Their scents fill the room, a mixture of smoke and grass. But something’s off about how they smell; it’s as if it’s rotten, if that’s even possible.
“You dare tell your alphas no!” The dark-haired one glares at me as he uses his alpha bark. It was made very clear in their contracts that no bonding was allowed.
“I do.” Another cramp rips through me, and I nearly collapse, falling back into the nightstand. My body starts to burn, wanting the knots the alphas have to offer me. “There isn’t any bonding allowed.”
He laughs. A deep rumbling laugh. “That’s so sweet. You think we’re the pack assigned to you?”
Fear seizes hold of me, freezing me in my spot. “Torin,” I murmur.
“The omega? Yeah, he’s no longer a problem. I’m really shocked they left someone so weak here to take care of you. It’s why you deserve a pack that knows how to handle an omega. To rut her during her heat and keep her in line when she’s not.”
Torin. They hurt him because of me. It’s all my fault.
“Why?” I ask, my lips trembling. “What do you want with me?”
“Because you belong to me.” He grins widely.
“No. I don’t belong to anyone.” Something inside me takes hold, I fight the heat, taking control.
“That mark on your chest tells me otherwise. My pack has already claimed you.”
My eyes go wide and the room starts to spin.
This can’t be happening.
Then it goes black.
***
Holden
Lounging on the couch, all I can think about is River. That I fucking missed her message because I was asleep. Now I won’t be able to talk to her. To find out if she’s okay. Her message was off. She needed me, and I wasn’t there. For some reason that doesn’t sit right with me.
I continue to flick through the channels, nothing catching my interest. It’s Sunday, and I still don’t know how long it’ll be before I get to talk to her again.
“What are you watching?” Nash asks, dropping down beside me.
“Nothing,” I mumble, finally landing on a Scream marathon. Normally, it would put me in a great mood, but today, not so much. I shift my gaze over to him, noticing he’s sharing the same mood as me. “What’s wrong with you?”
He lets his head fall back on the couch, his hands cover his face before running them through his hair, tugging on the ends.
“Fuck,” he groans, causing me to sit up and angle my body toward him. He sits up, leaning forward, his forearms resting on his legs. “I don’t even know how to tell you this.”
“Tell me what? Did you fucking kill someone? Run over a dog? You got me worried.”
“No, nothing that extreme or bad, but you might be pissed when I tell you,” he pauses as he tugs on his lower lip, his eyes lasering in on an invisible spot on the floor.
“Then tell me,” I snap, not even meaning to. It’s not something I do with him, but not being there when River messaged me is really fucking with me. It shouldn’t matter that I missed hermessage. It's not like we’ve ever met. hell, I don’t even know what she looks like.
“I’ve been messaging River.” His normally cheerful and boisterous voice is low and solemn.
It takes a minute for his words to process, but when they do, I explode. “You’ve been what?”
“I’ve been messaging River. I don’t know why I did it. It just happened.” He sighs, and as much as I want to yell at him, even kick his ass, I’m going to let him explain. It’s not Nash’s nature to be malicious and shady, especially with me. “The way you talked about her and the draw you had to her, I just wanted to experience it. Then, once we started talking, I couldn’t stop. I knew it wasn’t just a one-time thing, and I see why you were drawn to her.”
“Because you are drawn to her too. But what about the girl at the job we’re doing? Aren’t you interested in her too?”
He nods. “I am, and mystery girl, yeah there’s something about her too. But she’s just this mysterious person in a window. River, she’s real. She messaged me Friday night, and I was asleep. Now she’s not answering because of her family emergency. I’m just worried.”
