I tilted my head at him, trying to figure out what his deal was. Shrugging, I said, “A bath would be nice.”
He gave me a soft smile. “Come on, I’ll help you up.” He stepped carefully between the exhausted bodies, covered in scratches from my nails. Following my gaze, his smile turned wry. “Living up to the name there, Kitten.” He pulled me gently to my feet, and my knees shook. Man, I felt like I’d run a marathon. My thighs were jello.
I took a couple of steps and nearly tripped on the soft, cushioned flooring. Two strong arms scooped me up gently. “Woah there, let me carry you. You’ll get your land legs back soon enough.”
I breathed in the scent of him, and while it no longer drove me crazy as it had when I was in heat, he still smelled really good.
When I was in heat.
I was an Omega.
“Flying fuckballs.”
Cooper tripped, catching himself at the last minute. “Did you just say… Jesus, I forgot the guys said they taught you English. It didn’t occur to me that it would be a seventeen-year-old boy version of English.” He didn’t put me down as he kept moving down the hall. “You don’t talk much.”
I shrugged, trying not to let my blush show. “No need. English got rusty.”
He snorted. “Except flying fuckballs.” He gently nudged open the door of the bathroom with his hip, before placing me down gently on the toilet lid and then turning on the taps of a deep clawfoot bath. It was decadent, with a pretty white porcelain interior, deep blue exterior and gilded feet. It looked like the kind of tub a princess would bathe in.
He picked up a small amber bottle but then hesitated. “Do you want bath oils? Does your sense of smell feel too heightened?”
I was unexpectedly touched by his thoughtfulness. He could have dumped it in, and it still would have been done with good intentions, but this? It showed he actually cared about people.
I thought for a moment. “Let me sniff it?”
He leaned over, wafting the small uncapped bottle beneath my nose. It smelled faintly of Darius, and I found that scent unusually soothing. I closed my eyes, huffing out a long sigh. “Yes. Please.”
Cooper was watching my face closely; I could feel his eyes on me. But when I opened my eyes again, he was back across the bathroom, pouring the tiniest drop of the oil in the bath. The steam dispersed it around the room, and I instantly felt more centered. Damn, that Omega had a hold on me already.
Cooper pulled a fluffy towel out from a cupboard in the corner of the room, and sat it on top of the vanity. “I’ll leave you to it. Yell out if you need help, okay? I’ll be just downstairs making dinner. I can be here in a flash.”
I nodded, giving him a soft smile. I needed space to think over the insanity of my life at this moment. He left, shutting the door quietly behind him, and I took a moment to relieve myself. Then I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and stared at myself. I looked the same. At least, the same skin suit stared back at me, but emotionally, I felt like an alien had possessed my body. It felt like all my emotions had been amplified times a thousand, that the Beast who shared my skin was suddenly so much more than she was when I was a Beta. I couldn’t shift, but I didn’t really know what I was missing. I was still free enough that the Manix who shared my soul didn’t chafe too badly.
At least she hadn’t until now.
I ran the tips of my fingers over small bruises left from sucking kisses on my chest and shoulders. Darius. He enjoyed the feel of my skin between his teeth, and I enjoyed it too. My lips seemed swollen, like they’d been kissed one too many times.
And my vagina felt like I’d been fucking a fire hydrant. The vivid flash of Beckett above me, his Manix form staring down at me, fangs glinting in the moonlight like he wanted to taste my flesh as well as my body.
I spun back toward the tub a little too fast, and had to steady myself on the side. Reaching out, I turned off the taps and stepped in. I lowered myself gently, hissing at the stretch of sore muscles, until I was fully submerged in water that was just the perfect temperature.
I let out a relieved sigh and rested my head on the back of the tub. Right. Lorso hadn’t raised me to run from the trap placed in front of me. He’d taught me to think my way out of my problems, though I doubted he could have thought himself out of this either.
A dull ache flooded my chest at the thought of my surrogate father. He’d been a stern man, but he’d loved me. He’d taught me everything I knew about life, about Manix, about predators and prey.
Omegas had always been considered prey amongst the Manix, and mixed-heritage Manix even more so. I’d trusted Lorso when he said I would suffer in Maxton, and I trusted his wisdom on Omegas just as much.
Omegas like me. There hadn’t been a female Omega in a century or more—Lorso’s mate had been the last—though I’d heard whispers on the wind that one had appeared from down the mountain and been snaffled up by a Pack like she was the last piece of candy.
Was that going to happen to me? Would they fight over me like a favorite chew toy?
No. I’d get over this heat bullshit, and then go back to my life. I wasn’t a prize for anyone, not even the men who’d once been the boys I’d loved enough to let go.
Water splashed down my face, and I realized I was crying. Damn, I hadn’t cried in years. But once the tears started, I couldn’t make them stop. They flowed freely down my cheeks, splashing silently into the cooling bath water.
The bathroom door slid open, and Cooper was there. I swiped at my tears like I could hide them with wet hands, but one look at his face told me that I wasn’t fooling him. His eyes saw too much, his look of understanding threatening to open the floodgates further. He moved further into the bathroom, taking off his clothes until he was just in his tight boxer shorts. I didn’t say anything—not encouragement, not to tell him to stop.
“I can scent your pain, Omega. Your distress sours on my tongue.” He stepped into the bath, pushing me forward a little so he could settle down behind me. He wrapped his huge body around me, and I held myself stiff. He ran a hand up and down my arm reassuringly. “Rest, Kitten. It will all be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”
