the door.
Wait.
Aric followed her gaze and realized she wasn't watching the bedroom door at all, but the window. Or more precisely, whatever she imagined was on the other side.
That was the source of her fear, not him. All this time, Aric had been assuming he was the one she was afraid of. She would hardly be the first beta to find him intimidating. Aric, like all the other alphas in the Boundarylands, was over a foot and a half taller than an average beta male, not to mention several times stronger. His muscles were more developed, his reactions faster, and every one of his senses many times sharper and more highly attuned. Even his voice was deeper and more resonant than any beta's would ever be.
And yet, as unlikely as it seemed, he wasn't the source of Jo's fear.
"What are you running from?"
Jo looked up sharply, as if she couldn't believe that he had finally managed to ask the right question. "It's better if you don't know."
Aric got up and started pulling on his pants. "Bullshit. You're my omega. Everything about your life from this moment on concerns me."
"Then do yourself a favor and get another omega," Jo said, not bothering to look up from forcing the zipper closed on her overstuffed bag of cash. "Because, trust me, there is nothing about my life you want to invite into yours."
A rumble started in the back of Aric's throat as rage built inside him—not at his omega, but at whatever force was powerful enough to make her believe what she was saying. There would be no inviting; no problem she faced would deter him. Whatever was plaguing her, Aric was ready to crush it. If it couldn't be crushed, he'd deal with it by any means necessary, from cunning to killing.
He yanked up his zipper and advanced on her, forcing her to retreat until she reached the corner, trapped.
"That's not how this works." He tilted her chin up with his fingers, then slid his hand to cup her jaw. "There is no other omega. You're it. You're mine. Just like I'm yours."
Jo's eyes narrowed in distrust and aversion as she tried to wriggle from his grasp. But Aric had her number now. He wasn't the one who had inspired a lack of trust, but he knew now that someone else had, and the scars were deep.
"Let me go," she hissed. "I don't want this."
This. Not him. There was a difference, even if Aric couldn't yet tease the layers apart.
"I know," he told her as gently as he could manage. "But it's still happening."
"And you don't want me," she said miserably, her voice breaking. "Trust me."
Aric forced her gaze back up. "Why shouldn't I want you?"
"It's better if you don't—"
Aric cut her off with a grunt. He was a goddamn alpha, for fuck's sake. Top of the chain. There was nothing he couldn't handle. "Tell me."
The resolve in her eyes flickered and then went out, and she drew in a shuddering breath. "My name's not Jo, it's Jocelyn. Jo is just the name I gave those prostitutes last night."
"Okay…but you have to admit, it's not really all that much of a jump. And 'Jo' fits you."
"I guess," she conceded. "I'm not a great liar. It's not something I like doing."
That much was obvious. Even another beta would know she'd been lying. "If you hate it so much, how did you end in the Boundarylands pretending to be a hooker with a fake name on a Friday night?"
"I had no other choice." Her stubborn resistance flared, though it faded more quickly than before. "It was either that or end up dead."
Aric figured that bag of cash probably had a lot to do with her predicament, but there was still so much he didn't know. He'd settle for a name for starters, then move on to the tearing-limb-from-limb part. One thing was certain: no mortal creature would ever harm his omega again. Aric would drag them to hell himself if he had to.
"Who is trying to kill you?"
"My old boss," Jo said heavily. "The one I kept the books for. That's his money in the bag. I stole it to help start a new life after running away."
Aric was skeptical. Nothing about his omega led him to believe she was capable of stealing. Righteousness made up the foundation of her scent, belying a strong moral compass. "So, he wants his money. That's not a problem. I can see he gets it back. Like I