2. Two - Rebel

two - rebel

. . .

The first few months after I moved in with Brad, I knew it would be a difficult adjustment living with him only after being in houses full of people day in and day out. The comfort of being alone soothed a part of me, and it made me happy, a feeling I wasn't always familiar with.

My soul yearned to be fiercely craved by another; to find someone who would give unconditional affection. Someone who wouldn't give me fake platitudes to woo me over before I came to the fucked up reality of it all being an illusion for show.

I'd met Brad at a club in the city mostly for alphas and omegas, although betas went sometimes, too. It was a specific club Nova had dragged me out to on my eighteenth birthday. He'd been sitting at the bar when I caught his eye, or rather, he caught mine with that sharp jawline, five o'clock shadow, and the greenest eyes I'd ever seen, once I got closer. His hair was a mess of strawberry blonde that I imagined gleamed in the sun.

He was definitely a bit older than me, given the gray hairs speckled through his mustache. I should've been afraid of him. I'd seen what older alphas could do.

I even assumed he was an alpha because not many betas would hang out in a club like this, but I'd been wrong.

Nova had elbowed me, pressuring me to go talk to him. "Girlfriend, he's looking at you like you're the biggest slice of apple pie he's ever seen. He wants to gobble you right up, and with the way he looks? I'd take him up on that offer in a heartbeat." I'd playfully swatted her but ended up walking over anyhow.

Nova followed along behind me, being my wing girl. As soon as I'd gotten closer, I realized his scent wasn't as strong and overpowering as an alphas. It cradled me in a warm hug, enveloping my body completely, and I was more than willing to let it as he got up and stepped closer, the heat of his own body melting into mine.

"Let me buy you a drink." He leaned in to whisper in my ear, and I was thankful I could even hear him over the thumping bass of the room behind us. The tone of his voice was warm and raspy, something entirely new to me. I pulled back slightly as those deep green eyes canvassed over my flushed face, bringing an array of goosebumps to the surface of my pale skin.

Languid arousal, brought on by the undertones of his scent, flared within my body as I took a deep breath. Light citrus tingled my senses, proving that he was, in fact, a beta.

Our interest flooded the pathway between us; there was no way either of us were pretending about the lack of it.

I remembered at one point that I hadn't responded to his drink offer and decided to finally mention it. "I kinda want to dance instead," I'd said, nodding over to the dance floor.

White teeth sat inside a beaming smile, and his eyes crinkled in a mysterious yet utterly endearing way. "You absolutely sure?"

I caught myself nodding before I even fully thought the question through, I'd been so enamored with him. If I hadn't pinched myself, I'd think maybe he was an illusion; just another figment of my imagination.

It's not that I didn't want him to buy me a drink. Don't get me wrong, I did, like, really, really did, but I reminded myself that I wouldn't take drinks from random men, even those who seemed as innocent and charming as he was.

Drinking was something I could control, and I never did it to excess on the off occasion I had access to liquor. I'd learned to never let my guard down with people in those life-altering teen years.

A big hand landed on the small of my back as he guided me away, his drink left sitting half empty, the fluid inside shifting slightly with the shake of movement around it. He'd stopped a few steps later and turned back to Nova. "That's Rowen." He motioned to the guy still sitting to the right of him at the bar, and his friend gave Nova a once over, smiling at what he was seeing. She was stunning. I don't blame him in the slightest. Unlike my dark blonde, lightly highlighted hair, Nova had jet black hair that cradled the feminine features of her face.

Dark eyelashes fanned out over the greyest blue eyes you'd ever seen. Some days they even looked a little see through. She had those pouty type of lips that guys tended to like. DSL's I think was the term used in school back in the day. Dick sucking lips.

She looked between Rowen and me, her lip caught between her teeth in indecision. I nodded my encouragement. She deserved her own slice of happiness. There was always a slight chance these guys would turn out to be the world's biggest assholes, but I had to hope for something more, right?

Rowen rose from his chair, wincing as it scraped across the floor. He laughed it off as he introduced himself to my friend. Eye contact . It always worked with men.

Brad and I wove through the crowd, pressing close together every few seconds until we found a spot we liked that wasn't overly packed. I ran my hand up his arm, and he flexed the muscles below it. The suit he'd been wearing was soft, softer than it looked when I first saw him. It had to have been expensive.

As the night slipped away, we got to know one another. He worked in an accounting firm downtown and had just moved to the city not so long ago. He was also the only beta in his family. I wondered if he was too good to be true. Only time would tell.

After that night, it seemed like our love became a whirlwind of excitement. He brought me courting gifts like an alpha would, and he seemed so kind and genuine. I'd fallen hard for him with each caress and whisper of his love for me.

A few months later, I moved in with him. Nova helped me move my stuff from our apartment into his. I could tell she wasn't thrilled with the idea, but she understood how in love with him I'd been. To this day, she kicks herself for not seeing the signs from the start. I'd just missed it.

He was my first non-childish love. We'd explored each other about as intimately as a couple could, and then moved on to experimenting and including other people. I was embarrassed at first, being naked in front of others, but the more I did it, the more I seemed to like the way guys looked at me. I'd perfume, my lust pouring into the room, and their eyes would go black. Brad had been friends with alphas. It was with him that I finally learned what an alpha knot could do for me. I finally learned that not all knots would hurt when done properly. The feeling was exhilarating.

The red flags slowly revealed themselves over the next few months we were together, but I'd dismissed them. Multiple times, I'd caught the perfume of another omega on his clothes when he came home, but he claimed it was because he'd gone out to dinner with work friends and sat near an omega. At the time, I believed him. My naivety shone like a bright beacon in a dark sea. I was so wrapped up in him that I didn't realize the blinding facts in front of me.

The day I walked into our home and heard the vulgar sounds coming from the bedroom, I knew it was over. Dread had spilled over me, and a lump formed in my gut; sick with what I was hearing.

He'd been lying to me for over a year.

I sauntered back to our bedroom, head held high, because I had nothing to feel shame about. The door made an eerie creaking sound as I slowly opened it. What I saw was something out of a horror movie, and maybe the door was giving me fair warning. And, of course, they'd been too into each other to notice me.

"What the fuck?" I screamed and was met with the widened jade green eyes of my then fiancé. The bitch in bed with him had a devil-may-care look on her face; a smirk dancing across those plastic lips she'd probably spent way too much on.

Oddly enough, I had no feelings towards her. No, they were all specifically set aside for Brad; lying sack of shit that he was.

He throws his hand up as if to plead with me, as if that will make it go away, and then points between the two of them. "Rebel, babe, it's not what it looks like."

"What, then, does it look like, Brad? Huh? Because what I'm seeing is you with your dick in some other omega when I'm not home."

He tried to smile and nod nonchalantly, but I could see the joker face slipping once he realized I wasn't fucking with him. I was incredibly serious and downright furious. "We do this, though, babe. I didn't think you'd mind."

My hands drop to firmly plant on my hips, taking the typical slighted woman pose. "Yeah, we do it. You're right. We do it together . Never have I said it was okay to stick your cock in some random omega, that I don't know, whenever you felt like it. We're done."

He scrambled away from the omega and hopped out of bed, walking toward me, one hand up as he approached, while the other lowered to his still half hard cock. Why cover it now? I've seen him naked a million times. Now , he's embarrassed ? "Look, we can talk this out. I didn't think you'd mind. You always enjoy it when we invite people over."

"You're right. I do enjoy it. Do you have any idea why I enjoyed it?" He gave me a blank stare; completely oblivious. "Because we did it together. It was a decision we made together as a couple. We even talked about what this would do to our relationship. We promised each other if we ever wanted to see other people or go our own ways, we would discuss it first. But…" I pointed at the bimbo still in my bed. Man, bitch had a death wish. "I don't recall a conversation. Am I missing something? Do I have amnesia and not remember telling you to sleep with whoever you wanted?"

"Babe…" The tone was condescending now, and his scent turned bitter.

"No… if this is what you want, Brad, then, fine. Sleep with whoever you want to. Just know that we are officially done." I grabbed the heavy metal caging my ring finger and threw it at him, hearing it bounce off his chest and clank on the hardwood floor. "Keep that, too. Maybe you'll find another omega willing to put up with your bullshit."

"You're being unreasonable." His voice was cold.

"Brad…" All of a sudden, the cunt who shall not be named spoke, her voice nasally.

My glare met her no longer smiling face as her eyes pinballed between the two of us. "I don't give a fuck who you are but grab your shit and get out." Leaning down, I picked up the sorry scrap of an excuse for a dress and threw it at her. "Might need this. I'd hate for you to look like a home wrecker when you leave our house."

"Don't be bitter because he wanted me and not you, honey," she replied snidely.

"Mindy, watch it," Brad hissed at her. Ah, so she does have a name. Not willing to deal with this anymore, I spun on my heel and headed towards the spare bedroom; my new space.

He'd ruined us. I should have remembered that everything pure and innocent crumbles to dust with the haze of lust and greener pastures. I should know a playboy when I see one. After all, my father had been the king of them when I was growing up.

A bigger thought hit me as I flopped down onto the bed with a sigh. How many STDs has he gotten by now, and why wasn't I more careful? I'd definitely need to get tested .

Over the next few months, his behavior completely changed, his mood always taking on a bitter flavor. He was acting out to try and get my attention. I barely made eye contact anymore.

I'd spend my days out of the house and away from the toxicity of the situation. I knew I needed to just move out, but I hadn't had a job in years and wasn't sure where I'd get the money. We only had one bank account, and he was the one who had access to it. Another stupid decision on my part. Another way to control me.

He started drinking, continued bringing home an assortment of women and fucking them right in front of me. Snide comments would leave his mouth with each thrust. "Why can't you be more like them? Why can't you be loose and free? Live a little." He was toxic, everything that had once been beautiful was now scarred and shrouded in darkness; tar black as night coated it while demons whispered obscenities in my ears. Mentally, it was challenging to try and ignore him. Physically? I was just exhausted.

Have you ever felt so bitter about something that it literally tarnished everything pure and innocent around you? That's what Brad had become to me.

When I was at home, I spent a good chunk of time in my room with headphones on so I didn't have to hear the noises or the banging of the bed against the wall behind me. Disgust rose in my throat like a foul creature reaching out of the earth on a cold, dark, eerie night.

I remember my last night with him like it was yesterday.

"Where have you been?" He demanded to know as I walked through the door a little too late for his liking.

"Out." He deserved nothing more.

"You're still my fiancée. You're still living under this roof, and if you think for one second that I won't take everything from you, then you've got another thing coming, you little bitch." He sneered, and the twisted decay of alcohol crawled off his lips. His hand reached out, and he tried to grab me as I attempted to walk past him.

He missed the first time, but the second time he tried it, I wasn't so lucky. Fingernails dug into my skin, leaving behind tiny crescent shapes. From the pressure he was holding me with, I knew I'd have bruises on my arms. He flung me around and pulled me against his body, letting me feel the unmistakable erection within his pants. "I miss you, baby. Why ya gotta be such a goddamn bitch? Why ya gotta act like you're better than me? That's what this is, right? You think you're better than me? That bitch of a best friend decided to run her mouth, and now she's painted me as the goddamn asshole? What'd she say, huh? Do I need to make a trip to Nova's house?" Hot breath fanned over my neck as I tried not to cringe.

He'd been angry before but had never laid hands on me. This was a new development. A lump formed in my chest. Surely, he wouldn't do that. Go to her house. I didn't think so, but one look down at his firm grip on my arm reminded me that he was apparently capable of anything at the moment.

"Let me go," I said firmly, hoping that he didn't hear the small shake in my voice. Fear radiated through my body, poisoning each cell as it spread like wildfire.

"No, you're going to give me what I want or I'm going to take it." His words were pure venom spat from his cheating mouth.

"What is it -?" Those were the only three words that came out as his hands went to the waist of my pants. He fumbled with the button on my jeans, hands shaking like a leaf. My voice trembled, and my teeth chattered as it slipped out. "What the fuck are you doing?" For the first time, I truly feared for myself.

"You're going to fuck me willingly… or we'll do this the hard way. What's it going to be?"

I glared at him. "I'm not fucking you."

"You're going to be sorry you said that." He tried fumbling with my jeans again, and I knew it was time for me to get out. I couldn't, wouldn't, let him do this to me. I'd been touched enough in that sick foster home to know I refused to be raped by my own goddamn fiancé too. I tried to shove him away, but his big hands gripped me tighter. A hand smacked against the side of my face, making a loud clap, and fire bloomed on the spot. It was followed by a punch that radiated through my eye socket and led to a bout of dizziness. "Stop moving."

Shaking it off, my flight instinct kicked in. I couldn't worry about my head right now. I had bigger problems.

"No." My voice was no longer firm. It quivered. The struggle continued as I looked for my way out. The button on my pants finally popped open, and he smirked at me before attempting to shove his hand down my pants. Seeing an opportunity when he turned, I took it, grabbing his shoulders and kneeing him in the balls. He crouched over immediately as pain laced his breaths.

"What the fuck?"

He reached out and tried to grab me, but this time, I backed away in time. I needed to get my shit and get out, pronto. Running the short distance to my spare bedroom, I slammed the door and locked it, praying that it would give me enough time to grab some things. I rested against the door for a brief second, trying to get my breathing under control. What the hell?

My heart raced as I frantically tried to remember what I would need to take with me. He was yelling my name now, the sound getting louder with each step he took in my direction. "Rebel." He was pissed. "Rebel." I jumped when a heavy thud landed against the door.

Rushing to the closet, I found the closest bag and unzipped it, hands shaking like leaves in the wind.

"Open this fucking door, Rebel, or I swear to God, you will be begging me to forgive you by the time I'm done breaking you down." The doorknob rattled, and he roared. "Stupid, cunt omega. Your father said you were temperamental. Speaking of… Did you know he paid me handsomely to make sure you were okay after that unfortunate accident of his? Pity they both died that night, right?" My arms stopped moving, and all I could feel was my heart pounding in my chest like a bass drum, my breaths coming faster and faster. What was he talking about?

I shook my head, blood pumping furiously through my veins, leaving me a little light-headed. "No, he didn't," I said out loud, not realizing it.

"Yes, he did, sweetheart. You ever wonder how I knew where you were going to be that night? Daddy Dearest had a tracker on you. Well, I guess, technically, I had a tracker on you. He gave it to me right before that car wrapped around the tree. Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a shame."

Get it together, Rebel. You need to get the hell out of this house.

The sound of glass shattering outside my door broke me out of the haze. I started moving again, opening drawers and just shoving clothes into the bag I'd grabbed. I opened the hidden compartment in the bottom of my dresser and pulled out the extra set of car keys I'd kept for emergencies. Mine were currently resting on the hook in the hall by the door. There was no pomp and circumstance to the way I moved. I could come back for stuff later. I'd need a change of clothes or two, and that was all. Shoving a few more things in my bag, I assessed my room once more. "Oh, Rebel…. Come out, come out. We weren't done having a little discussion. I'm waiting."

I wasn't going to respond. It would just bait him. Looking around the room, I thought about my options. Go back out there and face an alcohol-infused beta with anger issues or… my eyes found the tiny window in the back of the room. Luckily, it was on the first floor of the house, so it wouldn't be that far to jump. Not seeing any other way to get out of here without more damage to myself, I headed towards the window.

He pounded on the door again. "You have exactly five seconds to open this door, Rebel, or I'm coming in there, and you're going to pray that I like what I see. I'm expecting you to be naked, on hands and knees, and presenting for me like a good little omega. Not the brat I've been dealing with for the last hour. Tick tock. Tick tock. The longer I wait, the worse it will be."

My heart pounded, and I shuffled towards the window. Please be open, please be open. The chant sounded in my brain, and I released a brief sigh of relief when the window cracked. The door continued to rattle from his constant abuse.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"I'm coming in." I heard the splinter of the door when I was halfway out the window, and I propelled myself to move faster.

Landing on the grass, a cry slipped from my mouth when my ankle twisted on the way down. Luckily, I had enough adrenaline pumping through my veins to get up and scurry away. My car was mere steps, and I knew I could make it.

Anger-filled eyes found me as he looked out the window. "You'll pay for this." I waited for him to climb out after me like an idiot, frozen; but instead, all he did was stare me down. "I'll be waiting." Those were the last words I heard before opening, slamming, and locking the car door in case he got any bright ideas to chase after me.

My hands shook as I tried to put the keys in the ignition. "Damn it!" I yelled, not really at myself but in general. I kept looking out my rearview mirror, waiting to see the lights of his truck following me, but they never came. Once I'd gotten a few miles away, my heart rate started to settle. I didn't want to go to Nova's house and take the chance that he'd come after me. I needed her to be safe.

As if I spoke her into my thoughts, the phone in my pocket buzzed. I hadn't realized it was still in there from earlier, but I was thanking fuck it was. Brad's name bounced across the screen, and I threw it down on the consol. I wasn't going to answer it. Shit, the tracker.

I had no idea if it was on my phone or in the car. I had to get rid of one or the other. The easier thing was the phone. A car would get me somewhere faster than a phone would. So I made a last minute decision.

The phone rang twice, "Rebel, babe, you -?" I didn't let her get the rest of the sentence out before I started talking.

"Nova…" I whimpered, the adrenaline from the attack with my fiancé finally wearing down.

"What happened? Are you coming here?" Her tone was demanding.

I whimpered. "No… he knows where you live. I won't bring my trouble to your doorstep."

"Rebel Davis, if you do not bring yourself to my doorstep, I'll come out and find you. I don't know what he did, but you do not need to be alone right now."

A cry broke through my lips. "Nova… I…"

"You can and you will. Where are you?"

"McKesson street…"

"Good, you're close. I better see you in the next ten minutes."

"But…" I tried to fight with her, but it was getting harder by the minute. I just wanted my best friend and one of her beta bestie hugs.

"No buts… he comes here, we'll figure it out. There's a pack of alphas who live next door, and I'm sure they'd be more than willing to show your little beta ex the time of his life."

"Okay…"

"Don't hang up until you get here," she was talking fast; I'm sure not knowing what had happened was wearing on her. I didn't normally call her when we had troubles. Normally, I just told her I needed a break. I was good at keeping my emotions on lockdown, but tonight, I didn't have the mental willpower.

I sucked in a raspy breath. "Can't… he's tracking me. I… I don…I don't know where the tracker is. Could be in the car… could be on my phone…. Oh, God, Nova." I hiccuped over a tear.

"Okay, okay, hang up and ditch the phone. We can get you a new one. Just… get here as soon as you can, all right? Please, be careful." I nodded, knowing she couldn't see me. I was biting my lips, anxiety tearing at me from the inside out.

Hanging up, I fumbled with the phone before dropping it on the floor. Reaching down, I tried to find it and hadn't realized I was driving into oncoming traffic until a horn started blaring. Swerving back into my lane, I tried again, this time, keeping my eyes on the road. My fingers slithered over every inch of the floor until I brushed over it. Fiddling around, I finally got a hold on it. I needed to detour. I was too close to her house now. He'd know exactly where I'd gone. So, instead of turning left at McDonall, I made a right.

Slamming my hand down on the door, I hit the window open button, and it seemed to drag slowly as it lowered. I hated this, everything about it. I was sick to my stomach. I'd swallowed bile at least five times now, but I just needed to get to Nova's. Here I was… an omega, with one hell of an angry beta ex-fiancé, no money to my name, and driving a car that wasn't mine.

Throwing my phone out the window, I continued driving around for a while. I knew Nova would be worried when she couldn't get ahold of me, but I needed to buy us some time. I needed to make it look like I'd gone somewhere else. When I was about three blocks away from her house, I pulled onto a dead end street and parked. The lights turned off as I pulled the keys from the ignition, and pitch blackness gathered around me. It was so quiet I could physically hear the beating of my own heart. Taking inventory of what I had, I grabbed everything I'd brought.

I needed to ditch the car. Knowing Brad, he'd probably put in a stolen car alert, and I didn't want to be the one in possession of it when it was finally located.

As I got out, I threw the keys on the seat behind me and left it unlocked. If someone stole it, so be it. My name wasn't the one on the registration. I grabbed my bag, the small amount of cash I kept stashed in the car, and left it sitting there, wry for criminal activity.

I didn't know how long I'd been walking when I walked up to Nova's front door, but it must have been way more than just twenty minutes. The door flew open as I took my time up the steps. She, thankfully, didn't turn the light on.

"Oh, babe. Come on, get in here." She pulled me in, and I winced as her hand dug in where he'd previously grabbed me. Stepping out, she looked to the left and right, making sure I wasn't being followed before she slammed the door, locked, and dead bolted it.

I didn't realize how badly I was shaking until her hands came around me in a hug. I flinched but eventually relaxed into it. I was so strung up.

"I don't need you to tell me what happened right now, but it's going to be okay." Her eyes traced over the details of my body; taking in my red, puffy eyes, and the bruises most likely starting to form on my arms. "Oh, babe. He did a number on you, didn't he?"

That was when the waterworks started. Emotions poured from my eyes in the form of salty liquid burning trails down my cheeks. I didn't know how I'd come back from this one.

She gently pulled my bag from my hand and dropped it on the couch before ushering me towards the bathroom. Nova pointed to the toilet. "Sit." I was exhausted and didn't have it in me to sass her tonight.

Running a warm washcloth under the water, she made sure it was warm but not too hot before lifting it to my face and wiping gently. I hadn't seen my face, but I could only imagine how bad I looked. Runny makeup, maybe the smear of my eyeliner, the beginning of a shiner…

The tears continued to fall as she cleaned me up gently. The white washcloth she had been using had turned into a mishmash of blacks, tans, and bright red. Blood. I hadn't been wearing any red makeup. As she went to rub the washcloth over my lips, I cringed. The cut felt like an open wound. I'd split my lip, but I didn't know if it was because of him or my anxiety-ridden chewing.

Every part of my body hurt, and my mouth was dry like I'd swallowed a cotton ball. My head felt like I'd been on the unlucky receiving end of a punching bag. Truth was, I had been for years. I was just too stupid to realize it. Nova had gotten me set up in the spare bedroom, and then crawled in beside me. I didn't want to be alone tonight. I fell asleep to the slow drift of her hand through my hair, something her mom used to do when we were young and too scared to go to sleep. My omega calmed right down and slipped away peacefully into the night. Lord knew what the morning would hold… and I prayed to God I'd be ready.