Page 51 of The Night Movers: Season One

Ridley ran to Titus, throwing his arms around him, getting swept up in his hold. He didn’t hold back from kissing his alpha, slotting their mouths together, unbothered by the crowd watching. Titus kissed him back, thoroughly, deeply, aggressively, holding his weight easily.

“Maybe you really do want us all to fuck you right here,” Titus said against his lips.

“Maybe I do,” Ridley agreed, “but I think it might cause a blood bath.”

Titus pressed his warm lips to the skin behind Ridley’s ear, using it as an excuse to whisper, “Prepare yourself for what’s about to happen next, Strawberry.”

It was the only warning Ridley got before Titus set him down and turned him around, gesturing to Jensen.

The other alpha yanked Rain to his feet, startling him and making him stumble.

Ridley fought against the urge to react, wanting to tell Jensen to be careful with the boy.

It was clear the omega was still drowsy from sleeping so soundly.

The poor thing must have been exhausted to have somehow managed any rest at all in this crowd.

Jensen walked—dragged, really—the small omega into the ring with them, shoving him hard so he tripped, falling to his knees in front of Ridley. Ridley shot his gaze towards the alpha, who hardened his jaw and widened his eyes, like he was trying to relay some kind of message to Ridley in silence.

Oh, right. They were the bad guys. They couldn’t afford to look soft. How was he supposed to be mean to him? He’d worked so hard to free him. He could feel the gaze of every other omega in the arena, watching, judging, waiting to see if Ridley was a traitor, fraternizing with the enemy.

“Your prize, my queen,” Jensen said. “What would you like us to do with him?” A nasty smirk appeared on his handsome face as he looked down at the cowering omega. “Or to him?”

Rain trembled under Jensen’s scrutiny, looking to Ridley, like he wasn’t sure what was happening.

Ridley covertly swept his gaze across all the other omegas.

Were they wondering what he’d had to do to win the loyalty of six of the worst alphas alive?

Did they think he had sold his soul? He supposed he had.

He would do anything to get his sister back safely.

But he could hardly act as if he was in charge. Technically, he wasn’t. At least, not in anyone’s mind but his own. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to be mean to the boy? Treat him badly? If he did, what would be the point of any of this? He couldn’t just keep standing there staring.

Instead, he dropped to his knees before him, petting his hands through Rain’s sweaty hair, then cupped his face softly. “You’re so pretty,” he cooed. “I’m gonna keep you, okay? You’re mine now.”

This close, it was easy for Ridley to understand just why Rain had slept so soundly.

He reeked of Jensen’s alpha pheromones. He’d dosed him, tricking his omega into submission.

Normally, Ridley would have found that kind of thing infuriating, but it was clear Jensen had done it just to put the boy’s mind at ease.

Though, any other alpha would think it was a show of force.

God, how did these men walk this line every day?

“K-Keep me?” Rain asked, his voice raw, like he hadn’t used it in a while.

Maybe he hadn’t. Had he heard the boy speak?

He couldn’t even remember. The night was a total blur.

Rain’s gaze darted to the Maulers, then the Kage ōkami .

Did he want to go back to them? Before Ridley could fathom how he could make that happen for him, Rain looked at him with trepidation.

“I’m yours now? Your pack’s property?” he asked, tone cautious.

“Not property,” Ridley said. “You’re my pet. My pretty, pampered, pet. Don’t worry, I’ll treat you so well, everyone here will envy you.”

Ridley patted his head like the treasured pet he was supposed to be.

Rain’s eyes rolled in pleasure. Ridley continued to coddle him like a new puppy, tickling under his chin, crooning sweet little words at him.

Rain soaked it all in, like he was fighting himself.

It was like he was touch-starved to the point where he was willing to warily accept Ridley’s affection.

How long had it been since someone touched him without harming him in the process?

Ridley’s heart broke thinking about how underweight Rain was, how fragile he looked.

He knew his scent soured when Titus nudged his side with his boot and Rain’s forehead furrowed in confusion. Fuck. How did they do this?

Ridley forced himself to giggle, then turned on his knees to Titus, hands palm-down on his knees, a clear sign of supplication. “Can he share our bed tonight, Alpha?”

He gave Titus his prettiest pout. Would it be enough to convince his mate? Was it believable? Titus’s callous expression gave Ridley goosebumps, but the way he studied Rain, like he was measuring whether he was worthy, was a little infuriating. Rain didn’t know it wasn’t real.

Titus crouched down to Ridley’s eye level. “That what you want, Strawberry? You want to share your pet with me?”

Ridley nodded eagerly, then looked back to Rain.

“Would you like that, pet? Do you want to sleep in our bed tonight?” That was when he realized Rain’s gaze wasn’t on Ridley, but Jensen.

There was something like…longing, maybe?

Maybe the omega was still a little high after spending hours drenched in the other alpha’s pheromones.

Ridley knew the effect it had, the way it falsely created a bond, made an omega more susceptible to an alpha’s influence. He caressed the other omega’s cheek, then gave a knowing smile. “Or do you have your heart set on a different alpha’s bed tonight? Should we let Jensen have you?”

Jensen, for his part, blinked rapidly, like he was trying to download whatever new script Ridley was writing on the spot. Rain squirmed. Was he trying to decide whether he could be honest or not? Ridley wished he could tell the little omega this was all theater, but it wasn’t safe. Not there.

Rain studied Jensen cautiously, then turned his attention back to Ridley. He could almost hear the boy asking himself which of them was the lesser of two evils. Jensen, for his part, was practically salivating over Rain like a starving dog, looking ready and eager to devour him.

He was definitely selling it.

Rain tugged on Ridley’s sleeve, subtly begging for him to return his attention to him. “If—If I sleep with Alpha, will you be there?”

“Me?” Ridley asked, leaning in to kiss the other omega’s warm cheek. “Do you want me there, pet?” Rain hesitated, then nodded shyly. God, he was so sweet. Ridley was already obsessed with him. “Sure, pretty baby. I can do that.” He looked up at Titus. “Can’t I, Alpha?”

Titus shrugged like he couldn’t care less, his indifference chilling. “Whatever you want, Strawberry. He’s yours to play with. Pick any sandbox you want.”

When both omegas turned their attention to Jensen, he was ready, pulling both to their feet by their upper arms. Once they were standing, Jensen reeled him in, swallowing Ridley’s gasp as their mouths collided, tongue sweeping inside greedily.

He was still reeling when Jensen ended the kiss, then pulled Rain in, giving him the same filthy kiss. The other omega melted against him.

So sweet.

When Jensen broke the kiss, Rain’s lips followed, almost falling over as the alpha stepped back. He smirked at the boy, hands fisting in both omegas’ hair before forcing them to face each other. “ Your turn.”

Ridley didn’t hesitate, all too aware of their audience.

Rain’s kiss was sweet, timid, like he expected Ridley to be the aggressor.

Ridley savored the feel of his slightly chapped lips and the way he tried to softly lick inside, like he was afraid of being reprimanded.

As soon as Ridley’s mouth opened, Rain deepened the kiss, stepping closer to plaster himself to Ridley, sending a jolt of heat through his core.

Ridley heard the shouting, heard the crowd roaring, then jeering.

When Rain pulled back, he glared defiantly at someone over Ridley’s shoulder, before hauling him back in and kissing him again.

The boy’s sudden hunger made Ridley dizzy.

Or maybe it was the prying gaze of the audience or dozens of alphas’ pheromones flooding the place as two omegas sought pleasure in each other instead of them.

Jensen gently pulled them away from each other as Ryker approached. “Uh, I think we should dip. Orochi is foaming at the mouth over this.”

“What’s he so pressed about?” Titus asked, glowering at the man in question. “We won him fair and square. If he’s that desperate to get him back, he can wait until we tire of him.”

Rain shot a startled look at Ridley, who began to absently rub soothing circles on the omega’s back.

“We can’t really afford to make a public enemy of them right now,” Sugar reminded.

Orochi looked mad enough to rip someone apart with his bare hands.

He was seething, his anger making the other omegas in his vicinity cower away from them.

His chest was rising and falling, muscles bulging.

It was clear he saw Rain as his property.

If he was that possessive, he should have kept his brother from putting the boy up as collateral.

“Why is he so mad? He didn’t seem that angry when Rurik was yanking this baby around on a spiked choke chain,” Ridley muttered, maintaining eye contact with the Kage ōkami member.

“Easy, princess,” Diesel said, approaching from the left, standing himself between Ridley and Orochi. “Staring down an alpha in this space is a bad idea. If he claims you challenged him, he could demand a fight to claim you. It’s practically an engraved invitation.”

Ridley dropped his gaze to the ground. There were so many rules.

Too many. Why was it all so…aggressive? These alphas just wanted to fight and hunt and claim.

They wanted some kind of clout for owning another human, for dominating and subjugating others.

Ridley couldn’t imagine ever wanting to force someone into bedding him.

There was nothing that sounded more pathetic than fucking someone who he knew didn’t want to fuck him. Ridley was self-conscious enough.

But that was why he was an omega and they were alphas. They were just wired differently. And Ridley was at their mercy. It didn’t matter if he was Titus’s mate. It didn’t matter if he was sealed to the pack. Just being an omega made him vulnerable.

No matter how much they gave him—the clothes, the money, the illusion of freedom…of power—they could take it back any time they wanted.

He’d gotten them to agree to help him find Ren, to try to break the system, but they’d been doing this a lot longer than Ridley.

He needed their knowledge, their skills, their equipment.

How else could he dismantle an entire system designed to work against him?

How did he make himself so indispensable to six alphas without losing himself?

When he was with them, it was all too easy for him to forget his mission.

It was easy to forget everything but the pleasure they gave him.

But being here in this ring, with one omega gazing at him like he truly was his new owner and dozens more looking at him like he’d defected to the other side, helped him to remember why he was doing this.

Diesel’s arms came around him from behind, pressing a soft kiss on the skin just above his collar. “Come on, princess,” Diesel murmured. “Let’s get out of here before you start a riot. You need to get better at hiding your real emotions.”

“Maybe they need to get better at not pissing me off,” Ridley countered .

Still, he wrapped his arm around Rain’s shoulder, following Sugar and Diesel, who took the lead.

Jensen and Ryker fell into step with the two, and Titus and Steele walked behind them.

To anyone else, it would look like a pack protecting its property, but Ridley knew it was to keep them safe.

Not because they were a commodity to be bought and sold, but because they were important. They were humans.

What would happen when they reached the hotel? Would Ridley really share a bed with Rain and Jensen? How far did they carry this charade? Was Ridley supposed to play the pampered, vapid omega at home? Would they show Rain who they truly were? If so, would he ever be able to go free?

If Rain betrayed them, then everything Titus and the others had done—everything the Night Movers had done—would be for nothing.