Page 88 of One for the Money
My Beta screams, his release taking him by surprise as much as the claiming bite I just left.
Chapter 33
Fuck.
Oh fuck.
Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.
I scramble off of Matteo, my chest heaving with desperate breaths as I try to turn back time by sheer force of will.
That didn’t happen. It couldn’t have happened.
Because if that happened, if I lost control of myself and claimed Matteo, then I am stuck here and he is stuck with me, and I tethered him to me without his consent, and I am officially worse than Rich because not even Rich could do that.
Of course, an Alpha’s bite means nothing since only Omegas can initiate a bond, but I’m sure Rich was trying to find a way to trick me into biting him. My Omega never pushed me into it, and I got out before he could manage to figure out how to force the issue.
And now I’ve done that. I’ve trapped Matteo.
I’ve become the thing I hate.
“Alex!” My Beta’s voice breaks through my panic. He grabs my face, wiping tears I didn’t realize were falling from my eyes off of my cheeks. “You have to breathe.”
I shake my head, scrambling out of his touch. “I…” Gasping breaths rattle my chest, and I clutch at it, the pain and devastation I’m feeling not my own.
Matteo is hurting. He’s upset that I did this.
I stole something from him, and I can never give it back. He is stuck with me, someone who violated him, forever.
Scrambling to find a shirt and pants, I dive out of the nest, away from the man whose life I just ruined. I stumble out of the bedroom, pulling the errant clothing on. I can feel his confusion in the fledgling bond, but I can’t look at him.
If I look at him, I have to acknowledge what I’ve done, and I can’t do that yet because I don’t know why I did it. Why my Omega betrayed me like this. And how can I speak to him, explaining what happened and trying to beg for forgiveness, if I don’t know why I just bit into him like he was the answer to all of my problems?
I have to get some air. I need to get my head on straight so I can figure out a way to release him from this unwanted bond.
Before I realize it, I’m on my knees in the damp grass, retching up the meager dinner I ate.
He doesn’t want this.
I claimed a man who doesn’t want me.
It’s dark, but probably only close to nine at night, which means the crew is still out and about. One of the motorcycle guys, I have no idea what they’re actually called, Trevor, sees me, and squats down beside me.
“Ya alright, Doc?” he asks in a light Boston accent. “You drink a little too much?”
“I’m fine,” I mutter, sitting back on my heels and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I squeeze my eyes shut, tipping my head back toward the stars. “Just been a little sick. Thought I was over it, apparently I am not.”
The Alpha, a handsome man in his late twenties with dark, slicked-back hair and green eyes, smiles gently. “Is that all, though? Not trying to be a dick or nothing, but you smell like when my ma tries to bake while drunk. All burnt and shit.”
Wincing, I bury my face in my hands, wishing I had a shot of suppressants to disguise the distress in my pheromones. “I think it’s impolite to call out someone’s scent like that, Trevor.”
He makes a dismissive noise. “Fuck politeness. Something is wrong with you, and it ain’t the stomach flu. Now, are you going to tell me what happened? I’m not a strongman, but I think I could strong-arm an answer out of ya.”
Circus jokes. Always with the fucking circus jokes.
“Don’t worry about me, it’s fine.”
“We’re family here, Doc. Why are you lying to me?” He reaches out to place a hand on me, and I reflexively shrink back.
