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

I look around in the endless dark, but this time, it’s different. The abyss stretches infinitely in all directions, yet I’m not alone. He’s here with me, closer than he’s ever been at the start of these nightmares.

The monster towers before me, his massive frame backlit by the only other thing in this void. A perfect full moon hanging impossibly close. His iron mask gleams in its light, and for once, I can make out every detail. The intricate patterns etched into the iron. The jagged edges where it’s been damaged. The way it seems fused to his face.

But something’s changed.

The usual predatory tension is gone from his shoulders. His metal arm, usually poised to tear and rend, hangs loosely at his side. He simply… stands there, face tilted up toward the moon like a flower seeking the sun.

I try to move, to run, but my feet might as well be rooted to the ground. My heart pounds against my ribs as I wait for the moment he notices me.

For the hunt to begin.

Instead, he just keeps staring up at that moon, and I find myself studying him. The rods of metal protruding from his back like broken wings. The jagged scars covering his muscular torso. One resembles an autopsy scar, spanning the width of his collarbone and cutting straight down to his navel.

I’m surprised he has a navel at all. I don’t know why I never imagined he could have possibly been born. And for a moment, he’s less terrifying than usual.

He looks… almost peaceful.

Then he turns.

Those glowing blue eyes lock onto mine through the holes in his mask, and my breath catches in my throat. Terror mingles with an odd sense of inevitability.

Of destiny.

He takes a step toward me, the movement surprisingly graceful for something so massive.

Another step.

Another.

Part of me wants to just run toward him. To get it over with. To finally face what’s been hunting me all these years. But I’m frozen, caught between flight and surrender.

All I can do is wait.

When he reaches me, his metal claws surprisingly gentle as they close around my arms and his other hand comes up—a human hand, though it’s still massive enough to wrap around my entire upper arm just the same—I don’t resist as he pulls me down into the darkness. The mask begins to crumble, pieces falling away to reveal the horror beneath. Shocking blue eyes boring straight into my soul, exposed bone and muscle, razor-sharp teeth in a face that’s more monster than man.

But I don’t feel revulsion or even the usual horror from all the other times I’ve caught a glimpse of him. Only a deep, aching sadness that feels like it’s hollowing me out.

His jaws part, and I know what comes next. I’ve lived this moment a thousand times in my dreams. But knowing doesn’t make it hurt any less when those knife-like teeth sink into the crook of my neck.

The pain is excruciating. Not just the physical agony of flesh being torn, but something deeper. Something that resonates in my very soul. His pain becomes my pain, flooding through me like poison, and I want to scream but no sound comes out.

But then…

Something cuts through the nightmare.

A scent that doesn’t belong.

Blood.

Not mine, though. This is different. Deep and rich and dangerous, like wine spilled on velvet. Like rust on a blade.

It smells… good.

My eyes snap open to find myself back in my cell, heart racing and skin covered in a cold sweat. The dream clings to me like cobwebs, but that scent…

That scent is real.

I sit up slowly, trying to orient myself in the light that seems blinding in the face of the darkness I just emerged from. The concrete walls feel closer than ever, but at least they’re real. Solid. Unlike the endless void of my nightmare.

I’m not alone.

I stare at the alpha looming in my doorway, his blood-red coat a splash of violent color against the drab concrete. His eyes are hidden behind crimson tinted lenses, but I feel his gaze raking over me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle.

His choppy hair is so bone-white, I immediately wonder if he’s Vrissian. But the fact that he’s here keeps me from holding out any hope this is a rescue mission. Not that anyone from my mother’s homeland even knows I exist.

‘Who the fuck are you?’ I demand, trying to ignore the way his scent fills the small space.

It’s… wrong.

All wrong.

With one notable exception, every alpha I’ve ever met smells revolting to me. Like rotting pine bark or stagnant swamp water or bitter cheap cigar smoke.

But this one… he smells like fresh blood. Like steel and danger and moonless nights.

And worst of all, it’s not repulsive.

Not at all.

His lips curve into a smirk, but there’s something off about it. Something almost uncertain beneath the swagger as he responds in perfect Vrissian.

‘Nikolai Vlakov, at your service.’

I bristle at the sound of my mother’s language on his lips. Each word feels like a personal insult.

‘You sick son of a bitch,’ I hiss, getting up from the cot and stalking closer.

What stops me from getting any further isn’t fear, it’s the fact that I don’t trust myself not to visibly scent the air around him. It’s hard enough to focus from back here, considering I’m used to having to hold my breath in an alpha’s presence.

Even—no, especially—my father’s.

‘You should be ashamed of yourself,’ I spit. ‘Kidnapping and imprisoning a helpless omega in this cesspit.’

‘Helpless?’ He arches an eyebrow with a doubtful snort, leaning casually against the open door frame. The gesture seems deliberately calculated to draw attention to the fact that he’s leaving my escape route wide open, even if I would have to brush past him to get through it. Whatever had him looking like he saw a ghost earlier has vanished, and even though I can’t fully see his eyes behind his tinted lenses, I can tell he’s amused. ‘Aren’t you the one who injured three members of the legendary Ghost Alpha Unit before they managed to subdue you?’

My chin lifts with stubborn pride before I can stop myself. ‘It was four,’ I correct him. ‘And you’re next if you don’t release me at once.’

A low chuckle rumbles from his chest, and the sound does things to me I refuse to acknowledge. He gestures gallantly at the open doorway. ‘Be my guest,’ he purrs in that accented voice. ‘If you can get past me, you’re free to go.’

I narrow my eyes, studying him. He’s tall, even for an alpha—he probably had to duck down just to enter the room—and the way he fills out that ridiculous coat suggests he’s not just for show. But there’s something in his posture that seems… off. Like he’s trying too hard to appear relaxed.

Is he taunting me? Testing me?

Or is he actually giving me a chance?noveldrama

As remote as the latter possibility seems, I have to take it.

I take another step closer, watching his reaction. His scent grows stronger. Blood and steel. I hate him so much, I want to claw his eyes out. But the best I’d be able to do is a good rake across his face that would dislodge his tinted glasses.

Looks like someone else already tried, judging from the huge scar cutting diagonally across his face.

‘What’s the catch?’ I ask, not bothering to keep the suspicion from my voice.

‘No catch,’ he says with another smirk.

He’s fucking with me. I know he is.

And he’s going to regret it.

I take another step forward, watching his posture shift ever so slightly.

He just thinks I’m going to try to dart past him.

Predictable alpha.

Instead, I launch my knee up between his legs as hard as I can. The impact is solid and satisfying. His breath leaves him in a pained whoosh as he doubles over, and I take advantage of his new position to slam my forehead into his nose, just like Azarel taught me.

The crack of bone is music to my ears.

‘Vryzat!’ he curses in Vrissian, stumbling back against the doorframe. Blood streams from his nose, staining his pristine white shirt crimson.

I don’t wait around to admire my handiwork. Now I dart past him and sprint for the stairs, my bare feet slapping against the cold concrete. Behind me, I hear more creative Vrissian curses echoing off the walls as he stumbles through crates to get to me.

Clearly, he wasn’t expecting that.

My heart pounds as I reach the door at the top of the stairs. I yank it open and instantly regret it as blinding sunlight floods my vision. After days in that dark cell, it’s like staring directly into the sun. I throw up my arm to shield my eyes, stumbling forward.

And nearly collide with something solid.

Something solid that wolf whistles.

‘Holy shit! Tits!’

I blink rapidly, trying to clear my vision, and find myself face-to-face with Lex again. Her scarred face splits into a delighted grin as she openly ogles me. Looking down, I realize my robe has fallen completely open in my mad dash for freedom.

I lash out at Lex, getting a good swipe in across her face before charging past her, clutching my robe together at the same time. Shapes I know have to be soldiers are surrounding me, chasing me, but I’m faster.

‘Don’t just stand there gawking, you useless fucks!’ Nikolai’s voice booms from the stairwell, thick with rage and what sounds like a broken nose. ‘Grab her!’

Panic surges through me. I don’t stop to think. I just run. My bare feet skid on loose gravel as I dart between two of the shadowy figures that try to block my escape. They’re too shocked to react quickly enough, and I hear their curses fade behind me as I sprint across what feels like a massive open space.

My vision is still blurry, but my instincts scream at me to keep moving. The sound of boots on gravel tells me they’re in pursuit. My lungs burn as I push myself harder, not daring to look back.

Then the ground disappears beneath my bare feet.

I somehow catch myself with a skidding halt at the edge of what appears to be a massive pit, my toes curling over the lip as loose stones cascade down into the darkness below. My heart leaps into my throat as I teeter on the edge, arms windmilling for balance.

That’s when I see him.

At first, I think I must be hallucinating. That the stress and the bright light and the adrenaline have finally broken my mind completely.

Because there, standing in the center of the pit and staring up at me with glowing blue eyes, is an impossible figure.

He’s even more terrifying in the flesh.

The iron mask fused to his face gleams in the sunlight, but it’s damaged on the edge, revealing razor-sharp teeth and torn, scarred flesh. Those haunting blue eyes lock with mine, and time seems to stop.

This is it.

This is what I’ve been dreaming about my whole life.

The monster who’s been hunting me. This creature of endless hunger and agony that claimed me in my last dream, reaching up to me, the blade claws on his iron hand glinting as light catches them over the edge of the pit. As I fall forward toward him.

But I can’t look away from those eyes.

Something passes between us in that moment.

Recognition.

Understanding.

A connection that feels as inevitable as gravity.

Then rough hands grab the back of my robe, yanking me back from the edge of the pit, and the moment shatters like glass.