Chapter 14 Jo
fourteen
Jo
Idon't know what Sammy-boy was thinking, sneaking into my room last night, but he's lucky I took a liking to him. Otherwise, he would have been dead before he made it to my bedside.
Did I need to fuck with him by pretending I was in the throes of a sex dream starring him? Nah, but I figured it serves him right. The way he scuttled out of the room like the demons of hell themselves were after him made me chuckle into my pillow.
I'm not sure where Turnip was throughout that whole thing, but I'm glad she stayed hidden.
After Sammy-boy leaves, I take my desk chair and prop it up under the door, hoping to keep any other brave alphas out of my room.
Then I fall into a restless sleep, where I almost do have an actual sex dream. In the panty-melting vision, I'm brought back to Hayden's embrace in the closed wing, but instead of breaking apart when Sam stumbles on us, we invite him to join us.
Of course, that's when I wake up. Fucking alarm clock.
Now all I want to know is if Sammy-boy’s stubble would tickle as he kisses down my neck, or if it would be more scratchy.
How it would feel with two sets of hands on me instead of one.
Would I be so overwhelmed with sensation I wouldn’t be able to tell who was touching where?
Or would every point of contact light me up from the inside out, setting my skin on the best kind of fire?
That kiss yesterday…it did something to my brain. I'm no stranger to a good tongue tangle—hell, it's how I got half my targets alone. But it was never like this with any of them. The way I felt in Hayden's arms…it was like I was right where I was supposed to be.
How the fuck am I supposed to go about my day like a normal person when I have visions of what could-have-been running through my brain on a continuous loop?
Sighing, I get out of bed and try to start the day with my libido in check.
Luckily, I manage to get things under control by the time I walk to the communal shower.
I don't run into Paige this morning, thank fuck, and am able to shower in peace.
Well, as in peace as I can be while trying to figure out how I can sneak back into that abandoned wing without anyone noticing so I can have a proper snoop around.
Now that I know where it is, it's just a matter of not getting caught.
I get so lost in thought, that I'm almost late to my labor shift in the kitchen.
My stomach rumbles while I help peel and cut potatoes for a breakfast casserole at seven in the morning.
"You weren't at dinner last night, Lisichka.
" I grit my teeth and ignore the burly alpha next to me, who has somehow conned Fuzzy into letting him help wash dishes.
Not that he's washing dishes now, the sneaky bastard. His eyes are trained on my hands as I deftly cut the potatoes, my movements swift and sure. It really seems like this alpha just gets away with whatever the hell he wants.
"Careful, Sugar, or I might think you're worried about me.
" I don't lift my eyes to look at him, my attention focused on the task at hand.
Truth is, I felt nauseous as hell after Doctor Brooks took notes on my current state and made some adjustments to my follow-up injection.
After my first dose when I got here, it had felt like everything that I used to be able to sense was…
muted. As of this morning, though? It's just…
gone. It started off how it did last time, my senses slowly receding back into my omega.
I was able to catch a whiff of Sam's coffee and whiskey scent when he snuck in last night, which is how I knew I was safe.
But now, even with Kole right next to me, I can't get a hint of his gunpowder and rain signature. It bothers me more than it should.
"I was worried about you," he says, so softly I almost don't hear it. He leans forward, as if trying to scent me, then frowns. I guess he can't smell me either. "I have to ask, if you can handle a knife like that, Little Fox, why did you send me off with a mere stab wound the other day?"
"Sugar, I have no idea what you're talkin' about." I glare at him, tilting my chin to Fuzzy, who is busy at the stove behind us. "How on the gods' green Earth could I stab anyone without a weapon?"
He flashes his teeth at me, scooping my discarded potato skins into the trash.
"Humor me, Lisichka," he rumbles with that thick Russian accent.
"Hypothetically, if you merely stabbed an alpha who was cornering you instead of filleting his knot off at the base as you had threatened to do an hour earlier, what would be the reason for that? "
"I ‘spose…" I choose my words carefully, grabbing another potato, "it could mean that I didn't want to hurt said alpha…at that particular point in time."
He's silent for a moment, before a pleased rumble comes from him. What…? Is Kole…purring?
My brows shoot up as I whip my attention to him, and then his own eyebrows raise, his gaze dropping down to his chest like he might be able to see the source of the noise. "Well Sugar." I give him a shit-eating grin. "I'm flattered."
The scary, apparently ex-mafia muscle man is purring for me.
Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
As expected, his expression shifts to one of complete mortification and he quickly leaves the kitchen like his ass is on fire.
What is it about alphas running away from me that makes me feel all powerful?
"You better be careful with that one, Jojo." Fuzzy rumbles from his spot at the stove. "With all of 'em."
I smile, shaking my head as I carry the bowl of cubed potatoes to him. "You goin' soft on me, Fuzz?" Fuzzy, apparently, used to be part of a very dangerous criminal organization—not that he'll tell me what it is. He's just a big ol' softy though.
"Jojo, I'm serious," he grumbles, as grouchy as ever. "If they catch a whiff of anything pack related…" He shakes his head. "It's not worth it. Do what you came to do and get out."
My heart lurches in my chest, my blood going cold.
…How could he know? I quickly glance up, noting again the lack of cameras in the kitchen but double checking just to be sure. I really don't want to have to kill Fuzzy, but…
Fuck. How did he find out? Maybe he only suspects…"I don't know what—"
"Declan says hi." He gives an uncharacteristic chuckle. "Man, I really had you shittin' your pants there for a second." Relief has my shoulders slumping, but my heart rate is still going a million miles a minute. Fucking Declan. He has more fingers in this pot than I realized.
"Dammit, Fuzzy!" I smack his arm. "I thought I was gonna have to kill you!"
He barks a laugh. "I'd like to see you try."
Shaking my head, I will my heart rate to slow down. Okay. That's one ally I know I have for sure.
Breakfast is delicious, and I stifle the moan at the cheesy potato casserole I helped prep this morning. Adela chuckles at me. "I'm glad to see you eating. I was worried when you didn't come to dinner last night. Hayden was asking about you too." She gives me a knowing look.
I roll my eyes, taking a small bit of casserole and putting it in my pocket, smiling when I feel Turnip take it from me. Until I find out the facility's rules on…pets, it's probably best she stays out of sight in common areas.
"Y'all are worse than mother hens," I complain, idly wondering if that's why Sam snuck into my room last night.
My eyes wander around the full cafeteria, and I try not to let it sting that Kole is sitting at a table by himself, as far away from me as humanly possible.
I had thought, after he purred for me that maybe… ugh.
It doesn't matter, it's better this way anyway. No distractions. Like Fuzzy said, get what I'm here for and get out.
My gaze catches on Sam, standing across the room with his eyes firmly on me. As far as he knows, I have no idea he was in my room last night. Maybe I should fuck with him a little bit.
The wink I shoot his way and the kiss I blow seem to do the job, because even though he rolls his eyes, his cheeks turn a cute shade of pink.
"Fireball." The blonde alpha who haunted my dreams last night slides into the seat across from me, cutting off my view of Sam.
"Hayden," I say tightly, stabbing more casserole onto my fork. He's like a physical reminder of why I can't give in to the urges writhing in me. I'm here to get my sister, nothing else.
Does it bother me that I can't scent his smoky pepper scent when his hazel eyes look at me with such intensity?
Dammit. I'm not gonna answer that.
He stares at me for a minute, then clears his throat when it becomes obvious I'm not about to say anything. "I think…I think we should talk about what happened yesterday."
I smile sweetly. "Hayden, Darlin', what is there to talk about? I put my tongue in your mouth, I didn't ask you to marry me."
Adela chokes on her orange juice, and I absent-mindedly pat her back while meeting Hayden's shocked gaze.
The words are like acid on my tongue, and I hate saying them, but it's for the best. I'm leaving as soon as I can figure out what happened with Mabel, and I don't need to jeopardize anything by letting Brooks see any connections forming.
Before Hayden can say anything, there's another girl, a beta, sitting next to him.
"Hayden, baby, what are you doing tonight?
" Despite my statement implying I have no claim on him, her words have me grinding my jaw.
I knew Sam was lying when he said Hayden didn't take hookups to the abandoned wing.
"Can it be me?" She giggles, and I want to rip the arm off of her that's going for his shoulder as she leans into him.
He tries to scoot away. "Ah. Tilly, that's not—" A strangled sound leaves him as her hand goes to his lap, and I don't have X-ray vision or anything, but there's only one piece of him she could have touched that would have him making that sound.
Something snaps in me. Suddenly, the muted scent of Hayden's stressed out pheromones hit me, and my omega peeks her eyes open.
My alpha.
My alpha is in danger.
"Get your hands off him." I growl, my voice low and dangerous. My fingers itch to reach for my blade, but I can't be taken out by the orderlies before she gets what’s coming to her.
She turns to me with a sneer. "And who the fuck are you?" Her hand isn't in his lap anymore, but she still has her other one on his arm as he tries to gingerly push her away. He's far too polite. Luckily, I have no such issues.
"Tilly, get off me—" Hayden says, looking at me with wide eyes and clearly seeing the murder in them.
"Oh, come on. Remember how good I rode you a few weeks ago?" She licks her lips, and at the pure discomfort in Hayden's face, I find myself across the table.
"I don't care that he took pity on you before and let you ride his dick. He's saying no now, and he's mine." I seethe. "Bitch. Get. Off."
"Or what?" she snaps.
My hand shoots out, prying her fingers off his arm as she squeals in protest. "Hayden!" she cries as I yank her away from him. I'm used to handling alphas twice my size. This is child's play.
"I'd say sorry, Tilly, but I told you no," Hayden says, a hard look in his eyes.
Tilly screams in frustration before trying to take a swing at me. "Omega trash!" she seethes.
Game fucking on.
She thinks she can touch whoever she wants? She thinks she can keep her hands on someone who told her no? She's no better than the piece-of-shit alphas I've put in their graves.
And it's time she realizes that.
Her left hand, still in my grasp, makes a loud thud as I slam it on the table and bend her fingers allll the way back until they snap.
She screams in agony, still trying to get her mangy paws on my man, and nobody moves to stop me as I fling her to the floor and straddle her.
She's gonna regret ever laying a single hand on my alpha.
And she'll never lay a hand on someone who doesn't want it again.
The beta bitch screams and tries to buck me off, but I'm not going anywhere.
I vaguely register that she's managed to land a few scratches on my face, but nothing is going to stop me from staking a claim on my alpha and giving her what she deserves in the process.
My plan about getting what I need and then getting out? It's shot to hell. I'll just have to take my Fire Demon with me when I break out of here.