Page 20 of Pack Owned
I’ll play along and watch every move for weaknesses. Surviving isn’t enough. Escape is the endgame, and this is just round one.
CHAPTER 6
KAYLA
Perfuming? Fuck, Ryker!
It rattles me how blatantly he talks about me like I’m livestock, like I’m not even here. Though part of me wonders if he’s right, if the trauma with Gary has messed me up somehow, left me broken.
My throat constricts at the thought. All my life, this is what was expected of me—to please an Alpha, to make more baby Alphas and Omegas for this screwed-up world.
What if I’m unable to go into heat like a normal Omega?
Not that I’d want to please any of these crude Alphas. My only goal is to get away and find my friends. Assuming they’re even okay... No, they have to be. I can’t think of anything else, or I’ll be a basket case.
After a hasty shower, I realize my clothes are gone. Seriously? My skin flushes at the thought of one of them coming in here while I was naked and vulnerable.
Quickly drying off, I tug on the baggy sweats and T-shirt they left, the boxers hanging low on my hips. I grabbed a towel and furiously scrubbed my skin dry, the indignity of it all burning in my throat.
I can’t hide in this back bedroom forever. Steeling myself, I drift into the living room, praying they’re gone so I can scout for an escape route.
Fat chance.
All three Alphas are waiting, looking very much at home in this crappy cabin.
“Have a seat,” Ryker orders from his corner, like I’m a dog being summoned.
I hesitate, but Dane’s looming presence near the window and Liam lurking by the kitchen bar boxes me in. Jaw clenched, I sink onto the worn sofa, the springs groaning in protest. I glare at each in turn, the four of us forming an odd square.
Their scents—cedar, smoke, leather, and something primal that sets my pulse racing—swirl together in an intimidating, dizzyingly alluring combination.
Liam leans back against the counter, every inch the cocky bad boy with his tousled blond curls and that stupid smirk. “This just keeps getting more interesting,” he drawls, voice dripping sarcasm.
Great, another smart-ass to contend with.
In the corner, Ryker is all hard angles and shadows, those piercing blue eyes seeming to look straight through me. Inky black tattoos slither up his forearms and remind me of bikers I saw in a movie once.
Realizing I’m staring, I quickly look away, right into Liam’s knowing gaze.
“See something you like, sweetheart?” He winks brazenly.
I snort. “Hardly. I’ve seen hotter at a truck stop.” Trying to ignore the way my body thrums with awareness, I snap my arms beneath my breasts.
“Play nice, you two,” Dane’s deep voice rumbles, and though his words are light, there’s a warning there that echoes deep in my bones.
Ryker doesn’t answer. He doesn’t need to. His eyes narrow, and I get the impression he’s already calculating ten moves ahead.
I can’t trust them. Not after hearing their conversation outside. “Find them,” “valuable assets.” My stomach churns. This wasn’t some lucky, or unlucky, accident. They were looking for Omegas, and they knew we were on that bus and on the way to Nexus.
From the living room, we all stare at each other. Liam reaches across the counter, snags a bright red apple, and tosses it playfully in the air.
“Hungry, sweetheart?” he asks, a teasing glint in his eyes.
I eye the apple with suspicion, my hand hovering near it instinctively. Even these hulking Alphas wouldn’t drug food in plain sight, would they? No, I see them marching up with a tranquilizer shot and not hiding a damn thing.
“Sure, I could eat,” I shrug, trying to project nonchalance despite the churning in my gut. He throws the apple, and I catch it easily. My expression remains a mask, hiding the turmoil within. “Thanks.”
For a fleeting moment, Liam’s easy grin throws me off balance. Have I misjudged them? The question hangs in the air, unanswered, before Ryker cuts in, his voice devoid of warmth.
