Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

KANE

I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard in my entire life, and as I gaze at the little rabbit freaking out in the corner, I know she’s the reason.

“How?” Jed insists, shoving his body between the seats. He’s too damn big to be doing that, and he twists his hips to get through when he gets stuck.

“The snow,” Morris reminds him, eyes on the road. It’s quickly becoming a damn whiteout. I only enjoy the snow when I can fuck around in it.

The omega shivering and perfuming clearly needs some attention. I don’t mind fucking her, knotting her, and then dropping her off at the auction house.

I don’t have the ability to connect to people outside of my brothers and Morris. At least, I’ve never connected to a female before. I use them for my own pleasure, make sure they’re taken care of sexually, and then cut them loose. I love the power of making a man or woman come.

“We’ll have to see if we can make it to the closest safe house or find an abandoned home,” Jed states, eyes still on the girl. “Now answer me, little omega.”

“Daddy said I was a late bloomer,” she whispers, eyes glazing as she shivers. I’ve never been with an omega through a heat, though I have fucked them before. What the hell do they need other than a knot?

Multiple knots? The thought of fucking her makes me adjust my cock again, but I want to figure out the latest mystery of the little rabbit. As much as I want to claim her as mine, she’s on loan at best.

“When do omegas usually have their first heat?” I ask, frowning.

“Twenty typically,” Jed murmurs. “Why aren’t you courting for a pack?”

One last twist releases him, and he tumbles into the backseat with us. Morris simply grunts as he focuses completely on the road, one ear listening to the conversation.

“Daddy said it wasn’t… safe,” she whimpers, pressing on her stomach as if that’ll help the ache. Jed pushes a hand through his dark curls, puzzling out what was happening in the Firestone residence. They’re slightly wet from wearing the mask, so they’re a bit wilder than usual.

“Jeremiah could have set you up with any high end agency to find a pack,” he says gently. An idiot can see that the girl is struggling.

“I don’t know about any of that,” she whines, making me shudder. My heart sinks, my fingers shaking, realizing I want to do anything in my power to ease her.

Damn, omegas could rule the world with their whine alone. Maybe that’s why the Omega Association has so many rules to force them into little boxes. Emilia Richardson secretly runs the organization while pretending to help them. Instead, she sends the ones who are an issue to auction, getting a cut of the amount they’re sold for. This little omega doesn’t seem to care about what the box looks like outside of the one her father stuffed her into.

“Okay,” Demon murmurs. His eyes are slightly softer after his freak out, but only someone who knows him would notice. His black hair is mussed from the mask, though it’s a good look for him, different from the perfect son vibe he typically goes for.

Demon stays out of Dad’s way, and I can see there’s a reason why as he looks at the pint-sized omega as if she may bite him. Silly, baby brother. That’s what we’re supposed to do.

No. We can’t claim her. Loan, loan, loaner .

“Is there anything that can keep an omega from going into heat? I don’t know what it’s called,” Demon says, wrinkling his nose.

“An omega has to awaken before she or he can go into their first heat. You’ve never had a spike, a hot flash, feeling as if you have to nest?” Jed asks, brows furrowed.

“I’m an omega, I always want to nest,” she says, her nose burrowed in her leg as if that will help her from scenting us. I wonder which one she likes best. The car smells like strawberry shortcake after I came so hard I saw stars, and I’m smug as fuck about it. I hope she can still smell me. “I haven’t had a spike before. This feels fucking awful.”

“How awful?” I purr, ignoring the glare from my big brother. “Do you need a knot yet, little rabbit? You’ll be wild with lust soon, gagging for it.”

Shaking her head, she denies it, but there’s a flush in her cheeks. We have a few hours at most before we’re under the haze of her heat. Looking forward to fucking her everywhere. I bet she’s?—

“Quiet your thoughts,” Jed complains, palming his pants-covered cock. The pack bond means he can pick up on what we’re thinking or feeling. He tries to mute it as much as possible because we’re bat shit crazy, but I also think it’s for privacy reasons.

“Can’t help it.” I shrug. “So how can someone push back a little omega from maturing?”

“There are supplements available to suppress an omega’s hormones and natural instincts, but they’re dangerous,” Jed explains. “When not taken regularly, if there’s a break in the routine, it could be disastrous. The worst fucking heat imaginable.”

“Oh… goodie,” she gasps.

“Are there any vitamins you take regularly, Adira?” Demon asks gently. He’s watching her like a predator, but almost worried she might bite back. She’s a rabbit, not a wolf. There’s nothing dangerous about her, except her resourcefulness. Her ability to string up and surprise me makes me way too interested in her.

Nothing good can come from it, but as her leg drops open, I can see a wet spot on her leggings. A direct line to delicious snickerdoodle cookies lies right there. Yummy.

“Daddy gives me three vitamins with my protein shake before my morning workout,” she rasps, as her shaking hands pull on her hair hard to help her focus. “Then I run for an hour before going on with my day.”

“Jeremiah has been gone for three days. Did you get your vitamins during that time?” Demon presses, leaning into her delicious scent.

“I… oh my god. Why would he do this?” Tears stream down her face, and I lean so far over the seat, Jed hauls me back before I fall into the trunk.

“Jeremiah likely wanted to control when you awakened,” I murmur. “He didn’t want you to grow up, little one. No questions asked makes for the perfect pampered princess.”

“I’m an idiot,” she whispers, her face transforming into a look of horror as a cramp grips her.

“We may not make it to the safe house,” Demon sighs. “It’s still three hours away. We’ll have to figure something else out.”

“My sister lives close by and she’s on vacation,” Morris grunts. “We could bunker down there?”

“I can’t go somewhere where there’ve been people,” she says in horror.

“What am I missing?” Demon asks, confused.

“Omegas need their own space, an area that doesn’t smell like other people or females. She’ll likely destroy the area, Morris,” Jed says softly.

“She has a basement that no one goes in. It’s where I usually stay when I visit. It smells like detergent and bleach,” Morris explains.

“Yes,” she whispers.

“Maybe,” Jed says, refusing to agree to anything she says. His eyes flick to Morris, panic flashing in them when she’s bent over in pain and he nods. Between the snow and the omega about to go nuclear, there’s not much else for us to do.

Ho, ho, ho. Merry slut-mas. I can’t wait to ease this little omega.

ADIRA

It hurts. I’m breathing through the cramps, but it is slowly ramping up. If what the alpha said is true, this is going to get a lot worse.

“What is the purpose of delaying an omega’s heat?” I ask, desperate to know. It was always Dad and I against the world. Why would he do this to me?

“Grooming, though your father doesn’t seem the type to touch his daughter inappropriately,” Jed says, lips twitching when I snarl. “Could he have had a buyer? Dad doesn’t touch the skin trade, though. The auctions are different in his mind. What happens after omegas are bought doesn’t matter to him.”

“Secrets are fun to unravel,” the one with the red hair grins savagely, ignorant of the pain and sorrow that have to be clear on my face. “I’ll have to dig into his records a bit later, emails, all of it. There’s more to this than meets the eye.”

Yeah, no shit.

Fire moves through my body, twisting it. Eyelashes fluttering as my body contorts, I make noises I’ve never heard before. I need blankets, a dark room, and some toys. I don’t want anything from these alpha holes.

Absolutely…

Fuck!

“So pretty,” the redhead grins. There’s a red line across his neck from where I tried to kill him. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was tired of sitting and doing nothing as they carried me further from my ruined home.

An auction. I’ve read about these on the darker chats. They’re cautionary tales for omegas, reminding us to be good little boys and girls so we don’t end up being kidnapped.

Oops. Guess I already screwed that up.

It feels like there’s an inferno ramping up in my body, and I force down the whine threatening to come out.

“I can do it alone,” I gasp instead. “I just need some vibrating help is all. It’ll be fine.”

“My sister is a beta, but her best friend almost went mad, when her mates got stuck across the country last year when they were moving. She spent her heat alone and said it was the worst?—”

“Shut up, Morris,” the alpha with the bark hisses. I close my eyes, trying to weigh my options, but it’s hard.

There are three knots in the car, strawberry shortcake in the air, and my scent match, looking at me curiously. I can feel my traitorous pussy clench over empty air and I whimper. God, this already hurts so much. These alphas can’t be my salvation. It’s not fair.

“Your first heat is likely to be bad,” the red-haired alpha croons. “Mmmm, let me between those creamy thighs and clean you up. All of that slick is going to waste, little omega.”

“Why is this my circus?” the alpha leader groans.

“Relax, Jed, don’t you want to know? It’s been an age since we’ve shared a girl, much less an omega,” the red-haired alpha chuckles.

“Names, fuck!” Jed roars. It would almost be funny if I didn't burn with need. Peeking up, I see my Cedar-scented scent match staring as if he can’t figure out if he’s scared of me or wants to devour me. At this point I would rather the latter.

It would be nice to have sex once before being sold, even if it is under my body’s duress. There are no good decisions right now.

“Let’s be honest, Kane is right. I’m sure her value will drop if we bring Ophelia a broken omega,” my scent match sneers. A part of me craves his name, while the other doesn’t want to know any more about him. “It would piss Dad off if he doesn’t get his money back.”

“For fuck’s sakes, Damon,” Jed sighs. I can feel myself lose a part of my soul as I hear his name. My scent match is beautiful, but his dead green eyes show that he doesn’t feel the same connection to me as I have to him.

I read once that scent matches were becoming more and more rare, and it may be for the best because this is underwhelming to say the least.

“Complain all you want, but Demon is right,” Kane huffs softly. He seems to be drifting closer and closer to the edge, making me worried that he may tumble into the trunk with me.

Jed reaches out, cuffing the crazy alpha by his collar. “Down boy,” he mutters when Kane growls at him.

This is going to get really bad.

“It could,” Jed says, surprising me. I stare up at him with widened eyes, making him smirk. “I can’t read minds, you’re speaking out loud, Adira. We’re going to have to get some water in you soon.”

Is he being nice to me right now?

“I think the omega is already broken,” Damon murmurs. God, I’m losing my mind already.

Burying my head in my thigh, I try to self soothe, rocking back and forth. It helps a little, though the itch for soft blankets and no windows is digging deep under my skin. “Not broken,” I mutter.

“Of course not,” someone says from the front of the car. I don’t know what I want or need, but those words seem to help. Breathing my own scent in, I ignore the amount of slick that is starting to soak through my leggings. Even though they’re black, I’m sure it’s noticeable.

A thump in the back next to me makes me jump, and I look up, eyes wide. Jed is next to me, his huge frame taking up a lot of space.

“Go away,” I rasp petulantly. I may be in pain, but I’m still just stubborn enough to refuse this alpha hole’s company.

“I’m just here to see if I can help. Just because I’m selling your ass doesn’t mean?—”

Morris groans under his breath as I glare at him, kicking Jed in the thigh. Not even flinching, he raises his brow and pulls the rope I had around my wrists away from me.

“That’s exactly what it means. I don’t want, nor desire your help,” I growl, swallowing the wince of pain as my stomach cramps again.

“Feisty little omega,” Kane purrs.

“None of that.” I sigh. “If your plans are to take me to an auction house for a debt that I’m not responsible for, I would rather gnaw my arm off than accept any help from you.”

“Dramatic too,” Damon comments.

Turning away, I lay my head on the plastic paneling of the SUV, focused on taking a nap. Pressing my lips against each other to ensure I’m not unwittingly speaking, I close my eyes, shutting out the world. The alphas talk softly with the beta, slowly wrapping me in their voices.

I know it’s not intentional, but it does help me drop off to sleep. The heat spikes will get worse, and I’m worried I won’t be able to keep myself from begging them to mount me.

Why would my father do this to me?