AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Humiliation flamed across my cheeks and I looked away, but not before hearing the laughter and seeing the leering stares of several men, including a few who adjusted themselves in their pants.
“After all,” the High Alpha went on, his booming tone obnoxiously magnanimous as he lowered himself onto his throne, “do I not care for my flock? I even ensured you had an omega of your own when the urge to rut strikes.”
I should’ve stayed quiet.
Should’ve kept my head down.
“You’re a liar,” I hissed, my tone so low I thought everyone might miss it.
But the room went suddenly, deathly, silent. I thought Morris stopped breathing, his green eyes flaring wide with panic before he slipped his mask of indifference back into place.
“What did you say to me?” The High Alpha leaned forward in his chair, his feet inches from my hip.
I lifted my chin and met him dead in the eye. “You are a fucking liar.”
“Omega cunt!” Hayden jumped to his feet, pain and vengeance in his eyes.
The High Alpha held up a hand to stop him. “How is that, my pet?”
“You swore an oath that Logan would be safe if I did what you wanted,” I snapped, my chest heaving. “You promised if I behaved, you wouldn’t hurt him.”
The High Alpha slowly smiled. “I can assure you, omega, he wasn’t hurt. In fact, I hear he rather enjoyed himself.”
“He didn’t consent?—”
“On the contrary,” Hayden cut in, grinning, “he fucking begged for our knots. What type of alphas would we be if we left him to his own pain? A male omega might not be good for much more than taking a knot, and he did so splendidly.”
“Well,” another member of the circle protested with a dark laugh, “he put up a little resistance when Hayden and I knotted him together, but then Jared knotted his mouth and…” He shrugged and waved a dismissive hand.
I was shaking. “You’re sick. Fucking sick assholes?—”
“Enough!” The High Alpha’s roar hit my ears a second before his fist crashed into my cheek. Stars exploded across my vision, my ears ringing. He grabbed my hair in a punishing grip, wrenching me to my knees. “You forget your place, omega,” he raged at me, shaking me hard enough that the bones in my neck popped and cracked.
On instinct, I lifted my hands and tried to pry him off me, my nails digging into his wrist. His boot snapped out, landing against my ribs once. Twice.
I doubled over with a gasp, coughing until I tasted blood.
He glared down at me. “Now look at what you’ve made me do! Tonight was to be our bridal feast, but clearly it is a ceremonial honor you don’t deserve.” He glared at Morris. “Take her to her cabin to clean up. Having the foresight to instruct Miriam to prepare the dress in advance was clearly a sign.”
At the word dress my head came up slowly, pounding as my vision blurred a little around the edges. The man sure as hell knew how to throw a punch, if nothing else.
The corner of his mouth hooked up. “I see the true path now, and the only way the almighty will honor this union is if it happens immediately. Tonight, you will bear my mark. You will take my knot while our community stands witness to this holiest of moments.”
“No,” I whispered, blood leaking from the corner of my mouth.
“Get her out of my sight, and then go into town with Jordan. We’ll need ample food for the festivities,” the High Alpha barked, his command spurring Morris into immediate action.
Despite the clenched jaw, Morris’s touch was gentle as he helped me up. My ears were still ringing as I limped off the dais, but it was not enough to prevent me from overhearing a conversation that chilled my soul.
“The boy?” Hayden queried, his tone almost bored.
“Bring him, too. If my omega wants to fight back, we’ll use him to show her how many knots a hole can take before it rips at the seams,” the High Alpha hissed.
My eyes closed, a sob welling in my chest, my lungs expanding with the effort to hold it in, as I realized I’d seriously fucked things up.
Again.
8
