Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
OLIVIA
My body stiffens as my hand moves over buttery soft linens.
I should still be in my nest. What the fuck is going on?
Out of self preservation, I keep my eyes closed as I twitch my arms and legs to make sure that I’m not tied down.
No one should have picked me up off the ground, and this doesn’t smell like my room.
Instead, I smell the slight scent of chocolate. I’m frozen in fear because the scent isn’t strong enough to be an alpha’s, but it doesn’t mean I’m safe.
“Why are you flailing around like a fish?” a deep voice chuckles. “Wake up. Open those eyes so I can see what the fuss is about.”
Knowing I’ve been caught, I open my eyes. Sitting and shoving my body up quickly so my back hits the headboard, I gaze at the beta in front of me. He’s in a low slung pair of sweatpants and nothing else, which makes my heart begin to pound.
There’s a sea of scars all over his body as well as tattoos. I’m sure they tell a story, one I’m not interested in hearing.
I don’t trust men who are this hard and beautiful, and I can see the way the tattoos crawl up his body, only sometimes hiding the scars. His caramel gaze appears amused and curious, but I’m too caught between feeling nauseous from the amount of tequila I imbibed and fear to notice how hot he is.
Or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself.
“This isn’t my bed,” I rasp, my mouth tasting like ass.
“I’m glad your brain cells still work after snuggling that tequila bottle,” the man says leaning on the footboard.
His teeth are straight and white as he smirks at me as if it’s completely normal to steal an omega from her nest. It’s unfortunate for me that this isn’t my first time.
“I want to go home,” I growl. “I’m not the type of omega that you keep.”
“You seem so sweet though,” he teases, chuckling under his breath as he moves over to pick up a sealed bottle of water and pain reliever.
He makes sure to crack the seal so I can see it hasn’t been tampered with before handing it to me and shows me the label on the bottle before shaking out two pills.
“Why were you drinking so much?” he asks.
“That’s none of your business,” I say, only drinking the water when my stomach threatens to pitch. Ugh, this asshole would deserve it if I puked on him.
The beta takes a step back as if he can read my intention on my face, shaking his head.
“Absolutely not. Be a good girl and take your pain meds,” he growls under his breath.
My middle finger immediately makes an appearance, shocking him. I may be cool, collected, and sweet on the outside, but it’s a facade. My nightmares bite and I’ve learned to bite back. I may not be good with weapons, but I keep my nails at an acceptable length so I can claw out someone’s eyes.
Sweet doesn’t mean that I’m going to accept my current fate. Popping the pills into my mouth as my head aches, I wash it down with water.
“Take me home or you’re about to have a very bad day,” I tell him.
“What, because your daughter’s pack is connected to the mafia?” he scoffs.
“No, because my daughter will cut off your tiny cock,” I reply. My day is reflecting in my tone. I’m really fucking tired and I want to hibernate in my cottage for the next month. “Where am I?”
“The Behan estate. I’m Gareth Behan,” he says, his smile never leaving his face. “My brothers didn’t tell me they found their scent match, so I went to see who they decided to reject. I immediately felt a connection so I decided to take you.”
“That’s fucking insane,” I mutter. “I’m not a plaything to take. I have a fucking life.”
“Ooh, spicy little omega,” Gareth snorts. “What life? The cottage you live in is the size of my bedroom and bathroom. A bed you happen to be in.”
Before I register that I’m moving, I jump off the bed as if it’s on fire. I am not staying in his bed for one fucking second longer than I need to.
“Seriously?” he asks. “If it helps, I don’t fuck in it. I go elsewhere for that.”
“Like I would be able to tell,” I mutter. “I don’t care where you fuck, because that’s not my concern. You can’t keep me. Regardless of what you think of my life, I clawed and fought for the privilege of having it.”
“Well, I don’t like the sound of that. Why were you pretending to be asleep earlier?”
“I needed to know if I was tied down or not,” I say, shuddering. The world is threatening to tilt from how fast I moved, and I’m definitely still drunk. Taking another deep sip of water, I glare at him. “I would rather kill myself than stay here.”
“I thought I was the dramatic one,” he sighs. “I think I should make you something to eat. My brothers just left, so it should be safe.”
“Your brothers are dickheads,” I say before I can help myself. “I want to go home.”
“You said that already,” he says, bored. “Little angel, you can’t go home.”
“I’m no one’s angel. Didn’t your brothers tell you I’m defective?” I ask, leaning into the crazy. I don’t really care what Gareth thinks of me.
I’m already rejected, and it’s clear that life can definitely get worse for me.
“I’m the defective one in my family, and you don’t look anything like me,” Gareth says. “I’m too loud, rebellious, don’t think, blah blah. You look like you knit when you’re not sucking down tequila with the boys.”
An unladylike snort escapes me because I rarely drink. Unless it’s a girls’ night with my daughter, then I stick to non-alcoholic milkshakes.
“Did you snoop through my house?” I ask. “It wouldn’t take you long to find my knitting needles—”
“Oh shit,” Gareth says, his caramel eyes wide. “I wasn’t serious, but you definitely look like a knitter.”
Rolling my eyes, I curse under my breath as I see that I’m not wearing shoes. I’m wearing brightly colored socks, without my phone, arguing with a dark haired rogue. His scruff has salt and pepper running through it, and he’s riddled with muscles.
I’m swearing off all men. They all suck, and the only ones attracted to me are thugs. Tossing the empty water bottle on the bedspread, I begin walking toward the closed door.
I’m not the same woman that I was when I was kidnapped almost thirty years ago. I do not accept this. I’m out.
“The attitude is cute and all, but I can’t let you out,” Gareth says, the laziness in his body language changing quickly. In its place are muscles tensed and ready, and I begin to feel real fear sliding through my veins.
I was full of pissed off bluster before, but things are getting very real now.
“Too fucking bad,” I mutter, screeching as he bursts into motion. He’s fast, but I race to the door and gasp as I find it locked.
Wasting precious seconds, I manage to throw it open as I run. Gareth throws himself at my feet and pulls them out from under me, forcing me to land hard on the tile floor.
I’m not sure what happens to me, but between the adrenaline dump and the fear, I break. Kicking turns into hitting as he drags my body to him. My nails scratch his face as I scream, flipping my body so that I have better leverage, tears obstruct my vision, and I lose all sense of what I’m saying.
Gareth grabs my wrists wide-eyed, blood dripping down his skin as he pulls me tightly against him so I can’t move. A light slap across my face seems to sharpen the edges on what’s happening, and he shoves his nose against mine.
“Who the fuck hurt you, pretty angel?” he growls. “I may have kidnapped you, but this is too much crazy for what I’m doing. You said a name while you were fighting me.”
“I…what?” I hiccup, still struggling to get free.
“Mallan,” he says, watching me closely. “Your pupils are blown the fuck out with fear just from hearing that name. What did he do?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I croak out. “That's why I can’t stay here. I won’t. You can tell my daughter and granddaughter why my blood is on your hands when I kill myself. I bet that conversation isn’t one you’ll survive.”
“Why am I so attached to the crazy chick?” he mutters, yanking the cord in my sweatshirt free.
“It’s not crazy when people are actually out to get you,” I reply. Until recently, I had real life stalkers.
Once I see that he’s wrapping the cord around my wrists, I begin to yank my arms and buck against his body with renewed fervor. Gathering my resolve, I try to bite Gareth’s nose since it’s so close to mine, strangely enjoying his yelp as he throws his head back to get away from me.
“Fuck!” he yells, sitting on my chest as he finishes tying my wrists. I’m pinned to the tile since his full weight is on me, yet I still attempt to get him off me. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
“Then maybe you should just let me go,” I wheeze as he bounces his ass on my chest, pushing the breath out of me. God, he’s a twat.
“No,” Gareth replies. “I want to keep you.”
“I’m not a dog,” I groan, freezing as I hear barking.
“I have one of those, and I know you’re not a pet,” he adds. “I have a question for you. Don’t lie to me.”
“Get fucked,” I say, channeling my daughter. I always think about how strong she is, and right now, I need some of that.
“Well, Aled will definitely be fucking me later. I kind of left him hanging earlier, and I’m sure they’re looking for me now,” he chuckles. My jaw drops and Gareth just grins wider.
I’m definitely not the one who is unhinged in this equation.
“Who is Mallan and is he dead?” Gareth asks.
My lips close because I hate to speak about any of my abusers, which is a mistake. Yanking my sweatsuit up, he pinches my nipple through my tank top. Squealing, I gasp as I writhe, surprised by how good it feels even though it hurts.
“Interesting,” he murmurs. When I got undressed earlier, my panties also were tossed, so the scent blockers are no longer on my side. My body is perfuming wildly as my chest heaves. “You have a pain kink.”
“If I did, then I would have enjoyed it while Mallan raped me,” I spit out.
“That’s not how that works,” Gareth grunts. “Is…he…dead, Olivia?”
“Yes,” I hiss. “The three of them are dead.”
“Good,” he says, lifting me as he stands. “Don’t puke on me.”