Vinny
Omega abuse happened every day, especially in higher-ranking families. Fuck, my own brother, Tony, abused his omega, Xenia, until she had no choice but to shoot the bastard dead. But never, and I meannever,had Ieverseen an omega in as rough a shape as Violet.
My hands shook as I stared at them, resting uselessly on my knees. My skin still hummed with the memory of what I’d felt earlier, not the euphoria of her wet heat as she took my knot, or how silky her hair felt as we soothed her after sex, but the way her bird-like bones gave her edges an omega should never have.
I’d counted them, her ribs, the ridges of her spine, without meaning to.
And don’t even get me started on the fucking bruises. Sure, Serena was a shitty driver and almost committed vehicular manslaughter today, but that only explained the fresh ones.
But, Violet didn’t have just angry purple marks; she had layers.
Rings of yellow, smudges of green, brown remnants of fingerprints on her arms and thighs, everything in locations that would be easily hidden by her sweater and dress.
Textbook perfect cruelty.
I did notlikethat Serena marked Violet without asking, because even if she wasn’t mated, someone clearly thought they owned her, but I understood.
That one little bite changed everything, because now our entire pack, except for me, was bound to their new mate.
Benji melted into the sofa as he draped his arm over the back, as he stared at Serena on the other end. Violet refused to let go of her new alpha, not that I could blame her. Obviously, there was something fucking wrong with her, seeing as her heat seemingly ended the second she had sex.
She was asleep with her face buried in Serena’s neck, small hands fisted in Serena’s shirt like she expected someone to pry her away if she didn’t hold tight enough. Every slow breath she took was uneven, like even in sleep her body hadn’t figured out how to relax yet. Serena kept one arm wrapped around her, palm splayed between her shoulder blades, thumb stroking slow circles meant to soothe.
Benji exhaled through his nose and looked down at his exposed chest before rubbing the mark Serena had given him on his pec.
To us, pack marks were a link to let us know how our omega and beta were feeling. We could tell if they were scared, or sad, or horny, we could even tell if their basic needs weren’t being met, which was great considering Skye would rather die than drink water. But, where our bond gave Serena and I a little peek into our boys, a small window into their emotional weather, Benji, as the pack’s only beta, got the storm full-force.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this fuckin’ tired in my life,” he muttered, accent thickening as he stifled a yawn. “Dios mío, esto es demasiado.”
“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Serena ran a hand through Violet’s hair. “But, to be fair, if I had known Vinny would let us keep her, I wouldn’t have marked hertoday.”
I scoffed because if Serena hadn’t marked Violet, we wouldn’t be keeping her. An omega that poorly treated had to have someone who cared an awful lot about keeping them, mark or not.
Did it fucking suck that she was–I stopped myself, teeth grinding as the truth flickered through me like a match to gasoline.
Violet was aperfectscent match. I didn’t think she smelled good, or pretty, or pleasant. Having her in the same room as me was driving me crazy. I’d fucked Violet to help get her over her heat, but whatever drugs the clinic forced into her system had her scent flaring so bad that it burned itself into my veins.
Marking an omega against their will was illegal, regardless of whether or not they were in your pack, but I wanted nothing more than to pluck her off of Serena’s lap and sink my teeth into the milky skin of her thigh.
Every instinct I had worked in over time as I counted the times Violet’s back rose in her sleep.
I needed to hear her breathe.
I needed toverifyshe was breathing.
Over and over.
I needed her to be mine so badly that if it wasn’t for my pack, I’d have chained her up in my basement just to keep her safe.
And that level of obsession wasn’t good for me, or for her, or for anyone in this fucking house.
I dragged my hand over my face, trying to scrub the thought out of my skull.
“Vinny,” Serena hummed.
“Shut up.” I didn’t need her to say a god damned thing.
“You need to breathe.” Benji finished for her.
