“How revolting a person are you?” Talon’s voice drops dangerously low.
“Me, revolting? Seriously, Talon, not only does he take it up the ass, but he’s also pretty fucking stupid.”
“Reid!” Talon’s anger manifests in an ugly noise. But Reid just keeps on digging himself a bigger hole.
“He really is as stupid as King is. What kind of alpha sits back and takes everything put in front of him. Easiest thing I have ever had to do. Because not once did he question a thing. Not once. Oh, actually, he did ask me once if I was there, and you know it was so easy to look in his eyes and lie. Of course, I was fucking there. Yet, you’re sitting there suggesting an alpha that can’t smell a lie would have been strong enough to lead our pack? Hayes was way too honourable for his own good, it was the easiest cover up.”
“Cunt,” falls from my lips as easy as breathing. Except of course, it comes out pretty fucking loudly.
I knew he was watching and waiting for a reaction. He digs his thumb nearly under my kneecap. I hiss out in pain despite locking my jaw shut.
“Reid! What the fuck, man? What are you doing to her?”
Not looking at him, I know Reid is grinning. No doubt his eyes are full of malicious energy. I guess I reached my spill over point, I simply cannot physically stand being in his presence a second longer. No matter how dangerous it is to escape.
I go to kick away from him, but his grip on my knee tightens past the point of just trying to inflict pain. He’s trying really fucking hard at twisting my kneecap clean off. And I’m not anyone’s punching bag, especially his.
I bolt upright, and using my free arm, I ram my elbow as fast and as hard as I can into his face. And Jesus, I get him so good, the impact vibrates up my arm, making me squeak.
The fucking psychopath doesn’t make a sound though. I swing around in time to see the first dribble of blood trickling out his nose, which is great. The look in his eyes, not so good.
I scream. Scaring the shit out of Talon. “Reid!” he yells out, making the car swerve. Both Reid and I get thrown around like crash test dummies.
The noise I made is not because I was frightened. Pure adrenaline claws through me, it’s my battle cry and I lunge at him. No shit, it’s like we go full Matrix; time slows down and I don’t miss the slow spread of a cruel smile on his face, nor do I miss the glee in his eyes when he speaks. “Do you remember Sharlene telling you, you’re nothing but a dirty cunt, Raney?”
He stops talking. His eyes drop to my neck, and then he goes to scratch my tattoo. “Don’t fucking touch his name.” I slap his hand away, a little too late.
Time returns to normal, and we clash in a mess of tethered arms and kicking legs. Reid’s a dirty fighter but that’s the style I’m used to after the training my uncles all insisted upon. I spin around and shove my knee into his dick, coming in too close to avoid the butt of his head. But being close means it’s not as bad as it could be, only little stars dance in my eyes. I manage to shake them off and crab crawl as far away as I can, which isn’t far enough since he shackled us together. The space though lets him have the room to pull his fist back as far as it can reach, his lip curled up higher, moving over his teeth so he looks like a rabid dog snarling. He’s fast, but I move faster. He’s strong but not the strongest. We keep dodging, and each time we do, his eyes betray how angry he is.
“Stop fucking moving,” he barks out viciously. His words bounce and echo around the car.
And they should render me frozen like a deer in headlights. His bitter anger and alpha command should have me locked in submission, entirely at his mercy. But the instant they leave his mouth, his deck of cards collapses, because I figure his secret out.
His words are not from a place that pulls my instant obeisance like a loyal subject.
His scent makes me ill because he is not compatible with me. He’s cunning and sly in the faceless games he’s been playing for years, always hiding behind lawyers, and not seeing people because he is not strong enough to face a pack or do anything on his own. Because. He. Is. A. Fucking. Beta.
And he is too slow because he doesn’t have the speed, agility, and power of an alpha because he is not one. Which costs him because while I’m an omega, I’ve also lived with and grown up amongst some of the strongest alphas in our society.
There is nothing I can do to avoid being on the receiving end of a lucky clock in the face, the shock of finally figuring out his secret burns through the pain of his punch. Makes me overly cocky too, but this is my time to shine.
I use the cuffs and chain he bound us together with and turn them against him. Ramming his own wrist, along with mine into his face. I’m a little stunned at how many I get in before he gets the upper hand again and bitch slaps me into tomorrow. Not only is he a fucking beta, but he’s also a slapper. I shake the disorientating ringing bells out of my ears as I crawl away from him as far as I can go. Over the top of our fighting, I hear Talon yelling. The car rocks us from side to side, only adding to the mayhem.
But I find my voice, avoiding another one of his punches, and let Talon know, “He’s not an alpha, Tal!”
Talon slams the brakes on before jamming the wheel one way, making the side of the car smash against something, and in the impact, I end up a jumble of limbs at Reid’s feet. It will seriously take one stomp on my head and it really will be night-night for me.
But Reid is dazed from the crash too. Talon is the only one who moves. I watch like I’m suspended in time again from my upside-down position on the floor of the car. Talon moves like an alpha, fluid aggressiveness, wickedly fast. The stars in my eyes return, but not enough to make me miss Talon ripping something that looks like wires from inside his shirt, and it goes sailing behind him. I have no time to properly figure out what he’s doing because in the next heartbeat, Talon nearly pulls the door off its hinges as he opens it before he calmly reaches in and grabs Reid by the throat.
And I watch everything upside down with my arm getting yanked along for the ride as he drags Reid out of the car.
Talon’s voice drops low, his voice barely audible although his alpha presence is like we’re surrounded by towers of speakers.
“You are the most pathetic and disgusting person I have ever fucking met,” Talon snarls as his alpha presence becomes another dangerous player.
“Me, pathetic?” Reid blusters while he looks back at me, and kicks a foot out, very nearly missing my face. Talon both sees and feels Reid kicking out, and he swaps his restraint, turning it into a chokehold. It’s a good chokehold too. Reid goes from cocky prick to red faced choking bitch pretty quickly.
“Yeah, cunt, you’re the pathetic one. You must’ve had ADV so bad you can’t read any situation right! I’m with Lolli, Reid! And you didn’t fucking realise—how stupid are you? No shit, you must have been drinking Dempara by the gallon not to figure that out. And then to make matters that much more embarrassing, you pathetic cunt, you screwed your own DNA up so bad you’re a beta. A beta, with no bark, no bite. And no chance.”
