CHAPTER FIVE

SOFIA

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Being tied up by a big bear of an alpha wasn't exactly what I'd planned for my night. Yet, here I was, on a stranger's couch, tied up. I struggled against the ropes, feeling the coarse fibers dig into my wrists, the roughness stinging as I strained to get free. Every time I tugged, the bindings burned against my skin.

But that didn't stop me. I shot another glare toward the door the rogue had disappeared through. I still couldn't believe the bastard had knocked me out without me even realizing it. One minute, I was preparing to attack him with everything I had in me. The next, I was here, like this. My sore shoulder told me he'd probably karate-chopped me.

That was only supposed to work in old movies. I was proof that it could be done in reality. I really needed to learn that move. Could I take the big guy down with it? I was up for trying. Considering his size, I’d probably break my hand before I broke him.

"Damn it," I muttered, unable to get free of whatever knot he'd tied these ropes in.

The ropes bit deeper into my flesh as I twisted, seeking any hint of slack. My heart raced like a caged bird beating against my ribs. The alpha's lingering scent was smoky but with a chemical tang to it. It filled my nostrils, a constant reminder of my predicament. I scanned the dimly lit room, searching for anything I could use to escape.

I didn’t see anything. The walls seemed to close in, trapping me with my own rising panic. Calm down, Sofia. You’re fine. Nothing is going to happen to you. You’ll be just fine. Even as I told myself that, I still felt nervous. I hated feeling nervous! What did this rogue alpha want with me?

Why had he brought me here? Why had he brought him here? My gaze fell on the motionless form across from me – the bruised and battered omega. A wave of protectiveness washed over me, momentarily drowning out my fear. I had to get both of us out of here.

"Hey," I whispered, trying to rouse him. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

No response. Just the shallow rise and fall of his chest. His long blond hair fell across his face and chest, obscuring the worst of the bruising. But even from here, I could tell he was in immense pain.

"Don't worry," I murmured, more to myself than to him. "I'll figure something out. We'll get out of here."

I had a habit of becoming chatty when I was nervous. But I would get us out of here as soon as I figured out a way to break free of my restraints. The ropes held fast, defying my every attempt to loosen them. Damn it. I needed to get this done before that alpha returned. That alpha ...

The memory of his unnaturally blue eyes sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. The rogue alpha had striking blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through me, framed by dark brows that gave him an intense, brooding expression. A thin scar ran across his cheek, adding a rugged edge to his already strong, chiseled features.

His dark brown hair was cut short and untamed, like he hadn’t brushed it in days. His square jaw was shadowed with a hint of stubble. There was something dangerous about him, yes, but also... something else. Something that made my skin tingle in a way I didn't want to examine too closely. I shook my head, banishing the thought. Focus, Sofia. You need to escape .

"Damn it," I growled again, renewing my struggles against the bindings. "Come on, come on..."

But the ropes wouldn't budge. And with each passing moment, the reality of my situation settled over me like a suffocating blanket. I was trapped and at the mercy of a strange alpha, with no idea what he had planned for me or the injured omega.

A sliver of fear crept over me, threatening to choke me. I swallowed it down, forcing myself to breathe deeply. I couldn't give up. I wouldn't. I had to keep trying. Normally, when I wasn’t kidnapped, I was good at slipping free of knots. I came from a family of hunters, and my grandfather taught me how to tie and escape knots when I was a kid.

I closed my eyes, trying to recall my grandfather's lessons on knot-tying and escape techniques. I pictured his weathered hands guiding mine as we practiced intricate patterns. I conjured up the smell of pine and leather in his old hunting cabin. I pictured the pride in my grandmother’s eyes when I successfully slipped free of my restraints for the first time.

I hadn’t presented yet. And it wasn’t uncommon for traffickers to snatch kids up off the streets, off farms, on ranches, from in stores, anywhere they could find them alone for even a second. My grandparents taught my cousins and me techniques to get free if anything ever happened to us.

"You've got hunter's blood in you, Sofia," my grandfather had said, his voice gruff but warm. "Hunters can survive anywhere. Never forget that."

But I had forgotten, hadn't I? Or at least, I'd failed to live up to that legacy. The irony wasn't lost on me as I twisted my wrists, searching for any give in the ropes.

"Some hunter I turned out to be," I muttered, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "Can't even feed myself without resorting to theft."

I ignored the wave of shame that washed over me. I wasn’t a thief. At least, not a real one. Okay, I was. But I hadn’t wanted to steal. Hunger could make you do strange things. Things you wouldn’t normally do. Hence, the reason I had to sneak onto this property to steal. Honestly, if I’d known an alpha lived here, I would’ve steered clear of this place.

There were no strong scents around here, which was why I’d thought a quiet beta lived here. That wouldn’t have made my thievery any better. But I’d planned to pay him back after I went into town and got some cash off my card. I had to admit, I decided to take this self-discovery journey of mine at the wrong time of the year and in the wrong location.

Living off the grid wasn’t as easy as my cousin made it sound. And I wasn’t as good at it as I thought I’d be. My dad had warned me that I wouldn’t make it on my own. To prove him wrong, I’d stuck it out, even after a dumb-ass bear got into my cabin and ate all my food. I hadn’t even known they had bears in this neck of the woods.

I’d left my door cracked while I’d gone out to check my traps and returned with the door swung open and a bear leaving my home. My home was a mess now. Plus, the last tornado that had come through had torn parts of my roof off. I now kept large buckets in my living room and kitchen to keep water from flooding the house whenever it rained.

But because I had holes in the roof that I couldn’t repair on my own, all sorts of creepy crawlies were trying to get into my home. My cabin was officially unlivable. But I had nowhere else to stay and nothing to eat.

"What a disaster," I muttered, tugging at my bindings again. "Can't even grow a tomato, let alone survive on my own."

The stupid bear had even stepped all over my garden, which hadn’t been much to look at anyway. Nothing had grown in it. Nothing . How could I plant all those seeds yet grow nothing? How? Then, there were the gators that chased me away from the lake whenever I tried to fish. The bayou didn’t like me, and I didn’t like it very much now, either.

Nothing was working out for me. I was starting to feel like the pampered princess my dad claimed I was. But that wasn’t what I wanted to be. I didn’t want to live off my family’s money or join the family business. The Agresti family’s meats and cold-cut production company kept grocery stores nationwide stocked with the best meats of the best quality.

Our smaller farms kept the local markets stocked with fresh vegetables and produce. And though it was illegal to do so, my family secretly made sure safe haven facilities stayed stocked too. I was proud of what my family did. And we were tight knit. I loved them all, even my meddling cousins.

However, I was tired of living on our Mississippi ranch and raising cattle. I know what my family did was lucrative and important. But it wasn’t the life for me. I loved hand-to-hand combat and I was a natural born protector. I would love to train to be a patroller and protect the citizens in my community.

But my dad’s influence kept the local authorities from hiring me. They didn’t want to get on my family’s bad side. It wasn’t that dad didn’t believe in me. He was just afraid I’d be hurt or killed. What he failed to see was that my spirit was dying inside our estate, where I was protected by guards and taken care of by our staff.

I’d wanted to make it on my own. But after weeks of trying, I’d realized I was utterly failing. Stealing had been a last resort. One that I wasn’t proud of. But I had planned for tonight to be my last haul. I was going to steal enough to get me through the next few days.

Then, I was going to tuck my tail and return to my family and join the family business because, apparently, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life outside the family. I had no idea my last haul would lead me to this situation. When I smelled that omega’s scent, I rushed my stolen haul back to my cabin and then returned here.

Not only could I not hunt, take care of a garden, or protect my home from animals, but I also couldn’t protect the innocent like I thought I could. Now, here we both were. Captured by the rogue. I looked toward the other couch. The omega lay across from me, motionless, his body a map of bruises and pain.

Whoever he was, it was obvious he’d been through hell. Dark smudges shadowed his eyes, his face pale beneath the bruises and scratches that marked his skin. He was like a wounded animal, his presence stirring my protective nature. He was the reason I wanted to be a patroller. I wanted to protect omegas from trash alphas.

My mind raced, running through possible scenarios. Had this alpha attacked him? No, that couldn’t be the case. The way he’d handled the omega had been tender and careful. It wasn’t what I’d expect from an alpha who’d gone out of his way to restrain me and drag us both here. The omega shifted slightly, his mouth parting as his eyes fluttered open, just for a moment. A small gasp escaped me. Silver . His eyes were really silver.

A faint spark lit his silver gaze, and his lips moved, barely forming the word, “Beautiful.”

The quiet murmur sent a jolt through me, and my throat tightened. He didn’t know my name, but that word— beautiful — was meant for me. The innocence of it, the way he looked at me, even in his weakened state, made my heart ache in a way I hadn’t felt before. I wanted to reach out, to touch him, to take away his pain, but my wrists were bound, and there was nothing I could do.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered, knowing he probably couldn’t hear me. “I’ll get us out of here. I’ll figure something out. I just need to calm down and think of an escape plan.”

But the truth was, I wasn’t sure if that was even possible. The ropes held fast no matter how much I wriggled, and as much as I tried to tell myself that this alpha was the enemy, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was... different. His touch had been tender, careful, and the worry in his eyes as he’d treated the omega hadn’t been fake.

Then there was his scent. Oh. My. Damn . He smelled divine, at least the hints of his aroma that I was picking up. Maybe he was on suppressants that were muting his scent, so I couldn’t get a full whiff of him. Still, what I got was enough to know that he smelled good as hell.

He smelled of the earth, lightning during a bad storm, hail during a hurricane, a whiskey-filled night of bad decisions. His scent was wild and untamed, and when I’d first smelled it, I’m pretty sure I came a little in my panties.

I’d never been affected by the scent of anyone until I’d encountered these two people. Still, it infuriated me that Mr. Bear Man had karate-chopped me. The nerve of this man, tying me up, leaving me helpless while he took care of the omega as if I was a threat instead of someone who would do anything to protect the abused man before me.

Why would anyone hurt him? Had his pack done this to him? I swear, some alphas deserved to have their knots chopped off and fed to them. I tugged on the bindings again, ignoring the burn as I tested each knot. If I could just get a hand free, I’d make sure we got out of here.

My mind wouldn’t stop circling around the rogue. He was a mystery, a towering figure with short dark hair that looked like he’d just woken up from a good fuck and ran his hands through his hair instead of combing it.

Even the scar that cut across his right cheek didn’t distract from his handsome looks. If anything, it made him look even more appealing, even more dangerous. Then, there were his eyes that seemed colder than ice. They were an unnatural blue. I’d never seen anything like them. Yet, when I’d challenge him, I could’ve sworn his eyes lit up. If eyes could smirk, his had.

And that damn scent, smoky, rugged, something that shouldn’t smell so good but did. The worst part was, I hated that I’d noticed it, hated the fact that it lingered in the air even now. I was a beta, for crying out loud. I didn’t get this worked up over scents. Alphas didn’t affect me like this. Why now? Why him?

I would just have to ignore the insanity that had taken over my body because I couldn’t afford to feel anything for him. He was the threat, the reason we were here, the one who had restrained me and dragged us into his home like it was his right. And yet, the way he’d looked at the omega told a different story.

His eyes had softened, his hands moving slowly, almost reverently, as he’d wiped away the grime and blood from the other man’s face. The tenderness in that simple act made me want to understand him, and I hated myself for it. Why was I trying to figure him out? Why did I care if there was a reason behind his actions?

I shook my head, attempting to banish the thought, but it lingered, an itch in my mind that I couldn’t scratch. I’d expected cruelty, violence, but instead, I’d seen a silent, almost resigned kind of care. Under the alpha’s touch, the omega’s breathing calmed, his face finally relaxing as he slipped deeper into sleep.

He’d helped , not hurt, the wounded omega. His actions were more attractive, more potent than his looks, his scent, or how big I’d imagined his cock was. Seriously, it would be tragic if that bear had a mini sausage in his pants. Why was I even thinking about that right now? I needed to focus on the omega.

The urge to reach out and protect him was almost overwhelming. I couldn’t ignore the pull I felt toward him, a soft, tender feeling that defied logic. He looked so vulnerable, so painfully beautiful, and something in me wanted to erase every bruise, every scar, to see his face free of the pain that clung to him like a shadow.

I sighed, letting my head fall back against the cushions, my eyes drifting toward the door. I was a bundle of feelings and emotions. This was unlike me. Maybe it was the fact that I’d been kidnapped. It was heightening my squirrel brain tendencies, skittering my thoughts all over the place.

It was also sending my emotions into overdrive. I took a deep breath and quickly realized I probably shouldn’t have done that. The alpha’s scent lingered, filling the room, and I had to admit, it didn’t feel entirely... wrong.

It unsettled me, irritated me, but there was something about it that made me feel safer than I wanted to admit. And that was the part that made my skin crawl. I didn’t want to feel safe here, didn’t want to find comfort in the presence of a rogue who had no business being anything but dangerous.

I didn’t want to be thinking about the way he’d looked at me, his eyes glancing at me every so often, as if he couldn’t help himself, as if I was just as irresistible as the omega across from me. I didn’t want to acknowledge that a part of me was curious about the rogue alpha who’d kidnapped me.

“Don’t let him get to you, Sofia,” I muttered to myself as if saying it out loud might break whatever strange spell had taken hold of me.

The omega shifted again, drawing my attention back to him, and all the anger, the frustration, faded into worry. I watched him, helpless to do anything else, my heart tightening as I imagined the pain he’d endured. Whoever he was, whatever he’d been through, I knew one thing: I would be his protector now. Even if it meant facing down the big strange alpha by myself.

“Hold on,” I whispered softly, my gaze lingering on the omega’s bruised face. “I’ll get us out of here. Somehow.”