Searing hot liquid poured down my throat, burning like molten tar. I gagged violently, my body revolting against the foreign substance. I protested as my limbs trembled and my body bucked.
The man snapped my mouth shut, pinching my nose, ensuring I swallowed every drop and that it stayed down. Vittorio’s guard finally released me, returning to his sentry post by the exit.
I coughed, the strength of them shaking me with each one. I bent over, resting my elbows on my thighs and dry heaving.
Hard stone dug into my knees as I collapsed onto the floor, wanting to vomit, but unable to. A too-familiar need started to spread through my body, coursing through my veins like wildfire.
No. No. No.
It couldn’t be.
That was impossible.
My vision swam, everything in the room blurring. A pain thrummed behind my eye, and my head spun. My hands clutched my stomach as an involuntary, needy whine stung my raw throat. I bawled, my body betraying me as it succumbed to the insidious symptoms of my heat.
Vittorio stepped closer, his shadow falling over me.
“There now,” he said, his voice unnervingly gentle as he brushed his fingers through my hair and over my back. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? I can make you feel go?—”
“Fuck you,” I snapped, not wanting him to finish that disgusting sentence.
He crouched beside me, too gently cradling my face in his hand. I resisted the urge to spit on him again, a heavy heat weighing me down and making me want to sleep.
“Don’t worry. Soon, I will, Omega. I’ll claim your tight little cunt and make you mine permanently.”
My stomach rolled.
A flurry of curses died on my lips as the two men left, locking the metal door behind them with an ominous click.
My back hit the bed as I fell onto my ass, my head falling back on the mattress. I wrapped my arms around my waist, imagining Kaelen’s thick arms holding me. Protecting me.
I closed my eyes, calling forward memories of his scent.
“Alpha,” I breathed, afraid I’d never see him again. “Please. Please help me. Don’t let them hurt me. I want you. Only you. I love you.”
Hot tears slid down my cheeks as I curled in a small ball on the bed, wishing I had told Kaelen sooner. Told him how much I loved him, how much I needed him. I had no idea how long before my heat consumed me.
Based on the slick ruining my panties, and the burn in my belly, not long.
Soon, Vittorio Rossi would bite me, mating me to him for life.
Thirty-Four
KAELEN
The glass tumbler shattered against the stone fireplace with a deafening crack, shards exploding outwards like shrapnel. A pained sound tore from me, shaking the pictures on the wall.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, fishing the burner phone from my pocket before shooting off a text to Liam while I waited for Aidan and Torin to arrive. Part of me wanted to recall Liam, but instead, I did something borderline stupid, sending him a two word message.
Do it.
Based on everything he’d seen, Isabelle had recovered, meaning we could take Sterling. I ground my teeth, my nose twitching at the pain shooting along my jaw. A few days ago, Aidan worked with Doctor Sweeney to concoct records showing William Sterling died of a massive coronary.
For all I knew, that might end up being true by the time I wasdone with him. A muscle pulsed in my neck, remembering the burn marks on my beautiful omega’s skin. I ran a hand through my hair, the strands mussed and loose.
The only marks that should be on my wife aremine.My bite.
After I got Willow back, I planned to take my time with the senator, drawing out his pain until he begged for death. Until he pissed himself and his heart gave out.
