Her Broken Alpha - Isoellen Page 0,9

cart passing by them as they writhed on the ground, toppled where they stood.

Naya covered her ears; the noise made her eyes throb and her teeth hurt. It was much worse for the alphas, but it only slowed them down.

But she’d moved—her body had moved under her command. Whatever was in her system seemed to be wearing off.

She hoped Tenbel planned to get where they were going soon, or Naya wouldn't have to kill herself—this pack of alphas would tear her apart themselves.

The cart stopped in the shade of a big building. Naya wanted to take it in, but they yanked her out. On the stairway she stumbled, and someone threw her over their shoulder instead of dragging her.

Gasping, she tried to squirm away from the wedge right under her ribs. To the beta she must have weighed no more than a sack of flour, which was exactly how he treated her. He bounced and jostled her without any regard for her comfort.

Naya wished she could trip him and took pleasure in the idea of him falling down the stairs and busting his head on the flagstones below.

She wanted to fight, but could not move her arms or fingers to push against the man holding her. Still, the drugs they’d given her—shine and lady's maid, according to the betas who’d come to her cell—were wearing off.

In her family, Naya was the quiet, agreeable, peaceful daughter. She sat in her chair and knitted scarves and sweaters. Mother argued about everything. Her older sister had won awards for her debate technique. Her alpha brothers constantly picked fights.

But today she contemplated death and wished harm on others.

The jarring motion stopped. They’d gone up ten flights of stairs, she thought, or maybe more. Her head had pounded out a painful echo on each step.

She smelled more alphas here, the spicy pepper of their testosterone making her nose twitch. A chill tumbled down her spine and gripped her ribs in a merciless vise.

Her skin felt raw and all the movement gave her that sick, light-headed feeling. And now, suddenly, a prickling heat added to her physical misery. Naya wanted her nest more than anything.

Setting her on her feet, the betas tugged and pulled her along into another room—a new place to torture her. Because the smell of powerful alpha saturated everything.

Her primal brain kicked into awareness, instilling in Naya fear and… something else. She’d never been more aware of the presence of a man, an alpha. And it affected her, sinking past her drugged state and induced docility to catch her full attention.

It was almost too much. The new scent was a wild mix of cedar and nutmeg, the alpha exuding it aged and powerful. Recognition of the male’s dominating strength buzzed through her and woke her.

It was... A good smell. A dangerous smell.

Naya needed to get away from it. Now.

The betas holding her arms were pulling them so hard she thought they might split her in half. They pushed her to her knees. It wasn't hard; Naya would have fallen if they hadn't been holding her up so tightly. She was becoming a liquid rush of something new.

"Crispin, where are you?" she whimpered.

Crispin, who smelled like sunshine—a male of worth, a recent military retiree, ready to settle, mate, and make babies. He had told Naya that he wouldn't restrict her. He'd said that after the marriage, if she still wanted to work with her mother and sisters at the family shop, that was fine with him. Or she could choose home life and run his household and have his children. He would be happy if she was happy.

Sweet Crispin. Where was he?

She needed him, desperately needed his smell to block out the pull of a stronger alpha. It was biology; she had learned it in school. Instincts would make her attracted to any strong alphas she encountered until she mated. It was how she would know her best choice for a mate.

Crispin may not have always had the best smell to her, but he promised her the most freedom, the most modern ideas of marriage of all the males she'd met. She'd been filling her nose with him for weeks so his unique scent would become marked on her psyche.

She needed him now. Needed to breathe him in and block out this other alpha.

The wrong alpha who smelled right.

This man—he filled her up. Sharpened her focus. Knowing this alpha was essential. The omega part of her nature ignited with curiosity and hunger.

A tremble started