Chapter 6
6
Hazel
My eyes were gritty and itching, the dirt and dust in the filthy room mixing with my tears. I wanted to rub my eyes, but a quick glance at my fingers, and the crusted layer of cum coating them, made me rethink that.
I swallowed, my throat aching from the steady crying and the intermittent pleading.
None of it had worked.
My gaze roved across the room to where three bodies lay tangled together. Snores filled the air in symphony as Hayden and Daryl slept, both passed out after…
I shuddered and dropped my gaze to the third body. The small figure of a girl who couldn’t have been more than eighteen.
Slamming my eyes shut didn’t chase away the memories from last night. Not of Hayden over me, or Daryl when he arrived to join in. As if coating me in their bodily fluids—cum, urine, and spit—wasn’t enough, Daryl had left for a few minutes before dragging this girl into the room.
Hayden and Daryl couldn’t touch me, but this girl? Yeah, this girl they could, and they did .
They’d made me watch, describing all the things they would do to me once we’d bonded. Their hate-filled gazes locked on me as they did unspeakable things to the innocent woman.
If she cried, they laughed harder.
If I begged them to stop, they mocked me.
If I looked away, they were even more brutal in their assault.
They took pleasure in making her scream, in marking her body and making her bleed until she eventually stopped crying. Stopped fighting.
And the whole time, they stared at me .
I didn’t even know her name, but I knew this was my fault. This girl was a stand-in for what they wanted to do to me .
I’d been so cocky last night. I’d practically dared the Shepherds to hurt me.
It never occurred to me that Hayden and Daryl would bring in another person. A substitute to inflict their darkest, most depraved desires on.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been back with APA. Long enough that the sun had set and the faintest rays of a new day were peeking under the door and through the wooden slats of the structure.
Long enough to feel my resolve crack. The strength and pride I’d flashed like a badge of honor last night, challenging Hayden and Donovan, was tarnished. Watching an innocent person being violated over and over was my undoing.
Unlike the celestial pairings when Donovan had tried to force my heat, what Daryl and Hayden did had zero effect on my body other than to make me gag and dry heave. None of this was about pleasure—it was about power. Mainly theirs and proving that I had none.
The small stock room smelled absolutely horrible, but it was the acidic tang of blood that was really making me sick.
Licking my lips, I whispered a hushed, “Hey.”
The girl blinked, her blue eyes vacant. They didn’t lift to meet mine.
I inched forward until the chain pulled taut. I didn’t get very far. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but you aren’t alone.” I hesitated. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”
Another slow blink, but zero acknowledgment.
I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting back a scream.
I couldn’t lose it. I had to keep it together.
My gaze moved to the two unconscious men laying naked in the dirt.
Hate filled my heart, pumping like fire through my veins.
I hated these men. I hated this whole fucking place. I wanted it burned to the ground.
I was imagining all the ways I’d make Hayden and Daryl suffer, when the door was wrenched open.
Donovan stepped inside and his face immediately wrinkled. “Fucking hell.” He huffed and kicked Hayden’s foot. “The fuck did you idiots do?”
Hayden yawned as he rolled over, his limp dick flopping against his thigh. “Morning, brother.”
Donovan waved a furious hand. “What is this?”
Hayden pushed himself up to his elbows. “You said not to harm the omega, so we improvised.”
Donovan’s gaze turned to me, his lip curling. “She fucking reeks.”
“Get used to the smell,” Hayden replied, his tone cold. “She’s going to live out the rest of her days smelling like our pretty little cum bucket.”
Donovan scrubbed a hand over his face. “And her?” He jerked his chin at the unmoving girl. “Fuck me, is that Barrett Coombs’ daughter?”
“Yup. I told that fucker he’d pay for questioning my authority when you were laid up. I took Willa here to make sure he understands the fucking hierarchy.” Hayden sat up and shoved Daryl. “Wake up.”
Daryl groaned loudly and sat up. He smirked at Donovan. “Pleasure to see you, High Alpha.” He cracked a hand across Willa’s bruised ass. “Want a turn?”
“No,” Donovan snapped. “This is a storage shed, not a fucking brothel.”
Daryl smirked, his yellow teeth raking across his bottom lip. “Just showing our omega what her pack expects of her.”
My hands balled into fists, but I stayed quiet.
Donovan sighed. “Whatever. Miriam will be over to collect the omega in a bit. She’ll get her cleaned up for the ceremony.”
Daryl braced his hands on Willa, using her body to heave himself up to standing. He swaggered across the floor, dick in hand as he approached me.
I scuttled back, bracing myself for whatever he was about to do.
“Enough,” Donovan barked. “It’s already going to take all day to scrub the smell of you two off of her.”
Daryl smirked down at me. “I think our omega likes smelling like her alphas. Don’t you, little fuckhole?”
I curled myself into a ball, refusing to look up. I clenched my teeth, swallowing down a whine or a sob.
“Go,” Donovan ordered.
Daryl hurled a wad of spit that landed on my hair before turning and striding out of the room.
Hayden got up, glancing down at Willa. “I’ll get rid of her.”
“Fine.” Donovan glared at his brother, and I almost broke my silence when Hayden grabbed Willa by the hair and started to drag her out of the room. Other than a quiet grunt, Willa was silent. They’d broken her.
And I had no doubt they planned on breaking me, too.
Donovan turned to me. “I tried to tell you. You should have just stayed with me, and then?—”
“Then what ?” I demanded, finding my voice once more. It trembled with the fury I felt swirling like a tempest in my chest. “I’d only be raped and force-bonded to one monster instead of a whole pack? Wouldn’t I have been a lucky girl?”
His eyes flashed as he glared at me. “Yes, you would have been. Now you’ll be exactly what they want—a little omega whore. You’ll spend the rest of your days chained to a bed, taking alpha cocks and knots in every hole. They’ll fuck you, breed you, and brutalize you. And I won’t stop them.”
“You mean you can’t stop them,” I countered, giving myself a mental high-five when he flinched.
“It no longer matters,” he muttered. “In a few hours, we’ll be bonded forever. You’ll belong to this pack.”
“I’ll never belong to your pack,” I spat. “I have my own.”
“Oh? And where are they?” Donovan smirked. “It’s been eighteen hours, and I don’t see any sign of your pack .”
I mashed my lips together.
“Maybe they don’t care as much as you think they did,” he went on with an amused chuckle, “or maybe they’re still being detained. In any case, they’re out of time. Miriam will be here to see you prepared, and in a few short hours, we’ll bond you and fuck you for all of the APA members to witness.”
My insides twisted, a cold ball of dread at the center.
Donovan crouched so we were at eye level. “Even if your pack comes for you, they won’t be able to claim you. You’ll be a bonded omega that will always smell like you belong to another. In fact, after tonight, I won’t let you wash until they do come for you. I’d love to see their faces when they realize you’re just another omega cunt who spreads her legs for any alpha’s knot.”
“They’ll kill you,” I hissed, even as my voice wobbled.
“No, they won’t.” Donovan stood and walked over to the crates, tapping one of them. “This isn’t the compound you were at before, omega. We’re not even in the United States anymore. I have enough weapons in here to blow a hole in the side of the continent.”
My mouth went dry as I stared at all the crates stacked together.
“So, if your pack comes for you, I’ll let them see you. Might even let them watch your true pack fuck you before I slaughter them in front of you.” He snapped his fingers with a grin. “That will be my bonding present to you. I’ll carve out and give you the hearts of Pack Dutton.”
There was a soft shuffling sound, and then Miriam appeared in the open doorway with a fierce scowl as she glared at me. “High Alpha.”
“Wife,” he purred, prowling to her side and giving her a long kiss. “See that the omega is properly prepared for myself and my brothers.”
“Of course, my love,” she promised with a deferential nod. She kept her head bowed until Donovan left, then it snapped up. “Stupid omega whore. Just had to come back for more, didn’t you?”
I scoffed and yanked the chain. “Does it look like I want to be here?”
She sniffed and turned her nose up. “And yet here you are.”
“Because I was dragged back here,” I hissed. “I don’t want to be here any more than you want me here. Unlike you , I didn’t sign up for this shit. And seriously, Miriam? You were free. Why the hell would you come back?”
She gasped. “Because I’m loyal to the High Alpha. He is my husband and leader.”
“You’re an idiot,” I retorted, shaking my head. “You heard what he said. They’re forming a pack and making me their omega. Your first wife status is out the door when that happens.”
“Shows what you know,” she sneered. “He may need your womb, but he’ll never need you .”
“And thank fuck for that,” I muttered.
“Insolent bitch,” she hissed, taking a threatening step forward. But I knew she couldn’t touch me. After all, I had to be pretty for my gang bang tonight.
“Miriam, you hate me. I hate you. Why don’t you just… let me go?” I suggested.
Her back went ramrod straight. “Because I serve the High Alpha. His command supersedes my petty desires.”
“So, you’re admitting you’re petty? That’s a good first step,” I mused, flashing her a feral sort of smile.
It was strange. Since presenting as an omega, I’d always felt shackled by the timidity and strong urge to soothe ruffled emotions. Even at APA, I’d struggled when alphas and betas expressed displeasure.
But since I’d been taken, I’d managed to ignore Hayden’s bark in the car and found I didn’t really give a damn about pissing off anyone at APA.
Well, with the exception of what Hayden and Daryl had done to Willa. I would always carry some guilt for getting them riled up to the point where they attacked someone else because they couldn’t hurt me.
Those fucking bastards.
And while I still felt a healthy dose of fear, I was able to push past it.
This was the most like myself I’d felt in… years.
The only evidence of my omega status was that I was still horrifically affected by the smells permeating this space and clinging to my skin. My inner omega was not a fan of this stench.
Miriam withdrew a set of keys from the pocket of her simple frock, undid the chain from the pole and wrapped it around her fist. “Let’s go, whore.” She yanked on the chain, and I reluctantly followed her out of the shack on wobbly legs.
The sun was slowly rising, and I shivered as a cool breeze rustled over my bare skin. The path leading away from the shack was well-worn through the brush, but it was hard to see the blue sky through the heavy foliage of the dense forest.
The path opened to a small clearing where people were working. Women sat with massive tubs of water, scrubbing clothes. Men were moving boxes from another storage-type shed to the back of a truck. There were no children, and everyone worked in silence.
Which meant everyone heard me cry out when Miriam gave the chain a vicious yank and I stumbled forward, slicing my foot open on a sharp rock.
All eyes turned to stare at me, and I’m sure the naked omega being led around by a chain was pretty fascinating shit, so I couldn’t even blame them for gawking. Despite almost everyone in the clearing being a beta, I could still see some of their noses wrinkle as they caught a whiff of me.
I lifted my chin, refusing to crumble under their scrutiny. I met each gaze, holding it until the other person looked away. Until everyone was looking everywhere except at me.
Miriam huffed. “Let’s go.”
As she led me down a path to the right, I tried to keep as much of the place straight as I could, but the thick, dense woods were really screwing with my head. Within a few feet down the path, the clearing was completely gone from view. It would be easy to get lost. Plus, the fence I glimpsed when I arrived likely surrounded the entire property, too. That meant escaping would be tricky.
But not impossible.
Miriam was still muttering to herself as I tried to see anything I could use as a marker or way to know which direction we were heading. Neither of us were prepared for the explosion behind us, but we both whirled to see a ball of black smoke unfurl into the sky.
It was followed almost immediately by the familiar pop of gunfire.
“What in the?—”
I didn’t wait for Miriam to finish her thought.
Wrapping my hands around the chain, I yanked it from her slack fingers.
“Bitch,” she hissed, her gaze finding me.
With everything I had, I swung the chain and smiled when it slapped her across the mouth.
She howled, slapping a palm over her bloody mouth, and I didn’t hesitate.
I turned and ran into the woods.