She and her other mate, Easton, were the only people I would let come near me when they first got me back to ABO Care, since they’re both Omegas.
Easton has a madness I recognize. Maybe that helped. I wouldn’t say I trust him, more like… we’re two sides of the same coin. He’s got the same spark of insanity in his eyes that I see when I look in the mirror.
When I wanted to see with my own eyes that the Omegas I had spent years fighting for like a rabid beast to protect were safe, the staff fucking refused. Until Tatum. One by one, she took me by their doors.
Of course, her mates refused to let me get within arm's reach of her, but I didn't mind that. It made them more tolerable. Keeps them from being stabbed at every opportunity. Their dedication to protecting their mate is their only redeeming quality, in my opinion. Their scents aren’t entirely rancid, since they’re mated to Tatum. I’d still rather inhale sulfur, but at least it doesn’t make me want to puke.
I slip my hand into the waistband of my jeans, keeping my eyes on Kodiak. My new boss tips his head slightly to the side, and then a second later he spins toward me, eyes narrowed.
I smirk. At least he’s paying attention.
“What are you packing? Better not be another gun, so help me fuck…” Kodiak hisses, but Tatum scolds the Alpha, tugging his hand before turning to me, all sweetness and kind smiles.
“What he meant to say was, if you have a weapon, that's okay, but we don’t allow guns in the club. Tight spaces, crowded rooms, and pheromones don’t mix with guns.” Tatum blinks her blue eyes at me, and I wince.
Blue eyes from my nightmares.
I have to look away from her. The feelings threaten to creep in. It’s both the reason I trusted Tatum enough to let her near me and the reason I can’t be in her presence very long. She reminds me of a long-dead life I’ll never get back.
“I have a taser in my pocket,” I admit, and then sigh, shrugging.Why lie?“As well as a large folding knife in my waistband, and these." I lift my hand, wiggling my fingers and showing Tatum what will only look like rings to her. I flick the triggers on each, demonstrating how they transform into tiny knives for each finger.
“Well, that's very…innovative,” Kodiak grumbles.
“Easton would probably love those.” Tatum giggles, shaking her head at me. Another reason I don’t mind her so much. She thinks it’s cute that I wear knives on my knuckles. Not scary or threatening. She’s not scared of me.
“He gave them to me, so I would assume so.” I nod, and Kodiak rolls his eyes, grumbling about his psycho little mate. He has Tatum walk in front of him now, following her into the back of his club.
Easton is the most tolerable one of her mates, since he’s the only one that isn’t an Alpha. He also seemed to understand the easiest way to get me to accept his presence was sharp, pointy objects. I’ll never tell him these rings are the best gift anyone has ever given me.
Two days ago, while the club was closed, he brought me for a private tour, allowing me to spend several hours memorizing every inch of this place. He’s also the only one that seems to understand me on a different level.
The other three are Alphas.Ew.
I follow Kodiak into the building, but the second we’re inside, I’m assaulted by the overpowering stench of strange Alpha. I blow the air back out of my nose, wrinkling it, before covering my face with my hand.
Oh, that’s disgusting.
I shake my head and step back out the door. It takes several breaths to clear the scent out of my system.
“Oh fuck, I’m sorry. Tatum warned us, and I brought this with me but forgot to give it to you. Fuck, my bad, Apollo.” Kodiak emerges a moment later with something in his hand. He holds it out to me, and after a long moment of staring at his hand, I snatch it away from him.
My tolerance of Tatum’s Alpha mates is minimal.
I take the mask Kodiak handed me and place it over the lower half of my face as Tatum approaches us holding a mask filter out. It’s the heavy-duty kind that blocks practically all incoming scents.
I nod my thanks. The guilt in her eyes makes me nauseous, and I quickly look away.
“We have an endless supply of refills. It’ll block most of the scents that the mask doesn’t. I tested one last night. It wasn’t perfect, but it made a huge difference. If it’s not enough, let us know,” Tatum explains as I place the filter in the mask, looking as if she wants to reach out and touch me. Maybe attempt to comfort me. Thankfully she doesn’t. “Sorry, Apollo.” Tatum sniffs before heading back into the building with Kodiak.
I hold back my snarls when the Alpha looks back at me with pity in his eyes.
I could stab him…then he’d wipe that look off his face.
Pulling a scent-blocking spray out of my pocket, I close my eyes and spray it. I breathe deep to test it. Nothing. I crack my neck, shove the bottle back in my pocket, and lift my chin. The first thing I learned about Alphas is that if they sense weakness, they’ll fucking attack. As an Alpha myself, I’m naturally larger, six-foot-three, and muscular. I can handle myself. Now.
I follow them and sniff tentatively, bracing my body for the attack on my system. This time the mask covering the lower halfof my face helps ward off ninety-nine percent of the scents in the air, and I huff with relief.
“I know we already filled you in, but I want to recap. Trev set up a separate space for you in the security block. You’ll be alone, but you’ll have access to all of the cameras, as well as the system,” Kodiak explains as we walk. I nod my head until he adds, "No more hacking my fucking phone, though.”
