Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
Those aren’t my marks.
Karma
Theo is still asleep when I wake this time, and for the first time in days, the haze in my head isn’t suffocating.
The heat that consumed me over the last week—burning through my bones and turning every thought into need—is finally loosening its grip.
My body aches in that deep, exhausted yet satisfied way that comes after too much of everything.
Too much heat.Too much scent mixing.Too much… them.
The room is oddly quiet, and the dim overhead light brushes across Theo’s bare shoulders where he’s sprawled beside me. Neither of the others is around, but I can hear faint moments from downstairs. Well, that answers that. Propping my head up on my hand, I take a second to really study the Alpha.
He looks different when he sleeps. Less dangerous…
less sharp around the edges. His dark hair is a mess, his breathing slow and steady.
My gaze drifts down his chest, and I can’t help the small smirk that pulls at my lips.
My nail marks are everywhere. Thin red lines rake across his shoulders and ribs, some deeper than others.
Evidence of the last few days when instinct took over and I stopped caring about anything except relief.
“Oops,” I murmur under my breath. But as my eyes move lower, the amusement and pride fade in an instant. Like a bucket of cold water being dumped over my head.
Those aren’t my marks.
I knew my Alpha was scarred. His face is not one you can miss in a crowded room.
So obliviously, I knew there was probably more than this.
Faded white scars cut across his side and ribs—long, uneven lines that look old.
Years old. Some thick, some thin, layered over each other as if they’d been made again and again over time.
Some sick macabre art project. Any other time I might admire the work, but this is wrong.
My big, scary Alpha has been through something, and the part of me that becomes Karma suddenly craves to avenge her Alpha.
My brows knit together as I study them longer.
Slowly, carefully, not watching the beast of a man, I reach out and trace one with my fingertip.
I’ve barely grazed the raised skin when Theo’s bright blue eyes pop open instantly.
I expect to see confusion, but there’s not even groggy blinking.
Just sharp, wide-awake eyes lock onto mine.
For a moment neither of you moves. We just stare at each other, the quiet between us thick and strangely intimate.
“You’re staring,” he says, his voice rough with sleep.
“I’m investigating," I tease, making his brow lift slightly. I tap one of the scars. “These.”
Something shifts in his expression. It’s not anger.
Not quite sadness either. Just… something heavier.
“They’re from a past life.” He shrugs, reaching out to trace over the scar hidden beneath my own tattoo between my breasts.
He doesn’t ask about it, but I can read his own question in his eyes.
Theo exhales slowly and rolls onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.
“My father sold me.” He states it like it’s any other conversation and not a huge statement that hits harder than I thought it would. The words are so blunt they knock the air out of the room.
I sit up in stunned shock. “What?” He shrugs again like it’s nothing, but it’s not nothing.
“Alphas are valuable in the right circles. Especially strong ones.” His lips twist faintly in disgust. “I wasn’t fully grown yet, but they didn’t care. I was already bigger than most my age, so they figured I would be an Alpha, I guess.” My stomach tightens at his words.
“Sold you to who?” I automatically need to know who I need to add to my kill list because, no. This is what I fight for. For the ones who were abused and mistreated. Have I been so guarded against Alphas that I've labelled them all in the same ruthless box?
“People who liked having someone to take things out on.” My hand goes still on his chest. “They called it discipline,” he continues quietly. “Training. Really it just meant they beat the hell out of me whenever they felt like it.”
My throat tightens. The scars suddenly feel heavier under my fingertips as Theo turns his head toward me. “Eventually I got bigger. Stronger.” His eyes darken slightly. “And one day they pushed too far.”
“You fought back," I state, not question.
“Yeah.” A faint smile curves his mouth. And that smile is suddenly everything I need right now.
“What happened after?” I ask.
“Let’s just say they stopped trying to whip me after that.”
I blink at him, frowning. “That’s it? That’s the end of the story?”
“No.” His voice softens. “After that, I ran. Spent a while on the streets, but I did alright for myself. I survived.”
I can picture it too easily. A younger Theo. All angry and alone. “How did you end up with Roman and Harrison?”
His grin returns—this one sharper. “Underground fights.”
Of course. That makes sense.
“I started fighting other Alphas for money. Turns out I was really good at it.”
A laugh escapes my lips as I roll my eyes at him. “You’re shockingly modest about that.”
“Hey, I’m humble.” He pauses. “But yeah… that’s where they found me.” My fingers drift over another scar. “They gave me a choice.” He looks at me again. “Stay in the pit… or come work with them.”
Cocking a brow, I question him. “And you trusted them?”
Theo’s gaze flickers slightly. “I didn’t trust anyone.” His voice lowers. “But I knew I didn’t want to die in a cage somewhere.”
Silence settles again. Then his eyes soften in a way I’ve never seen before. “And now I've met you.” I snort immediately. “I’m serious.”
I roll my eyes dramatically. “Oh my god, just no.”
“The moment I saw you—”
“Don’t say it.”
“—I knew.”
I groan and bury my face into the pillow. “You’re ridiculous.”
Theo laughs softly. “You can pretend all you want that you don’t feel the same thing we do.” He murmurs.
“You Alpha types are delusional.” I lift my head and glare at him.
“Maybe.” He shrugs again as he moves his hand slowly up and down my arm, fingers warming my skin once more. “But you’re still here. In this bed with me, and you look just about out of the worst of your heat.” My breath catches slightly at his words.
Annoying.
Very annoying Alphas.
The heat may be fading, but my body still reacts to him like it craves his touch. His hand reaches my waist and pauses. “You okay?” he asks quietly. But I know he isn’t asking about just now but overall.
I look at him for a long moment. Then I sigh. “Yes. I’ve fought my instincts for so long I almost died. Though I wouldn’t have had to go through this if I had been kidnapped. I mutter, giving him a pointed look.
His grin widens. “Good.” Before I can ask what that means, he rolls us, pulling me beneath him. The movement is smooth and careful despite his size. And I grab his shoulders automatically. Shrieking at the sudden change in position.
“Theo—” His forehead rests against mine.
“You’re still my Omega,” he murmurs.
I scoff. “Temporary biological needs situation. I’m not yours.”
“Sure.” But the way his eyes look at me makes my stomach flip in a way I absolutely refuse to analyze. My fingers curl into his shoulders, digging my nails in and wanting to replace his older marks with fresh new ones from me.
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re all smitten and shit.” He chuckles softly.
Then he kisses me. Within minutes Theo is buried deep within me.
Driving into his body as I grip his large frame to my body.
Our moans mix in a symphony of sound that has been my soundtrack for the past few days.
It’s one I want to listen to on repeat. With each thrust, he pushes deeper and stretches me wider, and my body responds in tune.
Slickness drips out of me like thick sweet honey, filling the room with my scent.
No doubt drifting down to the others as well.
And if the nonexistent hellfire in my veins is anything to go by, this seems to be the last round to service my Omega for now.
“Little Reaper, you’re so tight, so warm, so fucking perfect.
” Theo’s rough voice fills my ears as he leans down to suck on my nipple.
Biting it hard and sending a thrill through my system.
My pussy clamps down on his cock with a vise grip, sending him into another rut as he suddenly speeds up his pace, now chasing the feeling I have.
My moans get louder with every deep thrust until the now-telltale knot pops into place.
“Fuck!” Theo roars, his hot cum filling me to the brim.
Things to worry about later, Karma.
Exhaustion begins to take over since I’ve barely had anything to keep up my strength over the past week.
My eyes grow heavy as I bask in the pressure of Theo’s knot still pulsing within my tight walls.
Everything is starting to become hazy again as my Omega goes into a deep sleep, but before I can shut down everything Theo speaks in a whispered tone meant only for my ears.
“You are the most perfect woman I could have ever been matched with, Karma. And I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth if you try to run from me. That’s a promise I will not break.”
And the rest of the world fades out again.