The leather straps bit into my skin, the metal table cold beneath my naked torso. Shivers wracked my body as I struggled against the straps, even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I’d been here many times… in my waking moments and nightmares. What a fool I’d been for believing I would ever be safe.
A single tear trickled down my cheek. I despised myself for how I’d frozen when Glen and Dr. Bishop entered the room, how my limbs hadn’t fought back when Glen unceremoniously stripped me of my sweater and bra and strapped me down.
A year ago, I told myself I would rather die than be in this position again, and I meant it. But even with my sweater cast aside on the floor, the scents of my three alphas clung to my skin, reminding me I had a reason to stay alive. My lip trembled as I wished they were here with me, protecting me, fighting for me.
But I was alone.
Metal tools clattered as Dr. Bishop pulled them out of his bag. His hair was so heavily greased it looked wet, and his skin was waxy and sallow. He had never seemed particularly healthy during all those DA visits, but part of me took a perverse pleasure in seeing how terrible he looked now. Maybe he was dying. Maybe he would drop dead right this moment. Even Glen, who was always perfectly put together, had wrinkles in his suit jacket and a manic gleam in his eyes.
“Now, the protocol does state the device must be implanted with anesthesia,” Glen said, walking over so he was standing beside me. “But you’ve been a bad omega, haven’t you, Josephine? Removing the first device without permission. Tut tut.”
Glen ran his fingers down my scar. I tried to jerk my arm out of his reach, but the straps stopped me.
“Don’t touch me,” I bit out, anger and fear flooding my body in equal measure.
“Omegas, when will they learn?” Glen said to Dr. Bishop with exaggerated exasperation. “Little birdy thinks she’s in control and can wrap her alpha around her every emotional whim. But no more. Alphas will always be in control. Always!”
I flinched as he shouted, his eyes wild and his mouth spreading into a terrible smile.
“The good news is this device has some new features,” Glen said, nodding at the shiny, silver piece of metal. It looked like a small button battery, almost identical to the one Sam had dug out of my arm. The room spun around me and I almost fainted.
Glen caressed my upper arm, a sinister smile on his face. “We will be alerted if you try to remove it this time. And this little device will make you susceptible to alpha barks without any time limits or memory loss. I’m quite proud of it.” He looked at me as if expecting me to congratulate him for his innovation. When all he got from me was a blank stare, he turned away with disgust.
Dr. Bishop cleared his throat and my muscles seized at the glint of the scalpel in his hand. I couldn’t take my eyes off it as it neared me. His plastic scent wafted over me and I gagged with the realization that he was aroused.
Without warning, the scalpel dug into my arm, the pain like white-hot fire. I must have screamed because Glen’s hand clamped over my mouth, keeping my face in a suffocating hold. Maybe he would forget to remove it and I could just die here. Would death wrap me up softly and peacefully, like a nest?
Wait, no! I can’t die. My alphas are waiting for me.
But with Glen’s hand over my mouth and nose, I lost the scent of my alphas—all I could smell was rotten fruit. Black spots danced in front of my eyes. I released a silent scream as Dr. Bishop used a metal tool to hold my skin open. Blood dripped down my arm before the world went black.
When I came to, Glen and Dr. Bishop were arguing. My vision was blurry, my mind uncomprehending.
“She’s mine,” Glen said. “I can do whatever I want to her.”
“Not yet,” Dr. Bishop responded, speaking for the first time with the voice that had haunted my dreams for years. “Jericho said…”
“Fuck Jericho,” Glen hissed, his voice low as if he was scared of someone overhearing.
Dr. Bishop glanced at me, and I thought I saw fear in his eyes.
“We have to follow protocol,” he said, turning back to Glen.
Glen kicked the table holding the tray of instruments, his face twisted into a hideous pout.
“Fine,” he bit out, roughly undoing the leather straps holding me to the table. “Don’t worry, little bird,” he said, his hand brushing against my breasts as he unhooked me. “I won’t let you fly too far.”
The rest of the straps fell away. Sharp pain radiated from my arm, a burning reminder of what they had done. A reminder that I was dirty, tainted.
Move! Get away from them! The voice in my head screamed at me, but I just lay there, frozen. Finally, Glen gave me a push off the table. My legs crumpled beneath my weight and I collapsed on the floor, my knees hitting the ground hard.
My mind was too muddled to understand what I was supposed to do—all I could focus on were my aching knees and how upset my alphas would be if they bruised.
My bra and sweater landed next to me. I reached for them, not recognizing my own hands. Whose body was this? It didn’t feel like mine anymore. Maybe it never had been.
I fumbled with my bra, my fingers shaking too hard to do up the clasp. Finally, I gave up. The need to be covered was more important than getting my bra on. I pulled my sweater shakily over my head, keeping my eyes glued to the floor.
“Get up,” Glen snarled.
I heard his words but couldn’t make sense of them in my head.
“Fucking spoiled omega,” Dr. Bishop said, kicking me in the ribs. I collapsed on the ground, automatically curling into a protective ball. His boot caught on my sweater and snagged it, ripping a small hole in the side.
My breath caught in my throat. Theo had picked out my sweater, and now it was ruined. I bit my lip to keep from crying.
Angry voices and bitter alpha scents swirled around me, but all I could do was run my finger along the tear in my sweater. Maybe it could be repaired? My alphas will know what to do. I breathed in deeply. At least the sweater still had their scents on it.
“Omega, get up!”
Glen’s alpha bark rang through the air, and my omega whined with the need to obey. Somehow, my clumsy limbs found their way underneath me until I was upright.
Glen laughed, the maniacal sound bouncing off the walls. “At least we know it works.”
I swayed on my feet.
“For fuck’s sake,” Dr. Bishop said, gripping my arm tightly. Glen grabbed my other arm, pressing down on the fresh wound. I screamed in agony.
Glen smirked. “Guards are standing by to arrest the alphas if they fight us.”
Bile burned my throat. They had planned this to have an excuse to separate our pack.
I tried to stay upright, to look as normal as possible so my alphas wouldn’t lose their shit when they saw me. I wished I could warn them, but the hallway walls were spinning, and I couldn’t figure out how to move my legs normally. Glen and Dr. Bishop dragged me until we entered the lobby, the brightness from the sunlight bouncing off the white marble floors.
I lifted my head, my unfocused eyes scanning the room until I found them.
The emotional numbness that fell over me the moment Glen and Dr. Bishop walked into the room started to crack.
Ben, Cam, and Theo stood in the center of the lobby, their eyes filled with horror.
