Victor Erickson can’t stand to live in his own house anymore. It’s been two weeks of torture.
His home has been taken over by people who don’t wash their dishes and just leave them in the sink to crust over. Crusty dishes are the reason that Victor lives alone in the first place.
And what’s worse? When Ariadne had implied to move back into Victor’s room, the Alpha accidentally mentioned the spare guest room.
Long story short, Ariadne is now staying by herself in the spare guest room and Victor’s really f*cking cold at night.
But there are some if small, benefits to having his pack members living all together except for Waylon who’s still living the dream life as a bachelor.
Ariadne is happy. And not just reluctantly happy like she usually is. she's really happy. Victor has seen Ariadne smile four times today: four gummy, sweet smiles.
Then there are again the drawbacks. Victor’s washing dishes
"You have two Omegas in the house," Anna says, stifling what could be a laugh. "Your cycle has fast-forwarded."Victor has been feeling agitated and warm. He just thought the loss of his bachelor pad was the cause. F*ck, he is in Pre-rut."I'll see you in four days," Victor says quickly.Nathan and Anna show themselves out. They seem almost amused at his predicament—water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.Victor needs to leave. He can hide in a hotel for a few days, slinging back suppressants.He can make it. If only he could just steal Ariadne's pillow to snuggle with.Ah damn, where did that random thought come from?"You're losing it, Victor," the Alpha says to himself, walking up the stairs.Ariadne is waiting for him in his room."So, how'd it go?" the Omega asks.Victor still has some time, probably twelve hours at this point. God, how did he not notice?"It went well. Nathan is up for
Ariadne seems uncomfortable outside of the house.Ever since she was kidnapped that one time, she's been spending most of her days at home, which is understandable.And now, she's nervous.Victor can tell by the way she fidgets, how she absentmindedly runs her hands through her hair, and the excessive bounces of her left leg.But there was no way they could stay in the house, not with Edward and Calvin occupying the space.Victor would have torn them to bloody shreds, being unreasonably territorial nearing the height of his rut.They're almost at the hotel now, exiting the highway. Victor's driving, his Alpha hormones have him build him up too much to just sit back and let someone else take control.Victor's half afraid that Ariadne's going to bolt before they make it to the lobby, which would be fair.Not a single Omega in their right mind would want to spend a rut with him.Surprisingly, Ariadne makes it inside the doo
"Victor," a voice calls, rousing him from his thoughts."Ah f*ck," Victor's eyes pop open. He'd half fallen asleep in the tub, unaware that Ariadne'd come in."What? What's up?"Ariadne's cheeks are dusted with pink. She swallows audibly. "Do you mind if I join you?"Victor blinks slowly.There is a brief moment where the Alpha's convinced that he's traveled to a strange alternate universe where Ariadne would actually say some wild, twilight zone shit like that. "Huh?""Just f*cking say yes and don't you dare embarrass me. It already took me five minutes to convince myself to ask," Ariadne spits.That's more in line with the things that Ariadne would say.Victor's back to believing it's real."If you want," Victor manages, swallowing against the lump in his throat.The Omega averts her eyes, probably not wanting to return Victor's unabashed and lecherous gaze, as she strips off her cozy sweater and pants.T
Ariadne inhales sharply and kicks him.Victor growls, which has the Omega shrinking back. The Alpha shakes his head a few times before muttering a very shallow, "Sorry."Victor takes a breath, which doesn't help since it's laced with Ariadne's delectable scent.The Omega flips him over. "Since you can't be trusted. I'll drive."Victor's first instinct is to fight for dominance. But he just stills at the sight of Ariadne straddling him, enjoying the visuals.Ariadne lines herself up with Victor's sizable girth. Then she lowers herself slowly. Having just come, this can't feel good.But the look on Ariadne's face says otherwise, pupils like dim
Arthur is the picture of ease, draped across the couch, legs crossed at the shins.His face fills with wicked delight as he regards them both. The man's dark, boiling, grey eyes speak of untold misery."Get out of my house," Victor says, voice robotically even.Arthur feigns offense. "Is that how you treat your cousin, whom you haven't seen in ten years? How vile. How rude.-" He pauses for a moment for effect. "-How expected."Victor keeps sight of Ariadne from the corner of his eye.The Omega is frozen to the spot, fear still looming over her, but it's quickly fading, and something scarlet starts replacing it."What are you doing here?" Victor hisses."You've taken something of mine," Arthur says impassively. "So I've taken something of yours, that cute little Beta."Calvin?Victor exhales comes out shaky. The Alpha's nerves are dancing."You should sit," Arthur hums before turning to Ariadne for the first time.
"Burn them," Ariadne says.There was no hint of surprise. Ariadne knew exactly what Victor was holding in his hands.Then she goes back to comforting Edward, rocking him gently, whispering soft things in his ear.Victor takes the pictures and walks out, handshaking.There's so much to do, and the Alpha's mind is running on overdrive. But every step he takes downstairs, he feels calmer, logic ruling out passion.When the fire is going, and the pictures are curling up in flames, Victor's utterly devoid of emotion.That's when he makes the necessary calls to gather everyone.Waylon is there in half an hour, looking a complete mess. Anna and Nathan arrive with two other wolves in tow. Victor recognizes one.Jackson, the receptionist from the hotel, is a cut and dry Alpha. It's a bit new age for Victor, Alphas working under other Alphas. But that's just Nathan's methodology."This is my first," Nathan begins the introductions
Victor closes the door on what feels like the setting inside of a nightmare. The Alpha walks over to the guest room.He has vivid images of setting the room on fire to wipe away the evidence.Instead, he settles for scrapping the sheets. But he can't manage to continue, so he decides to occupy the other guest room, the one that's still clean, relatively speaking, so he can catch a few hours of rest.F*ckHe can't sleep, not even after a few capfuls of whiskey.His brain won't forget the images, permanently etched into his eyeballs with what feels like a very dull, rusty chisel.All alone in the darkness, a stifled cry fights its way out of his body.
"Hell-," It's a video call. Images flicker black, white, and red. "Who's my good boy?" a deep voice, Victor knows it's Arthur's, sounds in the video. Calvin is naked, caged, and bleeding from a split lip. "F-f*ck you." Victor's grip on Dustin's windpipe loosens, and his hand drops back down to his side. "That's bad, Cal," Arthur says, tone distorted by static. "Don't you dare...." Victor hisses. "Bad boys need to be punished," Arthur continues. Victor sees red blooming across Calvin's skin, done by a disembodied knife. It's deep but not fatal. It's not meant to be fatal, Victor realizes. It's intended to break Calvin. "Victor," Arthur hums. "Are you watching me? How does it feel?" The call cuts off from there. Victor's heart beats hard in his chest. The beast inside feels like ripping its way out of Victor's skin, the mortal coils, the prominent facade. "Victor?" Nathan as