Chapter 10 #2
My body always reacts to alphas in this state, but Judge must’ve done something to himself.
The first alpha’s scent did have an effect on me, but I still found him disgusting.
Even now, I half-smile, knowing he’s headless.
But this dumbass driving the jeep? Something about Judge makes me feel chosen, like he’s taken a drug to make him utterly desirable.
I even think of a bumblebee and how this must feel to be covered in nectar.
I’ve never had this effect with any alpha before.
Are there meds out there that can do this? I’m sure there are. There are stranger things out there. Someone of his level and authority would absolutely have access to them. Or maybe it’s because he’s an echo. Is he like a super alpha?
It has to be one of those options. Maybe he wants to make him so tantalizing that I won’t even fight him while back here. Make it easy on him.
So fucking hypocritical. Ban suppressants, but takes whatever he wants.
A sharp cramp blooms in my gut, this one more consuming. My knees draw close together, and I cross my legs. I’ve never gone into heat around somebody before, and it feels entirely wrong, like I’m indecent.
His hands flex on the wheel.
“No need to stress yourself out more than you already are,” he replies, clearing his throat. “We need you away from this area. Get as far as we can before your heat officially takes over.”
“Is it bothering you?” It’s supposed to sound full of mockery, but in this state, it almost sounds like flirting.
His eyes slice into me through the mirror. “You’ll know just how much it’s bothering me soon enough.” He growls, and a warm slip of slick betrays me.
“Don’t fucking do that!” I hiss at my own body. Betrayer.
I glance behind me. A few bikes are rolling beside us in loose formation, the ruined highway vibrating under their wheels. How are they out there in the cold?
Judge smirks like my panic is dessert, and then silence slips back in and makes me feel everything I don’t want to, feel the inevitable that this heat is going to be entirely different than I’ve ever experienced, and I’m terrified to learn just how much.
I jump when I hear a weird static. Judge lifts a radio com out of his pocket—I haven’t seen those since the military base. “Go,” Judge says.
“Just got word from Skinner that Chops is on 74.”
Judge pauses, moving the radio slightly in his large, annoyingly manly and tattooed hand. And for some reason, I’m utterly mesmerized by watching him contemplate a decision. He holds it up to his mouth. “Execute.”
“Yes, sir.”
Before he can lower the device, it crackles again. “Rainstorm expected, too. Potentially turning into snow. Recommend break-off within the next two hours.”
Judge grips the wheel tighter, just for a moment, then nods. “Push through. Make it to Gunner’s. We ride out the storm there. Notify him.”
“Copy that.” The voice almost sounds relieved.
Judge lowers the radio, eyes scanning the horizon.
I almost laugh at the absurdity of it—me, unarmed and barely dressed, sitting in the back of a moving prison with my kidnapper, and considering my odds like this is some kind of game.
I almost want to ask if he’s going to just leave me back here while we drive… Wait… Why am I not attacking him?
Now I feel like an utter idiot.
As calmly as possible, I look around for anything, but see nothing except the canteen. My pockets are empty because I was too stupid not to have a weapon on me at all times. I glance around the vehicle. No tools. No sharp objects. Everything the Enclave had in here has been stripped.
I bet this is a part of an omega collection protocol.
Keep all weapons away from me. Attacking him while driving also seems like a last resort, as it’ll likely kill me.
I’m not above it, though, but like he already called out…
I’m too chicken shit to get it over with.
Maybe it’s because the adrenaline is wearing off, making it harder to commit.
Time drags as I try not to think about what comes next, some part of me aware and worried that he could let many fuck me.
Maybe I can beg. I’m not above begging. I’ll hate it, sure, but I’ll beg if I need to.
Or do I crash the car and take us both out first?
When does one make a decision like that?
My fingers keep dancing like I just need to do it and get it over with. Throw us into a tree…
In the distance is a settlement we passed on our way in, and everything slows.
The caravan thins its formation as we come to a stop, remembering that last time we had to state our purpose and where we’re going.
People approach a biker behind us—too many of them.
I scoot toward the center of the seat, pulse spiking, staring directly at the center console.
Another radio crackles, and Judge picks it up like he’s been waiting for it. “They want to know if the omega is up for payment. They can smell her.”
My eyes widen, and Judge flashes his gaze in the rearview mirror at me, raising the device to his lips as he stares me down, pressing the button with his thumb. “No.”
“Copy, sir.”
What game is he playing? He’s making me feel relieved. Like he might actually help me. It’s a fucked up psychological game, and I’m shocked how well it works.
They speak, and the man who approached looks at me through the window and then waves reluctantly to Judge. Once the car starts rolling, I sigh and close my eyes. He’s playing something. A long game. I can feel it in the tension that stretches between us like a wire about to snap.
Why is he so quiet?
Why am I?
Eventually, we pull up to a sprawling structure that looks like an old manor, with dark wood and brick retrofitted for surviving in this new world. Judge spins the wheel with one hand, pulling us tight into the driveway. Then he steps out without a word.
The lights are on outside, this place flooding the night with its electricity.
I watch as Judge goes around the car, something in me feeling vulnerable that he’s leaving me here, but survival returns, and I try to open my door, but it doesn’t budge.
I back off when a woman starts approaching the jeep, her long black hair braided down the back.
Her jacket barely contains her breasts, which are all smooshed up from a very capable zipper.
Tall boots reach her knees, and she walks with a swagger.
I’m shocked when she opens the door and slides in, with Judge watching a few feet away. I scoot far to the other side of the door, jiggling it to see if it’s locked too. This woman smells like exhaust, sweat, and pine.
“Hey there,” she gently says, her voice smoky. She appears to be in her late forties, maybe.
I don’t answer.
She leans back, casual, removing her leather gloves to lay her hands in her lap, her nails painted red. She lifts her chin with pride, accentuating the tattoo of a skull across her neck. “Name’s Kitty. I’m the Iron Lady to Skinner. You’ll learn who that is in time.”
“What’s going on?” I finally ask. “Am I being sold here?”
Kitty snorts. “Oh, honey, no. That last stop was the only one that had the nerve to offer. They’re feral. Like a pack of hyenas. You’re lucky you made it through the first time, but uh, I bet you didn’t smell like you do now.”
“Am I—“ I need to know. I hate uncertainty. “Am I going to be, you know… passed around, here?”
She frowns. “Baby, what do you think we’re doing with you?
” She eyes me with something close to sympathy.
“I’m in here to give you the rundown while Judge informs Gunner what’s going on.
You reek of someone about to go into heat, which means Judge is securing the area right now, and sure as hell won’t let you out.
I mean, if anything, he’s probably covered in your scent and using that as a shield for you.
” I hang onto every word, not used to my entire life hanging in the hands of one person.
“Everywhere’s got a place for an omega. We’ll get you to the one for here. ”
I don’t laugh and just stare at her like she’s crazy. “What are his plans with me? I’m not just riding this out alone, or else I would have been left in Trinity.”
She raises her brows, and behind her, Judge starts heading our way again, taking his hand out of the pockets of his bomber jacket.
“Let’s just say anyone who wants to touch you will have to answer to Judge, and people like to avoid that at all costs.
That last alpha was Exhibit A of that.” Judge reaches for the door handle, and she quietly adds, “So everyone will be nosy as shit with you. Anyway, I’ll be around, alright?
That’s why I’m here. Wanted a quick introduction in case you see me again. ”
The door opens, and she exits, head lowered when this close to Judge.
His torso, thighs, and hands are in view of me.
Everyone is watching, including a man at the entrance of this place.
I feel this societal pressure to conform, so I just sit there to make sure that whatever happens contains as little punishment as possible.
Judge places one hand on the door and the other on the car, leaning down to look at me.
Something is really wrong with me because my inner omega feels better with him blocking the world from me. Judge growls before shutting the door, barking orders to those around.
When he gets back in, I know I’m going to drown in misery because I have to finally accept that his scent is pleasing.
It’s like I can smell his alpha rage, and I don’t know why it makes me want to melt so badly.
We drive further into the property, my body shaking with adrenaline.
I’m too far into proestrus, which means I’m going into heat here.
Where alphas are.
Judge nears a small house as he pulls my door right up to the patio as if to make my exposure to the outside world as short as possible.
A few snowflakes flit past my window, illuminated by porch lights.
I don’t think my life is ever going to return to what it once was after this.