Unhinged Omega: A Dark Reverse Harem Omegaverse Romance (Ghost Alpha Unit Book 4)

Pain.

That’s the first thing I register as consciousness creeps back in. Every breath sends fire shooting through my back. My head feels like it’s been stuffed with broken glass. I try to move, but my limbs are heavy, uncoordinated.

Where the fuck am I?

Images flash through my mind in disjointed fragments. The airfield. The chaos. The Knight tearing through my men like they were made of paper. The sound of chains snapping, of screams, of…

Cosima.

The name tears from my throat in a ragged moan before I can stop it. I remember her now. Silver hair streaming behind her as she ran into the forest.

And the Knight…

That fucking monstrosity was going after her.

I have to get up. Have to find her before⁠—

‘She’s not here.’

The voice comes from somewhere to my left, quiet and hollow. Familiar in a way that makes my chest tighten with emotions I’ve spent years drowning in vodka and blood.

Chief among them is fucking rage.

My vision swims as I force my eyes open. The room gradually comes into focus. Concrete walls, dim fluorescent lighting, the lingering scent of antiseptic. Some kind of cell or holding area.

And there, across the room, is Raven.

He’s slumped against the wall, golden hair falling in his face. He looks… wrong. Broken. The usual manic energy that radiates off him like sunlight is gone.

A metal collar gleams around his neck, chain trailing to a ring set into the wall behind him. The sight takes me back to the day I found him all those years ago. Has to be about a decade now, but I’ve never been the sentimental type who keeps track of that shit.

He wore a collar then, too. A flashier one, but the sight still pisses me the fuck off more than it has any right to.

All that running and this is where you ended up, huh, little bird?

I shift, trying to get a better look at him, and feel cold metal against my own throat. My hand flies up, fingers brushing against an identical collar. Except mine is covered in rust. Guess Geo was hoping if the gunshots didn’t finish me off, the tetanus would do the job eventually.

That bastard collared us both. And he took my goddamn glasses.

‘Your psycho boyfriend finally tied you up too, huh?’ I croak, my voice rough from disuse. How long was I out?

Raven’s lips twist into a bitter smile. ‘He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my Daddy.’

I can’t help the harsh laugh that escapes me, even though it sends fresh pain shooting through my back. ‘Is there a difference?’

‘Yes.’ Raven’s voice is sharp, brittle. ‘The latter is always a colossal fucking disappointment.’

I snort, trying to push myself up again. This time, I manage, but my arms are still bound and I’m too fucking weak to do shit about it. It’s not just the gunshots. I can tell I’ve been drugged. Probably by whatever quack Geo got to patch me up,

But that was a lifetime ago.

‘How long have we been here?’ I mutter.

Raven shrugs, the movement making his chain rattle. ‘Hard to tell. The doctor comes and goes. You were out for most of it.’

Holy shit.

She’s out there without me. Without protection.

With that thing.

‘She’s not dead,’ Raven says as if he’s reading my mind in that listless tone that makes his voice sound foreign and so unlike the one that mocks me in my dreams.

‘And how would you fucking know?’ I demand, propping myself against the wall behind me, ignoring the agony that burns through my chest.

‘Because she’s my mate,’ he says in a matter-of-fact tone.

I scoff, the sound harsh in the concrete cell. ‘Your mate? Either the stress of living on your own in the Outer Reaches has finally cooked your egg, or you’re an even bigger liar than you were before.’

‘I’m not lying,’ he snaps, some of that familiar fire finally returning to his voice. ‘I felt it the moment I saw her.’

‘Right. Just like you ‘felt it’ with the beta twins in Belvast. And that Reinmichian guard who⁠—’

‘That was different!’ Raven cuts me off, his chain rattling as he sits up straighter. ‘This is real. I know it is.’

‘Like I said. You’re either delusional,’ I drawl, ‘or you’re just using her as an excuse to get my attention again. Which is it, little bird?’

That sets him off. He lunges forward as far as his chain will allow, teeth bared in a snarl that would be more impressive if it was on literally anyone else’s face. ‘Don’t you dare call me that,’ he hisses. ‘And how are you so sure she isn’t my mate? What makes you such a fucking expert, you soulless warlord?’

‘Because she’s mine!’

The words tear from my throat before I can stop them, echoing off the concrete walls. Silence instantly falls between us. Raven stares at me, his blue eyes wide with shock. I can practically see the wheels turning in his head as he processes what I’ve just said.

‘You’re fucking lying,’ he finally whispers.

I let out a bitter laugh. ‘Seems like we’re at a standoff then, doesn’t it?’

Raven falls silent again, his gaze distant as he mulls over this new information. I can see the exact moment it really sinks in. His jaw clenches and he lifts his chin in a defiant little tilt.

‘No,’ he says, shaking his head. ‘No, that’s impossible. Someone as pure and elegant as Cosima could never be destined to be with such a… barbarian. It’s a fate too cruel.’

I can’t help it. I throw my head back and laugh even though the movement sends fresh pain shooting through my back. It’s worth it for the way Raven’s face contorts with indignation.

‘Pure?’ I wheeze through my laughter. ‘Have you even met her? She’s more of a psycho than either one of us.’

And I mean it as a compliment. She’s everything I never imagined an omega could be.

Raven’s fists grip the bars that separate our cells. ‘I’ll cut out your tongue if I ever hear you sullying her name like that again,’ he snarls.

‘It was a compliment, you anthropomorphic feather boa.’

‘What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’

‘You know exactly what it means, fop.’

‘Mongrel!’

‘Spoiled brat.’

‘Irradiated psychopath!’

‘Neurotic whore!’

‘Illegitimate mafia trash!’

That one hits harder than I’d like to admit. My lip curls back in a snarl, ready to remind him exactly who pulled him out of that brothel, who taught him everything he knows about survival. But before I can unleash the venom building on my tongue, the heavy door at the top of the stairs creaks open.

Raven and I exchange a look, an unspoken truce passing between us as footsteps echo down the concrete steps. We immediately fall back into old rules that haven’t bound us for years, but still chafe against the thought of outsiders seeing us at each other’s throats.

That’s private.

Family business.

A tall man in a white doctor’s coat I can only assume is the one who patched me up appears at the bottom of the stairs, medical bag in hand. He looks between us warily, no doubt sensing the tension in the air.

‘Well,’ he says dryly, ‘at least you’re both conscious this time.’

‘Ryefield,’ Raven says bitterly.

I take it they know each other.

I eye the doctor warily as he approaches my cell, keys jingling in his hand. He’s tall and lanky, with graying hair at his temples and wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. The kind of guy who probably would have had a cushy job in some fancy hospital before the world went to shit. Instead, he’s patching up criminals in an underground dungeon.

Funny how life works out.

‘How are you feeling?’ he asks, his tone clinical as he unlocks my cell door.

‘Like I’ve been shot in the back,’ I drawl. ‘Twice.’

He gives me an unimpressed look as he kneels beside me, pulling various instruments from his bag. ‘Your sense of humor remains intact, I see. That’s a good sign.’

‘I aim to please,’ I say with a sharp grin. ‘Speaking of aiming, where’s your boss? Still nursing his wounded pride after shooting a man who was walking away from him?’

‘Geo is… occupied,’ the doctor says carefully, pressing a stethoscope to my chest. ‘Deep breath.’

I comply, wincing at the sharp stabbing sensation that feels like fresh bullets going straight through me. ‘Occupied with what? Brooding in front of his security monitors?’

His lips twitch. ‘Something like that.’ He moves the stethoscope, listening intently. ‘Your lung function is improving. The transfusion seems to have helped.’

That gets my attention. ‘Transfusion?’ I ask sharply. ‘Whose fucking blood did you give me?’

From across the room, Raven raises his hand and wiggles his fingers at me with a smirk. ‘O-negative. You’re welcome.’

I grimace, my lip curling in disgust. ‘Great. Just what I needed. I better not turn into a weretwink.’

‘Too late for that,’ Raven says sweetly. ‘The transformation begins at midnight. Hope you like glitter and lip gloss.’

I try to catch his scent, to verify if he’s telling the truth, but my sinuses are still fucked from when Cosima broke my nose. A little parting gift from my omega. All I can smell is the lingering antiseptic and the musty concrete of the cell.

The doctor ignores our bickering, checking my vitals with practiced efficiency. ‘Well, you’re healing remarkably well,’ he says finally, sitting back on his heels. ‘Which means it’s time for another dose of sedative.’

My muscles tense instinctively. Even with my arms bound, I might be able to take him down. He’s not exactly built for combat, and if I can just get those keys…

A soft whimper from across the room draws my attention. Raven is pressed against the bars of his cell, his face twisted in what looks like pain.

‘What’s wrong?’ the doctor asks, frowning as he turns toward him.

‘I don’t… I don’t feel well,’ Raven says, his voice weak and trembling. ‘I’m so hot…’

The doctor’s frown deepens. ‘The temperature in here is perfectly regulated.’

‘No, it’s not that,’ Raven pants, pressing himself closer to the bars. His face is convincingly flushed, his eyes heavy lidded in a look I remember well. ‘It’s… uhm…’

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake,’ the doctor mutters. ‘Again?’

I have to bite back a laugh as I realize what’s happening. Raven is putting on quite the show, pretending to go into heat. Or rather, his version of it. Just like his weakness to alpha commands, his former madame’s brainwashing had some fucked up side effects. His ruts manifest more like an omega’s heat than a typical alpha’s rut.

Looks like that hasn’t changed.

‘Please,’ Raven whimpers, and there’s that unmistakable whine in his voice. It’s not quite the same as an omega’s whine, but it pulls at my chest in an unmistakable way all the same. ‘Can’t you give me something? Anything to take the edge off?’

The doctor shifts uncomfortably. ‘Give me a minute⁠—’

‘It hurts,’ Raven cuts him off with another plaintive whimper, and damn if I’d forgotten how convincing he can be. Even knowing it’s an act, I feel that old protective instinct stirring. It’s like nature’s own little fuck you to balance out his susceptibility to commands—the ability to turn those instincts right back on other alphas.

It made half my men uncomfortable enough to fuck right off whenever it happened, which was a royal pain in the ass when it came to finding someone for guard duty.

The other half, well…

They knew what would happen if they touched him, much to Raven’s chagrin. And they’re still telling stories about the one fucker who ever tried.

The doctor glances at me, clearly torn. I keep my expression neutral, though inside I’m grudgingly impressed. Raven hasn’t lost his touch.

Who’s the real psychopath here?

Then Raven glances at the doctor’s crotch and licks his lips with a little moan, and the doctor grabs his bag in a hurry and stands up, muttering under his breath. ‘I told Geo keeping him in here was a bad idea…’

I wonder if he means keeping Raven in here with me specifically, but I decide not to think about it.

‘I’ll be right back,’ the doctor says, already heading for the stairs. ‘Don’t… just stay put.’

As soon as his footsteps fade, Raven’s demeanor changes completely. He straightens up, all traces of distress vanishing as he flashes me a triumphant grin.

‘Still got it,’ he says with a wink.

I roll my eyes, but I can’t quite suppress my own smirk. ‘You always were good at manipulating alphas’ protective instincts. Though I seem to remember you being more subtle about it.’

‘Subtlety takes too long,’ he says with a dismissive wave. ‘And time isn’t exactly on our side, is it?’

My amusement fades as reality crashes back in. He’s right. Every minute we waste in here is another minute Cosima is out there alone—and with that beast hunting her.

‘You really think she’s still alive?’ I ask before I can stop myself.

Something flickers in Raven’s eyes. Pain, maybe, or fear. But his voice is steady when he answers. ‘I know she is. I can feel it.’

‘Right,’ I scoff. ‘Your mystical mate bond.’

‘Mock all you want,’ he says, lifting his chin defiantly. ‘But I know what I felt when I saw her. And apparently, you felt it, too.’

I bare my teeth at him in a snarl. ‘You don’t know shit about what I felt.’

‘Don’t I?’ He tilts his head, studying me with those too-perceptive eyes. ‘Because the old you would have been gone the moment that monster escaped. You would’ve cut your losses and your men and bailed, but you didn’t. You stood and you fought something you couldn’t possibly win against. For her.’

‘Don’t act like you know me,’ I snap. ‘Not anymore.’

Not when you’re the one who left.

Before he can respond, footsteps echo from above. Raven’s eyes widen and he presses a finger to his lips. ‘Follow my lead,’ he whispers. ‘I was just pretending you threw me into pseudoheat, by the way, so don’t get flattered.’

I roll my eyes. ‘Yeah, I got that part already. And trust me, I wouldn’t be flattered.’

‘Shut up. I’m going to take the doctor down and get the keys.’

My chains rattle as I shift position, trying to find a more comfortable way to sit with two bullet holes in my back. ‘You’d better not leave me here.’

The look he gives me is genuinely offended. ‘Who the fuck do you think convinced Geo not to finish you off?’

The words hit me like a truck. Before I can process their implications, the door slides open upstairs. Raven immediately slumps against the cot on the far side of his cell, one hand drifting down to palm himself through his pants as he lets out a breathy moan.

The sight stirs something in me I thought I’d buried years ago. I tell myself it’s just the drugs Ryefield’s been pumping into me, combined with the blue balls from being interrupted with Cosima. Nothing more.

The doctor appears at the bottom of the stairs, his face flushed and flustered as he mutters something decidedly obscene under his breath. He pauses outside Raven’s cell, keys clutched in his white-knuckled grip.

‘I’ll help you,’ he says, his voice strained. ‘But only if you agree to let me use a command to ensure your compliance. And Geo can’t know about this. Deal?’

Fuck.

My muscles tense instinctively. Raven won’t be able to resist an alpha command. Not with his condition. This is going to blow up in our faces.

But to my surprise, Raven nods eagerly. ‘Fine, whatever. I won’t tell. Just hurry.’

The doctor’s voice drops into that resonant tone that bypasses all rational thought for an omega. And the one alpha across the room. ‘Kneel and stay.‘

I watch in helpless rage as the command takes hold. Raven’s eyes glaze over as he sinks to his knees on the floor, waiting obediently for whatever comes next. My bound hands clench into fists, nails digging into my palms until I feel blood trickle between my fingers.

The sight of another alpha commanding him like this… it sets something primal and violent churning in my gut. An old protective instinct I thought I’d burned out of myself years ago.

The doctor enters Raven’s cell, medical bag in hand, completely oblivious to the murderous thoughts racing through my mind. If these chains weren’t holding me back…

But they are.

And all I can do is watch.

For now.

I watch as the doctor approaches Raven’s kneeling form, syringe in hand. The sight of him looming over Raven makes my blood boil.

Raven’s eyes are glazed over, his body relaxed and submissive under the command. Just like old times. Just like the day I met him. The day I saw that pervert toying with his head like he was a fucking marionette.

The doctor leans down, reaching for Raven’s arm. ‘This will help with the⁠—’noveldrama

He never finishes the sentence.

Raven explodes into motion, tackling the doctor against the bars with enough force to rattle the whole cell. The syringe clatters to the floor as they grapple, the doctor’s eyes wide with shock and betrayal.

‘You little shit!’ he snarls, his voice dropping into that commanding tone again. ‘Stop⁠—‘

But Raven is faster. He wraps his chain around the doctor’s throat, cutting off both air and command. The doctor thrashes, clawing at the metal links crushing his windpipe, but Raven holds firm.

‘Shhh,’ he whispers, his voice eerily calm. ‘Just go to sleep. This’ll all be over in time for your shows.’

I watch with grudging admiration as Raven maintains the chokehold. His technique has improved since I last saw him fight. Even if I did teach him everything he knows. The doctor’s struggles grow weaker until finally, his eyes roll back and he goes limp.

I guess he can resist commands after all.

Some of them, at least.

Raven releases him, letting him slump to the floor. He rifles through the medical bag, pulling out a vial and another syringe.

‘This should keep you nice and quiet,’ he mutters, injecting the sedative into the doctor’s neck.

‘Just kill him,’ I say, my voice rough. ‘He’ll raise the alarm the moment he wakes up.’

Raven glares at me, and for a moment, I see a flash of that wounded boy who used to follow me around like a lost puppy all those years ago. ‘I’m not killing him,’ he snaps. ‘He does crossword puzzles, for fuck’s sake.’

I stare at him, baffled. ‘What the fuck does that have to do with anything?’

‘I see your human decency has somehow atrophied while I’ve been away,’ he says, rolling his eyes as he searches the doctor’s pockets.

Been away.

As if he just went on fucking vacation.

‘Decency doesn’t keep you alive in this world,’ I remind him, watching as he finds the keys. ‘Or have you forgotten everything I taught you?’

He approaches my cell, keys jingling in his hand. But instead of unlocking the door, he just stands there, studying me with those too-bright eyes.

‘Fine,’ he finally says, that old mischief dancing in his eyes. ‘The indecent way it is.’

I clench my jaw in irritation. I don’t have time for this shit. ‘What do you want, Raven?’

‘An answer to two questions.’ His voice is light, but there’s steel beneath the surface. ‘A small price to pay for freedom, don’t you think?’

‘We don’t have time for this.’

‘First question,’ he continues as if I hadn’t spoken. ‘Is Cosima actually your mate?’

‘Of course she fucking is,’ I snap. ‘Why would I lie about that?’

He considers this, head tilted slightly. Then he says, ‘Second question. The day I left, you told me something. Do you remember what it was?’

‘Was it ‘don’t let the door hit you where the gods split you’?’ I sneer, but my heart is pounding in my ears. I know exactly what he’s talking about.

His expression doesn’t change. ‘You told me if I walked out that door, I should keep going and never look back. Because you wouldn’t waste another moment of your life thinking about me.’ He leans closer, his voice dropping to a rasp. ‘Is that true, Nikolai? Did you think about me?’

The question knocks the wind out of me for a moment, even if it shouldn’t. Even if it should be easy to answer. But nothing is ever easy when it comes to Raven. That’s the great irony of it all.

My hands tighten on the bars until my knuckles turn white, close enough to his that our fingers brush. The contact sends a jolt through me that I refuse to acknowledge.

Of course I thought about him.

Every fucking day.

Every time I caught a glimpse of golden hair in a crowd. Every time someone made a smartass comment that would have made him laugh. Every time I walked past his old room in the compound, still exactly as he left it because I couldn’t bring myself to change a goddamned thing.

But I look him dead in the eye and lie.

‘No,’ I say, my voice cold. ‘Not even once.’

I see the hurt flash across his face before he can hide it. For a moment, I think he’s going to leave me here. Part of me hopes he does. It would prove I was right all these years, every time I successfully resisted the urge to hunt him down and drag him back home.

Instead, he turns and drops the keys into my cell. They land at my feet with a metallic clatter that echoes in the sudden silence.

Then he walks away.

Again.

Just like before.

And just like before, I feel the irrational sting of betrayal—even though this time, I know I have only myself to blame.

If I’m being honest, maybe it was my fault then, too.