor.
He is a good leader with a strong pack. He assured me they will protect you.
It’s the perfect solution. Lorenzo will be my heir, and you will be his wife.
You’re too delicate and fragile to run things on your own.
I could never leave the business to you.
The men won’t follow an omega, but this way, everything that is mine will still be yours when I’m gone. ”
“I don’t want that. I don’t want your things.
I don’t want him or his pack!” Then I did the one thing I should never do, especially in front of a stranger.
I brought up Valentina Reyes. “I’m not my mother.
Don’t take your issues with her out on me.
You forced her into a marriage that she didn’t want, and look how well that turned out!
Maybe if you’d waited for a scent-match, your wife wouldn’t have hated you, and your son would still be alive.
Why would you consign me to the same fate? ”
His lips pressed together in a thin line, as if to mask some deeper emotion, and his eyes drifted to the crystal figurine on his desk.
“Scent-matches make you weak. They give your enemies leverage.
If I'd waited for my scent-match, I wouldn't have you.” Finality cut through the sadness in his tone, as if that should appease me.
“But you never wanted me. You only wanted sons to carry on your legacy. Now you’re stuck with a ‘useless omega.’” I spat the bitter words from my mouth.
He didn’t want me. He only wanted my brother.
All I'd ever dreamed was for him to see me as his daughter, not a nuisance, not a bartering chip, not someone who reminded him of the woman who resented him, and his only son who’d died.
The daughter who reminded him he no longer had a male heir and never would.
Anguish ripped through my chest, almost bringing me to my knees.
“Daddy, please.” My eyes stung, but I clung to my wavering strength.
I would not cry over this. I’d already cried too many times.
When I saw my father’s face, my stomach plummeted. I shouldn’t have brought up scent-matches, my mother, or my dead brother.
The thin line of his lips was all the answer I needed. He wouldn’t budge, no matter how much I begged. A flood of bitter anger rushed over me, quickly smothering the tears waiting to fall and burning the pain away.
My father’s expression hardened even further, and his eyes dropped to the crystal butterfly figurine on his desk again. He shot to his feet, trying to cover the lapse, but I saw it.
“Rosa, you are my perfect little flower. I love you, I just want what’s best for you.” He tugged his jacket lapels, straightening the pristine fabric.
My rage boiled. Somewhere in my fury, I’d made my way to his desk.
My fingernails bit into the varnished wood where I gripped the edge, but his break in eye contact was something I couldn’t ignore.
The butterfly statuette, with its delicate wings, scattered rainbows across the shiny wooden counter.
How dare it be so cheerful when my life was falling apart?
I leapt for it. As my fingers brushed the cool, slick surface with every intention of destruction, a meaty arm banded around my waist and a calloused hand grabbed my wrist, stopping me short of my goal.
Sweet sandalwood and amber filled my lungs and sparked across my taste buds. The heat of his skin burned through the thin fabric of my T-shirt, molding to my back. His belt buckle, and something even firmer, pressed against my ass.
A groan lodged in my throat. Oh, that’s nice…
The solid muscles of his arm, caging me to his chest, disarmed me for a blink. If I hadn’t been so desperate to get away, I might’ve allowed myself to enjoy the way Cruz lifted me off my feet with no effort at all, and the way his body rubbed against mine.
My legs swung on autopilot, trying to connect with the wall of alpha behind me, but he was faster and stronger than I was, and I missed every attempt.
“Let me go,” I snarled, clawing at the arm around my stomach. This wasn’t how my life was supposed to go. I couldn’t let this happen.
Ignoring my outburst, my father leveled his coal-brown eyes on me.
“Things have changed and adjustments needed to be made. I didn’t want to scare you, but Francisco-fucking-Moreno ambushed our last three shipments.
It’s been massacre after massacre. People tortured to death, tongues torn out and left to bleed.
I won't let him take anything else from us. Lorenzo agreed to help in exchange for you. We need this.”
I barely heard him over the panic ringing in my ears as I struggled against the unwavering grip of my bodyguard. The Morenos? Fucking murderers! We’d been at war with them since they killed my brother. But still, there had to be some other way. “Put me down! Now!”
My demands were ignored just as easily as my flailing limbs.
“Lock her in her nest until she calms down, and take her phone. Your security badge will give you access.” My father straightened the already straight crystal butterfly figurine on his desk and sat down, resigned to my anger.
Bitter tears burned my eyes as Cruz carried me out of my father’s office as if I weighed nothing.
I didn’t want to be locked in that cage my father called a nest. I didn’t want to be married to that monster, Lorenzo.
Every door frame we passed, I grabbed and hung on for dear life, and every time I did, Cruz dragged me away.
“Which door is your nest, little hellcat?”
“Don’t put me in there! I don’t want to go in there.” I illustrated my point by catching my foot on my bedroom door, halting our progress and keeping Cruz from carrying me past the threshold.
When he moved to untangle that limb, I reached and grabbed the door frame with my flailing arms. “No! Please. Don’t put me in there. Please. I’ll behave. I’ll be good.”
He continued to ignore me and tossed me over his shoulder. The breath was knocked from my chest, but that didn’t stop me from pounding on his back, intent on escape. When his palm came down on my upturned ass with a slap, I squeaked and stilled my struggles in shock.
“Hush, or I’ll really give you something to scream about,” Cruz growled and continued into my room.
Did he just spank me? How dare he spank me! My outrage fizzled as the warmth from his hand radiated over my skin in a pleasant way, and I huffed. Maybe I’d let him get away with it, just this once.
But no, wait, this jackass was about to lock me up like a naughty pet.
Fuck that.
My struggles resumed, but he'd adjusted his grip on my legs so all I could do was pound ineffectually on his back. Which he utterly ignored.
He found the door with the key card reader easily, despite my lack of cooperation. It was the obvious option. When it unlocked with a ping, another surge of panic shot through me.
He carried me into the small anteroom with the table. I knew exactly where we were. Right outside the nest where I’d hidden the hoodie earlier. The beep from the interior lock rang in my ears with its finality. The only thing beyond the next door was suffering and despair.
Cruz pulled open the heavy, metal door and flopped me down into the thick wall-to-wall bedding.
Cold dread swept through my veins.
“Give me your phone.” His deep voice was like silk across my skin.
“I don't have it.” I scooted away from his hulking figure. Even if I had it, which I didn’t, I wouldn’t have given it to him.
His dark eyes narrowed, scraping over my baggy clothing. He was not at all satisfied with my answer. With a grunt, he dragged me back to him by my ankle. His rough hands skimmed over my body, and a pleased groan caught in my throat, which I quickly swallowed down before it escaped.
What in the hell was wrong with me? My heat should be months away, and I hadn't missed a single dose of suppressant.
I didn't want him touching me, but his bare hands on my skin felt too good, bringing back memories of the night before with the green-eyed alpha.
This was not the same man, even if it did feel incredible.
The big alpha took a step back, satisfied that I didn't have the phone, and closed the inner door in my face, locking him outside in the anteroom with a rattle of inevitability.
I was well and truly fucked now.