I pulse my need, my devotion, my hopes and dreams, my want to see her safe, to see us happy, for our child to be thriving, for so much of everything that I dare not put a name to it. I let all of it flow down the mating bond to her.
Sweat glistens on her forehead. I love you, Zeus.
I close my lips over her mouth, absorbing the words, then angle my hips. I nudge my shaft against her wet opening and slip inside of her.
11
Lucy
He slides into me, and his shaft fills up that empty space inside of me which aches with need.
This is what I missed: his hardness inside of me, throbbing against my channel walls, that feeling of utter fullness that takes ahold of me when my alpha’s dick stuffs me to the brim. And it’s different to how he’s fucked me before.
He tilts his lips over mine, nibbling at my lower lip, licking the seam of my mouth, swirling his tongue over mine, drawing from me, yet pouring all of himself into that kiss.
He sucks on my tongue, then nips on my lower lip until I open my mouth completely.
His tongue thrusts inside, and desire radiates out, down my jaw to my chest.
My nipples tighten.
His fingers squeeze my flesh and my thighs quiver.
He scoops up my hips, and nudges his shaft farther inside, impossibly deep. His movements are sensuous, seductive, as if he’s trying to please me. No, possess me, occupy every last untouched corner of my skin, my soul.
I try to understand what is happening to me, try to form the thoughts in my brain and find all I can do is pant and strain against his heavier weight. Heat from his body slams into me, rolls over me, and sweat drips down my spine and my skin, slipping onto the hard, stony floor. The still-thinking part of my brain pulses an alarm that there are people watching. My muscles tense.
He grips the curve of my waist, squeezing my flesh. Heat radiates out from his touch, and all of my attention zooms in on that space. All other thought flies from my head.
That purring of his increases in velocity, swirls over me, around me, hemming me in. The dense waves of sound push down on me, holding me in place.
I want to move and find I can’t. A flutter of nervousness trickles over my spine.
I open my mouth to tell him, and he sweeps his tongue in farther, as if he’s swallowing me whole, overcoming all of my senses.
A flood of heat strums the mating bond; there are so many layers to it. My head reels. I reach out to him through the bond, trying to decipher and make sense of the complex emotions that he’s pulsing at me.
There’s lust, a primal need, and laced with it is the white hot edge of fear, a desperation that holds me still. And it’s all bound together with love, so much love… My eyes roll back.
My brain feels like it’s melting, like all the cells are short-circuiting. He did tell me that he loves me, but those were just words…nothing compared to the sensations that barrel toward me now.
He lowered the barrier on the bond and opened himself to me, and I hadn’t realized it, not until now. Not until he’d slowed his assault on my mouth, and his kisses had lightened; his mouth nibbles on mine. His hand sweeps up my back and slides under my hair to cushion my neck.
He raises his head and peers into my eyes.
Those brilliant blue eyes glow. Deep in them are flashes of silver—entrancing, overwhelming—and around them concentric circles of violet, indigo, and turquoise.
My heart lurches, and my breath catches.
I’ll never get over that gaze. That heat. That possessiveness that rolls off of him. His chest heaves, and the low hum of his purr winds around me. Wrapping me up in an oscillation of sound.
He’s been purring all along, holding me in the center of a storm of emotions. In the heart of the turmoil, he’s built a nest of calm for me.
I swallow and want to say something, but find I can’t.
Instead, I trail my fingers down his back to the taut muscles of his butt. Goosebumps rise on his flesh. He leans in close, impossibly close, until our noses almost bump, until our breaths mingle.
A small smile tugs at one end of his lips.
He smirks…but not quite. There’s an edge of softness to it which hadn’t been there before. Mine. He forms the words with his mouth, even as I hear his voice in my head, as if he’s whispered it down the mating bond.
Yours, I pulse the thought back at him, and he slides forward, just another millimeter, just enough to fill me up completely.
His dick throbs, and his knot glides into place. This is where I belong, joined up to him. Connected to him, in body and in soul.
He closes the last remaining inch between us and brushes his lips over mine. A drop of moisture trickles down his cheek and plops on my face, and it’s as if he’s worshipping me with everything in him.
I knit my legs around his waist and take him in deeper.
The swollen head of his shaft sinks into that secret space inside of me. The climax swoops up the back of my thighs, over my hips, shudders up my spine and crashes over me.
I arch my back, push up my chest, and when I open my mouth to scream, he absorbs the sound, takes it all in.
Jets of warmth shoot into me, pulsing straight to my womb. My arms and legs tremble, my scalp tingles, every cell in my body seems to vibrate, and I shatter.
I hold on to him as I float in and out of that quiet space that exists within me.
I am aware of him holding me, cradling me to him, the deep hum of his purr all around me as if he’s cushioning me and bringing me back to this plane, slowly, slowly.
There’s so much sweetness in his touch, so much tenderness, almost as if it could be our last time together and he wants me to remember. Fear grips me, and my eyes fly open. “Zeus…”
“I’m here, Omega.”
He’s still inside of me and watches me with unblinking eyes.
“Why did you do that?” I force the words out through a throat so raw, that I am sure I have been screaming with pleasure all along.
“Why did I make love to you for the first time?” He tilts his head, and his lips twist. His gaze narrows.
“Tell me.” I grip his shoulders so hard that my nails dig into his flesh.
“Whatever happens now, remember how it is between us, Omega.”
“Wh…what do you mean?” My breath catches.
The mating bond screams in my chest, and my heart beats so fast I’m sure I am going to pass out.
“I love you, Lucia.”
Above us there is a loud noise. The roof gives in.
12
Zeus
The bricks and stones pour down on us. They shower around us, hitting my shoulders, my legs. One of them slams into the back of my neck, and blackness threatens at the edge of my consciousness. Under me, she trembles and flings her arms around me.
“Zeus!” Her voice is high-pitched. Fear pours off of her in waves. “What’s happening, Alpha?”
Even now, caught in a situation where she has no idea what’s happening, she knows I am in control, that I must know the cause of this disruption.
The thought heats my blood and my groin hardens. She trusts me and that turns me on more than any physical act ever could. And it shouldn’t be that way, it shouldn’t… After all, isn’t lust and the act of procreation the sole reason to knot an omega? This shows me otherwise, and for a second, I am humbled.
The realizations keep tumbling in, right as we are in the thick of a situation where our lives are at stake.
Or perhaps it’s being at the edge of life, poised on the verge of death and being redeemed by the act of faultless lovemaking that’s showing me a mirror of myself.
For the first time, pushed to the edge of my resources, put in a position where my entire life can change, I am finally finding out what I really am.
I stretch myself out as much as I can, trying to cover her body with mine, needing to shield every part of her from the debris that pours over us.
When it finally slows down, I r
aise my torso and shake my shoulders so the gravel slides off. “Wrap your legs around my waist, Omega.”
She holds my gaze and locks her ankles into place behind my waist.
“Your arms now.” I can’t stop the soft smile that curves my lips.
I know I shouldn’t be showing this depth of emotion for her, or perhaps it’s myself I don’t trust with sharing exactly what she means to me.
How much it would hurt me if something were to happen to her, how I couldn’t live if I were to lose her…
The realization sweeps over me, and somehow I am not surprised. My instincts had known I was headed this way from the moment I’d first scented her. Something inside me had warned me that if I followed my instincts, I’d lose myself in her. Her breath, her touch, that maddening sweetness of her scent, that heat of her pussy, which clamps around my shaft, for I am still in her. Still knotted. And that’s the way it should be. If I were to die now, I’d die happy, knowing I had done everything possible to keep her safe. Knowing this is where I belong. Inside of her.
“Alpha?” Her eyebrows draw down, and the green of her eyes grows deeper, a shimmering emerald.
There are questions in them, but no doubts.
She challenged me, fought me, but never once has she mistrusted me.
“I’ll never let you down, Lucy.” I cradle her close to me, holding her gaze with mine.
I know my voice sounds strained, and the seriousness in my tone takes me by surprise.
I’ve never had to explain myself to anyone else, but I want this slip of an omega to understand what I am, what I am trying to do, and I don’t understand why.
“I know.” She leans up and brushes her mouth over mine. “I may not always agree with your actions, but as long as I am with you, I know everything will be alright.”
Moisture shimmers in her eyes. “Lucy, I—”
There’s a shout from outside the cage. Heavy footsteps pound toward us. More blasts rend the air, and an entire wall on the far end of the stronghold caves in.
A breeze sweeps through, bringing with it the scent of seawater, the burning smell of explosives. More bullets whiz past us. There are more screams, this time closer to us, from the alphas who howl in pain as they try to move away from the stream of fire. Then, there's silence.
“Hold onto me.” I tighten my grip on her, cradling her, until it feels like our skin is merging, then heave myself up to my knees.
“Ready?”
She nods. Her eyes gleam. Her breath comes in short puffs. She’s not scared; far from it. She’s looking forward to the confrontation, to taking these animals down and getting out of here.
I know now she is the one for me. There will never be another like her.
I slide one arm below her butt, securing her close to me. Bringing up one leg, I thrust my foot into the floor for leverage and rise.
She clings to me, and the walls of her channel cradle my knot which is locked inside of her.
I can’t let her go, not now, not for a long time. I don’t care that it’s all wrong that I am still inside of her, connected to her, while around us the entire place lights up. Another sweep of explosions crackles through the space, the sound a staccato as it rips along the walls.
It fades away and there's silence for a beat.
A low groan, an inhuman sound, a rough creak echoes in the space, and one of the remaining walls of the stronghold on the far side crumbles. The lower part of the wall gives way, and the upper part collapses. And it’s like a signal for the remaining walls to follow. The cracks ripple through the walls, and they topple. The noise overwhelms the entire space, mixing with the discord of the alphas growling at each other as they scramble to find the exit.
All through it, I stay there, holding the most precious thing in the world, the other half of me, connected to her in body and through the mating cord which pulses with adrenaline. My flanks tighten. Every part of me tenses. “You ready for this, Omega?”
“You bet.” She snarls low in her throat.
The sound sends a pulse of desire shooting down the cord, straight to my groin. My dick throbs inside of her.
A low purr rolls out of me. It’s filled with heat and anticipation, and the thrill of the chase.
I look to my right, to the dust swirling outside of the cage. There is a silhouette outside the broken wall and the familiar profile of Sol appears. He strides toward me.
The men in front of him…my men fire at the alphas on either side. The sparks from the stream of bullets burn through the dust that swirls in the place. Solomon stalks through. He raises his arms. Balanced on his shoulder is a cylindrical gun. He aims it at the bars.
I race aside, out of the way. A flame of fire shoots from it, and when he’s done, the bars on the side melt, forming a doorway.
“Go,” she urges me, and a chuckle rips out of me.
I should protest that I don’t follow orders, not from anyone…well, not from anyone else. Just her. “I'll allow you to order me this one time,” I murmur as I stride to the makeshift doorway.
I sense her chuckle. “Not that I’d ever try to tell you what to do when it comes to mating.”
A part of me doubts that already, but I decide to let that one rest for now. I step out of the cage. Solomon nods to me.
I jerk my chin in thanks. One of Harald's alphas reels out of the smoke, lurching toward me. I hold up my arm and shove him aside.
“Zeus.”
I look at her, and in my arms, she stiffens.
Ethan stalks toward me, stepping over the bodies of fallen men. He holds a sword in his hand.
“So all of the players are here then?” From my other side, Harald’s voice mocks me. He swaggers forward to stop with his remaining arm resting on his hip.
The scent of burning flesh permeates the air. Mixed with it, is the scent of copper, the scent of the blood of his men.
Solomon stiffens. “I didn’t think you’d betray us this way, Ethan.”
Ethan purses his lips. “People always seem to underestimate me.” He turns to me. “Not you, though, General.” One side of his mouth twists in a smile.
“Finally, you reveal your true colors?”
13
Lucy
His shaft pulses inside of me as he speaks to his men. I should be conscious of the fact that we are not alone, that as he commands them, he’s knotted inside of me.
My muscles coil, and the mating bond throbs in my chest.
A pulse of heat streams through me, calming, reassuring. My shoulders relax. The tension bleeds out of me.
All around me echo the sounds of groans, growls, and someone howls with pain. The scent of sweat and piss and fear taints the air. Clearly, Harald’s men are hurt.
But here, in the cocoon of his arms, I know nothing can hurt me.
There’s an itch between my shoulder blades, and I am sure it’s the Viking leader’s gaze sweeping over my back.
Zeus angles his body so I have a clearer view of what’s unfolding.
Harald grins at us. Soot stains his face, his vest is torn, blood seeps from his one whole arm, but there’s a look of triumph on his face. His features are flushed, and there’s a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. His chest rises and falls. He stares across at Ethan.
Above me, Zeus’ heart beats steadily.
A bead of sweat slides down his temple, and that’s the only sign that he’s tense and waiting for something to happen. Every muscle under his skin tautens. A pulse beats at the side of his neck. I follow his gaze to Ethan.
Sol takes a step forward, anger radiating off of him.
Zeus jerks his chin, and Sol pauses. He, too, looks at Ethan who holds the sword in his hand.
Ethan raises the weapon, pointing it at Zeus.
Harald chuckles. “Isn’t it wonderful when friends kill one another in the pursuit of what matters?”
“And what is that?” Zeus doesn’t take his gaze off of Ethan.
“Power, of course.” He widens his stance
. His chin firms. “You, more than anyone, would know that. After all, you killed your father to claim his title.”
“The fucker deserved to die.” Zeus’ lips thin. He tilts his head.
Ethan’s jaw tightens. It’s as if the two are engaged in some kind of silent dialogue, one I cannot follow. Nor can anyone else, for that matter.
“No argument there.” Harald bounces his fingers on his thigh.
“And I thought he was your friend?” Zeus’ gaze narrows.
“Just like Ethan is yours?” Harald giggles.
The hairs on my forearms stand on end.
That thin, feminine sound from someone as massive as the Viking is downright creepy. And honestly, I know what it must look like, me with my legs around Zeus’ waist, his dick in me, his arms holding me close, one forearm across the length of my hair that falls to my waist.
In the thick of what has to be the biggest fight of his life, for his power, for everything he’s held important, he’s making sure that my back is covered, that my hair hides most of my skin, while the width of his arm conceals the rest.
My heart stutters. The mating cord trembles, and I can’t stop the pulse of heat that spools off of me, bleeding toward him.
His shoulders flex; the cords of his throat bunch. “Except he isn’t.” He firms his lips. “Ethan is my half brother.”
Ethan stays quiet; he doesn’t deny it.
Harald stills his fingers.
Sol freezes where he is.
No one moves. Around us, the groans of the others die down, as if everyone senses the importance of whatever is unfolding between the two men.
“Is he now?” Harald’s voice is casual but there is an edge of uncertainty to his tone. His gaze swerves to Ethan’s face. “Well, that’s better. What are brother’s and father’s lives in front of true power? You can have it all, Ethan. You can finally take over the title of General.”
“I don’t want it, I’ve never sought it, not as much as Zeus. It’s what makes me the perfect second.” Ethan’s lips widen, and it’s the first genuine smile I’ve seen on his face. It reaches his eyes. Those gray pupils spark with a silver fire, so like Zeus’. He doesn’t resemble Zeus in any other way, not like Kayden.
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