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“Cassie!” Uriel hissed, trying to peel her off. “We don’t bite people!”

She ignored him and gnawed harder, drooling all over Bruiser’s scales. Uriel winced.

“It’s okay,” Bruiser said, the sharp edges of his anger smoothing down. “She can’t bite through my scales.”

Uriel eyed him, but finally he sat back and let Cassie continue to gnaw.

Cassie made little growls and huffs; she was even more adorable in her dragon shape.

After a while, Bruiser gathered up his courage. He almost didn’t want to ask, but... It was something he had to know, sooner or later. “Did they try to look for you, when you were captured?”

Uriel’s shoulders sagged. “No.”

Bruiser wanted to punch someone. “How long...? How old were you?”

“They had me for four years.” Uriel looked at the floor. “I was seventeen, almost eighteen. I had kept my magic hidden from my parents, but I was learning from spell books in the school library. On the side, I was working for a mage who sold spells. I was saving all my pay, a little emergency fund for when I needed it.

“Anyway, the mage found out that I had a deep well of magical power. He had me make charmed artifacts with increasingly powerful spells so he could sell them for more money. It got to the point where he was bragging about me to his friends, and it didn’t take much for everyone to deduce that I was the one behind his success.

“One night, on my way home, some of his friends kidnapped me. Because they knew in advance that I can wield magic, they slapped a pair of charmed cuffs on my wrists. Every time I tried to use my magic, the cuffs would drain it off, and I couldn’t even form the most basic of spells.”

Bruiser snarled, hot anger surging through his chest. “Those fuckers!”

“Yeah.” Uriel sighed. “They threw me into a van with some other omegas and took us out of state. There were several beatings to keep us in line; I couldn’t do anything with my magic locked down.” Uriel bared his teeth. “The scientists in that place said that such great power didn’t belong to an omega. They wanted to turn me into an alpha so I would be worthy of my magic. So they locked me up and experimented on me. Whenever I misbehaved, they whipped me or sliced me up.”

Bruiser kept thinking it couldn’t get worse, but somehow, it did. He traced the silvery scars on Uriel’s body.

Uriel kept going. “It was a lot of injections, sometimes pills. It was horrifying. My body slowly changed. I grew more muscular, and my bones grew bigger. Every day, I looked less and less like myself.”

“Fuck.” Bruiser shifted back into a man and pulled Uriel onto his lap, wrapping him in a tight hug.

“When they decided that they were done with my body changing, they put me through some stress tests. Made me run. When I didn’t, they shot me.”

Bruiser couldn’t help his snarl. Uriel jerked as though he might flee. Bruiser held onto him more tightly. “Mine,” Bruiser growled. “I won’t let them have you.”

Uriel huffed weakly. “Really? I’m fucked up. I still get nightmares of that place. I’m ugly. I don’t think anyone would see this and want me. It’s all so fucked up—”

His voice cracked.

Bruiser turned Uriel around, cupping his cheek and looking into his eyes. “Me. I want.”

Uriel’s face crumpled. “I don’t believe you. Why would you—”

Bruiser leaned in, pressing the softest kiss to Uriel’s lips. Uriel froze. Bruiser’s heart thundered in his ears; his lips tingled. This close, Uriel’s ozone scent filled his lungs, his breath puffing warmly on Bruiser’s mouth. “You’re special, Uriel. Yeah, sure, I always thought I would settle down with a normal-looking omega, have the 2.5 kids and a dog. But when I watch you, I realize that looks don’t matter. You care for your—our daughter. You love her. You try to be there for her as much as you can, even when you’re busy rescuing omegas who have suffered like you did. You’re amazing, sweetheart. You put in all that effort to make sure those omegas felt safe, and you didn’t have to. I saw how happy they were when you brought them food and drinks. So maybe you don’t look like an omega, but I think you’re an omega in all the ways that matter.” Bruiser paused, whispering in his ear, “Especially in bed.”

Uriel’s breath hitched. He shivered against Bruiser, calming down a little. “Really?”

“Really. Your lace panties should be here today. Maybe wearing those will make you feel pretty.”

Uriel’s cheeks turned pink, and he ducked his head.

Bruiser relaxed. Maybe he could convince Uriel to give him a chance, after all. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Uriel’s neck, slowly rubbing his back.

“So,” Bruiser said after Uriel had calmed down. “If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, I’d like to know how you escaped.”

17

THE REST OF URIEL’S STORY