Chapter Twenty-One – Mercedes
I stand, wearing a pretty red dress and heels, in the center of a large, open ballroom. Sparkling chandeliers hang from the high ceilings, illuminating the place. Tables are set up all around me, full of alphas and omegas, both hoping to charm the other. I don’t have a table. I’m alone.
My eyes survey the place. No one looks at me. No one so much as glances in my direction. It’s like I don’t exist to them, I don’t matter.
That’s how it’s been my whole life. Nobody really cares about the omegas at Solus. Without families, we’re basically trash. No one cares what happens to us, not like they care about the omegas with nice last names, the ones who come from money or even normal families.
And then it’s like the entire room freezes. Everything stops. I don’t hear any conversations being had around me. The only thing I hear is hard, heavy breathing behind me. A sick, cold tingle travels up my spine.
I don’t need to turn around to know who it is. With the uneasy feeling inside me, with the rank stench of sour milk in my nose, I know exactly who stands near me.
I swallow hard, dread creeping up my spine when I hear his voice growl out, “Mercedes. I’ve been looking for you.”
That gross voice is the last thing I want to hear, and he’s the last alpha I want to be around, so I try to move, to walk away—but he grabs my wrist and spins me around, causing me to face him and slam into his chest. I meet the alpha’s dirty blue eyes.
Jay.
One year older than me, with brown hair so greasy it looks wet. A few inches shorter than six feet, he’s on the short side for an alpha, but that’s never stopped him from exerting his dominance wherever and whenever he could.
“I’ve missed you, love.” He smiles at me, flashing those sharp teeth, and my side instantly hurts, a ghostly memory taking over.
“No,” I whisper, struggling to get away with him. I use my free hand to push him away, and to my surprise, he lets me go. Something in my ankle twists, and I fall to the floor instead of running away.
He doesn’t help me, doesn’t stop me, doesn’t try to save me from the pain. He only watches with an evil glint in those blue eyes.
I scoot away from him, my ankle suddenly hurting far too much for me to get up and run. My stare shifts to the tables around us, to the other alphas. “Help,” I try to say, but the word doesn’t come out. I’m soundless. Speechless. Silent.
As a good omega should be.
As a good omega who needs an alpha should be.
It’s what we’re taught at Solus. Being orphans, we’d be lucky to be claimed by an alpha. The unlucky ones, the unclaimed ones, get bought by unscrupulous men who pimp them out. The horror stories really give a new definition to the word horror .
I lock eyes with the nearest table. Three alphas. None of them so much as look at me. At first I think they’re strangers, that I don’t know them, but their names come to my mind and prove me wrong: Nic, Warren, Darius. I know them, I want them—and I want them to help me—but it’s like they’re in a whole different world.
Jay stands over me, causing me to snap my gaze back at him. “They won’t help you,” he tells me, slow in lowering himself to me and taking my neck in his hand and squeezing. “No one will help you. You’re already mine, remember? You can’t run from me.”
“No,” I cry out, trying to fight him, but claws to his face don’t so much matter as much as the hand around my neck. When I struggle, he only squeezes harder, the evil glint in his eyes growing until it’s the only thing I can see.
Rage and possession melded into a cage. The opposite of freedom.
The last thing I hear is his vile laughter before I wake up with a jerk. My eyelids fly open, and I breathe hard, like I really was being choked. I reach up to my neck, my mind playing tricks on me, and thankfully I don’t feel any hand there. With every breath I take, the ghostly sensation of what happened in my dream fades.
I have to lay there in bed for a while, calming my heart down, before I bother to get up and shower. I’ve had nightmares before, but this… something about this one takes the cake. This one felt real. This one had Nic, Warren, and Darius, and none of them so much as lifted a single finger to help protect me.
It was just a dream. I shouldn’t feel so hurt, so disappointed—they owe me nothing in reality—but I do. I do feel hurt and disappointed. My damn subconscious telling me that lines are being crossed, slowly but surely, lines I never wanted to go near in the first place.
My ankle does hurt a bit, and for a moment, I forget why. But it all comes back to me—and the fact that I’m not wearing anything under the waist—and I’m suddenly faced with the memory of taking a tumble down the stairs last night when my only goal was to go to the kitchen and have a late-night snack since I pretty much skipped out on dinner. I wasn’t the only one awake, however; Darius was, too, and he helped me without me needing to ask for it.
And then he… well, we all know what happened after that. My lower half is still naked under these sheets, a reminder of how intimate we got.
Crap.
What the hell is wrong with me? Why didn’t I stop us?
No, wait. Why didn’t he stop himself? I vaguely remember seeing a bottle on the island, but there’s no way he got so drunk off that one bottle that he threw all caution to the wind and did what he did. A part of him had to have wanted to do all that.
I shiver beneath my sheets, the memory of his lips on my neck so vivid it’s like it’s happening right now, all over again. The way his wide, strong chest rumbled with a growl that echoed in my core. How low and husky his voice sounded when he said, Mine.
Even though he’s not near, the mere memory of it makes me squeeze my thighs together. The omega in me had been so blissfully happy to hear him say it, and knowing he fell to his knees for me is the hottest thing ever.
And those orgasms… mind-blowing. Strong as hell. The kind of orgasms that would’ve knocked me off my feet if I weren’t already. My body was attuned to his, ready to be played like an instrument. All of the pressure in me exploded, and Darius lapped it all up like a greedy, ravenous alpha.
My alpha.
The thought comes to me swiftly, out of nowhere, and it feels like a normal thought, not unusual in the least. Natural. Fated. It feels like it’s meant to be, and that’s what scares me the most.
Becoming a slave to my instincts was never something I wanted. Then again, up until recently, I would’ve sworn to everybody who asked that I just wasn’t interested in alphas in general. I’d only really ever dealt with Jay, and he kept any other alphas from sniffing around me. I don’t know; I guess I assumed I was immune to them and their alpha-ness since Jay didn’t affect me at all.
But maybe Jay didn’t have such power over me and my inner omega because we weren’t a match. We weren’t compatible. Jay was dirty and sleazy, the kind of alpha no omega deserved. He took whatever he wanted whenever he wanted to. A good alpha never had to take what wasn’t given.
I don’t know. I don’t want to think about Jay, and I definitely don’t want to think about what I did with Darius last night. If know Darius at all, I can safely assume he’s going to pretend none of it happened.
Which is fine. It might make my insides twinge with annoyance, but it’s fine. It’s better that way, for all of us. Getting attached to these alphas would be the biggest mistake I could make.
Groaning, I finally get out of bed. My ankle is a bit bruised, but not overly swollen. It aches when I put my weight on it, so I have to shuffle to the bathroom. Once I’m in, I turn on the water in the shower and hop in. It’s cold, but I learned at Solus Academy that sometimes a cold shower is just what you need. Right now, it helps snap me back to reality.
The bite mark on my hip itches, and I glance down at it as the water courses down my body. I run my fingertips along it, remembering the day Jay gave it to me. I’d just turned ten. We were at the same orphanage, prior to either of our awakenings. I guess he must’ve always felt like an alpha, and somehow he knew what my designation would be.
A mark that I could hide from everyone. A mark that would bond us until we got old enough and he could bite me on the neck and give me a mate mark.
Even before he presented as an alpha, he knew what to say, how to talk to adults. He always got his way. No one else ever seemed to hate him. Once he became a little alpha and he learned how to use his dominance, well, things changed.
I learned a long time ago it was easier not to fight with him. He was stronger. He could easily hurt me. It was better to go along with it and wait for the right time to make a move.I let him take everything from me.
But I’m just about out of time. I need to get through my first heat so I know what I’m dealing with, and then I need to leave this city, this damn state, and never come back.
Wait a minute. I should leave before my heat. That was the initial plan. When the hell did my plan change?
I make sure I’m clean—as in, I make sure there are no remnants of dried slick on my inner thighs from last night—and quickly hop out of the shower. I get dressed, run a brush through my wet hair, and head downstairs.
The dream must’ve woken me up earlier than usual, because when I make it to the kitchen, I find both Warren and Nic at the island, eating bagels and sipping coffee. Both immediately perk up when they see me, and Nic grins as he hops up.
“Here, sit down. I can make you something before we go into work,” he tells me. He wears dress slacks and a long-sleeved, button-down shirt tucked into his pants. No tie. Warren, on the other hand, wears his all-black, strapped-to-the-nines ensemble.
“No,” I say. “I can do it. Thanks, though.” Nic almost looks crestfallen at my refusal to let him cook for me; I’d feel bad, but I need to regain some semblance of independence after I lost my mind last night. I grab the bag of bagels and pull the two halves apart, sticking them into the toaster.
“You’re limping,” he says. “What happened?”
“Oh, I, uh… kind of fell down the stairs last night.” Both alphas leap from their stools, about to race around the island to get to me, but I hold up a hand and stop them by adding, “I’m okay. My ankle is just a little sore. Nothing’s broken. I’ll be fine.”
“You should’ve texted me, and I could’ve brought you breakfast in bed,” Nic says.
Beside him, Warren nods. “It’s true. He could’ve, and I would’ve been there for moral support.”
I chuckle softly and say, again, “I’m fine. Really. Don’t worry about me.”
My head is in the fridge when a third alpha joins us in the kitchen, and I fight the way my inner omega wants to press against his tall, firm body as he slips past me to get to the coffee machine.
Down, Bessy.
I don’t look at him on purpose, fearing if I do gaze upon Darius, I won’t be able to control myself. As it is, I’m pretty sure my scent gets a little stronger when he walks by. Damn omega instincts.
“So,” Warren says, breaking the silence of the kitchen as Darius pours himself a cup of coffee, “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you two in the same room together. How was your date last night? Did you two have fun? I’m assuming you got to know each other a little better—”
I pull out orange juice from the refrigerator, thankful my back is to the two at the island so they can’t see how my eyes widen at the questions.
Darius, on the other hand, spills the coffee he’s pouring onto his hand, not so elegant or put-together this morning. “Shit,” he whispers, coming closer to me so he can wash off the coffee and soothe his skin. He wears a suit, as he typically does, the fabric perfectly-fitted to his muscular, six-foot-five frame. I don’t think any of the coffee stained his sleeves.
Warren and Nic exchange glances, and Nic’s the first one to look at me—to really look at me, like he’s trying to peek into my head. I guess he didn’t tell Warren about the disaster of a date. What he doesn’t know, however, is that there was a nightcap in the kitchen afterward.
Darius shuts off the water and wipes his hand off with the hand towel nearby. His green eyes flick toward me, and he returns to his coffee cup and mutters, “You shouldn’t be on that ankle. Did you take anything for it this morning?”
I’m actually shocked that he’s speaking to me in front of the others, and I cave and finally look at him when I say, “Uh, no. I don’t—”
“Take something,” he growls out. “It’ll help.” And then, without another word, he leaves the kitchen with his coffee cup, and the house shortly afterward. No breakfast for him, I guess.
Nic’s brows are furrowed, while Warren puts it together with an open mouth. Warren points to where Darius walked off and says, “Wait a second. How did he know it was your ankle?”
I pour myself a glass of orange juice and say, “He, um, heard me fall last night. He was still down here after our… disaster of a date.” At that, I glance at Nic, who now only appears concerned.
“Disaster?” Warren echoes. “How bad it? I assumed it went well since you two were in the same room together. Shit. Did I totally misread that?” He glances at Nic, who still only looks at me.
“It was bad. Nic knows. He found me in my room after.”
Nic is the one who asks, “Did Darius tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Yeah,” Warren says. “Tell her what? What do you know that I don’t? I don’t like being kept in the dark, especially when it involves our omega.” Our omega. Spoken so effortlessly, like he now believes I belong with them.
With a shake of his head, Nic mutters, “I can’t believe you don’t know.” His grin returns, but it’s not as wide as it usually is. “Don’t worry about it, either of you. Once Darius is ready, I’m sure he’ll tell you.”
Color me confused, and based on the expression on Warren’s face, he’s confused, too.
The guys stay with me while I eat. Warren scooted over so I could take the stool in the center of them, making me the meat in this alpha sandwich. Two weeks ago, I would’ve said it was a bad place to be, but now… it’s not so bad at all.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?” Nic asks after a while. “I have more time off I could take.” Quieter, he adds, “It helps being the founder’s youngest son.”
“No. Don’t take any more time off. I’ll be fine,” I tell him. “Besides, I need to get used to having the house to myself during the day, don’t I? You guys can’t always be home. You got bills to pay. An extra mouth to feed now.” Even if it isn’t for long, though I don’t say that last part out loud.
“Okay,” he says. “But if you need me, I’m only a call away. Same with Warren and Darius. If you need anything at all, just call us.” He acts like I’ve never been alone in my entire life, which is good for a laugh.
With a mouthful of bagel, I say, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
Nic glances at the time on his phone screen, and he chugs the rest of his coffee before standing. He puts his mug in the sink and returns to me, giving me a gentle kiss on my cheek. “Gotta go. I’ll see you later.”
Warren watches the interaction. “How sickeningly sweet. Normally I would vomit, but…” He pauses as he leans into me and kisses the opposite cheek. “When it comes to you, Mercedes, I think I like the sweetness.”
I hold back a laugh. I need to be careful; that might just be a declaration of love, coming from Warren.
I watch as the two alphas leave, following in Darius’s footsteps, and within a minute, I’m alone in the house. I take my time in finishing the bagel and drinking the rest of the orange juice, and before I leave the kitchen I do take two more ibuprofen for my ankle.
Being alone should thrill me after having Nic with me practically twenty-four hours a day this past week. I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much uninterrupted time with anyone before, other than myself. I’m used to being alone.
Still, I can’t help but feel a little sad as the day goes on.
I watch some TV, do some internet surfing. I try to look up places to go, places to live in the safest cities for omegas, but my heart’s not really in it. In fact, I get this weird taste in my mouth as I read about townhomes and condos where omegas can live with other omegas without the fear of being stalked by bad alphas.
I… I don’t know if I want to leave, I realize with abject horror. Everything I wanted, everything I thought I needed; was I wrong? Is this where I’m supposed to be? Is this pack where I’m meant to stay?
If I’m honest, the thought of leaving Nic, Warren, and, yes, even Darius fills me with uncomfortable knots in my stomach and a pressure in my chest.
Shit. To stay, to give up everything I wanted for this, for a pack; what kind of fool am I? There are no bigger fools out there than the ones that are hopeful romantics—I never considered myself one of them. I never wanted to find love. I just wanted peace. Safety. The freedom to make my own decisions without having an overbearing alpha breathing down my neck at every turn.
I mope around the house until lunchtime. I’d be lying if I say I don’t miss having Nic around to cook for me. And, in general, I guess it wasn’t so bad having him around me all the time anyway. His company was nice. We talked about everything—almost everything.
Everything except Jay.
I haven’t broached the subject with them, and I don’t know if I can. They suspect I’m trying to hide from someone, but they left it alone. They didn’t poke or prod me for answers I wasn’t ready to give. Hell, when I’m with them, Jay is the last thing on my mind, which is a new thing for me, something I didn’t even know was possible.
These guys help me forget. It’s nice. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard for me to think about moving on.
The thought of leaving Nic and Warren hurts me, and the idea of never seeing Darius again is like a knife in the chest. It physically pains me, just thinking about it. How bad would I feel if I really did go? Maybe I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
I’m making myself a sandwich when the sound of glass shattering fills the quiet house. Immediately tensing up, I freeze for a few moments, waiting to hear more. I don’t hear anything else, but glass breaking can’t be good. I go for the knife drawer and pull out a shiny stainless-steel blade. I may not have the muscles an alpha does, but with a knife this sharp, I can easily stab the fuck out of someone if I have to.
My feet draw me out of the kitchen, and I move slowly through the house, toward where the sound was. What I end up finding is a rock laying on the floor just inside the front vestibule. It broke the glass window next to the door, and I peer outside, my heart in my throat as my eyes flick around to spot anything out of the ordinary.
And what do I see? A car idling on the street. An old car, beat-up and rusted, the kind you don’t see in a neighborhood like this, ever.
A car I’ve seen many times before.
I duck around the window, hiding myself. A second passes before the car tires peel out and I’m left clutching that knife, my knees so weak I’m about to collapse.
And I do. I do fall to the ground, though only after I make sure the car is indeed gone. I fall to my ass near the stone, staring hard at it. No note on it I can see, no twine tied around it. I kick it over to its other side with my foot, not wanting to touch it too much, and when I do, I see there is something written on it.
What’s on the rock? Just one thing, a single letter.
J.
No, no, no. That’s not possible. How could he have found me? How did he know I was here? It should be impossible for him, unless he got to the woman at the Omega Garden. No one at Solus Academy knows this is where I ended up.
That was his car out there. Either he was the driver, or one of his buddies was. This rock, this single letter, is nothing more than a message meant to frighten me—and I hate to admit that it’s working.
He could’ve come in here. He could’ve taken me back, dragged me out of here kicking and screaming—but he’s dealing with an alpha pack he hasn’t dealt with before. This is him testing the waters. He’ll only grab me when he knows he can get away with it, when he knows he’ll have me right where he wants me.
If I have to guess, closer to my heat he’ll make another move. He’ll swoop in when I’m delirious, when I literally am so desperate for an alpha’s knot, that I’ll happily accept his. And then he’ll bite me on the neck and bind us together forever, and I’ll be stuck with him.
There is not a single fate I can think of that would be worse.
Holding the knife against my chest, I work to get to my feet. The pills I took this morning are about worn off, so I have to limp a little to get to my phone—which I stupidly left in the living room, on the couch.
I’m so used to not having a phone of my own that I don’t know what to do with it most of the time. Hardly any of my clothes have pockets, so it’s either I leave it somewhere or I carry it around, room to room, and the latter just feels silly.
I gingerly sit down on the couch. One hand remains curled around the knife handle so hard my knuckles are white while the other reaches for the phone. I think about calling Nic, but he just spent a whole week home with me. My pride won’t let me call Darius even though I know he’ll take care of me if I let him… and if his own pride allows it.
In the end, I call the third member of the pack, the alpha I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is dangerous to those he considers enemies.
Thankfully he picks up on the third ring. “Warren?” I say his name in a hurry. “I need you to come home.” I pause, feeling like I’m going to lose it. My cool, my mind, the half-digested breakfast in my belly; all of it. “Please.”
And then I end the call before he can ask any questions. It’ll be easier to show him when he gets here.
The only thing that echoes in my head as I wait for him to come home is: this can’t be happening.