her now. Tell her that I am a friend of yours and she'll enjoy herself. It will be better that way."
"Better than what?"
"My breaking into her house to get to her. Which is what I'll do, if I have to."
Bella closed her eyes and saw Mary against that wall, the male looming over her as he held her in place. He was coming after her for one and only one reason: to release all that sex in his body. Release it into her.
"Oh, God... please don't hurt her. She's not one of us. And she's ill."
"I know. I'm not going to harm her."
Bella put her head in her hand, wondering just how a hard male like him would know what hurt and what didn't.
"Warrior... she doesn't know about our race. She's - I beg you, don't - "
"She won't remember me after it's done."
Like that was supposed to make her feel less awful? As it was, she felt like she was serving Mary up on a platter.
"You can't stop me, female. But you can make it easier on your friend. Think about it. She'll feel safer if she meets me in a public place. She won't know what I am. It will be as normal as it can be for her."
Bella hated being pushed around, hated the sense that she was betraying Mary's friendship.
"I wish I'd never brought her along," she muttered.
"I don't." There was a pause. "She has an... unusual way about her."
"What if she denies you?"
"She won't."
"But if she does?"
"That's her choice. She won't be forced. I swear to you."
Bella let her hand drop to her throat, tangling a finger in the Diamonds by the Yard chain she always wore.
"Where?" she said with dejection. "Where should she meet you?"
"Where do humans meet for normal dates?"
How the hell would she know? Except then she remembered Mary saying something about a colleague of hers meeting a man... What was the name of the place?
"TGI Friday's," she said. "There's one in Lucas Square."
"Fine. Tell her eight o'clock tonight."
"What name do I give her?"
"Tell her it's... Hal. Hal E. Wood."
"Warrior?"
"Yeah?"
"Please..."
His voice actually softened. "Don't worry, Bella. I'll treat her well."
The phone went dead.
In Mr. X's cabin deep in the woods, O slowly sat up on the bed, easing himself to the vertical. He brushed his hands across his wet cheeks.
The Omega had left only an hour ago, and O's body was still leaking out of several places, wounds and otherwise. He wasn't sure he was up to moving, but he had to get the hell away from this bedroom.
When he tried to stand his vision spun wildly, so he sat down. Through the little window across the room, he saw dawn breaking, the warm glow splintered by the boughs of pine trees. He hadn't expected the punishment to last a whole day. And had been sure at many points that he wouldn't make it through.
The Omega had taken him to places inside of himself that he'd been shocked to find he had. Places of fear and self-loathing. Of utter humiliation and degradation. And now, in the aftermath, he felt as if he had no skin, as if he were totally open and exposed, a raw laceration that just happened to be breathing.
The door opened. Mr. X's shoulders filled the frame. "How are we doing?"
O covered himself with a blanket and then opened his mouth. Nothing came out. He coughed a few times. "I... made it."
"I was hoping you would."
For O, it was difficult to see the man dressed in regular clothes, holding a clipboard, looking as if he were ready to start another productive workday. Compared to where O had spent the last twenty-four hours, the normalcy seemed fake and vaguely threatening.
Mr. X smiled a little. "So, you and I are going to strike a deal. You get in line and stay there, and that won't happen again."
O was too exhausted to argue. The fight in him would come back - he knew it would - but right now all he wanted was soap and hot water. And some time alone.
"What do you say to me?" Mr. X demanded.
"Yes, sensei." O didn't care what he had to do, what he had to say. He just had to get away from the bed... the room... the cabin.
"There are some clothes in the closet. You good enough to drive?'
"Yeah. Yeah... I'm fine."
O pictured the shower at his house, all creamy tile and white grout. Clean. So very clean. And he would be, too, when