Page 46 of The Violence of Love (The Black Market Omega #2)

Autry

A sound pulls me from sleep.

Sharp, distant. Almost like a yell.

I blink into the darkness, heart thudding, trying to figure out if I imagined it. The house is quiet around me, heavy and still. But that sound—it didn’t feel like a dream. It felt real .

I sit up slowly, rubbing my eyes. Then it hits me all at once.

Charlie.

He’s sick. He was burning up and curled in on himself last I saw him. I swallow hard, suddenly wide awake. What if he’s worse? What if he needs help?

I glance to my right—Rhett is asleep on his back, one arm thrown over his head, mouth slightly open.

Myrick is on my other side, facedown, one leg tangled in the sheets, and his hair is damp.

He stayed in the bathroom long after Rhett and I had gone to bed.

I stayed awake for a while, waiting to talk to him about Oli, but exhaustion eventually overtook me and I fell asleep.

A muffled cry drifts from somewhere down the hall, and my back straightens.

I hesitate, thinking about waking Rhett or Myrick, but I already know how that would go.

They’d tell me not to worry. That Charlie’s fine and they’ll handle it. Then they’d close ranks and refuse to let me see him.

Fuck that.

Moving very slowly, I shift onto my hands and knees, then I assess my options. Climbing over Rhett would probably wake him, but if I’m very careful, I might be able to make it over Myrick. I glance at the beta. His breath is deep and steady. Out cold.

I hold my breath and crawl, inching over his back like I’m navigating a sleeping mountain. His skin is warm under the thin sheet, and I freeze when he shifts ever so slightly beneath me—but he doesn’t wake.

My foot hits a cold patch of mattress, and then I’m off. I land softly beside the bed, adjusting my very short nightie.

The floor is cold under my bare feet as I move, one cautious step at a time, out into the hall. The house is still and dim, everything wrapped in soft shadow. I keep to the edges, avoiding the creaky board near Rhett’s office. My heart thuds harder and faster with every step toward Charlie’s room.

I pause outside his door.

The air here feels different—warmer, almost heavier. Then I hear it.

A low, guttural growl—Oli’s voice, unmistakably alpha. Then a sharp, strangled sound sends a chill down my spine, followed by a whimper .

Charlie.

Something tightens in my chest.

I don’t think. I just reach for the handle and push the door open. The light inside is dim, but enough.

Charlie’s on the bed, legs in the air. He’s flushed and sweating while Oli pins him down. The alpha has one hand on Charlie’s chest and the other grips his hair as he thrusts deep inside the beta.

“What?” I whisper, struggling to understand what I’m seeing.

Oli isn’t pack.

He’s not one of my mates. And he’s touching my beta.

I stare at Charlie’s face, trying to figure out why he’d do this to me, but then I see his tears. They leak from his frightened eyes, pain making his face scrunch and twist.

Oli’s hurting him!

My stomach flips.

“Rhett!” I scream, taking a small step back. “Rhett!”

Oli’s head snaps to me. His eyes are blown wide, dark and furious. For a second, he doesn’t even look human—he looks like something ready to kill . In a flash, he curls his big body around Charlie, shielding him, then he snarls at me, flashing his pointed teeth.

What the fuck?

“RHETT!” I scream again, louder this time, my voice cracking. I hear the crash of movement down the hall—heavy feet pounding the floor.

Charlie makes a small, raw sound beneath Oli, but I can't see him anymore. Oli shifts, moving fast. He wraps his arms tighter around Charlie and turns his back to the door, crouching low over him like he’s bracing for an attack.

Then Charlie screams. It’s raw and rough, scraping across his throat in a way that tells me he’s dying .

“HELP!” I shriek right as Rhett barrels down the hall, chest heaving and fists curled tight.

The pack alpha doesn’t say a word as he reaches for my upper arm and pulls me behind him. And then he sees Oli. He sees the way the young alpha is curled around Charlie, his hips rolling forward, still fucking into our beta.

“Get the fuck off of him!” Rhett growls so loudly, the sound cracks in my ears.

“No!” Oli roars, voice rough. “He’s mine .”

It all happens so fast—Rhett moves across the room, fist raised and teeth bared.

Oli’s big body tenses as he tightens his grip on Charlie, his eyes wide and shining with something feral . The young alpha’s chest is heaving. His body’s trembling with rage? Fear? I can’t figure out what’s happening right now.

Charlie groans, confused and dazed, his head lolling against Oli’s shoulder. His whole body trembles as he tries to speak. “St-op…” he manages to say. “Please—don’t?—”

But Rhett’s already there, already grabbing the back of Oli’s neck and yanking him off the bed.

Oli snarls and lashes out. He swings his meaty fist, and it connects with the side of Rhett’s face, but it doesn't seem to faze him. Rhett snarls and pulls Oli back with everything he has.

The alphas look equally matched, but Rhett is somehow stronger—barely—but it’s enough. Rhett muscles Oli onto the floor, then captures him in a headlock. I scramble back into the hallway to get out of the way and run right into Myrick.

I let out a little squeak of shock when I smack into his chest.

“It’s me.” Myrick’s hands curl around my waist, pulling me out of Rhett’s way. Our pack alpha muscles Oli out the door, shoving him into the hallway with his full weight.

Oli stumbles, snarling through bloody teeth, still reaching for Charlie’s bedroom door.

“Move!” Rhett’s alpha voice is rough, strained, but he’s holding the line.

I wait, holding my breath as they struggle.

Trying to handle Oli, Rhett jerks both their bodies to one side, and right into the frosted-glass door to the gym. The door swings open, smacking hard as they both fall inside, disappearing. The second the door shuts behind them, I turn and run to Charlie’s bed, falling to my knees beside him.

His face is pale, but flushed at the same time. Sweat clings to his skin, and his cock looks painfully swollen. It doesn't look normal, but engorged like there’s a river of blood trapped in his shaft.

“Charlie?” I try to force him to look at me, but his eyes are glassy, unfocused, flicking toward me but not really seeing . And he smells— God, he smells so different. His usual warm bakery scent is gone. He smells sweet. Sticky and wet.

What is that?

My throat itches from it and my skin prickles. It makes me feel like I have bees trapped under the surface. “What’s wrong?” I cup Charlie’s face, but he’s completely out of it, his eyes glazed over. “Did Oli hurt you? Force himself on you?”

And then I see it.

The wound on Charlie’s neck.

A raw, mangled bite.

But it’s not just a bite.

It’s a mating bite.

I freeze .

“Oh my God,” I whisper. My hands hover over him, trembling. “Charlie…”

He flinches, curling in on himself, like he doesn’t even realize I’m there.

Oli mated him.

Behind me, Rhett growls, his voice and Oli’s fading into muffled shouting. There’s a crash somewhere within the house, followed by a deafening roar. But all I can do is sit there, staring at Charlie, my heart breaking and my head spinning.

Because everything just changed.

Oli has stolen my beta from me, and there’s no taking it back.