Page 20 of Fall of the Alpha

20

LIFE AS AN OMEGA

Bella

The door slid open, and both Trish and Bella froze, though Trish relaxed far faster than Bella did.

The big Alpha who stepped through the door was familiar but still frightening to her. Huge, broad-shouldered, his pale blond hair gleamed in the light. Icy blue eyes studied her and Trish before he held out his hand to the other Omega. Immediately, she hurried forward to take it.

Bella saw how Trish relaxed as soon as she touched him.

It seemed Bella was not the only one with mixed feelings about their captors. Whether that made her feel better or worse, she wasn’t sure. Both, in different ways, if she was being perfectly honest with herself. Her gut churned with the complicated mix of emotions, making her feel nauseous.

Or maybe that was just her hunger.

Her stomach growled, drawing the attention of both of them.

“Come,” Jordan said, lifting his gaze to pin Bella. Despite the way he cradled Trish’s hand in his, she could find nothing reassuring in the way he looked at her. With that one word, he turned, obviously expecting her to follow.

She only hesitated a moment.

To do more would be foolish. After all, what did she expect to gain by doing so?

This way, she was being let out of the room. She’d be able to see where she was, see more of the building. Whether or not that would help her find a way to escape, she couldn’t know, but it was more than staying in this room would do.

She hoped they were going toward food.

She wondered if the Wolf would be there.

Stop it.

But it was a natural thing to wonder, wasn’t it?

Perhaps. But the little kernel of desire to see him again felt wrong. Or it felt right, but it felt like it should feel wrong.

Bella did her best to stop thinking about it as Jordan led her and Trish into the hallway. It was a good thing she had not tried to get out on her own. The hall was busy, and there was an obvious guard posted at every corner. Not at high alert, lounging against the wall, they watched everyone pass… and their eyes tracked her despite the fact that she was with Jordan.

Was it because she was an Omega? Or because she was with Jordan and Trish? Or because they knew she’d been with the Wolf?

It couldn’t be because she was a threat. The very idea made her want to laugh, even though it was not funny.

She wished she was a threat.

Jordan led them to huge double doors—the same room where she’d been presented to the Wolf, she realized. The doors opened, and her heart leapt into her throat at the memories.

This was very different, though. Jordan strode in, and she followed, but Trish was by his side. Alek was not by Bella’s—but she was shocked to see him up on the dais with the other two Alphas who had been with Alek when the Wolf took Bella away. Cora? And Trace? She thought those were their names.

There was another female with them, tucked next to Alek.

The moment he saw Bella, though, he sat up straight, his dark eyes glued to her as she came forward. She blushed, dropping her gaze, unable to meet his eyes when she thought about everything that had transpired since she’d seen him last. How could she look at him after… after…

She was suddenly far too aware of all the little aches and pains in her body.

“Bella! Bella, are you okay?” Alek’s voice echoed around the room, causing most of the conversation to hush, drawing attention to the both of them.

Blast.

Making herself look up at him, she nodded, trying to give him a smile despite the way her face heated. To her shock, the female Alpha with him put her hand on Alek’s shoulder, murmuring something, and he subsided with a slightly mutinous expression. The little Omega at his side leaned in against him, causing some of his resentment and tension to visibly fade. Bella bit her lip.

Yes, she was not the only one being strangely affected by being in the territories. The safety and familiarity of Zone One seemed very, very far away.

A presence rolled through the room, sweeping along from behind her, and Bella immediately turned to see where the sudden sense of power and threat was coming from.

The Wolf, of course.

He strode in from behind them, green eyes glowing as he came through the double doors. Bella shivered as his eyes met hers, her muscles clenching in reaction to being in his presence again. If he had any kind of similar reaction, it didn’t show anywhere on his face or in his body.

He strode straight to her, ignoring everyone else in the room, his gaze sweeping up and down her body as if checking her over. She felt stripped bare with just a look, and her thighs pressed together as heat pooled between them. The effect he had on her body was instantaneous, even if her emotional reaction was far more convoluted.

“Pet.” His gravelly voice sent another shudder through her, and she couldn’t hide this one. The urge to run to him, to touch him again, was so strong… suddenly, she understood why Trish had immediately gone to Jordan and touched his hand.

Something had happened over the past few days to forge a connection between them that she didn’t understand.

A slow smile curved his lips, very slightly, when she didn’t immediately run to him. In fact, the only reason it looked like a smile was because she watched it happen. If she had not seen him before, she might not have even noticed.

He strode up to her, and she sucked in a breath as he came closer, towering over her. Her head automatically tipped back to continue meeting his hypnotic gaze, unable to look away. The way he looked at her made her entire body hum and tingle. Possession, desire, and a heat that seared her to her core.

When his lips came down, she couldn’t make herself move away. Instead, her mouth opened for his, and she whimpered as his tongue claimed her mouth, his hand coming up to cup the back of her neck. His thumb stroked along her throat, and her body came to life at his touch. Hard nipples, a gush of fluid that wet her thighs, and every inch of her suddenly feeling horrifically sensitive.

But it didn’t stop her stomach from growling. He lifted his head to study her again. Only then did she notice that the entire room had gone silent, every eye on them. The Wolf straightened and looked around, and everyone suddenly went back to what they were doing, and the volume of conversation rose again.

His hand remained on her neck, her lips swollen and burning from his kiss, as he turned her around to head for the dais again. Alek was still there, stiff between the two females he was with. The big male Alpha stepped up behind him, putting his hand on Alek’s shoulder, and Alek finally relaxed a little again.

Once they reached the dais, the Wolf sat down at a table, pulling Bella onto his lap. She sat stiffly at first, then he purred, and the vibration went straight up her spine, turning all of her muscles into water. She found herself curling against his muscular frame. It felt right to her body, even if it didn’t to her head.

Cora and Trace came to sit with him, Alek and the little Omega trailing behind. Only the Wolf, Cora, and Trace spoke, though Bella kept catching Alek looking at her. He was too far away to say anything, though, unless he wanted everyone to hear him. The little Omega at his side—Bella soon discovered her name was Aria—kept leaning against him, and Bella had to wonder if she’d been tasked with keeping Alek in line.

Nothing of the conversation seemed to be anything important. Discussing how things were going in the territories, what had happened while the Wolf was… occupied.

Occupied with me.

That’s what they meant.

Bella listened to it all, not sure if any of it would be useful, but it wasn’t as if she had anything better to do. And it helped distract her from her thoughts. Helped distract her from the emotions that swept through her when the Wolf fed her from his plate using his fingers. Helped distract her from the urge to nibble on his fingers when he did so.

She was losing herself, yet she was not sure she cared…

Rather than face that, she listened.

Paldon

I have your daughter. Come on the tenth day of this moon to Gate One if you want to see her again.

Do not bring Grigori.

Grimly, Paldon stared down at the note in his hand. It was not signed, but it did not need to be. He knew who it was from.

And what he was going to do.