Page 48 of The Violence of Love (The Black Market Omega #2)

Autry

I’m exhausted.

It’s been two days. Maybe three. Hell, it could be a thousand for all I know.

Everything hurts. My back, my thighs, and even my pussy. It’s painfully raw from relentlessly fucking Charlie while Rhett and Myrick rest. It also doesn’t help that I’m not in heat so I only have a mildly steady flow of slick, not the downpour needed for this kind of friction.

“I need water,” Myrick mutters as he rolls off of Charlie. The omega’s eyes flutter, then close. Then a soft sigh leaves his lips as his brow finally smooths out for once. “I think I’m chafed.” Myrick cradles his balls, then winces. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

I nod slowly, my gaze still locked on Charlie’s sleeping face. My teeth sink into my lower lip to stop myself from saying what’s been pressing on my chest for hours.

“What?” Myrick asks, catching the look on my face. “What are you thinking? ”

“Nothing,” I lie, offering a weak smile before wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders. “I’m just tired.”

“Liar.” He doesn’t even try to smile. “You’re thinking this is why packs need more than one alpha, aren’t you?”

I wince, even though his tone isn’t accusing. He’s just stating the obvious. “Yeah,” I whisper, hating myself for it. “I guess I am.”

Myrick leans into me, resting his forehead against mine for a breath. We sit there in silence, each of us struggling to stay upright, too drained to move.

“I don’t want to ask Rhett,” I say after a minute. “He’s only been asleep for a few hours.”

We both glance toward the far corner of the room where Rhett lies sprawled out on the floor. There’s a thin comforter beneath him, but that’s it. He refused to sleep in our bed down the hall. He said he wanted to be close, and I really love him for that.

Every time Charlie whimpered, Rhett was there—holding him tight and rutting him hard. He even made sure Charlie drank and washed him up while Myrick napped. The alpha has been a machine.

But even machines wear down.

And now he’s out cold, dark circles carved under his eyes like bruises, and mouth slightly parted as he sleeps harder than I’ve ever seen before. He needs the rest.

But so do we.

Myrick exhales beside me, shifting enough to press his cheek against my shoulder.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he says, voice small and hoarse.

“I’m trying, but betas aren’t built for this.

We make sure our mates are fed and clean during their heats and ruts.

But we’re not a substitute for an alpha. ”

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper as my exhaustion tugs at my emotions. “I wish I could do more. I wish?—”

“Stop it,” Myrick cuts in gently. The strength in his voice is gone, burned out hours ago. “You’ve done more than I ever could.” He presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “You’re perfect.”

Charlie moans softly, his face twitching like he’s having a bad dream.

Myrick sighs, long and ragged, watching the omega. “I’m...not wired for this,” he says. “I can’t regulate an omega’s scent or calm the hormonal storm Charlie’s caught in. We’ve done everything we can.” His voice drops, defeated. “And it’s still not enough.”

My eyes drift toward Rhett.

We need another alpha.

We need Oli.

Charlie’s mate.

The words feel like a betrayal in my mind, but they’re the truth. And the worst part? I think Myrick knows it too.

“I can hear you both thinking,” Rhett mumbles, half-asleep.

“Shit.” I sit up, guilt prickling. “Did we wake you?”

Rhett doesn’t answer right away. His eyes stay shut, but his brow furrows like he’s bracing against pain, or a memory he doesn’t want. When he finally opens them, they’re dull—hollow with the weight of everything he’s been carrying.

“No,” he rasps, voice cracking. “I was already awake.”

He pushes himself onto his feet with shaking arms, but his muscles betray him, and he collapses back against the wall with a hiss of breath. Myrick moves like he’s about to help, but Rhett lifts a hand in warning.

“Don’t. ”

“Rhett,” Myrick says softly, “you have nothing left. You’re—” He stops himself. “We need to talk about bringing in Oli.”

Rhett’s jaw clenches. “No.”

“You didn’t kill him, right?” Myrick asks, like he's trying to sound casual, but there’s a real edge of fear.

“No,” Rhett mutters. “He’s alive. Locked up.”

“Can you let him out?” I ask, barely more than a whisper.

“No.” Rhett’s voice hardens, louder this time. “He doesn’t get near Charlie.”

I stare at the alpha, trying to read him, but there’s nothing left in his face—just exhaustion and something rawer buried underneath. I keep my voice gentle, trying my damnedest to sound respectful. “What’s going to happen to Oli?”

He doesn’t answer. Just stares at the floor like he’s waiting for it to open and swallow him.

“Rhett.” I try again, quieter this time. “What are you going to do?”

The alpha’s dark eyes finally lift to meet mine. “I’m going to get Charlie through this,” he says, flat but firm, like he’s repeating a line he made himself memorize.

I nod slowly, hesitating. “Okay… but what about after ?”

The words hang between us like a dropped weight. It’s heavy and tense, and I squirm, uncomfortable.

“Oli mated him.” I swallow hard, my voice cracking before I can even finish. “You know what that means. Charlie needs his mate—and if he doesn’t get Oli, if the alpha is taken from him, he’ll d?—”

“I won’t let him have Charlie,” Rhett growls, his voice low and dangerous, eyes burning as they lock onto the mark at Charlie’s neck.

The sight of it tears at something inside the alpha—I can see it.

I know it kills him that Charlie doesn’t bear his mark.

But a second mating bite, especially during an omega’s first heat, can be very dangerous. Even deadly.

“Rhett,” Myrick says softly, his voice filled with concern. “We can’t?—”

“Charlie is mine ,” Rhett snarls, and this time it’s not just pain in his voice—it’s something deeper. Fiercer. “And I’ll die before I let him go.”

I’m not sure what to feel first—pride, love, or fear. I love how much Rhett wants Charlie despite the fact that he’s been mated by someone outside of our pack. But I’m also scared of what will happen to the omega if his bond with Oli is forcefully broken.

“Rhett…” I whisper. “Charlie is mated. That bond isn’t going away. You might hate it, but it’s there. And it’s already forming.”

Rhett shakes his head, breath quickening. “Charlie doesn’t need him. He needs?—”

“He might die without Oli,” Myrick cuts in, voice trembling now. “You know that.”

The silence that follows is brutal.

Rhett goes still, like the words turned him to stone. For a long, heavy moment, no one breathes. Then Rhett whispers—like it’s been clawing its way out of his chest. “He should’ve been mine.”

No one says otherwise, because we all know it doesn’t matter. Oli was here when Charlie transitioned. Biology chose. Fate took over, and love doesn’t always get a vote.

Rhett shuts his eyes. When he speaks again, his voice is threadbare. “I’ll get him. ”

Myrick turns to me, silently asking if he heard right, and I nod.

Rhett doesn’t look up as he stands. “But I’m warning both of you.” He pauses in the doorway, his big body tense with raw emotion. “If he hurts Charlie…” His voice drops into something colder than rage. “I’ll finish what I started.”