Page 134 of Wild Omega

Colt sits down beside Rose. To my surprise, Luka kneels beside Colt’s chair and the bigger alpha pats his head affectionately. I should’ve picked up on their different energy, but I was rather occupied with Rose. It looks like the two men in cages aren’t the only pets in this home. Colt catches me watching and flashes me a wink before offering Rose his hand.

She takes it with a smile, bracing herself as she starts the story of how she came to keep two dangerous alphas like Dobermans in her new pack home. I listen in silence, soaking in her pain and also her newfound joy. The way she’s weathered the trauma and come out smiling is sensational, but the brutality of the underground world is even more shocking.

I mean, I knew because I suffered from it, but to think the same abuse could happen to alphas makes me feel shaky inside.

I sip the delicious lemon and ginger tea to whet my dry mouth, and then lean my elbows on the table. “After you left the House of Bitches, I felt I’d wronged you by not telling you the truth. But the way you talked to O-18 when she had doubts made me think you wouldn’t have been able to accept it.” My shoulders slump. “It must’ve been ten times worse finding out when you got sold.”

Her pretty green eyes widen. “You knew?”

I flash her a lopsided smile. “Unfortunately, yes. But the two times I mentioned it to an omega, they disappeared, so I knew I had to keep my mouth shut.”

Uncertainty flashes in her gaze. “But how’d you know?”

I grip my cup tight in both hands, watching the pale brown liquid shimmer. “I was their haze cow.” Her two uncaged alphas stiffen, recognizing the word.

“A cow? I don’t understand.” Rose flicks her gaze to her OCB partner.

His jaw works a few times before he answers. “It means they extracted haze from her, even though she was unwilling, to sell on the black market.”

Rose gasps and covers her mouth with her hands. She’s always been this way: tender-hearted and brimming with love. It’s a relief to see she hasn’t changed. Even her scent’s as overpowering as always. It smells like a damn perfume aisle here, and gets worse now because she’s worried about me.

I cough lightly. “Rose, I love you, but do you have any idea how much you stink?” Add to that the scents of four powerful alphas in the room, and a fifth I haven’t identified, and I’m about ready to throw up.

Rose laughs and the tears that were shining in her eyes leak between her lashes. “Sorry. I forgot you’re extra sensitive.”

Luka gets up and opens the sliding door, allowing a gust of fresh air to thin the stench. He moves with an easy grace that makes almost no sound, and his scent is quite perplexing because it’s barely present, but even the tiny hit I’m getting feels a little intoxicating. Rose sure doesn’t do things by halves.

I turn to look at her mate, Zane. The entire time we talked, he stood like a sentry, leaning into the bars. “So, Rose, do you mean to tell me dozens of alphas like him fought in the underground rings?” I hum under my breath. “What do you suppose they think about?”

She swivels in her chair, following my gaze to the olive-skinned alpha. “Yeah, there were ten more just in the kennel I was a part of. When I first met him, Zane used to growl continuously, like, every waking moment. He seems much happier now.” She gets a wistful look on her face. “It’s my hope I can teach them and one day they can leave their cages and live like normal people.”

I nod, but my brain’s consuming her words like a delicious treat to savor one mouthful at a time. Ten more alphas, who snarl. This hum I hear all the time in my thoughts could be described as a continuous growl. “So, what happened to the rest of them?”

Rose slumps, resting both arms on the table. “They’re all at the Alpha Lodgings. It’s a prison for alphas. I went there once to prove these two were my scent matches. It was awful. Cages smaller than Zane’s over there, and row after row of them. It’d be torture for these sensitive men who only know about fighting and defending their territory.”

Unfortunately I can picture it, and I wrinkle my nose in sympathy. That many scents jammed together would be a nightmare for me.

The other omega sighs. “They picked up so many feral alphas they’re overflowing and some of them are destined for euthanasia. We’ve been trying to raise money to fund their rehabilitation, but—” She shivers and wrings her hands together. “There’re too many of them.”

Her words send a shard of ice through my heart. Some of them will be killed? No.

My gaze flicks to Colt as he reaches for Rose to comfort her. “Tell me about your visit,” I murmur, doing my best to look calm when inside I’m seething.

Rose is special. She has a quality about her that makes people want to protect her and earn her trust. Me? I have too many sharp edges for that. No one’s going to believe that I hear my alpha’s voice in my head.

For a moment I consider asking Agent Colt if he’d take me into the prison like he did Rose, but I chicken out. He’s already done a lot with me turning up like this, without my pack. Who knows what protocols he might have to follow. Could send me right back to Laversham. If I ask too much, I might end up creating a trap for myself.

As Rose talks, a pang of loneliness hits me out of nowhere, knotting up my stomach. I miss Rickon, and that bastard Callisto. And I feel like something else is missing too. Will I ever be at peace like Rose is?

I take another peek at her shifty alpha who lurks in the back of his cell. Okay, maybe everything’s not as peaceful as it looks.

The front door bursts open, making me jump. “Hey, guys, I’m home. I’ve got the biggest stiffy and I’ve been dreaming of eating Rose out on that damned table—” A good-looking alpha with black skin and long, elegant hands swerves around the corner, carrying shopping bags. The mystery fifth scent in the house thickens. The man blanches. “Shoot! We have company. A little warning would be nice, fellows.”

Luka slaps a hand to his brow and doubles over, laughing silently. One side of Agent Colt’s mouth twitches up. “Guess you didn’t read the chat, Kye. This is Rose’s friend, Red.”

Kye’s words register a few beats behind his appearance. “Table? This table?” I snatch my cup off the polished wood and push my chair back. “Rose, you’re filthy.” I add a glare for good measure.

Rose blushes furiously and covers her face. Luka loses his battle to stay silent and breaks out in gut-wrenching laughter, while Agent Colt grins. Kye stiffens, drops the bags, and does a complete one-eighty. His muttered curses sound from outside the front door, and then a moment later his car engine revs.

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