16
Vemlox
A commotion outside alerts me, and one of Sidone’s males barges into my apartment
Naked, I leap up, teeth bared, ready to kill. “Out!”
He steps outside but lingers at the doorway, without a glance toward the nest. That one wants to live, and by the twitching of his body, I understand something’s urgent. There’s only one thing Sidone would have me up for at the crack of dawn. I strap on my til and step outside. A glance at my Omega finds her sitting up, brown eyes trained on me, expecting an explanation. “I’ll return shortly. Stay here.” I glare at Loyo, who lies down beside her and flips onto his back, showing his soft belly. My fierce hound is now a lap animal, and I am jealous the Omega pets him. I store the image of the pair in my vault of knowledge.
Shaking my head, I smile as I walk down myriad steps, Guardians in full armor zipping by me. The king could be coming for all I know, and seeing as I’ve failed my mission, I can do only one thing to save face, but more importantly, to save my Omega’s life. The purpose of bringing the Omega all the way up here was so that she cannot escape until Montar has had time to claim the Omega and fuck his way straight into Loven’s alliance. Sam cannot get out of the Guardian’s stronghold on her own, not even riding out on Loyo. We’re stuck here.
The winds outside hurt my skin. I erect my armor to keep warm, flex my muscles, then grunt at the pain in my belly. Sidone did a number on me. I shoved and pushed her around, didn’t fight her back, which pissed her off even more, hence why I’m beaten and bruised.
The winds sway the red-top trees and lift the snow so it’s impossible to see into the distance, but I make out the dark shapes of several hound riders. Maybe five of them. I can’t be sure.
Sidone joins me and rubs my back. “What happened to your armor?” she whispers.
I eye her sideways until she glares at me and points at my belly. I look down and behold dark gray scales. Blinking, I swipe a hand over my abdomen. My armor peels off. Dry flakes like ashes disperse on the wind. My arms and legs are fine, but my middle, the most vulnerable part of my anatomy, is completely nude.
“Lower your armor,” Sidone says under her breath. “Damn you, Vemlox. The Omega is cursed.”
Retracting my armor, I squeeze my sister’s hand. “It will be fine. Better than fine, really.” Loven shed his armor, and when it came back, it came back red. Red armor is impenetrable, and I’m the third Horde Alpha who’s gonna get it. Or so I hope. Eventually. Now would be best. Because Montar approaches, Tayseer and three other Collectors in tow.
“Who sent word to Tayseer?” I bite out.
“Not me.”
“How many know there’s an Omega inside the settlement?”
“It’s not so hard to figure out,” Sidone sneers. “The scent of her pussy is all over you.”
“Well, my problems just quadrupled.”
“I’ll take care of the Collectors.” Sidone’s keen eyes scan the sky. “The storm will get worse. We’re all trapped up here for the foreseeable future.”
“I can’t wait to have dinner with everyone.”
“Nothing is funny, brother.”
Montar’s hound lowers to his belly, and the rider dismounts. Though I should, I’m not paying attention to him. I lock eyes with Tayseer. He’s taller, wider, stronger, and some would argue smarter than any other Alpha on Regha. All tolerable qualities, and I’m happy to challenge him because I’m crazy whereas he’s logical. What worries me most about Tayseer is his undying loyalty to the king. If Loven presented him with a harem of human Omegas, Tayseer would walk away. We can’t approach him, so we must get him off our backs. The only saving grace is that Tayseer won’t fight in the battle. He’s a Collector, and war or no war, his only concern are the Omegas.
Tayseer smirks at me. “Vemlox,” he says by way of greeting.
“Tay,” I purr.
He dismounts, royal red robes fluttering around him. He pets his hound, and the hound walks inside.
“Montar.” I spread my arms. “Good to see you, my friend.” We bump shoulders, my sore body protesting a strike of his hard armor. The greeting nearly knocks my breath away. This is not good for me, but I play along as if the frost isn’t seeping into my bones and making my lungs freeze. Should’ve stitched up a fur coat for myself.
Sidone leads the Collectors inside and leaves me outside with Montar. I’m confident Sidone understands I will not give up my Omega nor will I get strapped to a pole. They’ll have to kill me. And she won’t allow it; therefore, she and the unit of Guardians she sent to watch my Omega as I walked out of my lair will do their best against the Collectors. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to the point where we all die. Sidone might strike some kind of deal with Tayseer. He’s fond of my sister, likely because she’s Alpha, a rare female dynamic that doesn’t make his deprived dick hard. At the thought of virgin Tayseer, I smile.
Montar shows me his teeth and claps me on the back. “Freezin’ Serpent’s balls out here. Move in.”
I’m annoyed at his brisk order and even more annoyed when he brushes past me knowing I’ll follow. I’d love to show him I’m Horde, follow Loven’s orders, and stay out here for spite. Because my balls have shrunk into peas and are practically begging me to light them on fire and keep the package warm, I walk behind Montar.
Inside the settlement, I shiver, an unusual physical response for an Alpha male. My belly churns, and I sway on my feet, my vision unclear. Fuck, I’m gonna faint like a virgin before an Alpha pack. Finding a wall, I lean against it and blink, trying to clear my vision. When that doesn’t happen, I whistle for Loyo.
Montar turns and gives me an expectant stare. I should follow him into his war room and find out what he has to say, but I can’t be seen in my current ill state. I curse myself for bonding an Omega I can’t protect. My backup plan won’t work if I can’t make it work. Loyo licks my hand, and I manage to mount him. Stars play over my eyes, darkness folds in, and I lose my sight completely. Loyo climbs the steps, his gait making me dizzy. Nausea threatens to spill my guts.
Fear spreads though me as if a river dam opened and spilled the water. My Omega’s voice, scent, touch does nothing to soothe me as I fall off Loyo and into her nest. I’ve never suffered illness, never heard of an Alpha suffering one such as this either. Even recalling Loven hiding inside his room for spans on end, Joxi coming out of the quarters worried about him but never telling anyone what she’s witnessed, does little to comfort me. Kinre and I contemplated torturing the servant for information, but it would be no use. The loyalty of Ganhon females is unwavering, the reason Loven keeps Joxi traveling with the Horde.
Something churns in my belly, and a cramp tightens my muscles. I pinch my lips so as not to cry out like a newborn, but, oh, it’s not gonna work. My belly contracts, my food rises, and I feel like I’m gonna…vomit?
No fucking way. I swallow it back down. It rises again. I swallow. “Fuck you,” I tell my body. “Damn traitor.”
“What’s wrong?” Sam asks. I hear shuffling and feel her soft hand on my forehead. “Oh, you have a…clammy skin syndrome.”
“A what?” My belly contracts again, and there’s no stopping it. I turn to my side and hack like a hound with a bone stuck in his throat.
My Omega’s gentle hand rubs my back. “Oh boy, you’re sick.”
“Alphas don’t get sick.” I wipe my mouth, wishing she’d just stab me with a dagger. I have dishonored myself, the Horde, my Omega, my sister, even my hound. And all because of lust. I couldn’t wait for another Omega to come through the space gate. I had to bond Montar’s. Shame accompanies my fear. I need to get my Omega out of here. And I can’t. I can’t move, I can’t fight, and I can’t leave.
We are stuck in the enemy’s lair.
* * *
The males avoid our apartment. My Omega stays by my side while I’m swimming in pain, blind, weak, scared, and pissed off I can’t fucking sit up. Loyo’s whining doesn’t help. He’s pacing our apartment
, rubbing his scales over my boots, maybe telling me in his way he’s here for me. Gonna retire him, breed him, take him hunting. If I live.
A large dark mass pokes its head through the drape. I sniff. Tayseer. Oh, a party. I try sitting up and manage to lean against the wall, my back painfully straight as if I’ve already been strapped to a pole. My abdominal muscles and my neck are unmovable. I can’t turn my head, can’t bend, can barely swallow. I have no idea what’s happening to me, but I have to take care of my Omega first and foremost.
“Knock, knock,” he says. “Awww, look at you two. I’m touched. Shall I fetch you tea, dears?” Tayseer chuckles.
Tayseer knows I’ve succumbed to illness. He also knows he’s got all the time in the world to persuade me in my weakened state. “No Guardians, including Montar, will enter the room,” he continues. “They believe you’ve got the Death.”
“And you?” I croak out.
He tsks at me.
Tayseer fears nothing, and even if he feared Death, it won’t stop him from collecting my Omega. He’s gonna bring in my Omega or die trying. He’s got two bonded Omegas in the kingdom, and in his mind, he’s already failed two too many missions.
“Montar is a man,” Sam mumbles. “Oh my God.” She clears her throat. “Who are you?”
Through blurry black-and-white vision, I follow his movements.
“My name is Tayseer.” He parts the flap and enters, one hand over his heart, giving a small bow for my Omega.
I glance at the ceiling. “Kill me now. Don’t let me listen to his bullshit.”
Tayseer ignores me. “May I have a seat?”
Serpent’s knot! “Sit your fucking ass down and say what you gotta say.” I heave breaths, my stomach rises, and I hack, pain shooting up my back. I’m gonna faint. Fuck me.
“Um, yeah,” Sam says. “Have a seat. Sorry about the mess.”
I spear her with a stare. “What the fuck?”
Sam shrugs. “He’s nice. First person who bothered knocking.” She pats my thigh. “Behave.”
Across from me, Tayseer is all teeth and amusement. “Behave,” he repeats and sits down on the floor, then grabs a blanket and snuggles into it. “Brrr. My accommodations are scarce of furs, and now I see why. We have a nest to make here.”
“Oh!” Sam blushes. “I had no idea people are freezing out there.” She gets up, grabs a blanket, and when Tayseer extends his hand, she doesn’t cross the room to hand it to him, she tosses it instead. Smart, my Omega. She’s staying by my side.
“He’s not cold,” I say.
Under the blanket, she squeezes my thigh. What’s that mean? Does she know who he is? Can she sense danger? Humans have no instincts. I’ve observed Kingsley and Cyan, and they’ve got none. Maybe mine does because she’s a soldier. Pride flares in my chest, but it’s squished by the thought that I’m not worthy of her. If I can’t defend her, I am not worthy.
Tayseer knows this too.
“Who are you, Tayseer?” she asks him, one hand under her blankets, her body in front of mine as if protecting me.
“I am Vemlox’s brother.”
I widen my eyes. “Since when?”
“Since birth, dearest. Unlike the Horde or the Guardians, the Collectors collect more than Omegas. We also collect information.”
I’ve been waiting to receive this great news for many years, and now that it’s here, it’s unwelcome. Montar is also his brother and therefore mine. Or is he? This makes everything more complicated, and I’m not about to ask Tayseer about Montar.
“You collect Omegas?” Sam asks.
“That’s right. I’ve come to collect you and take you to a nice warm place where you will be cared for, but, more importantly, protected from the war that’s coming as sure as supper in one two…” Tayseer snaps his gloved fingers.
Sidone marches into the room and pauses at the sight of me. “Oh, Vemlox.” Alpha females don’t cry, but the slump of her shoulders and the sad look on Sidone’s face guts me. I’m responsible.
“I said,” Tayseer bites out, “have someone bring the food, not bring the food, Sidone.”
“I heard you, and ignored you.” Sidone sits beside him with a sigh, leaning her head against the stone, gaze on the ceiling. “Montar has people digging up frozen ground, trying to erect a pole.”
“He won’t come in here to fetch me, and nobody else dares,” I say. “He fears sickness like the rest of them.”
“What kind of sickness is this?” Sam asks, but doesn’t move away from me.
“The Death we believe the king eradicated.”
“That sounds terminal, so that’s not it,” Sam says. “Your vitals are improving.”
“They are?” I’m feeling like a rotten desil. Probably smell like one too.
“Mm-hm. You can sit up now and have a conversation. You can see. I’m sure you got a…a cold or something.”
“The Horde male has been affected by the weather,” Tayseer says and laughs. “You will never live this down, Vemlox. Or live at all, for that matter.” He pierces me with a stare. “You have brought an Omega into the Guardians’ fold. You intended to give her to Montar, and he accepts your offer. He will use the Omega, then hand her over to me.”
I glare at Sidone. She told on me, and I know why. If I give up the Omega, all will be well, but she can’t comprehend bonding. Nobody understands bonding. I cannot give up my Omega and live. Not in a million turns. “What about Sidone?”
“She will travel to Loven with a message from the king.”
“What’s the message?”
“All armies have arrived at Ahka. Assembly will take no time at all, and then we march.”
“We?”
“We.”
“Are you marching on your brothers, Tayseer?”
“I am in service to Regha.”
I sneer. “You are a slave to the king.”
“You are a slave to an Omega!”
“There are no slaves in this room,” Sam says. “My ancestors were slaves and worked for no wages on the white man’s plantations, so I’ve heard a thing or two about slavery. It’s not this. And there will be no killing of Vemlox. Whoever walks in here to try to hurt us or take me places I don’t want to go should know I will not hesitate to kill.”
Tayseer smiles, a threat holding no meaning for him. “Taming you will be my new favorite sport.”
“Get out,” she says.
Tayseer chuckles and gets up, bowing with a flare of red robes. “As you wish, Omega.”
Sidone stares at the empty space left by his departure. “I will challenge Montar in your stead.”
I try to stand. Pain slices my back, and I cry out. “You will do no such thing.” Sidone is second-in-command. There’s a reason for that, and it’s simple. Montar is stronger.
“You can’t boss me, brother.” Sidone’s lips quirk, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Haven’t you learned that already?”
“Can you win?” Sam asks Sidone.
Sidone waves a hand. “That’s beside the point.”
Sam gasps. “How? Why would you challenge him if you know you can’t win?”
“Because I’m an Alpha, and it feels right.” Sidone puffs out her chest. “It feels right in my heart to confront Montar and protect my brother. I am made for fighting, and I play well with my strengths. I honor them. You, Omega, fight your strengths, thinking it’ll get you somewhere. It won’t. It’ll make you miserable.”
Sam clears her throat. “What do you mean?”
“Omegas are the nurturing, caring, feeling dynamic. If they only embrace those strengths of character, they will find their way. The more you resist your role, the more miserable you will be. Embrace who you are and let the Alphas do the fighting.” Sidone locks eyes with me. “I will challenge him as soon as you get well enough to move. Sam, you will take the opportunity of the mayhem of challenge to escape through the shallow opening, the one Loyo already discovered. We don’t use the opening because it’s not a nec
essary risk, but it is necessary for you.”
“You will not challenge Montar,” I say. “Obey me.” I force the words out, but my breaths are hitched and my vision’s darkening again.
Sidone snorts. “Return to Loven. Send him my warmest fuck-yous. I blame him for this. All of this.”
Toppling over on my Omega’s warm lap, I smile. “Tayseer will never let you challenge a male you can’t beat.”
“Ha!” Sidone gets up as if to leave.
“If I escape, what happens to Vemlox?” Sam asks.
Sidone looks over at Sam. “He will follow you.” My sister sighs, then shuffles her feet, looking uncomfortable. “We are raised believing no Omega is worth an Alpha male life. And no single male is worthy of you.”
“I was raised believing anything is possible,” Sam says.
“Maybe then the ground will open, and you will go back to where you came from.”
“Only if he comes with me. Get out, Sidone.”
The wink my sister gives me tells me my Omega passed her worthiness test. I’m proud of the females in my life. Still, I can’t have Sidone fight for me.
17
Sam
Vemlox’s health is improving, and he even ate a little before sleeping off the last bit of sickness. The skin on his belly is a lighter green in color as if renewed, and his body no longer feels clammy. Even Loyo settled in for a nap beside him. This gives me hope. We can’t hope to come out of this mess alive if this male doesn’t get better and goes out to do what he needs to do. If someone doesn’t kill him, the depression of failure will. He’s told me that.
I haven’t forgotten what Tayseer has said about Vemlox’s motives for bringing me here. I won’t forgive him, but I can’t be upset with him when he’s ill and defenseless. I’ll shoot anyone who comes in here wishing either of us harm.
Alpha Knots: Alpha Horde, #3 Page 10