Hated By My Alphas(An Omegaverse)

Chapter 5

Canon

Eyes glued to the security monitor, I watched the closed door with some intensity. We’d been back at Ashewood Hotel for thirty-six hours, and she hadn’t opened the door once—not even to get the cart of food left in the hall for her.

“She still hasn’t eaten,” Nico growled as he stormed into my office. “But then, you f*****g already knew that. All you do is stare at that screen.”

I didn’t have to explain myself to him. “You’re supposed to be picking Daisy up from daycare.”

“She didn’t go.”

That got my attention. “What do you f*****g mean she didn’t go?”

“I mean that this morning, she toddled in here with her sweetest smile and said Gurrzly and Candy needed to stay, and you nodded. I was there, so I didn’t take her to daycare.”

Fuck. I rubbed my hand across my face. I needed coffee. I hadn't even noticed Daisy had been on the premises all day. How the f**k was I going to protect anyone when I was so hung up on Fiona?

Not Fiona. The omega.

“What have you found out?”

“That she’s a liar, which we already knew. Only five alphas have passed away in the last three months. They all died on the other side of the country, and they all had omegas who’d been with them for more than a year.”

We all knew she was lying. I could smell the alpha bond in her, and it drove my wolf insane. It hated that someone else had touched her. That someone else owned her.

Why she wouldn’t run back to the safety of her alpha was beyond me. “I trust that you were discreet in your inquiries.”

Nico smiled darkly. “Always.”

The alpha was a master of digging up information. When I’d found him ten years ago, he’d been the victim of his previous high alpha and had the scars to prove it. Since I’d taken him under my wing and as part of the Black Ashe Pack, he’d thrown himself into the role of security. Nobody would touch him ever again.

“I’ve told the employees to stay away from the omega,” he continued. “I figure they’ll at least follow the rules for today, but tomorrow might be a different story.”

A figure on the computer screen caught my attention, and I sighed. “Try right now.” A familiar face approached the omega’s door.

April. Damn it, she was a sweet girl with a big heart. Someone had obviously told her about the omega’s condition, and she couldn’t stop herself from checking in on her.

“s**t. I’ll get her,” Nico growled.

“Wait. She has food.” I was completely torn between needing the omega not to f*****g starve herself and needing to get April away from the threat.

Nico joined me, and we watched tensely as April knocked on the door. It took a few moments before the door opened, and April handed over the food.

“Don’t go into that room,” I growled, but there was no way she could hear me. The employees weren’t my betas—they were borrowed from Crescent Delta Pack, our neighbors and allies. I didn’t have any bonds with April to get the warning through.

“f**k,” I snarled and tore out of my room. Nico was right on my heels.

After the m******e of our pack, we’d taken the rooms on the top floor of the hotel, unwilling to live in our alpha house. Fiona had a room in the employee quarters. She was the only one there—none of our employees currently live with us, and none stay overnight. Any guest who dared to stay here knew there was no service overnight.

The elevator was too slow, so Nico and I ripped down the four flights of stairs to the basement level. The door on the last floor broke open as we plowed through and hit the opposite wall with a loud bang. Screams filled the air, and Fiona and April stared at us from the hall.

The tug pulled so hard it felt like my heart would be ripped right out of my chest. White knuckling through it, I stopped short, not daring to get any closer to her.

“We told you to stay away from her,” Nico bellowed.

“I...” April shied away from us. “I’m sorry. I just realized she hadn’t eaten, and...”

Fiona stared at us, pale and shaky. “Why are you yelling at her?” she asked as she lifted her chin. “We’re fine.”

“April, with me. Now,” I grumbled.

Gasping, the omega grabbed April’s hand, and April smiled at her reassuringly. “Hey, it’s okay. They’re scary, but they won’t hurt you, and they would never hurt me.”

It took a few seconds before Fiona silently released April.

“Nico is going to make sure you eat,” I told Fiona coldly. “You start work tomorrow, and I’ll be pissed if you pass out.”

April was still in the hallway, so I grabbed her shoulders and steered her out. “I’m not your alpha, but I am your boss, and you still have to listen to me.”

“I’m sorry, Alpha Canon,” she said in a small voice. “Giselle asked us to keep an eye on her, and when I realized she hadn’t eaten, I wanted to try and help.”

Great. “And who gave you permission to tell Giselle about her?”

She frowned. “You didn’t tell us not to. Is there something you’re not telling us? Is she dangerous? Wait, that’s dumb. Of course she isn’t dangerous. She’s an omega. So is Giselle. She just wants to help.”

I should have known I couldn’t keep the omega a secret for long.

“Clothes,” I said finally. “You can tell Giselle that she’ll need clothes. We’ll repay her.”

With a slow smile, April nodded. “I heard you say that she’ll be working soon. Here? Tomorrow? So she’s staying?”

“For now. She’s not part of our pack, but she’s still under our protection.” I took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you today. I’ll need your help. Keep an eye on her. Keep her out of trouble.”

“Are you expecting trouble?” April asked in a small voice.

“I’m always expecting trouble. Have the others already left without you? I don’t want you walking home alone.”

“I’m fine, Alpha Canon. I was planning on shifting and running. Is that all right?”

Crescent Delta Pack territory, controlled by April’s alpha, Demetrius, bordered mine—she wouldn’t be anywhere unknown or dangerous.

“Of course. Be safe.”

After I watched her walk away, I headed to the kitchens to grab something to eat. Through the bond, I checked on Nico and Knox. They’d gotten dinner and were eating with Daisy in her room.

Everyone was fine, I tried to tell myself. Everything was normal.

Except the omega was in my employee quarters, and I couldn’t do anything except think of her. I couldn’t do my job. Daisy had been here all day, and I’d had no f*****g idea.

After heating a frozen dinner, I returned to my room. The first thing I did was check the security camera.

Fiona’s door was open.

Un-f*****g-believable. Snarling, I flew back down the stairs to the basement level. The door at the bottom was still leaning against the wall on the other side. Jumping from the last few steps, I landed in a crouch and growled. There was no Fiona in sight, but I could smell her. Slowly, I prowled down the hallway until I came to her room.

An odd noise came from the bathroom. Following the tug, I entered the room and walked to the bathroom, where I found her half-naked and staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes flickered briefly, but she didn’t react. Of course she didn’t. She’d felt me coming.

I hated how my eyes immediately roamed over her body. Daisy had called her pretty. She sure as hell looked better when she wasn’t covered in blood, but I didn’t know that I’d go as far as to call her pretty. She was too damn skinny. Her ribs were showing. Her hair was at least clean, but it hung limply around her head. There wasn’t a stitch of makeup on her, which made sense—we hadn’t given her any. She had high cheekbones and big doe-eyes, but her skin was still deathly pale.

Her t**s were bigger than I’d first thought. She’d kept them hidden behind the hospital gown and the big T-shirts we’d given her. Not our clothes. I didn’t want her smelling like us. We’d bought her all new things.

She did nothing to hide her body from me, and I hadn’t expected her to. After all, she was an omega.

“Your door is open, and you’re standing here naked?” I snarled.

Averting her eyes, she gripped the sink. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I figured nobody would be down here this late, and it feels less closed-off with the door open.”

“Does your room not meet your standards, princess?”

She didn’t lift her head. “The room is the loveliest I’ve ever seen. Thank you.”

“Why are you staring at yourself?”

“Um...I twisted in a weird way, and I was worried I pulled a stitch. The doctor was very clear about not pulling my stitches. I was just checking.”

“It looks fine,” I said shortly. “Does it hurt?”

Not that I cared.

“No. It’s weird. It itches,” she said softly. “I’ll keep my door closed in the future.”

“You will during the day. Too many nosy employees. At night, I don’t care what you do.” My gaze went to her reflection in the mirror, and I stiffened.

Scars. Tiny little scars criss-crossed across her abdomen.

“What will I be doing tomorrow?” she asked, her gaze no longer on me.

“Who the f**k gave you those scars?” I demanded as I stormed toward her. Eyes wide in surprise, she tried to scramble back, but I grabbed her waist, and immediately, the bond intensified between us. Gasping, she arched into my touch, and my grip tightened around her.

Mine. She was mine. All I had to do was take her. Mark her. Rip her away from whatever alpha she was protecting and make her mine.

“We need to talk,” Knox said through the bond. Apparently, he’d returned.

Hissing, I released her. What the f**k was wrong with me? I couldn’t take her. I had two alphas to protect.

And Daisy. I had to protect Daisy.

I gave Knox my location and noticed the omega hadn’t answered me. Swearing, I put even more distance between us. I’d figure it out myself if she didn’t want to tell me anything.

“What do you care?” she whispered as she averted her eyes. “You left me there.”

“I thought—”

“I know what you thought.”

Surprised that she dared to interrupt me, I narrowed my eyes, but she just shivered as if she’d surprised herself, too. “Sorry. You already told me why you thought I was there. Why were you there, Alpha? To buy drugs?”

I saw the point she was making. “No,” I said through gritted teeth. I’d been there for information.

“And yet you made assumptions about me.”

Shit. “Put your shirt on,” I ordered. “Tomorrow, Knox and Nico will be in charge of your duties here. I have more important things to do.”

I didn’t miss how she shook when she grabbed the shirt and pulled it over her head. The enormous shirt made her look even smaller, and I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her that it would be all right, that I’d never let anyone touch her again, that I’d never let anyone put another scar on her.

But I couldn’t do that.

“What is this?” she whispered, putting her hand over her chest. “Why do I feel this whenever you’re near?”

Fuck me. “You don’t know?”

Wordlessly, she shook her head.

“Good.” It was better this way. What she was feeling didn’t matter. What I was feeling didn’t matter.

“Is it why you seem to hate me so much?”

“Something like that.”

Hearing footsteps, I turned as Knox entered the room. He stopped short at seeing Fiona. I watched his expression closely and didn’t miss the brief flutter of longing in his face.

Shit.

“What is it?” I snapped.

Blinking his eyes, he shook his head, but I felt the shudder through his bond. The need for her. The way his wolf wanted her.

“I did as you asked and showed her picture to everyone. She’s not local. No one at the omega school had heard of her, so they searched all the school systems. She’s never been to any of them.”