Because blood doesn’t lie.
So I lose myself in my work, knowing it’s safer than losing myself to the thoughts of Auryn’s tongue in my mouth, of her warm body pressed against me.
Chapter 12
Diego
“Diego. Holding. Now.”
Gage sounds exhausted. I glance at the clock and see that it’s not even twenty minutes into Emmett’s latest shift with Auryn. I’d put good money on the two of them being at each other's throats again.
“Roger,” I chirp into the intercom before trotting down the hall. No doubtmi jefeneeds help wrangling one or both of them.
Sure enough, when I get to holding, Emmett and Auryn are throwing down behind the locked door, and Gage is standing outside the cell, pinching the bridge of his nose like he’s lost all patience for this.
“Will you take over with her? I’ll haul him out myself.”
“You got it, boss.”
While Gage punches in his unlock code, I brace myself to dive in. With the way the fists are flying, I’m liable to get a fresh set of scratches for my trouble if I approach Auryn the wrong way here. Maybe even a black eye, or worse. I also don’t want to hurt her when I pull her off Em, so my plan is to tackle her, then tuck and roll with her towards the center of the room, putting space between her and Em and giving Gage a chance to yank the other alpha out of there.
The door creaks as it swings open, though it’s barely audible over Em’s growling and Auryn’s feral screeching. I dive low, Gage goes high, and we get the two of them separated with minimal injury to ourselves–at least, I hope Gage is okay. My shoulder slams into the floor a little too hard, and Auryn’s knee barely misses my groin when she lands on top of me. I’m grateful for that, but at the same time the resulting bruise in my hip–where her knee didnotmiss–is going to be uncomfortable, to say the least.
Auryn flails and snarls for a full two minutes … long after Gage and Emmett disappear. I do my best to hold her safely, grabbing arms and legs more to prevent the girl from hurting herself than to stop her from harming me. Finally, her limbs go limp, and she lies on top of my chest, panting for air.
“Are you done yet,princesa?”
She lifts her head and peers at me through a messy curtain of dark hair. “Oh. You’re not him.”
“No. I’m me. Have been all my life.”
Auryn giggles and rolls off me. “Did I hurt you?”
I try to stifle my groan as I sit up. “Maybe. But I’ll be okay. Are you okay?”
She nods. “He didn’t put a scratch on me.” Her tone is bold, proud, and she preens as she shows me her unblemished, intact skin.
Well, unblemished save for those scars of hers.
“Good. Now, after a fight like that, I bet you’re hungry.”
One tiny shoulder rolls in a nonchalant shrug. “I guess.”
I extend a hand, careful to move slowly. “Would you like to go on a trip to the kitchen?”
It’s a risk, but I figure I can always ask Gage’s forgiveness later. This poor woman has been cooped up her whole time here, and she’s not going to trust us if we don’t extend the same courtesy. Besides, I’ll be with her the whole time.
Her dark eyes dart from my hand to my face and back, suspicion written in her pinched expression. “Handcuffs?”
“I won’t use them if you behave.”
“Why not?”
I blink in confusion. “Why would I handcuff you if you’re behaving?”
“Because you’re an alpha.”
The way she says it, so matter of fact, like she’s saying, “because you’re tall” or “because you’re a stranger,” is like a knife in my chest. How does an omega become so jaded towards alphas? I brush it off and force a grin. “Now, I think we’ve established that I’m not like other alphas, haven’t we? Come on, princess; let’s get you some real food.”
