“Pound for pound, the most powerful designation is the omega,” Kai told me. She ignored my snort of derision and continued, “They might not demonstrate it often, usually only when their children are threatened, or their mate. Omegas lifting cars off children, beating the shit out of house invaders, tearing abusive alphas to literal pieces. It’s all been documented extensively. I can give you an annotated bibliography if you like.”
“Ah, no, that’s not needed.”
“So you’ve got to have more belief in your power, omega.” This was delivered in a much more neutral tone than her usual alpha purr. “I do.” She slapped a hand down on my shoulder, then removed it just as quickly. “Find your power and don’t relinquish it to anyone. No true alpha would want you to.”
This should’ve been my “Eye of the Tiger” moment, where to the sounds of an eighties synth track, I claimed my birthright as a strong, independent omega who didn’t need no alpha. Instead, I watched the others drop down to their knees, taking their cues from Rhys again.
And they always would be. Marcus might be the brains of the operation, but Rhys was the undisputed heart, and right then, I couldn’t bear that at all. Not when my own was still so fucking bruised. So I turned and ran off, back into the house, then slamming out the backdoor to the sound of Rosemary firing herself as my therapist.
“I could be struck off the register for what went down today,” she snapped at Mum. “It wasn’t safe and could have backfired terribly—”
“Cyn!” Mum said, but I was out that door, running still, my stride getting longer and longer until I reached the trees. I paused for a second, feeling the enclosed space they created with their huge canopies of leaves, and then I dove in, muscle memory telling me where to go and why.
I arrived at the trashed car at some point. I couldn’t tell you how long it took to find it and if my tale was a symmetrical one, they would have been there, older boys intent on more convoluted, cruel games. Instead, I had someone waiting for me, one I would never have expected out here. I frowned as they watched me draw near, sucking in breath, and then they smiled.
Chapter 26
“Kai?”
She pushed herself off the bonnet of the much more rusted car, a small smile on her face, her well muscled arms flexing as she uncrossed them.
“What the actual fuck…?”
I looked around me, checking I was still in my forest, not one between worlds with, like, unicorns or some shit. Because if she were some kind of fae, hopefully I was in a paranormal romance story, not some shapeshifting, face stealing, ‘murder dickheads who went running into forests on their own’ kind. Preferably a reverse harem type of story where clusters of hot guys tried to…
Oh.
“That looked like a whole lot of internal dialogue going on there, kid,” she said with a grin, which swiftly faded. That same assessing eye that could tell when I was hiding an injury looked me up and down. “And not a lot of showering being done. You’re not OK.”
That was what attracted me so much to alphas, that flat, definite summation of reality that allowed my brain to just stop for a second.
“I’m not,” I replied finally, feeling tears prick, but I held them back. “But what the hell are you doing here? Extreme boot camp?”
She shook her head.
“McCallum, he pays me to come here every day and hang out for an hour or two, just in case you come by.”
“Why?”
She snorted, then clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“I thought we talked about alpha shit. Ignoring reasonable boundaries,” a finger flicked up, “controlling, obsessive, feels the need to show they care in excessive displays.” Another three fingers flicked up. “Need I continue? Gotta admit, it’s usually betas and omegas chasing me to get them in shape to find themselves an alpha, not an alpha using me to woo an omega. At first, it was refreshing, but he’s paid me an obscene amount of money to put myself at your disposal when and where you want me. No strings attached. I said I wasn’t prepared to be a two-legged bunch of flowers, nor to try and pressure you into anything, but he said, and I quote, ‘If she never speaks to me or my mates again, she’ll have your services, Kai, and anything else she needs.’ So here I am.”
I frowned at that, blinking wildly, trying to process, and she just smiled.
“It was cute at first, seeing an alpha like him lose his fucking shit over an omega, but I haven’t seen clients for over a week. You wanna go for a run or do some burpees? I’ll do them for you at this point. I’m getting bored.”
Her smile was bright, infectious, and made me wonder why the hell no omega had tied her down, so I asked her as we stretched.
“Oh, he’s out there somewhere.” She snorted when I paused, bent over double and touching my toes one foot at a time. “What, you thought I was sniffing after your fine arse? Your mother screened me pretty heavily before she’d let me loose on her only daughter. I mean, there was that one time at university…”
An explosive peal of laughter burst out of me, freezing me where I was, the feeling so alien.
“You’ll be all right, omega. They talk about alpha and omega instincts, but all of us live with an animal.” She straightened up, thumping her chest. “Our bodies. They were made to run and fight and fuck, and while we are definitely not doing the latter, doing the former will go a long way to healing whatever ails you. Omegas pump endorphins when hurt, perfume the air with them, so we should be able to go harder and further than before.” She jogged on the spot, loosening her body up, and I found myself doing the same thing. She nodded to me now, but it felt different, like I’d imagine she’d do the same to another alpha. “Take your power back. Get strong, get fast, get back to who you are, and then you’ll be able to sort out whatever shit is hurting. Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“And then a fucking shower, ’cos damn, omega, that ain’t perfume anymore coming off you. That’s the smell of despair.”