Believe It or Knot: Part One (Runaway Omega, #1)

by Harper Wylde

His Omega wasn’t allowed to drink, speak, or think for herself. I may have added that last one, but it might as well have been carved in stone. Anton wanted a compliant Omega.

After nearly a year of physical and verbal abuse, my spirit was as bruised as my body.

“Get ready to present for your Alphas, my little pet, you’re about to have the most potent heat of your life.” Anton stood swiftly, pocketing my heat suppressants, and staring down at where I collapsed to sit with my back against the bed. His eyes were devoid of any human emotion other than victory and a sick kind of avarice.

I had to run. It was dangerous, so damn dangerous I’d never attempted it before. An unbonded Omega on the streets? It was unheard of. But now the danger of staying here outweighed the risk of leaving.

Another low cramp had me grunting and slumping against the storefront I was passing. My hand met the brick, holding me up while I rode out the wave of agony that felt like my ovaries were dying a slow, torturous death. Sweat dotted my forehead and I gnashed my teeth together before pressing my lips into a thin line to hold back the whimper that wanted to break free. How much medicine did that asshat inject me with? I couldn’t imagine these symptoms were a normal reaction to a regular dose of Anoravel. Worse, I wouldn’t put it past he-who-shall-not-be-named to be reckless with the dosage. As long as he got results, he didn’t give a flying fuck about what was safe or healthy.

“If you’re looking to score some alcohol, you should know I don’t serve anyone underage, and you won’t find any lying around here,” I warned. “I suggest you move on.” The teen stiffened and shrugged out from under my touch. I growled as he whipped around, but the sound died instantly at the sight of him. Except it wasn’t a him at all. Fuck me. I’d just manhandled a woman.

I held my hands up in a gesture of surrender, hoping she’d realize I wasn’t as scary as I looked. At six foot five, I towered over her by at least a foot, and lanky wasn’t a word anyone would use to describe me. My shoulders were broad, my arms muscular. I’d been mistaken for the bouncer rather than the owner of the bar more times than I could count.

Under the smell of fried food and alcohol wafting from the bar, beneath the stench of the dumpsters in the alley just around the corner, I caught the sweetest hint of sugared berries, black honey, and something deeper, smokier, sexier. The scent bowled me over, making me feel unsteady while also somehow grounding me more than I’d ever been before. Her signature wrapped around me, hardening my cock in a second flat. Omega.

“What are you doing out here alone, little Omega? Do you have a pack somewhere?” I glanced around, expecting another Alpha to come at me any second for sniffing around his mate. Another surreptitious glance at what I could see past the hood, and I realized I couldn’t get a good enough look at her neck to tell if she’d been marked—bitten and claimed. The way the color drained from her face at the mention of her Alphas, however, spoke fucking volumes.

“Just-just pretend you never saw me.” “You’re asking for the impossible, Sweetness.” I let my gaze eat up the sight of her. “There’s not one forgettable thing about you.”

Being surrounded by the scent of the Alpha who’d caught me hadn’t helped my body’s visceral reaction. The man was as beautiful as he was fearsome. Tall, dark, and handsome, with sapphire-blue eyes that had stunned me—for all the wrong reasons.

I shook my head. “Please,” I whined, the sound purely Omega. I wasn’t above begging. Above pleading. But I couldn’t get the rest of the words out. Please let me go. Please don’t look for me. Please forget you ever saw me. … Please march over here and make this awful agony go away. But I didn’t truly mean that last one. Because it would be insane to jump a man I just met. Right?

Her nostrils flared and I knew she was scenting me, picking up on the fact that I was a Beta. Instead of screaming, freaking out, or yelling at me, instead of cursing up a storm and snatching the shower curtain back into place to save her modesty, tears spilled down her cheeks. “H-help,” she begged, her voice tiny and so damn sweet.

Omegas were a gift. My pack and I had been waiting to be matched for years. And here one that smelled like the best wet dream had walked into my little gym in my little town? What were the godsdamn odds?

“The name’s Leo, but I’ll answer to ‘god’ if that’s what you want to call me.”

Whoever thought getting consent wasn’t sexy was a douche. Hearing a woman tell you they wanted you to do wicked things to their body was the biggest turn on. She knew I had something she needed, and she wanted it. Wanted me.

I have a phone in my pocket. I’d like to call my pack and get us some help, okay?” Tears built behind my eyes. This whole situation was impossible. Already the itch for another release was building beneath my skin, making me restless. My clit throbbed and I was overly aware of the slick coating my thighs. “Please don’t.” “Honey, you can’t go through this alone, alright? You admitted you’ve never been through a heat before. Do you know what to expect?”

Stop your heat and then you can run again. I crossed my fingers and hoped like hell I wouldn’t bring trouble to their door in the meantime. Or more trouble to my own. Please don’t regret this. It was the last thought I had before another agonizing cramp rocketed through me.

“There’s more,” Leo explained. “She’s in heat, Hades, and she’s alone.” “You’ve got to be godsdamn kidding me.”

“You were my first call. Eli is my next. She needs a doctor.” Anger rose swiftly. “Is she hurt?” “She’s—” He hesitated. “She’s definitely been through something.” I hadn’t even met the woman and already I felt protective of her. “I’m on my way. Call Eli. He’s on shift, and I doubt he’s seen your message, but he’ll call in a replacement for this. Page him if you need to. And Leo?” “Hmm?” “Make Jamison the call directly after. He needs to know.” While Leo was a Beta, the rest of us were Alphas, and Jamison was the natural leader of our pack.

Heats were painful for Omegas if they weren’t tended to properly. The idea didn’t sit well with me. Omegas were meant to be cherished and cared for, not left to fend for themselves and see themselves through an unfulfilled, agonizing heat.

“Wait…” She knew as well as I did that an Omega wouldn’t be with a pack unless they were courting her. The OMA had strict policies, and Omegas were kept on heat suppressants if they were of age and unclaimed. She drew her own conclusions from the pieces of the story she had and realization dawned in her gaze. “Is she okay?” “You know about as much as I do now. But as long as she’s with us, she’s safe. You know us well enough to know we’d never touch a godsdamn hair on her head without her permission, but she’s going to need help, which is why I’m here.”

A soft glow radiated from the women’s locker room, and I narrowed my eyes. Pushing the door open, prepared for a fight, I was immediately hit with the scent of sweet berries and black honey. Fuuuck. The Omega. Although now that I’d gotten a better dose of her, I knew that was wrong. She wasn’t just any Omega. She was my Omega.

My Alpha instincts were in overdrive demanding I help her, protect her, take her, claim her. She was perfuming and the fragrance went straight to my dick. A rumble built in my chest, and I realized I was purring for her. Well, that’s new.

“You,” she whispered in surprise as she realized they were no longer alone. Her pupils were blown as the scent of my arousal mixed with her own, affecting her just as much as she affected me. “Don’t stop on my account,” I purred. “Seems to me you have some business to finish with my Beta. And trust me, Sweetness. I’m going to enjoy the show.”

I could sense just how Alpha he was. I hadn’t met the others in Leo’s pack, but there was no doubt this man was the leader. Confidence exuded from him in waves. And his scent. I inhaled deeply, losing myself in the bonfire and whiskey undertones. I gasped as my heat rose higher. I burned.

“Alpha,” I whimpered, needing more. Needing him. Gods, the heat under my skin was at an all-time high. I was on fire, my arousal all consuming. “Leo is going to give you what you need, Sweetness. Let go and come for us.”

“We’re here to help you, Little One, and that was so fucking beautiful,” Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Fuck-Me said, his voice deep and sensual.

Godsdamn. The little Omega was beautiful. And she was absolutely terrified of me. The idea that I frightened her was gutting.

I’d never believed in scent harmony before—the idea that you could find your perfect match by scent alone—but I sure as fuck did now. There was no describing the power her signature had over me. Jamison felt the same way. I could tell from the rigid way he held himself to keep from losing control. Leo, while not affected in quite the same way, wasn’t any less impacted.

The urge to bury my nose in the crux of her neck and shoulder and just breathe her in was like an addict trying to abstain from drinking a frothy beer that sat right in front of them. The temptation was real. I wanted to lick her skin, see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

“I didn’t say anything earlier, but she’s got bruises on her ankle and cuts on her arms, legs, and feet. Like I said, she’s been through something.”

Consciousness crept back in slowly. Hot and cold. Comfortable, yet itchy. Drowning in a myriad of scents that were delicious. That was the first hint something was terribly, terribly wrong. Or terribly, terribly right.

“Don’t.” His hand came up to cup my face and he stroked his thumb over my skin. “Don’t run from me again. I don’t think my heart can fucking take it.”

“Jamison’s right. I’m not mad at you, Baby. I’m”—he swallowed—“I’m fucking pissed you’ve never been treated like the goddess you are. It’s obvious you’re on the run, and the idea that you’ve been mistreated makes me see fuckin’ red.”

An Omega in heat? On her own in the middle of Maverick Falls? What were the odds?

I felt more than heard the tiny mewl that left her lips. It stroked my cock and tightened my balls. I knew nothing about this woman other than she was beautiful and needed our help, but her sweet, honeyed signature told me the most important thing—we were a perfect scent match.

“Let me make one thing clear, Desi. Whoever hurt you doesn’t deserve to keep on breathing. Omegas are meant to be cherished and protected, and whoever put these bruises on your body, whoever is responsible for the cuts all over your hands, legs, and feet, is the person in trouble here. Not you. Do you understand?” A tremor ran through her. “Yes.” “Good girl,” I praised.

Would it help if—” Her teeth captured that same lip, worrying it til near bleeding. I barely resisted running my thumb down the center of her bottom lip to free it. “Would what help, Love?” “If I told you what I was drugged with?” She’d said it so quietly, a mouse would’ve been louder. Every one of us went taut with anger, shock, and pure, unadulterated rage.

“Did you just say you were drugged?”

“I was given Anoravel. I’m not sure how much.” “And this was against your wishes?” Eli confirmed. I laughed coldly. “Given that I never saw the syringe coming, yes.”

Eli’s lips parted and he gazed up my body and into my eyes. “Did you just make a penis joke?” Another burst of giggles left me. “Yes, except I call them dick jokes. Sounds sexier.”

We, uh, have a nest if you’d like to—” I gasped. “No. I couldn’t possibly.” Jamison paused, “Are you sure? Your Omega might feel more comfortable in an enclosed, comfortable space.” “I really couldn’t. That’s a space you created for your Omega. It wouldn’t be right for me to contaminate it with my scent.”

Her signature had already permeated the house. It was everywhere, teasing me all night long. She’d passed out cold before Knox and I arrived home, so I hadn’t gotten to meet her yet, but her scent told me the most important thing I needed to know—she was mine. Ours.

Thane looked like a golden Greek god. He was Apollo in human form with his golden blond hair, golden skin, and rippling abs.

The remnants of my heat moved from a simmer to something stronger. It was official. I was certifiable because I really wanted to lick him and see if he tasted like the sweet confection. Superhuman self-control kept me firmly rooted on the opposite side of the kitchen because crossing to where he was squeezing fresh orange juice and climbing him like a tree was a real possibility.

“The police aren’t here for you,” I told her, and her wide eyes flitted to me. “Well, not technically.” Jamison sat on the couch and pulled her into his lap. She went without protest, her focus still glued to me as I moved to sit on the other side of the sectional. I angled myself toward her. “The cruiser’s mine, Sunshine. I’m an officer.” She paled.

“You weren’t the one in the wrong. That Alpha could be cited for drugging you, attacking you, and probably a slew of other things.” “No one will believe a lowly Omega over an Alpha.” Growls sounded around the room, and I felt her stiffen again.

“Omegas should be treated like royalty.” “I think it would be nice if they were just treated like everyone else.”

Soon, I’d need to explain how my father had bribed the OMA and sold me off to Anton’s pack, but right now, I just wanted to serve this pack a nice meal to thank them for all their generosity.