Page 20 of His Stolen Omega

As in, he wanted her gone.

It was inexplicable, because he didn’t even know her. Yes, she was one of the White Frost, and Butchers in general were scary as all hell, but there was only one alpha in this room he could recall doing anything to him when he’d been trapped in heat and vulnerable, and it hadn’t been her.

But he wanted to claw her eyes out.

“I can typically withstand omega pheromones,” Fiora explained. “Even dominant ones. But you…You’re something else.”

Levi’s soothing pheromones came stronger, but Elm resisted, snarling again and retreating to the corner of the cage.

“Perhaps this is an adjustment phase,” Fiora suggested. “We should get another dominant alpha in here. Subjecting him to their pheromones, and eventually having them spend his next heat together, could be beneficial. His body is still trying to make sense of these new feelings and urges. He’s confused.”

“Fuck you!” Never mind. His hatred toward her was clearly warranted.

She hummed. “I wouldn’t make a good fit. I’m not a dominant, and your pheromones are too strong for me to withstand for long periods of time.”

“You’re about to be put on your knees by a synthetic,” Levi said, his tone inscrutable.

Was he insulting her or simply making a statement?

Getting a read on this man was impossible, even more so now in the light of day, and Elm did not like it. He didn’t like these people or this place or what was being done to him, and the more he thought about it, the worse the anxiety swirling in his gut seemed to get, and the harder it became to focus.

“There’s a real risk he’ll turn people feral,” Fiora said.

An alpha or omega were considered feral when they fell too deeply into their primal instincts. It was a rare occurrence, with most still capable of keeping some semblance of self even during the worst ruts and heats. Elm was aware that’s what he’d been these past few days, but to learn there was a possibility he could force others into that kind of chaotic state…

“I don’t want to do that.” Sure, there was a possibility that sort of thing could come in handy, could help him escape, however, there was no telling if or when Elm would ever gain control over an ability like that.

What if he never did?

“What if no one can ever come near me again?” He stared at her, at the beads of sweat on her brow and the way her chest rose and fell unevenly. The second she tried coming closer, though, any concern he felt was dashed. “Back off.”

“I’m just taking vitals,” she reminded, as though he shouldn’t mind, then gave up and spoke to Levi. “I’m going to have to sedate him. We can work on finding a suitable alpha for the rest of the experiment in the meantime.”

Elm reacted, a burst of energy exploding out of him in a heavy wave strong enough to push her back a couple of steps. She growled, and he ended up returning it, a vicious warning rumble from deep within his throat he hadn’t been aware he was capable of making.

“Omega.” Levi’s smooth tone cut through the tension, but only somewhat took the edge off. He entered the cage, flicking his fingers at Fiora to put more space between them as he approached Elm, letting his soothing pheromones flood toward him like a warm blanket on a cold winter evening. “Omega.”

He pressed against the wall when Levi reached out a hand, but didn’t hiss at him. The urge to attack wasn’t there like it’d been with Fiora. They’d explained it as his pheromones being strong enough to subdue Elm’s. Was that what this was? Why this particular alpha was the only who made him feel…not safe, because that would be certifiably insane, but at least…grounded?

“I won’t fuck a stranger. I swear to the gods. If you try to make me—” Elm flinched when Levi’s hand wrapped loosely around his throat.

He pushed against Elm’s chin, lifting his head slightly so their eyes could meet directly, but his touch, while dominating, wasn’t threatening. He was almost gentle. Even with the way he looked at him.

“No one will touch you,” the alpha promised quietly. “You have my word.”

“Levi—” Fiora shut up the second Levi released a targeted slap of his aggressive pheromones.

Elm could sense them on the air, but they didn’t affect him since they weren’t aimed his way, instead, he continued to receive soothing ones. “How did you do that?”

“What?”

“You can release two different types of pheromones at once?”

Levi cocked his head. “Kian can as well, as a dominant. He never spoke to you of this?”

“We never really talked about…stuff having to do with presentations. Not since…” If he wasn’t being held in place, he would have hung his head.

“I see.” It really sounded like he did. Like Levi had just made some great discovery about Elm’s person.