Page 47 of Dark Goodbye

Cum bathes her insides as relief floods my body. Reaching around, I rub my fingertips against her clit, forcing a powerful orgasm to rip through her. I hold her close to me as she ripples underneath, and I breathe into her damp skin.

Still locked, I roll us both over to the side and spoon her, holding her close as her breathing evens out. Soon, I’ll have to sedate her, allowing her to sleep through the moments that I’m at work. I cannot wait until the day when we no longer have to hide.

If we can just wait it out a little longer, let Malus’s death go by the wayside, then we will be free. She’ll never be able to leave the house, but I will more than make up for her imprisonment. That, or I can commission someone to give her a proper mark, tying it into an alternate history that no one will be able to pick apart.

The mere fact that she’s considered dead makes a lot of this a bit simpler. No one will be looking for her, and that will make it easier to hide her amongst the sea of nameless faces. My heart hurts for her, however. This will not be an easy journey.

CHAPTER 20

Ladria

Groaning, I lift myself from the bed, squinting at the bright light that assaults my eyes. The very few times I’ve allowed myself alcohol, the next day felt very much like this, only this time, it’s not accompanied by nausea that threatens to make me upend all the contents of my stomach.

Turning to the side, I look at the hollow of my nest, frowning as I reach out my hand to touch a cool spot. Davix hasn’t been here in some time. Forcing myself to rise, I look down at the crusted mess that is the remnants of my nest and groan as lurid images flash through my brain.

I cannot remember what all we did during my heat, but my body remembers. Even now, it cries out for Davix, wanting — needing — his touch. It’s not as harsh as at the beginning of my heat. It’s more mellow, languid, but there all the same.

Forcing myself out of the cocoon, I pad my way over to the bathroom to stare at my reflection in the mirror. Besides bodily fluids coating practically every inch of me, there’s not much else to see. Small smatterings of bruises litter the fleshy parts of my body, especially my ass.

As I skim my fingers over them, fragmented memories jolt through my brain like heat lightning across the desert. His rough touch, his growls but, most importantly, the way he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close when we were done.

I found rest in his arms, a feeling that I’d never had before. Sure, at the commune, things were restful, but I never felt that safe, bone-deep feeling of security as when wrapped up in the arms of the Alpha that loved me. He did say it. Right? I didn’t just imagine it?

The moment doubt begins to peck at my brain, a warmth drizzles over the fractious nerves of my mind. The bond hums as Davix lavishes it with his attention, forcing it to vibrate in response for him.

Oh.

Oh fuck.

I marked him.

In my mind, I thought I’d only imagined it, but faced with the reality of his fingers brushing through my psyche, controlling my thoughts, willing my body to settle, I can’t ignore the very real reality. Dropping to my knees, I wrap my arms around my shoulders and rock back and forth.

This is bad. This is very very bad. My gut plummets as I skim my fingers over my body, desperately seeking out every nook and cranny. Did he mark me too? So far, the only pain I’m experiencing is an odd, delicious twinge between my thighs. Surely with a bite as powerful as his, I’d still feel it.

Standing back up, I force myself to look long and hard at the mirror, turning my body this way and that. No bite. No claiming mark. Apparently, I was the only one stupid enough to do that. At my internal ranting, Davix is there again, brushing aside my concerns, flooding my brain with his love.

But how can it be real? He doesn’t even know me! What he knows is the girl that ran, the girl that wanted to be free. He knows nothing of the woman that lay beneath him, opening her body to his.

My body quakes as the enormity slams into me. It’s the one thing I wanted to avoid. Now, he’s taking hold, forcing my thoughts onto things that are positive when all I want to do is run far away. I need to get a handle on this, to clamp things down.

Going into my mind, I find where Davix is and hold that image in my brain. From there, I follow it until I find our bond. It’s like a strong cord, rope tied around my heart with little offshoots digging into the very flesh of me. Though I can’t undo it, I can certainly block it.

In my mind, I erect a wall, a barrier, something so strong that Davix himself can’t even penetrate it. Since we’re both working with only half a bond, this should be much easier. The moment I start constructing it, I feel his hurt mere moments before everything goes silent.

No doubt he’ll want an explanation, and I’ll have plenty of time to fabricate something. Taking in a deep breath, I walk over to the shower and turn the water on, groaning at the warm mist that wafts up into my face. The first order of business before I tackle my plans to leave is a nice, hot shower.

* * *

The minutes tick by as I watch the timepiece, waiting for Davix to arrive. Right now, with my mind fully lucid and aware, I feel his loss keenly. It’s not him manipulating me through the bond, however much I wish it to be so. It’s my own internal conflict that drives me to madness. Something deep inside craves him, craves his company.

I can’t understand it. Yes, we were friends. Yes, we are now lovers, but why does my body crave him so? It can’t just be the sex. If that were the case, everyone in the commune would be bound and devoted to their partners, and yet, they change them up daily. Sometimes hourly.

Then again, they aren’t sleeping with Alphas. Gods. what if there’s something in their cum that makes us want them? Is that even possible? Frustration boils through me as I sit on the bed, smoothing the clean comforter. If only they told us more about the relationships between Alphas and omegas.

But as a presenting ‘beta’ myself, would I really have found out all that much? Probably not. Still, though, Alexi, my only other Stanlionian omega friend, went through all the special schooling, all the lessons, and was still not able to impart any additional wisdom to me.

Tears prick my eyelids, but I refuse to let them fall. Instead, I busy myself with straightening up the room, making sure everything is neat and tidy. Mogen already gathered the stained sheets, so there’s not much else for me to do.