"Will," Hunter whispered as I smiled but still did not open my eyes. I heard him walk close to me so I finally opened my eyes and turned my head towards him. To his annoyance, I continued to smoke.
"What's up?" I asked with a smirk. Hunter turned back and looked to Asher.
"How much has he drank?"
"A bottle and a 1/2 of vodka," Asher mumbled back to him.
Hunter sighed as he looked to me, "Eight years sober down the drain," he hissed.
I chuckled as I looked to him, "I haven't been sober all 8 years. I just haven't gone on a binge in 8 years." I laughed as I fought back tears, "how else do you think I get to sleep when those nightmares return?"
Hunter scowled at me before picking up the lighter and the pack off the couch. He threw them across the room before pulling the cigarette out of my mouth and smashing it out in the ashtray.
My emotions overwhelmed me as tears finally went down my face and I looked up to the ceiling. "I shouldn't have put my hand in the way," I whispered as they both froze. "This all could be over if I just let him make me his omega."
I heard hunter shift his weight slightly on the couch but I never look to him as my eyes closed and continued to produce tears. "Go ahead and go to work," he stated to Asher. "I can take care of it from here."
I heard Asher leave the apartment and lock the door behind him. Hunter was silent but I could feel he was staring at me.
"Asher informed me of what happened," he finally whispered. "Drinking yourself to death is not going to change it."
I sighed, "It was worth a shot," I stated with a smirk although I could not stop crying. "I finally admitted that I love that stupid omega. I probably screwed him up. I shouldn't have said it. I cant give him anything."
Hunter sat next to me, leaned on my shoulder and said nothing.
"Why did I have to be an Omega, Hunt? I was an Alpha! They raised me as an Alpha! I come from an entire family of dominant and regular Alphas! The blood test in 1st grade said I was an Alpha!" I shook with anger, "and then to suddenly have my Omega pheromones release all at once in an Alpha classroom. I thought I was going to be eaten alive! They were all on me in seconds," I covered my eyes with my hands, "I was so scared. And then to go home to see all of my things outside..." I cried out, "they didn't even answer the door! All I wanted was for them to help me! They're my parents and siblings! How can they go from loving me to disowning me in half a day?"
Hunter sat up quickly, "you told me they kept you at home for a week after the incident!"
I looked to him and smirked, "I was on the streets for a week before I found a Beta that would take me in."
"You said he was your uncle! What the hell!"
I laughed as I looked into his eyes, "I had never met him before he offered to let me stay."
He analyzed my face for answers, "is that why you got a job? To pay him for rent?"
I shook my head before pulling my legs up to my chest and resting my head on them, "that money made it so I could get away in the future."
"But..." I knew by his facial change that he finally got what I was saying, "he screwed you as payment?"
"Why wouldn't he? I'm a worthless Omega with no family."
"You could have come to my house! How could you keep this from me?! I'm your best friend!"
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "that's why I didn't tell you." I took a deep breath, "I didn't want to lose you too. You're all I have."
We sat in silence as he squeezed my hand. I tried to focus on not shaking but it was impossible. As we sat in silence, I realized what I had to do.
I stood and Hunter quickly tried to pull me back to the couch. "I'm not letting you go anywhere."
I did not look to him, "I need you to help me with something. I just need to get it from my closet. I promise to come right back."
He finally released me as I worked my way to my room. The floor moved slightly as I walked and the booze kicked in. As I got to my closet, I sat down and rummaged through the things on the floor. I finally pulled out the box I had planned to burn someday. I opened it and tried my best to ignore the photos of my family and the only things I had to remember them by.
I pulled out the thick, black leather strap and shut the box. I shoved it back to where it was not visible before slowly making my way back to the couch. I sat down and we both stared at the black strap. I handed it to Hunter and waited for him to take it. All he did was watch me, "it's time to accept who I am. I don't want another incident like two days ago. I need to wear it." Hunter still did not take it so I turned on the couch so that my back was facing him. My hands shook as I put the leather against my neck. I looked back to him slightly as he finally took each side of the strap in his hands.
I could feel his hands shake as my hands squeezed my pants. I wanted to take it back and throw it across the room . Hunter secured either side of the strap around my neck snuggly before standing. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he went into the kitchen and returned with scissors. I tried my best to stay still as he cut the extra part of the strap so that it was nearly impossible to remove. He put the extra piece and the scissors on the side table beside the couch before tightly embracing me from behind. I felt his tears soak my shirt as he quietly cried. I put my hands on his arms that wrapped around my torso.
"I don't want you to live alone anymore. It's not safe." He choked back his tears, "Shannon and I want you to live with us. We have a small apartment about the garage. You can live there while still having your privacy."
"I have given up everything, Hunt. I don't want to give away my independence. It's all I have."
"What if that dominant Alpha shows up?!"
I pulled his hands off me and turned to him, "that Alpha is something else," I whispered, "I think you might be right about him targeting me." I squeezed my hands together, "his pheromones have been skyrocketing at random times. But when I thought about it, they only went up when someone was showing interest in me. Like when you flaunted our 'relationship', when Asher said I should say I love him, when I told that Omega I love him and when the Omega said he loved me. And he used them to control me when we got alone. I've had dominant Alphas use their pheromones on me before, but they only got me to not fight time. He made me beg him to fuck me."
"When in the world were you alone with them!"
Hunter's face turned red with anger, as mine turned red with embarrassment.
"I was talking with someone else and when they left, he snuck in and locked me in the room with him. He didn't mark me," I reassured him. "But I don't think I would have been able to stop him if he tried." I rubbed the make up off of the top of my neck near my jaw.
Hunter stared at it in horror, "that jerk," he hissed as he moved in closer to examine it.
"Hunt, is it possible for this small of a mark to cause sickness?"
He looked at me in confusion, "what are you talking about?"
"When an Alpha bites an Omega, neither of them are able to be with anyone else. During the shoot today, I let the Omega cum inside my mouth. Immediately, I felt horrible and began throwing up."
Hunter's eyes became wider as he looked to me and I could see tears beginning to well in his eyes. "That could never cause those symptoms," he whispered . "There's only one thing that could cause that."
I looked to him in disgust, "destined partners is not a real thing, Hunt." I hissed, "and even if it was, there is no way he and I would be destined partners. Of all things, the worst would be to be owned by a dominant Alpha."
"Let's just hope it's that you came down with something or got sick from what happened with the Omega."
I nodded but looked away from Hunter, "can you ask Asher to come by after work?"
Hunter looked to me with worry, "Why do you need him to come here?"
I put my head back against my legs, "I have to confirm something."