Page 51 of The Violence of Love (The Black Market Omega #2)

Oli

I wake in a haze of warmth and fading heat.

The air is thick with the scent of pack and skin and something softer—contentment, maybe.

Charlie is wrapped around me like he belongs there, and there’s no space between us, his breath soft against my chest. On his other side, Rhett lies completely still.

Maybe sleeping. But I can’t look at the alpha yet. So, instead, I look at Charlie.

My mark on his neck is so dark and perfect and permanent. My heart swells as a whole new kind of warmth consumes me.

My omega.

The words echo through me, fierce and fragile all at once. I should feel victorious. I should feel powerful. But all I feel is stunned. Like the world has shifted, and I wasn’t ready for it.

Even though my precious omega is asleep, I can still feel his emotions buzzing through our bond—quiet, full, happy . His love for his whole pack is intense. Rhett. Autry. Myrick .

And me .

He loves us. All of us. He loves me .

And, fuck, it guts me. I’ve never been loved like this. Not with this kind of softness. Not without needing to earn it by bleeding first, and I’m terrified I’m going to fuck it all up.

My stomach growls, pulling me back to the moment. I shift to sit up, slow and careful, so I don’t wake Charlie. But the second I move, I feel it.

Eyes on me.

I lift my head—and there he is.

Rhett .

He’s lying still, arm tucked behind his head, and his eyes locked on mine. Hard. Icy. Unblinking. He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t move. He glares . That calm, quiet rage that alphas like him wear like armor.

I go completely still.

He should have killed me. Any other alpha would have. I marked Charlie during his first heat. His omega. I took something sacred.

But Rhett didn’t kill me.

He let me live. He even let me help Charlie through his heat.

That has to mean something. Right?

Maybe he’s waiting. Measuring me. Maybe there’s still a chance. A chance he’ll let me join his pack. But I know what it’ll cost. He’s going to want my submission. My loyalty. Maybe more. And I hate the thought. I’ve never bowed to anyone, never trusted an alpha enough to offer that.

But this pack…

Rhett. Myrick. Autry. Charlie.

They feel like home. And for that? For them ?

I’ll kneel. Even if it kills me.

“You’ve got nothing to say for yourself?” Rhett finally breaks the silence. His words are quiet, not wanting to wake Charlie, but they still hit like a punch. There’s no yelling. No roaring. Cold disappointment laced with fury. That might be worse.

I swallow hard, trying to find words that won’t make things worse. “Thank you,” I force out, my voice rough. “For letting me be with him.”

Rhett’s eyes narrow.

“I know it couldn’t have been easy,” I speak softly, respectfully. “Letting someone else claim your omega like that. Letting me …be here.” I’m stumbling through this, but I don’t know what else to say. So instead, I brace myself.

Rhett’s breath comes out slow, a faint trace of a growl in the air, but footsteps in the hallway draw our attention. Autry’s sugared lemons and Myrick’s spring aroma filters in before I see them.

Myrick enters first, tall and composed, his lips pressed tight as his eyes flick back and forth between me and Rhett.

I should be focused on the tension in the room, but I can’t stop myself from admiring the beta.

He has this quiet elegance about him—long, slender limbs, soft blond hair that falls a little too perfectly.

Then Autry enters behind him, nearly swallowed by the oversized throw wrapped around her shoulders.

She’s tiny—delicate, almost. Pretty brown hair tucked messily behind one ear, pouty pink lips parted in concern.

She looks like she climbed out of a storybook, and hasn’t realized she’s walked into a war zone.

But the moment the tension hits her nose, her body stiffens. She freezes, her eyes darting between me and Rhett, then without a word she folds herself behind Myrick’s shoulder, like a shadow trying to disappear.

“Alpha?” Charlie stirs, his voice barely audible.

A soft noise escapes him as he shifts, followed by the slow blink of puffy eyes.

His hair is sticking up in wild directions, cheeks flushed and lips parted as he pushes himself up, bleary and dazed.

He looks like a beautiful, exhausted mess.

And he has no idea how close this room is to detonating.

Rhett shifts, then stands. He looms over the bed like a storm about to break. His presence is massive, coiled with tension. Then he growls—low and dangerous. My name rumbles out of him like a warning. “ Oli .” He’s clearly seconds from snapping.

But before anyone can utter another word, Myrick steps forward. “No,” the beta snaps, voice sharp as a blade. “If you two are going to fight, then get the fuck out.” His harsh tone makes everyone stop cold.

Even Rhett blinks like he’s been struck. Autry gasps softly behind him. I’ve never once heard the beta raise his voice, but he’s standing his ground right now—shoulders squared, eyes hard. Protective. Not afraid.

“Charlie needs rest,” Myrick says firmly. “ Both of the omegas do. And if either of you cares about them, you’ll keep your shit together.”

I stare at him, stunned and grateful. My chest tightens looking at the two of them—Autry, quiet and watchful, and Myrick, suddenly so powerful in his resolve.

This is what Charlie needs. Not alphas with tempers and teeth. But this. Betas who know how to hold the room steady. Who can stand their ground when the rest of us can’t.

I nod silently, then lower my gaze. Then I clear my throat, barely recognizing the rough sound of my own voice. The room is still too quiet, charged with things none of us are saying. But I didn’t come this far to cower.

“I’m glad you’re all here,” I say, voice low but steady. “Because I need to apologize.”

Charlie blinks, eyes still unfocused, confused. He looks so soft, curled under the blanket like he’s made of silk and warmth. I turn to him first.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “For biting you.” The words sting as they leave me.

“I didn’t give you a choice. I let instinct take over and marked you like you were mine to take.

” I shake my head, feeling heat crawl up the back of my neck.

Every ounce of alpha in me is screaming.

Telling me I did what I was meant to do.

That omegas are supposed to be claimed. But I silence it.

Bite down on the growl rising in my throat.

This isn’t about instincts. Not anymore.

This is about getting to keep them .

“You deserved better than that,” I say to Charlie, and his hand curls around my forearm.

“It’s okay,” he whispers, but I can feel his lingering tension in our bond. He’s angry with me. Maybe even scared. And I understand why—he could have lost his pack.

But now isn’t the time to discuss this. I’ll talk to him later. Privately, when I can show him just how sorry I really am.

I shift my gaze to Myrick and Autry. They’re still standing close, her delicate fingers now wrapped around his wrist, grounding herself. Myrick’s eyes haven’t left me.

“I’m sorry to both of you,” I say. “For all the chaos. I never meant to bring this into your home. Into your family.”

Autry’s eyes soften, but she doesn’t speak. Myrick gives the barest nod.

“Rhett.” I look at the alpha.

His body goes rigid before I say anything else. His shoulders are locked. Jaw clenched. Fury barely held in check.

But I press forward anyway.

“I want to join your pack.”

The air gets thinner, heavier. Rhett’s entire body tenses like a drawn bowstring. His hands curl into fists at his sides, and I know—I know —he thinks I’ve gone too far. That I’ve overstepped by speaking the thought out loud.

But I don’t believe in playing games. Not with something this important.

“I’m not here to dance around it,” I continue. “I want to join your family. And I know what that means.” My throat tightens as I force myself to say, “I’ll submit to you, Rhett. As pack alpha. I know my place.” The words scrape my throat like splintered wood.

Every alpha instinct in me claws at the inside of my ribs, snarling for me to fight, to push, to dominate . But I won’t. I can’t . Not if I want to keep this. Keep them .

I stay silent. Still. Letting the weight of the moment settle.

Rhett exhales slowly, every inch of him radiating fury and control. His chest rises and falls like he’s holding something back—maybe his rage, maybe the urge to lunge.

His gaze sweeps across the room. It lands on Myrick. Then Autry.

Then Charlie.

His eyes linger on the fresh bite on Charlie’s throat. And for a heartbeat, I wonder if this is it—if he’s about to tell me to leave. Or worse. Will he kill me, then rip off Charlie’s mating bite? Lesser alphas have been known to do worse.

But then Rhett speaks.

“If you step a single toe out of line,” the alpha says, voice low and lethal, “I will kill you.” He doesn’t say it with heat.

It says it like a fact. Cold and final. Then he looks at the others again, making sure they hear it too.

“Myrick. Autry. Charlie. They’re my pack.

My mates. I won’t let anyone hurt them. Ever . ”

But, in that brutal declaration, I hear the only thing that matters— He’s letting me stay.

It’s not forgiveness. Not yet. But it’s a beginning.

I nod once. “Understood.”

And I mean it.

I won’t fuck this up.

“And let me be clear,” Rhett snarls. “If you bite Myrick or Autry without my expressed fucking permission, I will rip your balls off and shove them down your own fucking throat.”

Charlie’s fear coils in our bond, but I react, hoping to keep him calm. “Yes, sir.”

“But first.” Rhett straightens his back, and his jaw tenses. “Tell them what you’re running from.” His eyes stay locked on mine, hard and unrelenting as shock cuts through me. “If you want to be in this pack,” he says, voice like gravel, “then tell them the truth.”

The command hits me like a punch. I look down, shame burning in my chest like acid. I wish I could lie. But I can’t. Not here. Not now.

“I owe a drug dealer,” I say quietly. “A lot of money.” The words taste like rust.

Myrick stiffens, and Autry’s mouth falls open, but it’s Charlie I feel the most—his body tenses against mine, shock and anger pulsing in our bond.

“I’m not a user,” I blurt out. “Never was. That wasn’t my poison.

” I glance at the ceiling and exhale slowly.

“Mine was always alcohol.” Silence. They already know this.

“I needed money to feed my addiction. Thought I could hustle, move some product, get ahead. I fell in with the wrong people. Made shitty choices, worse friends. Then five years ago, one of those deals went bad. Real bad. I got jumped. Lost a huge amount of inventory.” I shake my head as I remember my broken bones.

“I should’ve seen it coming, but I didn’t. ”

My throat tightens. I meet Rhett’s eyes again and force myself not to flinch.

“The dealer nearly killed me,” I continue. “He said that if I didn’t pay him back every cent, he’d finish the job.”

Charlie leans into me gently, like he doesn’t even want to think about it. His warmth seeps into my side, quiet and grounding. And it almost undoes me. I don’t deserve him.

“That was my wake-up call,” I say, voice rough. “I got clean after that. Stayed clean. But I’ve been paying for it ever since.”

Myrick crosses his arms, concern pulling his brows together. “How much do you still owe?”

I shake my head, jaw clenched.

“Too much,” I say. “So much that I’ve been sleeping in my car most nights. Paying for a hotel feels like a waste when I’ve still got a target on my back.”

Autry steps closer as she wraps the blanket tighter around her tiny frame, but her expression is wide open. Understanding. She looks at me like she knows how it feels. It’s an odd reaction from the omega.

“I’m a fuck-up,” I say, hating the way my voice breaks.

“I know that. But I’ve worked so hard to piece my life back together.

I’m not perfect.” I look at Charlie, begging for him to still love me.

“Hell, I’m barely scraping by. But I want this.

I want you. ” I drop my gaze, trying to keep myself from falling apart. “I want to be better—for all of you. ”

The room is quiet again. Heavy with what I’ve laid bare.

I meet each of their eyes in turn—Myrick, Autry, Charlie. Then finally, Rhett.

“I promise,” I say, “I’ll be a better alpha. For our pack. For my pack…if you’ll let me.”

“Okay,” Rhett is the first to speak up. “Then start now. Charlie needs a bath, and then he and Autry need to be fed. Take care of your pack, alpha.”

And just like that, something warm and beautiful consumes me.

I belong.