Page 8 of Hangman's Knot
She stands up and he offers her a hand, careful not to touch her without permission. She takes it and he can feel his palm tingle at every point of contact where her skin meets his.
He guides her around the bodies on the floor and watches how the omega tries not to look at them. He thinks she looks like she might be sick. Might be she'd never seen a dead body before. If that was the case, what the fuck did she do to end up in a place like this?
Her hand shakes in his and it feels so goddamn small, so impossibly fragile, every alpha instinct he has is roaring, urging him to protect and care for her. And fuck, if she doesn't smell good. Her scent... fuck, he thinks it might be the sweetest thing he's ever smelled, although he can't quite get enough of it in his nose to tell exactly what the scent profile is.
They've been in this shithole for three years now. It's been at least that long since he's smelled anything that isn't his pack or the aggressive stink of the other prisoners and guards. The sudden influx of her in his nose is enough to make his head swim.
Whatever her scent is, it's special. He's sure of that. Even if he put her next to a hundred other omegas, he could tell that this one was something special. Her scent was soft and sweet and luscious and it soothed something inside of him.
"I'm gonna' get sent to the hole for this for a while," he tells her as she trails behind him, her hand still gripped in his while her other arm wraps around her body protectively. "There's no wayto avoid it. But my pack will take care of you. They'll make sure no one else hurts you."
They stop at the door to his cell and he ushers her in. It looked the same as the one she had been put in, but this one was obviously lived in.
There were two sets of bunk beds on either wall and a small metal chest of drawers on the third wall, with a toilet and sink combo shoved in the corner. There were a few shelves on the wall above it covered in dozens and dozens of Tenor's books. Three of the beds were already made with military precision.
By stupid design, or maybe because this was the only thing that could contain raging alphas when they went feral, the bars on the cell were thick and close enough together to give some semblance of privacy.
His pack had been placed down the most secure of the prison blocks. There's only a narrow walkway outside the cells with a five foot thick brick wall on the other side and one single window high up the wall. At least there would be no one to stare at her from across the way. Maybe it would help her settle.
Their cell block was quieter than most, too. It was mostly reserved for the alpha packs and, apparently, one single vulnerable omega. He hopes that will work out in her favour, maybe offer her a bit of peace away from the bustle of the rest of the overcrowded prison.
The fact that their block housed the alpha packs was probably the reason they'd put her down there in the first place. An attempt to keep more of them from becoming feral. Two packs had already disappeared the week before in the middle of the night because of it.
Most of them worked in the commercial area of the prison making car parts for $0.20 per hour. They needed the workers well enough to show up, not locked in a cell in the basement infour-point restraints when their raging hormones took over the last shred of humanity in their minds.
Alphas needed omegas. It was a biological fact. This many alphas together was a ticking time bomb, and this little omega was barely more than a bandaid. As delicate as one, too.
His brooding is paused when his brothers look over at him. He can feel concern radiating through the bond, as if they know exactly what he was thinking.
"This is Tenor," he gestures to his first brother, forcing his voice to be softer, not to give away the aggression brewing inside of him. "And that's Julius."
His pack brothers are standing in the centre of the room, and he tries to imagine how they must look to her. The three of them are all huge assholes, typical alpha builds taking up most of the free space there is in the cramped cell.
Their bodies had been built with muscle from years of drills and training, and after everything she's been through today, he thinks they must look intimidatingly large. Her whole body starts to shake and Luke feels his instincts roaring, urging him to comfort her.
"They won't hurt you," he reassures her again, but she doesn't seem to hear him.
"Here," he says, gesturing to one of the made-up bottom bunks. "You can have my bed. I'll get a kit when I get back and I'll take the free one. Sit down, it'll help."
She follows his instructions, sitting down on the indicated bunk with oddly mechanical movements that suggested to him that her mind has disconnected from her body. And after everything she's been through today, it's no wonder, he thinks.
They've seen it before, seen the way people can shut down after a trauma. Hell, causing that trauma used to be their goddamnjobs. But the little omega is strong. She'll get through it. He holds that thought tightly in his fist.
Tenor passes her a bottle of water and she drinks a gulp of it, then seems to realize how thirsty she is and downs the rest.
"Thank you," she whispers to him, not looking up at any of them. She must feel safe, he thinks, to be able to leave behind her brave mask. Maybe on some level she knows that he told her the truth. That they'd take care of her.
Tenor nods at her in response but says nothing. His pack brother's familiar woody scent radiates concern, and he feels through the bond how affected he is.
Julius, fucking asshole that he is, scowls in disapproval, clearly not wanting them to get mixed up in this. But Luke knew he didn't really mean it. The pissy feeling coming from Julius in the bond is only half as pissy as his face is.
Julius would no more have sat by and listened to that girl get raped than he or Tenor would've. It would only have been a matter of time before he went and put a stop to it, Luke just got there first.
"What did you do to get put in here, omega?" Julius' voice is callous, and Luke wants to punch his pack brother for being an asshole.
"I uh—I stabbed a cop... I guess." The collective eyebrows of the group raise in surprise at that. She quickly stammers to clarify, clearly not wanting them to think she was violent, as if they'd see the tiny thing as a threat. "After he tried to rape me."
A heavy silence falls over the group as they process that information. Luke turns to glare at his pack brother. Fucking dick being rude to an omega who was just defending herself. The gentle little thing clearly didn't deserve this. No omega would deserve this, he silently corrects himself, no matter what they'ddone.
