Chapter 2

'

By the time Rey made it back to her bike, she was hyperventilating. How had he known? No one else seemed to have noticed. But then, no one else smelled like him, it had been almost impossible to keep her wits, being that close to… his scent... it had been almost magnetising, calling to the stupid Omega she kept chained inside her.

She had needed to get out of there, and fast. With some concentrated effort she got her breathing under control enough to get on her bike and ride home, trying to keep her head free of anything else other than traffic and her route.

'

When her front door shut out the world, she sagged against it. This had been an awful mistake. She had been stupid to think that it may have worked, and now she was worse off because her boss's boss knew she was an Omega.

Burn it all.

Rey groaned to herself and stood up straight, slid home her extra deadbolt and went to her kitchen area to boil the kettle for tea.

While it brewed, she took a quick shower, hoping to get rid of the scent of alpha that lingered on her clothes and hair, before falling into bed with her tea.

All she had to do was keep her head down, surely he wouldn't care about her after she had rudely run away like that. He was a rich man after all, famous, or rather infamous, he wouldn't care about her, he'd probably forgotten all about her already...

She sighed as she settled down under her duvet, curling herself up as tight as possible; she would just have to work as hard as she could, for as many hours as she was physically able, then maybe she'd be free of Plutt by the time she was forty.

Fuck.

'

Unsurprisingly, Rey slept badly. She tossed and turned and awoke early, tangled in her blankets, with a small amount of slick between her legs.

Mortified, she took another quick shower before skipping breakfast and going to the garage. She was the first to arrive, so before she got to work she put the decrepit coffee machine on and checked the phone for messages.

There was only one and it chilled her blood: "Plutt, this is Hux, Mr Ren is seeking information about a female employee of yours, first name Rey. Give me a call back when you get this."

Without thinking it through, Rey deleted it, then winced - if Plutt didn't ring back, this Hux would just call again. This just got worse and worse. Plutt would know she was here alone and able to delete the message… she poured herself some coffee and wandered outside to stare unseeing at the BMW she'd been working on yesterday.

Objectively, there wasn't much she could do about her current situation, other than running away, and things would have to get much worse before she was willing to try that. There was a safe place she went for her heats, but to keep it safe you couldn't just turn up… what could he possibly want to know though? Unless he was considering taking on her debt?

Rey snorted and shook her head, no, that was just wishful thinking. Either way, standing here brooding was doing no good, so she allowed herself another sigh, then got to work.

'

It was almost lunchtime when Unkar yelled for her to come see him in his office. Rey swallowed down bile and went, wiping her grubby hands nervously on her jeans. Korso raised an eyebrow at her as she walked past the audi he was stripping, but she just shrugged.

Unkar glared at her over his desk, angry colour high in his flabby face, "Shut the door, girl."

Rey did so but didn't sit down in the chair he indicated, just in case she needed to run.

His eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down, "What have you gone and done now?"

Rey worked on keeping her face expressionless as she shook her head, "I haven't done anything Unkar, been here since 7am."

His glare intensified, "You need to explain to me why my boss is asking about you."

Rey allowed some of her worry to show on her face as she continued to feign ignorance, "He what? Why?"

Unkar studied her for a moment then grunted and scratched his lank, thinning hair, "I don't know, that's why I'm asking you!"

Rey was proud of her acting skills as she asked in a concerned, subservient voice, "What should we do?"

Unkar sighed and rubbed his face, "I'll deal with it. For the next few days, keep a low profile. Anyone comes in, you make yourself scarce, don't be parading around the shops or nothing neither, understand?"

Rey nodded dutifully, "Okay, thanks."

She managed to refrain from grimacing as he added, "You owe me, this'll be added to your total. Now get back to work."

It was subtle, but over the next few days Rey realised she was being followed. It was no one she recognised, it could be anyone, for various reasons, but her gut told her they were something to do with Mr Ren. What if he were keeping tabs on her to find out when her heat started?

The idea both horrified her and made her skin flush with warmth. This was getting dangerous. At least they drove a car, not a bike - hopefully when her time came, she'd lose them and make it to the Safe Heat House alone.

The Safe Heat House, or the S.H.H, was secretly run for Omega's who, for whatever reason, wished to spend their heat alone, somewhere safe and secure where no Alpha would bother them. There were a few others in the city, all of the locations kept secret. It wasn't an illegal practice, but like scent masking, it was frowned upon and often the police would shut them down on some other charge, that or once a location became known it would be staked out by knot-heads.

'

Sunday morning rolled around and Rey knew when she woke up that her heat was almost upon her, earlier than she had expected. Her fevered skin and aching, itching body were already uncomfortable and there was no way she'd last at work.

So she dragged herself out of bed and stuffed her backpack with everything she'd need over the next few days and shot off a text to Unkar, rather than have to listen to him rant over her leaving a day earlier than planned.

At least she could trust him to keep her secret; afterall, it had been him that took her out of school when she presented so he could keep her designation secret and keep a hold of her. She had him to thank that her id didn't have Omega written on it.

In some ways, she owed him more than money.

'

Normally she would take two taxis to the S.H.H, changing halfway there, as she was never in a fit state to ride home after her heat was through. But a taxi wouldn't lose her tail and besides, such a change in her routine would make her watchers sit up and take notice.

As she settled gingerly onto her bike, she winced, the saddle pressing against the tender spot between her legs. At least it was raining softly, enough to cool her face but not enough to need her to take it slow.

The black merc was parked about six cars away, they weren't even trying to hide now. Despite her state Rey felt her lips curve just the tiniest bit - after the first time she'd noticed them by her home, she hadn't bothered to try and lose them, but they were in for a surprise now.

Once her bag was firmly on her back with the chest strap tight and her beanie was jammed down as far as it would go, she kicked the bike to life beneath her and sped away from the curb. She watched the merc do the same in her mirror, then sped up even more and started expertly weaving through the other traffic at high speed, losing them behind her. It didn't stop her checking her mirrors for it every few seconds though.

She breathed a small sigh of relief when she arrived at the S.H.H, pushing her bike as far into the adjoined garage and throwing an old sheet over it before going around the side of the house and knocking on the back door.

Finn opened the door, surprise on his face, "Rey! We weren't expecting you till this evening."

He stood aside quickly to let her enter and shut the door behind her.

"I'm sorry, it's started early…" she bit her lip as she took off her backpack, "And I had a tail. I had to ride over and I've hidden my bike in the garage but it may be a good idea to shut the door."

Finn frowned as he gestured for her to take a seat at the kitchen table as he put the kettle on, "A tail? You mean someone was following you? Do they know?"

Rey grimaced, "I think they work for someone who knows, so it's probable. I double checked though, I lost them."

Finn nodded slowly, "Okay, well Poe is still clearing up after the last girl- she only just left, so you'll have to sit tight for a bit. I'll just go and close the garage now."

Rey sent a text to Korso while she waited, asking him to say she was visiting family if any strangers asked about her. That was what Plutt always put it down in the calendar as, and having someone else say the same thing may be useful. Neither Plutt nor Korso knew where she actually was though, no one did, only Maz.

'

Her phone pinged, it was a message from Korso:

Already had the Knot-heads in asking after you, Iti-rā. They were pretty pissed at losing you. We gave them nothing. Stay safe and stay hidden. K

'

If she hadn't been so close to her heat, some of the tension would have left her body. There would probably be fallout from this, but for now, she was safe.

Finn tried to give her breakfast but she refused, already her stomach was cramping, so she just stuck to water.

'

The Heat Room was in the basement, it was completely sound proofed and kept cool at all times. There was a fridge freezer, a small shower, a sink and a loo. There was a mattress on the floor with a plastic cover under the sheet, plus a large pile of blankets and that was it, but that was all you needed really.

Rey had never asked how other Omega's dealt with their heats, but over the years she had found that a cocktail of diphenhydramine, valium and amitriptyline, along with marijuana worked for her. She tired to stay passed out as much as she possibly could, when she was awake she used ice packs, cold showers and a vibrator if she really had to, but ideally she liked to be as comatose as possible.

If she needed food she had energy bars until it was over, after which Finn and Poe always provided a large meal before she left for home. They were able to supply the marijuana as well, it was a full service for a nominal fee. The S. ' stayed afloat mostly by anonymous donations, and by the kind, caring betas who ran them.

'

Her cramps were just becoming unbearable when Poe emerged, a large plastic bag of soiled bedding in hand.

Rey barely greeted him before she was heading down to the basement, happy to hear the snick of the lock at the top of the stairs behind her. At the bottom of the stairs was another door, this one could only be locked from the inside with three deadbolts for extra piece of mind.

Once in, Rey stripped down to her already slick panties and vest top and arranged her things around the side of the mattress within easy reach.

She had fully charged her mp3 player and power bank and pressed the ear buds firmly into her ears. Heavy metal was the best thing to drown out the noises she made - she hated the sounds she produced when in heat and anything she could do to lessen it helped.

She started with Five Finger Death Punch, as she swallowed her first dose of meds then rolled and lit a joint, ignoring her body as much as was humanly possible before the meds kicked in. The weed helped with the tension and cramps and she knew how much she could take before whiteying - throwing up on top of heat symptoms sucked ubelievably hard.

Rey put all thoughts of anything other than the music, out of her head and settled down for the duration.

'*'

'*'

For some reason, Kylo had been unable to keep the little Omega out of his head, the memory of her scent curled through his mind, refusing to leave him in peace.

He now knew more about her, from Plutt and the men he had watching her. Despite her reaction to his offer of sharing her heat, he was confident that when her next one came and he knocked on her door, she would change her mind. It would just a waiting game.

So he was more than furious when he was informed she had given her tail the slip and disappeared. His men reported that Plutt confirmed she would be absent from work for the next five days, but had no idea where she would be, none of the other employees had been any help and the information he'd gathered from those that had been keeping an eye on her led him to believe she didn't have any male friends who she may be staying with, or any other friends really.

Yet he refused to be thwarted, Plutt had given him her mobile number and he had Finch working on hacking it now. He may have to punish her for causing him so much trouble, but he'd get a hold of her. He could feel the beginnings of his rut tense his muscles just thinking about having her.

He had had a few Omegas over the years, but most liked to be mated and cared for and he wasn't interested in settling down with anyone. The age of consent and marriage laws for an Omega was 14, so most were taken at a young age, unmated ones were rare.

Rare and delicious.

'

It was four hours after she had disappeared that they got a location. Google maps indicated that it was just a private house, a middle class part of town, quiet. Could this mean she had an Alpha already?

He felt jealous anger ripple across his skin, he wasn't above swooping in and stealing her away. He and Hux took a car, with a few guys in another for backup in case they were stepping into something more.

The house was nondescript, a detached two story with a new mini parked in front of the garage. It made him think of Betas, and when he and the others got out and made their way up the path, there was no trace of Alpha, apart from him and the men with him.

And he could smell her, it was very faint and fading but he was certain he could, so he, Hux, Marek and Dano followed her scent and the path around the house to the back, while the others stayed at the front.

The back door was locked when Marek tried the handle so he knocked and furtive movement sounded from just behind the door.

"I've come to collect my Omega," Kylo called to whomever was there, "Either you open up or we break it down."

"We've called the police, they're on the way. I'd suggest leaving now," a man's voice answered back.

Kylo sighed and gestured at Marek and Dano, they started to ram their shoulders against the door, but on their second try, it was opened and they found themselves looking down the barrel of a shotgun.

Kylo raised his eyebrows in surprised amusement as he looked at the two betas, "A little overkill surely?" Then he caught a stronger scent of the girl and felt his blood sing, he yanked the barrel of the gun, jerking it to the side and out of their grasp, they never would have used it anyway. "Where's the girl?"

The taller one shook his head, "There's no girl here, this is a home invasion and the police are on the way." The whites of his eyes were showing.

Kylo and the others pushed he and the other man aside, he shivered as he caught layer upon layer of Omega scent, they'd obviously tried to bleach it out but being Beta's hadn't been able to tell traces remained.

Kylo smiled, "And what will they say when I tell them this is a Heat House?" he asked as he looked around the kitchen they were in, filtering the air and making straight for the basement door.

The shorter man scoffed, "You can't prove that!"

Hux rolled his eyes derisively, "Betas. It's obvious to any Alpha."

"You have a choice," Kylo told them as he studied the locked door, "Either you let me take the girl, and I keep quiet about this house and what you do, or I will take her anyway but also inform the police, post your address on the internet and make sure you cannot set up another one somewhere else. Your choice."

"She has a choice! And her choice is to be left alone! You don't own her, you haven't marked her, so she isn't yours to take," the shorter man with curly hair grit out angrily, eyes flashing.

Kylo bared his teeth at them and broke down the door. It took a few tries, but soon it burst open, revealing a dimly lit set of stairs and another door at the bottom. Her scent was strong here and he breathed it in, allowing it to coat the back of his mouth. This time, there was no scent of orange to cover it, it was pure and thick and utterly delectable.

"I'll go down alone," Kylo threw over his shoulder as he descended, barely aware of any response.

The second door was tougher but now his rut was coiling in his muscles and sinews, it splintered and broke open straight away.

He staggered as the overwhelming scent hit him like a wave, yet it didn't smell quite right, there was a haze of smoke in the air and he caught the scent of weed... but there was something very wrong with the nearly naked girl lying on a mattress on the floor.

She was unconscious, her hips jerked slightly but she made no other movement, there were medication packets strewn about by her head. He felt his hackles raise as his rut, his need to knot, dissolved while his Alpha need to protect an Omega flared to life.

He hurriedly knelt next to her, tried to shake her awake but her limp limbs and head just lolled bonelessly with the movement. She was completely unresponsive.

"What have you done?" he muttered frantically as he checked her pulse. It was too slow, her breathing was too shallow. He needed to get her out of here.

He pulled off his long wool coat, wrapping her carefully in it, cocooning her in his scent and before he went upstairs he licked over her scent glands, covering her in his scent even more. While he trusted his men, most of them were Alphas too.

Her scent exploded on his palate and he had to pause after he had done it, take a moment to steady himself before he was carrying her unconscious form upstairs.

"What have you done to her?" the taller beta cried as soon as he saw them.

"Did you know she drugged herself? Poisoned?" he snarled back, utterly livid they would interfere with an Omega like this, yet alone at all.

They looked alarmed, "What do you mean, poisoned? Most of them use weed," the shorter beta said.

Kylo didn't have time for their bullshit, "Dano, grab her stuff from downstairs. Leave the drugs though." He looked at the Betas, "I will be watching you, if you ever do anything like this again, I will kill you both."

As he turned to leave the way he came, the taller one yelled, "Wait! She's a virgin!"

His whole body stilled as it flushed, he turned his head slowly to regard the beta who shrank back against the other, as he enunciated, "What did you just say?"

The beta swallowed, "She's a virgin. She's... she's terrified of Alphas cos she was attacked by one when she first presented. He was stopped in time but she is petrified of being knotted."

Fuck.

This was not turning out the way he'd planned. It didn't matter, she was his now, he'd take care of her.

"Noted," he grit out, then left, moving fast, holding her tight against him. He needed to get her back home and safe.

A/N: If you aren't sure what ABO is or are confused by anything, feel free to message me or leave a review, I'm happy to answer any questions :)