Besides, he didn’t want to do anything to stop the pampering. It was marvelous and it gave him a lull in what he knew would continue to be a turbulent few days. Why not take what respite he could? Tipping his head back, he allowed the water to cascade over his face while giving Bard greater access to his hair. After what seemed like long minutes, Bard finished up with that and moved onto other areas. That’s when things got interesting.
Big, soapy hands started making circles along Loki’s shoulders, then stroked his arms down to his wrists while they were still outstretched to brace against the wall. The gamma’s fingers made slippery tracks down Loki’s back, stopping at the base of his spine. Bard pressed his thumbs into the muscles there, working out kinks that Loki hadn’t even noticed were there. He groaned again because how could he not? It felt so good. Once more, the gamma’s movements faltered. It wasn’t only Bard that reacted, however. Something about his own response looped back onto Loki. His hole twitched and a wetness that had nothing to do with the water still pounding down dribbled past his balls.
Now it was Bard who groaned, a low rumble that vibrated through Loki. He found his hips being clasped and tugged back until his ass stuck up. The blunt head of what could only be a cock slid past the globes of his ass. It breached his hole without hesitation and surged into him. Loki hissed and arched his back. The hard rod invading his channel shot forward until Bard bottomed out. His fingertips dug into Loki’s flesh as he held them both still.
This internal massage was better than anything that had come before it. With his mind clearer, he could appreciate how perfectly the gamma’s dick fit. Something so long and thick should have hurt, yet it felt as if this was a missing piece of himself that Loki had been searching for his whole life. Or, at least since he’d matured and the first signs of his heat had begun. The restless neediness was quieted by being claimed. Well, almost. The respite was short-lived in the sense that another, stronger demand began to rise.
As did his own cock. It rose up under the spray with an aching hardness that made him want to grab it. He didn’t have to, as it turned out. Wrapping one arm around Loki’s waist, Bard tugged him up against his body, lifting him off the floor. Loki had to let go of the wall, and he grasped the gamma’s arm.
Bard fisted Loki’s dick with his free hand and whispered into his ear, “Hook your feet around my legs.”
Loki did as asked, gasping as Bard began to tug his cock. Their defiance of gravity seemed impossible to maintain. But he underestimated the gamma’s strength. He held Loki up, seemingly effortlessly. Not for a second did Loki feel insecure. Instead, the gamma’s embrace gave him a sense of profound safety. Nothing could hurt him, no harm would befall him, so long as Bard held him tight and close.
Despite the awkward stance, Bard still managed to pump his dick inside Loki’s ass a few times before a swelling impeded his efforts. It first slowed, then stopped the movement to a mere rocking motion. Pressure within Loki’s channel caused enough discomfort to make him grit his teeth, even as it sent a pulse of pleasure straight to his dick.
Bard’s knot.
This was another thing Loki had been too mindless earlier to appreciate. The more the base of Bard’s dick expanded to tie them together, the more pressure it put on a spot a short way from his stretched hole. It caused Loki’s climax to peak with surprising speed and intensity. He convulsed over Bard’s arm with an open-mouthed grunt that sent water cascading past his lips.
He thrashed his way through the orgasm, or tried to. Bard’s hold didn’t allow much movement, not enough to test the strength of the knotting bond. The lack of freedom somehow only added to the strength of his climax. He shook his head and dug his fingers into the unyielding muscles of Bard’s arm. Warmth shot up his channel, bathing his insides with Bard’s cum. His wolf howled at the sensation, a primal reaction to being claimed and bred. The spot at the back of Loki’s neck itched in anticipation of being savaged.
Nothing happened, of course. The intensity of his orgasm notwithstanding, Loki was now able to maintain some rational thought. He knew Bard wouldn’t give him the mating bite without permission. Loki almost gave it. He opened his mouth to say the words, to beg for it. Some part of him shut it down in the next instant. There would be no coming back from such a thing, and he didn’t have it in him to take that last, permanent step.
Exhaustion rolled over him. Tossing his head back, he rested with his eyes closed against the gamma’s broad, slick chest. He lost any sense of time, although soon his need resurfaced, sending blood to his cock. Again, Bard tended to him, jerking him off, before coming inside Loki once more. He lacked the energy to do anything other than stay lax in Bard’s embrace and let nature carry him away. Eventually, his leg muscles relaxed, causing him to lose his hold on Bard’s calves.
It made no difference. Bard held him up and their bodies together until his knot deflated. The moment it did so, Bard disengaged them carefully. He held Loki with one arm still, while he soaped him up quickly with his free hand. Loki was like a rag, boneless and useless. It didn’t matter. The gamma had the strength and presence of mind to manage them both. Soon, Loki found himself wrapped in a big, fluffy towel and being carried back to the healer’s room.
Bard laid him down on the pallet that a sigma had indeed freshened up with clean linen, more towels, water, and toiletries. There was even a plate of freshly baked sugar cookies on the floor nearby, still warm and making him drool from the smell. Loki reached for one without thought, then stopped with his hand hovering over the treats. He eyed Bard.
The gamma nodded. “Go on. Your body needs fuel and you’ve already had the nutritious stuff. Even after the piece of cake, eating a few cookies will do no harm.” He busied himself with rubbing Loki dry from head to toe.
Loki took a cookie and bit half of it. He moaned in delight because eating was almost as pleasurable as fucking. Bard’s touch fumbled as it had before. Loki hid a grin behind the rest of the cookie. There was something wickedly delightful about having such an effect on the big, bad gamma. It was a real power, although knowing Bard as he did, there were going to be limits to using it. The guy had discipline as well as virility.
“There,” Bard said, tossing the towel aside. “Shall I braid your hair to get it out of the way?”
Loki felt suddenly shy. He looked away as he took another cookie. “If you want. I mean, I can do it.” No one had done such a thing for him since he was a very young pup.
“Of course, you can, but I’m happy to do it for you. You’re enjoying the treat and we may not have too much time before….” He cast his gaze around the room and grabbed a brush left by the sigmas.
Loki swallowed his bite and grimaced. “Before my heat overtakes me and makes us both mindless, rutting animals.”
Bard paused and tapped the brush against his palm. “Is it so very bad? I was trying to ease your way.”
Seeing the gamma’s distress in his expression and tone, Loki should have found satisfaction in it. Instead, he wanted to reassure him. “You did. It didn’t hurt back then in the shower. You were…careful with me.” He wrinkled his nose and stared at the cookie in his hand. “You made me feel good, actually.”
That was an understatement, but saying that much had been hard. It was as if he were betraying himself in some way in acknowledging that Bard’s mounting him had been a positive experience. He wanted to rail against it and his fate, yet he also knew that would be useless and unfair. This was his fate after all, to be claimed by a dominant and bred. With his head relatively clear and the worst of the initial mounting over, he wasn’t so bratty and contrary as to deny the truth.
Bard smiled. “I’m glad to know that.” His face was transformed by the expression, showing his masculine beauty to Loki’s breathless appreciation. “Sit up, now, and we’ll see to your hair.”
Loki did as bid, not wanting the lull in their contentious interaction to end. He sat cross-legged and presented his back to the gamma before grabbing a third cookie. T
his one he lingered over, his appetite for sweets having been satisfied. Bard knelt behind him, the gamma’s powerful thighs brushing up against Loki’s flanks. The touch sent goosebumps along his skin. When Bard started brushing the snarls out of Loki’s hair, he closed his eyes and reveled in the simple pleasure of it.
They remained that way for long minutes as Bard smoothed out the strands, then weaved them into a tight, long braid. Loki nibbled at his cookie all the while until with a pat on his shoulder, Bard signaled that he was done. He left Loki’s side, and Loki immediately missed his presence. His reaction irked him for a few seconds until he reminded himself that he wasn’t going to get anywhere by holding onto his anger and resentment. He ran his free hand down his braid and admired Bard’s handiwork. Then, he impulsively held up the remainder of his cookie.
In the process of setting the brush aside, it took a second before the gamma saw what Loki was doing. His eyes widened in surprise before he slowly bent down and took the offering out of Loki’s hand using only his teeth. They held each other’s gaze, the connection almost tangible. In the gamma’s vivid blue eyes, Loki saw himself. He saw home. He’d spent so long missing the place of his birth, he’d failed to see that part of it had never left his side. The feel of Bard’s lips brushing his fingers sent a shiver up his spine. His hole spasmed at the same moment and slick slid out.
Bard swallowed his piece of cookie with one bite before giving Loki a knowing look. “Come, it’s time to attend to your heat again.”
The gamma broke eye contact to clasp Loki by the shoulders and maneuver him onto his side. He then moved to lie behind Loki, and the change in their positions made Loki miss the more personal view. He had an urge to turn around so that he could be mounted face-to-face. Before he could act on the sudden and bewildering impulse, his hole clenched violently. A wave of painful need had him drawing up his knees in a futile effort to ease the discomfort.
“Easy now, I have you.” Bard’s soothing tone preceded his sending his cock surging into Loki. Throwing a leg over Loki’s hip, he pressed their bodies together tightly.
The gamma snapped his hips to drill Loki’s channel with long, hard strokes. This time, he fucked Loki for a few heady seconds before his knot started to interfere. Loki missed the pounding, having found the way Bard’s dick invaded and retreated a balm to the deep ache plaguing him. But the knot had its purpose and that intense pressure once again caused Loki to climax. This time, Bard hadn’t had a chance to grab Loki’s cock. It bobbed and jerked. Loki forced his eyes to stay open so that he could watch his own cum coat the sides of the shaft and splash against his stomach.
Bard groaned and hugged Loki with a crushing power. “So tight. So hot. Gods be damned.” The gamma clutched Loki’s pec and spilled his warm cum inside him once more.
“Nothing is better than this.” Bard’s breath wafted across Loki’s still wet head. “You are perfect in every way. I have never wanted anything more in my life than to know this exquisite pleasure. My seed is shooting into your body to find an egg and it will breed you.”
The gamma’s cock swelled even more. It didn’t seem possible, trapped as it was by Loki’s narrow channel. Yet, he could feel it, the pressure increasing and making Loki’s dick hard before it had a chance to soften. This time, Bard slid his hand down and grabbed it like a blind man with clumsy fingers. He squeezed and ran his fist from head to root and back again. His thumb flicked through the weeping slit. Loki gasped at the shock of pain that somehow brought pleasure, too.
Then the gamma bucked his hips in an effort to move his shaft the little bit the knot allowed. Loki felt every inch of the contact of the rigid rod encased by his soft flesh. If he’d been mindless before, he was now hyperaware. He couldn’t lose himself in the pleasure of it. Every moment, every touch, was burning into his brain. It was Bard who seemed overtaken. His body convulsed against Loki’s while his hand spasmed around Loki’s shaft. Balls tickled balls. Sweat mingled. Their breathing synced.
And, as another wave of cum shot out to coat his insides, Loki knew with frightening clarity that mating bite or not, he’d been claimed.
Chapter Five
“Excuse me, Alpha, do you have a minute?” Bard hurried to catch up to Lorcan. The hallway listed a bit as he did so, except no, he was the one tilting. He’d heard that servicing an omega in heat took a lot out of a guy. He was still surprised at how drained and exhausted he felt.
The alpha stopped and waited for him to catch up. A slight smile graced his face. “It’s done, then? It had better be. You looked wrecked.”
Bard returned the expression, pleased that the alpha was in a good mood. Despite his time with the Rogues, he hadn’t quite lost his wariness of a pack’s most dominant member. “I must confess, sir, I am. I wanted to do right by Loki, of course, so his well-being was my focus for the last few days.”
“I could tell he’d been bred when I woke this morning. As big as this longhouse has become, the unusually high scent Loki had been giving off had still managed to reach my quarters. I don’t mind saying his heat being over is a relief.”
Bard swiped at his tired eyes. “I think it might have something to do with his arctic nature. We tend toward heavier scents than you woodland shifters to cut through the cold.” He shrugged ruefully. “Or, it could just be Loki being different.”
Even as he said it, he pictured how he’d left the omega curled up on the pallet, freshly showered and fed—appearing to be at peace for the first time in perhaps years. He’d looked much as he had a few days ago in the weaving shed, except now he was no longer a pup at all. He was a mature and bred omega with a tiny spark of a pup growing inside him. Knowing that a piece of himself lay nestled inside the boy gave Bard a strange feeling—a possessive one, and a protective one.
But that was not why he’d stopped the alpha. There would be time later to explore his feelings about what he’d done. Now was a time for contrition. Straightening, he looked squarely at Lorcan. “Sir, I want to apologize for my behavior in the council room.”
The alpha cocked his head. “I don’t believe that is necessary.”
“With respect, sir, it is. I overstepped my position in the pack, and for that, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have challenged your authority when I insisted that I would breed Loki with or without your permission.”
Lorcan gazed back at him for long seconds. It was hard not to drop his eyes and bare his neck. Bard didn’t, only because from what he’d seen of this alpha, the man expected his dominants to meet him with strength and not reflexive submissiveness.
Finally, the alpha said, “I would ask you a question before I respond to your apology. Why did you do it?”
Bard furrowed his brow. Perhaps he was so sleep-deprived that he was having trouble understanding the question. “Sir?”
Lorcan braced his legs and crossed his arms. The stance made him no less imposing. “I know what you said at the time, when emotions were running high. With the emergency over, I’m asking why did you insist on breeding Loki when I was prepared to do so?”
Bard rocked on his heels, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. This was supposed to be a straightforward amends by a pack member to his alpha. “Well, sir, it seemed the best option. You were doing it out of duty, and it would have pained both you and your mate if you had.”
“You’re right, naturally, that I would have hated doing it to Loki, and it would have hurt Kyle, as well. In my quest to make this pack better than how our species have been traditionally, I had boxed in all of us where Loki was concerned. No matter what decision I made, I saw it as a repudiation of what I’ve been trying to build here.
“But, it was my duty and my burden. No one else’s, certainly not a gamma’s. So, I ask you again, why? Was it because you saw an opportunity to mount a quality omega you’ve coveted for a while?”
Bard knew a second of utter outrage before he reined himself in. The alpha had every right to question is motives. “No, sir. As I said at the tim
e, I did it for Loki. It was what he needed literally to stay alive. And, I did it for the pack, which benefits from its alpha pair being strong. There was no reason for you to make that sacrifice when I was able to take that burden from you.
“I didn’t pretend that I didn’t want him. I won’t deny it now because I do, more than anything.” He paused as memories of what he’d just been through over the last few days swamped him.
“Still, I would have wanted him willing. Forcing myself on him was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” He choked on the emotion of it. “I don’t expect him to forgive me for it. And, I understood at the time that it might mean my having to leave this pack.”
The alpha looked surprised. “Leave? For what, saving his life?”
“I’m not sure he can see it that way, or rather, see me every day and accept that I violated him. I won’t cause him more stress by staying if his continued good health requires me to leave.”
“I don’t think it will come to that. In fact, I won’t let it. You’re a valuable member of this pack and even without the threat of Haldon, we need you. In this, Loki will have to submit to my will and the good of the pack.” He paused. “I assume this means you didn’t mate him, then. I’d heard from the sigmas that they didn’t think you had.”
Bard thought of the quick and quiet sigmas who’d changed the bedding and cleared dishes. Of course, they would have had their doubts given the scents he and Loki had left behind. If one ever wanted to learn what was happening in a pack, the sigmas were always in the know. “No, sir. That would have been unjustifiable. The breeding was necessary, but to force the mating bite on him would have been a step too far for me.”
Omega Lost (The Rogue Pack Book 7) Page 8