They beat him over and over again.
The Alpha had endured much before but this was almost as if all of his torture endurance regimens were combined. Still, no matter how hard the humans tried, they could not break him. His resolve was absolute.
Lady Amanda had created the perfect soldier and now it backfired.
She ordered him to be beaten close to death, then healed so they could do it all over again, whispering in his ear that it could all stop if he agreed to knot the Omega. The Alpha refused. He refused over and over again. The act of saying no was exhilarating to him. He had never done it before. Disobedience was never something he even thought of.
But if being disobedient meant keeping the Omega safe, they could kill the Alpha if they wanted.
He would still say no.
Chapter Eight
"Asa, you should go home now. You need to rest. You don't want anything to happen to your pups do you?" Sherry scolded.
"No, I'm not leaving him," I refused, holding on to Christos's good arm tightly.
"Asa, you can't sleep in a chair."
"I said I'm not leaving him!" I snapped.
Sherry gave an exasperated sigh, turning to his Alpha for help. But before the Omega could complain, Christos spoke up.
"He could sleep in here with me," Christos offered quietly, gesturing to his hospital bed. It'd be a tight fit but it would work.
"Christos, that probably isn't a good idea. You're still really injured."
"It's okay, my arms are healed." He moved his bad arm that was still wrapped in bandages. Alpha Talon went over to check the wound but when he peeled back the bandages, the arm was completely healed.
Alpha Talon sighed but nodded in approval. He guided his frustrated mate out of the room, closing the door to give us privacy.
"Are you sure it's okay?" I asked him softly.
He nodded.
I climbed on to the bed with him and snuggled up close to his side, careful not to put any pressure on his abdomen. His arms came around me in a big chain of protection. I felt safe. Which was strange considering he was the one that made me feel so unsafe for so long.
He was so warm and his scent smelled so good. Like lilies.
"I came up with a few names for the pups," I told him curling a long braid around my finger, taking note that this particular one was missing his signature red beads. "Do you want to hear them?"
"Shouldn't that be something you discuss with Asher?" Christos said.
Asher.
"What happened to him?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"He ran off, no one knows where he went."
I nodded. "I guess I'll have to wait until he comes back to tell him I can't be his mate, because I'm going to be yours."
Christos didn't say anything to that, but the heart monitor gave him away as it raced, which had a few Omegas running in to see what was wrong. I had to reassure them that everything was okay and that it was my fault. They gave me knowing smiles before leaving us alone again.
"Would you really tie yourself to me?" Christos asked.
"That's what you do when you love someone," I laughed.
"They told me I would never have a mate."
"Who did?" I asked.
"The humans."
I snuggled up closer to him, tucking my face into his neck where I could breathe in more of him. "Well they were wrong."
"Mm."
"Maria, Monica, Llewelyn, and Knox for the Omegas. Cristian for the Alpha," I whispered before he could close his eyes.
Christos opened his eyes with a confused look on his face. I smiled and kissed his nose. "Those are the names I chose for our pups. Do you like them?"
Before I could finish my sentence, he was fast asleep.
How rude.
The next morning, I woke up with a heavy weight around my legs. I lifted the blanket to see what it was and saw the culprit curled into a ball, his arms wrapped around my waist and face nuzzled into my hip. He was like a child all curled up like that.
As soon as I moved, his eyes slowly blinked open. He stared up at me from under the blanket. His expression soft, but worried. I smoothed the worry lines on his forehead with my fingers lightly and smiled at him.
He returned it with one of his own.
It was rare that I ever got to see him smile. He never seemed to know he was doing it and I don't think he really understood what it was, but each time he did it, it was breathtaking.
Then I noticed he was laying right on his bandages.
"Christos, your wounds!" I panicked.
"They are healed."
"That's impossible! You were just-"
Christos sits up and pulls away the gauze. In place of the deadly gashes were pink scars, browning just along the edges. I touched the smooth skin along his abdomen, feeling the raised scar tissue and corded muscles.
I pushed my hand upward to his dark nipples, gently brushing over the buds. He caught my hand, before pulling it up to kiss the tips of each fingers. I could feel my lips part in anticipation but much to my disappointment that was as far as he would go.
But as my eyes traveled down his torso, I noticed a large scar on his side. Of course I've seen him naked multiple times, but I never actually looked, so I wouldn't notice such a huge mark.
I touched it just as lightly as I did his new ones.
"What happened?" I asked.
"My mom tried to kill me."
I stiffened, looking up into his eyes but not seeing any emotion.
How could his mother try to kill him? Why? Why would they do something like that to their own pup? It was unheard of!
"Where is your mother now?"
"He died. Committed suicide."
He must not have been right in the head. How horrible. I was so close. So close to losing this amazing Wolf, and where would I be then?
Mated to Asher or dead.
Christos played a huge part in helping the Omegas escape the facility. Without him, I could be dead by now. Or pregnant with another Wolf's litter.
The thought thoroughly disgusted me. How ironic.
"It was a long time ago. Don't worry about it," he reassured me.
But how could I not?
I would never treat my pups that way. No matter what happens, I will love my pups and protect them with my life. We will be together forever. That's a promise.
Just then, a group of Omegas came in with Alpha Talon. They were checking all of Christos's wounds and freshening him up. I went to the bathroom to do the same. When I was done, Christos was eating breakfast.
"I'm going to go get some of your clothes from home. It'll probably be more comfortable than the temporary clothes. I'll be right back," I told him.
I made it back to the hideout fairly quickly after stopping to eat some breakfast and check on Drew. I grabbed a duffle bag and filled it with Christos's things as well as a few of my own. On my way out the door, I saw a figure standing right by the door.
I froze, unsure if I should go near them. I couldn't see who it was, but something just didn't feel right. The air was hostile.
I took a step back as the figure took one step forward.
It was Cymon.
And he was livid.
Cymon was always the calmer one of the brothers. Flying off the handle was more of Asher's specialty, so seeing Cymon so angry was a huge red flag.
He didn't say anything, just glared at me.
His usual calm blue eyes were dark, tinged with red, narrowed in rage.
"Cymon, what are you doing here? I thought you and Lyric were going to be in Japan for another week?" I asked, trying hard not to trigger anymore anger.
Cymon didn't say anything, just took another step toward me.
"Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong?"
"Don't play dumb," he growled.
"I-I don't—"
"Where is my brother, Asaiya?"
I froze.
How could I be so stupid? Of course he's pissed at me. His brother was missing and it's all my fault. And here I was, not even slightly perturbed by that fact.
"I don't know. I was told he ran off."
Cymon through his head back and laughed humorlessly. He looked so much like his brother when he did that, it was unnerving.
"He didn't run off. He was taken by the humans!"
My jaw dropped.
"What?" I choked.
"Judging by your expression, I can see you didn't know, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that my brother is gone and it's your fault, you filthy slut."
I stiffened at his ugly words.
"What is your problem?" I demanded, getting angry myself. I get it, he's mad but calling me a slut was uncalled for!
Was it really though? I cheated on my beloved with my rapist and then left him after he was captured by the humans. The very enemy he tried so hard to save me from.
I was a horrible person.
"You. You are my problem. My brother was obsessed with finding you. He even accepted you when he you became a disgusting Inproba. And how do you thank him? By abandoning him!"
"I'm sorry—"
"Don't you dare. Don't you dare start apologizing. Get me my brother back!"
He lunged for me.
I threw myself to the side and started running to the door but he grabbed my waist and we both fell to the ground. Just as he was about to tear out my jugular, Jackson yanked him off of me. Lyric was breathing heavily, leaning against the door.
Did he go get Jackson?
The Omega looked at me and nodded.
"Asa, get to the Medical Facility, now! Lyric, go with him!" Jackson commanded as he struggled to keep Cymon subdued.
Lyric helped me to my feet and supported my weight as we made our way to the Medical Facility.
"Thank you," I whispered to him.
He nodded again before leaving me to Sherry.
"What happened?" Sherry demanded.
"My pups. I need to know if my pups are okay," I pleaded out of breath. I managed to fall on my side but my hips were starting to hurt.
Sherry immediately pulled me to an empty examination room and checked on my pups, assuring me that they were okay. "But your hipbone is bruised. You need to be more careful, any serious injuries to your body, especially your hips and pelvis could prevent you from shifting to give birth."
I nodded seriously.
"Sherry, please don't tell Christos. I don't want him to worry."
Sherry nodded before helping me to Christos's room.
I put on a smile to hide any worry but of course he saw right through me. He was sitting on his bed, looking at the lilies in the pot that I got him. When I entered the room, he frowned.
"What is wrong?" he asked immediately.
I smiled brighter, "Nothing, I'm fine. Just worried about Drew."
He looked suspicious but let it drop. It wasn't necessarily a lie, I was worried about Drew, but it wasn't at the forefront of my mind currently.
I climbed on to the bed with him and settled into his arms, ignoring the ache in my hips.
"Christos?"
"Yes?"
"When you get released, I want to see your garden."
Christos smiled and nodded.
I'd have to ask Sherry about the details, but I wanted it to be there. Right in front of the garden, I wanted to mate with Christos.
So we can be a family.