CHAPTER FOUR

DEMON

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Her first swing missed by an inch as I sidestepped.

However, she was faster than I’d expected. Her knee came up, catching my thigh hard enough to make me grunt. I adjusted my hold on the omega, bracing myself for what she’d do next. She was relentless, throwing another punch that grazed my ribs. A growl rumbled in my chest. The omega in my arms needed help and this little spitfire was only making things worse.

“Calm down, woman,” I growled.

Her hazel eyes widened. “Calm down? Woman? You jackass!” she hissed before lunging at me.

Had I said something wrong? She was a woman. And I wanted her to calm down. What was wrong with saying that? I leaned left, then right, avoiding her strikes.

“He needs help,” I growled, hating I had to explain myself to the little thief. “I’m taking him somewhere safe.”

But she didn’t stop. The hellcat swung at me again. I dodged and then reached for her. She spun away from my grasp, then kicked at me, the heel of her foot connecting with my groin. White hot pain shot through me, nearly making me double over as stars flickered before my eyes. I barely managed to hold onto the omega, gritting my teeth against the pain.

I moved the omega to my shoulder, needing a hand free to deal with this hellcat. I saw her fist rushing toward my face. With a frustrated sigh, I reached out and caught her wrist mid-swing, holding her at arm’s length as she struggled against my grip.

“You done yet?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as she glared up at me.

The little thief was breathing hard now, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her breasts straining against her black shirt. Swallowing, I jerked my gaze back to hers and asked the question again, hoping she hadn’t caught me ogling her body. And what a body it was. She didn’t answer, just narrowed her eyes.

Then I felt her relax. Was she finally giving up? Had she worn herself out? I loosened my grip on her a little. The moment I did so, the corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk. Fuck! She yanked her arm free and took a few steps back.

Her stubbornness was... intriguing, almost admirable, if not for the fact that she was making things a whole lot harder than they needed to be. She started at me again. I was done playing games with this sly fox. I sighed and, in a swift movement, delivered a light chop to the side of her neck.

Her eyes widened, and her entire body locked up before she went limp. I caught her, unwilling to allow her to hit the ground. I stared from one arm to the other, shaking my head at the absurdity of the situation. In my arms, I held two tempting intruders, two beautiful people who had no business being on my property.

But here they were, both of them filling the air with sweetness, defiance, and something I couldn’t name, something that made me feel both irritated and... oddly... grateful. Fuck! What was I thinking? I should toss both their asses over my property line and call it a night. Instead, I heaved the beta over my other shoulder and tried not to think too much about what I was doing.

It was insane. It was impulsive. It would probably lead to more trouble than it was worth. Even so, in the deepening night, I carried them both home, a handsome and frail omega who needed my help on one shoulder and a hellcat beta who needed a good spanking on my other shoulder.

My return to the cabin was at a slow pace, traps forgotten as I moved cautiously, not wanting to hurt my intruders. I had to squat a bit to open the door and enter the cabin. Kicking the door shut behind me, I strode into the living room and laid the battered omega down carefully on the couch, his bruised face turned to the side. A pitiful, pained whimper escaped his lips, causing me to wince as if I was the one hurting.

He looked fragile, even in sleep, his pale blond hair spilling across the worn cushion, his breathing shallow and ragged. I’d tended to injured animals with more strength than this omega seemed to have left, and that realization didn’t sit well with me. Before I tended to his wounds, I needed to take care of my little thief.

I laid her on the couch across from his. Her face turned to the side facing me, and I barely resisted the urge to push her hair away from her face. It was good that I couldn’t see her features, couldn’t see how beautiful she was. I already had it imprinted on my mind, possibly for an eternity.

I rose slowly, gaze traveling over the beta. She was dressed in all black: a black T-shirt, black jeans, and black boots. The perfect attire for a thief. I chuckled. Why? I had no damn idea. Another pained whimper from the omega pulled my attention back to him. I needed to treat his wounds.

But before that, I needed to do something to ensure the little fox didn’t attack me when she awoke. I strode through the house, looking for items I needed. I locked the front door as I passed it, making sure all the locks clicked before heading down to the basement to get what I sought. I returned with restraints and a first aid kit.

I sat the kit on the end table and moved to the beta, who’d yet to stir. I quickly bound her wrists and ankles. Not too tightly, but tight enough to hold her in place. I’d just finished binding her when I felt her stir.

My gaze snapped to hers, and I found striking hazel eyes trained on me. She’d tossed her hair out of her face and was glaring at me. My ability to speak disappeared. All I could do was stare at the beauty before me.

“What the hell are you doing to me, alpha?” she hissed, voice low, filled with anger.

“I’m preventing you from attacking me again, you violent wench,” I growled as I stepped away from her. I saw it in her eyes. She was about to try to attack me again. Her entire body jerked seconds before her eyes widened, and she realized she couldn’t move. I smirked down at the little thief.

“Untie me, you bastard!” she snapped. “I don’t care what you think you’re doing, but I won’t let you get away with it.”

I leaned forward until my face was inches away from hers. “Who’s going to stop me?” I asked. Instead of using her words, she tried to bite off my damn nose. I stepped away before her teeth could reach their mark. “Behave, you feral fox,” I ordered.

She shouted more curses at me. She had a vocabulary that matched her hair color. But her voice was oddly sweet despite her foul language. I could listen to her curse me out all day, and that bothered me.

I needed to put some distance between me and this bundle of trouble who didn’t have enough sense to fear an alpha. Ignoring her, I returned to the kitchen, where I grabbed a bowl of water and a towel.

She was still telling me the many ways she was going to end my existence when I returned to the living room. Pretending to ignore her, I set about cleaning the omega’s wounds, letting the cloth sweep over his battered skin softly, not wanting to hurt him. He’d suffered enough pain in his young life.

“You actually tied me up! What kind of alpha are you?” my little thief bit out, challenging me with every word. “Are you afraid of a little beta?”

Though I tried to tune the little thief out, it was impossible to ignore her scent. It was all around me, mingling with the honeyed sweetness of the omega, creating a perfume that had my cock throbbing. I kept my body turned from her view, not wanting her to see how she was affecting me.

I needed to keep my focus on the pale bruises and the way the omega flinched at the lightest touch. Every bruise, every cut told a story of pain that I could relate to. His body was starting to warm up. Sweat beaded his forehead. I needed to mix some herbs together to keep an infection from setting in.

I’d do that right after I’d cleaned and bandaged his wounds. The little thief had gone silent. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, unable to help myself. Her red curls framed her face, wild and untamed, much like her. Little Fox . Her hazel eyes watched me closely, following my every move.

“Did you... do that to him?” she asked, voice softer now.

Did I really look like an alpha capable of doing this to an omega? I sighed, knowing the answer. But looks could be deceiving. Normally, I welcomed having others think the worst of me. Not this time. Not her. Not him. I gritted my teeth, feeling out of sorts with myself. I returned to ignoring the sweet-smelling beta.

I let the cool cloth glide over the omega’s cheek, wiping away the grime. His skin felt too warm beneath my touch now, feverish. Yeah, I needed those herbs now. My jaw clenched as I tried to imagine the hell he’d escaped from. Each time the cloth touched a new bruise, he flinched, and something inside me twisted painfully.

“How did you find an omega?” she asked. “I’m sure he’s not in your bond.”

She’d guessed correctly, and she wasn’t done talking.

“Omegas are rare. And if you’ve stolen one, his bond will come looking for him. And my family will come for me, too.” Her tone dropped lower. “Free us, or you’ll just make things worse for yourself.”

My hand froze, the damp cloth halfway to the omega’s forehead. Her words sank in. She wasn’t wrong. Keeping them here was like painting a target on my back. It went against every instinct I’d honed over the years, every rule I’d set to keep myself alive. I had to let them go soon. A dull ache settled in my chest at that thought.

I wiped a trickle of dried blood from the omega’s lip, wincing when his face contorted in pain. It shouldn’t bother me like this. It shouldn’t make me want to protect him with everything I had, but here I was, holding my breath each time he let out the faintest sound. The little thief quieted after a while.

Her curses dwindled into silence as I bandaged the omega’s wounds with herbs to keep an infection from taking root. I’d have to change them in a few hours and rebandage them. Once I was sure his wounds would heal properly, I’d force them both off my property. Until then, they’d stay here, filling my damn cabin with their sweet scents.

Though the sly fox was silent now, I could feel the heat of her gaze, the way it lingered on my every move, and it unsettled me in ways I didn’t care to admit. Unable to stop myself, I cast a quick glance her way. Yeah. She was watching me. However, she wasn’t glaring anymore, not as savagely, anyway.

But her stare was still intense, curious even, as if she were trying to figure me out . Good luck with that. I couldn’t figure myself out at the moment. When I finally looked up, meeting her eyes head-on, she didn’t look away. Her gaze didn’t soften, but I could tell she wasn’t as angry anymore. The sour edge to her scent was gone.

I almost wanted it back. It was easier to resist... maybe. There was something else there in her gaze now, something I didn’t have the time to decipher. She’d asked me earlier if I was afraid of her. Yes . I was afraid of the little beta who’d attacked me in the woods, trying to protect a stranger.

I was nervous to be around the sly fox who was stirring feelings inside me that unsettled my peace of mind. I needed my mind to remain at peace. Because when it wasn’t at peace... bad shit happened. Jerking my gaze from her, I finished dressing the omega’s wounds.

I carefully covered him with an old blanket, wishing I had something nicer, softer to place over him. The feverish flush on his cheeks was worrying, but his breathing seemed a little less ragged, and he’d finally slipped into a real sleep. I stood, stretching my muscles that had tensed from kneeling next to him for so long.

“You going to let us go now?” the little fox demanded.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I left the room and approached the kitchen sink. I scrubbed my hands and watched the water run red, then clear, trying to ignore the blend of honey and orange cinnamon coming from the other room. Her voice picked up again, louder now, almost desperate.

“Hey! Are you listening to me? You can’t just ignore me!”

I know, I thought to myself. It was impossible to ignore her. But she and the omega were safe for now. And I had work to finish. Without another word, I turned and walked out, leaving the cabin in silence.

“Hey, where are you going?” the little fox called out as I pulled the front door shut, drowning out the rest of her words.

However, I was sure she’d called me a sorry excuse for an alpha. I chuckled, then stopped. That sound didn’t even sound right coming from me. I clamped it down. Unfeeling . It was best to be unfeeling. Outside, the evening air was crisp as I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head.

I craved peace but my mind was chaotic right now. Images of the omega’s bruised face and the way his skin had felt too warm under my touch just now drifted through my thoughts. Then, there was the sound of my little thief’s voice still ringing in my ears, fierce and defiant even as she lay tied up on the couch.

Neither of them should be taking up residence in my thoughts or in my home. Yet here they were, filling my life with their scents and their troubles. Orange blossoms and honey blending perfectly with citrus and the almost floral scent of the little beta. Separately, the two of them smelled fucking delicious. Together, they were damn near irresistible.

I shuddered to think of what would’ve happened to either of them if a pack of rogues had found them. This world wasn’t kind to omegas, and it wasn’t kind to women in general. They weren’t safe on their own, especially not in the swamps. And it was alphas who made it that way. No wonder the omega had begged me to kill him, and the beta female had assumed I’d harmed the omega.

Shaking my head, I made my way to the traps I’d set. They were empty. I glared back toward my cabin. Damn it, little fox! As I moved from trap to trap, checking each one, I kept catching myself glancing back at the cabin. She’d stolen everything from my traps. I sighed. Damn, little thief. I should be pissed off right now.

Yet, I couldn’t shake the image of her red hair framing her face, her hazel eyes, those full pouty lips, and that amazing scent that clung to the air around her. It was maddening, that scent. It drew me in, stirring something dangerous. She was... a force. One I wasn’t sure I could control, even if I tried. But it wasn’t just her. It was him, too.

The omega, with his haunted eyes and broken spirit. The way he’d looked up at me, pleading for an end, as if he’d already given up. The memory of it twisted inside me, a painful reminder of things I’d rather keep buried. I shook my head, focusing on resetting my traps, but thoughts of them didn’t leave.

I had two strangers in my home, each one pulling at me in ways I didn’t understand. The omega stirred something protective, something I’d never thought I’d feel. Mine . I clamped that thought down. It was dangerous to think like that. The beta, on the other hand, was like a wildfire, bright and consuming, lighting up my life.

I hated the light. It hurt. That’s why I kept to the shadows. I knew I should extinguish the little light that had infiltrated the darkness of my home, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Just like I couldn’t bring myself to leave the enchanting omega in the woods to die. I sighed. When did my heart begin to thaw, and how the hell could I refreeze it?

I kept trying to think about anything other than the intruders in my home. It was impossible. As soon as I tried to focus on something else, a thought of them would pop up. I needed more food for the winter. The omega would probably need omega things, like soft blankets.

I needed to chop more wood. The beta had been stealing from me. That must mean she was hungry. I should feed her. See! Fucking see! It continued that way the entire time I was checking the property. When I finished with the traps, I headed toward the cabin, keeping my steps slow, my mind grappling with the reality of the situation.

The reality was that the frail omega was running from something, someone. Maybe an abusive bond or a trafficker. Either way, he needed a protector. I could be that. At least until the storm passed. No. I’d protect him until the winter passed and he was strong and healthy enough to go about his way.

As for the beta who kept stealing from my traps, she clearly couldn’t hunt for herself. She needed a provider, or she’d starve this winter. I could be that, just for the winter. I wouldn’t demand anything from them. I wasn’t looking for anything in return. I was just lending a hand the way I’d wished someone would’ve lent me a hand all those years ago.

Plus, they’d be safer here than out there alone during the winter. I’d make sure no harm came to them while they were under my protection, no matter how much I’d have to risk to keep them out of harm’s way.

My mind was made up. The battered omega and the thieving beta would spend the winter in my protection, in my home. My heart gave a little jolt, and for a second, I wondered if I was doing this for them or for me.