“Ariadne?” Victor calls.
Ariadne is awake. She’s crumpled in on herself at the edge of the bed. “Victor?”
“What’s wrong?” Victor asks, sitting up and hitting the lights.
God, the smell, it’s so strong. This can’t be Denning anymore. This is-
Victor's hand catches something moist on the sheets near Ariadne's side. It takes a minute for the Alpha to realize what it is. This is-
“I don’t feel good, Victor,” Ariadne whines, “I’m so hot. I think I need a doctor.”
Victor scrambles over, tossing the comforter away. Ariadne is soaked through in her own slick, knee tucked in, clutching her gut.
She’s in heat.
“I’m sick,” Ariadne groans, “Call 911. It hurts so bad.”
Several things hit Victor at once. Ariadne doesn’t know what’s happening right now because it’s never happened before.<
Victor wakes up, stretching out. He wonders where Ariadne is and how the Omega is doing.So he gets up and decides it’s safe enough to go upstairs. The Alpha notices that the staircase is completely clean. Ariadne must have gotten up at some point, and felt well enough to mop.God, that was a lot of fucking slick. Victor's wolf batters at that. But it’s over now. Ariadne is back to her normal-Victor opens the door to the bedroom. It’s immediately clear that he should have knocked first.Ariadne is on the bed, on her knees, presenting to no one in particular.Her hand is reaching back. She’s got three whole fucking fingers in her *****. She’s pumping them really hard. Her other hand is on her breast, kneading furiously. But instead of looking please, she just looks frustrated, tears painting her cheeks.Oh, fuck! They lock eyes.The Omega shouts, rolling around and tossing the covers over herself. “
“E-even if I won’t let you mate me?” Ariadne asks.Victor knows something is up but he doesn’t dwell on it.Ariadne's made many comments on the subject of remaining unmated. But Victor doesn’t want to pry. “That’s your choice and I respect it.”It’s the right answer. Ariadne whimpers and cuddles in with Victor. “Thank you.”The energy that swirls around them is more than a connection of convenience. The Alpha tries to stave off those thoughts. It’s a balance of Ariadne's need to remain unattached, and the growing fondness he has for the Omega, his Omega.Absentmindedly, Ariadne plays with Victor's hands, thumbing at the skin of his palms gently. The Omega smells so sweet right now and looks utterly content.Victor's comforted and pleased the Omega. It fills the Alpha with satisfaction and a scorching pride.“Thank you for everything,” Ariadne says slee
“I’ll kill them both,” Victor snarls. “I swear it.”Ariadne shivers. “You can’t. He’ll- promise me you won’t go after him. I-I don’t want anything to happen to you.”“Tell me who he is,” Victor demands.Ariadne's eyes swirl with pain. “No, I won’t. I’m asking you as a friend, not to put yourself in danger. You don’t know what I know. Please.”Victor locks his jaw. “Fine. For now. But you can’t expect me, to do nothing. He hurt you.”Ariadne's whole body starts shivering. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”Victor wants to stop Ariadne. She’s still in post-heat, prone to impulse. But the Alpha finds that he can’t.The Omega rubs her glands against Victor's. Ariadne's scenting him, out of fear, neediness, confusion, Victor doesn’t know.“Ariadne,” Victor growls. &ld
Omegas are rare, but, about 80 percent of the omegas are female, only 20 percent are male omegas. And male omegas are sold at a higher price in the black market. And you can think how rare is the man standing in front of him. It’s a male silver Omega, almost as rare as an Albino. Okay, not almost, very rare. His hair is wavy and shiny, and his eyes are bright green. His neck is unmarked meaning he’s unmated. Aesthetically, the Omega is stunning, not quite as beautiful as Ariadne though, in Victor’s opinion. What Alpha Victor sees as valuable merchandise. Ariadne's reaction has Victor confused. Ariadne hops up from the table and throws her arms around the Omega, who starts crying into her shoulder. “Edward,” Ariadne sobs, “I thought I’d never see you again. How-I-are you okay? Are you hurt?” The Omega called Edward is equally emotional. “I missed you so much. I thought they killed you. I-I thought you were dead, Aria.” Victor buf
Slowly Victor reaches out putting his hand near Edward's nose. The silver Omega looks utterly confused.“What are you doing?” Ariadne asks.“I’m initiating him,” Victor says. What else would he be doing?Alcina’s eyes soften, and she flushes, mouthing an ‘O’.“Come on Edward. Get used to my scent. You can meet the Betas when you’re well enough.”Edward hovers for a long, long time before he leans forward and inhales in Victor's scent. This calms him down a lot.His eyes go cloudy. “You smell like coffee.”It’s the most normal thing he’s said since he’s gotten here.Ariadne looks tense but hopeful.“Give me your hand, Edward,” Victor says.The Omega does so quickly. Victor inhales, completing the first meeting.Edward smells like roses, though not exactly, some sort of flower, maybe Jasmines?Ar
“Arthur is my cousin,” Victor says.Ariadne gasps, tearing up, before covering her mouth. She just looks at Victor, stunned, and for the first time in a long time, the Omega is afraid.The Omega doesn’t talk for what feels like an eternity.“Is this- was this a game?” Ariadne asks.“Are you playing with us? Please, just let us go.”Victor has never seen Ariadne this destroyed. Not even when he’d first found the Omega in that alleyway. Did Arthur play games like this?“Please, Victor.” Ariadne's voice is so weak.“Did you care about me even a little? It was fun right. It was good for you? I was a good f*ck?”Victor wants to throw up.“Don’t take me back to him,” Ariadne begs, completely desperate. “Just kill me. Please.”“Listen, baby,” Victor says, folding his hands.Ariadne curls back in terror
Victor's ready to fall back into routine when Edward does something else out of the ordinary.The Silver Omega scans the table, very confused. He takes his plate and places it on the floor. Ariadne stops him before he can get on all fours.“Eddie, we-we can eat at the table,” Ariadne says, hurriedly pulling him up.Victor loses his appetite.He realizes exactly how wrong he was to ask Edward for the information. He is sick, very sick.Ariadne looks worried as she situates Edward into a chair and puts the food back on the table.“Edward,” Victor whispers. “You’re not my pet-”Edward whimpers in protest, afraid that Victor's angry with him or-“Look, we’re more like roommates,” Victor says, stabbing his eggs. “I don’t own you. We just live in the same house together.”If you want to mate one of your roommates and you want to send the other roomma
Victor Erickson can’t stand to live in his own house anymore. It’s been two weeks of torture.His home has been taken over by people who don’t wash their dishes and just leave them in the sink to crust over. Crusty dishes are the reason that Victor lives alone in the first place.And what’s worse? When Ariadne had implied to move back into Victor’s room, the Alpha accidentally mentioned the spare guest room.Long story short, Ariadne is now staying by herself in the spare guest room and Victor’s really f*cking cold at night.But there are some if small, benefits to having his pack members living all together except for Waylon who’s still living the dream life as a bachelor.Ariadne is happy. And not just reluctantly happy like she usually is. she's really happy. Victor has seen Ariadne smile four times today: four gummy, sweet smiles.Then there are again the drawbacks. Victor’s washing dishes
Then the adults are alone, an awkwardness washing over them, carrying with it their history. It goes all quiet, and all that's left is the sound of soldiers marching in the distance, carrying about their morning routines. "I-" Ariadne and Nathan say at the same time before pausing. The Alpha's cheeks go red, and his apple scent spikes high, taking on a sour note. He's nervous, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Y-You go ahead, Ariadne.” Ariadne doesn't even know what to say. It's been approximately one eternity since they've seen each other. "Thanks for taking care of- You brought them here, my babies." "Yea, no- it's cool," Nathan manages. "And thanks for- for not dying. I mean, I'm glad you're alive." Anna slaps Nathan on the shoulder. "What he's trying to say is, it's good to see you." Ariadne laughs, and then she cries. Then she launches herself forward and gives the pair a great big hug. She squeezes them tight, one in each arm. "F*ck," Ariadne says. "I thought I'd
“Are we there yet?” Ariadne asks despite herself.She doesn’t even know where they are, which is saying something. They’d promised to put Victor into one of their best hospitals, but there’s nothing that remotely resembles a hospital.There’s no town, barely a road to drive through. It’s miles of trees on both sides and a dirt road that looks like it might give way at any moment.“Fifteen minutes,” the Commissioner answers, hand steady on the wheel. “Take it easy, dear. We’re almost there.”Easy for him to say. Everyone he loves is alive and well. His son is literally getting a medal.Ariadne’s not sure about Victor. The alive part has been confirmed, yes. But, she doesn’t know who she’ll be seeing in a quarter hour’s time.Is it going to be Victor Erickson, father, and husband, or will it be the Black Wolf, Victor regressed to some other bizarre time frame? She has no idea.No. Ariadne takes a deep breath. She’d talked to Victor on the phone for a few minutes before he had to go. He
It's perfect timing. They're at the control panel that opens up to solitary confinement. Gordon's just through there, safe and tucked away.Felix uses his thumbprint to unlock the door. It's a pressure chamber. The thing hisses as the metal lid unseals from the wall.It's all lead up to this. They step inside and-It's empty."Where-"Gordon's not in the cell. Though it does look like he's been there, the space was modified to be more comfortable. Stolen seats from the guards' lounge, a big screen t.v that's leaning haphazardly against the wall, it's nice.But why isn't he here?He's supposed to be here.It's then that the screen turns on, and a very familiar face appears. It's a man wearing milk glass eyes, smiling wide. Ariadne's confusion turns into fury."I knew you would come, Ariadne. You're a mouse caught in a trap," Gordon speaks. "You want to kill me? You can't even find me. And now you never will."Trap? What trap?The metal door starts moving. It's shutting, pushed in by a
Felix is dressed from head to toe in swat gear. His face is blank, an assault rifle shoved under his armpit. He's hunched over in the locker room, eyes wide. He's not doing anything, long since dressed, shoelaces neatly tied. But he doesn't move. He hasn't moved for five minutes."You okay, kid?" Ariadne asks, tightening the velcro on her Kevlar vest, the fabric stiff under her fingers."I don't know," Felix hums, half a ghost. "My whole world has turned upside down in the last twelve hours."Ariadne has half a mind to slap the Alpha in the face. They have a mission, and if Felix dies, the Commissioner isn't going to be pleased.The older takes a seat on the opposite bench, resting her elbows on her knees. The situation is much too urgent for her to play the dad in a feel-good t.v. Show, as hard as she tries to.“How dramatic,” Ariadne hums."Monday morning," Felix says quietly. "I thought I understood everything. There was order, good guys, bad guys, policemen, and criminals. Now eve
Ariadne doesn’t know how long she’s been asleep for, an ache in her ancient bones, shedding tears over a dream she can’t remember. It’s light out, just barely dawn or dusk, Ariadne’s not sure. Blue casts over them, lines on the wall, setting divisions that aren’t truly there. Victor’s asleep, eyelids fluttering, every breath he takes is a strain, followed by a whistle. It hurts Ariadne to her core. He’s not recovering, that time has long since past. He needs medical attention. F*ck the costs. So what if he’s Victor Erickson, legendary mythos surrounding him, a ruthless and terrible criminal. He’s also a father and the love of Ariadne’s life. Doesn’t he deserve to live too? Hasn’t his life been about doing more good than harm? And one thing can be said for sure, when Victor was on the throne, there was order. “A-Ariadne?” A voice cuts into the night. “Baby?” Ariadne replies, cupping Victor’s face. It’s not Victor though, still asleep, eyes closed in eternal slumber. He forgets
Ariadne sees in shades of red, her wolf blood pulsing hot through her veins. It's hard to focus through the screams and the stampede of people trying to get through the two exits.The smell of fear in the air it's intoxicating and inviting. Ariadne wants to bite, sink her teeth into something, tear through it, and drink the red.Her enemy is in front of her, a great dark, eyeless specter. Gordon seems more like a shadow than a wolf, smoke rising off him, still hot from his transformation. His eyelids are sealed shut, and pink scar lines cut into his flesh.He raises his nose and tastes the air. It doesn't matter that he's blind; Ariadne knows. The man can still see them. He knows exactly where they are.Victor growls from the back of his throat, flashing rows of razor-sharp teeth, drool dribbling down his chin. His eyes are like glowing coals. Ariadne's not sure how much of her mate is in there and how much is the terrible beast he keeps prisoner.The three of them are giants. People
Fuck, this guy is really smart. Victor's glad that Felix isn't higher on the food chain. Sh*t could actually get done. "What do you mean?" Victor asks noncommittally. "You said it yourself that he was, just this morning." Felix flushes, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, no judgment, but... I was only saying that to impress Sansa. I didn't know you guys were dating. We don't get a lot of Omega security officers here. They're usually reserved for Omega prisons." A pang of worry twists in Victor's stomach. He hopes Ariadne is alright. "Oh," Victor replies, "No, it's alright." Felix smiles, patting him on the shoulder. "So, what do you think about my theory?" "Your theory?" Victor repeats. "That's not Victor Erickson," Felix says again. "If I had to guess, that's Victor's First Beta. He's taking the hit for him." Bingo. "Come on," Victor clicks his teeth. "That's crazy." Felix's eyes widen. "I think I'd know if I was looking at the Black Wolf! I told you, I did my whole dissert
Victor watches himself in the mirror, his skin crawling. His appearance it's out of an alternate universe. He's wearing the cop clown suit. It's tight at the neck, and there's barely any room for his—Someone squeezes his ass, causing him to jump. A soft gasp escapes his lips. It's Ariadne, sneaking behind him, a Cheshire grin on her face."Hey there, sexy," the Omega teases. "Are you gonna arrest me?"Victor's heart drums, cheeks turning pink. Ariadne's alarmingly good-looking in her uniform, blond locks, and pale skin contrasting the dark color of the material.The Alpha turns fully around, taking Ariadne's hands, using his fingers as makeshift handcuffs."I don't think this is the time for roleplaying," Victor chides. "But I promise I'll arrest you later, at least three times."Ariadne laughs, something effortless about the way she stands. It's happier than he's seen the Omega in a long time."I look forward to it," Ariadne answers, pulling him along to the living room so they can
They leave the helicopter on the beach, already half-buried by the sea. Ariadne knows they’re not coming back for it. The thing will probably be a home for the crabs before turning into rust and getting swallowed by the sea.Under the cover of night, the five of them set sail for the mainland. Ariadne watches with one eye open as the sea rocks them. All she’s thinking about is not throwing up. It’s not a calm night, storm clouds pouring on them, lightning lighting up the sky.“Are we there yet?”Victor pulls her close, pressing the Omega’s chest to his head. “Almost, baby.”Ariadne takes in deep, calming breaths, Victor’s coffee scent filling her lungs. It helps, allowing the Omega to focus on something else besides the churning of the sea. Edward plops down beside them with a smile.“Why do you look so happy?” Victor asks.The Silver Omega presses a finger to his lips. “Is a secret.”Ariadne sighs, turning ever so slightly so she can have a better view of the other. “How can you smi