"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Abby asked Catrina sitting on the side of the pale Omega's bed in the medical side of Sanctuary.
"I'm okay. The headache is fading, and the doctor says as soon as it's gone, I can come back."
"It's only been two days since the attack. Are they sure you can come back that soon?"
"She says it was only a mild concussion. In the outside world, I'd already be home recuperating, but they want me to stay here instead of the dorms since I won't have anyone to watch me." Catrina patted Abby's hand absently, but Abby noted how her other hand clenched the covers at her side.
"I'd watch you." she murmured. Sanctuary Omegas had to stick together. They only had each other, after all.
"I know you would, but really, it's okay. The doctor thinks I'll be released sometime tomorrow if I continue recovering at this rate."
"If you're sure..." Abby let her words trail off and Catrina filled the space she'd left.
"I'm sure. Besides, I'm on kitchen duty tomorrow so I won't complain about missing it."
Abby chuckled at the other Omega's attempt at lightening the situation with humor. While she didn't mind kitchen duty, she knew it wasn't Catrina's favorite by a long shot.
"Well, no worries then. The kitchen will be waiting for you next week."
"Ugh..." Catrina's whine of disgust made Abby smile, "Maybe I should hit my head a little harder next time."
"Cat!" With a gasp that was only partly mocking, Abby lightly slapped at her friend's hand before getting up to leave, "Naughty! I'll tell Chef Erin that you're anxious to get back."
"So rude!" Cat's light laugh followed Abby out the door as she waved at her friend before letting the portal close behind her.
In the sterile white hallway of the medical wing, the young Alpha guard from Sanctuary's rehab side straightened from where he'd been leaning against the wall chatting with another Alpha guard.
"Ready to head back, miss?"
"I'm ready if you are. I can wait in chairs over there if you need to finish your conversation."
"Of course not, Omega," the older guard insisted. He nodded at the guard who had accompanied her, "Chad's priority is your safety. He needs to get you back to the other wing."
Abby nodded at him silently. Killian had shown her pictures of three guards that he believed to be trustworthy, and his name tag identifying him as Samuel confirmed that this was one of the guards that Killian trusted. That he didn't trust the other guards at Sanctuary had gone unsaid, but Abby had easily picked up on the implication. Something was going on at Sanctuary. The place that had been her haven the last few months had suddenly turned into a place that she didn't feel completely safe in when Killian wasn't present.
He'd cautioned her not to give away the three guards he'd named as trustworthy or to mention to anyone else at Sanctuary his suspicions. It had been hard to keep things from Catrina, but she trusted Killian.
She trusted Killian.
The impossibility of her trusting an Alpha again didn't escape her. She wasn't sure when she'd dropped her guard around him, but the large, protective Alpha popped into her thoughts more and more of late. In the panic nest, he'd been warm and comforting, and his purr had melted through all of her fears and worries like a hot knife through butter. After the attack though, the reminder that he would be leaving again caused her to try and pull away from his tempting presence. The last two days, she'd been polite but distant. It wouldn't do to get close to this male only to have him leave her. She'd tried to unwind the tendrils of warmth that wrapped around her every time she entered his orbit, but the more she tried to escape him, the tighter those invisible bands seemed to envelop her soul.
She could now feel him whenever he stepped into a room, and her heart and mind cried out when either he stepped away or she escaped his presence. Her mind sent the message that this Alpha was not for her loud and clear. Her heart ignored it. Her body was in active revolt. Whenever Killian entered a room her heart sped up, her senses reaching out to find any trace of his scent, and the apex of her thighs trembled and flooded with heat. And slick. So much slick. After he'd scented her in the panic nest, she'd taken to wearing the scent dampening, slick resistant inserts Sanctuary provided. They'd proven next to useless.
The heat suppressants required for all Omegas living at Sanctuary should have prevented these rushes of slick and scent and pheromones, but Abby felt like the pills that had worked without a problem for months were steadily losing their effectiveness. Seeing the prescribing doctor today before visiting with Catrina hadn't relieved much of her worry. Bloodwork revealed elevated hormone levels, but the doctor reassured her that the levels were still within normal parameters. If the suppressants were working, then why did she have to change her slick soaked clothing multiple times a day?
"Biology," was the kind, but unhelpful, doctor's response.
Letting out a soft scoff at the memory of the embarrassing conversation, Abby followed behind her Alpha escort back to the rehab side of Sanctuary, and they soon entered a utilitarian hallway that connected the two sides of the facility. After a few minutes of walking, Abby looked up to see Killian's unmistakable silhouette at the door to an office ahead of them. From her previous trips down this hallway to the medical wing, she knew this door belonged to the head of Sanctuary's security. From Killian's furtive movements, she guessed that this wasn't a sanctioned visit of a guard to his boss's office.
His eyes met hers over the slight distance, and she felt a shiver go through them as they seemed to gleam in the hallway's dim lighting. Again, her body's split reaction to him almost made her dizzy. Her brain warned her away. This Alpha was dangerous in ways that she couldn't protect herself against, but her body... her traitorous, body wanted to melt into a submissive puddle. A shiver snaked up her spine as the instinctive Omega who had been making herself more known every day sensed that this Alpha in front of her was closer to his primal self that he ever had been before, but instead of that thought provoking fear, her blood heated and slick dripped from her core.
A snick from an opening door right next to her startled her into jerking her eyes from Killian's brilliant gaze to the portal opening next to her. Alpha Richard, Sanctuary's head of security, jerked in surprise to find her standing next to the door.
"Abby! You startled me! You're on your way back from visiting Catrina?"
"Yes, sir." Abby whispered, keeping her eyes on Richard, but well aware of Killian's frozen posture outside Richard's office door.
Not thinking, for once just following her instincts, Abby letting out a whiny cry that made her inside flinch with its false notes, but when the two Alphas at her sides reacted to her distress with alarmed noises, she felt a flicker of pride. Her senses in tune with Killian, she noted when he started to leave the door and twist towards her.
As unobstrustively as possible, she flicked her hand at him directing him back to the door he stood in front of.
"Oh, Alpha Richard," she cried, trying to channel all the distress she'd felt two days ago, "It's so awful! How did he get into Sanctuary? Why would he go after Catrina?" When Richard made to step out into the hallway with her, she forced herself to brace a hand on his chest as she convincingly fell against him.
A growl sounded from Killian's direction, but she ignored it as she stepped further into Richard's personal space forcing him to step back. Chad filled the doorway behind her, and she didn't entirely have to fake the distressed scent now emanating from her. Between the memories of the attempted kidnapping and being surrounded by Alphas who towered over her, the sour notes tainting her scent were very real.
"There, there, little Omega," Richard's heavy hand landed on her shoulder, once, twice and and a third time before she realized he was trying to comfort her, "You don't need to worry about any of that. Omegas like you just need to worry about getting better and keeping calm."
His patronizing tone caused Abby to let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a growl she'd heard Selah level at Malcolm before, however, she'd never growled before and was definitely not at an Alpha. Coughing to cover the sound that couldn't have possibly come from her, she pulled her hand away from his chest back to her cover her own.
"The Alphas have everything under control, and no one will be able to hurt you again."
When he made to move around her to enter the hallway leading to his office, she let out a wail that almost made her cringe with the high pitch. For good measure, she let her knees buckle, and she slid down the wall letting a great, heaving sob escape her lips.
"Chad!" Richard called to her original escort who stood staring at her like she'd grown an extra head, "Comfort the Omega!"
"I - I - I'll get a blanket!" Chad stammered out before taking off down the hallway leading deeper into Sanctuary.
"Come back - Goddamnit!" Richard's visible near panic at being left alone with a distressed Omega almost made Abby laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation before she remembered she was supposed to be wailing. For good measure, she let out a fresh, keening cry loud enough to make her own ears ring.
A low rumble of a growl sounded next to her ear, and Abby didn't have to hide her shock as she reared back, "Did you just growl at me?"
"What? No, of course, I didn't!" Richard looked defensive, and Abby didn't have to fake being nervous. Needing to keep him occupied though she pushed through it and went with the one thing that worked on every Alpha she knew.
"I'm sorry, Alpha Richard. Please don't be mad at me. I - I - I just heard that you were the best at soothing the other Omegas. They all said you made them feel the safest."
Abby could almost see the frustration recede as his chest swelled with pride, "Of course, Omega. I'm the most experienced Alpha here. Here, let me get you settled."
Richard knelt with one knee on the floor and patted to the space next to him. Reaching into the pack around his waist, he pulled out a small rectangular gray box. When he clicked on a button, a low electronic rumble sounded from the box.
Abby realized it was the pre-recorded purr she'd seen used by other guards. While she felt some slight tug on her nerves, after experiencing the real-life purr emanating from Killian's chest, the recording did nothing to soothe her. Feeling Richard's eyes on her though, she forced herself to let out a sigh and softened her spine to rest against wall behind her.
Nodding in affirmation like had just solved a puzzle, Richard reached back into his pouch and retrieved a small square of the infamous comfort chocolate. Abby couldn't help the smile that tilted her lips up at the corners.
"My own Omega says that whenever he's stressed, chocolate makes everything better. I think we've got stockpiles of the stuff in every room." Richard murmured as he handed her the sweet.
"Hmm," Abby murmured noncommittally but took the candy and slowly unwrapped it. Letting the chocolate melt in her mouth, she acknowledged that Richard's Omega might be on to something.
Richard settled more against the wall, and his air of frustration and unease seemed to relax as Abby's tears dried up. She let a little sniffle out just to keep the Alpha by her side, but he didn't say anything else content to let the recorded purrs and chocolate do their job.
Quick footsteps and heavy breathing from Sanctuary had Abby and looking up to see Chad approaching with a fuzzy blanket draped over his arms.
"Sorry, it took so long. There's not a closet nearby." Chad wasn't quite panting, but it was obvious that the Alpha had been in a hurry.
"Next time, you don't leave the Omega in distress. It's why you have your emergency supplies -"
Abby cut off Richard's irritated tone with a pleased Omega squeal, "Thank you both so much! The chocolate and the blanket are a huge comfort."
Keeping her giggle locked behind her teeth was a challenge as this time both Alphas seemed to grow in size with her praise. Selah had been right about this. A little bit of stroking to their egos, and Alphas could be oversized puppies.
When Richard shifted as if to leave, Abby again brought up the only topic she could think of to keep him there, "How did Tobias get into Sanctuary, Alpha Richard? They haven't told me anything, and I've been so scared. What if he comes back?"
"You don't have to worry about a thing. We have Alphas who are investigating, and they'll take care of everything. All you need to worry about is getting better so that you can find an Alpha to take care of you."
Holding back her scoff by sheer will, Abby glanced at Chad when a small sound escaped him. She found him looking at his boss with wide eyes that shifted into a look of disbelief before meeting her own eyes. When his brown eyes rolled towards the ceiling before shifting back to hers, she ducked her head to hide the grin that wanted to escape.
"Sir, what if she doesn't want an Alpha? Maybe -"
"Nonsense," Richard chuckled, "All Omegas need a strong Alpha to give them boundaries and security." Addressing Chad like she wasn't sitting right in front of him, he continued, "Omegas don't really know what they want. They are delicate creatures that need to be molded and sheltered. They're too easily taken advantage of. It's why I came to Sanctuary. I could have had my choice of jobs in marketing or sales, but when Simon, Director Baker's mate, saw a video I made about how Omegas should be treated, he contacted me and set up a meeting. Two days later, I'm the new head of security."
Abby tried to not even breathe to not draw attention to herself. While what she was hearing set off every alarm she had, it felt like this was important information.
"So you've never worked in security before coming to Sanctuary?" Abby could hear the incredulous note in Chad's voice, and his reaction mirroring hers was only slightly comforting.
"No. I've been in sales for most of my life, but it's been a pretty easy transition. Simon has a lot of great ideas that I've helped to implement."
A noise from behind her drew both Alphas' attention to the open doorway, and before she scented him, she knew Killian filled the entryway.
"Everything okay here?" his deep voice sent a shaft of heat through her even though his words were perfectly innocent.
"Of course. I have everything well under control," after spending so many years attuned to Alpha energy trying to keep her father and brothers placated, Abby could easily sense Richard's uneasiness. He'd been overconfident when talking to Chad, but as soon as Killian's dominant energy entered the area, he'd started releasing nervous pheromones into the air surrounding the hallway.
"I'm sure you do." Abby felt sure that the sarcasm in Killian's voice was obvious, but as Richard puffed up like a preening bird, it was obvious he'd missed it, "I know how busy you are. I'll be happy to make sure Omega Abby gets back to the common areas safely."
"Oh! Yes, thank you," Richard started fumbling for the recorder, shutting it off before slipping back into his pack. "I've got some reports to go over."
"You'll be just fine, Abby. Don't worry about a thing." Richard rose to his feet with a grunt of effort and braced a hand on the wall to keep his balance. Not bothering to hide his desire to get away, he slid against the wall to get past Killian's bulk before disappearing into the corridor leading to his office.
Awkward silence reigned in the hallway for a minute before Chad ventured, "I can escort Abby back to the common areas. I think she's feeling better now."
"I've got her," Killian's tone left no room for argument, but surprisingly Chad didn't relent under Killian's overwhelming presence.
"I'm sure, but I'm assigned as her escort. I'll see her safely back to the common areas." Abby could practically feel the waves of nervous energy coming from Chad, but he stood his ground.
Glancing up from her position on the floor, she watched the Alphas stare at each other. Chad opened and closed his fists in agitation, but eventually, he lost the silent battle for dominance. He dropped his gaze to hers, and when he would have dug deeper to face Killian's piercing eyes once more, she cleared her throat before breaking into the increasingly charged silence between the two Alphas.
"It's okay, Chad. Killian is actually a friend of my therapist. He'll see me safely back." Keeping her voice steady, she made sure to project calm into the small space.
Holding her gaze for a beat, Chad nodded slightly before offering her a hand to stand up. Taking it, she ignored the nearly subvocal rumble from Killian. Abby stood awkwardly feeling tiny between the two males.
When Chad squeezed her fingers for second, she held his gaze when he whispered, "You know that Richard is wrong, don't you?"
"Pardon," Abby whispered, Killian's sharp attention focusing on the younger Alpha.
"My Omega is amazing. She's bloody brilliant. I started in Alpha Corps a little over a year ago," he said this with a nod toward Killian, "I had to leave when her parents tried to sell her off to some rich Alpha asshat. She ran here for safety, and Sanctuary got a message to me in the field."
"I'd just been out of basic and stationed in some hell-hole foreign country. Her parents waited until they thought I'd be out of reach before making their move, but they'd always underestimated her - just like Richard. Alpha Corps sent me home immediately, and they arranged an escort to make sure there weren't any... complications. As soon as Sasha and I officially mated, they released me from service." Chad finished his story and dropped Abby's fingers before taking a respectful step back.
Turning slightly towards Killian, he continued softly, "Samuel told me to tell you that my Sasha is his niece. Whatever you need, I'm in."
Abby watched the nonverbal communication flow between the two Alphas for a second before Chad tilted in neck in submission to Killian, turned and disappeared into the depths of Sanctuary.
Watching Chad's retreating back for a second, Abby turned towards Killian to find his burning gaze focused on her hand. She felt that same dangerous, predatory instinct she'd had when she'd seen him moments earlier in the hallway. Sucking in a small breath, she held perfectly still as Killian reached for her fingers.
Curious, but not at all afraid, she watched as he bent slightly at the waist and brought her digits to his nose. This was Killian, and yet... not. He was different. She couldn't exactly label what was different, but the Omega consciousness that had started becoming more vocal in her head and heart perked up in interest.
Killian's nostrils flared as he scented the tips of her fingers. Running the tip of his nose up the length of her index finger, he gently, but firmly, flipped her hand over so that her palm lay face up. Slowly, methodically, air from his exhales drifted across her fingertips, a low rumble vibrating from him to her fingers.
"Kill -"
She voice cut off when his eyes rose to hers, and from behind his blue gaze lurked a true predator. Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he raised her fingers to his nose and another inhalation expanded his chest and shoulders up and down.
"Mine."
Heat flared under her skin, turning into an inferno when Killian's plush lips opened, and his tongue traced the same path that his nose had followed. Leaving a wet trail, his tongue ran another path down the length of her middle finger to her palm and back up to the tip of her ring finger keeping his gaze locked to hers the entire time. When he'd licked down her little finger back to her palm, he raised her fingers to his nose again. When his nostrils flared as he took in his scent on her skin, she realized that this was the hand that she'd pressed against Richard's chest, and the hand Chad had used to help her to her feet and that he'd held while he'd shared his Omega's story.
The male satisfaction showing in Killian's gaze as he obliterated the other Alphas' scent from her skin should have made her furious. He didn't own her! He wasn't planning to stay, and as soon as Alpha Corps ordered him away, he'd be gone.
Her Omega chose to ignore that small detail though, and as he released another possessive growl, her panties flooded with slick and the scent of apples flooded the hallway.
Killian's blue eyes flared almost glacial white before a snarl left his lips. Before she could respond, he put his shoulder against her midsection before rising to his full height with her over his shoulder.