Chapter 3
CRESCENT
My hand, which was pressed to the grimy wall, was the only thing keeping me standing.
An alpha leaped for me, but never made it as another collided with him. Both crashed into the wall to my side.
I’d been dropped into a huge prison cafeteria by the smell of food in the air, but around me was chaos. It was a massive room, and my weak long-distance vision meant any alphas further away were a sea of humanoid blurs, but I could tell there were so many.
There were already auras in the air—the shivering, invisible energy that alphas could let loose to make them stronger and faster.
Half a dozen, if not more? I felt like it was choking me.
I took a shuddering breath.
Don't cry.
I shut my eyes to hide the gold. Anything not to tempt them further. Anything to stop this madness.
I wanted to be fierce, like that omega on the TV, but I was quaking, my quick breaths not taking in enough air.
Their scents were everywhere, sending my weary mind into a frenzy. Alphas were supposed to make me feel safe, but these ones didn’t. They'd seen the golden eyes marking me as a mistake—not an omega to protect at all…
They wanted me broken.
They want you as broken as you'd leave them…
Could I blame them?
I was desperate to run, but there was nowhere to go, and I knew instinctively that running would make this chaos look like child's play.
My jaw ached from clenching it so hard, and a strangled cry sounded beside me. I dared open my eyes just in time to see and hear a crack as the alpha to my left crushed another’s neck in his fist.
Choking down a whimper, I staggered away as the insane alpha looked up at me with wild eyes. I dodged another brawl.
I was dead.
This was it.
I yelped in pain as a fist closed around my hair, yanking me back. I struggled, a low strangled whine slipping from my chest.
“What a sweet gift,” a low voice growled.
I tried to turn, and only just caught sight of the alpha towering over me, a strong scent of sour whiskey filling my nose.
He was close enough for me to see his features clearly.
He was huge, with shaggy black hair and cruel, dark eyes.
He had a neatly kept beard and a handful of scars across his cheek, neck, and bare torso.
I lashed out, catching his cheek with my nails, and he flinched.
The next thing I knew, he shoved me, and I gasped as pain exploded up my back when he slammed me into the wall.
Panic brought more tears to my eyes. I was nothing like the omega on TV, who had a growl in her chest and glowing eyes. Instead, I let out another pathetic whine when his fist snapped around my throat. I was so winded, I could barely draw breath.
“Stubborn bitch, huh?” he growled.
Along with my terror, though, I felt the shock of his touch, a crackle of static that set every nerve on fire.
I bit back another whine as that pain rolled along my nerve endings, a reaction to his skin making contact with mine.
I watched as his pupils constricted, his whole body tensing as he drank in how starved I was of touch.
It was a boiling temptation trying to swallow us both.
He bared his teeth. “I was going to take you back to the cell first, but now I think I’ll bite you and claim that tight little cunt right here for everyone to see.”
N-no…
Didn’t he know what that would cost him?
Of course he didn’t. I’d already driven him mad, I realized, flashes of fury and lust and violence were all swirling in his eyes as he stared at me.
My strength was a leaf in the wind beneath the intensity of his aura, and he slid me up the wall, his grip on my throat lifting me.
I kicked against him as he crushed me against the stone with ease, my nails digging uselessly into rock-like muscle.
The heat of his breath against my neck sent a strangled scream of protest from my weak lungs.
His teeth grazed my skin, and I went absolutely still.
A dark bond.
From his scent to his aura, I could feel his insanity, his cruelty, and I knew what he was going to do. A dark bond would leave me at his mercy. I would have no choice but to follow his every command.
It was what I deserved—the only bond I was allowed to hope for, cursed as I was. I should want it, but his scent of sour whiskey made my nose wrinkle as it grew stronger, an affront to my senses.
His teeth found my skin, and I choked out another protest, flailing with all my might, kicking out, but I might as well have met a stone wall.
Then a dull click sounded, and he went rigid. A shadow shifted, though I couldn’t see properly with this alpha so close.
“One drop of blood spills, Holden, and I’ll blow your brains across the cafeteria.” The voice was low and deadly, though no scent came with it.
Very, very slowly, the alpha shifted back. I could feel the tenseness of his frame, the faintest rumbling growl with each exhale, but his teeth released my neck.
I saw the one who’d stopped him, then.
A small handgun was jammed against my attacker, Holden's, chin.
My eyes were locked on the newcomer, though, and I couldn’t look away. He had messy, midnight hair, pale skin, and a sharp, lean jaw. What was most shocking about him were his eyes, which were blood red. As I stared, dumbstruck, I thought he was the most beautiful alpha I’d ever laid eyes on.
Hormones talking, a little voice whispered.
They won’t save you.
Still, this newcomer felt safe, and it couldn’t get worse than this horrible alpha who’d threatened to claim me in front of everyone.
Slowly, Holden drew back, grip loosening on my throat. “Dangerous game, flashing that out here,” he growled, eyes flicking down in the direction of the gun.
I struggled, finding his grip weak enough to break, and I didn’t pause before diving toward the devil-eyed alpha.
The moment I collided with him, his arm came around me as if on instinct, drawing me against his chest. I looked up at him so quickly, a sharp pain shot through my neck.
His skin was cool, a little damp with sweat, but his touch… His touch didn’t trigger anything I’d come to fear. None of the lust and temptation that had landed me in this nightmare.
His touch was nothing but safety.
What did it mean?
Still, he didn’t look down at me, focused on the other alpha.
Around us, the fighting was bloody. I dared a glance to the side in time to see one alpha slam another into a table, sending trays and food flying. And closer, a dark-skinned alpha with a long red braid, slammed another into the wall. In a flash, his teeth closed around his neck and he—oh Lord!
I squeezed my eyes shut with a whine of shock, pressing back against the one now holding me, but the arc of red that had sprayed outward was burned into the back of my eyelids.
Each breath I took was painful, my lungs threatening to shut down completely.
The sounds around me were hard to follow, even when I finally found the courage to open my eyes.
There was less fighting now… Fewer auras in the air.
Holden, the alpha who’d wanted me dark bonded, had backed up, expression furious. A few more were standing around, almost like sentinels.
I watched as more ranks closed, pushing the horrible alpha out, and then Holden, along with a few others, turned tail and left.
I didn't miss the unfettered hatred in his eyes as he shot one last look back at us.
I finally dared draw back, fingers digging far too hard into my saviour's arms.
His eyes found mine at last and it felt like I’d missed a step on the stairs. His finger curled beneath my chin and tilted it, examining me, pupils blowing so wide I could barely catch a hint of crimson.
My lips were parted, I realized. I was staring at him like a fool. My gaze darted around. Every eye in the room was on us.
What were they thinking?
I shrank, panic a vise around my heart once more, but he gripped my chin, keeping me upright. He leaned closer, his nose almost touching mine as he cocked his head. Heat rushed to my cheeks.
I’d never wanted an alpha this close before, but he wasn’t like any I’d ever met. Before I could even blink, his lips found mine, and I was melting against him in the first kiss I’d ever had.
His touch was so safe—nothing compared to the alphas I'd met before. I felt something soft pressed against my chest and looked down.
Was he giving me his shirt?
He was…
I bit my lip, fear finally dying in the face of something much more fierce.
Mine…
He. Was. Mine.
Heat bloomed in my cheeks as the faintest rough purr tripped over itself on the way up my chest. I stamped it down—which was harder than I anticipated.
I’d never done that before in my life.