Chapter 3 Playing with Fire
"Leave." Donovan's dark command echoed in the private massage space.
He had a frown on his face as the strange scent surrounded him to the point of choking. It was sweet like lavender, but it seemed like something was blocking the true scent of the lavender, making it rather pungent to smell... yet, his curiosity piqued as he wondered how that lavender scent would smell without that pungent scent.
Adrian was yet to move from shock and rage. His fingers dug into the strap of his backpack as he locked his silver eyes on the man who watched him and his family burn to death.
He swore to himself to avenge his parents, but going back to the Sharp Fang Pack was something he'd never do, but now that the devil has brought himself to the human world, it was time to plot his means of ending that bastard's life, just like they did his parents.
However, how on earth was he going to do that when his opponent was now the Sharp Fang's Alpha King?
"Are you deaf, human?" Donovan's deep voice drew Adrian back to the present.
A quiet gasp escaped Adrian's lips as he saw Donovan walking around the custom low-profile massage bed with slow, predatory steps, emerald green eyes watching him with predatory interest.
He should leave, that would be the smartest thing to do, and then slowly plan his revenge. It wasn't like he wanted to put his hand on Donovan, he'd rather cause more pain for him.
But, his twin sister's face flashed in his eyes and before he knew it, he straightened his shoulder and blurted.
"I'm sorry, sir. But I am here to give you a massage. I will leave once I am done—ah!" Adrian plastered his back to the wall and held his breath as Donovan moved with inhuman speed, pausing right in front of him.
"You're asking for death, human." Donovan's eyes glowed a fierce green.
Adrian gulped and looked away, the scent of expensive cologne, pine and earth surrounded him as those emerald green eyes pierced through his soul.
Adrian's pulse was hammering out of control, but amid his horrible predicament, something horrible was happening to him... his eyes... they were lowering to Donovan's thin lips, and he could feel that annoying omega heat start to crawl under his skin.
'Shit!' He panicked, his backpack falling off his shoulder and hitting the polished floor with a dull 'thud.'
The worst thing anyone could do to an omega was to lock him in a room with a fucking Alpha. The heat was instant and involuntary.
"Do you realise where you are?" Donovan questioned, his brows slightly pinched as he stared at Adrian in disbelief.
He was expecting fear and retreat, not indifference. Adrian was busy, staring at his exposed shoulders as his robe had shifted while he walked over to Adrian.
Humans were usually fickle, but this was either mindlessly stupid, or really brave... either way, he needed Adrian out of his house and quick.
Adrian knew he was playing with fire, but he needed that money. He couldn't just walk out of there with nothing but anger in his chest.
"I see tight knots right over here," Adrian murmured, lifting his hands to Donovan's shoulders.
Before Donovan could stop Adrian, his entire body stilled.
Not the stiff kind of still, the kind of still that has you closing your eyes to absorb whatever that feeling was in your body.
Adrian's fingers were soft but firm on his shoulders, massaging slowly, loosening knots as he traveled closer to his neck.
Not once has he felt such need to lean into someone's touch like he craved Adrian's.
'Keep him,' Dark whispered inside Donovan's head.
And that did it.
"Ahh!" Adrian was flung to the floor like he weighed nothing, his knees meeting the polished surface with a hard crash.
He groaned, sitting back on his leg to look up at Donovan, "I'm really just trying to help you—"
"Get out!" Donovan growled, eyes changing from emerald to bright, flashing green.
He could not understand why his normally quiet wolf was suddenly stirring toward this annoying little human.
Adrian instantly looked away, seeing Donovan's wolf taking over. With trembling hands, he picked up his backpack and scrambled up, limping toward the door as quickly as he could.
It was too risky to stay.
He could manage himself when other wolves showed themselves to him, but he had never encountered an Alpha, especially, an Alpha King. He wasn't sure if the pills covered that, too, but he couldn't stay to find out.
That was it, his $10k was gone, wasted effort and money for a monster.
As he flew down the stairs, his heart was pounding, hoping Donovan does not follow him or decide to change his mind.
"Do you have a next appointment with the Alpha?" The handsome man at the door asked as Adrian hurried past him.
"No." Adrian answered, never slowing his steps as he hurried down the stairs and headed straight for the gates.
This was a mistake, a very grave mistake.
He should never have come here, now he was at the stakes of revealing himself to the most dangerous Alpha out there.
He slipped through the automatic gates and started sprinting down the lonely estate road, not once looking back.
If he needed revenge, then he needed to save his life to make that happen.
After a long hour of walking the night streets, Adrian finally saw a willing cab.
Exhausted, he got in and shut his eyes the moment the car started to move, but he was far from sleepy.
His mind was filled with a pair of green eyes, sharp jawlines, and those perfect muscles he had touched on Donovan's shoulders when he tried to show him how he intended to help him.
"Shit... I'm screwed." He gulped.
This was the disadvantage of being an omega, your suppressant only hid your scent, but every other thing was just the same... especially that stupid pull toward an Alpha or any potential higher status creature.
"Are you paying or what?" The driver asked.
Adrian snapped his eyes open and realised they had reached his neighbourhood.
"Yes, paying," He handed the man his money and left the car.
He held his backpack tightly and walked toward the apartment building.
Normally, people would be out smoking beside the building, but it looked like the heavy rain had everyone retiring into their homes tonight, leaving the street extremely quiet.
He made it into the building and took the stairs since the elevator had stopped working for over six months. He liked the stairs, it helped him clear his head anyway.
He reached the last flight of stairs and reached in for his keys.
"Shit!" Adrian cursed out in pain as his head suddenly got banged against the wall.
He fell, rolling down six steps behind him.
"Ugh..." he groaned, lying still for a while to let his head steady, harsh breaths escaping his lips.
"Well, well, well," a gruff voice echoed in the stairwell, boots marching down the stairs.
Adrian froze.
'No... not the loan sharks,'
He groaned, plastering his hands to the floor and lifting himself off it.
"It's three days past the promise day. Do you take the Boss for a fool?" Another voice questioned.
"No, no, please. I swear, I'll pay in something next week. My sister she's really sick –"
"You know the deal, AD... fail to pay and pay with a limb," The men chuckled, cornering Adrian to the wall.
Adrian hugged the backpack tightly to his chest. He'd rather take their beating than let them have that money. He needed to pay for his twin sister's next chemotherapy.
"Ah," Adrian hissed as one of them gripped his jaw tight, nails digging into his skin.
"Now, listen, boy. You owe us $35k. Tell me the amount you're willing to give tonight, and I might spare your precious limb."
Adrian shuddered in fear, heart hammering against the backpack, "No-nothing... but I swear it, next week I will—" he trailed off, his head snapping to the side as a harsh slap landed on his cheek, his body was too shocked and hurt to even make a sound.
"Shall we try that again?" The man sneered, "How much are you willing to pay tonight?!" He snapped.
Adrian coughed, shaking his head, "P-please, No!" He screamed, staggering back as a punch met him square on the jaw.
His backpack fell in his moment of absolute pain, but he quickly bent over to grab it.
"What's in your bag? Lubes?" They mocked him, kicking his knees to get him down.
"No, please, don't open the—argh!" He gasped, hugging his ribs as they kicked him.
He whimpered, murmuring for them not to unzip the bag.
They didn't listen.
The sound of the zipper being unlocked echoed in the stairwell.
"Would you look at that, AD... cash..." one of the loan sharks grinned, "Looks like you're saving a limb tonight after all."
"It's for my sister, please," Adrian begged, unable to stand from the floor.
"Well, then, let's hope your sister dies quicker so you can fully concentrate and pay us our money," the other man said.
"Let's go, the boss will be very pleased tonight," The first man chuckled and walked over Adrian.
"We'll be back tomorrow, AD. We need more of this... wherever it came from." They laughed as they climbed down the stairs, leaving Adrian to his fate on the lonely stairwell.
Adrian lay there, tears falling silently as he imagined the relief that would have been on his twin's face if he had succeeded to deposit that money to the hospital. Now, he was left with nothing, and getting VIP clients at the club was harder than forcing a gay man to get it up for a woman.
He cursed Donovan, wishing it had been someone else in that house. But it had to be him... Donovan the murderer.
Groaning, he pressed his hands on the wall, slowly lifting himself off the floor.
"Shit..." He gasped as his knees protested.
He had probably hurt himself while falling down the stairs, and the way his face stung, he already knew he had bruises and hand prints on it.
Managing to finally enter his small apartment, he lay on his small couch and pulled out Dr. Volsk's number.
He was asked to call only if his session was successful, but he had something else to ask. He could try asking the man for another client, pitching himself as ever-ready to work might land him something substantial.
He dialed the number once, waiting for an answer.
No response.
He tried again, and again, and again... after six dials, he gave up, throwing his phone to the floor in disappointment.
That night, Adrian barely slept, he kept turning and tossing on the floor, thinking hard on how he was going to meet up for the medical bill by the end of the month.
Sleep came quietly, pulling him into a very disturbing nightmare where they all burned inside a locked house, just like it had happened years ago, and as usual, those green eyes were there, staring right at him, but this time, it wasn't a nine-year-old boy, it was the grown and dangerous Alpha king Donovan.
