Chapter 10 & 11

Chapter 10

Talya

After the fourth flight and as many identities, I assumed we were just trying to further confuse anyone who might have been following us. It was twenty-seven hours of flights and layovers before we were finally loaded into a car. 

We were on an island. I couldn’t help but question this decision. Was a secluded island where there was only so far we could run and hide really be the best place for us? But I supposed that was the point, right? We were placed here so we didn’t have to run. 

I stopped paying attention to where we were going after the second flight. It was difficult to sleep on a plane or in the airport. They were small spaces filled with endless unfamiliar scents. And every time I caught a hint of something that was similar to the betas who had tortured me, my heart would race in panic. 

What was worse was looking in every single face, waiting for them to recognize me or Colby as their charges having gotten away. I kept waiting. Expecting it. Looking over my shoulder until I was a vibrating bundle of nerves on my way to a mental breakdown.

It was only when Colby couldn’t take my panic anymore and brought my face to his chest for the remainder of the flight. He kept me close, his hands always on me. We used a family bathroom within the airports when we needed to. While I would have at one time not been okay with this, I couldn’t find it in myself to care anymore. I was not going to be away from my alpha for even a second. A lot could happen in that second and I wasn’t having any of it. 

But we were left alone. No one looked at us any differently than they normally would. Uninterested. Jealous. Greedy. Spiteful. There was the whole array of learned expressions passed our way. However, what I had learned to appreciate about an airport and plane was that people were focused on what they were doing and where they were going. I think it might have been our scents alone that drew attention. More potent than a beta’s, alpha and omega scents were commanding. People couldn’t help but look.

And that was with the dampening bracelets. Colby wouldn’t agree to suppressants (to which I was thankful) but everyone wore the dampening bracelets when travelling in tight places like an airplane. When you can’t always control your biological reaction, they were necessary to keep the peace. Even with the air filtration made to purify the air of as much as possible. 

All that was behind us now. We’d landed after our final flight. With nothing but backpacks, we wasted no time at baggage claim and went straight out to find our ride. For this leg, we were being called Galway and Sharon. 

“We’re not keeping these names,” I whispered. “Galway.”

Colby chuckled. “I thought I was Sharon.”

I glared and he playfully pinched my ass. We climbed into the car with a driver that showed us his credentials as soon as the tinted windows sealed us in and protected us from prying attention. Not that it would have mattered at that point. We were already in the vehicle. 

“It’s about a forty-minute drive. Are you hungry?” the driver, Sebastian, asked. 

“Yes,” Colby said. “For something other than comes from an airport.”

Sebastian grinned. “You want to sit at a restaurant or would you like take out?”

“Take out,” Colby said, glancing out the window as we paused to let pedestrians cross at the terminal pick up. He was ready to get out of public places where anyone could spot us as getaways. “I don’t even care what at this point. But my omega likes dessert. So somewhere with a good dessert menu.”

“I know just the place. Would you like to see a menu?”

Colby looked down at me. I was snuggled into his side and yawned. “No,” he answered, smiling fondly as he brushed his hand across my face. “We don’t dislike a whole lot so you can surprise us.”

While we were at a traffic light, Sebastian put in an order. He explained that he’s a local of the island so he knows all the best places to eat. I was trying hard not to fall asleep. More than anything, I wanted a bed where I could spend the next eight days hibernating and letting everything go as if it were nothing but a bad dream.

Maybe I was finally feeling safe. I dozed until the smell of delicious food filled the car. That small nap that couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes was enough that I felt more refreshed than I had since before we were abducted. 

Sebastian passed back carton after carton of food. While we chowed down, he told us about the island and the different festivals that took place. It was a mixing pot as far as cultures were concerned but it sounded as if there was a real sense of community here. A little bit of everyone knows everyone. 

“We’re kind of off the charts as far as tourists are concerned,” Sebastian said. “So we get a little excited when visitors come to the area. We’ve got planning a wild party down to a day’s notice. Fire, spit roasting, fireworks, you name it. And there’s tons of games, too. It’s a real bonding experience.”

“Sounds like fun,” I said as Colby handed me another carton. This one filled with pasta and sauce. The smell was so good I was salivating. “The atmosphere here sounds perfect.”

“I haven’t travelled many places, but I will always come back here,” Sebastian said. “There’s no place like it as far as I’m concerned.”

We were just finishing the last of the food when Sebastian announced that we were there. I was so stuffed I felt like I could barely move. Still, I twisted in my seat until I could look out the front window. 

The car was moving slowly down a long cement drive. On either side was massive fields of manicured grass. In the distance I saw horses behind fences. A couple trotted parallel to the car as we drove on.

The house at the end was flanked by tall, trees. There was a large five-tiered fountain in front, the driveway circling around it. I wasn’t sure where their vehicles were, but they weren’t in sight. The house itself was enormous. A beautiful, old plantation house with columns and tall windows. The lantern that hung over the main door was on a chain from the roof of the third floor! 

“This is stunning,” Colby said, wariness in his voice. “You’re sure we’re at the right place?”

Sebastian laughed. “Positive.” He pulled up between the fountain and the house and parked. “You can leave the cartons. I’ll take care of them.”

“Thank you,” Colby said. “You were a great host and we appreciate all you told us about the island.”

“I hope you take the time to explore. It’s filled with history and hidden places to explore.”

“We will,” I told him. 

The feeling of safety momentarily left me when we stepped out of the car. The door in the front was painted black, as were the shutters. The rest of the house was white. But maybe the door felt so intimidating because it was actually two doors and they were ten, maybe twelve feet tall. Huge, dark, and imposing. 

With his backpack on his back and mine over his shoulder, Colby took my hand and led us to the door. As we stepped onto the wraparound porch, the door opened. 

I knew looking at the man standing there that he was a beta. They tended to be shorter and less imposing than an alpha but not quite soft like an omega. I tensed, my footsteps faltering. But I released my breath when he smiled at us. At least it looked genuine. And he didn’t appear to just be staring at my alpha.

“Hi,” he said, stepping back to let us in. “I hope your trip was okay?”

“Far longer than it needed to be,” Colby answered as he guided me inside, his hand moving to my lower back so I’d step in before him. “I’m confident whoever was chasing us got tired and is now just waiting until we stand still.”

The beta chuckled. “Yeah, I get that.”

The fatigue in his voice suggested he really did understand. The officer that told us where we’d be going had said that the men here were equally as stubborn. And that they rotate through locations for hiding victims. That meant that these people were all going to have been victims of one thing or another, right?

He looked at us both for a minute, alternating his attention between us. “So,” he said, shifting to shut the door once we were inside, “we didn’t want to stand in the foyer like a pack who was interviewing for an omega might. It seemed a little too intimidating. They’re this way, though. You want to meet everyone first and then I can show you to your room?”

“Yes. You can start with you,” Colby said. 

The beta grinned, nodding as he led us through a door. I wasn’t sure how many I’d been expecting but six new men under one roof seemed like a lot. For the first few breaths, I inhaled through my mouth. Just to try and temper the scents so I wasn’t bombarded all at once. 

But the first full breath I took was laced with all sorts of good smells. Grass, ginger, leather, woodsmoke. And some undercurrents of beta – eucalyptus and patchouli. Maybe a little bit of myrrh. 

I was shocked that I didn’t hate it all. Nothing set me off, making my hairs stand on end. Or worse, I wasn’t gagging! These were pleasant smells. 

Smiling at Colby, I leaned into his side. All eyes were on us. Although the alphas (four) tried not to stare at me, I was basically a fawn in a den of wolves right now. 

“I’m Kasen,” the beta who greeted us at the door said. “These are my alphas, Lohtus and Blakely. This is Ainsley and Emerald. And the pillar of angry is Ronan.”

Ronan was just that. He stood tall, his clothing stretch tightly over pronounced muscle in such a way that I thought maybe he needed a size larger clothing. My face flushed when I could nearly make out the size of his dick in his tight pants. His hair was cropped so short it might as well be shaved. There was a smattering of dark fur on his face, long enough to have grown overnight and he hadn’t tended to his. 

But his eyes caught me. They were so dark, I couldn’t see the irises. He stared at me, arms crossed over his chest, with a very unhappy look. However, his scent gave him away. He wasn’t unhappy at all. A crisp rainstorm over freshly mown grass in a citrus field filled the air with a sweet note. 

“Emerald doesn’t live here, yet,” Kasen said, pulling my attention back to him. “But he’s seeing Ainsley.”

“And you,” Emerald said, his voice a lovely deep tenor that almost sounded like it belonged to an alpha. Especially when there was that hint of assertion in it. 

Kasen smiled, turning his attention back to me. “And me. Though he’s not really part of the pack yet, he’s here a lot so we thought it was best to introduce him with everyone else.”

Colby nodded, his arm around me tight. “I’m-” He paused. I could just imagine him debating on what name he was supposed to use. Did he even remember the last ones we were parading? Sighing, he said, “Colby. This is my omega, Talya. Although, outside the house, I think we need to be using one of the many ridiculous aliases we were given.”

Kasen rolled his eyes, nodding. “Yep, understood. We do as well. But we slip up so much at home that we don’t bother. And when we’re out, we try to stick to something fluffy and lovey so we avoid names altogether.”

“I appreciate that,” Colby said. “I’m not sure Sharon really fits either of us.”

His words garnered smiles from the room save for Ronan who remained a column of disapproval. 

“Okay. Introductions are done. How about a quick tour and then you two can rest for the day? Shower? Relax after… your long travels?” Kasen said. 

Relax after what we’ve been through. That’s what he was going to say. 

“That would be nice,” Colby said. “Thanks.”

Kasen nodded. He grinned at his alphas and turned to lead the way back through the door. “That’s one of the dens. I believe it used to be a study and before that it was the master’s office. This was once a working plantation.” We followed him around the rooms, which we just poked our heads in as he told us what we were looking at. Most of which were obvious. 

The second floor was all bedrooms, as was the fourth. There were spare rooms on both floors so Kasen said we were free to choose whichever we wanted. 

“Is there a nest?” Colby asked. 

Kasen looked at me, smiling. “Yes. Do you want to see it now?”

I shook my head. 

“Just needed to know there was one here,” Colby said. 

“Yep. We made sure it was clean when we were informed that an omega was on their way. It doesn’t have much in it because we thought an omega might need to personalize it. We’ve never had an omega here,” Kasen said. 

“Do you have people that come and go?” Colby asked. 

“No. Well, sometimes their visits are short lived but usually that’s because we just don’t get along. We didn’t start out as a pack. We were all dumped here individually. Except Emerald, who’s native to the island. Time made us a pack. Even grumpy bear Ronan.”

“Is there going to be a problem with him?” Colby asked. 

Kasen grinned, shaking his head. “No. He’s got some dark corners but he’s a really good man. I promise. Besides,” he looked at me, his grin turning teasing, “I’ve never smelled his scent turn sweet.” He winked at me and I couldn’t help myself. I giggled. 

Colby sighed. “That’s a bridge we’ll cross later. Thank you for the quick tour and the welcome.”

He nodded. “We were hedging our bets that maybe a beta might be less threatening to both of you when you first arrived. Not quite so in-your-face as an alpha.”

“Under usual circumstances, I’d agree,” Colby murmured, turning us into the room and dropping our packs on the floor. 

Kasen tilted his head at Colby’s words, but he didn’t question. “If you need anything, we’re right downstairs. Just holler.”

“Thank you,” I said. 

He smiled at me again and left us. Colby pulled me into his arms and sighed. I wanted a shower but more than anything, I was ready to fall asleep. My alpha must have thought the same thing. After a minute, he swept me off my feet and we crawled into bed. 

Chapter 11

Emerald

The scents around the room were strong, even as the alphas tried to rein themselves in. It was almost enough to make me laugh. But then again, even mine spiked in a way that was unusual. I’ve always been pretty muted, as a beta should be. The only time that differed was when Ainsley and I were alone and it turned into sweet lemonade, the eucalyptus fading almost completely.

But when I caught scent of the omega’s perfume and my alpha reacting to it, I caught something new in my scent. There was still a touch of sweet to it because that’s what arousal does to a scent. But it wasn’t lemon that dominated my scent. It was eucalyptus with a strange, sweet note. Strong, pungent. Dominating.

Like an alpha.

Silence followed the couple out of the room as Kasen showed them around. We could hear his voice come in and out of hearing range until they headed upstairs. I silently wondered what room they were staying in.

“We’ve never had an omega here,” Blakely said for the hundredth time. I could hear the nervousness in his voice. Even as distracted by my own scent as I was, I didn’t miss that his leather and ginger turned sweet like pie.

“Relax,” Ronan said, his voice deep and gruff. “It’ll be fine. Whatever brought them here was likely as traumatizing as what brought you here. Common ground.”

Blakely nodded, his focus going far off. I’d only gotten hints about what dumped this lot of alphas onto my island. No one wanted to talk about it. Part of that was they weren’t supposed to. But as Ronan suggested, whatever they went through was traumatizing. They also didn’t want to talk about it. I respected that and didn’t ask.

Although I wanted to know about all of them, it was Ainsley’s past that I desperately wanted to know. Right now, he was staring out the door that Kasen led the new alpha and omega through. Completely still, thoughtful. But his brows were slightly puckered as he considered them.

I gently elbowed him. His hand on my thigh responded immediately, tightening a little before relaxing. It was another half a minute later before he looked at me.

Ainsley was one of the most attractive men I’d ever known. It wasn’t just his alpha that spoke to me. The promise of a pack that everything in me craved. That was all well and good but once knowing him, it was almost secondary.

He was a good man. Kind, thoughtful, romantic. A great cook. He treated me as if I were his omega. Seriously, he was courting me right now and everything. Little gifts. Dates. All the sweet stuff.

His body was that of a goddam god, sleek, hard, and perfectly shaped. Tall with tree bark brown hair, gray eyes. A face of scruff that he kept low to his jaw. Since the island was moderately warm year-round, he was typically found in tight jeans and an open shirt, the sleeves rolled up his forearms.

I could stare at him for hours and never get tired of it.

He knew exactly what I was thinking. His smile turned sexy as he held my gaze. The hand on my thigh stoked a little, petting me. His other came up to cup my face. “We’re good,” he said.

Maybe I looked nervous. I guess, why shouldn’t I be? There are many stories of alphas ditching betas once an omega came along. They were the true answer to what an alpha wanted. A beta was only a substitute when they couldn’t get the real thing.

But this omega wasn’t here for the pack. She was here for safety. Something had happened to her. And she came with an already bonded alpha. That meant I had nothing to be concerned about. Right?

It wasn’t often that I was insecure about something. I was one of the odd betas who was considered designation fluid. That meant I was a little bit of every designation, though technically and biologically speaking, I was a beta.

Around betas, I could be a beta through and through. But I could also be an alpha to some extent. I didn’t actually produce a knot, a bark, or a bite. But my tone could turn as demanding as an alpha’s. That octave that was just before a bark. However, I was pretty good at purring. It wasn’t as good as an actual alpha’s but it was pretty great, if I do say so myself.

And around alphas, I could be their omega. It’s like a switch flipped in me. I didn’t have a heat, nor did I have a whine. But my scent turned almost perfumy in its sweetness. Some of their tendencies of being soft, needy, etc. bloomed in me, too.

With Ainsley, I tried to keep myself completely a beta. I didn’t want him to want me as a substitute omega. I wanted him to want me for me. As a beta.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Ainsley said, getting to his feet and pulling me with him.

With my hand securely in his, he led me out the back door. The house they lived in was one of the old plantations of the island. Once, it had been cotton. Today, most of the land was farmed but there were also horses there.

The entire property was government owned. Those who lived in the house worked the land, selling the goods produced from it to live off. Kasen also meddled in computer science. He was really into game coding. We didn’t think it would be long before he was designing for real.

And Lohtus was a self-published thriller writer. I’ve read a couple of his books. They’re fucking terrifying. I tell myself it was just his imagination and the scenes he writes has nothing to do with what brought him here. But it left me wondering.

Lohtus wasn’t big game yet but all it needed was someone with a big mouth and mad social media skills to bring his work to the next level. For him to be noticed.

Which might be counterintuitive to his needs here on the island. Anonymity was how they were supposed to live. But not only did he not go by his legal name (which I didn’t know what it was anyway) but he also wrote under a pen name.

That’s not to say someone couldn’t do some digging and bring it back to him. But that was a bridge he’d cross if it came up.

Ainsley’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me to his side. I was slightly taller than the average beta male, standing close to six feet. That put Ainsley only a couple inches taller than me. He kissed my cheek, making me smile.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice a low purr.

I smiled, nodding. Leaning into him, I stared at the gorgeous garden ahead. It was massive, covering many acres. The pack didn’t garden it all. There were employees. But they managed and such.

“Fine. Just trying to understand my own reaction.”

He grinned. “I certainly smelled that. You found your alpha streak again.”

I shrugged, trying to play it off. “And you?”

Ainsley chuckled. “The entire room reacted to the omega. We’re programmed to. Right now, it doesn’t mean anything.”

I appreciated that he didn’t lie. Right now it didn’t but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t.

He pulled me to a stop and against his chest. Fuck his smell was intoxicating. That perfect smile was almost more so. “I promise, her presence does not threaten your position with me. Understand?”

“I’m not truly worried about that,” I said. “Not logically. I mean, I get the whole alpha-omega thing. All betas do. It’s that natural response to them that makes us mad with jealousy.”

“Are you jealous?” he asked, his voice low and sultry.

Grinning, I shook my head. “No. Not yet, anyway.”

His lips brushed mine. Once, twice. Lingering there the third time until I wasn’t breathing air but him. So good. So, so, so good.

“If I ever make you feel like my attention has moved to her, tell me.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re programmed to. You just told me so.”

“You know what I mean. Emerald, I insisted you be here to meet them because we’ve all but had the conversation of you joining my pack. We just haven’t verbally made that commitment nor made it official with a bond. But you’re mine.”

The way he said ‘mine’ had me nearly creaming my pants. There was nothing like being wanted. The possession in his voice was only matched by his affection. Both warred loudly in his eyes.

I nodded.

“We both know that we’re slaves to our biology to some degree. To that bit of us that dictates what our designation is. But a lot of that is a choice. You prove that every day when you don’t allow yourself to go full-on mimic omega around me.”

This time I grinned. It wasn’t hard to tell a designation fluid beta from a common beta. Our scent alone was enough to mark us as something different. Beta scents were muted and always floral and/or herbal. Mine was herbal and something that was generally designated as an alpha’s – citrus.

There was also no mistaking the sweet notes that went beyond arousal when I was around an alpha.

And all that was without getting into the way my biology shifted. The way my personality altered slightly. I never stopped being me, but traits morphed into other designations.

It was all very weird. And unlike the three designations, there weren’t any classes on fluidity in school. We were just winging it. And unfortunately for me, I was the only designation fluid on the island that I knew of. Outside of the internet, I had no one to learn from.

Until I met Ainsley, I was a little lost. Unsure of myself and how I reacted to anyone. Unsure what to do with the attention on me. Unsure of what I was. I knew there was a name for me but nothing beyond that.

Ainsley just made everything align. And with him came a pack that not only accepted me but wanted me around. There was no pressure to be anything but me. I found myself and my confidence in them.

“Hey!”

We turned to find Kasen crossing the yard towards us. Oh, and I also found the first beta that actually did something for me. He was a little rough around the edges, easily defensive, but sweet as all hell. His hair was short on the sides but long and messy on the top. His eyes were dark slate, almost gray like Ainsley’s but there was a blue hue to them. He was thin, lanky, and generally an average beta.

He stopped at my side with a smile. I caught the slightest hint of the omega’s perfume on him. Just a brush of orange creamsicle and it gave me chills. What the fuck was this woman made of?

“You get them settled?” Ainsley asked.

Kasen nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I just wanted to tell you… Colby said something weird. You know, we decided that I’d show them around because I’m less potent than you all.” We nodded. Kasen’s brows knit together as he frowned. “Colby said something along the lines of, ‘usually I’d agree.’ So maybe I wasn’t the best idea after all.”

Ainsley frowned. I found we all turned back to the house. Likely, we were all looking at different windows, Kasen being the only one who knew which room they chose.

“What would a beta do to a bonded alpha and omega?” Ainsley asked.

Kasen shrugged. “I don’t know. In an effort to make them comfortable, I thought that was an important piece of information to share.”

“Maybe we just let them dictate our interactions for a while,” I said, still staring at the house. Did I imagine one of them staring out the window at us? They weren’t really watching out the windows, right? “Until we know what makes them uncomfortable.”

Kasen nodded. He bit his lip for a minute before looking at me, his eyes shining with mischief. “He smells so fucking good.” The groan that left his mouth had me grinning.

Ainsley shook his head, smirking. “Let them be, Kasen.”

“Oh, I know. But did you smell him? He’s all sorts of hot spices. I kinda wanted to lick him-” He stopped himself from getting too dirty, his slate eyes meeting mine.

These two men were the only lovers I had in the house. I liked the different parts of me that came out naturally with them. Kasen didn’t need another alpha. He already had two. With him, I could also just be a beta. I found that his presence helped to ground me into the designation I was always supposed to be.

He leaned into my other side and kissed my neck, using his teeth to drag across my skin. “Kinda like Lohtus with that earthy wood but his is slightly different. I just want to suck it until I can identify it.”

Ainsley chuckled, shaking his head again.

“Don’t get yourself in trouble. Alphas are very finicky. And we don’t know anything about this one,” I warned.

Kasen sighed, leaning heavily against me for a second. “Oh, I know. I have no intent on going anywhere near them.”

He had no interest in the omega. I could tell by his complete disregard of her in this estimation of the two of them. Acknowledged her presence but has exactly zero opinion.

“Good,” Ainsley said. “Give them some space and we’ll see how much and how often they want to interact. Whatever they’ve been through, it was recent. They both look absolutely exhausted and worn.”

“Might be from their around the world traveling,” Kasen muttered, shaking his head slightly. He told me about the trip to get here. He was on planes for a total of thirty-three hours. That doesn’t count all the layovers. He said he’d been to one airport twice. I couldn’t imagine the money spent in relocating people.

“Maybe,” Ainsley agreed. “But it could very well be from whatever brought them here. You and I both know that law enforcement doesn’t wait long to ship you off after you’ve minimally recovered from whatever it is that made them send you away.”

I appreciated that they were at least this open about their lives with me. The island didn’t know exactly what brought random people to this house. But they knew it was government owned. And because we were a small, tight community, it wasn’t at all hard to miss the rotation of people or when someone new showed up.

Because my path was becoming a part of this pack, they shared some things with me. Minimally but some things. And thus, I knew about their relocation.

Kasen sighed, moving off me to look back at the house again. “I wonder what they saw?” he murmured.