Omega Mine
Chapter 7

Josie was warmer than she’d ever been in her entire life. But instead of it being uncomfortable, she burrowed into that blissful heat, releasing a small sigh of contentment when she inhaled something magical.

What was that? It was like musk, the outdoors, and apples, all wrapped into one delicious bundle that made her chest tighten, thighs clenching together to ease an ache that was quickly building. The sounds of muted male voices in the distance had her stiffening, eyes popping open to stare into the darkness of her new prison.

Everything came rushing back all at once, and the brief moment of peace she’d felt was wiped away, swallowed by shadows. She tried to sit up, to understand how the hell she’d moved from the cold, hard floor to wherever she now was, but thick bands of steel tightened around her waist, keeping her trapped against an equally steel-like body.

All at once that delicious scent made sense. Grayson had her in his bed, and was holding her in his arms for some reason.

“Why am I in your bed?” she asked groggily as she turned to face him, throat thick with sleep and a steadily increasing tension. He stretched with a yawn, as if he’d just woken up as well, his erection digging into the curve of her ass.

It should have been terrifying to feel his arousal, to be placed in such a precarious position while she’d been unconscious and vulnerable, but either she’d endured too much in such a short amount of time, replaceing herself immune to his antics, or this was way more natural than it should have been.

Unease trickled in at that last thought, remembering the way Grayson had bitten her, how he hadn’t wanted her to cover the brand he’d left behind. His insistence that her scent was wrong. She hadn’t understood last night, too panicked and afraid to process what he’d been saying. Now that she’d had some rest, and her mind wasn’t racing a mile a minute, Josie recognized how odd all of that behavior was, even for an abused Alpha.

Alphas only ever marked their Omegas. Their mates. They didn’t just bite strangers for the hell of it unless it was to kill them. If he knew on some instinctive level that she was his, then it made sense that he was thrown off by her scent, that he knew it should have been different–

No, there’s no way he’s my mate!

Only, she wouldn’t know if she was being completely ridiculous with her insane thoughts until he caught her true scent. Once an Alpha scented their mate, it triggered a heat in that Omega. She’d need to be taken repeatedly over several days until it eased or she became pregnant, and once it was done, she’d be a different person. She wouldn’t be dormant anymore, but as she was always meant to be. Free.

She needed to get the fuck out of here before any of that happened.

There was no damned way she was going to replace her mate while imprisoned, surrounded by dozens of Alphas and Betas within these neighboring cells! If she went into heat now, they’d smell it, and if her heat was potent enough, they’d go feral with carnal hunger, eager to bed her, ready to tear Grayson apart for a chance at her.

Omegas needed privacy to go through a heat, either with a partner to help ease her symptoms or alone in a remote location where they could create a nest and wait out the effects of their body demanding they breed.

He isn’t my mate, she silently insisted, but the way she was still pressed into him, feeling safe instead of terrified, was making her believe otherwise. If she weren’t trapped down here, with the threat of being identified as an Omega by the guards or Commander and then executed because of it, she might have felt a bit of excitement.

Finding a mate should have been special. Instead, all she could feel was dread at the implications that were now dancing around in her head.

“It was either kill you to shut up your incessant shivering or warm you. Be glad I chose the latter,” he answered gruffly, releasing his hold on her slowly. His hands found her sides, pushing her. With an eep of surprise, Josie tumbled from the bed, landing back on the ground. Her hip hit the chains that were beneath her and she hissed in pain as it connected with bone, a fierce ache forming.

“Ow,” she seethed, wanting to turn around and knock him right in the nose. She should feel a bit of relief at his rough handling, hoping she could count that as a mark against them being mates. Would an Alpha really treat his mate this way?

Then again, he’d backed off when she’d told him she was scared, and kept her warm all night long despite the fact that he could have easily ended her life.

Son of a bitch.

“Are humans truly so fragile?”

She didn’t bother dignifying his question with a response.

He stood up, arms extending high above his head as he stretched again, barely sparing her a glance. She couldn’t look away, fascinated by what she could see. Her eyes were adjusting better to the dark today with the help of the light trickling in from the crack under his prison door. It allowed her to take in all of his muscles, her mouth watering as her gaze wandered down his stomach and landed on his erection.

It was still dark enough that she had to leave a bit to the imagination, but his length was impressive, slightly curving to the right. She willed herself to look away, grateful that she had when his glowing red eyes found hers, narrowing.

“I don’t know what to do with you,” he said simply. “Guards will be by with my meal shortly. They might take you away.”

Josie released a relieved breath, shoulders sagging. That would be the best possible scenario. Then she could replace Bethany, relay everything she’d found out and hopefully they could free him. Once that happened, she could revisit him once he’d gotten settled, see if he was her mate like she was beginning to suspect.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Grayson continued, moving away from her and into the darkest corner of the room until he was gone from her sight completely. It was unnerving, especially as she couldn’t detect him moving at all, only able to catch the faint echo of his heartbeat.

“Why wouldn’t I get my hopes up?”

“Because they could just as easily kill you once they see I’ve left you unharmed. Weren’t you put down here to be punished?”

“How do you know that? You called me a gift last night.”

Her heart skipped a beat as she mulled over his words. Grayson was right. What was to stop Commander Ortega from inflicting his own punishment on her if he found out that his ‘beast’ had failed to perform how he’d wanted?

He huffed, and her eyes narrowed, trying and failing to locate him in the dark. “A gift would know when to stop badgering me with nonsense.” There was another beat of silence. “A guard told me you displeased the Commander.”

“I did.”

“How?”

Josie shifted awkwardly, wincing as the chains pulled on her aching wrists. “He thought I was eavesdropping on his private conversation and asked me to prove my innocence with sex. I refused.”

“And he sent you down here to teach you a lesson,” he guessed, his voice hard with censure. “He likely knew I’d need an outlet for my aggression after my fights, and a frightened human would be just the thing to set me off.”

She was inclined to agree, but the fact that he hadn’t reacted as expected only added to her earlier distressing thoughts.

“I wanted to kill you before I saw you.” His voice traveled to her after a few moments, and her heart began to pound. “My blood was boiling with the need to torture whoever was in here. Sometimes I want to play more with my opponents in the ring, but I only have so much time. When I found out there was someone here, a gift, I was planning to spend days pulling you apart just to hear you scream.”

A shiver went down her spine that had nothing to do with the chill in his dark cell, and everything to do with the fear that flared to life. He was being so casual as he talked about killing her. So emotionless, which was far more disturbing than he had been last night when he’d threatened her initially. She didn’t even know if he was being intentionally cruel right now or simply conversational, which only heightened her nerves until her hands shook.

Josie squeezed her fingers into fists, stiffening as she finally saw him wade through the shadows. “Why haven’t you?”

“Killed you? Or pulled you apart to hear you scream?” he asked, taking another step until she could see him as he slowly prowled in her direction. Instead of backing up in fright like she wanted to, Josie straightened her spine, refusing to let her fear get the best of her. At least not yet.

“Both,” she answered, gulping when he stepped into her space, towering over her. Staring down into her eyes, Grayson’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“I don’t know.”

Well, that wasn’t necessarily a bad answer, all things considered, but it didn’t reassure her in the slightest.

“Are you still thinking about it?”

“On and off, depending on if you call me by another male’s name.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that, afraid that repeating that he was Grayson would set him off. “Do you not remember your life before you came here? What you were once called?”

His palm found her throat, collaring her possessively, thumb sliding over her pulse in a soothing caress, and oddly enough, easing some of her fear. “I’m tired of answering your questions, Josephine.”

“We could talk about something else,” she suggested softly, eyes widening when he leaned in, touching his forehead with hers as he shut his eyes. It was far too intimate a position for someone who didn’t know if he wanted to kill her or not, but she found herself reaching up, her fingers trailing over the hand at her neck. “I could tell you about life outside of this place, or more about your kind.”

Maybe something that would help him with his memory, since she was more confident than ever that it was missing.

He inhaled, a small growl reverberating in his chest. “Or we can talk about why your scent is almost gone, or why it only lingers on your clothing and nowhere else. It doesn’t fit.”

Before she could answer, there was a jingling of keys outside of his cell door, followed by muttering and someone swearing just on the other side.

Hope ignited in her chest despite his warnings about Commander Ortega. Was there a guard here to let her out?

Grayson’s fingers tightened on her throat in warning when she moved, but he shouldn’t have bothered.

A small rectangle was ripped open toward the bottom of the cell, a brief flood of light filling their room as a tray was shoved through the opening.

The plastic hit the ground with a hard clank, the smell of bland food hitting her senses as the light disappeared, the small opening being slammed shut before she heard the keys jingle again as someone walked away, taking her hope with him.

“Looks like you’re here another night,” Grayson said with a huff, dropping his hold.

A second later, Grayson held up her hand, squeezing the metal cuff around her wrist until it snapped open, dropping uselessly to the floor. She sighed in relief as some of her tension melted away, holding up her other hand silently for him to do the same. He did so without another word, freeing her from her chains.

“It’s time to eat,” he said gruffly, turning his back on her.