Page 19 of Marked Omega

“Yes,” I tell him. “Well, no. Not exactly. I didn’t know her that well. But I know she was a good person. And she didn’t deserve what happened to her. Nobody deserves that.”

I begin sobbing again, and he hugs me closer. A deep purring sound rolls from his throat, and I realize he is trying to soothe me. Surprisingly, it seems to be working.

“We can’t leave her like that,” I say. “Kadmon, we can’t just leave her hanging from that tree for the animals to eat her.”

He shakes his head.

“We can’t go back there, Lily. It’s not safe. There were other men there. I heard them shouting and shooting at us as we left. They could still be there.”

I sigh. I know that he’s right, but I can’t stand the idea of Sara just hanging from that tree for the animals to eat. It’s too horrible to even think about.

“She at least deserves a proper burial,” I mutter. “After all she was put through, she at least deserves that small dignity.”

“You have a big heart, Lily.”

His blue eyes are clear and deep, and I can feel the sympathy inside of him. Perhaps I’ve been wrong about the Alphas all this time. There seems to be much more tenderness and compassion inside them than I expected.

At least that seems to be the case for young Kadmon. Hasker is another story.

Kadmon inspects the shackles around my wrists and the long chain between them.

“Let’s get these off of you,” he whispers.

He takes me off his lap and sets me on the soft bedding of dry grass and moss, which is remarkably comfortable considering how beyond primitive it is.

The metal spike that was used to bind the chain to the tree trunk is still wedged through the hole of a link in the middle of the chain. With a bit of work, Kadmon manages to wiggle it free. He gathers two large stones from the floor of the cave. One of these he sets on the ground beside us, and he positions my wrist so that the chain near the shackle is draped over the stone.

“I need you to hold still, okay? Don’t flinch.”

He places the spike against the chain, and using the other rock as a crude hammer, he begins banging away at it. The sounds of stone and steel resonate through the cave.

I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but after several hard strikes, the chain link is beginning to bend and degrade where Kadmon is hammering it with the stone. Only now do I begin to understand just how strong these Alphas are.

Stronger than stone. Stronger than steel.

That should frighten me, but instead it makes me feel safe.

Until Hasker returns, that is.

“Hey,” the older Alpha growls. “Cut out that racket, boy. You want the whole zone to know we’re here?”

The rough, bearded Alpha is returning from the mouth of the cave, stepping carefully over the rocky floor. His hands are working at his loincloth, tying it back in place. Was he just relieving himself outside? He was gone for an awfully long time.

“We need to get these chains off of her,” Kadmon says.

Hasker just scowls and shakes his head.

“Give ’er here, boy,” Hasker says brusquely. He nods toward the hard pole tenting Kadmon’s loincloth. “Take care of yer need outside.”

Kadmon exhales reluctantly. He hands me over to Hasker the way someone would hand off a cat. Now it’s his turn to head to the cave mouth. Hasker holds me as we watch Kadmon go.

The young Alpha glances back at me briefly on his way out of the cave.

Need. Hasker told him to take care of his need.

Now I understand. He’s going outside to spill his pent up seed on the ground because he’s not allowed to spill it inside of me. Not yet anyway. As far as they are concerned, I belong to their boss.

I’m still not too keen on that notion—being owned, being someone’s property.