Chapter 14: : Chapter 13

It’s official.

She’s a whore.

She washes the slick off her hands then takes an impossibly hot shower, trying to wash away the shame and arousal that courses through her.

How could she? It’s a question that rattles around in her mind as she shampoos her scalp, scrubbing harder than necessary.

What the fuck is she doing?

She spent the day planning out her next time with Erik and the questions she would ask, typing up notes and observations for Lita…

But then she spends her night spreading her legs to his text messages, sent from a phone he shouldn’t even have.

And it feels so fucking good.

Even as she stands in the shower, slick still dribbles out of her, her cunt over sensitized. Her nipples ache, so sensitive that the slightest touch makes her clit throb.

She squeezes her eyes shut and allows her mind to wander, to wish for just a moment that the person who she feels closest to isn’t an inmate with a lifelong sentence.

But it’s too late.

She wants him.

He wants her.

And she’s unable to leave Green Woods.

As if on cue, thunder booms as she steps out of the shower, wrapping herself in a fluffy towel.

The fabric feels incredible against her skin, so she wraps herself in another.

Then another.

But she wants more.

“Oh!” she gasps, as she opens the closet door to find extra blankets. She throws them on the bed, her inner Omega rejoicing as she lies down in the fabrics.

She sighs into her makeshift nest, burying herself under blankets and thinking of Erik’s handsome face.

Snap out of it, her rational mind snaps, but her inner Omega wins the battle.

Just for tonight, it begs. Let’s think about him just for tonight.

“Just for tonight,” she murmurs.

Her inner Omega rejoices.

* * *

Gerard picks her up in the morning.

She wants to protest, but she knows she wouldn’t last ten minutes in the cold. The sky is a violent dark grey, and she’s outside mere moments before goosebumps prickle on her skin.

He barely glances at her as she enters his car, murmuring a ‘thanks’ as she shuts the door.

It’s unpleasant. This close, he stinks of cigarettes and sweat, and she does her best to not show her disgust.

They ride in silence. When they arrive at the facility, he gets out of his car and walks purposely ahead of her.

Asshole, she thinks, shivering as she enters the building. She greets Doctor Porter with a smile, who immediately looks concerned.

“Are you alright? Your face is a bit flushed.”

She swears he can see through her and that he knows his star pupil has been committing unspeakable acts with his favorite patient.

“I’m fine.” She lies easily, the words spilling from her mouth without a second thought. “Just cold.”

But despite the chill, her body has been uncharacteristically hot since last night. Even since building a nest, a warning bell has been ringing in her mind.

But Doctor Porter doesn’t know any of that, so he just smiles. “I can get you some coffee, if you’d like.”

She shakes her head. “That’s alright. I’m ready to speak with Erik.”

“Perfect! Gerard will take you down to my office. I have a meeting in the Beta ward.”

The Beta ward. Where she should have been in the first place, if fate had been kinder to her.

“Sounds good,” she says. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

The doctor waves then disappears beyond another set of double doors.

She hears a grunt behind her, and Gerard walks past her, motioning for her to follow.

“Don’t lock me in this time,” she hisses, racing to catch up with him. “I mean it,” she adds. “It could be dangerous.”

He doesn’t reply as they walk down the hallway.

“Why don’t you like me?” she finally asks, as they reach the office door. “I know we got off to a poor start, but—”

“I have no reason to like you.” He stuns her into silence as he opens the door.

She doesn’t have time to process his words as Erik’s scent hits her like a freight train. Her eyes meet his dark ones, and his nostrils flare as stares at her. He keeps his face neutral, but she catches the tiniest bit of an eye twitch as she sits at the desk.

“Thank you,” she says softly to Gerard, who turns away and shuts the door, leaving the two of them alone. Her body screams to run to him, to place herself in his lap and straddle him. His eyes burn into hers as he inhales, then they narrow.

“You smell like him,” he barks out, and the spell is broken.

“I’m sorry?” she says, confused.

“You smell like Gerard.”

His tone is dark and accusatory and laced with danger. Her mouth falls open in shock at the insinuation.

“He gave me a ride,” she says slowly. “Because my car broke down. So yes, if you’re saying I smell like cigarettes and sweat, I would agree with you.”

His eyes soften. “Your car broke down?”

“Yes,” she sighs. “Well, not broke down. The battery somehow died, or the car short-circuited. I have no idea, frankly.”

He nods. “So, Gerard’s been driving you?”

The accusatory tone is back, and she has to remind herself of the situation—she doesn’t owe him an explanation. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. He can’t stand me, if that makes you feel any better.”

His full lips form in a thin line, and he remains silent.

“We’re not here to talk about that,” she adds, keeping her tone professional. But she can practically feel the jealousy vibrating off him, and even his smell is darker with possession.

“You do a great job of that, you know,” he replies, and she frowns.

“A great job at what?”

He nods towards the notepad in her lap. “Acting like everything is normal. You have an exceptional talent for hiding your emotions when you want to.”

Her face flames with embarrassment as she looks down at her notes. “I spoke to Doctor Porter about your issue with the suppressants,” she says, and he raises an eyebrow.

“Oh, really?” He says as he gives her a smirk. “Changing the subject so suddenly?”

She refuses to take the bait. “He says it’s so you don’t go through any…complications, if something happens.”

His eyes are darker than she’s ever seen them, and she shrinks back in her chair. Despite his relaxed form on the couch, she knows he could overpower in one stride.

“Complications, Ellie? As if I went into a Rut, and there wasn’t an Omega to satisfy me?”

They’re playing a game she’s not going to win.

He already won the moment she came apart on the phone with him, her fingers buried within herself.

He won the moment she returned the second time to see him.

Maybe he won before that, when he got under her skin by taunting her.

“Right,” she says, never breaking eye contact. “So, you don’t suffer without an Omega.”

“Good thing I have mine.”

He stares her down, challenging her to disagree.

But she has to, because what he’s saying is absurd.

“I’m not your Omega.” She whispers. Yet, despite her mind screaming to run, she stays frozen in place.

“Like hell you aren’t.” He sits up slowly, leaning forward. “Don’t deny what this is.”

There’s not enough air in the room. She looks back to the small window in the door, and fear races through her as she realizes Gerard is gone.

Again.

“You’re right,” he murmurs, following her gaze. “He doesn’t like you. If he cared at all, he wouldn’t leave you alone with me.”

“Don’t.” She whispers, a pathetic sound, and his eyes smolder.

Run. Run. Run.

Don’t leave Alpha! We need Alpha!

There’s a war in her mind, and she closes her eyes, trying to find her last shreds of reason.

But he smells so good, and if she could just stay here and talk to him…

“Stay with me,” he whispers, and a familiar tingle races up her spine.

He’s using Alpha Influence. She’s only heard about it, but now she’s hypnotized, her body easily obeying to his will.

“Good girl,” he praises, staying in his sitting position. “Now, we’re going to talk, really talk. You understand?”

She’s under his spell, the desire to obey him painful.

“Yes.”

She’ll talk. She’ll tell him whatever he wants.

“I want to know everything about you, baby,” he murmurs, and her heart stutters. “You tell me your secrets, and I’ll tell you mine.”

Fight it! Her mind screams.

But his scent envelopes her, giving her a familiar comfort, better than any nest could give her.

“Lock the door and move closer to me, Omega.”

She shakes as she stands up, flipping the lock, trapping herself in the office with him.

Danger!

But Omega Ellie is more than happy to obey, moving the chair closer to the handsome, dangerous Alpha.

They’re inches apart. Up close, she can see his faint stubble, a dark shadow on his pale skin. His eyes meet hers, and she drowns in his fiery gaze.

“Look at you,” he whispers. “So beautiful. And all mine. Isn’t that right, Omega?”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows what he’s doing is immoral.

But he’s right, isn’t he? Her body screams for him, her heart aches for him…

And she wants him to know her.

So she nods, and he gives her a small, genuine smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

It’s beautiful.

He’s so close to her he could reach out and touch her. His massive hands could wrap around her waist and position her on his lap, where she could straddle him and sink down on his cock…

But he keeps his hands to himself and asks a question that snaps her back to reality.

“Why were you so scared when the alarm went off?”