Two men stood near the exit, impossible to miss even in a crowd. One was huge—six-foot-four at least, with broad shoulders and ice-blue eyes that scanned the terminal like a predator surveying his territory. The other was leaner, dark-haired, with a lazy grin and gray eyes that sparkled with mischief.
Caleb. Leo.
My stepbrothers.
Alphas.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything but stand there, frozen, while my body recognized them before my mind caught up.
No. No, this isn't possible. They can't be here. They can't?—
Then their scents hit me. Pine and woodsmoke and bitter winter cold. Dark chocolate and whiskey and something spiced. The smells crashed into me like a physical force, overwhelming my blockers, drowning out every other scent in the terminal, flooding my system with memories I'd spent three years trying to bury.
Caleb's hands on my waist, his voice rough in my ear. "You're ours, little fox. You've always been ours."
Leo's laugh, dark and delighted, as he pinned me against a wall. "God, you smell good. Like sugar and sin."
My knees buckled. I grabbed for the nearest wall, but it was too far away, and then I was falling, my bag slipping from my fingers, my vision going white at the edges as my body surrendered to instincts I couldn't control.
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground.
Pine and woodsmoke. Cold. Caleb.
"Easy, little fox." His voice was low, rough, vibrating through my bones. "I've got you." I tried to push him away, but my arms wouldn't cooperate. My whole body had gone limp, pliant,submissivein a way I hadn't been since I was fifteen years old. My Omega recognized her Alpha, and it didn't care that my mind was screaming in protest.
"No," I managed, but it came out as a whimper. "Let me go. Let me?—"
"Shh." Leo appeared at Caleb's side, his gray eyes soft with something that might have been concern if I didn't know better. "You're okay, sweetheart. We've got you."
"Carol," I gasped. "Where's Carol? She was supposed to?—"
"There is no Carol." Caleb's arms tightened around me, and some traitorous part of my hindbrain purred at the contact. "There never was."
The words took a moment to penetrate the fog in my brain. When they did, ice flooded my veins.
No Carol. No friendly stranger who knew my mother. No innocent ski trip with old friends.
A trap. This was all a trap. I should have listened to my instincts when it felt like one.
"No." I tried to struggle, but my body wouldn't obey. The slick between my thighs had turned into a flood, soaking through my jeans, filling the air with the unmistakable scent of Omega arousal. "No, let me go. I won't—I can't?—"
"You can." Leo leaned in close, his breath hot against my ear. "You will. You've been running for three years, Ava. Did you really think we'd let you get away?" Tears burned in my eyes. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.
"Please," I whispered. "Please, just let me go. I'll disappear. You'll never see me again. I'll?—"
"Never." Caleb's voice was absolute, brooking no argument. "You're ours. You've always been ours. And now you're coming home." I opened my mouth to scream, to call for help, to dosomething—but all that came out was a whimper. A pathetic, needy, Omega whimper.
My body had betrayed me.
Again. They half-carried me out of the terminal, one on each side, their bodies blocking me from view of the other passengers. To anyone watching, it probably looked like two men helping a sick friend. Concerned. Caring. No one could see my tears. No one could hear my protests. No one could smell the desperate arousal that flooded from me with every step, my body screamingyeswhile my mind screamedno.
The parking lot was nearly empty. A black SUV waited near the exit, engine running, windows tinted too dark to see through. My heart stopped.
I knew that SUV. I'd been watching for it, every day for three years, checking my mirrors, scanning parking lots, waiting for the moment when they finally found me.
Now, here it was. Heretheywere. Because I'd walked right into their trap like an idiot.
Leo opened the back door while Caleb maneuvered me inside. I tried to fight, tried to dig my heels in, to twist away, to doanything, but my body was useless. Every cell was screaming for their touch, their scent, theirknots, and no amount of mental resistance could overcome six years of suppressed Omega instinct finally breaking free.
