She stares down at her feet, rubbing one foot against the other and I realize that it’s embarrassment. “I have a cage,” she whispers, the words barely audible on her pink lips.
I lock into a still position at her words. White-hot rage rushes up my throat, threatening to choke me. No. No fucking way am I allowing this bullshit. A fucking cage? Rogue and Dev’s words come back to me from the kitchen, and I bite back a growl of disgust. This isn’t even up for discussion, alpha lead or not. I’m not putting this girl inside a goddamn cage to sleep.
I’m snarling. Harper flinches away from my anger and drops back down to the floor, her instincts pushing her to submit. It makes me feel sick on the inside to see her like that.
“No, Harper,” I drop down to meet her eyes, both of us on our knees. She keeps her head bent and I can scent the mortification coming off her. She’s ashamed.
No one shouldeverbe ashamed of who they are.
“No,” I growl at her again, and her head snaps up at the sound of my alpha bark coming out. “I don’t give a fuck about some omega creed. You arenotsleeping in a fucking cage and you donotneed to kneel in front of me.”
Her eyes flicker across my face, uncertainty warring with hope within the deep pools of amber as she stares at me. I wonder what she sees when she looks at me. At my scar. She doesn’t shy away from it, and her hand reaches up, trembling as she traces her fingers along the rough line gently. I exhale and a purr rolls out of me, making her shudder as her instincts kick in. She drops her hand to cover her stomach. A quiet moan makes me realize what I’m doing as she shifts her legs, and I catch a hint of honey as her body responds to me. It makes my mouth water. My instincts scream at me totaste.
God. I want her so badly. But I remind myself that she’s not ready for that. We’ve only just met. And even if it suddenly feels like this girl holds a part of me, she needs care, and consideration, not an unfamiliar alpha taking advantage of her in a vulnerable position.
Breathing out deeply, I hold her eyes for a second longer before I break the connection.
“Go,” I breathe. “Get cleaned up. And take the bed.” She looks like she’ll argue with me for a second, but her head drops slightly in submission, and she rises up. I look up at her as I stay where I am, an alpha on his knees in front of an omega. Something about it feels surprisingly natural. She moves slowly towards the bathroom, and I push myself to my feet, heading out to grab the bedding.
ChapterFifteen
Harper
Closing the bathroom door gently behind me, I turn and put my back against it. Dropping my hands to my knees, I take a second to breathe in and out, fighting the temptation to go back out and pick up where we left off.
Oh gods. Thinking of him, so close to me, scent rising… a whimper breaks free, and I press my hand against my mouth.
How am I supposed to survive in this pack? I’ve only really met Gabe properly, and even Green – Rogue - and Devlin pulled a reaction from me that I’ve never felt before. If these feelings keep up, I’m doomed.
The words of my trainers at the compound echo around my head. Foreboding warnings about omegas who get too close to alpha packs fill my head, and I groan, ignoring the sound of my skull hitting the door as I drop it back.I’m in so much effing trouble.If the compound could see even a glimpse of what’s happened this evening, I’d be back in intensive training in the snap of a finger.
Looking around, I see a beautiful copper claw-footed bath sitting proudly in the centre. It’s crying out for candles, bubbles and hot water, and I step towards it, sorely tempted. I don’t think Gabe would mind, given his reaction to the cage. Devlin’s handsome scowl forces into my mind. I need to be careful, no matter how kind they seem right now. Reluctantly, I decide against it, moving over to the shower in the corner.
It’s stunning, teal blue tiles edging down to remind me of a mermaid’s tail. A large copper showerhead sits above it, and excitement threads into me at the thought of a hot shower.
If I can turn it on.
Frowning, I stare at the ridiculous number of buttons on the wall. How do I start it? Taking a guess, I press a few buttons at random and grin as water pours down from the ceiling. I haven’t had a shower like this for years. Alone, undisturbed, no matrons watching me with beady eyes scanning over my body. I lift a hand to the heated towel rail, running my fingers over the fluffy white towel. It’s so soft, and I shiver at the thought of wrapping it around me.
I might not be going for the bath, but I’m abso-fucking-lutely going to enjoy this moment while it lasts. Carefully, I twist the button until steam starts to fill the room and strip off my clothes, groaning in sheer delight as I step under the pouring heat.
This is heaven. I’m never leaving this shower. Just gonna stand under this and bask in the glorious warmth until I shrivel up like a raisin.
I twist to let the heat run down my back, sweeping my hair out and making sure it’s saturated. Gods, I can’t wait to be clean. Really, truly, squeaky clean. Grabbing one of the bottles littering the shelf next to me, I squeeze a dollop into my hand and rub it into my hair. The scent hits me just a second too late, undeniably Devlin. Frowning, I sniff my hair, the scent confirming that it’s definitely something he uses. Shit. He’s probably not gonna be happy with me. I debate using something else, but I’m nearly done and I don’t want to be wasteful.
Lingering for a few moments more, I reluctantly press buttons until the shower turns off, yelping as the heat disappears and cold water drops down on me.That’s what you should have used, the voice inside me whispers. It’s true that we’re not allowed to use hot water at the compound, but I just couldn’t resist.
Stepping out, my toes twist into the soft mat. Grabbing the heavenly fluffy towel, I slowly pull the warm material around me, taking in every second. It feels amazing, soft and warm like the best kind of hug. I want to nuzzle into it, but force myself to stop at the last second.You can’t get used to this; I tell myself sternly.It’s not going to last.
Moving to the large sink, I find an unopened toothbrush in the cupboard above and scrub my teeth thoroughly, trying to wash away any remaining tastes of Jason and gulping water from the tap when I’m done. My hand swipes the mist from the mirror, and I take a good look at my face for the first time in weeks.
My hair is a jumble of knots, making me curse. Hopefully, I won’t need to cut it, but it’s been days since I’ve been in my little room at the compound and able to brush it through properly. My thoughts drift to Ava for a moment. She always used to brush my hair for me. We’d whisper to each other, sharing secrets and dreams that we both knew could never happen, but we still had hope. God, I hope she’s okay.
Shaking off my dark thoughts, I gingerly listen at the bathroom door for any sign of Gabe. As much as I enjoyed his company, I really don’t want to wander out in a towel, especially not with my scent as haywire as it is. Only silence greets me, and I open the door a crack to see the room is empty.
A small bundle of clothes sits on the dresser as promised, and I quickly pull on a pair of black shorts and a white shirt that swamps me completely, dropping almost to my knees. Sniffing it, my stomach flips at the hint of sea salt. This must belong to Ace. Continuing to inhale the shirt – I’m a creeper, but at least there’s no one around to see – I turn to the bed and stare.
Gabe’s changed the bedding, but he’s also left a cream-colored blanket on top that’s calling my name. It looks thick, and cozy, with a thin layer of grey fur. My eyes round and I dart forward before I can stop myself, grabbing it and quickly wrapping it around me. I let out a large moan at the sensation. Holy fuck.Mine now.
