A single faint wriggle brought agony. Long abused muscles, locked tight around the pulsing knot, refused to relax or give way. Quinn buried her whimper against Ilya’s chest, shivering as the pain and shock slithered through her. It doused any heat that remained in her limbs. Turned languid muscle to stone as the massive male held her close. No matter that Omegas were designed to take the abuse of Alphas, that they healed so much faster than their counterparts, she’d been through too much in too little time to feel anything but agony.
“Soon, Quinn. Be still.” Ilya pressed his lips to her temple, offering a quiet purr to calm and soothe.
The grating rasp of his voice angered her. It was not the one she wanted. Chest a gaping hole of hate and fear and something she did not want to describe, she sobbed. The bitter cold of a dead night coursed through her veins, denying her the comfort offered. Left Quinn shivering in the bleak winter of her emotions.
Sniffling, she began crying all the harder. Cinnamon and anise assaulted her. It was gone. Whatever had happened during those insane moments was gone. All she could feel now was an emptiness that would never be filled.
“Shh,kiska,” Ilya whispered through the purr. Arms wrapping somehow tighter around her much smaller form. Snuggling her close against all that heat and muscle.
“What have I done?” Voice as thin and pale as her soul, a full body shudder racked her.
“All will be well,kiska. Do not fear.” Mistaking her emotional outburst for fear, of consequences yet to be doled out, Ilya purred all the louder. “You are mine now.”
Quinn could only cry. Wept as the knot pulsed inside of her. Despair was slimy and invasive, crawling through her with malicious intent. Trying to remember the plan, her goal, of Elise sleeping just across the hall were the only things keeping her from tearing herself apart.
She would get out. She had to.
Groaning when Ilya eased his hips back, Quinn had to fight down the urge to shove him away. To not curl up in desolate misery as she let the agony still pouring from her chest destroy her. Come and slick pouring from her mistreated sex, she fell back into the floor as he disentangled their bodies.
“Come, Quinn. It is time now.” Ilya held his hand out to help her, huffing in impatience when she just continued to lie there. Reached down and pulled her up when he got tired of waiting. Taking her to the bathroom, he was careful as he lifted Quinn onto the counter. Made sure the wet cloth was warm when he cleaned the smeared fluids from her thighs in gentle swipes.
“You are mine,” Ilya said once he had cleaned her up some. Tipping her chin up with his fingers, the crystalline gaze was determined and untroubled. “I will show you this.”
“I can’t, not again. Please,” Quinn stammered in a rapid fire rush. Lower lip trembling she tried to hide the swollen, reddened flesh between her legs behind ineffectual fingers.
“Not that, my little Quinn.” Though he smiled, his gaze still dipped down to what her hands tried to cover. “Now come.”
Ilya led her back into the bedroom, pulling clothes out of the closet. He dressed her like a doll, knocking her hands away when she tried to do it herself. There was a certain determination in the set of his jaw, the depths of his icy gaze, as he tended to her like a doting Alpha. He even began to purr when Quinn flinched from his hand raised to smooth her hair.
“Come, we will deal with this now.” He gave her no choice but to follow, large palm swallowing her hand as Ilya headed for the hall and tugged her along behind him.
“What are you going to do,” Quinn whispered, the shaky sound too loud in the quiet of the house.
“Take care of this once and for all.”
“What does that mean, Ilya?”
He didn’t respond, giving her arm a sharp tug to get her back into motion when Quinn stalled at the top of the stairs. Ilya kept leading the way, angling them towards Lee’s study. She did not want to go in there. Didn’t want to be in the room where they had thought to command her life and body as if she had no say. Her heart ached, twisting in the hollow space of her chest as the angry demon buried inside her veins continued to howl and roar.
She was distracted when Ilya pulled her into the room, didn’t notice him closing the door until Lee’s attention was centered on them. A single brow quirked, his smile was less than welcoming and too sure of itself. Something about it sent a warning bell clanging through her thoughts, but she couldn’t think. Couldn’t understand why he should look so smug just then.
“You bit her?” Ilya’s imposing bulk sidled closer to the desk, keeping Quinn close behind him as he neared Lee.
“What of it?” Lee leaned back in his heavy chair, the picture of Alpha arrogance as he steepled his fingers, tapping them against his chin. “She’s mine to do with as I wish, isn’t she?”
“Net,” Ilya said through a low rumble, arm snaking around Quinn’s hip to pull her flush. Burying her against his side, he tightened his hold. Shaking his head, he moved them even closer. “You need to stop damaging what is mine.”
Lee leaned forward, fingers splaying across the gleaming wood of the desk as he rose to his feet with a steady purposefulness that would have sent Quinn scrambling for the door, running for her life, had Ilya’s arm not locked in a vice around her. Keeping her right where she stood as Lee faced them with the muddy brown of his eyes narrowed.
“Is that so?”
“Da.” One simple word, delivered in a tone flat and devoid of inflection.
Quinn shuddered, trying to hide, squirming in Ilya’s hold but unwilling to draw too much attention. Why would he bring her this close to the other male? Tension crackled through the close air of the study, an edge of violence thrumming through the space. Attention split between the two, she tried to make herself hold still.
Lee stood to his full height, not as impressive as Ilya, but still dangerous. Powerful. His upper lip curled, baring his teeth for a moment before he leaned a hip against the desk. “Well then. What’re you going to do?”
Ilya made a low sound in his throat, a serrated grunt that sliced through Quinn’s resolve not to struggle too hard. She pushed against his side, working her away around to his back until his hand clamped down over her hip. Pulled her back where she would remain visible to them both.
