There were already auras in the air—the shivering, invisible energy that alphas could let loose to make them stronger and faster.
Half a dozen, if not more? I felt like it was choking me.
I took a shuddering breath.
Don't cry.
I shut my eyes to hide the gold. Anything not to tempt them further. Anything to stop this madness.
Iwantedto be fierce, like that omega on the TV, but I was quaking, my quick breaths not taking in enough air.
Their scents were everywhere, sending my weary mind into a frenzy. Alphas were supposed to make me feel safe, but theseones didn’t. They'd seen the golden eyes marking me as a mistake—not an omega to protect at all…
They wanted me broken.
They want you as broken as you'd leave them…
Could I blame them?
I was desperate to run, but there was nowhere to go, and I knew instinctively that running would makethischaos look like child's play.
My jaw ached from clenching it so hard, and a strangled cry sounded beside me. I dared open my eyes just in time to see and hear acrackas the alpha to my left crushed another’s neck in his fist.
Choking down a whimper, I staggered away as the insane alpha looked up at me with wild eyes. I dodged another brawl.
I was dead.
This was it.
I yelped in pain as a fist closed around my hair, yanking me back. I struggled, a low strangled whine slipping from my chest.
“What a sweet gift,” a low voice growled. I tried to turn, and only just caught sight of the alpha towering over me, a strong scent of sour whiskey filling my nose. He was close enough for me to see his features clearly. He was huge, with shaggy black hair and cruel, dark eyes. He had a neatly kept beard and a handful of scars across his cheek, neck, and bare torso.
I lashed out, catching his cheek with my nails, and he flinched.
The next thing I knew, he shoved me, and I gasped as pain exploded up my back when he slammed me into the wall.
Panic brought more tears to my eyes. I was nothing like the omega on TV, who had a growl in her chest and glowing eyes. Instead, I let out another pathetic whine when his fist snapped around my throat. I was so winded, I could barely draw breath.
“Stubborn bitch, huh?” he growled.
Along with my terror, though, I felt the shock of his touch, a crackle of static that set every nerve on fire. I bit back another whine as that pain rolled along my nerve endings, a reaction to his skin making contact with mine. I watched as his pupils constricted, his whole body tensing as he drank in how starved I was of touch.
It was a boiling temptation trying to swallow us both.
He bared his teeth. “I was going to take you back to the cell first, but now I think I’ll bite you and claim that tight little cunt right here for everyone to see.”
N-no…
Didn’t he know what that would cost him?
Of course he didn’t. I’d already driven him mad, I realized, flashes of fury and lust and violence were all swirling in his eyes as he stared at me.
My strength was a leaf in the wind beneath the intensity of his aura, and he slid me up the wall, his grip on my throat lifting me. I kicked against him as he crushed me against the stone with ease, my nails digging uselessly into rock-like muscle. The heat of his breath against my neck sent a strangled scream of protest from my weak lungs.
His teeth grazed my skin, and I went absolutely still.
A dark bond.