The life my mother tried so desperately to save me from.
Sorry, Momma. I tried.
“Felix!”I scream, sobbing and clawing to get to him. He’s so close, but millions of miles away.
Empty eyes stare blankly at the stars, and everything good inside me dies with my first real friend.
“Please, come back to me,” I whimper, pain rocking my body, but I’m not on concrete. The scream rips out of my chest as the dim light of a hotel room comes into view. I’m drenched in sweat. My scent smells like rotten roses, molded and dying.
Another tearful cry slips free as I shake off the nightmare and fight to stay awake. It’s been so long since I had that nightmare, so long since I thought of the boy who will forever be sixteen.
“Shh, you’re okay…” a deep voice murmurs gently, nearly shooting me out of my skin as my heart jackhammers. I’m stiff with fear, hands clawing at solid muscle… Shit, whose flesh am I shredding right now?
I’m almost scared to look. There’s no scent, so it can’t be Beau, as he’d smell like chemicals.
My body is curled up between his legs, head in his lap. Thankfully, there’s nothing poking the side of my head. He runs soothing fingers across my forehead. I shiver as my scalp tingles when he drags his fingers through the strands of my hair, tugging gently before scratching my scalp.
“It’s okay, Omega. Wake up, you’re okay.” He sounds worried.Is Hudson worried about me?
I close my eyes, waiting for him to do something stupid so I can stab him. Except his scent starts soothing me. Warmcinnamon apples with melted vanilla that mixes perfectly with mine make my mouth water.
I want to start purring, but I swallow the sound, embarrassed by how easy it was for him to draw that out of me. Sweet hells, his scent is magnificent. Even though my heart is racing and I’m still fighting off the effects of the nightmare, I like this feeling. I like this body. He’s warm and smells so yummy.
Damn, he’s dominant, working overtime to calm me.
Or lure me in…
I better get my shit together.
“Mmm,” I moan, nuzzling my face upward against his bare abs, breathing in the Alpha’s pheromone heaven. I shiver, the last of the nightmare’s lingering fear dissolving.
He’s too good at that.Suspicious.
I blink up at him, frowning, because why is Hudson helping me at all?
He chuckles as our eyes meet. The Alpha smells like an apple pie factory, and I want a bite, but the fact that it’s Hudson I want a bite of catches me by surprise. I mean, he is hot as hell. The sharp edge of his jaw lickable in the dim light of the room, brown eyes glowing. However, he’s still a possible enemy. He doesn’t have any idea that I know Priscilla.
I squint at him. He’s being awfully nice to me, and I’m basically a stranger. Did Hudson hear my screams so he came to help me, or was he already spying on me when I started screaming?
Rather than just shaking me awake, he climbed into my bed and delicately stroked my hair until I calmed down. Extra suspicious. What are his motives? Does he think he can use this moment to get closer to me and trick me into trusting him so I’ll spill Beau’s secrets?
He needs more than a pretty face and yummy scent to manipulate me. He’s playing chess, but I’m playing hot potatowith a lit stick of dynamite, waiting for the right moment to blow him up.
We watch each other for a quiet moment as he continues stroking my hair, and my eyes start to get heavy. Oh, that’s a dirty trick. He’s trying to put me to sleep. If he starts barking, I’ll bite himsohard…
“Where’s Beau?” I ask, voice still husky after my screaming. Tatum says I talk in my sleep. What did Hudson hear me say? I keep my memories of Felix close to my heart. The day he died changed who I was, all the way down to my soul.
“Bathroom, I assume.” Hudson shakes his head. “I don’t think he could hear you. Earplugs, maybe. Or maybe the tub muffles sound.” Hudson shrugs, still caressing my hair. “Either way, you woke me up from a dead sleep, and I didn’t stop to check on him first. Besides, last time I went in there, he lost his fucking mind. Once I realized you were having a nightmare and not being murdered, I assumed he was probably fine and focused on you.”
“Oh. If he did hear me, then he knew it was just a nightmare and knew I’d be fine.” I sniff, hoping I successfully implied that Beau knows I have them and is so used to them that he doesn’t come running to check on me anymore.
We’re a superficial, lust-driven couple; we’re not deep…
I hope he buys the lie.
“Hmm. What was your nightmare about? Never heard anyone scream like that while asleep.”
“Clown with an ax chasing me through a not-so-fun funhouse."
