Page 4

Chapter 4

Ava

I stare up at this new Alpha, trying not to look as shocked as I feel.

This could be some kind of trap—pretending to be the hero only to turn around and claim me just like this other Alpha at my back wants to do—but I have to take the risk. If people here think that I’m claimed, or at least in some kind of relationship with this Alpha, they’ll back off.

Or at least, they should back off. The Alpha behind me might decide to challenge him for me. And that’ll be a whole other mess.

But when this new Alpha tightens his grip on my shoulder and pulls me away, the first Alpha doesn’t stop him. He growls, annoyed and huffing, but he doesn’t try to keep me pressed against him.

I’m sure that has something to do with the glare of the new Alpha who’s pulling me in. He looks like he could take on a whole crew of men by himself. No, not just like he can, but like he will , if anyone tries to step in and claim me instead.

You need to sell this, I think wildly, and I manage to get myself to put my hands on this new Alpha’s chest.

Oh my god. It’s like touching electricity. I immediately start to fall forward into him, my knees buckling. I’ve never had this reaction to someone before, unless you count the scent of that other Alpha earlier this week. Am I going to be like this around all Alphas now? Swooning constantly?

No. I panicked when that other Alpha tried scenting me. It’s not every Alpha. What makes that last guy, and this one, different from the others?

My new Alpha bends down, and I can feel his muscles flex underneath his shirt. Fuck he’s so hot. I’ve never been so close to trembling just from touching a man’s chest.

“Let’s get out of here,” he murmurs. His lips brush against mine as he speaks and I almost whimper.

He smells incredible . His scent is a mix of cinnamon, freshly baked cookies, and just a hint of toasted marshmallows. I feel like I’m sipping hot cocoa and making s’mores around a campfire. I want him to tighten his arms around me and hug me with his body the way his scent feels like it’s hugging me.

His hand strokes the small of my back, making me shiver, and I realize he’s waiting for me to answer. “Yes,” I whisper.

Part of me feels numb. I still can’t believe this is actually happening to me, that I’m really caught out in a club with everyone staring at me. I’m the Omega you hear tragic stories about on the news.

Or the Omegas from romance movies who are rescued in just this kind of fashion. I don’t want to be that Omega, though, or at least that’s what I’ve always told myself. The Alpha might seem like a nice guy at first, all charm and sexual charisma, but underneath that, there’s nothing but an obsessive need to control.

That’s what the logical, fearful part of me is screaming, trying to get me to remember just how dangerous this can be. But the other part of me just wants to burrow closer into this Alpha, to inhale his scent, to let it flow through my body down between my legs…

I nearly jerk back on instinct and catch myself just in time. Holy shit, first that other Alpha and now this one. It’s almost like I’m in heat.

The Alpha wraps his arm around me properly, tucking me securely against his side. He gives a cheeky wave to Athena and my other friends, who are still gaping. “Sorry to interrupt girls’ night,” he says, winking.

I tell myself it isn’t charming, but I know I’m lying to myself.

The Alpha hustles me through the crowd, half bent over me, his voice low in my ear. “It’s really not a good idea for an Omega who smells as delicious as you do to be in a club surrounded by Alphas.”

“I know,” I whisper back, and I can’t hide the misery in my voice. I feel like a stupid child. Like a teenage Omega who snuck out of the house and is now being dragged home to her parents.

Not that my parents would’ve cared. They never cared about anything I did and I doubt that knowing I’m an Omega would’ve changed a thing.

“I would love to know what you’re doing here, then,” the Alpha continues. He sounds amused.

As we walk through the club, I see other Alphas sniffing the air, gazing at me with hunger in their eyes. But a sharp look or an intensifying of scent from my Alpha and they all back off. They know I’m his.

Or at least I’m pretending to be.

My heart races as we exit the club and get out onto the street. I have no idea what will happen now. Will this Alpha try to claim me as payment for his rescue? I find myself actually hoping that he will. Flashes of his body pressing mine up against the nearest wall fill my mind.

He’s so much taller than I am, and while he’s a bit slim it’s the kind of slim that Olympic swimmers and runners have. Every inch of him is pure muscle. He’d feel so good between my legs, his body hovering over mine, dominating me as I run my fingers through his dark hair, his bronze highlights catching the light…

“Hello?” I hear his voice as if through a fog and I blink.

The Alpha smiles. “There you are. I said, I’m Ethan. What’s your name?”

Panic floods me. I’ve never been so wildly attracted to an Alpha before. Never wanted one to dominate me and take me. Especially not in public where anyone could see. This is my ultimate nightmare.

I won’t let this happen. He’s not going to fool me with his hero schtick.

“Would you like a ride home?” Ethan asks me. His brow furrows with concern.

Oh, he’s good. He’s very good. I might almost believe he’s genuine in his altruism if I didn’t know better. But I do know better. He won’t trap me in a car.

Even as more images flash in my mind of being pinned down in the backseat of the car, his sharp, muscular body thrusting into mine, his teeth at my throat as I scream in ecstasy—

No.

I turn and I take off running as fast as I can.

“Wh—what are you—hey!”

Oh no. He’s chasing me.

I have to throw him off. I ditch my heels, running barefoot through the streets. He’s not going to take me. He’s not going to claim me. Nobody is.

My heart races and my mind screams in blind panic as I race through the dark city. It’s late enough now that there aren’t a lot of cars or people out which makes it easier for me to run, but harder for me to use a crowd or traffic to shake the following Alpha loose.

Adrenaline and fear give me an added boost and I dodge and weave through the streets. The only sound is my frantic, heaving beaths and the wild drumbeat of my heart in my ears.

Have I lost Ethan? Is he gone?

I keep running, refusing to stop, panicking that the moment I do, he’ll be on me out of nowhere. He could have genuinely been helping you, something in me whispers, but I push that away and keep going. I can’t trust that. I can’t trust any Alpha.

I have no plan for where I’m headed, just that I need to get away , but at last I realize I don’t hear feet behind me.

Up ahead, I see trees. A park. I veer to the left, toward it, and finally skid to a halt once I’m inside as if it’s a kind of sanctuary.

My ears strain, trying to pick up any sound behind me. I sniff the air. No scent of cookies, marshmallows, or cinnamon.

Ethan’s gone. I lost him.

For some reason, deep in my chest, I feel a twinge of disappointment.

There’s a bench nearby, and I collapse onto it. I brace my elbows on my knees and put my face in my hands. My shoulders shake. I’m not crying, at least not yet. I’m still too high on adrenaline for that. But I feel like I’m going to cry at some point soon. Probably when I’m safe at home.

Oh, god, I have to get home. I don’t even know where the hell I am. I need to figure that out, and get a ride share or something, and make it back to my apartment. I’ll take a shower and douse myself in blockers and from there I can figure out what to do. Now that my coworkers know I’m an Omega, there’s no way I can keep hiding it.

The snap of a twig interrupts my spiral of thoughts. My head shoots up.

At first, I hear nothing. See nothing.

Then, wafting on the breeze, the scents hit me. Multiple scents. They smell different, but the underlying thread is the same: arousal.

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh—

I leap to my feet but it’s too late. Hands snatch me, two sets of them.

“What a delicious, pretty Omega,” a voice purrs. “You shouldn’t be out here all alone.”

The tone sounds concerned and intoxicated at the same time, and most Omegas would probably be delighted to know an Alpha, more than one in fact, is so drawn in by their scent. I see two more Alphas in front of me. A pack for sure.

But I’m not most Omegas. I don’t want my scent to be intoxicating and delicious. I don’t want Alphas everywhere swooning over me like in the movies. When I hear the almost awed tone they use as they speak to me, all I can remember is how I was once tricked and manipulated.

It’s not real, my mind whispers. They don’t really want to take care of you. They want to own you.

One of the Alphas bends down and presses his face to my neck, trying to get more of my scent. Fear spikes through me, and I shriek at the top of my lungs, fury and terror mixing in me like a deadly cocktail.

A blur collides into the standing Alpha from the side, sending him flying to the ground. I get a strong whiff of a familiar scent: burnt marshmallows and cinnamon so strong it tickles my nostrils.

Ethan .