Throwing Daze under the bus was a way better option; I just hoped it didn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
“He did,” I lied, trying to keep a straight face. If I kept my answers short and sweet, maybe he wouldn't be able to tell I was lying.
At least, that was what I told myself.
“That rainbow-haired rat,” he grumbled. He stepped closer, and I backpedaled, stumbling over my boots before catching mybalance. I was shaking with nerves, and I just wanted to get away from here.
“Well, this conversation has been lovely, but I gotta go.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder and spun around.
I set my sights on the sidewalk across the lot, walking as fast as I could without breaking into a sprint. Running would look suspicious, and I was already toeing the line with trouble as it was.
“Stop!” Revel’s bark hit me like a sack of bricks, and every muscle in my body constricted. I came to a halt, unable to fight the command, and my stomach sank.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
What if he realized I was obeying his bark?
What if he realizes I’m an omega?
Slowly, I turned to face him and found that he’d almost caught up. He stopped in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at me down the bridge of his nose. His earrings glinted in the sunlight, along with his eyebrow ring, and his white hair nearly glowed like a burning halo around him.
“I think you’re lying,” he said, his voice a low growl. My entire body trembled under the weight of his gaze, a sickening warmth pooling in my stomach and sinking lower. He might have been an asshole, but he was so sexy it hurt.
“Then, go find him and ask him,” I said, unable to hold my tongue. His bark was wearing off, and I could feel the tension leaving my muscles. A few more seconds, and I’d be able to turn and walk away.
Maybe if I plugged my ears and ran, he wouldn’t be able to bark at me again.
It was a long shot, but it was something.
“I think I will.” He nodded slowly as he spoke, the dangerous gleam never leaving his eyes. “And you’re coming with me.”
Faster than I would have thought possible, he snatched my wrist and whipped me around, leading me back between the trailers. My heart lurched painfully, my pulse racing as he dragged me along. His grip was hard enough to bruise, and while I should have been scared out of my mind, the candied-apple scent pouring off him soothed some of my nerves.
It was unexpected and a little bizarre.
Why did he have to smell so fucking good?
And why did he have to have such an effect on me? Would it be this way withallalphas?
I'm in so much trouble.
When Revel found out that I had, in fact, snuck into one of the trailers instead of being invited like I’d suggested, what would happen then?
Police. Backpack search. Handcuffs.
I could have cried.
This was not how things were supposed to go. I’d come so far,toofar, to get caught now, but everything was falling apart before my eyes.
I was as good as dead.
CHAPTER NINE
ARINA
The travel trailer Revel led me to was hooked up to a black pickup truck. It looked newer than most of the other Knotty Sideshow vehicles, gleaming in the sunlight, but there were no logos on it. Nothing about it hinted that it belonged to a circus performer, but it had to belong to Daze. That, or Revel had foregone his plan and dragged me straight to the ringleader.
I didn’t know which was worse.
