Page 31

Melanie

I didn’t exactly slam my car door, but some passersby on the street gave me startled looks.

It had been two days since I stormed out of the party, and I’d been in a terrible mood since.

After all the crap they put me through, I left anyway.

I kept arguing with myself about how there had been no point in them scent marking me in the first place, but it had actually been everything to me.

Now that I didn’t have a job, I had enough time to visit Mum, but it was just another few hours of me forcing a smile and pretending I was okay. I felt so guilty about crying and worrying her a week ago that I was determined to make all my visits nice for her.

Which resulted in a mini breakdown in my car as I left Greensprings before I layered myself in more scent blocking spray to drive home.

I noticed the bulky alpha in the suit standing by the front of the building, but I was so focused on getting back to my nest that I raced straight on through the doors and up the stairs to my flat.

I kept thinking of calling the three of them and just raging at them down the phone. Yelling at them for treating me like that, for acting so hot and cold that I couldn’t tell what anyone was really feeling.

I slid to a halt as I reached the last step and laid eyes on my door. Because there was another huge, suited alpha standing to the left of it, with an obvious gun-shaped bulge under his jacket.

His sharp eyes landed on me the minute I came into view, and he nodded, clearly waiting for me.

I paused like a mouse that had been caught before I even had a chance to escape. On the one hand, he might have been sent by the Risler pack for safety or some other messed-up reason. On the other, there was an alpha twice my size right next to my nest, and I had no idea what kind of danger I was in.

It was about twenty paces between me and the alpha. But I couldn’t run away, not when my nest was at risk.

So I adjusted my handbag over my shoulder, straightened my back, and walked towards him.

“Can I help you?” I asked, my neck actually craning back to look up at him.

“Mrs Risler would like to talk to you inside,” he said gruffly, acting as if it was totally natural for him to be standing there.

I froze as I looked back at the door, my heart plunging straight into my stomach as I realised what he was saying.

She was in my nest. I didn’t know for sure if it was Zania, but someone was in my nest. Someone I hadn’t invited. Invading my private space.

I’d locked my door before I left the flat. The whole building had security codes and keys.

“How…How did she get inside?” I asked, my voice cracking mid-sentence.

“The owner of the building let us in.”

I winced as another realisation set in. Because the owner was an alpha, and my whole flat was drenched in my scent. It was exactly what I’d been praying wouldn’t happen.

I could fight the alpha now, demand that he get her out of my nest, but I didn’t want any alphas in there apart from Sin and Caspian.

Pressing my lips hard together, I fumbled around in my bag for my keys.

But it didn’t matter, because he just twisted the handle and opened the door, making space for me to step inside.

My stomach rolled, my throat going dry. I could have cried just seeing his hand cross the threshold.

I was so aware of his pointed stare that I wanted to run away. If I hadn’t presented, I would have been able to escape without the wild instincts tearing through my body, telling me I had to protect what was mine.

The scent of hyacinths hit me the second I entered the home I had spent years creating for myself.

My nest.

The hairs on the back of my neck shot up as my eyes landed on her.

Zania sat on my red leather sofa like she belonged there, like it was her nest, like I was the one entering her space.

Chest tight, eyes wide, I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even take a step because standing right behind her were two male alphas.

And none of them had permission to be there.

The aura I had no idea how to use exploded, and I gasped in shock as a silent scream of energy ripped from me. I choked as I stumbled backwards, and the world shifted.

I was violently, intensely alive, aware of every little thing within the room. Anything that had a shape was part of me, and Zania and the two suited alphas behind her beat with wrongness.

Everything should have smelled of brandy, but there were alien scents swirling out from them. I had to get rid of those presences. I knew deep down I would do absolutely anything to get these people out of my nest.

Like a fire had lit under me, I had to move. This wasn’t the heat-filled pleasure of being with the Risler pack. This was the kind of fury that I’d only experienced once in my life: when I found out Rosa snuck into my flat and stole my jar of coins and notes that I’d been carefully saving for years, only to spend it all in a single shopping spree.

The inhuman level of rage stormed through my body as Zania turned to me, a placid smile spreading across her cheeks that would have suited a hyena more than Caspian’s mother.

“Well, Ms Sanderson,” Zania said as she neatly placed her threaded fingers on her lap. “How nice it is to meet you when you’re in more comfortable attire.” She gave me a once-over, taking in my wide flowery skirt and loose yellow t-shirt. Maybe I looked like a preschool teacher, but like she said, it was comfortable.

My body jumped between fight or flight. I barely had a clue what was happening as the feral urge pulsing inside me told me to attack and kill all three of them.

I should have been appalled that I wanted to hurt them like that. But right there, with Zania looking at me like she owned my nest, I had no problem being the reason the light left her eyes. If there was any light in her to begin with.

That fury blazed through me as she rose from my sofa with a composed look and left me shaking.

I tried to breathe as she stalked towards me in a white pantsuit, her neck and ears heavy with gold jewellery.

My throat closed up, my eyes spotted with black dots as my nails dug into my palms. I’d only realised my flat was my nest weeks ago, and it was already being defiled.

Entering another omega’s nest without their permission was like a declaration of war.

Zania drew in closer as I scanned the room, but I couldn’t reach anything to use as a weapon. Unless I suddenly had a burst of brute strength and tore a coat hook from the wall or lifted the cabinet by the front door, I didn’t have a chance. She’d proved she was strong enough when she grabbed me the last time we met.

By the time I thought of using my key to slash her face, she was rearing over me in her gold stilettos while I tried to control my instincts that were telling me to attack without hesitation.

“Get out,” I growled, my hands curling into fists. The alphas were too big, there was nothing I could do if they went for me.

“Hm, how uncouth,” she said, frowning as she inspected me.

My lips rode back over my teeth. “Get. Out,” I snarled.

My brand-new omega instincts didn’t care about my safety, taking over as I raised my fist. I had to get rid of her, I had to make sure she could never enter my nest again.

The alphas behind her made their move, reaching for me, but Zania could protect herself.

Before I had even thrown a punch, her open hand slapped me so hard across my left cheek that my neck cracked as my head whipped to the side.

A whimper flung from me as my vision blurred and agony ripped through the left side of my head. My ears ringing, my skin burning, shock pounded through me.

I’d never been slapped before.

My trembling turned to shaking. I didn’t want to see the smile I could hear in her voice.

This woman was no one to me. Just another stuck-up omega who thought she owned everything because she had money. She was no different from any other omega I’d run into at the Spa, only that she was in my nest, and she saw me as weak, just like they did.

“Oh, I’ve wanted to do that since my son introduced you. How lucky that you’ve given me the opportunity.”

I lifted a hand to my throbbing cheek, gasping as I touched a welling line of blood.

“I do hope this helps you understand how serious I am about ensuring that my family remains untainted.”

I blinked slowly at her, my brain trying to catch up with her insane comment.

“I’m surprised you managed to hit me when I’m so dirty,” I choked out, turning to face her, wincing at the pain in my neck.

Considering how she treated Kai, it shouldn’t rattle me that she thought that way.

But it was how she shook her left hand, sneering as one alpha stepped forward to offer her a handkerchief that got me.

She wiped the four golden rings on her fingers, the impure thing that had touched her son. I doubt she would believe me if I told her what had actually happened.

“Trust me, that was as unpleasant for you as it was for me,” she sighed.

The room was silent except for the ticking clock on the wall behind me and my wheezing breath.

“Anyway.” She spun on her pointed heel and walked back towards my sofa. “Sit down. I didn’t come here to chat. I have an offer for you.”

The rage that was already threatening to tear free flared like petrol on a fire as I watched her sit casually, like slapping a woman in her own nest was an everyday thing.

Zania said that I was a taint, but there were strange alphas poisoning my nest with their scents, and I wanted to cry at how powerless it made me.

“Why the hell do you think I’m going to do anything you say?” I snapped.

Before I could reply, snarls ripped the alphas and I flinched back.

“I said sit.” Zania adjusted herself, patting the cushion next to her.

Every part of my body was screaming, and I refused to do anything she told me to.

“This is my nest,” I growled.

“Oh, I see.” Her lips spread into a sardonic smile. “That explains why your little room is so garish. All these trinkets and fluff.” She scowled. “It’s exactly like Kai’s. Completely immature, yet wholly appropriate.”

I whimpered again, unable to hold myself back as she sliced into my heart. With one sentence it was like she had broken the love I poured into my nest.

“Really, my son has some nerve. To think he would attempt to trick me like this. As if he would scent match with someone so far beneath him. Did you honestly believe I’d fall for any nonsense about bonding with you?”

I couldn’t shout. If I did, it felt like she would win. Just like when she’d grabbed my hair, she was looking for a reaction.

“Now, sit ,” Zania said, forcing her sick aura on me like she had fired an arrow straight into my chest.

I jerked, familiar bile shooting up from my stomach. The energy I’d experienced last time made me nauseous, but in my nest, where she absolutely didn’t belong, it was disgusting. It felt like sewage oozing through my veins.

“I said I’m fine,” I replied as I focused on breathing.

Zania scowled at me, but I was more focused on the orange lamp beside her. If I darted forward, I could grab it in time to smash it over her head. It was a hefty china piece, but light enough for me to lift. As soon as I had images of the glass embedded in her skin, I shook my head.

That wasn’t me. I wasn’t violent. I did everything I could not to hurt people. I didn’t know if it was instincts, or if I’d connected to the fury that Kai had poured into me since our bite.

“Very well.” She nodded. “It’s high time you learnt your place. Not only did you speak back to me in front of others, but you had the gall to drag Caspian and Sin away from the party to layer them with your awful scent.”

She shouldn’t be calling my scent awful when she smelled like a care home. I didn’t even know it was possible for scents to show what a terrible person someone was, but she managed it.

“So how much will it take for you to stay away from my son and his pack?”

I blinked at her as I rubbed my bleeding cheek again.

“Excuse me?” I asked. Even the smallest word stung.

It was another moment of shock as I realised what was happening.

“Everyone has a price, Ms Sanderson. You simply need to name yours and never come near my son again.”

No matter how much I needed money, it felt gross to even consider it.

“Why don’t you just get rid of me? Wouldn’t it be easier to make me disappear?” I asked.

“Well, the possibility did cross my mind. But it’s rather inconvenient when Sin runs his father’s TV network and Kai has his silly fashion shows. Not that I’m saying I believe that someone like you is actually their mate. Though it could be a good way to test if they really care about you.” She sighed as she brushed a strand of hair from her face. “And disposing of bodies is far more troublesome than paying someone off.”

The cold truth ran through me as I saw she wasn’t lying. Maybe she hadn’t killed anyone with her bare hands, but she was definitely responsible for someone’s death, probably more people from how casually she was talking about it.

I'd been stomped into the ground by so many people, all trying to make me go in different directions, and she was one of them.

I was so tired that I didn’t even think before I spoke.

“One hundred thousand,” I said, proud I didn’t stutter as I threw out the words. Maybe it was gross to take money from her, but I’d never been able to afford to act out of spite, either.

I folded my arms to hide my shaking hands against my waist.

I still looked down at her, but I felt like a child as her eyebrow quirked.

“Really?” she tutted. I half-expected her to say the same thing as Sin.

Is that all?

“One hundred thousand pounds, and I’ll stay away from your precious son,” I repeated.

“Hm.” She considered it, exhaling through her nose as she raised her right hand, her palm flat towards the ceiling. “Purse.”

My mouth dropped open as an alpha lifted a white leather bag that matched her suit.

She was going to do it. She was actually going to give me the money.

I’d thought of the most outlandish figure, exactly how Rosa would try to milk it. And this woman was unclipping her clutch and pulling out a cheque book and a fountain pen while my cheek was still screaming from her slap.

It only took her a minute to write such a huge sum that I was intensely focused on every zero she drew. There was no way I could just walk into a bank with something like that. There was no way I could even accept it.

As soon as she finished writing, she tore off the cheque and handed the book back to the alpha.

She rose from my sofa and I was tempted to ask her why she even bothered to sit, but the faster she left my nest, the quicker I could get rid of her stench.

Zania held it out and stepped towards me. I stared at it wide-eyed, not really believing it was happening until she waved the cheque in front of me and forced me to take it. I looked at the numbers on a simple piece of paper between my hands, trembling with rage and disbelief.

“Well?” Zania asked, her nose high as she folded her arms with a smirk. “Aren’t you going to thank me?”

I drew in a shuddering breath at the pure insanity of this woman. No wonder Caspian descended on me with rage, and that Kai was a vibrating ball of hate. I wanted to know more about Sin’s coldness, why he was almost the opposite of them when he probably had to endure Zania growing up, too.

I looked up slowly from the cheque to meet shining eyes the exact same shade as Caspian’s, without those fiery red flecks.

“What if we are scent matches?” I asked her. “What if we did bite each other?” From how she was acting, I didn’t think she knew about Kai’s bite.

Zania scoffed instantly. “Don’t be ridiculous. That money means you won’t even think about offering yourself for a bite. You have the same stink as that omega. They’ve kept that thing for five years and they refuse to accept what’s right for them.” She moved, coming so close that I curled my toes just to make sure I didn’t shove her with both hands to get her away from me. The lamp was still an option, though she’d moved farther away from it. Or I could do what she did to me, only I’d grab her hair and slam her face into the wall.

“Anyway,” she said, “I know who you are, I know where you come from. If you think I’m going to let some Knottinghill whore near my family again, then you’ve very clearly misjudged me.”

I bit back my words, making myself stay quiet. Even if I told her I wasn’t a host, she wouldn’t believe me.

I needed the money more than I needed my pride. Even though it felt like a deal with the devil.

“Isn’t that what the cheque is for?” I asked, taking my turn to wave it between us.

“I know they hired you, that you’ll go back to servicing dirty old alphas at the Spa like you should. I’ve been friends with Michael Farringdon long enough to know what kind of business he runs. That money will be more than enough for you to leave and never return. If I learn you are still in the country by the time the Selection Ceremony arrives, I really will send someone to make you disappear. Do you hear me?”

I nodded quickly even though I was just staring at her, wondering what kind of world she lived in where she could hand out cheques and death threats like it was cake.

If I was a Knottinghill host, I would never leave my contract until the ten years was up. If she really was friends with Michael Farringdon, then she should know no one had ever broken a contract with him and made it out alive. I was more scared of him targeting me than her.

“Good. The money will be in your account in three days. Until then, prepare to leave the country.”

She sighed heavily as she turned to leave, as if this was such a bother for her.

“Well, goodbye, Ms Sanderson. Just pray you never see me again.”

I watched her leave, unable to say another word. An alpha sent me a final nod just as he vanished through the door with a loud click.

The second their footsteps faded, my arm shot out, gripping the back of the sofa as I bent over, heaving in a loud, gasping breath. I dragged the hyacinth-stained air into my lungs, completely unaware that I had my stomach pulled in the whole time.

It was still there, pumping away in me the urge to leap out of my front door, run down the stairs, and catch her before she left. I didn’t know what I would do, but every piece of me was saying I needed to tear her apart for even entering my nest.

I kept trying to breathe, even as I fell to my knees. Hyacinth drowned out all the other scents in the room as I wheezed and choked. I couldn’t hold back, pressing my head hard against the back of the sofa, using the pain to at least try to control my hyperventilating.

Because it was happening again. Something new to add to my list.

Again and again and again and again.

It wasn’t stopping. I didn’t even know if it could stop.

It was like a mantra beating around in my head.

Mum’s bills, Rosa’s lies, the debt, my heat, my job, the Risler pack, and now this.

Was it ever going to end? Or was it just going to keep on piling onto me like I was some indestructible force? Like I could somehow carry the endless weight of everything apart from myself.

Was I ever going to have a chance to be me? Because the realest me I’d ever experienced was in the arms of the three men I’d rejected.

Or was I just going to be flung around by all the people in my life until something broke and I could never come back?

But it sounded good. Because if I was broken, then I wouldn’t have to be strong. Or try to be. I could just let myself shatter and not have to fight anymore.

But that was what the Mel of two weeks ago would have thought. The one who’d believed she was always going to be a beta, and survive alone, and work non-stop to help other people live.

Before I’d met the Risler pack, before I’d had a heat, before I knew what it meant to feel violated by someone entering my sacred space.

I felt like I needed to rub myself over my entire nest to get rid of her scent, exactly how Kai rubbed himself all over me.

A whimper echoed deep inside my throat before I coughed.

Thick brandy swirled up around me, holding tight to my body as I sensed the air shaking around me.

My aura. The energy that represented who I was as a person—as an actual omega. And all I could taste there was rage.

Because there was no chance.

There was no fucking chance I was letting this happen again.

I had ￡100,000 clenched in one hand and my phone with Sin’s number sitting in my bag on my hip.

Maybe ￡100,000 was nothing to them, but I could pay for Mum’s care without worrying, probably for the rest of her life. And now, there was nothing to hold me back.

Even if Kai, Sin, and Caspian hated me, I had a deal with the three of them that would put me right back in front of Zania.

I was terrified of her threat to have me removed, but it was nothing compared to the burning pit made of every single spark of pain that had eaten away at my life.

I’d cash her money, use it to pay off my debts, and then get to work.

We had two weeks until the Selection Ceremony, and that was more than enough time to find out how much damage I could do.

Now that Mum would be looked after, I could focus on more important things.

Like showing that bitch she’d messed with the wrong omega.