Chapter 6 I'll cage you in my room forever

Naomi's pov :

I woke up to a world that had narrowed to nothing but agony. My body was a furnace, every inch of skin ablaze, but the core of it-the unrelenting fire in my belly-had intensified into something monstrous.

Heat for omegas like me wasn't just desire; it was a biological imperative gone wrong, a storm that demanded an alpha's knot to subside. Without it, the pain built like pressure in a sealed vessel, threatening to explode. And now, with Elias's pheromones lingering in the air from his last visit, it was worse.

So much worse. His scent clung to the room like a cruel tease-smoky cedar and raw power, close enough to tantalize my senses but utterly out of reach. It amplified everything: the throbbing ache between my legs, the slick that wouldn't stop seeping from me, preparing my body for a claiming that wasn't coming.

Omegas were wired to respond to their alphas' presence; it was supposed to soothe, to draw us together. But denied? It turned into torture, like salt in an open wound, making my nerves scream for contact that never came. Every breath I took inhaled more of him, and it felt like invisible hooks pulling at my insides, stretching the pain tauter.

I had no clue how long this heat would drag on. Omegas' cycles were unpredictable beasts-mine especially, after years of dodging them could be three days of this hell, or seven, or more if stress fed it like kindling. The uncertainty gnawed at me, almost as bad as the physical torment.

My hands were still bound tight to the bedposts, ropes chafing my wrists raw, denying me even the smallest mercy of self-touch. I couldn't slip fingers down to my aching pussy, couldn't rub my swollen clit to chase a fleeting release. All I could manage was squeezing my thighs together, clenching hard in a desperate bid for friction. It backfired every time, sending jolts of teasing pleasure-pain that only heightened the emptiness, making more slick gush out in humiliating waves.

The sheets were a drenched disaster beneath me, cold and clammy against my feverish skin, the fabric sticking to my ass and thighs like a second, mocking layer. Tears poured down my cheeks, hot and salty, mixing with the sweat beading on my forehead. Sobs tore from my throat.

Gods, dying would be kinder. Just let the pain swallow me whole, end this endless cycle of need and denial. I'd take oblivion over this any day.

The door swung open with a groan, and my blurred vision snapped toward it. Elias. Even in my delirium, he stole my breath-tall and imposing, his muscular frame clad in a fitted shirt that hugged his chest, his dark hair slightly disheveled as if he'd been pacing. His face was chiseled perfection, high cheekbones and a strong jaw that could make any omega weak.

But those eyes... steel-gray and frigid, like a winter storm with no end. No warmth, no pity. His pheromones crashed over me anew, stronger with his presence, wrapping around me like chains. My body reacted instantly, pussy clenching hard, slick flooding out in a fresh torrent. But he stayed by the door, out of reach, and the denial twisted the knife deeper.

Not getting what I craved from him-my mate, the one fate had bound me to-shattered something inside. He was supposed to be my protector, my relief. Instead, he loomed like the cruel monster everyone warned about alphas: heartless tyrants who reveled in control, breaking omegas for sport. The stories were true. Alphas were beasts, and Elias was the worst of them, toying with my suffering like it amused him. Yet, the heat stripped away my resolve. I couldn't stop the words bubbling up, desperate and broken.

"Elias... please," I whimpered, my voice cracking like brittle glass. "I'll do anything. Anything you ask. Just help me. Make it stop. I can't... I can't take this anymore."

He sauntered closer, each step measured, his boots thudding softly on the floor. That smirk crept onto his lips-not a smile, but a weapon, sharp and derisive. He stopped at the edge of the bed, towering over me, arms crossed as he raked his gaze over my bound, sweat-slicked form. I could see the mockery in his eyes, the way they lingered on the wet sheets, on my trembling thighs.

"Anything, huh?" he drawled, his voice a low, velvety rumble that vibrated through me, stoking the fire even as it teased relief. "Look at you, Naomi. Writhing like a bitch in heat-oh wait, that's exactly what you are. Begging so prettily now. But tell me the truth this time. Do you really have an alpha? Some other knot-head you've been spreading for while plotting against me?"

My mind raced through the fog of pain. Deny it? Tell him the truth-that there'd been no one, that I'd suffered alone all these years? But a desperate thought flickered: What if saying yes made him let me go? Maybe he'd discard me as tainted, shove me out the door to find "my" alpha. Freedom, even if it meant enduring the heat elsewhere. Anything but this cage.

So, I nodded weakly, tears blurring his face. "Y-yes... I do."

The lie hung in the air for a heartbeat. Then, his pheromones shifted spiking with rage, turning from tempting to torturous. It felt like needles pricking my skin, thousands of them, burrowing into every pore. I screamed, the sound ripping from my lungs as the pain amplified tenfold, my body convulsing against the ropes. My pussy throbbed viciously, slick pouring out in response to his dominance, but it was agony now, not preparation.

"Ahh! Elias, no-stop!"

His hand shot out like a viper, fingers wrapping around my throat in a vise grip. Not enough to choke, but enough to pin me down, his thumb pressing into the pulse point where my heart hammered wildly. The contact should have soothed-alpha touch on omega skin but his cold fury made it burn, a mix of relief and torment that left me gasping. His face hovered inches from mine, eyes blazing with icy wrath.

"You lying little slut," he snarled, his breath hot against my cheek. "Again? If you already have an alpha, why deny it the first time? Why spread your legs for me that night, moaning like a whore under me? Not only are you a traitor, feeding secrets to my enemies you're a cheater too. Faithless omega, playing both sides."

I thrashed under his hold, sobs choking me. The pain in my core spiked with his anger, waves crashing through me, making my vision spotty. "No... Elias, please... I didn't-"

"Shut up," he snapped, tightening his grip just enough to make me wheeze. His free hand trailed mockingly down my side, brushing the edge of my breast through the damp shirt, sending unwanted shivers through me. "I was thinking about letting you go after a bit more torment. Let you crawl back to your lover, broken and useless. But now? You've brought this on yourself, Naomi. You'll be caged in this room forever. My pretty little prisoner."

"No!" I cried, the word a wail of despair. Tears flooded my eyes, spilling over as I shook my head frantically. The heat raged on, amplified by his proximity, my body screaming for him even as my mind recoiled from his cruelty. "Please, no... don't..."

He released my throat with a shove, stepping back, but his smirk returned, colder than ever.

"Oh, yes. And I'll make you my sex slave. That's what traitorous omegas like you deserve. Today, I'll relieve this pathetic heat of yours-knot you until you can't think straight. And then? I'll give you more pain. Break you piece by piece until you're begging for my mercy every damn day."

Before I could process, he leaned over and untied my hands with rough tugs, the ropes falling away to reveal angry red welts on my wrists. Freedom-but not really. His hands were on me then, tearing at my clothes with savage efficiency. Fabric ripped under his strength, my shirt shredded, pants yanked down and discarded. He didn't stop until I was completely naked, exposed to the cool air that did nothing to quench the fire inside. My skin pebbled, nipples aching, pussy dripping slick down my thighs in plain view. Humiliation burned in my cheeks, but the heat drowned it out.

"Elias... wait..." I whispered, but he ignored me, scooping me up in his arms like I weighed nothing. His body heat against my bare skin was a torturous tease-relief flickering at the edges of the pain, but his cold demeanor kept it at bay. I whimpered, instinctively nuzzling into his chest, inhaling his scent despite myself.

"Pathetic," he muttered, carrying me to the adjoining bathroom. The tile was cold underfoot as he set me down in the empty bathtub, my legs folding weakly beneath me. I slumped against the porcelain, shivering, slick smearing on the surface. He loomed over me, arms crossed again. "Wash yourself. Clean up that mess between your legs. You reek of desperation."

With that, he turned and strode out, slamming the door behind him. I heard his voice in the outer room, barking orders: "Change the sheets now. And get my assistant in here with the contract. Make it quick."

Alone in the tub, I curled into myself, sobs echoing off the walls. The pain lingered, a dull roar now that his pheromones had faded slightly, but the promise of "relief" twisted with dread.

What contract? What more pain?