by Zoey Ellis
Heat crept up her neck, and Ria averted her gaze. She couldn’t deny that.
“You battle for what you want…” His voice was quiet. Her eyes drifted back to him, and he was looking at her strangely again. “It is one of the things that makes you so appealing.”
She didn’t know how to take that. Self-conscious and confused, she remained quiet for a while, enjoying his heat again her, until she realized she was supposed to be getting information from him. “Do you think most Alphas would join the Lox if they had no family?”
“Yes. Almost all Alphas who didn’t have a family and nowhere to call home would have tried to join. And I think Emperor Drocco would take the ones who are promising.”
“What would make him refuse an Alpha from joining?”
“Most are invited to go through the initial training,” the Alpha said, the rumble of his voice soothing her. “But most do not survive it. It is brutal.”
“So they die?” Ria stifled a yawn and blinked rapidly so sleepiness did not overcome her. She did not want to fall asleep in the Alpha’s arms.
“Potentially. It tests their physical and mental abilities, test their limits, and stretches them further than anything they might experience at the hands of an enemy. But the final test is loyalty, and if they fail that they do not get to keep their lives.”
Ria made a noise of disapproval in the back of her throat. “It seems like it would be hard to get in.”
The general nuzzled the side of her face. “You would be perfect for the Lox, my challenger.”
As much as she wanted to find the idea offensive, she knew the general was complimenting her, and she couldn’t help feeling both embarrassed and pleased. “I would never join.”
“You might find having a home more pleasurable than just living,” he murmured, his lips against the side of her face. He lifted his hand to turn her chin to face him. “I have answered many questions for you. It is time you answer more of mine.”
Ria’s stomach tensed for some strange reason, but she nodded.
“You say you’ve never had a home, how can that be?”
Ria half-shrugged. “When I grew up, my life was intended to serve one purpose, to do one specific thing, and it was not meant to be a comfortable life.”
The Alpha growled. “You mean, you were being primed as an Omega breeder?”
Ria shot him a look but was pleased he found the idea offensive. “No. But my dynamic as an Omega was important. I never considered whether that place was home or not, I just knew it was somewhere that I could learn to be the best in what I was told I needed to be the best in.”
The general rumbled his dissatisfaction but didn’t say anything.
“Then I found out that the world wasn’t what I thought it was. My place in it became uncertain. I revisited the places that I had been, to see the people that my efforts had touched, to see if I had done good or ill.”
“And what did you find?”
“I found that I saw people differently. They had hobbies and interests, home and family, concepts I knew nothing of, and had never seen before. And I didn’t really know who I was. Everything that I had learned wasn’t really me. So I decided to find out who I am.”
“How did you do that?”
Ria smiled at him. “I have answered as many questions for you now. I think it is my turn to ask again.”
The Alpha lifted onto his elbow and leaned over her, his eyes locked to her smile. “I am not in need of any more questions right now, little Ria,” he murmured as he lowered his mouth to hers. “I am in need of you.”
His mouth crushed hers, dominating her as powerfully as before, and Ria melted under the desperation of his kiss, his need to claim and own her mouth. She simply loved it.
When she whimpered, he growled at the sound, shifting her underneath him, their skin pressed together.
“I haven’t had the pleasure of having your slick drenching every inch of my body,” the Alpha said as he slipped his hand under her thigh and spread her open.
Before Ria could even formulate an answer, he was sucking on her, stroking his tongue into her folds and groaning like a man starved. She tried to protest, but there was no point. Within moments, the desire had risen in her so sharply, she had to succumb to it. She didn’t know how he was able to do this to her so quickly, and so completely. Is this what Alphas could really do to Omegas? Was this their power over her kind? If so, it was dangerous, and so destructive. As he stroked her clit, working a thick finger into her as he fondled her breast and flicked the nipple, the devastation began to build, and Ria knew she had to get away. She was enjoying it too much. She started this journey seeking the one thing that could make her whole, and it was not this Alpha. It didn’t matter how good he made her feel or how arousing she found him.
Her hips jerked, and everything tensed as the violent rush took over her body, thrusting her hips up to ride his face as he stroked her through it. When he lifted from between her legs, the lower half of his face was soaked with her slick.
Mortified, she turned her head, but he dropped over her, leaning on one elbow and turned her face to him. “Tell me it isn’t satisfactory to see me like this, little challenger. To see yourself on me.”
Ria breathed hard, her orgasm fading as she took him in. She couldn’t deny it. Her scent on his face was highly appealing, and not only that but the pleasure that he obviously gained from it made her nipples hard.
She let her eyes wander away from him, as he chuckled at her lack of response.
“Don’t worry,” he said as he nudged his knee between her legs, climbing on top of her. “There is still the rest of my body to go. You can decide later.”
The Alpha general “battled” with her for hours. He twisted her body in so many ways to fuck her, she lost count. Ria just kept urging him on, always needing more.
Their coupling turned feral when he teased her with slow strokes, caressed her nipple lightly with his tongue, and mocked her inability to escape him. Ria kicked a well-aimed heel into his shoulder and used the momentum of his own weight to roll on top of him. The Alpha’s roar thundered through her body, making her hair stand on end, and his beautiful eyes flashed with furious desire. Ria didn’t hesitate. She sunk down on him and rode him hard until her eyes rolled back in bliss, and then all sense of time and place was swallowed in pure, sublime turmoil as the Alpha grabbed her neck and took over. He wrecked her with magnificent, merciless orgasms, and in his low, gritty, growling tone, told her she was beautiful, and strong, and made so perfectly for him.
When Ria woke again, the Alpha was heavy on top of her. It had been a few days now of relentless attention from him, and she remained saturated in his sweat, seed, and saliva, no matter how many times she bathed. He made it his priority to coat her in him again, as soon as she was fed. But as much as she complained, deep down she enjoyed it.
She sighed, relishing the feel of him, taking comfort in the way his weight settled her. She’d never felt so comfortable or more treasured than when he held her tightly and nuzzled his nose into her skin—or trailed his fingers over her hips, her thighs and her shoulder in wonder. But the best moment with the general was when he pressed her to his chest and purred for her. The rumbling vibration rippled into her so deeply, she had never known such peace. She’d fallen asleep immediately, without any fear or thought of escape.
The experience unsettled her. She could see herself getting lost in this Alpha—spending days
and nights under him until she was a shell of herself. She turned her head and saw bedsheets and pillows built up in a pile next to them, and her heart sank. She’d begun to arrange a nest, and she didn’t even know when she’d done it.
Fear rose so sharply, it almost choked her. She couldn’t let this Alpha turn her into a breeder. This was a chance to get out, and she would not waste it.
Very slowly, she shifted herself from underneath him, moving inch by inch so she didn’t disturb him. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. Rumbling, the general pulled her back into his arms and lay on his side, cocooning her with his whole body. Ria stilled for a long time, waiting to make sure he was sleep.
Staring at him, she wondered what it would be like to truly be with Alpha—without being a prisoner, without being manipulated or used. What it would be like to have a real relationship? Did such a thing even exist any more? She had hoped the emperor and empress set an example, but when she thought about it, she didn’t know how real their relationship was. Was the empress truly happy with her mate? Ria didn’t know. If Emperor Drocco had found her instead of the empress, would she have been happy with him? She stared at the rugged features of the older Alpha who held her in his arms. Maybe if Emperor Drocco looked, sounded, and smelled like Thorec she would…
Alarmed, Ria pushed the thought away. Shit. What was she thinking? Being with this Alpha was twisting her thoughts, and he was to blame. Yes, she enjoyed the things he did to her, but of all the control General Thorec claimed the Lox gave him, he’d been unable to control himself when he’d found an Omega. If she indeed was his prisoner for trespassing, she shouldn’t be in his bed with her legs constantly spread and her throat full of his come. Leaving now was the best option she had. Once she was out of his grasp, he would move on to the next thing that caught his eye, and she would regain some semblance of the life she was supposed to have—the life that was taken from her.
As soon as the Alpha’s steady breathing suggested he was in a deep sleep, Ria inched herself out of his hold.
It felt like it took hours. She was surprised he didn’t wake up, but when she finally shifted entirely away from his touch, he stirred. She stilled for a long while until he settled again, before she slid off the bed.
Searching the closet, she found grey uniformed tunics that were clearly the generals and much too large for her, but that was the only thing available. She dressed quietly and picked up her boots. After staring for a long moment at the Alpha on the bed, she slipped out of the room.
The house was quiet, but it was unlikely the general didn’t have some kind of security in his home. Ria headed down the flight of stairs, listening for any sound until she reached the ground floor. Tiptoeing through the living room, she peered out the window and saw a guard standing by the front door. She carefully moved around the whole ground floor, checking through the windows where the guards were situated, but there was only one window that was clear. Thankfully, it faced toward the field. Using a pin that she kept in the heel of her boot, she started to pick the lock on a window.
It took longer than she would’ve liked, having to be quiet while learning the locking mechanism, and Ria was alarmed to see sunlight stretching into the sky as she finally managed unlock the window. She would have much less time to get as far away as possible before the general woke up.
Opening the window, she grabbed her books, climbed out, and jumped.
Landing on her feet, she crouched low and listened for any sound, but all was silent. She pulled on her boots and ran toward the middle of the field. She didn’t bother to be quiet. Anyone glancing in her direction would see her running; sunrise was imminent.
The further she traveled from the house, the more she kept feeling for magic, but it didn’t appear until she was panting from exertion, and the sun was grazing the horizon. Pulling on it, she wove together a portal, brilliant and gleaming in the middle of the field.
Ria was so relieved, the tears prickled at her eyes. She turned to look at the house in the distance and wondered if the general had woken yet. Deep inside, the instinctual, needy, and innate part of her mourned greatly at the idea that she was leaving such a powerful, sexy, Alpha, but she couldn’t let her Omega instincts control her. That part of her would enslave her, and make her life a living hell. Silencing it, she turned toward the portal and stepped through.
* * *
Chapter Four
THOREC
Thorec almost killed one of the guards that was supposed to be protecting his house.
He’d taken his temper out on nearly all of them by the time he realized he was wasting precious time he could be using to catch up with Ria. After calming down, as he prepared to leave, his anger turned on himself. After all, his guards were trained to keep people out, not securing a woman who was escaping his bed.
How could he have been so profoundly comfortable, so content that he was unable to tell when the Omega slipped away from his arms? He had woken to find her scent so strong on both him and the sheets, but the beautiful little Omega was nowhere to be seen. They’d had such a perfect night together, and she’d even begun to nest, signifying she was preparing to breed with him. He never thought he could be more satisfied and happier and… deeply taken with a woman. For a short moment, his life had looked like it was becoming what he’d always hoped for.
Thorec examined his room for clues and identified the window she used to escape on the lower floor. The only thing he didn’t know was how long ago she’d left. He needed to find her immediately.
Barking out orders to his guards, he climbed into his carriage and headed back to base to collect his horse, his rage seething in his chest. Ria didn’t seem to understand when he said that she was his. She didn’t argue about it, which probably meant she had discarded the very idea. Thorec wished he had drummed it into her more. She didn’t understand that he had been waiting for his Omega since joining the Lox. And she was it. Gorgeous, smart, beautifully fierce with perfect submissive Omega traits; there was no other who existed for him but her.
As soon as he reached his horse, he checked him over for travel, then spoke to his men before heading back towards the mountains. That was the only place Ria could possibly be headed.
The ride was long and hard, but Thorec pushed himself and his horse hard. He hadn’t found out why Ria had gone to the mountains in the first place, so he didn’t know where she might go afterward. He may be able to intercept her since she couldn’t use magic. He’d told the warriors at the base to lock down all ports and borders. There were limited ways Ria could leave Ariyon, and he was going to make sure he caught up with her before she did. If he had to cuff her to his body, that was what he was going to fucking do.
The blazing rage in him heightened as he thought of his incredible Omega, and he roared as the wind rushed past him, whipping past his ears as he thundered toward the mountains. He wasn’t just angry that she had slipped through his fingers, he was concerned for her. She was putting herself at risk by entering the mountain range when unable to block that she was an Omega. There must be Alphas among the mountain people who would pin her down and fuck her immediately if they were to smell that rousing sent, and the idea of that fanned the flames of his fury and dread.
He may have captured her as a trespasser, but she was his Omega. There was a difference. And he would never be letting her out of his grasp again.
Finally, the mountain range came into view; it’s luminous glow shone
brightly in the gloomy morning sky, a peachy pink this morning, but Thorec was not in the mood to stop and observe. He pushed his horse harder, knowing that his steed had a few more miles in him, until they finally reached the entrance to the mountains.
The guard who had summoned him several days before stood up and greeted him, confusion on his face. “Back so soon, general?”
“Yes,” Thorec said to gritted teeth. “Any problems? Any disruptions?”
“No. It has been quiet since you left.”
Thorec dipped his head sharply. “Good. Tend to my steed, I drove him hard. I shouldn’t be long.”
The guard nodded as Thorec made his way into the valley.
Thorec headed straight to where he’d first seen Ria, staying alert. Everything felt too quiet, too normal, for Ria to have come back, and for a moment, he wondered whether he had made a mistake. What if she had gone elsewhere?
He stood in the center of the town, watching and listening for any sign that something was different. The people of the mountains went about their regular daily routine, barely looking at him. Most of them had gotten used to his presence in the valley, although some remained on edge because he was an outsider.
“I will get the mountain contact for you,” said a woman passerby.
Thorec simply nodded. He didn’t know if Ria would have spoken to anyone in particular, but an outsider would typically be reported to the mountain contact. If Ria had been here, she might know.
“General,” the mountain contact greeted. She didn’t smile, but then she never did. “You are back very soon.”
“Did the intruder I took from here return?”
The woman frowned. “Did you not detain her?”
“I did,” Thorec said, irritably. “I want to know if she returned.”