Finn

Sweat pebbled my upper lip, I was locked in place. My throat felt tight like it was squeezing shut, pinching off my airway. I gasped as all the noise around me seemed to become one indecipherable buzzing pitch.

I clutched the table, frantically hanging onto it with all my might until the knuckles turned white. What was he going to do to me?

“That’s more like it,” he said, before running his finger lightly over my Omega choker.

I shivered as a hot wave of sickness rushed through me. He couldn’t reach my gland. Thank God he couldn’t reach my gland.

“Thank God,” I squeaked through a throat so swollen I tasted blood on the back of my tongue. Hot tears gathered in the corners of my eyes, and it was a monumental effort to flick a glance at my friends. Hoping, praying, someone would notice I was not okay.

“I don’t like it when my Omegas bite,” Marcus’s nicotine-scented breath made my stomach dive to my knees when he grabbed my chin and forced my gaze back to his. “You know, you really are too adorable.”

Horror crept through my field of vision. How the hell was this happening? How was this bastard so bold as to try this with so many bodies around us? And yet… to an outsider, this must look like nothing more than a willing Omega and an excited Alpha.

He leaned forward. It felt like slow motion. I could see him coming, but I couldn’t do anything other than pant. I was a slave to my own biology, brain screaming, vocal cords paralyzed.

And then just before I felt the press of his lips, he was ripped away. I was so excruciatingly aware of every minute detail. The big, veiny hand that grabbed his collar. The way Marcus’s head rolled so violently backward as he was hauled from his seat with such ease. Like a parent handling a child. I saw that bastard’s eyes widen with the knowledge that he was being owned.

And then… I gasped, taking in a deep breath of sweet fresh air riddled with secondary pheromones. But these weren’t peppery, they were rich—like a burgundy wine mixed with the darkest chocolate. These pheromones weren’t demanding I yield like Marcus’ had been. Instead, they were like a wave, washing over, clearing me of the repulsive stickiness of the other ones.

That was the moment I realized who my savior was.

It was Daniel and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so pissed.

Daniel had Marcus pinned to the wall and his eyes were no longer the warm, laughing brown they almost always were. They were tinged with red, and his face was twisted into an angry, violent snarl.

My heart, which had already been beating furiously, was marching double time now.

“He. Said. No.” Daniel’s voice had grown guttural and rough with rage.

I blinked, slowly coming back to myself. We’d gathered a crowd. Ben and Shaquita were suddenly there. Shaquita, an Omega just like me, instantly assessed what’d happened. She pulled me back to safety. Ben, a Beta, might not have smelled what’d happened, but he clearly read the situation correctly.

“Dan—iel,” I said through a choking cough, still feeling the remnants of that peppery burn on my tongue.

“Let them deal with it,” Shaquita said, waving a hand in front of both our faces. “That asshole, spraying you that way. That’s as good as rape. How dare he do that! Someone call the cops!”

I coughed, still clearing that disgusting scent out of me as Shaquita dragged me outside. A small crowd had gathered around us, asking what the matter was, or just asking if I was okay.

Shaquita held me and gently rubbed my back. “You okay, Finny?” she asked after several moments. Her honey-colored eyes were full of worry.

Sniffing, I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, suddenly aware that my hands were shaking.

I looked at her cute face. Yes, Omegas for the most part were undeniably cute. But much like babies, that evolutionary step was meant to make others want to protect their Omegas. Not rape us. Not harm us. Omegas only made up ten percent of the population. There weren’t many of us, so you would think that we’d be treated better, especially by our Alphas.

“That bastard is a disgrace for an Alpha, hope his ass rots in jail. You okay, Finn?” she asked softly, patting my cheeks. The soft caress of her hand up and down my back began to soothe me.

Burying my face in her shoulder, I nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m okay.”

“Finn!” Suddenly I heard a harsh bark and looked up into a now slightly calmer Daniel’s face. But that wasn’t saying much. His eyes were rapidly scanning me up and down, looking almost frantic as he did his mental assessment. “You good? I can’t believe that bastard was going to do that with all of us right there.”

Bathump.

Bathump.

Why was my heart beating so fast again?

He gripped my biceps tight in his strong hands and for the second time that night, I felt strangely calmed by his presence. He was a towering, hulking brute compared to me and though I could sense his agitation I knew none of it was directed at me.

His eyes were no longer burning red. They were nearly all brown again. A gorgeous Omega was clinging to the back of his shirt.

Gently shaking off his grip, I nodded. Safe as I felt with Daniel, I really didn’t want to be around any Alphas right now—no offense to him.

I rubbed my hands over my arms. “I’m fine. I’m fine now. Thank—thank you, Daniel.”

That was probably the nicest thing I’d ever said to him. He cocked his head as if he too was aware of that fact. The remnants of anger seemed fully gone from him now. He was calm again. But not wearing the egotistical smile he did at work, his features were softer somehow.

I glanced off to the side, feeling shaken and weirdly off-kilter.

“Ahh… Let me take you home,” he offered, and I couldn’t help but peek back up again. He looked sincere, and like he’d completely forgotten about the little minx clinging desperately to his back.

The pretty Omega behind him huffed. I had zero inclination to get between those two.

“I’ll take him,” Shaquita and Ben piped up at the same time.

“This party blows now anyway,” Ben said. “We got him, Boss.”

Daniel’s jaw clenched and he looked momentarily frustrated before holding up his hand and blowing out a heavy breath. “Yeah. Of course, you’re right. As long as you’re okay. But if you need tomorrow off just say the word.”

The pretty Omega with short hair and high cheekbones sidled up to Daniel’s side. And as though by instinct, Daniel draped his arm over his slight shoulders. The Omega preened as though he’d just won a prize.

I wanted to tell the Omega to grow up and get a life.

Disgusted by the entire evening, I shook my head. “I’m fine. I’m good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Shaquita refused to let my arm go as Ben went to call us an Uber. Daniel turned with the Omega in the opposite direction. For some strange reason, I couldn’t help watching them walk away.

That night I lay in my bed with my hands held loosely on my stomach. I was freshly showered, staring up at the white ceiling as outside ambient lights streaked across it like my very own private meteor shower.

I was tired of being alone. More than anything, all I wanted tonight was to be held by someone who cared as deeply for me as I did for them. Being a single Omega meant I would face instances like tonight again in the future. If I was marked, no one would dare bother me. Because to bother me would mean bringing an enraged Alpha to your door.

But I was also disgusted that an Alpha like Marcus would only respect my right to be left alone if I had been marked. Like what the hell kind of Victorian Era douchebaggery was that? Why couldn’t I just be respected because I was a free-thinking human being who’d said no? Period. Why did I have to “belong” to somebody for that creep to have left me alone?

I sniffed and rolled my eyes.

If I was being honest, I also felt humiliated. My cheeks burned with it now just thinking about it. With one fell swoop that creep had made a mockery of my bravado and fearlessness. It wasn’t like I hadn’t known there were creeps like him out in the world, but I’d never encountered someone so bold as to completely step over the line I’d laid down. He must have thought I was such a joke.

Argh. I slammed my fist down onto the edge of my mattress with disgust at what had happened to me.

Suddenly, I recalled Daniel’s face when he’d pinned Marcus to the wall. My heart thumped. The power I’d sensed within him had been insane. I couldn’t remember ever feeling anything that strong before. Which was probably why that Omega had been desperate to get his hands on him.

Rolling onto my side I hugged my body pillow and curled into a ball.

Though I hated the idea of being “owned.” I’d always wanted to find my Alpha.

I wanted to know what it felt like to be in a partnership. Watching all my coworkers go off with their bed partners or mates for the evening had made me feel acutely alone.

But I was also scared. My track record when it came to dating wasn’t great. In fact, it was downright depressing.

Maybe Rory could introduce me to someone she knew? She was a model. She practically knew everybody who was anybody in NYC.

“Like anyone would be interested in a workaholic like me.” I laughed, but inside I felt like crying.

Today had really been shit.