Chapter 11
Nate
Lila's miserable face says it all. Granted, I know mine isn't all that pleasant to look at either. Dusting my hands on my thighs, I stand and look Robert in the eye.
"I don't think this is such a good idea."
"It's not a good idea," he laughs. "It's a great idea. Do you know how much I worry about her being at that college by herself?"
Lila squirms again as that odd shade of red creeps up her cheeks. "There's nothing wrong with the dorms. Honestly. I'm fine. There's campus security, my roommates. Not to mention, the officers you send down to check up on me."
"Bobby," Mom cries as she whirls around to face him. "You don't."
"It's not like that," he growls as the stench of his displeasure fills the air. "They're already in the area. I just have them do a wellness check."
She at least has the decency to shoot Lila a sympathetic look, but just as always, she remains silent.
I'd worry Robert was bullying her, but she's always been quiet and demure—the poster child of what the government wants omegas to be.
Even now, she takes a step back and allows him to resume the lead.
"Besides," he continues, "if she were living with Nate, I wouldn't have to send them there. We'd be saving the state resources as well as keeping a little extra in our pockets."
"Or," Lila hedges, "you could just stop sending them around."
"Not happening," he barks out.
His eyes glitter with barely-leashed control. The only thing saving him right now is knowing he won't do anything to her. Not physically, at least. She'll hate him and herself if this escalates, but it's only a few tears and familiar angst.
That at least can be fixed. Therapy would work, but only if he pursues it. Fuck. I didn't realize this was all so complicated. When I used to be here, it never seemed like this. But then, Lila did say it got worse after I left. I wonder if I was some invisible buffer and never even realized it.
"Dad,” she cries out as desperation lines her face. “I'm safe there. It's a metropolitan hub. Nothing happens there."
"There are Alphas there," he snaps. "Alphas that want nothing more than to hurt you."
"Nate's an Alpha," she yells back. "Why aren't you worried about him? Hmmm? Why are you so content with forcing me into his life when he's just as big, bad, and scary?"
"Hey now," I cut in. "I'm big, yes. But scary?"
The scathing look she sends me makes me want to chuckle, but I smother it with a well-timed cough. There's no fury on earth more than an omega scorned. Besides, her feelings are more than valid.
If it were anyone else besides me, he would throw a fit.
But if I'm being completely honest with myself, it's not as if I'm all that innocent.
I've only been home a handful of days and I want to pound her into the mattress.
I want to pin her down and fuck her until she's sobbing, until she can't remember her own name.
I want to shove my cock so deep inside her pussy that she'll feel me for days.
Hell, I long to force my claim on her to keep her safely by my side.
I fucking want to hurt her. I want to see those tears shimmer in her eyes after I smack her impertinent ass with my thick palm.
I want to see tears stream down her face as she chokes on my cock, only breathing when I allow it.
I so desperately want to watch her struggle to take me, watch her eyes water as I force my girth past her lips and make her swallow.
I want to fucking hurt her.
It repeats through my head on an endless loop until it's all I can hear.
"You trust him not to hurt me?" she continues, nearly echoing my errant thoughts.
And right for her to ask.
Robert, however, not knowing the dark, deviant desires causing my cock to stir in my pants, sputters as anger and incredulity war on his features. "He's your brother."
"And?"
Yes, I echo in my head. And? I'm not the right choice. I'm not the safe choice. I'm the wolf she's inviting into her home, the predator who wants to devour her whole. The thing is, I'm just the convenient choice for him.
"And," Robert snarls, "that's final."
A silent space descends between the two, stretching out into a massive gulf. I simply watch them, biding my time until I need to step in. Hopefully, it won't happen.
"I'm not Mom," she finally cries out as tears drip down her cheeks. "You can't keep forcing me into these bubbles of so-called safety when here you are trying to shove me in with an Alpha just because you determine he's safe."
"That's enough, young lady," he roars, flooding the room with his Alpha command.
I grip my hands into fists and plant them by my sides to keep from punching the man as Lila and my mom wither before him.
Unfortunately, my cock hardens at the sight of Lila submitting, her body instinctively responding to Alpha dominance despite the reason for it, despite the fact that it’s so unwarranted.
The problem is, the image that I can’t get out of my head. Fuck. What would she look like submitting to me? On her knees, head bowed, waiting for my command? But this isn’t that type of situation. What Robert is doing to her is just cruel.
And just like that, just like with my training offer, I force myself to stay silent. I have to stay out of this. I can’t interfere. Most of all, just like my TO, I couldn't punch him, and I can't deck my stepfather. Thankfully, Robert doesn’t notice how close I am to losing my calm.
"You will never speak of your mother like that again,” he rages. “You have two choices. You either room with Nate so he can keep you safe, or you can forget school."
Once he's done talking, she rises a bit and stares at him, her chin quavering. "Yes, sir."
But I see the pain there. I hear the defiance in her voice, even if he can't. Robert is too stupid and too blind with his own anger to understand the standoff happening between them.
There's something in her tone, something I don't trust. What is she planning? I may not know her all that well, but I sure as hell know her enough to know she doesn't give up easily. Then again, with her dream school in the balance, it's wise she doesn’t put up a fight.
As she leaves the room to race upstairs, I watch her ass bounce with each determined step, unable to look away.
The fabric of her pajamas clings to those perfect curves, outlining every inch of her.
I want to follow her up those stairs, pin her to her bed, and take out all this frustration on her willing body, or probably not so willing body.
Even now, when she's so distraught that the air becomes nearly thick with the stench, all I can think about is sliding between her thighs and taking the pain away in a different manner.
I simply want to fuck her until she forgets why she was upset, until all she can do is scream my name. What the fuck is wrong with me?
I should be comforting her, coming to her like a brother would a sister, being that source of companionship when things go to shit. Granted, I'll never be that to her. At the end of the day, I'll be able to leave with no questions asked.
No one ever demands anything of me. As an Alpha male, I'll always do as I please. She's still so young that she hasn't a hope of getting out from under Robert's thumb until she's mated or he lets her go. I can't see any other options.
A low hum vibrates through my throat as I continue to watch the steps where she just disappeared. Something has to give. I can't keep staying here when the very air is tainted, driving me feral. Her scent everywhere, sweet and tempting, making my mouth water and my cock ache.
Between my constant arousal and barely-leashed rage, I'm torn between going to a fight club to blow off some steam and finding a willing omega to take my violent affections.
Someone I can fuck rough and hard, someone I can use to purge this obsession with my stepsister from my system.
Maybe that will help with all of this. If I can just get off, I might be able to think straight.
With rough jerks, I yank the wrapping paper off the floor and shove it into a bag, doing my best to take out what frustration I can. Next to me, Robert does the same until finally the floor is back to pristine. Mom shuffles away to work on Christmas lunch, sniffling every so often.
Robert watches her leave, and to his credit, he actually softens as he looks in her direction. The only reason I'm not lashing out is because I truly believe he loves my mom. Lila is the only one truly suffering in this house.
"It's for the best, you know," Robert finally mutters next to me as he kicks his toe at an errant piece of carpet sticking up.
Stupid, misguided man.
"It's not what she wants. You can't keep her here forever."
Wrong. Fucking. Response.
"To hell with what she wants," he seethes as he looks me dead in the eyes.
His gaze is hollow, haunted, distant. Wherever Robert is, it's not here.
It's not with us. PTSD. He may not want a label for it, but it's clearly etched in his pinched expression.
Marrying Linda and binding them together only satisfied part of the issue.
He still needs to deal with the impotency he feels from losing his first wife in the first place.
I don't have firsthand knowledge, but I've seen enough battle scars and wounds from colleagues and companions to know he's not okay.
As an Alpha, he probably thinks he's untouchable, unable to be brought low by something as pesky as emotions.
Only, the way he treats Lila, the way he keeps her so small and infantilized… he just doesn't get it.
Gentling my approach, I temper my touch and do my best to exude calm and stillness—grounding, as Lila so aptly put it. I'll just have to treat Robert the same way I'd deal with any other member of my squad dealing with these things.
"She'll be miserable."
"But she'll be safe."
"There's no guarantee of that."
When he looks at me again, there's a slight crack in his armor. His eyes shine with unshed tears as he tries desperately to blink them away.
"It's the best I can do. The only other option is to keep her home with me.
I've lost—" His voice cracks as emotion does its best to come through.
"When I lost her mother, part of me died.
" My mom slides up next to him and wraps her arm around his waist, shoring him up. "I can't lose Lila too. I just can't."
"But think of the responsibility you're putting on me. Be reasonable, Robert."
"I am being reasonable," he roars, yanking away from my mom, making her flinch and shrink back again.
For a moment, I see red. The only thing keeping me from knocking him to the ground is that coin Lila gave me. It’s a touchstone, something to remind me I’m not the only one in this demented game. The harder I push, the more I might cause harm to her future.
Robert paces as he raves. "Do you want her locked away in this house until I can find a man suitable enough to marry her?"
"You can't do that. She's an ad—"
"She's my fucking little girl." The room rattles with the force of his words.
In all the time I've known him, I've never seen him like this. My mom, however, doesn't flinch again. At this point, I can't tell if that's a good or bad thing. She stands there, calm, tranquil, doing a far better job at grounding than I am.
"Yes, she is," I finally concede. "And there's no other way?"
"I've seen the way Alphas look at her. I can only imagine what's happening on that campus, the risk she's at. I don't care that she's not going to go into heat and trigger them. My wife wasn't in heat. Wrong place. Wrong time. I refuse to let Little Lily become another statistic."
He has no idea how right he is. He has no idea I look at her the exact same way those other Alphas do—like prey, like something to claim, rut, ruin, and hopefully keep.
A heavy sigh slips from my lips as I hang my head. There will be no arguing with him. Not right now. I don't want to rip Lila's dream away from her when the simple solution is to just live with her. But then, it's not so simple, is it?
Even now, I can picture the curve of her ass as she moves about.
I can see the swell of her breasts as they press against her clothing.
I can imagine her bent over the kitchen counter, pajamas around her ankles, taking my cock like the good little omega she pretends not to be.
It will be hard, agonizing, and a true test of my patience.
Maybe we can find a duplex or something.
Something that will give us each our own living space without having to really see each other.
It might be enough to satisfy Robert and also not lose my fucking mind. Who am I kidding? I'll still smell her. I'll still want her. I'll still fucking crave her. Her scent will seep through the walls and drive me insane. It will make me want to break down the door and take what I need.
The only positive about all this is knowing there's a rut clinic super close to the base. If I have to use it nightly, I will. Anything to keep Lila safe from me, anything to keep from doing what I really want—claiming her, marking her, making her mine in every depraved way I can imagine.
"I'll start looking at houses and apartments. With my housing allowance, you probably won't have to pay all that much for her share."
The large Alpha sags forward as relief sizzles through the room. It's nearly palpable, a true testament to just how much we can affect the space. I suppose it's time I tell Lila the plan. But first, I need to make an appointment with the local clinic.
I need to fuck someone, anyone, to get this poison out of my system before I do something we'll both regret. No way I'm going to survive anything without blowing off some steam. Neither will she.