“Veronica.” Neill calls my name just as I pull the door closed. I sigh and push it back open to look at him.
“You know, don’t you?”
“Who we really are? Yes. I know more than I want to know right now. Including that my biological father is about to bang his library partner. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to be long gone before I start hearing any sounds coming from this apartment.” I pull the door shut quickly to avoid having to talk to him any further.
A shiver spirals down my spine. “Gross,” I say out loud as I run down the stairs to get away from them. There’s a back door around the corner of the stairs that locks automatically so I take that and bolt for the front of the building.
When I come around the first corner, I see the street, but I’m still a few steps away from getting to see Colson. There’s a tight grip around my arm, pulling me backwards, knocking me down to the ground with ahumph. I look up to see Sadie fucking Clemmons standing over me. “You think you’re so much better than me,” she states, putting her boot to my throat. “Multiple mates. Are you fucking kidding me? You’re a wanted woman and look here, out and about without your Alphas.” She starts clicking her tongue.
“Sadie,” I croak as the pressure from her boot squeezes my throat closed.
David moves into my vision. “Help,” I croak again.
“Back off,” she barks at David, who backs down quickly. She turns back to me, squatting down over me. “He won’t help you. He’s my lap dog. Not yours.” Sadie’s words are like venom, attempting to hurt me with her words.
“Colson’s around the corner, Sadie.” I attempt to get up off the ground, feeling my heart race like it’s never raced before. I swallow, trying to keep a brave face.
“Yeah? And your point. He can’t see us.” She stands up. “Pick her up and bring her with us.”
“I’ll scream,” I say as David moves towards me.
“Do it and I’ll slit your fucking throat instead of just taking you with me,” she growls, snapping her teeth at me. I shut my mouth and look up at David, silently pleading with him to not do this. He offers me a soft smile as he grabs my hand, pulling me toward him.
He yanks me toward the back of the library, forcing me in the opposite direction of Colson. I want to scream, but the look on Sadie’s face told me that she would actually kill me. Looking behind me, I watch to see if Colson comes flying around the corner. But as we move further and further away, my hope begins to fade. I’m living some sort of horror scene right now, the one where the girl gets kidnapped and tortured. I don’t want this. I could fight, but Sadie’s an Alpha. I’m just a fucking Omega, what can I do?
Sadie’s house is almost exactly as I remember it when I was a kid. I had come over here a few times when we were younger. Each time I came here, I was thrown for a loop. New rooms to explore, new hallways to lead us on a different adventure. The house is so big that if I tried to escape, I’d get lost.
There’s no shame, she literally walks me through the front door. A new Omega being introduced into a house full of Alphas. This doesn’t sound like a smart plan. I’m terrified about what could happen. My Alphas have claimed me, but that doesn’t stop some Alphas. I don’t want to know what could happen if I stay here for too long.
My body tightens in fear when I hear a voice echo through the front entrance when I walk through the door with Sadie. “Sadie!” Her name bounces around the room. “What have you done?” I look up to see Ian standing on the stairs.
“Taking this bitch from her Alphas. She doesn’t deserve them!” Sadie screeches.
“Are you trying to start a war with the only man in the country that could literally ruin us?” Ian comes down the stairs quickly, making a beeline straight for me. I flinch when he approaches.Shit. I need to be careful around them. “This could bring war.”
“Not war, I just want something, and she’s my ticket to get it.” Sadie pulls David by the arm, forcing him to the ground. I watch as he falls, keeping his head down, avoiding eye contact. “I need a stronger man than this.”
Ian laughs. “Maybe if you treated him better, he’d perform better.”
“What do you know about treating an omega better? You rejected yours!” I spit, like my words are fire, flying from my lips.
“Oh, this omega has some spice!” He leans in closer and smells me. “Sadie, they’ve claimed her. They will come for her, and if they find out you’re the one who took her, they will kill you.” Ian grabs my shoulders and spins me.
“Fuck, little one, four mates. I can smell four, well five different Alphas on you, including Sadie.” Ian turns me back to face him. “You can’t keep her.” Ian sidesteps to his sister. “Take her back.”
“NO!” Sadie stomps her foot, like a spoiled brat who isn’t getting her way. Fucking ridiculous.
“Think of it like this, Sadie, you took the orphan girl, the one the whole fucking town loves. Ever since her mother died, they’ve held her up on a poor pitiful pedestal. Not only does she live with four strong, important Alphas, but she fucking mated to them. They will rip us to shreds if she's found here.”
I watch as Ian takes another deep breath, his attention snapping back to me. “Please tell me you aren’t going into your heat cycle?” His eyes nearly pop out of his head. “You smell.” He takes another deep breath. His face buries into my neck. “Amazing.” He breathes as he steps back.
“That's not me. My friend went into her heat cycle, I was helping her, and then Sadie took me,” I say softly, yet with as much power as I can muster.
“Who is your friend?” He sniffs the air again.
“Mandy.” I watch his eyes go wide when I say her name. “Your Omega, she was in heat, and she couldn’t handle the heat. So her Beta helped me get her upstairs. And then, I had to awkwardly tell this poor Beta that he was going to have to fuck her because her Alpha was a prick and rejected her. So when I left her apartment, she was about to get dick so deep that I didn’t want to stick around for it.” I watch his face twist in anger. “What's the matter, Ian? You rejected her, you shouldn’t care.” I want to punch this prick in the face, but there’s no way I’m pushing him further into his anger.
He snarls, grabs me, and pulls me close to him. “Where is she?” His grip is strong, pinching my arm hard.