If he hadn’t been listening, he might have missed the hitch in her stride and the soft exhalation of breath she made when she walked.
“You are in pain. Why didn’t you tell me?” He was at her side in seconds. One look at her stance made him scoop her into his arms and carry her to the couch.
“It’s nothing serious,” she protested.
“You have a warrior’s attitude toward pain. Admirable, but foolish. You are no warrior. You are an omega, to be cherished and protected.”
“It’s just a little sore.”
“Show me.” He managed to keep most of the snarl out of his tone, but not all of it.
He was slightly appeased when she meekly pulled aside the blankets to reveal her injured leg, but all sense of calm vanished when he saw the wound. It was still there. She should have been almost fully healed by now. Something was wrong.
A light touch to the spot made her hiss in discomfort. Her skin was warmer than it should have been, and the edges of the cut were still angry and red.
“You’re not healing.”
“It’s better than it was.” Savannah shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”
His snarl broke free at that point. Anger filled him that she was so dismissive of her injury and that she had ever had to suffer worse than a scratch. No omega should ever suffer and certainly not to the extent these Terran omegas had.
“This needs more care than I can offer here,” he bit out, baring his teeth at her when she hissed back at him. The little display of defiance would have amused and aroused him at any other time, but right now, his main concern was her welfare. “We need to leave. Now.”
Savannah burrowed deeper into her blanket cocoon. “No. I like it here.”
“You need to see a healer.”
“No.” This time she didn’t hiss. She snarled at him.
“You will obey me, little omega. I am taking you to the citadel. You dress and I will make you something to eat while we travel.”
“Please? Don’t make me leave here. I like this place. I like you. I want to stay.” Her words were jagged and tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked up at him.
His expression hardened as he looked down at her. “We will leave. I will be with you. You will be safe. Do not make me repeat myself.”
When she snarled again, his temper frayed. With a warning growl, he flipped her onto her back, pinning her down in her nest. Instantly his teeth found the side of her neck, over his mark, almost puncturing the skin in warning.
She gasped, hands on his upper arms, but she didn’t fight. Instead, she yielded to him as an omega should, her body relaxed and pliant.
“Do you need my help dressing, little one?”
“No.” She lowered her gaze until she was staring at a spot on the floor, away from him. “I will dress myself.”
“Savannah.” He brushed a kiss to her cheek. “You must understand your place. Some of the others will not understand if you forget. Then, I will need to fight to protect you. I’d rather spend my time in bed with you than fighting some brute of a L’crav.”
She shuddered. “I’m going to hate it there.”
“It’s the safest place for you. And the most comfortable. You’ll see. Trust me, little one.”
She didn’t answer him aloud, only nodded slightly and stirred. He helped her to her feet. He wasn’t sure what had changed in the last few minutes, but something had. He’d just have to fix it later. After she’d been to the healer.
Traveling by air-bike was far faster and more comfortable than anything she’d ever experienced. Tucked in behind Rath, warm and comfortable, it was easy to forget he was her enemy, especially when he only had to smile or growl at her to make her melt. And if he bit her over her mark, she was his, totally. No matter how much of an alpha asshole he was.
Savannah hadn’t even realized how much she’d surrendered to him until today. It had been so easy to convince herself that he was different than the others. She’d created a fantasy for herself and managed to hold on to it until he’d put her on the back of his bike and taken her to the last place in the world she wanted to go. The citadel.
That’s where omegas went to die… or worse.
She shivered as the high walls came into sight, not wanting to cling to him but not having the courage to do anything else. Her eyes widened in fear, her tension mounting as the walls grew nearer, looming over them like a portent of doom. When they rode through the gates, she nearly stopped breathing, her heart yammering in her chest. Every alpha they passed turned to watch them. She felt their eyes on her and tried to make herself as small as possible. It wouldn’t work. She knew it wouldn’t work. Without the suppressants in her system, they would smell what she was.
Omega. Prey.
Rath growled, the furious sound blending with the rumble of the engine. “They will not hurt you, little one.” He raised his voice. “They best not even look too hard!”
Several of the aliens turned their attention elsewhere, but not all. A handful followed them. They were unkempt and unpleasant looking, and one of them had a malnourished and dead-eyed omega on a leash.
“Rath?” she whispered.
“I see them. They are L’crav. Beneath your notice.”
She wanted to close her eyes and burrow against his strong back to escape back into a fantasy that they were back at the house. That she was safe. But she’d long since left childhood fantasies behind. She wasn’t safe here, and she needed to keep her wits about her.
The alphas still followed them as Rath pulled the bike up to park it next to lots of others. Some of them still bore dust from outside. She studied them as he dismounted, wondering how difficult they were to ride. Perhaps she could just—
“Don’t even think about it, little one,” he growled, dark eyes watching her as though he could see right down into her soul. “You’d never get it out of the courtyard.”
He was right. For now. The streets were bustling and people—no, aliens—were everywhere. But if she could remember where these bikes were, she might be able to come back another time when things were quieter.
“As you say,” she murmured as he helped her to the ground. Her leg throbbed, but it was only a dull pain she could ignore easily enough. Strength mattered here. She would not show weakness.
“Where did you find that one?” one of the alphas asked Rath.
“Any more with her?” another chimed in.
Horror slithered down her spine and she stiffened in recognition. She knew that voice. She’d heard it somewhere before. It was like seeing a face from a nightmare while walking in the daylight. Savannah moved closer to Rath, who managed to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder even as he moved her behind him.
“She was alone in sector seven, and she is mine.”
He’d named a spot almost three days’ walk from where he’d found her. The lie made her feel a little better for some reason. Rath might be an asshole at times, but he was doing what he promised. He was protecting her.
“No one is allowed to claim an omega right now. So she’s not yours.” That familiar voice spoke again. She was almost tempted to peek out from behind Rath to see the face attached to the dark voice, but she decided against it.