58. KATIE
Chapter fifty-eight
KATIE
“Back off,” I say, sliding my phone into a hidden pocket of my leggings and curling my hands into fists. Roark laughs, lumbering out of the shadows. Another face full of his scent hits me. This time I smell the sharp tang of alcohol. He’s been drinking.
Great. A drunk Alpha with revenge in mind. Not what I needed today.
He lunges, but I manage to skirt his grasp. I learned that his reach is longer than I first thought, so I dodge farther to the right. Which gets me out of his grip, but in the dark, I trip over the uneven ground, falling back hard.
Fuck . I try to stifle a scream, rolling onto my hands and knees and crawling to the shelter of a larger boulder.
“Fucking cunt.” He wobbles back to his feet, and in the spray of light from the cave mouth, I watch him stumble a few feet to the right. If I can just get him back down, I might be able to make a dash to the car. A lance of pain up from my knee to my hip joint steals my breath.
Right . No dashing anywhere.
“Little Omega,” he hiccups, then burps. Shaking out his shaggy beard and hair, I watch as his eyes start to clear. “That Twin Moon Whiskey just doesn’t hit like it used to,” he says. Almost like watching a character respawn in a video game, Roark’s posture straightens.
What the fuck .
“Alphas can hold their liquor when they need to,” he says casually. “When there’s a threat– or a hunt– we can metabolize alcohol and most drugs at triple the average speed. Handy trick, isn’t it, Omega bitch?”
He grins, his smile a gleaming Joker-grin.
“You are going to be so tight for me, aren’t you? I don’t have a pack at the moment; left my old MC in New Beloitte. I thought I could start one up here, the Capital City MC. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Got a nice shine to the name.” He takes a meandering step toward me.
“Joined that fancy gym looking for top-notch Alphas. Found a few prospects– until that pussy-boy threw me out. Who can blame a hot-blooded Alpha for going after an unbonded Omega? And one that can fight back?”
Roark whistles, and I shuffle to the far side of the boulder, keeping the massive rock between us.
“I bet you’re a wildcat in bed. Tell me, Omega, do you bite? Will you mark me with your claws after I’ve sunk my teeth into your shoulder and my cock into your tight cunt?”
Every part of me starts to shake. Rage and fear mingle into a torrent of blazing fire in my belly.
I had thought to merely escape this oaf. Maybe incapacitate him if I had to, just to get to the car. But he’s casually talking about rape . This fucker needs to die, and I don’t care if Callum has to throw me in one of their alien prisons. I am going to gut him.
I swallow the spider web of pain spreading through my leg and hip. Pain is weakness leaving the body, or whatever the fucking Marines say.
Roark jerks forward, smacking the boulder, but I swing around, swiping my knife from my sock and jabbing at him. The blade grazes his left forearm. But my leg is too weak to propel me at top speed, so instead of pushing past him, I stumble. His uninjured right arm wraps around me, hauling me off my feet.
I squirm in his grasp, grunting with the effort and the intense shock of pain spreading out across my entire left side. He plants my back against his chest, heaving hard.
I jab my elbow back with as much force as I can manage, and Roark drops me.
I land awkwardly, the impact on the stone ground sending pain ricocheting through my body until the edge of my vision fades.
“Fucking Omega,” he grunts, falling to one knee.
I scoot back, dragging my ass in the dirt. I can’t stand up.
Fuck .
I regret all of my life choices that have led me to the sheer stupidity of this moment. What a fucking fool I am. I know better than this, but my sheer stubbornness and unrelenting drive kept me from seeing this problem clearly.
I wish Max and Loren were here. God above, I even wish Callum was here.
But I had to do this myself . And now I’m alone.
Angry tears prickle my eyes. My leg feels like it’s on fire, shooting waves of pain nearly swallowing my consciousness.
Roark snarls, then I hear his voice, a quiet clear command that wraps me up, and holds me tight.
“Freeze where you are, Omega.”
Fucking Alpha barks. Fucking Alphas.
Fuck.