Page 5 of Untamed Omega

His chuckle rumbled against my cheek. “Name your poison. I’ve got three kinds of chips, beef and salmon jerky, candy… A bunch of stuff. And clothes.”

Only now did I realize I wore only the thin boxer shorts I’d been wearing in my cell. I hadn’t had much more than that at any point, part of why the AC was so brutal. And I hadn’t even thought about it. So used to the abuses, for using willpower to keep me going day after day. “Clothes…”

“They might be too big for you, but when we get to the sanctuary, they’ll have more options. You aren’t cold, are you?”

Despite the fact it was nighttime, it was much warmer than my cell. “Not at all, but I’d sure like to have something to cover up how ugly I am.”

He stopped and looked down at me. “You’re not ugly. You’re thin and bruised and show signs of abuse. A few weeks of good care and you’ll feel much better. I’m so sorry this happened to you, Sam, but our healer is the best.” He started off again. “If I ever get the opportunity, I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done to so many.”

When we reached the truck, he helped me into the cab before going around the back and getting a sack. Settling behindthe wheel, he passed it to me. “Don’t eat too much, omega. You’ll make yourself sick.”

Which I of course did. We didn’t even get to stop for fast food because after a few strips of jerky and three cookies, Reggie had to pull over and let me empty my stomach. Instead of the burger I dreamed of, he bought me a small smoothie and made me sip it.

Then I slept awhile arriving to find two males waiting to help me onto a stretcher. I wanted to argue, but there was no way I could walk, so why bother. They carried me into a cottage and helped me onto a padded table.

Chapter Five

Markus

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay with Elise?” I asked Kellan then immediately stepped back. His squint made me rethink speaking at all. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Reggie came out, and he and Locke spoke off to the side. Kellan and I were the first of our sleuth inside.

I barely held in my gasp at the skeleton covered in skin. His face was pale, almost to the point of lucidity with the exception of plum and moss-green bruises in various stages of healing and impact. Besides being starved to the bone, his scent was off. Usually, with humans, that would mean sickness or infection, but on this shifter, well, he was teetering on the cliff between life and death. Not to mention, the blood, caked and dried, that covered a good bit of his body. Or the parts I could see with the borrowed clothes that he wore.

Reggie and his pack at least tried.

I could only pray the Goddess spared his life. My bear wanted to bond with him. Not uncommon, since he wanted to bond with everyone in order to help them, but this was different, on the verge of compulsion.

Interesting.

Kellan approached him first. His eyes were closed, but his heart rate indicated he was awake. Keeping his eyes open might be too great an effort.

I loathed most of human kind.

Locke’s mate rested a hand on his arm. “My name is Kellan. I’m an omega. We’re here to help you. I-I was in the labs too.”

The man’s eyes flew open at Kellan’s admission. “Are you going to bring me back?”

“No. Never. You are safe here. We’d like to clean you up and have our healer check you over. I know how scary it can be after what you’ve been through, but we swear, we are here to help you. If you feel uncomfortable with anything, he will stop.”

“Who?” the omega asked. His eyes widened and the air around us grew sharp with his fear kicking up.

I walked over slowly. The last thing he needed was to be frightened. A jump scare could be the end of him.

“I’m the healer here. Can we begin with taking those clothes off so that I can get an idea of your injuries?”

The omega’s stare slid from Kellan to me. “Yes,” barely left his mouth before he passed out cold. His head lolled to the side.

“Would you like to assist, or would you prefer Locke?” I asked Kellan. Seeing this omega in this state would remind him of what he’d been through. I never wanted to cause anyone more trauma.

“I want to help.”

Carefully, we removed the omega’s loose shorts. I tried like hell to keep my gaze clinical in nature, but Kellan and I both teared up at the way this person had been abused. Alpha. Omega. Human—because they weren’t all evil. Shifter. Demon. No one deserved the abuse this omega had endured. If he made it through, he would be the strongest person I knew.

“Where do you even start?” Kellan asked.

“First, let’s wash him and clean the blood off his feet. After that, we can assess. He needs to be hydrated, so as soon as we get him cleaned, I’ll put an IV in.”

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