Archive of Our Own

Dita knew why Burke picked her to put the cuffs on Joseph. 

It looked good on paper, after all. Omega Deputy Arrests Alpha Cult Leader. It would make for some head-turning headlines. She could already imagine the Twitter threads that would come about from it. News stations would be all over it. 

That didn’t mean she liked stepping towards Joseph Seed with cuffs in hand. Voluntarily putting herself this close to an Alpha, a cult leader, was setting off big red flags in the back of her mind, and she tried not to take too deep a breath as Joseph held his hands out. 

Something moved in her peripheral and Dita’s gaze snapped to it. It was just Jacob, shifting around on the platform behind his brother. Casually reminding her he was an Alpha too, and god, she could believe it, looking at him. Her skin prickled uncomfortably. Jacob’s eyes met hers, held her gaze, and then he took a long, deep breath that somehow stayed silent. 

No no no bad bad bad. Dita clapped the cuffs onto Joseph and stared down at the man’s chest as she started to lead him towards the door. That prickle was still there, on the back of her neck as three pairs of eyes stared down at her. It receded when she heard footsteps moving away from her, but she glanced back when it didn’t vanish completely. 

Jacob was there at the other end of the church, arms still folded over his broad chest, eyes fixed on her. Dita snapped her head back to Joseph’s shoulder, guiding him towards the double doors where Joey was standing. 

“I gotcha,” Joey murmured comfortingly, reaching for Joseph’s arm. “Let’s get the fuck out of here before Burke does something stupid, huh?”

Dita nodded. Joey was an Alpha, she didn’t have all this bullshit to cope with, and Dita felt a weight leaving her body even as Joseph obediently allowed Joey to guide him out of the church and into the night air. She pressed her hands over her face, rubbing at her eyes. Just keep walking, Bachchan. You’re almost there. 

Joey was tugging Joseph towards the metal archways as rapid footsteps thudded against the floor at Dita’s back. An arm wrapped around her stomach and squeezed tightly . The barrel of a gun pushed against her jaw. Dita froze as the sudden thick scent of metal, male, pine needles, cotton and something floral filled her lungs. 

“Don’t make a sound,” Jacob’s voice whispered in her ear. “Don’t move a muscle. Walk slowly backwards with me, now.” 

As if under a trance her feet moved as ordered, quietly retracing her steps up the aisle, towards the back of the church. Her heart thudded under the grip of his arm, and Dita wanted to reach for her gun but a thick scent of Alpha pheromones wafted over her, like he’d known full well what she would do. 

“Attagirl.” His voice was low. “That was a brave stunt you pulled, but it’s not gonna mean shit. Don’t know who decided an Omega would make a good beat cop, but that was their mistake. I’ve got a better use for you.”

Her stomach dropped. 

The whole operation was loudly going to shit as Jacob dragged her out of the church and forced her into a truck beside two guys in red balaclavas. Dita passed out when one  of them pressed a floral-smelling cloth to her face. 

The room she woke up in smelt odd. There was a hint of that floral smell that had knocked her out, along with woodsmoke, clean sheets, metal and pine. It was small, big enough for a single bed with metal railings at the head and foot. A small fireplace sat at one end. There was a door that led into a small bathroom that jutted out into the bedroom. And all of it was drenched in that smell of metal and pine.

Of Jacob. 

Dita knew what they were trying to do. She pushed open the bathroom door and stepped inside, running the tap. They were trying to overwhelm her body with Alpha hormones to force her into an early Heat. She splashed water on her face, looking around for a washcloth. There was a slightly ragged one, but it would do. All she needed was to clean up and try to keep her head clear, and she could beat their bullshit games. 

The water came out cold, but that was what she needed, and she pulled off her green shirt to rub the cool cloth up and down her arms, scrubbing at her wrists before splashing some water onto her neck to try and cool off the glands. Tilting her head back, she let out a heavy sigh. She hated to say it, but Joseph had been right. Sometimes the best choice was just to walk away, because now she was locked in a windowless room laced with the thick scent of a literal Alpha male. 

Dita stepped back into the bedroom and took a deep breath. The first thing to do now was to try and wipe the Alpha smell from the room. Her skin tingled a little as she wandered the small room step by step. In some areas the smell was thicker than in other places, and on instinct, she leaned in close, eyes fluttering shut to take in more of his scent. He must’ve rubbed his hands and wrists over these areas. For a moment she could picture it; those big palms dragging across parts of the room, fingertips-

Hoo boy, ok Bachchan. 

Dita slammed the brakes on those thoughts. If she was already having hot little thoughts about him, she was in trouble. She breathed out, hissing through her teeth, and stomped back into the bathroom to wet the cloth and carry it back out, finding the spots where the scent was heaviest. It was hard to ignore the way it made her cheeks flare, her nipples tighten against her bra, but she gritted her teeth as she scrubbed away the smell and tried not to think about it too much. 

Her hands ached from squeezing the cloth out by the time she was done, and she tossed it over a hand rail, rubbing her eyes. She could get out of this. She just needed to wait. You didn't just attack five federal officers- a goddamn Marshal- and get away with it. There would be an armed response in a matter of days. She just needed to sit tight and wait patiently.

So long as they didn't manage to get her and Jacob knotted together first. 

And she could bet that John would have the legal know-how to somehow get Jacob off the hook after that, especially with how the law regarded bonded Omegas as practically being property of their Alphas; one good knot and bite and Jacob would be untouchable.

The latch went on the door, and it swung open to reveal Jacob Seed himself. 

“Look who’s awake,” he murmured. 

Dita wanted to run, to jump into the bathroom and slam the door shut, but she froze instead, conscious of the open neckline of her tank top. She let out a long, slow breath, and swallowed. “You can let me go.”

With a gentle push, he shut the door behind himself, and Dita heard it lock. So there were people outside who kept the room guarded. She needed to remember that. It might come in handy later.

“I could,” he agreed, “but why would I? I let you go, and I know you’ll run outside headfirst into a fight. What would be the point of that?”

She was halfway between the bed and the bathroom. Glancing at the door, Dita made her choice. She threw herself across the room, towards the bathroom. Jacob caught her at the handle, slamming it shut as she pressed up against it. Against him. He crowded her, the size and warmth of him dwarfing her body. 

"And you'd hate to waste a nice warm Omega," Dita muttered.

Jacob's fingers found her jaw and forced her to look up, up at him. "You're everything wrong with the world," he told her softly. "A tool being used for the wrong purpose. A biological necessity suppressed so you can do the job of a soldier."

She wanted to snap at him, to protest that just because she was an Omega it didn't mean she was any less capable than him. But all that came out was a sharp gasp. 

"You see?" Jacob's eyes bored into her. "When presented with your physiological counterpart, you immediately know what's needed of you. Why deny that?"

"I don't," it came out half-whispered, "I've never wanted to… I wanted something different and there is nothing wrong with that." 

"What you want doesn't matter." Something cold clicked around her wrist. "You have a purpose. And you are going to fulfil it."

"You can't make me," Dita snapped, finding her voice even as Jacob tugged her by her cuffed wrist towards her bed. "Let me go. Let me go!"

She didn't wriggle hard enough, not that she ever could if they were comparing his bulk to her body. Jacob secured the other cuff around one of the metal railings of her footboard, casual and untethered by her as she aimed her foot at him. He shoved her hard to her knees. Dita felt hot-cold-needy as the little Omega voice in the back of her mind keened in joy. Revulsion and arousal scored down her back in equal measures of horrible hot stripes. Dita recoiled as he reached for her head, patting it gently. 

"I won't make you," Jacob agreed. "By the time you're ready to fulfil your purpose, you'll beg me for the privilege."

The first meal he brought her, he set down close enough that she could reach for it with her free right arm, but not throw in his face. And she was tempted, but she was also hungry. Still…

"What will you do if I don't eat it?" Dita asked quietly, gesturing to the plateful. It looked like someone had cooked a meat and two veg, then mashed it all up like baby food. 

Jacob just shrugged as he leaned back against the bedroom door. "Wait." 

So he wouldn't force her to eat it. He would just bide his time until she was starving. "I don't get cutlery?" 

"You want me to feed you, Deputy?" Jacob drawled. 

Her cheeks burned. "No. Thank you."

She pulled the plate over and began eating it carefully with her fingers. It had the familiar, slightly chalky taste of suppressants in it, and Dita’s brow furrowed at it. Something stupid, deep inside her, whined in rejection. Jacob didn’t want her because she was an Omega, right? Didn’t want to breed her. He must have something else in mind. Some other purpose for her. 

She hoped. 

"You know I don't need those, right?" she asked. "I have a suppressant implant."

Jacob took the empty plate from her. "I know," he said. "Read your medical file."

Dita felt cold.

"Got that taken out," he added. "I'll wean you off bit by bit. Can't risk damaging you."

Her cheeks flushed. The stupid little voice perked up. Alpha wanted her. Dita's jaw clenched. "I'm not going to let you mate me, Seed, so you might as well accept you'll be raping me."

Those wintry eyes fixed on her. "You think you have it all worked out, and that's why your mission failed in the church. You can't see what's coming."

“Because you convinced yourself I’ll be begging you to mate me.” Dita bared her teeth. “Fuck that. Nothing you do can ever win me over."

"Is that what you think?" His gaze was imperceptible; he took a step towards her, surprisingly quiet for a man his size. 

Dita froze. "Yes," she managed, "it's what I think." Her eyes darted to the plate. It was metal, but maybe in a pinch it could-

He kicked the plate aside and came closer, the scent of his skin wafting over her. "I've barely started, Deputy, but let me assure you how wrong you'll be." 

Dita saw the plate hit the wall. Her freeze instinct dropped and flight kicked in. She strained against the cuffs, yanking against the headboard. The bed didn't even move. It was like it was bolted to the floor. 

Of course it was bolted to the floor. Jacob wouldn't risk anything, especially not a flighty Omega. But the bite of pain from the cuffs rid her body of the sluggish haze that his presence drew over her, so that was something. 

"You're gonna hurt yourself," he rumbled, kneeling down in front of her. 

"Good," she growled. Her hand lashed out, clawed, swiping towards him. 

Jacob caught her wrist. His face was bored but his eyes gleamed. "That's how you wanna play it?"

"You didn't seriously expect me to roll over and present?" she snapped. 

"I gotta admit," he leaned in a little closer, his warmth blanketing her, "I was really hoping you wouldn't make it easy."

Her blood ran cold.

He fished a small key out of his pocket, almost kneeling on top of her to keep her from trying to run. Without the pain of the cuff, Dita felt that haze creeping over her with every pulse of her heartbeat. Every short breath dragged more of his scent inside her like warm fingers. 

"When the FBI gets here with the National Guard, they're going to kill you," she promised. "Doesn't matter if we're bonded or not. You don't rape federal employees." 

"Oh, you still think they're comin', huh?" Jacob sighed as he tugged her wrist over to the cuffed one, grabbing both in one hand so he could slot the key into the cuff that was secured around the metal railing. 

"Of course they are," Dita yanked at his grip, "of fucking course they are, what the hell do you mean by that?" 

Jacob shoved her hard against the bed, pinning her wrists to her chest as he pressed up against her. "Nobody is coming to save you, Deputy," he told her. 

His eyes were so honest that Dita was hypnotised by them, and she didn't even realise he was cuffing her other wrist until she felt the cold metal touch her bare skin. Fuck. Yanking on them did nothing; he'd looped the chain around one of the railings and caught her there. 

"You're lying." She felt her lip wobble like some crying kid. 

"I'm not," he assured her. "No one is coming to save you, Deputy. You're all mine."

Jacob ran his fingertips along the curve of her neck, stopping at her gland. Heat spread from his touch, tingling on her skin, and Dita’s eyes fluttered shut, lips parting even as her brow furrowed. She wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but she was oh so aware of him pressed up against her, and with her eyes closed, the scent of pine needles, male musk and faint metal got stronger. She let out a grunt that she wished sounded irritated instead of needy. 

“I know what you’re doing,” she managed, as he dragged his hand along her wrists, one at a time touching two fingers to her pulse and sliding upwards. 

“Do you,” he murmured. 

“It’s not going to work,” she insisted breathlessly, her tits pushing against her tank top as her chest rose and fell rapidly. 

“Looks like it’s working to me,” Jacob pointed out. 

She shook her head rapidly. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of- he was touching her hair now, nails scraping up the back of her scalp to curl into the thick, soft locks. Dita moaned, low in her throat even as he hooked a finger into her hair tie and pulled it out, letting the ponytail fall and spread loose across her shoulders. He scooped the hair up into a fist again and again, sliding the length of it through his fingers repeatedly. 

"This isn't," she tried, as her nipples tightened and heat bounced around her body between  every point of contact of him on her. "You can't." 

"But I am." He said it so casually, even as his nose was buried in her hair. He took deep heavy breaths that made the scent of him get stronger. 

"You're," her tongue felt thick, "this is… a trick." 

"No, actually." His breathing was a little heavy, but not as bad as hers. "It's the most basic of bonding techniques. It's ancient. You want to tell me it's not real, that it's not working, because like so many others you want to deny biology and insist nature doesn't know better. And yet here you are panting and whining underneath me. I've barely touched you." 

"You've done something to me," Dita tried. "In the food."

"All I've done is all I'm doing." His fingers swept up the bare expanse of her arms. "Stimulating the scent-sensitive areas of your body so more pheromones are released. Your body learns to accept me even if your mind refuses." 

"You're cheating," was all she could protest as he curled her hair into his fist.

"No, little girl." 

And then his mouth was on her neck, sucking at her gland until Dita couldn't do anything except sob in desperation as need thundered through her with an unrelenting pulsing that centred on her clit. Her thighs pressed together as his hand found her stomach and held her against him. That primal part of her brain screamed at her to roll over and present. 

Her cheeks were burning and her tank top was soaked in sweat by the time he released her throat with a pop, leaving a dark welt on her neck below the gland. 

"That'd be cheating," he rumbled.

Dita didn’t even have the strength to protest as he gave her gland one last lick and then stood up. She buried her face in her arms, pulling her legs up against her chest as if it was going to protect her from him. Shame and shock curled in her stomach as she tried to ignore how wet she was. She wanted to cry. She wanted to beg. She wanted him to come back down and never stop. 

“I’ll be back when it’s time for your next meal,” Jacob said, and then he was gone. 

When he set the plate of sandwiches down in front of her and didn't undo her cuffs, Dita almost snarled at him. 

"Absolutely not," she told him, glaring.

"You tried to hit me," he reminded her. 

"I will bite you," she warned him

Jacob's eyes gleamed unpleasantly. "Try it. Be my guest."

That sent shudders down her spine and she drew back, pressing against the bed. "Fine. You win. I'll behave."

"Aww." He knelt down in front of her, holding the plate in one hand and lifted a sandwich. It had slices of cold beef in it. "You giving up the fight already?" 

"I don't wanna know what you'd do if I bit you," Dita muttered. She tore a piece of sandwich off and chewed. 

"Here was me thinkin' it'd take a little longer to break ya," he said, holding the sandwich out to let her eat at her own pace.

Dita paused, then glanced up at him. "I'm not broken," she protested. 

Jacob wiped a few crumbs off her mouth. "She says, while lettin' me feed her."

Dita bit him. 

She didn't even think. She just clamped her teeth around his thumb until he dropped the sandwich and grabbed her jaw with his free hand, squeezing. She finally released him. Jacob yanked her face up to look at his. That sick little gleam was in his eyes. 

"You not hungry anymore?" he cooed. 

Shit fuck shit fuck why did you do that why why WHY- 

"No," Dita slurred, "wait, no." 

The scent of him was thick in the air, hot and aroused and when Dita glanced down she could see his cock outlined against his jeans. 

"You can bite me all you want when I fuck ya," Jacob told her casually. "But right now, you need to behave. And I'll happily put ya right if you don't obey."

Cold fear raked down her back even as her body pulsed, hormones responding to his excitement and warming her. "Don't touch me," she pulled her head away from him, "don't fucking-"

Jacob grabbed her shoulders and shoved her chest against the railings. One hand grabbed the waistband of her jeans and yanked her onto her knees, and Dita kicked out at him when she realised what he was going to do. 

"Nonono please no," she was begging now as he trapped her legs between his. "Don't."

Fingers curled into her hair and pulled firmly, forcing her to arch up. Dita moaned as he unbuttoned her jeans and dragged them down to her thighs. 

"Shh, Deputy." He stroked his palm over the curve of her ass. "I'm not mad. Honest. Breakin' you in after only 30 hours would be a record, but between you and me, we both know you're not gonna make this easy on either of us."

30 hours. She had been here for 30 hours already. That wasn’t possible. Surely someone should have noticed already that five people had gone missing after 30 hours. For fuck’s sake, Nancy should’ve called the National Guard. 

“Do you want me obedient or not?” she managed to ask. 

Jacob squeezed a handful of her butt. “What do you mean?”

She managed to turn her head to look at him. “You want me to keep disobeying so you can punish me, but you also want to break me quickly so I’ll give in and be your perfect Omega.”

“Never said anything about perfection.” His thumbs hooked into the elastic of her underwear. “I want your obedience, sure, but I’m not gonna complain if you cop attitude with me enough that I gotta tan your ass a little. It’s fun.”

“Newsflash, this isn’t BDSM.” Dita’s voice cracked at the gentle rub of his thumbs against her hips. “We don’t have a negotiated- mmm.” 

His hands dragged up her sides, stopping just below her breasts. “I like it when you follow orders. I like it when you smell so wet I’m surprised you ain’t drippin’ through your pants. And I know I don’t get that smell when you’re scared to shit of me. So, you just behave, and I won’t scare ya. I’ll take care of ya, because I’m gonna be your Alpha and that’s my purpose. But you,” he scraped blunt nails back down to her underwear, pulling until the fabric was rumpled around her thighs like her jeans, “have the purpose of doing as you’re fucking told, and I will make sure you know that purpose.”

His hand cracked against her bare ass and Dita yelped, tensing up as pleasure-pain rocked through her. She pressed her head into her arms, eyes squeezing tightly shut. Another crack, and then another, heat blooming under where his palms had struck. Dita whined, because Alpha was cross with her but god fuck yes did Jacob know how to spank. She tried to ignore the brief sting in her chest that Jacob had simply described this all as a purpose. Somehow it would’ve been better if he’d been stalking her this whole time, determined to claim her as his own, but no. She was a nice wet Omega hole and she could’ve been anyone. 

Her thighs stuck together with her own arousal, and by the time Jacob had given her the fifth blow, her body was burning hot. Any other Alphas close by would’ve smelt it like she was on the very verge of Heat, and god did it feel like it. She couldn’t move or escape his hand, so when he left her at five smacks and rested his palms on her lower back, Dita let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the bed. She wanted to cock her legs up to cover herself but she couldn’t, not with them trapped so completely between his knees. 

“Looks like I gotta find another way to punish you when you’re bad,” his voice was a thunder-low rumble, “because you are soaked, girl. Look at you. It’s drippin’ out of ya. Do I need to up your dose?”

“Leave me alone,” she mumbled. 

“Shhh.” Jacob touched a hand to her neck, stroking at her gland. “Just take a breath. Nice and steady. Are you sorry for bitin’ me after I tried to feed you?”

Go fuck yourself, Dita’s brain said. “Mmm,” her mouth managed. 

“A little louder,” he told her. 

“Yes,” she mumbled. “I’m- sorry.” Because Dita was stubborn, but her ass stung right now, and she didn’t enjoy the thought of him spanking her another five times. 

“Good girl.” He kept on rubbing the gland, stimulating and stroking, his scent slowly working into her skin. “Now, I’m gonna get a cold cloth for your ass, and while that’s cooling off, I’m gonna feed you again. But if you bite me again, that’s your last meal of the day. Got it?”

Dita’s stomach rumbled. “Got it.”

He left her knelt up against her bed, wetting the same cloth she’d cleaned up with earlier. She wanted to cry. She wanted him to touch her, get his hand between her legs and rub her clit until she came on his fingers. And god, she wanted to kick him in the face. 

The cold, wet cloth draped across her ass. Dita gasped, tensing up at the sudden sharp change in temperature, leaning against the railings. 

“There you go.” Jacob was talking to her like she was some kind of spooked animal. 

And in some ways he wasn’t wrong. Part of her felt like she was going to jump out of her skin if he touched her again. He seemed to know that too, because he kept his hands off her as he picked up the sandwich and held it up to her mouth. Dita wanted to bite him again, so much, but she didn’t; she just ate the sandwich in silence. A little of the fire went out of her as the crushed suppressants in the sandwich worked through her system, but so much of it was natural arousal, nothing to do with an oncoming Heat. 

Dita just wished she could say that her body wasn’t burning up for Jacob Seed of all men. 

Jacob wiped her mouth clean again. The rough stroke of his thumb made her lips tingle. Fucking Alpha bullshit. She looked away, staring at the opposite wall. 

His fingers curled into her hair. “It ain’t so bad in here,” he promised. “You could be out there in the Reaping, and that would be worse than me preppin’ you to take my knot.”

Her brow furrowed. She glanced up at him. “The… the what? The Reaping?” 

His pale eyes searched her face. “The Collapse is coming,” he told her, “and we’re culling the weak from the pile so they won’t steal our food and starve us in the hard times. And out there, they’re fighting to prove they’re strong enough.”

“I don’t even know what that means,” she protested. 

“Don’t worry about it, Deputy,” he said as he got up. “That’s not your purpose.”

He fed her some kind of soup for dinner. It was kind of thin and tasted a bit like chicken, but she didn’t try to fight him on it. Tempted as she was, her ass was still hurting by the time it felt late enough to sleep. 

“I don’t get it,” Dita finally asked. “What are you doing?”

Jacob smoothed her bedding out, running his hands all over it to scent the fabric. “You’ll have to be a little more specific, girlie.”

“The suppressants are keeping me off my Heat, and sure, you said you’re weaning me off, but that can’t be it,” she pointed out. 

“Mhmm.” He glanced over at her. “You got me. Rut’s due soon, and I want you to hit your Heat the same time I hit my Rut.”

Alpha wants to breed you, her Omega hindbrain cooed as her blood ran cold. “And you think you’re gonna have me broken by then?”

“It takes ten days for civilization to collapse,” Jacob told her casually. “You’ve been here almost two. Fifth of the way there already.”

“There’s a lot more factors involved,” she shot back. “Just keeping someone like this for ten days isn’t going to make me collapse.” 

“You want me to explain my process?” Jacob asked. “You want me to tell you how I’m gonna break you down bit by bit, step by step? You think you’re gonna beat it that way? Is that it?”

“If you’re so sure of yourself, what’s the harm?” she pointed out. 

Jacob stepped away from the side of the bed and rounded it to crouch down by her. Dita felt her cheeks burn almost on instinct as her body responded to his presence, warming up. She shifted on her knees, looking away, but he grasped her chin and forced her to look at him. 

“There’s no harm,” he said. “None at all. The truth is, I just wanna see you squirm as you try to figure out what happens next. ‘What is he planning? What’s he gonna do to me? How can I get out of here?’ Maybe you won’t bite me, maybe you won’t hit me. But I know you’ll be fightin’ the good fight,” he tapped her temple with his free hand, “in here.”

Dita stiffened. “You won’t get away with this,” she told him. “The National Guard will find us.”

He chuckled softly. “Not this again, Deputy. Nobody is coming to save you.” He gripped both her wrists in one hand and unlocked her, tugging her to her feet as he pocketed the cuffs. “You belong to me. Fight it all you want. I want you to, actually. But you will work that out in the end, I promise you.”

Dita clenched her jaw. “I’m gonna fucking kill you.”

The way he leaned down to kiss the top of her head made her want to knee him in the balls, but she didn’t. There was no getting out. And if she hurt him, she was locked in here with him.

“Have a good night, Deputy,” Jacob told her, and left the room without a backward glance. 

Jacob had lowered the dosage, and by the way he was crowding her as he fed her breakfast, he knew she knew. Dita was too hungry to put up a fight this time, and she let him feed her a fairly decent bowl of scrambled eggs. A little bit of salt, pepper and butter. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d been the one to make them, but the idea seemed ridiculous. Surely not. That would just be a step too far. 

She finished eating and he dragged a hand up and down her back, underneath her tank top so his fingertips rubbed against her spine. Dita shivered, skin twitching, breaking out into ripples of goosebumps as her eyes fluttered shut. 

“Sleep well?” he murmured softly. 

“Fine,” she mumbled.

His face pressed to her hair. “Comfortable?”

Dita pressed her lips together. “Yeah.” 

“Good.” His beard scratched at her temple, then her jaw. “Would hate to find out my Omega’s in pain.”

She yanked herself away from him, pressing up against the bed as she snarled at him, “I’m not your anything.”

“Mhmm.” Jacob didn’t bat an eyelid; he pushed her hair away from her neck, exposing the gland and the welt his mouth had left. “Sure. Not yet.” One hand touched her thigh, hot against the black fabric of her jeans. “Give it time, Deputy.” 

Dita’s next protest was cut off by a lick up her jugular that ended in a heavy kiss to the mating gland, and instead all she could do was let out a soft groan. Jacob squeezed her thigh firmly, and his teeth scraped at her pulse, dancing just close enough to the gland that Dita felt herself quiver against him. This wasn’t fair. Maybe she should cuff him to the bed, get her mouth on his gland, see how he liked it, being at the mercy of his own biology. She almost sobbed as his tongue soothed where his teeth had been. 

“I don’t deserve this,” she panted. “I’m a good person!”

Nails scraped down her leg to her knee. “Doesn’t matter to me, Deputy. What you are is what you are, and that means you’ve got a purpose. And that’s all that matters to me.”

“I am- mmmm- not,” she broke off to gasp, “gonna be your little breeder!” 

That big, broad hand slid up and down her thigh as his lips and tongue worked at the oh-so-sensitive gland on her neck. Dita whimpered, biting down on her lower lip even as her hips tried to flex and guide his touch to the apex where it was starting to ache. 

Dita knew that Freud’s system of psychoanalysis was bunk; she’d learned that in high school, for fuck’s sake. And yet, she couldn’t help but think that calling the little voice in the back of her head an Id was a pretty fucking fitting term. The way it purred whenever Jacob touched her, worked his scent into her skin. All those base needs that it controlled, leaving her helpless to the fucking pheromones that only her suppressants could keep tamped down. And Jacob was now the one in charge of the only thing capable of doing so. 

“Don’t you deride yourself, Deputy.” The way his voice sounded against her throat, he might as well have called her baby when he said Deputy, all rough and low. His hand moved up to her stomach, dragging upwards until the heel pressed against her breasts and his palm was spread across her ribs. “You make it sound like somethin’ awful.” 

“It is,” she groaned, “everything a-about you is awful, fuck you!”

Jacob pulled away. 

Dita slumped against the footrail of her bed, eyes tightly shut as she tried to get her breathing under control and ignore the wet patch against her underwear. She didn’t want to think about what the sudden change meant for her. 

“I’m awful, huh?” he asked softly. “Well, that’s a shame. I thought you were enjoyin’ this, Deputy. But if I’m wrong… well, I don’t want you to hurt.” 

Her brow furrowed even as she thought back to her sore ass.

His lips quirked. “Well. Much.” 

“What are you doing?” she managed to say. 

“You hate this?” he asked. 

She nodded rapidly. “All of it.”

Those pale eyes were fixed on her. “You want me to stop?”

“Yes!” she snapped. 

He nodded. “Ok. I’ll stop.”

Wait. What? 

Panting heavily, Dita looked away. No, no. This was what he wanted. He wanted her to beg for him, to crack and tell him she needed him, and Dita still had enough control over herself to keep her dignity intact for now. Despite the fact that the seat of her underwear was soaked. Despite how much she ached for a single touch to her clit or a flick against a nipple. Just something. Anything. 

“All right then.” Jacob moved to stand. “See you at lunch.”

“Please,” spilled out of her like blood from a fucking wound and Dita regretted it the second she’d said it. 

Jacob paused, the thick scent of Alpha still stinking up the room as a soft, delighted rumbling noise filled the air. “Did you say something, Deputy?”

She swallowed. She had already said it once; maybe if she carried on saying it she’d get some relief. “Please don’t- leave me like this.” 

The warmth of him rolled over her as he crouched beside her, so so close even without touching her. The smell of him was thick as a heavy pine forest and made her heartbeat flutter . “Leave you like what, Deputy? Tell me.”

“You know like what,” she groaned. 

“Fraid I don’t.” He was somehow smug even without a smile on his face. “Explain it to me. Maybe I can help.”

“You- ugh!” Dita gripped the cuff chain tightly. “You got me all hot and bothered, Jacob. Just- don’t leave me like that!”

His thumb brushed over her jaw. “What do you want, little Omega?”

She clenched her jaw. “I want- to get off.”

Arousal shot through the air and pricked down her spine and Dita rolled her hips on instinct at the way Jacob’s pheromones spiked the air, like a cocktail at a bar left unattended too long. She let out a heavy breath. 

“And how do you want to get off, huh?” he murmured. “Could slide into ya and get you nice and ready for when my Rut hits.”

Dita shuddered, clenching her hands into fists. The idea of having Jacob fuck her was as horrifying as it was arousing, and she rapidly shook her head. “Fingers,” she whispered. “Use your fingers.”

“That’s my girl.” He grasped her elbow, turning her so that she faced him. The chain slipped down behind her head, trapping her arms up, and he reached for the zip of her jeans, dragging it slowly down. 

Dita tried to keep her breathing even, but he slid his other hand up her stomach to grip the centre of her bra, his fingertips brushing the curve of her tits. “Why… why are you making me look?” she groaned as he popped the button on her jeans.

“Because you belong to me, Deputy.” He pushed his hand down the front of her pants, rubbing against her clit. “And I want you to see who you belong to.”

“I don’t,” she cut herself off with a gasp as he touched her, “f-fuck!”

“Still fightin’.” Jacob would’ve probably sounded admiring, but his voice was getting ragged with every second he spent working his fingers into her. His palm cupped her clit. “Oh, you’re a strong little girl, aren’t ya?”

The clench around his hand as his voice washed over her made her cheeks burn in shame. She stared at his chest instead of looking him in the eyes, lips parted as his fingers fucked her deep and slow. It was so good, even if she was horrified somewhere deep in her mind at just how wet she was and how quickly she could feel that pleasure start to grow. 

“Yes,” she finally panted in response to the question, though she didn’t think it had needed an answer, but that was ok, because holy fuck it made him speed up and she let out a sharp little yelp as she arched up. 

And maybe he’d been waiting for that, because he yanked the front of her shirt down to expose her tits, lips and tongue immediately working her nipples over. Dita let out a cry, shoving her hips towards his hand, wordlessly begging for more even. 

“You hear that?” he murmured as he worked a third finger into her. “Hear how wet you are for me? God, if I didn’t wanna wait for my Rut you’d be takin’ me right now, you know that?” His tongue dragged up her breast, lips kissing her heartbeat before they found her gland. “The best things come to those who wait. The ones who’ve got the self-control to hold out for the best part.”

Dita’s knees trembled. “A-are, fffuck,” his fingers touched her sweet spot, “you- lecturing-?” 

Jacob’s touch was faster, fingertips crooking against that spot until tremors rocked her. “You saying you want me inside ya right now, huh? Gonna tap out of the fight after forty hours?”

God, what an asshole. Dita groaned as her stomach swooped. “Fuck you!”

Jacob pulled his fingers out of her. 

She almost cried. “What the fuck, no, fuck, why?!” 

“You wanna cum that bad?” he breathed, crowding her again, body pressed up flush against hers so that the dog tags were cold on her skin. His hands grabbed her hips and hefted her into his lap, erection pressing up against her crotch. “Work for it.”

Fuck. Dita rocked her hips, almost frantic as she chased the quickly-fleeting orgasm that had been so close. Jacob rumbled against her, his mouth on her gland again, sucking until it felt so good it almost hurt. The tension in her stomach grew unbearably tight. 

“That’s my girl.” He bit her pulse. “That’s my little Omega.” A low groan vibrated into her. “My pretty little Deputy, that’s it, you’re gonna cum for me, just a little practise before the big day, there’s my good girl.”

The worst part was that his praise washed over her, his voice all low and dirty and his pheromones were saying Alpha is pleased with you, Alpha likes you. Dita was helplessly hot for him as she tipped over the edge, pressing herself into the outline of his crotch to ride out the high until she slumped into his lap, shivering. In the aftermath of it all, shame washed over her, but his lips and tongue were working her gland over again like he knew it was going to be a hell of a comedown. 

“That’s it.” One hand went to pet her hair. “There you go. All better?”

Dita shivered again. “Define,” her voice cracked, “define better.” 

“You don’t feel like you’re gonna go insane?” He murmured. 

“S’the only way,” her words were a little slurred, “I’m gonna give you what you want.”

He chuckled, burying his face in her hair for a moment and taking a deep, heavy breath. A hand grasped her wrist, and then the cuffs came free, one wrist at a time, quickly gathered in his huge fist. Jacob tucked the key away and pulled her bra and shirt over her tits. “You should take a shower,” he told her. “There’s clean clothes in the dresser.”

Dita’s brain was still fried from orgasm, limbs weak, and she just slumped against the footboard as he got to his feet and left the room with her dirty plate. 

Her whole room smelt of horny Alpha, and the worst part of that was that it made Dita start building a fucking nest. 

She’d taken two showers and put on clean underwear. All the clothes in the dresser had been typical loose-fitting Peggie bullshit, and she wrinkled her nose at it. Jacob was going to have to try a little harder than that if he wanted his good little Omega to dress like one of his freaky cult followers. 

Where did he get them anyway? she wondered. Are there other women in the building? 

Her chest ached at the thought. No, stop, stop. Dita cursed the stupid Omega Id in the back of her mind. She didn’t care if Jacob had a dozen Omegas, she didn’t. He wasn’t supposed to have her in the first place and she liked it better to think that she wouldn’t have to deal with his bullshit every night. Wouldn’t have to take him all the time. To have to endure him holding her, licking her, biting her, knotting her, sleeping with her curled up against his chest-

“Motherfucker,” Dita snarled. 

Fucking bullshit hardwired instincts forcing her to bond with her goddamn kidnapper against her own will. She threw the nest on the floor and let out a loud yell. She wished there was a window so she could shatter it. Anything to take her mind off of the stupid evil asshole doing god knew fucking what somewhere nearby. 

“Fuck this,” she barked, tugging at the bed. Of course it was still bolted to the floor. 

But the mattress wasn’t. She threw the pillows against the opposite wall, and with a few angry grunts she got the mattress onto the floorboards, stomping angrily on it with her bare feet. She turned to the bedside cabinet and threw it to the side, panting angrily. Then she headed for the bathroom, yanking the towels out and throwing them onto the pile of bedding. Growling, she turned to look at the mirror. 

Her cheeks were glowing, and the strap of her tank top was halfway down her arm. Letting out a feral scream, Dita succumbed to the fury in her chest and grabbed at the mirrored cabinet, yanking and jolting it in its fixtures until it rattled. 

The door slammed open. Arms wrapped around her. Dita kicked out into the open air as she was carried out, her hand snatching at the doorway, nails digging into the wall as she hooked a heel around the lintel. Her head threw back, but just hit a firm chest. 

“Jesus christ,” Jacob barked, yanking her out into the bedroom. He threw her into the soft pile, panting. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

Dita’s eyes fell on the dark green jacket and she bared her teeth. “Give it,” she demanded. 

His brows rose. “What?”

“Your jacket,” she pushed herself up onto her feet, holding out her hand, “gimme your fucking jacket, Alpha.” 

He crossed his arms over his chest. “You wanna explain what this shit is first, huh?”

“No, I fucking don’t,” she shot back, “and what are you gonna do about it?”

“You want me to put you over my knee?” Jacob asked. His voice was low, soft, threatening. 

“Fucking do it,” Dita dared him. “Hit me every time I make you mad, go ahead. It’s about what I expect you to do anyway.” 

The smell of his pheromones should’ve been like a bucket of water on her anger, the way his fury filled the room. His jaw clenched, eyes flaring before staring directly into hers. Alpha is mad at us, the Id whispered. Alpha’s angry, we fucked up, we shouldn’t have done this. But Dita was about to scream, and she was shaking, adrenaline rushing through her body, almost enough to make her sick. 

“Why do you want my jacket?” he finally asked. 

She gestured to the pile. “I’m nesting. You know what that means, right? I need a thing from you. Something you’ve worn.”

He remained stoic and unmoved, still staring. “You think I’m gonna give you my jacket after this little stunt, Deputy?”

“You’re meant to be my Alpha,” she snarled. “You’re supposed to provide for me. You should’ve given me something from day fucking one but you didn’t. So go on and put me over your knee and grope me or whatever your plan was this time. But leave me with your jacket afterwards, because that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

Jacob watched her for a few moments, unreadable. “Clean this up,” he finally said. “And once it’s clean, you can have my jacket. Deal?”

She clenched her fists and looked away towards the mess for a second before she nodded. “Deal.”

He didn’t lift a finger to help her; he just watched her put the room back together, and it took her a while, especially with the mattress, but she finally had it clean again. Her lower lip was trembling at the feeling of cool anger that was wafting off him. She couldn’t look up at him. She didn’t want to. It was his fault she was here, stalking like a caged lion around this tiny, windowless scent trap. 

“Are you going to do this again?” he asked her. 

Dita pressed her lips together, shaking her head. “No.”

“Good.” Fabric rustled, and then there was a pile of heavy camo fabric being pushed towards her. “You will ask next time you need somethin’ from me. Or there’s gonna be consequences. Do you understand?”

Dita finally looked up, meeting his pale blue gaze. “Yes,” she whispered. 

Jacob nodded, then gestured with his head towards a sandwich on the dresser. “Your lunch is there,” he told her. “You can spend it alone today. Don’t ever do anything like this again.” He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, boots like thunder on the wood. 

Dita pressed her face into the jacket and started to sob. 

She was wearing his jacket when he came in with her dinner. 

Dita scrambled to her feet, hands clenched into fists at her side, glancing up to meet his eyes. He paused, and that pale gaze dragged down her body, brow quirking the tiniest bit. Alpha is pleased, his scent told her, and Dita felt herself relax like a cut marionette as he came over to her. She sat on the bed slowly, swallowing. 

“We got that out of your system?” he asked quietly. 

Dita nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good girl.” He handed her the plate. “Do you feel better with the jacket?” 

“Yes,” she admitted, glancing over the plate. It had strips of chicken and slices of fried potato with raw cauliflower, and it made her stomach rumble. She picked up a piece of chicken and popped it into her mouth. It didn’t have any breading but it’d been fried too, and there was some salt and pepper on it. 

“Gonna tell me what that was all about?” His eyes were boring into her, hot on her face. 

“Where did you get the women’s clothes?” she mumbled around a mouthful of potato. 

“Oh, angel.” He raised a hand to her loose hair. “Is that it? Are you upset that I might have other Omegas hidden around the place?”

“I don’t care,” she insisted after she swallowed. 

“Don’t lie.” Jacob curled a lock of her hair around his finger. “There’s no need to be jealous, Deputy. You’re the only Omega in this building. I keep you locked up here safe from the other Alphas. The clothes are just spares we had lying around. They don’t belong to anyone. They’re definitely not from another Omega.”

Dita shoved the cauliflower into her mouth and chewed on it, hoping the crunching would keep him from being able to talk to her. She wasn’t jealous. It was her stupid Omega biology wanting him. That fucking Id that ignored what her actual mind wanted. She felt the tips of her ears burning and was glad they were hidden under her hair. 

“It’s just my biology,” she told him. “It’s not me. You know that.”

“And she’s talking like I’ve already claimed her,” he murmured. “I’m flattered, you know that? Less than 72 hours and you’re already comin’ around to the idea of being my Omega.”

She bit off a handful of fried potato and let out a soft breath. “Not like I could be anyone else’s,” she muttered. “You won’t let me see anyone else.”

“Ahhh.” He sounded like he’d hit on something. “You’re mad I’m leavin’ you alone, huh?”

She flinched. “No. Fuck no. Absolutely not.”

“Isolation breaks a person. We both know that.” The scent of pine grew stronger, soft and inviting and soothing. “You don’t wanna be left by yourself all day, is that it?”

Dita pressed her lips together. “It’s been almost three days.”

“Shhh.” Fingertips stroked along her scalp. “Eat your dinner. I won’t leave you by yourself, ok? I promise.”

Her throat tightened. She wanted to shove him away, but he pressed up against her, all big and warm, smelling like the forests outside, and Dita just silently ate her food, resisting the urge to curl into him. He ran his fingers along the back of her neck, slow and gentle. Iit made her shiver, and when his nail dragged up her scalp she moaned softly around a mouthful of potato. She wished he would leave her by herself. 

Trying to draw out her meal so he wouldn’t have as long with her proved pretty futile. She was hungry, and he wasn’t going anywhere. When the plate was empty, he took it off her and set it aside, a hand dragging up her back to fist a handful of her hair. Dita groaned, her head tilting back instinctively to let him. Even as her eyes fluttered shut she let him tug her gently down onto her back. Warmth rolled over her and she blinked open long enough to see he was knelt up over her, drinking in the sight of her. She hated it. She didn’t want him to be looking at her like that. Dita looked away. 

The wrong way, though, because she exposed her mating gland to him and Jacob’s mouth was on that like it was fucking magnetic. Dita yelped at the first lick against her gland, grabbing at the dark t-shirt. The rabbit’s foot stroked against her tank top when she arched up unwittingly, wet heat curling in her gut. She fisted handfuls of gray cotton, trembling head to toe when he sucked. His thighs spread hers open. 

“Th-this isn’t,” Dita swallowed, resisting the urge to grind her hips up against his as that fluttering heat grew in her stomach, “you aren’t gonna- fuck!” 

His teeth scraped along the mark like nails on a chalkboard, like two pieces of flint, and Dita’s toes curled as she let out a strangled cry. The seat of her underwear was sodden. Her bra rubbed against her nipples with every frantic breath she took. She hated how quickly he could take her apart like this without even touching her clit. 

Jacob dragged one of her hands off his shirt. “God, you smell so fucking good.” 

He pressed his face into her wrist, and Dita only had a second to recover from the way he’d been driving her wild with her mating gland before he was sucking at her pulse, lips and tongue playing with the sensitive skin on her wrist. His teeth nipped, and the brief sharp pain and threat of danger almost made her cum then and there. 

She couldn’t stop herself; she rubbed against him, against the hard outline of his erection, listening to the rumble in his chest as she gripped his t-shirt tighter. He yanked her free hand off his back and pinned both wrists down. Dita was turned the right way to watch him drag his tongue up her forearm, and she thought about the way it would look if he licked his way down her inner thigh-

Jacob’s hips shoved against hers as he bit at her wrist, and one carefully-placed grind of his cock against her clit sent her toppling over the edge with a loud cry. Her thighs squeezed around his. Her head fell back against the pillow as liquid heat pulsed through her. She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to look at him. At how smug he’d be. 

But a few moments of quiet panting and Dita realised he hadn’t said a word. Blinking, she turned to look back at him. 

“You’re makin’ it real hard to keep my dick out of ya,” he told her. His voice was rough, gliding across her skin like the scrape of nails during sex. He smelt fantastic. 

Dita swallowed, trembling. “Thought- you were trying to have- restraint.”

He let go of her wrists and shoved away from her, clambering off the bed. Dita sat up as he knocked at the door, but he walked through without a word and locked it behind her. Falling back onto her bed, she pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, knees drawing up. Had she done something wrong?

No, that was good, she wanted to do things wrong and have him leave her alone. 

Stupid Omega Id wanted her to cry like a baby, but she swallowed down the temptation. She got to her feet, still slightly shaky, and headed for the bathroom to run the cold tap. Wetting a flannel, she rubbed her wrists until they were almost raw, then scrubbed at her face and neck. The last thing she needed was to go to bed smelling like Jacob had been all over her. If she did that it’d get all over the bed and then the bed would smell of him. 

She finally left the bathroom. There was a fresh wave of Jacob’s scent in the room, and when she rounded the corner to look at her bed she found it piled high with his t-shirts, all soaked in his smell. Dita shivered, and oh god but she knew her Heat was coming. Without even thinking, she reached for the bedding, stripping her clothes off so she could dive into the pile and curl into it. Whatever his shirts were made from, they were soft, and she buried her face in them, inhaling deeply. 

Fuck. 

She should’ve thrown them to one side. She should’ve ripped them to shreds. They smelt like both of them now; her bed would be saturated in the scent and she wouldn’t be able to sleep there without thinking about him all night. Dita groaned and rolled onto her back, rubbing her face. She could soak them all, but then Jacob would know it was because she’d touched them. She couldn’t burn them or flush them either. 

Dita wrapped her arms around her chest, a t shirt pressing against her naked tits as she let out a heavy sigh. She couldn’t believe that any of this shit was working on her. She knew better. And yet her body refused to let her be at peace. As much as she hated to admit it, Jacob might’ve been right. 

And god but that fucking sucked. 

Her rational thought wanted to throw every last t-shirt onto the floor, Jacob’s reaction be damned, but Dita tugged the fabric up to her face and took a deep breath, eyes closing tightly. She hated her fucking biology, she really did. Being at the mercy of Jacob Seed, even worse than it would have been if she were a Beta, with every breath making her own body betray her to try and bond with him. 

In 24 hours she would be going into Heat, Jacob would probably be going into Rut, and that was going to be it. The law would firmly dictate that she belonged to him, mind body and soul. 

Dita laid back and tried to feel more angry about it. 

She was dozing when the door swung open, and suddenly he was in the room with her, and she was completely naked. Dita grabbed one of his shirts and hurried into it, rolling over.

"What?" she grunted.

Jacob stepped over to the bed and grasped her shoulder, pushing her back down. Dita tense, grabbing his wrist. 

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"You're doin' good," he told her softly. "Responding to the conditioning real well." He got her onto her back easily, and pushed until she was lying on her side. "Won't be long now before I can claim you." 

Present for Alpha, her Id told her. Dita growled at it, at him. "That doesn't explain why you're in my room this late."

Jacob kicked off his boots, then lay down behind her, sliding an arm across her stomach. Dita felt her whole body relax at the sudden warmth of him through the two shirts even as she stiffened, clasping her hands against her chest. 

"What are you doing?" she mumbled. 

“We both know how close you are to your Heat.” His fingers traced little circles into her hip. “Tomorrow morning is the last time I give you your pills, and I’ve got a little test for you.” 

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Shhh.” His left hand slid into her hair. “I’m not askin’ you to understand. I’m tellin’ you what’s gonna happen. Gonna take you out of this room for a little bit for the test, and if you pass, I’ll get Peaches to take you to my room.”

“Peaches?” Dita repeated. “Who’s Peaches?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow, girl,” Jacob said.

She fidgeted. “Did- is that the only reason you came in here?”

His fingertips curled along the hem of the t-shirt. “Depends.” His voice dropped low. “You gonna let me at you, hmm?”

Yes please, the Id whispered. Alpha’s so good with his fingers, he’ll make it so good, we’re so close to being ready for him. And fuck, but she was so close to her Heat, and Jacob was so warm and he smelt so good when he was pressed up against her like this-

“No,” she muttered. “Thanks.”

He nodded. “Suit yourself.” Settling down against her, he buried his face in her hair. 

“You’re not leaving?” she asked after a moment. 

He just chuckled softly. 

Dita woke up alone. 

In theory that should’ve been fine. She did not want Jacob. Jacob was not her mate. She hated him. This was assault and a crime and she needed to find him and be claimed so that nobody could keep them apart-

“I am not weak,” she whispered. “I can fight this. I can fight him.”

She stripped off his shirt and stormed into the bathroom. This many showers was going to be hell on her hair, but she didn’t give a shit. She needed to wash his scent off before it drove her crazy. She would need to make full use of the tiny dose he was going to give her, because she was going to need to ride it out as long as she could. Fucking bullshit biology forcing her into this position. 

Dita took a spitefully long time in the shower; let Jacob wait. The longer she spent in there the more time she could buy herself. Even if her skin started to prickle under the jets of water. Even if she felt herself clench around nothing. Her fingertips ached to rub at her clit and she tried to ignore it. Her thighs pressed together and came apart slippery.

We need him. We need him we need him we need Alpha. Stop making us hurt! 

With a loud snarl Dita shut the water off and leaned back against the tiles behind her, shivering. The momentary bite of cold helped soothe a little of the heat, but if she left it too much longer, she was going to end up rolling around on the floor and Jacob… Jacob had already bust the door down once before. He wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, especially when he was in Rut. He’d end up taking her against the shower. Dita tried not to imagine him turning the water on and him fucking her under the stream, shirt clinging to him as he filled her up so good-

Jesus christ. 

Her mouth ached. She pushed the door open and stepped out of the shower, scrubbing at her skin to dry herself off. Little whimpers dropped from her lips with every scrape of the towel against her skin and she, oh god, she was on the bleeding edge now. She needed those suppressants. Before she went insane. 

Darting out of the bathroom, she pulled herself into some clothes and began to brush her hair. She needed to make everything hurt so that it would distract her from the need that started to claw at her belly. Hunger, both kinds of hunger. She wanted food. Want to mate. Dita knew if she yanked on her own hair it would help a little.

There was a knock at the door. 

"Who is it?" Dita snapped.

"Brought food." 

She didn't recognize the voice, and she frowned. Jacob had mentioned someone called Peaches last night, but he’d refused to elaborate on it and Dita wasn’t enjoying the guessing games. "Is this some kind of trick?"

"It's Peaches," the voice told her. "Can I come in?"

Her brow furrowed. She couldn't smell anything outside the door. And surely Jacob wouldn't let another Alpha in her room…

"Ok," she replied.

The door swung open, and Staci Pratt stepped into the room.

"Oh my god," Dita sobbed. 

She darted to him, throwing her arms around him. She barely registered that he was holding a bowl of food; she slammed into him and buried her head in his neck, tears wetting her cheeks. Staci froze, and then an arm wrapped around her, squeezing her tightly. Dita shook against him. The onset of her Heat forgotten, she cried into his t-shirt. 

“You’re ok,” she whispered. “You’re- you’re ok.” 

“Barely,” Staci grunted. “And I’m gonna be worse if I don’t get you to eat.”

Dita’s brow furrowed, and she pulled back to actually look at him. Her skin froze. Staci was covered in bruises, along his face and arms and a little on his neck. He hadn’t frozen; he’d flinched. She swallowed, pressing a hand to her mouth. “What… happened?” she asked. 

He held the bowl out to her. “I can’t talk,” he whispered. “You gotta eat.”

Suppressants. Dita grabbed the bowl of scrambled eggs and sat on her bed, wolfing it down. Maybe she could try to make herself ill and then Jacob wouldn’t go anywhere near her. 

She glanced up at Staci between bites. He was completely still, staring down at the ground. She’d never seen him like this and it unnerved her. “Hey.”

The man looked like a deer in the headlights when their eyes met. “Eat!”

Dita blinked. “Ok, ok. But just tell me what happened while I do, ok?”

He fidgeted, fingers playing with the leather bands around his wrist. “...do you even know what’s happening outside?”

She shook her head. “There’s no windows in here. No radio. You’re the first person I’ve seen in three days.”

Staci’s brow furrowed. “You’ve been here for an entire week. Almost longer.”

Dita froze. “What?”

“It’s the 14th,” Staci told her. 

She almost threw the food against the wall. “Where the fuck is the National Guard?!” she snarled. 

Staci flinched again. “They’re not coming. They- god, I forgot you weren’t in the helicopter. Nancy’s a fucking Peggie, Di. Dispatch won’t call for help.”

Dita wanted to throw the bed against the fucking wall this time, but she finished the bowl full of eggs. “Tell me everything,” she whispered. 

Staci paused. “...walk and talk,” he said after a moment, pulling a pair of cuffs out of his pocket. “I’m sorry. I have to.”

She let out a slow, heavy breath, closing her eyes, and then Dita held up her wrists. “Go on then. Let’s get this over with.”

The cuffs were cold on her wrists, but she just let it happen. Staci tugged at her elbow to get her to stand, leading her towards the door. 

“Where even are we?” Dita asked. 

“The vet centre. Up in the mountains. Jacob’s made it his own personal prison,” Staci muttered. “First they take you to the Grandview and they stick you in the chair and they force you to- to listen to that song. And then if you live, you come here.”

“Chair? Song?” Dita gazed at his bruises again as he led her through the door, into a small corridor with another door at the end. 

“It’s brainwashing,” he said. “That’s what the rest of us get. All the Omegas got rounded up and dragged off to John’s bunker. The Alphas got brought here to see just how powerful they were. And the Betas… we got lucky, I guess. We could’ve ended up anywhere. Faith’s Angels, or one of John’s converts… or here. Jacob’s little army.”

“The whole county?” Dita asked. 

“Yeah.” Staci opened the other door, and then Dita got to see the entirety of the vet centre. 

It was old, with broken walkways and split beams. The room she’d been staying in looked like a luxury hotel in comparison. “How is this place still standing?” she wondered. 

“This is just the part where they do the Trials,” Staci told her. “The rest of it’s fine.”

She glanced over at him. “The Trials? Is that the brainwashing?”

Staci led her towards a door to their left. “Your prize for winning is living.”

“Am…” Dita paused. “Am I doing a Trial?”

The laugh he gave her was kind of mean. “Bachchan. You’re way too important to risk in some kinda life or death match.”

She frowned. “What, because I’m an Omega?” 

Staci pulled open the door and guided her inside, towards a chair with straps and cuffs for her wrists and ankles. “Yeah, Di. Because Jacob wants to make babies with you.” 

Dita dug her heels in. “Wait, Staci. Staci, please. You can get me out. You are gonna get me out, right?”

“I can’t.” He started to tug her towards the chair. “Please, just, take a seat.”

Dita yanked away, dashing towards the door, but Staci grabbed her shoulders and god, he was stronger somehow as he pulled her to the chair and shoved her down into it, holding her there. When she looked up into his eyes, they were crazed. 

“You don’t get it.” His voice was raspy like he hadn’t had a drink all day. “If I get you out of here, he won’t just kill me. He’ll torture me. And he’ll let every Chosen take their turn torturing me first. Then he’ll throw me to the Judges, if I’m still alive. I don’t have a choice.”

Dita kicked out at him as he knelt, and he grabbed her ankles. She arched up to headbutt him and his fingers found her throat, pinning her to the chair. Tears stung her eyes. “You can’t. Staci, you can’t!” 

“I have to!” he snarled, and shoved her foot against the chair, looping the cuffs around her ankle. She kicked at him and he just took it, bracing against the ground before he snatched her other foot and cuffed it. Those big dark feral eyes met hers. “I don’t have a choice. Not if I wanna live!”

“And what about me?!” she yelled. “You’re just gonna sit there and listen as Jacob- every fucking night, Staci, do you think I’m gonna get a break?!”

Staci slammed her wrists down against one arm of the chair and a yelp escaped her. He jumped back like she’d shocked him and his eyes darted over to a small table she hadn’t noticed before, where a camera was sat pointing at the chair. Dita’s blood froze. 

“Please,” Staci whispered, “all you need to do is sit in the chair.”

“And then what?” she growled. “What happens then?” 

"He said to just wait," Staci whispered. "Please, Di. Please, you gotta just- just do as he says, please. I can't- if he gets mad at me…"

Dita swallowed. This was fucked up. Her situation was shitty, sure, but god, Staci was deep in it. Her lower lip trembled. "I can't be someone's breeder for the rest of my life, Staci." 

He stared at her. Then he tugged one hand into the leather cuff and secured it, undoing the metal cuff. "You're gonna be looked after," he said. "Jacob will take care of you. He'll keep you safe. That's a damn sight more than anyone else in the County is gonna get."

Dita's free fist cracked into his face. 

"Fuck you," she snarled, "fuck the fucking idea that I'm somehow getting the easy end of this bargain, you fucking bastard!" 

Staci jolted back, hands clapping over his nose. Dita unbuckled her other hand and wrenched at the cuffs on her ankles. He recovered quickly, grabbing her shoulders to slam her against the chair but Dita drew her knees up and kicked him backwards. He landed hard on his ass. 

There was another door opposite the one they'd come in from. Dita threw herself over to it and wrenched at the handle. It swung open with a squeak. She slammed it shut behind her, spinning around. 

The hallway she was standing in was lined up and down with men in red balaclavas and red camo jackets. The air was thick with the scent of Alpha pheromones. She froze, but it was too late. Every single head turned to look at her, bodies following, facing her, staring at her. Dita felt that simmering heat just below her skin. If she took a deep breath, she would just inhale the combined scent of every Alpha in the building. 

Ok then. 

She steadied herself. Maybe Staci and Jacob were both right. She couldn’t fight this. Couldn’t fight her own body or what Jacob had done to her to make her want him like this. And maybe being a breeder for the rest of her life was as cushy as she was going to get. But she wasn’t about to let any of these assholes at her. If she was going to end up claimed by an Alpha, she could at least pick the one she knew could make her cum. 

If these guys had all gone through a Trial like Staci, if they were all Jacob’s private army, then that meant they followed his orders. 

Did that mean they had to follow hers? 

"Where's Jacob?" she managed to ask, keeping her voice as even as she could. 

A few of them glanced at a set of double doors on the opposite side of the long atrium she'd found herself in. 

"Ok." She would find a way to escape out of Jacob's room. She doubted he kept himself hidden from daylight. 

One footstep forward. Then another. There were two Alphas nearby, watching her, and neither of them were moving as she approached, forcing her to step around them. She held her breath, clenching her jaw. When one of them leaned forward she snapped at him, twisting away and baring her teeth. 

Not the right Alpha, her Id insisted. Don't let them touch us. 

“You sniff me and your boss is going to throw you to the Judges,” Dita threatened. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know what the hell a Judge was. Staci had been scared enough of the word for it to mean something. 

A few of the Alphas nearby shuffled away, looking anywhere but her, and she nodded, narrowing her eyes as she stormed off towards the double doors. The thought of who was behind them made her want to scream. There were enough suppressants in her that she still had coherent thought, but that wasn’t going to last long. She doubted that the pills were strong enough to work through what must have been at least fifteen Alphas in the same room as her. God, he’d probably only given her half a dose. 

Her feet felt like lead as they reached the double doors. So did her hands and arms. She raised one slowly to the door, rapping on it. 

“What do you want?”

“Can you let me in?” she called. 

There was a pause. Heavy footsteps thundered across the floor, and the door swung open to reveal Jacob behind it. He moved aside to let her in even as his smell washed over her. Dita let out a heavy breath as she stepped inside, her skin prickling. The sound of the lock turning behind her made her hair stand on end but she ignored it. 

“So.” Jacob’s voice was low, soft. “Where’s Peaches?”

Dita glanced up at him. “I thought you knew.”

His brow rose, and his eyes darted over to the left-hand wall. There were rows of screens on the far corner. Dita could just about pick out a figure pacing back and forth in a small room with a single chair. 

“Pretty brave of ya to walk out there like that,” he murmured. Alpha is very very pleased, his scent said.

“Figured my,” Dita felt her cheeks burn, “chances were better in here.”

“Couldn’t turn your little buddy, huh?” he asked. “That was a nice kick. If you weren’t an Omega, I’d have put you through a Trial. You probably would’ve won, too.”

Why isn’t Alpha touching us? her Id pouted. We came here for him. 

It was like Jacob knew what that little voice was saying, and he raised a hand to cup her face. “You gonna come willin’, then?”

“Yeah,” Dita heard herself say, breathless. “Yeah, I’m willing.” 

His fingertips moved to her gland. “What changed your mind?”

"Staci made an asshole comment," Dita told him, "and I'm pissed about this, so grab the opportunity whilst I'm mad enough to agree to it." 

Jacob grabbed; he hauled Dita into his arms, carrying her over to a huge bed in the corner of the room that smelt both fresh, unused and thickly layered in Jacob’s scent. Fucked as this situation was, the fact that he’d been so prepared was kind of impressive. But then, he had his own fucking army, and Dita was getting the feeling that Jacob enjoyed being in control all the time. 

Which meant she was fucked, because if there was one aspect of being an Omega that Dita really enjoyed it was the way people were queuing up to dom her. 

His mouth found her neck, licked at her gland, and fire burned low in Dita’s core as his tongue dragged along her pulse. It licked under her skin, but it didn’t consume her yet; the suppressants were still in her system. Not that it would take long; Jacob hadn’t intended them to last much longer than her test. Which-

“Hey,” she panted, “what, mmmm, what was my test?” 

His beard scratched at her jaw. “Peaches was meant to strap you down,” he licked, “and then wait for ya to wean off those pills. After that, well.” He drew back a little, leaning over her, the warmth and scent of pine filling her lungs. “Was a matter of how long it took ya to beg for him to go get me.”

Dita licked her lips. “Did I fail?” she asked. 

He laughed. “No, angel. Fuck.” His thumb stroked along her gland until she let out a soft groan. “You passed with flying colours. Good girl.” 

Oh holy fuck. 

The only reason Dita wasn’t dripping down her thighs right now was the pills keeping her sane, but she was so close. A little more, and nature would override medicine. 

Something that Jacob was already trying to do as one hand pushed between them to undo her jeans, the other cupping her neck as his mouth moved back to her gland to get her worked up and wet as his scent thickened. He was on the edge of Rut and it was doing things to her body. 

“Humour me.” He nipped at her pulse; it fluttered under his teeth. “Am I your first Alpha?” 

Dita’s breath caught at the hint of danger but there was no fear in her as she reached for Jacob’s shoulders, kicking off her shoes. “I- really don’t wanna tell you yes,” she gasped.

He shifted to one side, kneeling up and grabbing the hem of her jeans. With a yank he pulled them down to her knees and then lifted her calves up to take both her pants and her underwear off in one sharp movement. He was strong but he wasn’t rough, and Dita’s brow furrowed as that little Id protested. He should be mad for her right now. 

“You’re,” her breath was getting ragged as he reached for her shirt, “very- controlled.” 

There was a tearing sound as the fabric shredded under his hands. “I took a little somethin’ to keep the Rut from poppin’ up too soon. Didn’t want to lose my shit with you still locked up in the chair.”

“How long were you expecting to wait?” she breathed. 

Jacob caught her hands when she went to unhook her bra. “Honestly, I thought we were gonna be waitin’ until nightfall.” Those pale eyes were fixed on her. “Can’t believe you just delivered yourself to me.”

Nightfall. The thought of being strapped into that chair until nightfall made pain spike in her gut. God, she wouldn’t have survived. “You don’t need to flatter me.” 

“It ain’t flattery.” He yanked the front of her bra down so that her tits popped free. “You’re tough. Walked through an entire room of Alphas on half a pill without flinching.”

“I’m gonna let you knot me.” Dita arched up to let him at the clasp of her bra. “You don’t need to make me like you.”

He tossed the underwear aside, and a hand wrapped firmly around her neck. Dita would’ve panicked but his scent said pleased. Alpha likes this. Alpha’s happy with you. She swallowed. His other hand was curving along her stomach, towards her chest, and the trail of his fingertips was leaving heat in its wake. 

“What do you think?” he wondered. “One good orgasm and then you’ll start gettin’ all whiny?” 

“Yeah.” She tried to keep her voice level. She still couldn’t believe she was doing this, lying patiently underneath Jacob Seed after all the shit she’d given him over the past week. “It better be a good orgasm. That’s why I picked you.”

“You picked me?” he chuckled. “Is that what you think?”

“A whole corridor of Alphas got ignored for you,” she shot back. “You better be worth it.”

His brow quirked. “You’re mouthy, Bachchan,” he chuckled. 

And then his mouth was on her neck again as he cupped her breasts in both hands, thumbs rolling her nipples back and forth. She let out a sharp gasp, her nails digging into his shoulders as she arched up into the touch. With the suppressants still in her system, skin-on-skin contact felt muted, but every time he lapped at her gland it was like a little trickle of Heat that would eventually break the dam. It would hit like a rush of warmth and sensation that would make anything less than his knot an almost painful experience. 

“You l-like the- the fighting,” she mewled. 

“I do.” His teeth nipped at her neck. “The fight’s the best part of ya, you know that? Well.” He squeezed one of her breasts. “One of the best.”

Dita laid out on the bed, prostrate below him, her thigh coming up to rub against his. The feeling of the denim on her bare skin made her groan, especially when his hips ground into hers, catching her clit, smearing her slick across the front of his lap. “Gonna, oh, you’re gonna be mad if- if I- if I give, oh god, give up?”

Jacob’s tongue lapped down her neck and his lips sucked at her collarbone. Those pale eyes found hers again. “Disappointed?” he asked. “You give up and I get to fuck ya,” he ground into her, “every night. I’m not gonna turn that down.”

Another break in the dam. Dita whined, turning her head so he could get to her mark. “Then you better start before I change my mind!”

A few more broad licks were all the gland got before his face was buried in her tits, mouth teasing and sucking at her nipples. She arched again, gripping his biceps. Alpha is very pleased, the Id cooed. We’re doing so well. 

“You ain’t gonna walk out this room for the next couple nights.” His voice was ragged. His hand scraped nails down her stomach. “I’m gonna fuck you ‘til there’s no fucking way you’re gonna forget who you belong to, you hear me?” Two fingers pushed into her, filling her up. 

“Oh god,” she whined, listening to the sound of his hand as he carefully worked her open. The wet lap of his tongue joined in, and Dita’s toes curled. “F-fuck, please.” 

“Please what?” he murmured, sucking at her nipple. 

“I don’t know,” she admitted with a soft sob, as fractures spread across that dam. The scent of him settled on her tongue, warm on her skin. “Just- more!” 

“Shhh.” The attempt to soothe her didn’t really work when the pheromones that filled the air were getting thick and heady. “Good girl. Tell me what you need.”

“Your mouth,” she forced out.

He bit her roughly on the way down, and there would be teeth marks in her belly when she checked next, but that didn’t matter, because finally his face was between her thighs and he was blowing cool air against her clit. It throbbed and she wanted to cry. 

“God, you’re drippin’,” he purred. “All for me?”

“Only you,” she whispered. 

He licked up her thigh. “Oh, that’s funny,” he chuckled. 

She glanced up, watching the way her thighs framed his face. “What is?” 

“Tell ya later.”

He sucked her clit into his mouth without warning or warmup and Dita almost screamed. She drew her legs up against her chest and Jacob's fingers fucked her, in and out and fast. The scent of him was getting thicker and Dita realised that just tasting her was enough to have him on the bleeding edge of Rut. 

Not that she was doing much better; she could feel her Heat starting in a slow wave of pressure that rolled over her skin. She twitched with every inch that crept over her, tangling her fingers into Jacob's hair to try and ground herself between the waves of pleasure his tongue was sending over her and the prickle washing across her skin. Her nipples were almost painfully hard and when he reached up to cup her breast, his rough palm rubbed against the stiff peak and Dita keened in desperation.

Maybe she was pent up after a week of being stuck in a windowless room. Maybe Jacob's stupid conditioning had worked after all. Either way, a single glance at his mouth working her over coincided with him sliding a third finger into her, and Dita shrieked as a sudden orgasm shocked her. It was good; it sent every nerve in her body into fiery-hot ecstasy and made her toes curl as her thighs snapped shut around his face. 

His hands found her waist and gripped tightly. Nails scratched along her bare skin. Dita took a deep breath and could taste rain on her tongue. Now. Now now now please, her Id begged, Alpha needs to claim NOW. 

He pulled away from her, kneeling up over her as he wiped his mouth clean. Dita sat up, her hands going for his jeans so he could pull his shirt off and toss it aside. She had the button open and the zip undone when he rolled her onto her stomach. The visceral need that pummeled her at the age-old position of presentation briefly made Dita's higher thinking sigh in a mixture of despair and amusement at the idea of ever being able to overcome her most basic instincts. 

Dita watched over her shoulder, seeing his jeans drop before he tugged his underwear off his hips. His shoes clattered to the floor but Dita was way too focused on the length of his cock. Fuck, that was nice. All curved and thick with a ring of red hair wrapped around the base of it. If she weren't burning, if the mantra in her mind wasn't take me, mate me, claim me, she would've rolled over and swallowed him down. 

There was about a half second of being able to see him before he was on top of her, crowding her, and at the beginning of the week Dita would’ve yelled and fought, shoved him off of her, but oh god, she arched up, thighs wide and wet. Jacob’s cock pressed against her folds and without a word he pushed into her, one thrust seating him knot-deep. Dita gripped the covers, her face pressing into them as a tremor rocked her. Fuck. Ok, so all those romance novels talking about the sheer ecstasy of taking Alpha dick for the first time actually had some truth to them. And the heavy growl Jacob let out as he filled her was fucking fantastic to feel vibrate against her back, between her shoulders where his dog tags sat.

“Fuck.” A hand curled into her hair, tugging from the roots to bare her gland to him. “You’re all tight for me, little girl.” 

Dita rocked her hips; it worked him in and out a little, which was what her body needed. What it also did was drag another one of those growls out of Jacob’s chest. He wound the thick mess of her hair around his hand like it was a strip of leather and fuck if that didn’t make her think of him collaring her. A heavy pulse of arousal shot through her. 

“You hurt, baby?” He tried to make it come out soft and sweet but he was too far gone. It was all rough. It glided across her skin like hot fingertips. 

“No,” she panted. “Please, please.” 

His hips clapped against hers as he thrust forward, almost shoving her down into the sheets. “Told ya I’d make you beg for it.”

The faint source of higher thinking was pissed, but Dita was a fucking mess, and all she did was meet his thrusts, pushing back. Jacob didn’t seem too focused on his victory. His left hand slid up underneath her, cupping a breast. His tongue swiped along her neck, hungrily lapping her gland. Dita bit into the sheets, shaking. He kept her pinned there with his chest, using his hips and thighs to fuck her hard. The room got loud with a wet slapping sound and the gasps of their panting. 

I’m a cop, something in her tried to protest. I have autonomy. I have the choice. I’m not just some fucking cultist’s breeding tool. We should be screaming for this to stop. 

“Second I smelled ya in that fucking church you were mine,” Jacob snarled, pulling on her hair until she cried out and shook. “Anyone ever tell you what your scent is, baby?”

Dita shook her head as best she could with her hair trapped in his iron grip, her heels digging into the backs of his thick thighs every time he got knot-deep in her, the length and thickness of him nudging at her sweet spot. 

“Jasmine,” teeth scraped at the junction of neck and shoulder, “wet earth,” his hand dragged down her stomach, pushing between the thick curls covering her mound, “and fuckin’ apple, angel, like the goddamn fruit of Eden.”

Dita almost sobbed as his fingers circled her clit, rubbing rapid circles that sent lightning crackling across her skin. She squirmed against him, trembling. Pleasure curled in her core, relentlessly growing. “Pine,” she managed to gasp out. "Rain." 

“That’s cute,” he chuckled breathlessly, licking at her gland. His teeth nipped at it again. 

Dita pitched over the edge with a scream, shaking underneath him. He pinned her down with his hips, catching her between his lap and his hand so she couldn’t escape the way his fingers moved faster against her until she really was sobbing. His breath fanned over her damp neck, and he licked his own saliva off her skin as he kissed across the back of her shoulders, never letting her recover. 

“Want me to knot ya?” he panted. “Get you all full of me so you can be a mom?”

Dita ignored the part of her shrieking about how dangerous this was. 

“Please,” she groaned. 

Jacob pulled out.

Which was the opposite of what she wanted, but before she could protest he had flipped her onto her back and pushed back into her with another hard thrust. Dita grabbed at the sheets, hands above her head. He spread her wide open, grabbing her wrists to pin them where they were as he drove down into her. Every time their bodies met there was a lick of heat against her clit, and Dita whimpered, her eyes fluttering shut. 

“I know, baby,” his chest pressed against hers, his mouth on her jaw, “this ain’t traditional, usually it’s the other way ‘round so I’d get to see your ass as I got my knot in ya, fuck, and don’t worry, I’ll make ya present all proper at the end, but right now I wanna watch those big fuckin’ eyes as I lock in ya and see if your frazzled little brain wants to protest the fact you’re about to get knocked up.”

He wanted her to fight him still. What had he said a couple days ago? About her biting him during sex? Traditionally the Alpha and Omega bit each other, and Dita thought about sinking her teeth into his throat without hurting him even as new pressure coiled in her stomach. 

“I want it,” she whined. “Please, please Jacob, Alpha!” 

“Fuck.” He sucked in a breath as he licked up her pulse. “There’s my good girl.”

Dita couldn’t exactly wrap her thighs around his waist, but she could lock her heels over the base of his spine, pinning him against her. Jacob reached down and thumbed at her clit until she came on his cock with a yell, toes curling as her thighs squeezed his waist. His lips kissed the gland, licking sweat off her neck, and with three short thrusts he was filling her, his teeth burying in the skin to claim her as his. Dita twisted her head to clamp her jaw down on his gland. 

Jacob stuttered to a halt; that was the only way she could describe it. One minute his hips were rutting against her to draw out the rest of his orgasm, the next, he was all swelled up inside her, locked nice and tight, his forehead pressed against hers. The pine-male-floral scent of him was heavy and it tasted so good in her mouth that she arched up to chase it with her tongue. Her lips met something soft, surrounded by a rough beard. Fingers released her wrists to curl into her hair, letting her cup his face. Dita moaned softly. 

Alpha is happy. 

Dita pulled back, eyes fluttering open as she tried to parse what the hell her Id was saying. Alpha is angry was one thing, Alpha is horny was a constant. Alpha is pleased, because you are good and obedient and wet for him, that had been fairly evident throughout the last- however long they’d been fucking. But no. Alpha is happy. 

He was staring at her, his hand still in her hair like she’d caught him doing something wrong. “Huh,” he finally muttered, pulling his hand away. “That’s interesting.”

Her chest ached. “Didn’t think I would be, once you got what you wanted.”

Those pale eyes didn’t blink. “Here I was thinkin’ that knocking an Omega up made them all happy and glowin’. What the hell are you so pissed about, huh?”

"I chose you. Walked past twenty other Alphas to get to you. But you don't want me." Dita swallowed past the lump in her throat. "All I am to you is some piece of sweet-smelling tail."

"Angel." Jacob grasped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Do you think that a windowless, scent-proofed room appeared overnight? Did you smell any other Omegas in the building?"

Her brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"If I wanted another Omega, don't you think there would be another Omega here?" Jacob asked. "John's got them all locked up in his bunker. He offered me the pick of 'em. And I said no. I looked at you and your medical records and I said to myself, I want the Omega with the balls to become a beat cop. I wanted the crazy girl who picked military shrink as her ideal career. The one who thought walking into a room full of Alphas with just a 9mm and some cuffs would work out for her."

"That," Dita felt something in her chest swell at the words he was saying, the way he was telling her yes, I wanted you after all, not just a breeder, "that just means you want an idiot." 

He leaned in closer, nuzzling along her jaw. "Is that what you wanna call yourself? 'Cause I'd call that strong. You got willpower, you got determination. That's what I want in a mate. That's what I'd pick out in an Omega. I wanted you the day you joined the precinct, Dita. I wanted to," he kissed where his teeth had sunk into her throat, "keep you all to myself because fuck knows ain't no one else gonna match you." 

She shivered at the sound of her name. The scent of him was pleased and pleasing, and that little Omega Id was cooing happily in her brain, delighted that Alpha wanted her, Alpha was happy with her. Dita swallowed. "You don't even know me."

He kissed the mark again. "You don't know me. But you called my name anyway."

"I'm in Heat," she protested. "I could've done for anyone."

"Right." He pulled back and his eyes met hers. "Then why didn't ya?" 

Dita's mouth opened and closed. "This is ridiculous," she mumbled.

"Mmm, maybe." His thumb brushed her lip. "Or maybe you're where you were meant to be this whole time. With me." 

It made her stomach churn. It made her belly flutter. Her chest was heavy. Her chest was warm. Dita wanted to cry and laugh and smile and swear at the same time. "I hate you." It came out mumbled.

Chuckling, Jacob leaned in to kiss her. "Came three times and still fightin' me. Now that's what I like to see." 

She glared at him. "I'm going to keep fighting you, you know."

He purred low in his chest. "Good."