“Alpha Lord!”
The pounding woke Dahlia. She stretched and then gasped, absorbing the one-two punch as she registered two things at once. First, a thick, veined forearm was around her waist, pinning her to a hard wall of flesh at her back. Second, every muscle in her body screamed at her, aching as if she’d been battered in a rock storm, or fought and lost to a predator five times her size.
Which she had.
“Nikolai, your family is growing concerned,” came a second muffled voice.
“Fuck off!”
The deep, thunderous growl at her back drove home her reality with humiliating clarity.
She hadn’t gotten away at all.
Instead, she was still here, in Skolov’s bedroom aboard his sleek, expensive shuttle, lying on the ground, cocooned in a nest of torn sheets and pillows that reeked of cum and sweat.
Rather than escaping, she’d succumbed to the heat.
Unable to fight it, she’d ended up embracing it, begging her enemy to fuck her. Spreading her legs, presenting, coming all over his hands, cock, and tongue. Docilely accepting his knot. All while, he punished her, spanking her ass and cunt until she came like that, too. So. Many. Times.
The whole cycle was a terrible blur of indescribable pleasure and unbearable shame, of hunger and desperation like she’d never known.
In the midst of all that—and even more indefensible—she’d given him a vision.
A vivid glimpse of the past that had almost torn her apart. The image of the brave, cocky boy Skolov had once been was so familiar and bittersweet.
What’s more, he’d been right.
She did still have the ability to recall past events and project them into the present.
She’d assumed the loss of her gift was the natural but inevitable cost of aging into omega adulthood. She’d never dreamed the Alpha himself might be the key to its reactivation.
Her parents had taken her to a thousand omega medical experts and not one had suggested such a thing, but somehow Skolov had barreled right through her block with his cock and his fangs and drawn the gift back out of her.
As far as she could recall, the vision had come while she’d been lost to the omega heat, reveling in the exquisite pleasure of him stroking her while the bonds at her wrists and throat pulsed with contentment. Then he’d whispered her name.
Her name. Not omega. Or girl.
The unfamiliar experience had sparked such a sense of joy, she’d purred—and, like that, the barrier she hadn’t known was inside her thinned and weakened. The black hole that swirled inside her chest shifted direction so that it shot light outward instead of pulling it in. That was all it had taken. The energy of the Alpha’s touch had rushed through her. The vision had come.
For those brief few heartbeats, the power crackling against her skin had been addictive and sweet.
She was no longer broken. She was stronger than she’d ever believed. She had worth.
The sensation was astonishing. It was wonderful.
For the sake of her mother and sister, she could never allow it to happen again.
“I see we will have to add lack of attention to your transgressions, omega.” The Alpha’s commanding voice brought her back to the present. “It’s almost as if you like being punished.”
“You are nothing like the boy you once were.”
“You’re right.” The tips of his fangs pressed against the curve of her neck, not puncturing, just holding her in place. A warning. “He wasn’t strong enough to keep those under his protection alive and do what needed to be done. But I am. So, you will make that sweet purring sound again. You will stop being disobedient and give me another vision.” His thick fingers prodded her bottom, his thumb sliding over her rosebud. “Otherwise, we will see if you become more compliant after I fuck and knot a different hole.”
She stiffened, not sure which terrified her more: his suggestion that he intended to take her ass or the reminder that he’d marked her.
Had this helped bring about her vision as well? Either way, it spelled her doom since his bite was another critical form of Alpha claiming, and one step closer to solidifying the bond between them.
Already the markings on her wrists were thicker, the circle almost closed, making them look more like manacles Ones she’d never be able to cast off if she didn’t escape soon.
“It’s been four fucking rotations, Nikolai,” shouted a different Alpha male. “The casino registered its first dip in overall profits in ten years.”
“What in the hells? Four rotations!” The haze of his rut clearing, Skolov jackknifed off the bed, and she got her first look at him without clothes.
Apparently, at some point, they’d stopped fucking long enough for him to take his pants and boots off.
At the sight before her, her womb clenched despite herself.
He was too beautiful a male specimen for any female’s sanity.
Messy, wavy dark hair fell into his gorgeous amber eyes—still tinged with the last bits of the red that signaled the rut—while a heavy five o’clock shadow clung to his square jaw and framed his full lips. And his body . . . heavens help her. He’d swung toward the door, hands on hips, legs spread wide, giving her a perfect profile view.
He’d been beautiful as a boy. He was sheer mouthwatering perfection as a man. There was not an ounce of fat on him, every part chiseled red rock. The skin designs that swirled across his skin and the scattering of scars and burn marks, as well as the long thin white lines on his back, only added to his menacing power. It was impossible not to notice the dips and valleys of his massive chest or the defined abs that led to a carved V and pointed the way to sculpted thighs, a tight, round ass, and a huge, swollen, ridged cock.
She could not believe he’d fit that monster inside her.
No wonder she was so sore.
“Down in profits!” Uncaring about his nudity, he was still glaring at the door. An exit was barricaded by a platform bed and desk she was fairly certain had both been bolted to the floor four rotations ago. “What the fuck, Maxheim?”
The memory of Skolov’s face buried between her thighs, lapping at her like a starving male, flashed through her mind, answering the question of why her inner thighs felt like she’d rubbed sandpaper against them. It was followed quickly by a slideshow of other images, all cascading down like an avalanche. Her on top, bouncing on his cock while he lifted her up and down and she bared her throat and screamed at him to bite her again. Her on her knees, cheeks hollowing while she sucked on his cock and licked him clean as if he were her favorite dessert. Her on her back, legs spread wide apart, ankles held in his grip while he pounded into her and she cried for more. Him hurling the desk at the door before bending her over it and taking her as she howled in pleasure.
She’d given him her body as easily as she had her gift.
Had she had more visions without remembering? She would die if she discovered that she’d betrayed her family while lost in the haze.
She cut off any more remembering before she grew sick—or the moisture between her thighs increased.
Even now, knowing the stakes, the omega in her wanted to do it all again. She could feel her body warming to the idea. No, no, no.
“I left you in charge.” Skolov was still yelling through the door as he grabbed his pants and shoved one foot, then the other, through. “If I—”
He cut short his own tirade, the laces of his pants still undone, as his nostrils flared wide and his gaze shifted from the door to her.
Oh, no. She shoved to her knees.
He growled low, his eyes bleeding from amber to red. He stalked toward her. “Omega.”
He’d scented her arousal, and it had kicked him back into rut.
Her skin heated in response, her body going soft and ready. “Alpha.” It was pure invitation. His rut sparking her own.
“Do not think it. Either of you.” The controlled Alpha voice rumbled through the door once more. “Profits, Nikolai. Down, remember? And we’ve got Lundin’s people on our ass, the Brotherhood demanding the proof you told them you’d get, and a meeting about an arms shipment with a buyer who only deals with you.”
Nikolai’s lips curled into a dangerous snarl, but the red disappeared from his eyes. “Fuck.” He shook his head as if trying to shake off the effects of the rut and backed away slowly, taking short shallow breaths that she might have found amusing if she wasn’t caught in the same trap herself.
He stalked to one of the windows and, with the press of a few buttons on the panel, the window slid open a crack. Not enough for her to slide through, but enough to let some cool, fresh air into the room, counteracting the pheromones inside.
Instantly, her head cleared, her thoughts less sex-focused.
She sucked down one deep breath after another.
“Did you get what you needed from the omega?” It was the same composed voice. The one Nikolai had called Maxheim.
Her father had raged about Maxheim and the other Skolov brothers, so she knew a fair amount about each. Honestly, she wasn’t sure who terrified and angered Olan more.
All four males were rumored to be ruthless bastards, but whereas the eldest Alpha’s reputation was based on simmering rage, bold, reckless ideas that somehow worked, and the blunt in-your-face dealings of a warrior, the other Skolov brothers had very different reputations.
Maxheim was the crime family’s second-in-command, the underboss, the savage prince next in line to the Skolov family throne. Everyone called him the fixer because, according to her father’s rants, he was the one who cleaned up the other Skolovs’ messes. Duty and family were said to be everything to him. To get to Nikolai, you had to get by him first—and little did. He was said to be meticulous, merciless, and deceptive in his dealings, and as emotionless and icy cold as the Skolov birthplace.
Next in line was Alexi Skolov, the notorious playboy of the family, a beautiful brute who liked money, speed, and danger. His title was capo, but he focused more on the glitz and glamor side of the syndicate business. It was his job to charm the patrons, bring in revenue, set up the marks, and keep profits rolling in. His prowess with beta and omega females was legendary.
The fourth brother, Damien Skolov, was known as the enforcer. People usually preferred to whisper his name. Like Alexi, he held the title of capo, but he handled the darker side of the family business. He was in charge of security, collections, and he also ran the army of soldiers who served as the lethal arm of the Skolov family. If, as an outsider, you had to deal with him or his men, you were already in big trouble.
There was a sister too, but little was known about her.
Of course, all the Skolov brothers were rumored to be beautiful as well as brutal, but right now they all sounded to her like a bunch of over-grown, growly, irritated Alphas.
“No.” Nikolai’s low, angry growl snapped her from her thoughts. At first, she thought he was somehow objecting to her opinions about his brothers until she played the conversation back in her mind and realized Maxheim had asked the Alpha boss if he’d gotten what he’d needed from her.
No. Relief slammed through her.
The sensation was so strong it knocked her back on her heels. She hadn’t hurt the only people in this universe she loved.
“Shit.” A chorus of furious growls issued from the other side of the door.
“But it wasn’t a total loss. She did have a vision.” Skolov spoke to the other Alphas as if she wasn’t there while he shoved his big feet into his boots and laced them up. “After I fucked and claimed her. Dr. Randalff was right.”
Her face heated as the others grunted their approval.
She hated them all.
“It just wasn’t the one I wanted,” Nikolai admitted. “No matter how much I fucked her after, I could not draw another vision from her. Somehow, she’s blocking it from happening again.” His jaw clenched as his gaze fell to the lump of melted gold that had once been one of the twin’s teething rings. It was tucked within the folds of the sheet, likely forgotten during the madness of the rutting. “But I will. She is my omega, after all. No one refuses me for long.”
There was a brief silence as if no one on the other side was quite sure what to say.
But the respite was soon broken.
“You lucky bastard. Trying sure as hells can’t be a hardship. She smells fucking delicious,” said one of his brothers. “Is she as gorgeous as her pictures?”
“Quiet, Alexi, you fool. Don’t you recognize an Alpha slipping in and out of rut?” Maxheim’s warning was nearly drowned out by the menacing growls issuing from the Alpha on her side of the door.
Suddenly, she had a good idea why no one had tried hard to remove the desk barricade.
“No need to go all growly, brother,” shouted Alexi. “I’m just looking forward to welcoming your new omega to the family properly. Maybe we can all help her with those visions.”
Unrepentant, Alexi seemed to enjoy baiting his older brother, at least through a thick steel door.
“Might as well feel something,” Alexi finished, “before our sins catch up with us and we get to burn right alongside all the rest of the Skolovs.”
Nikolai’s head snapped back as if he’d been punched, his gaze narrowing as he snarled—and for once, it wasn’t directed at her.
The response on the other side of the door was more immediate. “Alexi, you fucked-up bastard!” The fourth voice was far deeper than it had once been, but she still recognized it from the vision: Damien, the scared little boy who’d grown into one of the most dangerous males in the galaxy, and right now he was clearly furious with his brother. “You don’t deserve to mention them.”
There was a crash. The door shook as if a body had been hurled against it. Then snarls and snaps. Another harder crash shook the door and the walls of the room.
“Get the fuck off me, Damien,” roared Alexi. All seductive teasing had been stripped from his tone, leaving only deadly aggression behind. “Try those bullshit assassin moves on me and I’ll rip you to pieces.”
“Bring it, you worthless fuck.”
She clutched the sheet and scurried back on her knees, her gaze flickering to the Alpha in the room with her.
She expected him to be tearing at the wall, frothing at the idea of joining the aggression.
Instead, he looked tired, his hand plowing through his hair as his frown deepened and he breathed slow and deep.
For a stupid, insane heartbeat, she almost wanted to comfort him.
“Maxheim!” His furious roar slapped that idea from her mind.
“Yes, brother.” It was hard to hear over all the snarling, but the second eldest Skolov had obviously come close to the door. His voice was cool as ever, despite the battle raging on his side.
“Get Alexi and Damien under control and then get them the fuck out of here.”
“The omega’s scent is making them even more . . . aggressive than usual.”
“Great.” This time Nikolai’s glare was all for her.
She glared right back.
More crashes. A shout cut off. Several loud grunts. The smack of flesh against flesh.
Then, silence.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“Done.” Maxheim sounded as if he’d finished writing up a contract rather than wrestling two grown Alphas under control and hauling them away. That someone like him was subordinate to Nikolai Skolov made her even less optimistic about her chances for resistance and escape against such an adversary.
But that didn’t mean she was giving up.
As subtly as possible, she shoved her hand beneath all the wreckage littered on the floor and searched for the tracker remover.
“Get Randalff and tell him to meet me in my office in ten.” Nikolai was again barking orders. “Tell him to have some answers for me. I want to know how to ram through this block of hers once and for all.”
While he spoke, her hand closed around the tool’s metal handle. She dragged it beneath the sheet and wrapped it tight to her body, winding the fabric beneath her arms and over one shoulder like a toga, effectively camouflaging her contraband.
“Will do. What do you plan to do with the omega?” Maxheim’s question caught her off guard and made her heart beat fast. “Should I prepare the planned welcome?”
The narrowed gaze of the Skolov crime boss swung back to her.
She swallowed hard. “I’m not going out there.” She could only imagine what she looked like wrapped in a black sheet stained with cum and sweat, her hair a wild tangled mess, five o’clock shadow burn on her chest, while her mouth was swollen and her body was covered with faint fingermark bruises and bite marks.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion.” He stalked toward her, stopping only long enough to grab the melted teething ring.
She scrambled back, her spine hitting the wall. “I didn’t ask to become your property. I-I won’t give you any more visions, and I won’t be shared.” She knew exactly how her father had treated his mother, and she had no interest in being “welcomed” to the family in such a fashion. Surviving being fucked and knotted by one Skolov male was enough.
He loomed above her in the next heartbeat, his big arms closed around her shoulders, his eyes still amber but no less fierce. “No one ever touches you but me.”
Despite herself, she softened, relief mixing with arousal as his possessive aggression had its usual effect. “Then what does your brother mean by welcome?”
Nikolai’s scowl deepened. “My brothers thought it would be nice to give you a traditional omega dinner for joining the family. But that honor is only for obedient omegas.” He shoved his hand down her sheet dress and plucked the tracker remover out. With a growl, he threw it against the wall. It shattered into several pieces.
She sucked down a shocked breath.
He shoved his face into hers. “And you are definitely not that.”
“Nikolai?” His brother’s voice echoed once more from outside. “Everything all right? I didn’t catch your response about the omega.”
Her Alpha’s predatory gaze locked with hers. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle her myself.”
He hauled her over his shoulder.