Page 7 of Bewitched

L ayla stopped in the dark entryway, her bare feet finding plush, cream carpet. Jaxon stepped in after her and shut the door, sliding two deadbolts into place. He slumped against the door, forehead grinding into the wood. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly through clenched teeth.

Layla shifted uneasily. She was in his den now. Truly alone. No one in the forest to hear her scream. No one outside the car windows to see her terrified eyes. Trapped. Alphas guarded their dens like omegas guarded their nests. Only a select few were allowed inside. Alphas in rut would defend their dens to the death. No court in the world would convict a rutting alpha.

Was he in rut? Was it Jaxon that was out of his mind and not her? She needed to believe that, but the slick dripping down her legs proved otherwise.

Jaxon turned and leaned against the door. His body was looser, more relaxed than she had ever seen him. Hopefully, the familiarity of his own den would keep him calm and docile, but she knew better than to hope. His eyes were dark on her, like prey. He extended his hand and beckoned her closer.

Layla shook her head.

He scowled and pushed off the door, stalking toward her — circling. She hung her head and didn’t move. There was no escape. He came closer. She could feel his heat on her back. He picked up her arm, pushing back the sleeve of his coat, revealing her wrist.

She sucked in a breath as he brought his mouth to the gland on her wrist. His tongue was hot on her skin. It was so good, a thrill straight to her weeping core. She pressed her thighs together, giving her just enough friction.

Jaxon’s other arm came around her body, his hand pressed into her stomach, forcing her close. She could feel his hardness against her back. She gasped.

“You shouldn’t tell your alpha no when you don’t mean it. He might stop listening to you.”

Layla shivered and looked up. “You’re…” n ot my alpha . She couldn’t say it with his grey eyes on her like that. She could smell his anger, thick and cloying. She had never smelled emotions so clearly before. It wasn’t her talent, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

He dropped her hand and pressed his own wrist against her cheek, leaving a smear of oil and pheromones close to her nose.

She tried to jerk away. “Please, Jaxon. I don’t—“

The fingers on her stomach drifted lower. “Call me Alpha, and I’ll let go.”

Layla stared into his eyes for a long moment. She’d never called anyone Alpha before, not as their singular title, not her father, and not even Mina when they were playing alpha knights and princess omegas. Betas didn’t use language like that. But she did want away from him, even for a moment, to get her bearings.

She bowed her head, unwittingly baring her neck to him. “Alpha,” she whispered.

Jaxon didn’t release her, but a deep purr started in his chest. “Good omega.”

She flinched. “You said—”

He released her, moving back toward the door.

Jaxon turned on the lights, bringing them up slowly on a dimmer switch. She could finally see the rest of Jaxon’s apartment laid out in an open-concept living room and kitchen.

“Go on then,” he said. “Look around. You’ll be here for a while.”

Jaxon returned to leaning against the door, and Layla cautiously stepped further into the apartment. He seemed content to watch her explore, so she took the opportunity to retreat from his overwhelming presence.

In the living room was a couch with mismatched chairs and a coffee table with a folded quilt on top. A shattered short sword hung in a shadowbox over the mantel. She stared at the blackened pieces of broken blade and the hilt wrapped in old leather. It had been in a fire, still covered in carbon.

Beside the fireplace was a curio cabinet filled with a variety of porcelain dogs and one lone howling wolf. In the back were birthday cards with crudely drawn puppies on the front, obviously scrawled in a child’s hand.

All of it seemed too… delicate for a man like Jaxon. Violent alpha Jaxon Harlow couldn’t collect glass dogs. It didn’t make sense.

She glanced at him, but Jaxon hadn’t moved from the door. He watched her with half-closed eyes, and if she listened hard, she could still hear a soft purr. Her father would purr the same whenever the whole family gathered for dinner, and so would Bryson on those few occasions he stayed with them.

Layla ducked her head and continued to look around the apartment. The kitchen was tidy, with a drying rack and a dishwasher. There were three pictures on the refrigerator — printed on cardstock, not professional quality. The first was of a haughty blonde woman reclining in a beach lounge chair. Hera Sorreto-Bartlet, Raina’s mother, long gone and buried. Layla remembered her as cold and reserved, especially around Shera, but she looked warm and happy in the picture. It was a happiness that didn’t last. Layla was more familiar with the destruction left behind after her death.

The night it happened, Bryson had fled the city in the night with omega son, Eris, all the way to the Nash’s estate north of the city.

Layla had been too young to understand, but she remembered bringing Bryson picture book after picture book, forcing the desolate alpha to read to her and Eris while Roan sat on the floor at his knee. Years later, it made sense that the family omegas would gather to comfort a distressed alpha, though none had been aware of the children’s designations at the time.

Her mother had hated every moment of having Bryson in her home. Shera had never been so relieved when Damian and Kaiser had turned up to take him back home. Eris had immediately clung to a red-eyed Kaiser, and Bryson had made a noise like he was dying. Damian patted him on the back awkwardly, and then they were gone like it had never happened. Like Hera had never existed.

The second picture was of a smiling Jaxon with his arm around Mina's shoulders. She was in her graduation uniform from her trade school. Layla hadn’t even known Jaxon was there. She’d only seen Axel Harlow skulking around the buffet table, flirting with every omega that came close. Layla had spent most of her time standing between her father and Damian Sorreto in an attempt to keep them from fighting.

Though, in hindsight, she should have kept a closer watch on her other family members because it was her beta cousin who threw the first punch and Mina’s beta boyfriend Clover who threw the last. It was a strange beta-only free-for-all, while the alphas just stood back and watched it burn. Their whole party had been thrown out of the venue, and while Layla had been thoroughly embarrassed, Mina had been immensely proud.

The third picture… she didn’t even know where he got it. It was from the Bartlet Winter Gala two years before. Layla and Kaiser Sorreto, arms around each other, dancing. He was laughing. She was smiling. And he had been a very good dancer. Ryan Bartlet had been following her around the gala, trying to get her alone. Kaiser had smoothly cut in for a dance, chasing away his nephew.

Jaxon couldn’t be so scary if he kept pictures of people he liked on his refrigerator and a cabinet full of tiny knickknacks. But no wife. No mate. No omega.

Of course not. He couldn’t even bother to turn on the charm like his brother could. No one wanted him. That was his own fault, though. He was just so… him. Rude. Aggressive. Violent.

The image of him stabbing a man to death was juxtaposed with the image of him standing beside Mina, smiling and proud. She couldn’t reconcile it.

Layla looked further back into the dark apartment. She could smell the heavier scent of pheromones and sweat, a bedroom. She didn’t want to think about that.

“Can I have my phone?”

His comforting purrs stopped, and she felt bereft. He took her phone from his pocket and set it on the counter. “It won’t work here. Damian’s security measures are extreme.”

“Oh.” She ran her thumb over the screen. There was a new crack. “I wanted to talk to Mina.”

He grimaced. “That’s not a good idea. She can’t do anything for you. Just going to upset her and yourself.”

She nodded. He was right, as much as she didn’t like it. Mina couldn’t soothe the ache in her body or mind, and she was sure Jaxon would just hurt her. She was a lowly omega trapped with an alpha.

An omega. “What about Roan?” she asked.

“Who?”

“He’s… my brother. He’s an omega.” She pleaded with her eyes. She needed to talk to someone that wasn’t Jaxon. She needed to talk to someone who understood.

Jaxon seemed to think it over as he leaned against the counter.

“You can call your omega brother.” He handed her a cordless phone. A landline.

Layla sidled away from him as she dialed Roan’s number. Jaxon watched her intently as it rang.

Someone picked up. “Harlow? What the fuck are you doing calling in the middle of the night?”

The voice that answered was not Roan’s. Layla whimpered.

Jaxon pulled the phone from her grip. “Hey, play nice, Thane. I got your boy’s little sister here. She’s upset.”

Layla could hear grumbling on the other side of the line.

“No, not that one,” Jaxon said. “The omega one.”

There was silence on the other side of the line for a moment, then the “You dumb fuck” was clear as day.

Jaxon handed the phone back, and Layla clutched it close to her ear. “Roan?”

“Layla? It is you. What are you doing with Harlow?”

Layla glanced at Jaxon, but he was pretending to look away. She retreated further into the apartment and found the bathroom next to the dark bedroom. She closed the door and sighed with relief as the lock clicked.

She sat on the bathroom floor, pressing herself against the cool tub. She held the phone tight to her ear like it was a lifeline, like she could crawl into it and come out the other side far away. Roan would be there to hold her tight and protect her.

She hadn’t spoken to him in months. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to say it at all. She didn’t want it to be real. “Roan…I think I’m going into heat. I don’t know what to do.”

Her brother sighed, deep and sad. “Oh, Layla…”

She wrapped an arm around her legs and pressed her forehead against her knees. “I’m on suppressants, Roan, but I feel so gross, and everyone is acting like… Jaxon won’t let me go home.”

Roan was silent on the other end of the line.

“Say something,” she snapped.

“Just a second.” There were shuffling noises, and she could hear Holden grump at his mate before it was suddenly quiet again. “Do you want comfort, or do you want the truth?”

Layla wiped at the tears leaking from her eyes and caught sight of a red-brown stain on the jacket sleeve. Blood. She scrambled out of the jacket and threw it across the room. He killed someone. He killed someone. He killed someone.

“Layla?”

“Oh, gods, Roan. Truth?”

Roan sighed again, a deeply tired sound. “Heats are… I don’t know if they are worse for women, but they can be scary the first time. You’re going to want things you never wanted before, and it’s going to be uncomfortable. Your alpha will know what to do. Their instincts are better with this stuff.”

She scratched at the swollen gland on her wrist. “Can’t I do this by myself?”

“You could… but if Jaxon Harlow is there, he’s not going to let you go. You have an alpha. Let him take care of you.”

“I don’t want to,” Layla whispered.

“I know. But this is Harlow. He gets what he wants. Alphas always get what they want.” Bitterness bled from his voice. They had never talked about Holden before. Layla had never wanted to know. He couldn’t be a bad alpha if she didn’t know. She couldn’t have failed her brother if she was ignorant.

Layla tried to curl deep down inside herself. “Do you hate him?”

“Holden?” There was surprise in his voice. “No, I don’t hate him. I hate the way we met. I hate how that will always hang over us. He’s a good mate. I just wish we could have known each other better before it got so intense.”

Tears ran down her cheeks. She felt trapped. Alone. “How do you live like this?”

Roan laughed. “It’s not so bad. You just accept that this is your life, and you just… live it.”

“How is that not bad?”

He sighed. “You should make a nest. Ask Harlow to let you make a nest. You’ll feel better if you have one. Somewhere dark and quiet. It makes things easier if you are comfortable. Listen to your instincts.”

Instincts. Omegas were supposed to have those. It made them submissive people pleasers. It made alphas dominant personal space invaders. Betas, betas didn’t have instincts. They didn’t need them. She’d been like a beta for so long that she didn’t know if she could reach her instincts anymore. “I don’t think I have any of those.”

“Your suppressants are failing, right? Your instincts still might be suppressed then. Layla, it might not feel good like this. I’m sorry.”

She leaned her forehead on her knees. It already didn’t feel good. “Roan, what do I do?”

“Do whatever he wants. It’s easier if you do what he wants. He won’t hurt you. But don’t let him bite you. He should know better, anyway. I can come by in a few days and check on you. You should be through the worst of your heat, and your alpha will be less growly.”

Fear choked her. “Bite me? Like mate me? He can’t do that. He can’t keep me. I can’t really be stolen, Roan.”

She couldn’t imagine being his forever, the shape of his teeth pressed into her mating gland. More permanent than marriage.

“Shhh, Layla. It’s going to be okay.” He paused for a moment. “I love you.”

Layla closed her eyes tightly. He had never said those words to her before. It was like saying goodbye forever because it wasn’t going to be okay. She wasn’t going to be the same person when she saw Roan again. She choked. “I love you too.”

She hung up the phone and continued to sit on the floor for a few minutes longer. Roan’s words had brought no comfort, more like cold dread, but it was truthful. No one could save her, but this was survivable. Roan had survived, and so could she.

Layla peeked out of the bathroom and found a towel and a large shirt folded on the floor. She sighed in relief. She had a little bit longer where Jaxon wasn’t breathing over her. She’d take all the time she could get.

She showered quickly, not wanting to touch her body any more than necessary. Her breasts were sore, and so were her stomach muscles from clenching against the cramps. She slid her hand between her legs and hissed. Everything felt swollen and oversensitive. She didn’t even want to touch herself enough to wash the slick away, but she did it, even as she whimpered through the pain.

It still felt good to be rid of the slick for at least a few minutes. She dried off and pulled on the oversized shirt. It was clean, but Jaxon had scented it heavily before dropping it off outside the door. No underwear.

She grimaced. She wasn’t putting her ruined pair back on and simply left them with her dress and the jacket in a corner. There was little she could do. Roan had said to let Jaxon care for her, but would he really?

She wrapped the towel around her waist for an extra layer of protection and warily returned to the living room.

Jaxon was sitting on the couch, cell phone pressed to his ear. Her stomach swirled in knots. A strange excitement that turned immediately to nausea. She was supposed to hate him, but she felt more nervous at the thought of being in the apartment without him.

He growled into the phone. “Yeah. I got it. Then clear the fucking floor if you’re worried so much… Fucking hell, Kaiser, I heard you. I’m not going to—” He glanced back, and his eyes widened as he caught sight of her. “I have to go.”

Jaxon stood, wiping his hands on his slacks. “Feel better?”

She stared at the scars on his face, deep ruts from a knife, or maybe those metal claws that alphas wore before they were made illegal. He was the kind of guy that would get into illegal fights. Doing illegal things, like stealing omegas. Killing alphas. He was a monster. He was terrifying. He’d been terrifying since the first day she met him. She wasn’t sure if he could do anything to make her feel better about all this.

She nodded. She needed to look like she had some control of her life — that she was fine. That every thought inside her wasn’t a swirl of fear and anxiety. “Roan said he would come by in a couple of days.”

Jaxon frowned and then nodded. “After your heat. It’ll be good for you to see an omega that you know. Kaiser wants to see you, too. Nosy jackass. He’s moving the alphas off this section of the floor. It’ll be safer that way.”

Safer for who?

She could feel slick begin to coat the inside of her thighs again, and she grimaced. “Roan said I should make a nest.”

“You want to make a nest?” There was something hungry in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. Desperation.

Jaxon moved closer, slowly, like he was trying to soothe a frightened deer. His massive hand touched her chin and tipped her face up, forcing her to look into his eyes. He turned her head slightly, and she thought he was going to kiss her, but he only nuzzled at her jaw, his breath hot on her neck.

“Ask me,” he said.

She couldn’t think of what he wanted for a moment. Her mind had gone blank with the feel of his beard stubble on her skin. She trembled, her body straining to be closer. Ask him. What did she need? “Nest? Can I make a nest?”

She could feel his grin against her skin. “Yes, kitten, let’s make you a nice nest.”