All or Nothing

Mya sighed in relief as she turned the doorknob to her home, ready to shower and go to bed. She was exhausted, and determined to get a good night’s sleep for once. At least she was off tomorrow, she reasoned. She could spend the day recovering.

Just as she stepped past the door, Luka slammed into her, stumbling and cursing as he caught himself against the door frame.

“Jesus, asshole,” she snapped, glaring at her fellow alpha. “Where’s the damn fire?”

“Liam,” he said, starting to leave before turning back around. “Wait, you were there. He said you were his nurse. You left him?” Luka demanded, furious. “How could you just leave me brother there? I-“

“Stop, Luka, stop!” Mya demanded, wincing at the pounding in her head. “Liam’s fine. He got banged up, got jumped by a pack when he tried to go for some chick. Guess she lied about being single.”

“He wouldn’t be at the hospital if he was fine.”

“They knocked him out. Someone found him before he came to and called an ambulance. I’m telling you, when I left, he was fine. He was up and talking. His nurse won’t ask too many questions, and once a doctor sees him, he’ll be out,” Mya assured him, reminding herself to be nice. If this was another patient’s family member, she would be kind, and understanding, and empathetic. It wasn’t Luka or Liam’s fault that she had had a rough night.

“Are you sure?” Luka asked, turning back to face Mya. When she nodded he sighed, leaning against the door frame in relief “I’m sorry, you know, for pushing you. I just wanted to get to Liam.”

“Yeah, well I’d have done the same for my girls, and they aren’t even blood. Drive safe Luka.” He nodded, headed out the door while Mya made her way up the stairs. The couch called to her, but she knew the moment she sat down she wouldn’t be getting up again.

Her creaking door woke Mya up, and she glanced towards it, seeing Harley’s head poking through. She gave her a crooked smile, waving before trying to slink back out but Mya waved her in.
“Something wrong?” Mya asked, concerned. It wasn’t often that they woke each other up for nothing, especially not after a night at work.

“Liam is home, remembers a little more about getting attacked, but it can wait. I was just checking on you, didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“What time is it?” Mya asked, noticing Harley’s clothing for the first time. She was fully dressed, face made up and hair braided. That look usually meant she had spent a while getting ready.

“It’s almost noon.”

“Already?” She sighed at Harley’s nod, and pushed her covers off. “Its cold. Damn it.” Mya shivered at the cool air against her bare skin, and she briefly looked down, realizing she hadn’t even bothered to put underwear on last night after she had showered.

“Classy Ms. Alpha,” she teased, laughing. “Here.” Harley grabbed the robe from its hook on the bedroom door, throwing it to her. “They’re all downstairs already.”

Mya grumbled her thanks, pulling the robe on as Harley shut her door again. Still tired, and not wanting to be awake quite yet, she made her way to the bathroom. The crisp cinnamon toothpaste went a long way in waking her up, and by the time she had scrubbed her face, pores tingling, she felt more like herself.

It was rare, that she slept through an entire night, and doing so always left her feeling disoriented. Waking up at all hours was far more normal now, and anything less always felt like she’d been in a coma. At the reminder, she shuddered, deciding to hurry downstairs. Now wasn’t the time for that.

“Liam, you’re looking better,” she said as she hit the first floor, glad to see he only had a few remaining bruises. He nodded, glancing to where Luka was sitting, glaring at his brother like he was going to pass out at any moment.

“Much, thanks. The other nurse, Renee? You were right. She said looks like a miracle and had the doctor sign off that the scans were clear and sent me on my way.”

“She’s been here long enough to not want those answers,” Mya said, shrugging. “So, you said you had information?”

“Yeah, well sort of. I didn’t think anything of it, until Harley came downstairs this morning. That tattoo, right at the base of her neck?”

“What about it?” Mya demanded, fists clenching before she could force them to relax. Out of reflex, her right hand reached back, rubbing a thumb over the rough scar tissue at the back of her own neck.

“The girl that said she was single, she had one too. I remember.” Harley glanced up from where she was perched on the couch arm, meeting Mya’s eyes slowly, eyebrow cocked. Mya raked her eyes across Harley’s tanned skin, tracing the outline of the infinity symbol just peeking out from her hair, its bold, swirling design more tribal than feminine.

“Mya, Mya it’s gone,” Harley assured her, running her own hand along Mya’s arm, finally wrapping her fingers through her own. She pulled Mya’s hand away and frowned, Mya doing the same when she realized there was blood on her fingernails, no, claws now. She pulled in a slow breath, squeezing Harley’s hand as she let it out again.

“What is it?” Luka asked, walking over to Mya. “What’s wrong, Mya?”

“Nothing,” she told him, the wavering of her voice infuriating her. “Nothing!” she said, harder, tilting her chin up. Daring him to challenge it.

“Please, Luka, let it go?” Harley asked, words far more submissive than her tone. She left little room to question it.

“I- Yeah, right,” he agreed, nodding. “You recognize it? Harley said she wanted to wait for you to discuss it farther.”

“She was from James’ pack. They probably all were.”

“So Liam was a target?” Luka demanded, glancing back at his brother. “They wanted to send us a message?”

“No,” Mya said, unable to stifle her laugh, reminding herself to breath when she could hear the hysterical edge to it.

“If they recognized you,” Harley filled in, “you would be dead.”

“Great,” Liam said, rolling his eyes. “So we can’t even safely go out anymore.”

“She was probably out without permission,” Mya explained. “James doesn’t like his bitches out at clubs, surrounded by wolves he doesn’t control.”

Mya grinned, laughing as the wolf next to her grabbed her hand, taking off at a run. Her black hair was flying in the wind, slapping against Mya’s face as they ran too close to each other. It had been so long since she had been out of that damn house; more like a convent. There were so many rules she felt like she was suffocating.

“I heard about a party,” Kelly told her, eyes flashing in the darkness. “It’s at a frat house, right off campus!”

“Happy 21st to us!” Mya exclaimed, both of them running even faster. Kelly was one of her best friends, second only to Harley, but she was so much lower rank she hardly saw her anymore. Kelly, a fellow Beta, and sharing her birthday, was the perfect choice for a night out. Neither of them minded breaking a few rules.

When they got there, the party was already packed. A clock in the kitchen said it was a little after 1am, and Mya figured they wouldn’t need to rush back for at least another few hours. They could have plenty of fun with that much time.

Kelly and her spent most of the night downing shots- nothing else was going to get them drunk, or keep them there- and dancing with anyone who asked. There were no other wolves there, besides the two of them, which Mya thought was a nice change. She didn’t feel like dealing with petty dominance issues or worrying about being found out.

“I needed this,” Kelly said, throwing her head back, laughing. “Do you remember the last time we got out of there?”

“You mean when James decided we were good enough to go outside to get the mail?” Mya sneered, too drunk to keep her tongue in check. Kelly shushed her, glancing around nervously, until Mya reminded her there were safe.

“We should run away,” Kelly whispered, leaning in close. “Tonight, let’s go. We could be hours away before he realizes we’re gone. Bet he wouldn’t even look for us.”

Mya laughed, wishing she could agree, but knowing Kelly was wrong. He may leave her alone if she ran, but Mya was his pet, his prized possession. More than once he had made his intentions clear; that she was going to be his wife one day, held above all the other women in the pack. She would be the one to have his pups, and, she suspected he hoped they have the rebellious streak that ran through her.

“We can’t Kelly,” she told her, afraid to tell her why. Kelly was her friend, but competition was fierce in their pack. She didn’t want to risk giving her a reason to turn against her. “Tonight is just to have some fun.”

It wasn’t long after that, that she heard James’ voice, echoing through the house. Everyone scattered, as he fired a gun into the ceiling, demanding someone tell him where Mya and Kelly were. They rushed forward together, getting his attention, before he could fire again. Mya hardly had time to think before her and Kelly were grabbed by other wolves, yanked out of the house and shoved into the back of a car.

Mya had been on lockdown after that, isolated from everyone except James. He came to her every day, bringing only a small meal of bread and fruit, and trading it only in exchange for her pleasing him in whatever way he wanted that day. Sometimes, it was sex, or a blow job, sometimes, it was beating her until she couldn’t scream anymore.

Three weeks later, he deemed her reformed and allowed her to rejoin the pack, with full privileges. It was as if it had never happened, and sometimes, Mya had to find the scars from him, to prove to herself she hadn’t just been imagining it all.

When she finally saw Kelly again, the girl was different, speaking to her with a smile, but no longer free, and open. Her wrist was in a sling, and she spent most of her time with the omegas. Harley took her place, among the Betas. James told Mya it was his gift to her, for her obedience. Mya had felt the change beginning to overwhelm her.