Omega Mine

“Omegas?” Josie asked, breath catching in her throat as he pinned her with his cold, glowing red stare.

That deadly look should have terrified her like it had originally, but that was before he’d put his mouth on her pulse while she’d bared her neck in submission. Before he’d made her feel something completely unexpected.

He’d lapped at her like she was a treat he couldn’t resist, and despite everything, she’d responded. Her body had gone pliant, her knees had weakened and her pussy had spasmed, desire flaring to life. Josie had been lost to the feel of his body on hers, of the sensual way his mouth and tongue had stroked her skin. But then she’d scented her own arousal emerging through her scent blocker.

That had sent her into a panic and she’d begun struggling against him, desperate to free herself from his embrace before more of her desire filled the air. Luckily it was gone now, Sierra’s faint scent on her clothing masking her once more.

But how long would it last? Scent blockers only worked for a day. Two at most, and she’d taken hers hours ago.

Josie cleared her throat. “Omegas are mates to Alphas and some Betas as well. They were once considered peacekeepers.” Now they were preparing for war.

He stared at her, eyes narrowing. “They sound weak.”

Face heating with irritation and embarrassment at how callously he’d just insulted her, even unknowingly, Josie spat back, “Those weak Omegas kept Alphas like you from going feral with rage and madness for centuries, saving them from needing to be put down before they could lose control and go on killing sprees. Omegas are everything.”

She was breathing hard by the time she finished, adrenaline coursing through her veins from raising her voice and scolding an Alpha, and an imprisoned one at that. A cold-blooded killer, she reminded herself.

He didn’t seem to remember anything about his life before coming here, and he’d been captive for decades, forced to murder his own people, likely being tortured when he was younger. She’d seen the scars on his body. Felt them while she’d bathed the blood from his body, her heart aching for him.

Josie knew that Alphas were prone to tempers and irritation, but Grayson was worse than she could have ever imagined. One moment he seemed ready to snap her in half, and the next he was staring at her like a puzzle he couldn’t quite work out.

When she’d first realized she was trapped down here with Bethany’s son, she’d been fully prepared to divulge as much information about the rebellion to him as possible in the hopes that he would be rallied by the thought of freedom. That he’d help her get the hell out of here so they could find their way back to his mother.

But now?

He didn’t even know what he was. Who he was. Telling him anything about the rebellion, or even about her affiliation, was dangerous. He’d already snapped at her for talking poorly about the humans, threatening to shove his cock down her throat. In spite of her fear, something inside of her had responded to his sensual threat; an Omega awakening to please an Alpha in need.

This Alpha in particular.

She’d ignored the instinctual urge, zipping her lips before he did as promised. Besides, what if she told him too much and he went to Commander Ortega with what he knew?

Josie couldn’t risk it. Hopefully Commander Ortega would release her eventually once he’d assumed Grayson was through with her.

That was her best case scenario of making it out of here. Survive Grayson and his moods for a few nights at most and then maybe they would let her go. She’d report to Bethany what she’d found and let the older Omega take it from there.

If Grayson didn’t know what an Omega was, then she might get lucky and he wouldn’t be able to identify her scent when the blockers wore off. She’d figure out how she’d make it past any Mongrels working for the humans later.

“Regardless of your little story, I won’t hear more of it. Alphas, Omegas. None of that matters down here.”

“Of course it matters, Grayson.”

“It doesn’t,” he hissed, the flash of cruelty in his red eyes making her tense. “Nothing matters down here but survival, and these little titles of yours don’t change anything. These walls remain enclosed around us, this darkness is forever.”

“Grayson–”

“That is not my name,” he seethed, taking a step toward her. Josie took an involuntary step back, nearly tripping on her chains in her haste to get away. “We won’t speak of this again.”

“Just because you don’t want to hear it doesn’t make any of this untrue,” she said softly. He didn’t respond to that, instead taking a deep breath, frustrated breath.

“What is your name, human?” Grayson asked, voice hard as he glared at her. His cold treatment grated on her nerves, and suddenly she felt like throttling him. Josie opened her mouth, almost yelling that she was an Omega, not a damned human, but she resisted.

“Josephine. Everyone calls me Josie,” she said reluctantly.

He stepped into her space, grabbing her by the back of the neck and dragging her to him. She let out a startled noise, still unused to someone moving so quickly, or from the strength that poured out of him in waves despite his malnourished state. Catching herself on him, her fingernails dug into his chest instinctively, an odd stirring in her body urging her to mark him like he’d marked her neck.

“Did they send you down here to test me, Josephine?” His warm breath fanned her face, a harsh growl filling the tiny space between them. His fingers tightened on her neck, pinching her skin until she winced. “To see if I was willing to turn on them with a few pretty words from a pretty human?”

“No,” she told him through clenched teeth. He stared at her for one long moment, eyes shining with ire. His lips twisted into a snarl, hand tightening on the back of her neck.

“Get on the bed,” he growled, turning to push her toward a rectangular object in the dark.

“What? No!”

Her mouth dried and she began struggling against him, the sound of her chains rattling only worsening her anxiety. There was no way she was getting on that bed!

He hissed out a breath, dropping his hold on her neck to wrap his arms around her torso, locking her in place against the hard planes of his body, his erection digging into her backside. She let out a shriek of rage, clawing at his arms until he was bleeding, wildly kicking her feet behind her in an attempt to strike him.

“Enough!” Grayson spat, hauling her forward like her resistance was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. To someone like him, it definitely was. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure it would explode out of her chest, her breaths shallow as a panicked whimper escaped.

“Let me go!”

“Sleep on the floor then!” Snarling, Grayson tossed her into a heap on the floor beside his metal bed frame. She caught herself on the edge of the thin mattress, her entire body shaking as she processed what he’d said.

“We’re just sleeping?” Her shoulders slumped in relief. She clenched her hands into fists to hide the trembling in her fingers.

There was a dramatic huff from behind her before Grayson climbed into the bed, dropping to his side and glaring down at her. “There is no way to escape this room, so don’t try. If you wake me up with your tears, or if you attempt anything while I’m sleeping, I’ll know and I’ll kill you.”

Without waiting for her response, he turned over, showing her his bare, muscled back. She wasn’t sure if he even had a pillow or a blanket to use. If so, it was too dark to see anything.

After a few minutes of sitting stiffly beside the bed, she heard Grayson’s breaths even out, his body going lax as he fell asleep. Josie was almost afraid to move an inch, but remaining in one position on the ground was causing her entire body to ache, and fatigue from the day was closing in on her rapidly.

Moving slowly so as to not awaken him, she lay down on the hard ground, teeth chattering as the cold concrete crept into her bones. How the hell did he expect her to go to sleep like this?

Oh, that was right, he hadn’t. He’d been trying to give her the bed and she’d attacked him like a wild animal, probably refusing the only kindness he was going to give her.

Tears filled her eyes as the weight of the day began to settle around her. She’d been so hopeful earlier, so eager to help the rebellion locate Grayson. But now that she had, all she felt was uncertainty and fear and an odd stirring in her chest that she couldn’t explain.

Refusing to wake the Alpha with her tears lest he make good on his promise, Josie sucked in a trembling breath, determined to focus on the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat beside her.

Part of her didn’t want to fall asleep. She was prone to sleep like the dead, and being so vulnerable around a hostile Alpha in enemy territory was a recipe for disaster. The other, stronger part demanded that she rest now and gather whatever strength she could as she had no idea what tomorrow had in store for her.

Her eyelids grew heavy the longer she stared into the darkness and listened, until eventually she drifted off.

Seven wasn’t able to fall asleep with a potential threat in his domain. Wondering if she’d attempt anything despite his warnings, he’d feigned slumber, fully expecting her to choke him with the chains still secured to her wrists, or at the very least thinking she might claw at his eyes with those fierce nails that had torn up his forearms.

Josephine might be human, but there was a spitfire lurking in her soul that he kept catching glimpses of. It was… enticing, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to snuff it out or provoke her to see more of it.

Being near her was definitely the most interesting encounter he’d had in decades, even though he found her exasperating and irritating, his temper bouncing back and forth more irregularly than he’d ever remembered before. Usually he was always full of ice cold rage and wrath, but now he felt mixed up.

After a long while, he heard the faint sound of her deep breaths as she succumbed to sleep, followed by the chattering of her teeth and the slight rattling of her chains as her limbs shook from the cold.

Glaring at the wall his bed butted up against, he debated on whether or not to wake her up just so she’d stop with that incessant noise. Better yet, if he simply strangled her, he wouldn’t need to worry about her making any noises or attacking him again while he got some rest.

Instead of just ending his misery once and for all, Seven found himself rolling toward the slumbering human, leaning over the bed and snatching her from the ground. He deposited her onto the bed beside him, and adjusted the chains hanging over the bed so that her wrists wouldn’t ache in the morning.

The small mattress was barely big enough to fit him, let alone another person. Turning her onto her side, he pressed his front to her back, awkwardly sliding an arm around her waist to keep her from falling off the edge.

He expected her to stiffen in his hold, to wake and unleash her fury on him as she had when he’d taken her to bed initially. But if anything, Josephine slept harder, turning her head and burying her face into his chest as if she were seeking his body heat.

Her nose and lips were cold for a moment before the warmth of his body began to seep into her. For some reason, Seven wrapped himself more firmly around her, letting her use his upper arm as a pillow when she eventually turned to face away from him.

Her dark hair fell away from her neck and on instinct, he leaned in. He inhaled deeply, searching for something that he knew was missing. All he caught was that same wrong scent, fainter than it had been before.

How was that possible? He moved past her neck to the back of her shirt and then the material covering her armpit, where the scent was the strongest. It was almost as if it was coming from her clothing and not her, which was peculiar.

How could she be missing her scent?

Something began to trickle into his mind, almost as if a memory from a lifetime before was threatening to creep in. As if he should already know the answer to his own question.

Sighing in frustration, Seven buried his face in the silky strands of her hair, finally allowing himself to rest.