Anarchy, p.6
Anarchy, page 6
When my cries were only hiccups, Phantom cleared his throat.
“Not exactly the expected response,” he said. “But uh… Do we have a plan?” He glanced at the door. “She’s not just our scent match—”
“Shut up!” Sin hissed, and I looked up in time to see him glancing quickly at the door. “We aren’t saying those words out loud again. Not here. Not anywhere.”
“My point,” Phantom snorted, rolling his eyes. “Is that it’s the least of our fucking issues if we don’t—”
“I know.”
“What?” I asked, not keeping up.
“Baby,” Sin murmured in my ear. “You’re going into h.e.a.t,” he spelled the word out in a whisper beside my ear.
“No, I’m not,” I stammered.
But… he was right.
I could feel the clammy sweat beading on my skin. The faint pang of an ache building in my stomach.
Sin chuckled. “I know it when I see it.”
Fuck.
I clamped a hand over my mouth at the obscene thought.
Darn.
I’d known this was coming. I’d just hoped it would be longer. That I’d have time to find my footing.
I couldn’t breathe. My throat felt like it was closing up.
What was I going to do?
“Phantom’s going to…” Sin’s voice was faint. Not making sense as the world spun. Karma let out an unsettled growl, his grip digging into my waist.
“Just calm down—!” Sin was saying, trying to settle me.
Me.
It was me who was making Karma upset.
But I didn’t even know how to calm down. “I can’t… you… you…” The words were spilling from my mouth in a panic. “You don’t understand. I’m going to damn you—”
“Damn us?” Sin sounded startled, his hand closing around my chin as he held me still. “Back up a little.”
“I’m a gold pack,” I choked out.
How come they didn’t know what that meant?
I felt alone, and my heat was coming.
I had to make them understand.
There was an odd silence, and I saw Sin exchange a look with Phantom, who’d got back to his feet, and was beside the set of drawers.
“If you…” I tried to find the words to make them see. “If you have sex with me, you’ll end up like… like Karma.”
Phantom cocked his head, sparing me a curious look.
“Let’s pretend I’m a heathen”—Sin cleared his throat—“and I have no idea what you’re talking about. Help me out.”
I wrung the blankets in my fist. “I’m not really… the best person to explain. But… but alphas can’t just go around willy-nilly fornicating with gold pack omegas or they’ll corrupt themselves.”
Sin stifled a cough.
“Corrupt?” Phantom, who was tugging a locked box from the bottom drawer, glanced up at me, disbelieving.
But… he could see it—right there. In his pack brother.
Would he ever wake up?
“Without a bond…” I went on. “It’s too risky.”
And those bonds had to be approved. Gold packs couldn’t just go and get with any old alphas. If my pack wasn’t pious enough, I could damn them even with the bond.
“A… what?” Sin asked.
“A bond.”
There was a long pause in which Phantom tugged off a necklace, upon which was a key.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two,” I replied.
“And that’s… your… lifestyle?” Sin asked.
Lifestyle?
I nodded, though it wasn’t how I’d put it.
It was just how the world worked.
“Uh. One small problem, babe,” Sin said, voice cautious. I swear I heard the first genuine waiver of uncertainty. “I don’t see any bond marks on your neck.”
“Of course not,” I replied, cupping the place Karma had just had his teeth. “I… I was never devout enough to be Chosen.”
Phantom’s eyes darted between us wildly for a moment as he set the box on the top of the set of drawers, lips parted as he stared at me. As if he were picking apart those words very slowly and carefully.
Then his aura exploded into the air, and absolute chaos broke loose.
Karma snarled, trying to detangle himself from us so he could launch himself at Phantom. Sin managed to grab him by the braid in time, dragging him back. I scrambled to adjust in Sin’s tight grip, terrified, clutching the blankets to my chest.
“What the fuck have you done?” Phantom hissed, closing the distance between us, bright eyes fixed on Sin for some reason. “She’s a fucking vir—?”
“Will you—!” Sin snarled, still grappling with Karma—“Shut your dumb fucking mouth!” Something silver flew from his hand, grazing Phantom in the thigh. The knife clattered to the stone in the corner as Sin—with all his might, and me still tucked into one arm—shoved Karma back down. “Calm down, you great fucking oaf!” he snarled, fist clamping down on Karma’s neck.
Panic was clogging my brain up.
Phantom was… was angry I was a virgin?
Why was he angry?
I couldn’t keep up.
My stomach twisted with another early heat pang and I whined. It was enough to make Sin, Karma and Phantom freeze.
“Give me the fucking meds!” Sin spat. “And how—how—is her sex life—” He hissed the words under his breath, “—my fucking fault?”
“Why is she in here?” Phantom looked ready to tear his hair out. “Why is she in Anarchy?”
“I don’t fucking know.”
But only one word stuck.
Meds?
It stopped me right at the edge of tumbling off the cliff entirely.
With a snarl, and one hand clamped on his wounded leg, Phantom opened the box and grabbed a small bottle that he tossed our way.
Sin caught it, dragging me and him back into the same sitting position we’d been in before. Karma’s chest was still heaving, and he threw Phantom a narrow-eyed glare, but he didn’t move, winding his arms back around both me and Sin this time.
“Here.” Sin unscrewed the top and pushed a pill into my palm. “To put off the heat. And I have clothes, too, but let’s just fix this first.”
I stared at the pill.
I used to dream of these meds. Trapped in my own room, desperately finding ways to survive the agony of my own body. It was as painful as it had to be for salvation…
This is wrong, a voice whispered. There was no penance in skipping a heat.
I’d used to suffer them, curled up and whining in pain for days, imagining… well.
…This.
I’d begged that if I suffered enough, maybe one day I'd be rewarded. Wrapped in the strong arms of an alpha who wanted me.
And now…
Now I was in the arms of two.
Two!
When I didn’t deserve it.
A weight settled over me.
A truth I hadn’t faced yet until this second.
There was no salvation for me anymore.
It was over.
With trembling fingers, I pressed the little pill beneath my tongue. The world was numb.
We all just waited in silence for a long time. Well. A kind of silence if you ignored the distant howls that were starting to grow into the patchwork of this place.
They were waiting for the pill to work, I realized.
My hormones must be ruining them all.
Phantom had stuffed the box back into its hiding place, and was now laying back on the bed, staring at the bunk above. I think I was affecting him the worst. He seemed to already be losing his mind, as he was letting out occasional groans, running his fingers through his hair and muttering indistinguishable things to himself every minute or so.
Sometimes he threw the three of us dark looks.
I still didn’t know why he was so angry I was a virgin.
Was it a religious thing?
The Sisters used to tell us to be careful of hedonistic beliefs that made sacrifices of virgins, but if that was the case, shouldn’t he be glad?
At the third dark look, Sin replied with a silent, but very offensive hand gesture that I grabbed in shock and tried to stuff back down.
They really weren’t very nice to each other.
There was a spot of blood on Phantom’s leg from the knife Sin had thrown, though it didn’t seem to be growing.
“Are you… pack lead?” I whispered at last, daring a glance up at Sin. I needed to be so careful about bites now they knew we were mates.
These were alphas. They didn’t need to worry like I did. And they didn't understand what a threat I was, especially unchecked.
“No,” Sin replied.
“Oh.” I frowned, surprised.
Phantom was, then?
I peered at Phantom, but he shook his head. “Pack lead’s in a rut.” He thumbed toward the other door that I hadn’t seen opened. The one with the latch.
As if on cue, a loud thump made me jump this time.
It was the same as the ones I’d heard earlier.
My eyes went wide.
Another alpha? I almost let out another squeak of shock.
Four?
Four alphas to hold me?
No. No no no—you stupid, selfish, sinner.
But then… the scents in here were hard to parse out, but there could be four.
“He’s up?” Sin asked.
“Of course he’s fucking up. Karma’s like a bonfire in the bond.”
I frowned, watching as Phantom crossed the room toward the door. Then he slid the latch, revealing a window at head height.
I squinted, but all I could see from here were a few lines of metal. Then, with another thump, there was a flash of movement.
I still couldn’t make anything out.
“You… saved me without your pack lead’s permission?” I whispered.
Oh dear.
What would he say when he got out?
“Don’t worry,” Sin chuckled. “We do everything without our pack lead’s permission. You think Karma’s feral? Wait till you meet Vandle.”
Phantom took a step back, leaving the latch open. “He’ll be through it by the morning.”
At my side, Karma let out another low growl as Phantom settled back down on the bed.
“Karma… doesn’t like Phantom?” I asked.
“He likes me fine.” Phantom grunted. “He’s just territorial.”
“Then why is he okay with you?” I frowned up at Sin.
“Because,” Sin said, tugging me closer and drawing his chin over my temple, a possessive move that would have scent marked me if the dampeners weren’t still blocking his scent. The burst of joy I felt over that might have stolen all my attention by itself if it wasn’t for his next words. “There isn’t anything an alpha wants more in this world than to see his two omegas together.”
9
Gold Pack Omegas
Omegas who do not receive the Institute's omega injection within a year of presenting. They are identifiable because their eyes turn gold. Gold pack omegas are considered more feral and unstable than regular omegas, and tend to have a stronger scent. Gold pack omegas are considered outcasts, not given the same rights as regular citizens, and are required to be on birth control.
SIN
“You’re… not an alpha?” Crescent asked, expression shocked.
A smile curved my lips as I peered down at her. “No.”
I’d taken no offence at her calling me an alpha earlier. Quite the opposite. How poorly I fit the image of an omega was a currency for me—it’s what helped me stand out.
Dropped into this place as a gift for a fresh dweller pack, my destiny had been as predictable as it came. But instead of being bitten into a dark bond, the pack that should have claimed me was found dead by the morning—each and every one of them.
And while I had no memory of how that happened, I used it to my advantage.
I’d branded myself on that, and it was a story that was bolstered by the ongoing feud I had with Holden’s pack. A feud I hadn’t lost.
I hadn’t planned it exactly, but it meant pretty much every pack in Anarchy with a bonded omega wanted to watch me fuck theirs—and I’d use every opportunity I could to pull my weight.
It had become something of a tradition.
Not that that would happen now that I had a mate—even if we weren’t getting out in ten days.
Crescent had wriggled around to face me fully, and her eyes were wide.
Uh.
“Is that… a problem?” I asked.
“No…” Her lip wobbled as her arms locked around my waist, drawing me closer, which caused her neck to angle further backwards so she could keep gawking at me. “Oh… my… I have an… omega scent match?” she asked. I watched as she mouthed the word omega again, as if she couldn’t process it, which was the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
“Oh…” She glanced at Karma, then back at me, her cheeks burning red. “I didn’t…” She looked panicked, and it took me a second to work out why—until I clocked that she was naked, beneath the blankets with… well, with my alpha.
“I’m sure Karma is grateful for cuddles,” I said. “He doesn’t get them from me.”
Okay. Not totally true. Sometimes he sleepwalked, and I’d wake crushed in his arms and far too hot.
Still, I was a shit omega, though explaining that was complicated. The heat drugs we’d just pulled from the drawer—the last ones we had—were there because I skipped every heat, as unhealthy as it was for my body.
My pack meant everything to me, but I wasn’t with them romantically—and it was more than I could ask that none of them made me feel like I owed them.
Banging other omegas in cages for favours? That was easy, I didn’t care about them. But Karma, Phantom, and Vandle were different.
“I’m not…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain it.
“Sin’s not with us,” Phantom supplied, like it was no big deal.
I shot him a grateful look.
“Oh.” Crescent nodded as if that made sense, though we all knew it didn’t.
I’d been forced down here to be treated like a possession, thrown from one owner to the next—until I’d met my pack.
I hadn’t healed from that. I didn’t know if I ever would, but I knew one thing for sure: I’d never find out while we were still down here.
It was hard not to think about how very naked she was under the blankets.
“Yup,” I said, trying to straighten out my thoughts. The fever pitch her scent had hit with the waves of heat was dying down, though not fast enough.
Through the bond I felt Phantom’s struggle to keep a hold of himself—and he was the most stable of us. He’d been tossed in here because he was feral, same as all the alphas, but his instability had an easy fix. We were lucky, and the pack bond fixed his echo rut syndrome—which wasn’t always a guarantee, but with an omega it was a good bet.
But if he was struggling, it was no surprise Karma had gone and cracked. He’d had more time in here than the rest of us, but he’d started out as mad as Vandle. None of it was her fault, though I don’t think she realized that.
I’d taken a measure of Karma’s stability before I left, I just hadn’t accounted for a fucking scent match.
Poor bastard.
But he’d be fine by the morning.
His aura would settle down as the decadent velvet rose and cocoa scent calmed, its edge of heated desperation waning.
And Crescent seemed happy to stay curled up with him until he was better—though we should probably get her into some clothes sooner rather than later, or risk this happening all over again. She was still clutching the blankets to her chest.
“I got you some clothes.” I handed her the bag.
Phantom straightened where he sat, eyes suddenly wide as he looked at me.
Ah shit.
The deal with Dominic Redgrave.
The biting deal—that had to be off the table now. There was no way in hell I was taking her into a cage. She was way too fragile.
And a literal fucking virgin.
The problem was, that meant no bites. Not until I managed to undo the deal—which was a bit of a task, since it hadn’t really felt like a deal at all. More like Dominic was putting me into a headlock and telling me what was going to happen.
Whatever.
“I’ll fix it,” I mouthed to Phantom as Crescent picked through the bag.
There was a very cute blush creeping up her cheeks.
I cleared my throat. “Not exactly uh… much selection.”
“That’s okay…” Her voice was wispy as she turned a thin lacy thong over a few times as if unsure what it was. “Thank you.”
Not glancing down while she changed beneath the covers was the hardest thing I’d ever done. But since Karma hadn’t fucked her into oblivion, I supposed I should have some standards.
Okay, so I glanced once. But like, we’d already seen her in basically nothing.
And I got an eyeful of those cute little pale thighs draped by wisps of moonlight-silver hair. Then I caught Phantom’s judgemental gaze and rolled my eyes.
She was my mate.
And she wasn’t exactly trying to hide from me as I lifted the blanket for her.
She was hiding from Phantom, though.
A smug little chuckle slipped out before I could stop it. Being an omega had its benefits every once in a while.
Once she was dressed in baggy sweats and an oversized top, she seemed comfortable sitting on top of the blankets. She folded her hands in her lap, allowing Karma to readjust how he was crushing us in a hug, then settling back in.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
We had a stash of bars hidden in the little hole beneath Phantom’s bed. Because the doors were unlocked during the day, we had a few places other than the dresser to keep the things we didn’t want stolen.
She shook her head.
I was tempted to ask her more about everything she’d said—about why she thought she would damn us. Down here all the alphas had already been condemned; there wasn’t much more damning she could possibly do.
But Crescent was breathing softly, the air peaceful now that her scent was at a normal potency.
