A slow, guilty burn was smoldering through Hannibal as he poured himself another glass of wine. Will's breath still tingled over his lips and those pained blue eyes were still drilling a hole through his conscience.
He cursed inwardly at himself for the hundredth time since the Omega had fled his office. Yes, fled, for that was exactly what he had done.
The Alpha knew that in his miasma of lust he had gone too far, pushed just a little too hard, and now they were both paying for it. What did Will think of him now? He should have been content to just kiss the man which in itself was incredible but no, he just had to reach up under his shirt and hold him close like a bloody bonded Alpha. The lower back was one of the main erogenous zones of the body, especially for Omegas. Obviously this one wasn't ready for such intimate interaction and had reacted accordingly.
Remorse, unfamiliar and foreign, flushed through the usually impervious doctor. His control had broken, crumbled like a castle made out of sand and oh, how easily it had been undone. Like an intricately woven web that takes an hour of careful construction to create, it is destroyed in an instant by one ambitious marauder with a stick. In this case, an Omega with eyes like an angry ocean.
The thought was haunting. However the idea that he had injured Will beyond redemption was far more troubling and he clenched his wine glass with a shaking hand. The long draught of Grenache did nothing to quell his self-resentment. He scanned his office under a haunted brow.
Will's scent still lingered in the room and was affecting him even though its host had departed nearly an hour ago. Hannibal's skin burned and the heat in his belly hadn't subsided. It flared every time his memory flashed back to the incredible softness of Will's lips and the feel of his lithe body pressed against him. They fit together perfectly. When he thought back to the sound the Omega had made when he had introduced their hips together, a covetous snarl twisted his face and a shiver of need rippled through him.
Abandoning his glass on the desk, he walked around to where Will had sat during the session. His scent was still so fresh. The Omega wasn't even in heat but had nearly sent the Alpha into rut, and when their lips had made contact Hannibal was almost certain his restraint would shatter completely.
Every sense was heightened and he found himself growling at the smallest sound like an agitated animal. The rustling of his jacket as he moved was particularly disturbing and he shrugged out of it. Tossing it carelessly across the back of the chair, he rolled his shoulders at the freedom and began pacing his office. Will must be apologized to, amendments must be made. He was beginning to understand that his very sanity was depending on it. A bonding Alpha was a dangerous thing.
But first he needed to kill someone. And eat them.
XXX
Will groaned as he found himself shaking over his bathroom sink and facing his own pallid reflection. Somehow he had lost his shirt and was gripping the edges of the porcelain as though they were a lifeline. He felt sick; cold sweat beaded on the exposed skin even though the house was a toasty 24 degrees. Chills wracked his body and his vision was slightly blurred.
He didn't remember getting home. The time it took extracting himself from Hannibal's office up until this point was a blank – he must have driven for an hour in some kind of shocked trance. The idea was frightening. He had never lost time before.
As he stared at the face before him, he barely believed it was his own. A gaunt mask, pale with faded lips and hollow eyes stood in his place. Like some kind of twisted, sunken version of himself it hid behind the boundaries of the mirror's surface just beyond reach; a fiendish doppelganger. If he looked hard enough the tips of antlers, black as the night, could be seen growing through the dark curls. Hardly distinguishable at first but then impossible to unsee, they forced their way through his scalp to stretch up to the ceiling above.
Shaking his head, he splashed a handful of icy water over his face. He needed to talk to Hannibal again, and not just to discuss the loss of time. He owed him an explanation. The past couldn't hold him in its punishing grasp forever and running off like that wasn't fair. He had been treated with nothing but respect…and passion that startled him in its intensity. No one had ever made him feel like that before.
The idea of facing the Alpha again was cringe-worthy, however. Like rubbing salt into a fresh wound, it was a bitter sting. The man had dredged up feelings in him that he thought were long dead; mad, depraved lust for example, but usually fleeing the person you're swapping saliva with is seen as sending mixed signals.
Communication had never been Will's strong suit. That made discussing anything private with another human difficult, especially when it meant opening up about what had happened to him.
The eyes in the mirror suddenly shifted. Will's stomach dropped as he saw the sadistic smile spreading across his own face. The bright bathroom around him quickly melted into nothing until only blackness remained and coldness settled into his bones. A tickling at his feet made him glance down. Tepid blood was pooling around him and rising. Soon it was at his ankles with no indication of stopping.
See?
He snapped his eyes back up.
The other Omega grinned darkly and in a flash of sharp teeth, lunged forward through the silver barrier with outstretched arms. A cold hand closed around Will's throat and he lurched, crying out. Flashes of what happened on that dreaded day burst in his mind, unbidden and unwanted, and his own screaming filled his head.
Rough twine cut into his wrists as he struggled, gagged and face-down on his bed. His arms were out in front of him with his wrists tied to one of the posts of the headboard. His feet were secured in a similar fashion. Struggling did little except tighten the bonds and fear made rational thought impossible.
Candlelight flickered around the room, casting shifting shadows on the walls. They smelled pleasant, like vanilla. Will had put extra effort into making his bedroom inviting; he wanted to impress the Alpha and what was more romantic than scented candles? Unfortunately the present circumstances prevented him from enjoying them, or anything that was currently happening.
A cloth had been tied around his eyes and the darkness was suffocating. His scent, soured with fear, clung close to him like a straitjacket and its pungency made him want to vomit. Cold sweat formed on his skin. It was dominated by the Alpha's odor though, a heavy musk that stung his skin and crushed his own weaker pheromones.
Francis Dolarhyde was poised over Will's naked body, pressing a hand into his lower back to pin him down. He was a large male and easily fifty pounds heavier. His own bare form rippled with muscle as he crouched over him like a lion about to enjoy its kill. Blank, black eyes glistened at his luck. An Omega like this was rare…he was glad he had acted quickly slipping him the drugged drink. It had been all too easy.
Bulging shoulders held up a strong frame as he bent his head down to ghost his nose along Will's spine, enjoying the twitch he received. A low rumble from his throat made Will's skin crawl.
"You're so lovely," Dolarhdye crooned in a psychotic drawl. "I knew from the moment I met you that you were mine. My Omega. It was fate." He had a slight speech impediment; not a lisp exactly, but he took his time pronouncing each syllable as if cautious not to stumble over them.
Will wanted to writhe away from the touch but it was useless; the twine had been knotted tightly. Bile rose in his throat at the words and tears prickled in his eyes. No, he was not his. Not ever. He thought this Alpha was different; he had been so nice, so charming…too bad he turned out to be fucking insane. He shouldn't have let him into his apartment so willingly. His own foolishness rang in his head and angry tears replaced the fearful ones for a moment. How could he have been so stupid?
The sharp point of a knife touched him on the left side of his shoulder and Will froze with fear.
"I have to mark you now, so everyone else knows it," the voice sounded right beside his ear this time, close enough that he could feel the male's warm breath on his face. "This'll only hurt a little bit, my darling." It was breathy with twisted anticipation and the Omega couldn't help but whimper in panic as he strained against the ropes that bound him.
This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening -
Cold steel dug into his flesh and pain came to life under its tip. Will let out a terrified groan as the Alpha dragged the blade slowly down the dips and arches of his back. As the Alpha sliced, blood welled up and flowed down his skin as if eager to be free of it. Adrenaline pumped through his system, flooding him with fight-or-flight hormones that were vehemently screaming at him to FLEE. His heart had been replaced with a hammer on steroids. The sickening, rapid thumps seemed to be echoing in the room along with his ragged breathing through the gag.
He had no idea how far the Alpha was going to go - the unknown was more horrific than what was actually happening. As the male continued to cut along the Omega's back in long, agonizing strokes, Will could only imagine what was next.
"Almost done," Francis whispered after what seemed like hours of carving. "It's beautiful."
Will was losing consciousness along with the blood that coursed down both sides of his body. As the Alpha sliced across the lower part of his back, the deepest cut yet, his body shook with the pain and his eyes rolled in his head.
Like a morbid mantra, his distressed mind repeatedly told him that he was going to die. Like a busted neon sign, the words pulsed in his head as if the knowledge could make what was happening easier to bear.
You're going to die.
You're going to die.
You're going to die.
He desperately wished it were true. Anything else was torture.
Slick warmth on his back told him the Alpha was licking the wounds he had created. Will's stomach turned but he could do nothing about it; at least he had stopped with the knife for now. The thoughts were sluggish in his head and the world around him started to dissolve into sweet numbness. His eyes slid shut as if to hasten unconsciousness and he followed along more than willingly.
Francis crawled up the Omega's body and pressed the sharp edge of the blade to his throat.
"Oh no, no, no, my love," he uttered as if he had sensed that his victim was close to passing out, the words somewhere between adoration and menace. "I need you awake."
Will's eyes popped open at the sudden pain and a whimper escaped him. It looked like a blissful blackout was far from the plan.
A sudden warm weight depressed on him and he was smothered in Alpha musk. His skin crawled; he felt him everywhere, an unwelcome meeting of flesh on flesh. The heat from the man's body was unbearable but the Omega could do nothing about it. Oh god, what if he tried to…?
Dolarhyde nuzzled into Will's neck from behind and inhaled deeply, the act ending with a nibble on his ear.
"I promise you'll like this," he said huskily. The whispered words were a shout in his head, a declaration of terrible intent. As if to confirm, the Alpha rocked his bare hips against Will's backside and exhaled roughly into his ear. "I know you will."
Will's worst suspicions were realized and as he felt the pressure a strangled noise rose from his throat, a whine of dread. Fear was a living thing in his body, a poisonous worm that pulsed through his veins and squirmed in his guts. It fed on the adrenaline also coursing through his system, creating a potent cocktail that made him light-headed. No way could he survive what was about to happen, there was no living after this, death was better, preferred, welcomed –
"Will? Will!"
Jack Crawford burst into Will Graham's bathroom and immediately rushed to the thrashing Omega. The smaller man was having some kind of fit on the floor; his limbs were flailing uncontrollably and his face was clenched in an intense expression of pain, fear, or possibly both. He was naked except for a pair of boxers and his skin was slick with sweat.
The Alpha worked quickly. Having spent a couple of decades as a cop and logging in even more as a Special Agent, Jack Crawford knew how to get a situation under control, and fast.
He got a rolled-up towel under Will's head in a flash and pinned down his arms so that he wouldn't hurt himself. Luckily he had quite a few pounds on the guy and restraining him was easy.
When he was certain Will was secure, Jack took a breath and paused.
The room was packed with the scent of cold, fresh pine. It was like mint city in there. Cool air washed over his face and Jack found himself sucking it in, feeling it chill his sinuses and calm his heart rate. Despite the heavy jacket he was wearing, the coldness seeped through it until it reached his skin, a refreshing sensation that gave him goosebumps.
Surprised at his reaction, he shook his head. Will was obviously off of his suppressants and the sudden blast of pheromones had just caught him off-guard. What was more important now was ensuring that this Omega, that his friend, was okay.
Will seemed to have calmed down. The episode had diminished to fitful twitching and he was no longer in danger of hurting himself. Blue eyes flicked back and forth behind fragile lids, seeing something only he could see.
Jack, determining that he could be released safely, ran a hand over his face and assessed the man before him. Damn, this was just not good. He had always known that Will Graham was a little, well, odd, but unstable hadn't been the word that came to mind. Until now.
As his eyes traveled down the planes and curves of his body, he realized he had never seen Will without a shirt on. The idea hovered in his mind and heat prickled at his skin. The Omega was framed delicately but held a toned leanness to him that was appealing. Not a scrap of fat was to be seen under his alabaster skin and Jack suddenly had the urge to feed him, nourish his body and make him stronger.
He froze. Why was his thinking like this? He was a happily bonded, straight Alpha and thoughts of this nature were highly foreign for him.
The truth set in like a gear clunking into place.
Will Graham was in heat.
Something red caught his eye on the man's side. It was some kind of mark peeking around the back, just above the breath-catching dip of hipbone. Curious, Jack reached out and gently palmed the soft skin of the Omega's waist, trying to ignore the shooting warmth that spread down his arm at the contact. He eased Will's hip off of the tiles for a moment to better see what the mark was; he needed to know if he was injured.
What he saw made him stop and growl. From his limited perspective he could see long scars running across the man's back, a lot of them. Jesus, it looked like he had been sliced up with a boning knife. Bile rose in his chest. Someone had done this to him. Those cuts were too straight and parallel to be from an accident.
Anger rushed through the Alpha at the sight of them. Omegas were supposed to be treated with respect, fuck, everyone was, but the caring, sweet, compassionate nature of that particular gender made it all the more disgusting to find one treated with such brutality. This was torture. He couldn't imagine what Will had gone through and a thoroughly pissed expression found its way to Jack's face. He was going to find the son of a bitch who did this.
Will awoke feeling hands on him.
In a great swell of building awareness, he rode the wave of consciousness until it came crashing down on him. His eyes flew open and with a cry, realized that an Alpha, a big Alpha, was hunched over him and gripping his waist tightly. Heavy musk filled the air, choking his senses.
When Will beheld the man's twisted expression of hate and fury he began to scream.