Another wave of heat gusted from behind her, spilling down the stairs and slamming into Oberon. The smell of ash filled his nose, and he coughed, fury and fear gripping him tightly around the heart.
“You may have severed my control over him with that bite, but there’s no way you’ve managed to undo my failsafe.” Michelle fired again, this time hitting Claudio in the stomach when the man tried discreetly reaching for the weapon tucked behind his back.
Claudio dropped to the ground, his tablet smashing. He clutched his midsection, glaring behind his glasses at her.
“You thought you could take him from me?” Michelle continued, ignoring the secretary as he bled out. “Wrong. Fenrir Snow will always be my creation. Unfortunately, you’ve helped shine a light on a few flaws I’d previously overlooked, and there’s only one thing to be done about damaged goods.” She grinned. “Melt them down.”
Chapter 27:
Through his hysteria, Fenrir heard screaming. At first, he thought it might be his doing, but he’d always gone quiet in the face of fire, and this time was no different.
Flames blazed all around him, filling the room with flashes of bright light and accompanying billows of thick, black smoke. The office was the second largest in the building, which bought him time, though a lot of good that did him since he spent it coming apart.
Flashes of the past, of how close he’d come to death, how painful it was to suffer from lack of oxygen, had him crawling to the exit. He tried the knob even knowing it was no use, then threw himself against the door enough times his already damaged shoulder protested in agony.
Nails broke when he dug them into the soft layer of wood around the knob, though there was no chance he’d be able toclaw his way out of here. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and it was getting harder to breathe and see. This time, there was no oxygen mask to prevent him from dying. Soon, he would pass out, and once that happened…
He’d never wake up.
A frantic, desperate sound slipped from his lips, and he pulled his shirt up over his nose in a last-ditch attempt to stave off the smoke.
Only to get a deep inhale of alpha musk.
His alpha.
It’d been his one caveat when he’d agreed to be parted. Fen had demanded he be given sets of Oberon’s clothing to wear. At first, he’d been a bit embarrassed, but that hadn’t stopped him from voicing his needs. It’d stemmed from lingering fears of influx, and he’d hoped having his alpha’s scent readily available, on his person, against his skin, might help soothe him.
Oberon had made a big show of scenting every item before placing them in the duffle bag that was going to be snuck into Frost Loans ahead of time. Teasing him and grinning as he flooded his smell into the fabric, all while Fenrir had rolled his eyes and pretended not to know that his cheeks were staining a humiliating shade of scarlet.
Heat licked at Fenrir’s back, but he felt it more vividly this time, his mind clearer and more focused.
This wasn’t anything like those times he’d been locked up at the estate, and not because he didn’t have a fancy oxygen mask.
The room was always prepared for him well in advance to ensure it was hotter than hell the moment Fenrir was shoved inside. While the fire behind him was hot, it’d yet to reach that extreme temperature the same way.
He was also mated now. The energy within him stabilized in a way it hadn’t been when he’d been Michelle’s pet.
Fenrir called to his power, swearing when it was difficult. It was his own fault for using so much earlier. Maybe this was karmic justice. Maybe Light was punishing him for going on a killing spree.
Or maybe he just wasn’t trying hard enough.
He took another deep inhale, holding the air, and the smell of his alpha, in his lungs as he pulled harder on that invisible thread. A piece of equipment exploded behind him, plastic and glass shards shooting forward. Fenrir hissed as a few of them made contact, lodging into him, but grasped onto the doorknob and pushed all of his focus there.
The metal was already hot and uncomfortable to touch, but it was nothing compared to the way his skin felt like it was melting and his head swam. He was out of time. If he didn’t get this door open within the next five or ten seconds, he really would die.
And then Oberon would be left on his own.
Or worse…
It’d been a setup, the alpha’s presence here tonight, and yet, Fen couldn’t help but picture his alpha on the prowl after he was gone. If Fenrir died, it would give him the perfect opportunity to seek out another lover.
To replace him as his omega.
“Over my dead body,” he growled.
Except, no, it was the opposite.
If he didn’t want Oberon with someone else, Fen needed to stick close by his side. Had to watch him. Had to make sure no one else could get any dumb ideas and think they stood a chance.