I want to point out that we don’t live in a town. We live in the middle of nowhere, forcing me and my siblings to live a lonely, isolated life. We don’t have friends or neighbors. Hell, we don’t even have electricity. All I have are brief descriptions of an easier life that I read about in books.
“Answer me!” Burke roars right as his open hand lands on my cheek. Stars burst behind my eyes and I fall over, smacking my hip against the hardwood floor. The baby cries upstairs and I hear my mom shush him quietly.
“Get up.” Burke’s fingers curl around my upper arm, jerking me back onto my feet. “Who fucked you?” The room is so dark, but I can still see the hate flashing in his eyes.
“No one.” I grit my teeth, refusing to answer.
The unhinged asshole would track Linden down and kill him, and no one would do a damn thing about it. It’s part of the reason my family lives out here. In the North, laws are more like suggestions. It’s not like the cities down south, where there are strict governance boards. Out here, alphas do what they want. They take, hurt, and kill without anyone even trying to stop them. And the rest of us have to live with it.
“Look at me, omega.” Burke pushes his thick angry scent into the air. It feels like acid in my throat, making me want to gag. “I’m giving you one chance.” His teeth flash, and his voice drops. “Tell me who fucked you.”
“Does it matter?” I say flatly, and the alpha’s open hand slaps my face once again. His vicious grip on my arm keeps me from falling, but my head spins as if I did.
“Burke!” My mother’s panicked voice rips through the quite house. I look up, devastated to see her standing on the creaky staircase. Her eyes are wide with panic and her graying hair falls into her face, sticking to her cheeks. They must be wet with tears. “Please, alpha.” She stops halfway down the staircase, pleading from a distance. I don’t blame her for not coming any closer. Her lip is still busted from two days ago. It simply refuses to heal. “Don’t hurt her.”
“Go to bed, Momma,” I say in my calmest voice.Thank god, I’m not sprawled out on the floor anymore.“Everything is okay.” I smile, trying to reassure her, but she knows this game too well.
Burke barks at me, I provoke him, and I get hit while trying to convince her that everything is fine. It’s an exhausting, never-ending cycle.
“Burke?” Mom’s dark eyes drift from me to her mate, then back again. “Please. Whatever Beth did, we can handle it in the morning.” She takes a single step toward us, and my immediatereaction is to rush to her. I want to shield her from Burke’s spiraling rage. But if I can convince her to go back to bed, then I can take the full force of his anger, and he’ll leave her alone.
It’s better for me to take the brunt of the alpha’s beatings. I’m stronger than her and heal much faster.
“Go, Deanna,” Burke snaps at Mom when she doesn’t move. The rough sound makes her jump and her shoulders curl inward. The baby begins to cry.
Tony comes up behind her. “Deanna” The alpha slips one hand around her upper arm, gently tugging her backward. “Scott needs help with Toby. Go on.”
Mom’s eyes stay glued to mine as she slowly backs up. The baby cries louder and the floorboards overhead creek. Everyone is awake.
“It’s okay. I’ve got this.” Tony stares as Mom slowly goes back up the stairs. He doesn’t move a muscle until we hear the bedroom door click shut. Finally, he turns to me and lets out a frustrated sigh. “What’s going on?” He comes down the stairs, taking them two at a time. The quick movement makes his shaggy red hair fall into his eyes.
I look up at the alpha with pleading eyes, praying he’ll save me this time. But I know he won’t. Despite his big, scary muscles, Tony is useless when it comes to defending our family against Burke. But I always hope.
“You can’t hit her,” Tony says, shocking me.Have my prayers finally been answered?
“Our daughter has been out fucking the entire Northern Territory,” Burke snarls.
“What?” Tony squints at my face, then he moves to a nearby lantern. He picks up a box of matches, lighting it. A soft orange light fills the room. Finally able to see, I look the alphas up and down. Burke looks like he’s on the verge of killing everyone in the room, while Tony just looks confused.
“Beth?” Tony holds the lantern up, looking at my face. His eyes drift to where Burke hit me, but he doesn’t react. I assume our pack alpha didn’t leave too bad of a mark, but it feels like my skin has been ripped open.I’m sure I'll have a bruise tomorrow. “Why are you out of bed?” Tony asks, narrowing his dark eyes.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I’m a shit liar, but if I don’t saysomethingBurke might use his alpha voice on me, and I’ll end up giving Linden away. “I left the house,” I say to the red-haired alpha. “I’m sorry.” I drop my gaze in a submissive display. “I’ll never do it again.”
“You know better than to go outside without an escort. Why would you do that?” Tony leans down, trying to see my face, but I keep my head down. I'm scared he’ll see the lie in my eyes. “What happened? Did someone hurt you?”
“Can you not fucking smell?” Burke growls loudly and the baby fusses again. “She reeks ofbetacum.”
Disgust, followed instantly by shame, grips me, and my eyes burn with the threat of tears. But I force them back. I refuse to let either one of them see how upset I am.
“Well, that’s not ideal.” Tony’s voice is unsettled, but it’s not filled with concernforme. Confused, I lift my head. Both alphas share a tense look and something like dread moves through me.
“I promised them a virgin,” Burke says through gritted teeth. His expression is grave, maybe even scared. “What the fuck are we going to do now?”
Virgin?
I look between the pair, trying to figure out what the hell they’re talking about.
“They might not be able to tell,” Tony says, glancing at my neck. “She’s not marked, and she’s never been knotted. She’ll still bleed when they take her.”
