“Here,” Donnie snapped, dropping the tray on the ground a few feet from Slade. His focus was on the largest threat in the room, and he hadn’t noticed me. “We have provided food. We will be back soon to discuss our proposal regarding the omega. Please ensure she’s awake and ready to chat.”
Slade moved so fast that I swore he flashed in and out of existence, crossing six feet of concrete floor to punch Donnie right in the face. The other alpha’s face exploded, blood and bone splattering everywhere. Slade leaned down and hoisted him into the air beforethrowing him up the stairslike he was a fucking tennis ball.
There was a thud when he connected with the door at the top of the stairs, and then he tumbled back down to land near the basement floor. Slade stared at the knocked-out—maybe dead—alpha at his feet, gave him a bit of a kick, and then leaned over to scoop up the tray.
“Food is safe,” he said when he reached me, and I just blinked, tension holding me in stasis.
“G-great.”
He placed the tray on the floor before me, and then leaned back against the remaining bars, his stare unblinking as he watched me. There was an immediate vibe that if I didn’t start to eat soon, he would take great pleasure in feeding me. Blindly, I reached out and grabbed the first bowl, which happened to be a salad.
My nose wrinkled as I stared into the leaves and horse chow.Dammit. I mean, I was hungry, but I wasn’t sure I was hungryenoughto swallow this shit down. No doubt the alphas remembered my dislike of herbivore food and made sure to include it out of spite.
Now I wanted to kick Donnie.
As I glared at the bowl, Slade reached out and plucked it from my grasp, replacing it with a larger bowl filled with what lookedlike stew. Beef stew, to be more accurate, the broth dark and thick, withthank the goddessonly a few carrots and potatoes as vegetable filler.
My stomach woke with a vengeance, and foregoing utensils I tipped the bowl up and drank it from the side. It was too salty and not meaty enough, but it wasn’t a salad, so I wouldn’t complain.
I paused when Slade turned and threw the salad at the wall, the bowl smashing and scattering the offending greenery everywhere. I was reminded that Slade preferred a mostly meat-based diet too.
“You want some,” I said, holding the second half of the stew out to him. “It’s a lot better than that salad.”
The alpha tilted his head, observing me in that calculating way of his. It was a stare that always appeared to take in more than he should from a simple glance. “You’re still hungry. You will finish it.”
I shouldn’t have been surprised—the alphas in my pack were quite diligent in waiting for me to eat before they did—but somehow I was. “I’d rather share,” I admitted, staring into the thick broth once more. “You’re bigger and need strength. I can’t fight these guys off.”
My gaze flicked to where Donnie remained sprawled in a bloody mess. “I need you.”
I turned back in time to see Slade eyes darken, but he didn’t take the bowl. “I can last without food for weeks before any weakness touches me.”
While that was a cool trick, it didn’t satisfy me or my wolf. “You were injured in the explosion. You’ve expended a lot of energy healing and keeping me safe. I bet you haven’t even slept. Don’t push me on this, dragon. Eat the fucking food.”
A flicker of a smile ghosted over his lips, so fast that I probably imagined it, but he did reach out and grasp the bowl.There was the briefest graze of our fingers, which set off an entire kaleidoscope of butterflies in my gut. “Whatever you need, Snow.”
Oh.Fuck. The way that sentence rumbled from his lips had my body reacting in a way that was highly inappropriate for our current situation.
My body curved forward right as the door at the top of the stairs exploded inward, and I almost didn’t care that we now had a much more pressing issue to deal with.
I was too busy falling into a dragon’s thrall.
CHAPTER 4
SLADE
The more time I spent around the omega, the more intrigued I became. I’d reached a point where my brain was ninety percent occupied with unravelling the mystery of her and her life. I wanted to know it all: how she grew up, how it had shaped her, how she had so much fire when normally an omega was unassuming and accepting—especially of her alpha.
Omegas stood outside of the normal hierarchy in pack dominance, and while we were never plainly told why, it was reasoned that they kept our beasts from taking us over. They kept an alpha from losing control. It wasneverreasoned that their ability to withstand commands could be used as a factor in ruling against orcontrollingalphas.
Though, I’d theorized that maybe that was the exact reason.
Our omega was calm and levelheaded, even as she fought against the odds. She did calm my beast, as much as the dragon could ever be calmed, but it felt as if there was more to her as well.
Her compassion especially was a surprise,andan irritation at how easily it could get her into trouble. I was a dangerousshifter, and she’d already let her guard down multiple times in moments of vulnerability around me.
She could never show that samesoftnesswith another pack. It wasn’t safe. And I had a newly vested interest in keeping her safe.
“Don’t push me on this, dragon. Eat the fucking food.”
