Owned by the Alpha

by Laxmi Hariharan

  Well, isn’t this interesting? “So you’re hard for her. Not exactly a secret how you all but eat her up with your eyes.”

  Ethan growls.

  I swallow down the chuckle, “Just trying to help, Second.”

  “Don’t fucking try.” Ethan springs up so fast his chair crashes to the floor. He raises his fists in front of him.

  Solomon’s gaze bounces between us. “If I hadn’t learned that you two were half-brothers, I’d have guessed it by now.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Sol,” I say at the same time as Ethan.

  Sol firms his lips.

  Ryker flings the door open and swaggers in. “Sir, you need to see this.”

  “We’re having a discussion—” Ethan turns on him.

  “Which is over.” I walk over to Ryker in relief. Anything to get out of here and do something before I go crazy. “What is it?” I thrust out my chin.

  He shifts his weight from foot to foot. “There’s a delivery for you at the warehouse.”

  A prickle of apprehension slides down my back. The last time a delivery had arrived, Kayden had been responsible for it, and I’d unwrapped the package to reveal my luscious omega, speaking of which, “How’s Kayden doing?” I shoot Ethan a glance over my shoulder.

  “I’ll check on him, make sure he’s in the safehouse.”

  19

  Lucy

  I wait, rolled up inside the rug.

  This is stupid, very stupid of me.

  Why had I thought up another half-assed plan to get to him? He’s not going to be happy when he finds out I sprang this surprise on him. Likely he’ll throw me out. Not that I care. I snort under my breath. Since I’d shared my life force with him and revived him…and, well, so I did risk my life in the process, but the important thing is that nothing happened, right? Besides I don't remember much of what went down during the time I was unconscious, and since then...? I've been trying to make sense of why Zeus has been aloof. And that’s stating it mildly.

  I’d woken up in the infirmary, and he’d held me close and comforted me. I’d seen that haunted look in his eyes and known that I’d broken through all boundaries. That finally he’d revealed his true self to me. I’d thought this time around he’d accept me as his mate, after everything we’ve been through…Well, I did save his life, too, didn’t I? But it had all backfired on me.

  It’s as if the closer I get to him, the more the alpha runs from me.

  What is he afraid of?

  Sweat trickles down my back, and my hair sticks to the inside of the tight cloth I’ve wrapped around my head. I’d tried to replicate the way we’d first met, right down to my clothes.

  Except I hadn’t been pregnant then.

  The morning sickness had kicked in with a vengeance a week ago. I am sure Mirela has been reporting it back to Zeus. Not that it seems to have made any difference.

  He’d given his suite over to me, and I haven’t seen him since that day at the infirmary.

  I’d heard from Mirela that he was spending his nights in the barracks with his men.

  Apparently, he is comfortable there, too. It’s similar to the quarters he left behind in the East End before he took over as General… All of it is supposition, just word-of-mouth gossip I’ve heard from Mirela.

  I shouldn’t lay weight by it, but what choice do I have? I’ve been starved for news about him.

  I haven’t seen him for weeks; in fact, I’ve been all but a prisoner in his suite. Okay, not exactly, I’ve been allowed to take walks on the grounds as long as I’ve been accompanied by Mirela.

  He seems to trust her.

  I should be jealous, but for the fact that on many occasions Ethan has picked her up and accompanied her to her quarters. It has been clear that there is serious chemistry between them.

  “Why do you and Ethan not get together?” My voice echoes in the tube of fabric.

  I’m sure she hasn’t heard me, or if she has, she’s ignoring me.

  I pop my head outside and tug at the seam of her pants. “Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me.”

  “What’s the question?” Mirela looks down at me from where she is standing.

  I am wearing a shift borrowed from her. It's different from the jumpsuit I'd worn the first time I'd snuck into the stronghold wrapped up in a rug. Yeah, desperate measures. Not my normal attire, but figured I'd go all the way with this seduction routine.

  Mirela has exchanged her feminine attire for, dark pants and a full-sleeved shirt. Still, there's no mistaking her curves or the stream of thick black hair that slides down her back.

  She's 100% omega, a woman born to be knotted and bred, and she’d agreed to be part of my plan.

  Perhaps, she has as much need to challenge the stereotype of omegas that all of these alphas subscribe to.

  Little do they know.

  I chuckle, and she frowns.

  “There’s nothing funny about what you are going to do,” she huffs. “I must be insane for agreeing to help you.”

  “Nah, you’re just avoiding the question—”

  “I didn’t hear one.” She taps her foot on the floor.

  “Ethan.” I grin up at her.

  She stiffens her back and raises her head. “What about him?”

  “You two seem to have a love-hate thing going on.”

  “It’s pure hate from my end.” She huffs.

  “I’ve seen the way he watches you when you are not aware, and my guess is that he feels something powerful for you.”

  “He’s made it clear he doesn’t want me, that he will not break my heat cycle. He’s happy for any other alpha to have me…so…”

  My forehead furrows. “Ethan said that?” I try to reconcile the hurtful words with the principled, steely man I know.

  “Better believe it.” She sets her jaw.

  “And are you going to do that? Get another alpha to break your heat cycle?” I peer up at her.

  “It’s not like I have a shortage of alphas.” She tosses her hair. “Every time I turn a corner, there is one of Zeus’ men loitering around trying to petition me for an omega.”

  “Do they approach you to lay with you, too?”

  “They wouldn’t dare.” She angles her head and grins down at me. There’s something feral about that look.

  “You’re a tough one, Omega.”

  “Yeah.” She shakes back the hair over her shoulders. “I’ve survived on my own and faced up to alphas far more vicious than Ethan, so he can take his dick and stick it in any other omega pussy and knot them, and you know what, I wouldn’t care.” She digs her heels into the floor and huffs out a breath.

  A thought crosses my mind then; of course, she hadn’t been there when Ethan had shared the reality of what he is.

  She doesn’t know he’s not an alpha. I open my mouth to tell her, then purse my lips. It’s not going to help if I reveal that now. Besides, it’s Ethan’s secret to share.

  It’s a testament to the bond that has formed between Zeus and his men who had been there at the scene. When the relationship between Ethan and Zeus and the true status of Ethan’s standing had been revealed, no gossip had circulated in its aftermath. And I’m not going to tell either.

  There’s a knock at the doors to the warehouse. I stiffen and look at her.

  “It’s time.” She squats down and grips my shoulder. “Good luck, Lucy.” Straightening, she walks to the door with that smooth, gliding gait of hers.

  Panic skitters down my spine, and I almost call her back.

  But that’s stupid. I need to see this through on my own.

  She’s already put her own life at risk by helping me set all of this up, including convincing Ethan and Sol and the men closest to Zeus to fall in with the plan.

  Ethan had flouted Zeus’ rules by coming to see me in the suite, and surprise…it had actually been to convince me to go through with it. He’d felt it was for the best, that Zeus just needed to see me, and he’d accept me and my unborn children, he’d said.


  I brush away the tear that trickles from the corner of my eye. Not that I have a choice.

  He’s been avoiding me completely, has refused all requests for a meeting with him.

  None of his team, not even Ethan, have any idea what is going on in Zeus’ head or why he’s been so adamant about avoiding me.

  Definitely some kind of misplaced need to protect me.

  Snatches of conversation from when I’d woken up in the infirmary cling to the edges of my memory. I’d known already that he was going to do something stupid. I’d thought he’d likely just send me away along with my clan.

  Instead, he’d sheltered my people in London, accepted the omegas who’d come with me, including my sister Chloe, into the harem. He'd also given the betas among them roles within his stronghold.

  He’d done everything right. Well, everything except his duty as an alpha, which is to fuck me and… I miss him. There, I admit it.

  I miss his presence, his scent, his touch, the chafe of his hair roughened jaw over the soft skin of my inner thigh, his big body pressing mine into the bed, pinning me down and holding me in place for his ministrations. A shiver of yearning ripples down my spine.

  My belly quivers and I place a palm over my womb.

  He hasn’t returned to check on the progress of how my pregnancy is developing, and that is unusual for an alpha.

  As much as an omega gets possessive about her children, an alpha is as much protective about the omega, and especially a pregnant omega and his unborn children.

  The mating bond pulses. I stiffen. I’ve felt his presence often shadow me through the bond, especially at night, but this is the first time that there has been any sign of life in it. Almost as if it senses his nearness. I know without a doubt that he’s close.

  He must be headed toward the entrance of the warehouse.

  My pulse ratchets up, and my throat goes dry. My stomach heaves. I can’t be sick, not now. I burrow back down into the rug, wrap the scarf over my nose and mouth, and take a deep breath to steady myself.

  I hear the sound of the door being wrenched open, the hinges creaking, and the hair on my nape stands on end.

  I am in for it now.

  There’s no way out but to go through with this plan. Excitement strums my nerves. I am going to see him. Finally, I am going to be close to my alpha. Heavy footsteps close in on me.

  20

  Zeus

  I stalk toward the rolled-up fabric at the end of the warehouse. The colors glimmer blue and green in the light from the harsh fluorescent lamps in the ceiling.

  My gut tightens.

  I don’t need to open it to know what’s inside of there. The scent of her hits me as I approach the fabric. The scent of dawn air mixed with the sweet spoor of omega slick. She’s inside there, balled up in it.

  What is she getting at?

  Is she toying with me?

  Did she defy my command to stay within the suite and take care of herself? The thoughts race around my head. I want to be angry that she disobeyed me.

  Want to feel something, anything other than this anticipation that fills my chest, a warmth that percolates from the mating cord. It fills my cells and overflows, until every part of me is taut with anticipation. I shouldn’t be so pleased to see her.

  Shouldn’t feel the need build with every step that I take toward her.

  My footsteps echo within the hollow space.

  My pulse thuds at my temples. My heart hammers, mirroring the hope that bubbles up in my gut.

  Bloody hell. When was the last time I was so filled with expectation? This. This elation that coats every cell in my body and urges me to thrust out my chest and roar my anticipation to the world—when had I last wanted to do that?

  When I'd last been with her. That's when.

  The fact is that I’ve missed her, and I don’t want to admit it. I come to a stop in front of the rolled-up carpet.

  It seems innocuous enough, exactly like the last time a rug was delivered to me.

  Except this time, I know what’s waiting inside for me. And something in me wants to draw out the suspense.

  How does she feel wrapped up inside there, waiting for me to unpeel that cloth and expose her? What will she be wearing? Will she be naked?

  Heat flushes my skin.

  My breath stutters. My fingers tingle.

  I squat next to the rolled-up material and trail my fingers over the fabric, over the hint of the curves that shape the cloth. Down the arc of what must surely be her hip and over her thighs, to her legs. I pause at her feet.

  “You coming out of there, Squirrel?"

  Silence greets me. There’s no movement from inside, nothing. I can’t fucking hear her breathe. Fear twists my heart. She’s fine inside there, right? She has to be. She’s pregnant, too, and is this right, what she’s doing now? Wrapping herself up, smothering herself in this piece of cloth, and luring me here, and for what?

  So she can talk to me?

  Because I’ve turned away every opportunity to see her. I’ve refused her repeated attempts to meet me. I’ve made her go to these lengths. Replicate the way we first met. And a part of me wants to chuckle and puff up with pride. My omega is fucking clever, too damned clever for her own good. At this rate, she’s going to end up hurting herself and the children all over again and… It’s only when I feel the material under my fingers, I realize I’ve already reached for the seam of the carpet.

  I grip the cloth and yank it with just enough force for the fabric to unravel. The colors stream out as the material unrolls.

  Her body tumbles out, and I sweep her up and into my arms, “How dare you put your children at risk?”

  “Our children.” Those eyes of shattered green blaze up at me.

  I cradle her close, taking in the shift she's wearing and the long sleeves that flow to her wrists. Hmm. “Isn’t it time you put such foolishness behind you and give thought to recovering from your last encounter?”

  “It’s been three weeks, Zeus.” She juts out her lower lip. “An. Entire. Twenty-one. Days.”

  “I can count, Omega.” My voice is rough.

  “Well, bully for you, Alpha.” She hisses at me.

  Her scent crowds my nostrils. Her skin is soft against mine. She is so tiny. So vibrant.

  A splash of color in a life which had otherwise lacked purpose. Strange how quickly I’d gone from wanting to tear down everything about my past to wanting to build it up for her, as a legacy for our children. I hadn’t been aware when it had happened. But standing here, holding my omega in my arms, seeing the expressions flit across her face, reading the yearning in her gaze, I know I have changed.

  I am not sure how to react.

  “So much planning, and just to see me?” I walk toward the exit, carrying her in my arms.

  There’s a blur of movement and she flips out the knife hidden in her sleeve. The one I'd noticed earlier, and hadn't wanted to call her out on. Where is she going with this?

  “I’m not done talking." She raises the blade and presses it against my neck.

  I chuckle. “You think you’re going to scare me with that toy.”

  She pushes the tip of the knife into my throat—not enough to break the skin, just enough to send a shudder of heat from the point of the wound all the way down to the tip of my dick. Fuck. It’s perverted, this reaction I have toward her. That her need to hurt me only seems to turn me on further.

  “Stop, Zeus.”

  “Or what?”

  “I won’t hesitate to draw blood.”

  “You wouldn't dare.” I infuse every bit of confidence into my voice. She wouldn't cross the line and actually carry out her threat, would she?

  A part of me wants to goad her on, to see how far she’ll go.

  Just an excuse. I just need an excuse to get even, to take her and claim her all over again.

  To push aside all of my arguments, all of those promises I’ve made to myself not to take her. That my being near her will only har
m her. Just one little glimmer of— Pain streaks down my throat. I glance down to see that she's drawn the tip of the knife down my neck. A trickle of blood streaks my skin. “You fucking stabbed me?”

  21

  Lucy

  His muscles are wound tight, and the hard planes of his chest flex as he growls. My insides quiver in response.

  How much can I push him before he gives in to the need that crawls under his skin?

  He squeezes me closer and the knife edge opens more of his skin. Blood drips from his throat and the scent of copper rends the air.

  Heat from his body pours over me, and I gasp.

  Sweat breaks out on my brow. I’ve missed this. Missed his overwhelming maleness. That thrum of danger that coils just under the surface of his skin, ready to strike. I want to unleash it now and face the brunt of his anger…his feelings, well, anything except that quiet front that he’s maintained with me over the past few weeks.

  All along he’s been at the other end of the mating bond, yet I couldn’t see him or touch him.

  Now he's in front of me, and my hands are numb with the need to draw him closer. To bury myself inside of him, to crawl into his skin and lose myself in him. My fingers shudder around the knife’s handle, and the blade slides from my hand.

  He leans over so it hits the floor and then kicks it away.

  “You always did like to play with things that were more dangerous than you thought them to be.” His chest brushes my breasts.

  My nipples tighten.

  A breath shudders out of him

  “I like being burned.” I lean up and lick the blood that drips down his neck.

  A pulse flares to life at his temples. He’s not as composed as he appears either. He’s so close to breaking. All he needs is a little push, one more tiny shove over the edge and—

  “I know what you’re doing, Omega, and it won’t work.”

  “Oh?” I flick out my tongue and wipe my lips clean of all traces of his blood.