Omegas Unchained
Copyright 2019 Samantha Cayto
Published by Samantha Cayto
Cover Art by Syneca Featherstone
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Chapter One
Ryan woke early, as he did every day, a good hour before anyone else. Milo made it easy to stick to this routine. The pup was a poor sleeper, always had been. It was different these days, though. Ryan didn’t have to escape his room before Milo woke a vicious alpha who took the interruption of his sleep out on Ryan’s hide. Lorcan never seemed to mind the pup’s antics. The man was a new kind of alpha. The Rogue Pack wasn’t a place of constant fear, and for that fact alone, Ryan was determined to be a useful member.
That meant taking advantage of his early morning rise and getting a jump on kitchen chores. There was always something to do when it came to feeding the pack, most of whom still relied on the longhouse for their meals. That had been true even before the gathering had begun. It was doubly so now that nearly a dozen additional dominants from the visiting Green Mountain and Strongblood packs required at least three big meals a day.
Oh, and there was also one visiting omega, a fact that still puzzled Ryan. Not that the Green Mountain boy ate much. Far from it. He’d blended seamlessly into the gathering so far and had also lent a hand with domestic tasks the previous day. Ryan supposed it all came down to Alpha Elijah being as untraditional as Lorcan. And the man didn’t need to explain his decision to anyone, especially not to him. Ryan knew his place—merely an omega who lived on Lorcan’s sufferance.
Hefting Milo on his hip, Ryan padded down the hall with practiced silence. Milo, too, seemed to understand for a change that he needed to be quiet. He rested his head against Ryan’s shoulder and chewed on a hank of Ryan’s hair. There was no one about, although of course, there were dominants on patrol. While Ryan knew nothing about such things, he imagined that there was more vigilance, not less, now that strange shifters occupied pack lands.
The kitchen was empty when he arrived. That wasn’t always the case. Sometimes head-cook Joey beat him to it with his own son snuggled in a sling as the omega started breakfast prep. Ryan had never known of an omega being in charge of a kitchen. That was just one more thing about this pack that was outside the norm for their species. The good news was that Joey wasn’t possessive or insecure in his position. He never minded Ryan making himself at home in the other boy’s domain. He seemed genuinely appreciative of Ryan’s efforts, so this routine was a win-win all around.
Unlike Joey, however, Ryan liked taking advantage of one of the highchairs that the alpha had permitted. It was so much easier to knead dough and work the stove without a pup in the way. Besides, Milo was big for his age, and Ryan was small even for an omega. His old mate, Haldon, had been impatient. He’d insisted on trying again to breed an alpha heir after too many failures with previous mates. He hadn’t been willing to wait for Ryan to mature. He’d mated and mounted Ryan before he’d gone into his first heat, leading to an early maturing and ultimately a difficult delivery. Ryan and Milo had been lucky to survive it.
Luckier still, was that Lorcan had killed Haldon in battle shortly afterward. What could have been the beginning of a life of misery, had turned out to be one of relative luxury and peace. Ryan understood how fortunate he was and wanted to give back to his pack as much as he could.
“Okay, honey, let’s get you settled,” he said, dragging a highchair out of a corner.
Milo was complacent being strapped in. That hadn’t been the case the first few times. The pup had grown used to being constantly carried around. But he’d adapted readily enough, especially once he understood that being in the chair meant getting something more interesting to eat than his father’s milk. Ryan still nursed Milo as his primary source of food to keep from going into heat and he was grateful that his alpha was fine with that. He wasn’t ready to breed again. Milo’s voracious appetite was proving problematic, though.
Not that Ryan had anything to complain about. Milo was his heart. Ryan would forever be in debt to Lorcan for not killing his enemy’s pup outright. Ryan had feared for his son’s life when he’d followed the others to the Rogues, yet he’d known better than to lie about Milo’s lineage. Lies always came back to haunt one, he’d learned.
In the end, everything had turned out for the better anyway. They all had a safe place in the Rogue Pack. Ryan and Milo had been incorporated into the alpha’s family and the Alpha Mate, Kyle, Ryan’s stepson technically, had been genuinely kind to them. Ryan hadn’t a complaint or worry to his name anymore, and still he fretted over the future.
He settled Milo in the highchair and littered the tray with some breakfast cereal. Milo bounced his chubby legs in excitement before grabbing at the pieces. He gave his father a slobbery grin when he managed to pop the first one into his mouth. Ryan could see the beginnings of yet another tooth coming in. He winced inwardly. His poor nipples were already getting a lot of bites. He didn’t complain, however. Anything was better than going into heat before he was ready. It wasn’t that he didn’t want more pups‒he did. It was simply a matter of having a say over when and how it happened.
Ryan had a plan.
Running a hand over his son’s downy head, he moved away to begin the bread dough. Joey had complimented him on his skill with this particular food, so by an unspoken agreement, Ryan had taken over the majority of the bread-making. It was easy, and he loved kneading. The rhythmic slapping and pressing allowed him to fall into the mindless task, and at the same time, work out his frustrations. The big stand-up mixer facilitated the making of multiple loaves within a short period of time.
Once he’d fed the yeast, he allowed himself to grab a quick bite of his own. Although he knew he could eat anything he wanted, he never took his position for granted or allowed himself to get ahead of his position. So, he toasted a couple of pieces of the previous day’s loaves and spread some peanut butter on them. It was enough to hold him until breakfast time. He didn’t bother brewing any coffee, not being a drinker himself. He would leave that until someone else wanted it. Later, when the dominants would be waking to take their turn on the perimeter, they’d be looking for a hit of caffeine beforehand. It was a modern thing, this coffee drinking. He doubted the Strongblood dominants did it. At least he hadn’t seen them do so, although he steered clear of those nearly feral shifters.
As he stood by the kitchen window with half his attention on Milo and the other half on his own meal, a flash caught his attention. Griffin. His heartbeat quickened the way it always did at the sight of the beta from his birth pack. Griffin should have scared him because dominants by their nature were something to fear. This one never had, however. He’d been endlessly kind in small ways from the moment that Ryan had come out from behind his mother’s skirts, and even while Ryan had endured being mated to Haldon. The beta had risked much in doing so. Ryan would always be grateful.
More, though, he was desirous of the man. The attraction had always been there, percolating under the surface of Ryan’s natural shyness and anxiety. Now, having been given a certain freedom, he could allow his feelings to come to the fore. The beta’s virility called to him on the most primitive level. That was a bonus.
The real value in his attraction to Griffin, however, was that it gave him the perfec
t solution to his problem. Eventually Milo would have to be weaned for his own good. When that happened, Ryan would go into heat again. He wanted to be mated in advance of that eventuality, and to someone whom he could trust to take good care of him and Milo and future pups. He knew Griffin was that shifter. The only barrier was now that they lived in a safe pack, Griffin mostly kept his distance. If there was going to be any progress on that front, Ryan had decided that he needed to make the first move. The idea of being so bold made Ryan’s stomach ache and jangled his nerves. He’d been raised to be a proper omega–reserved and obedient. The idea of trying to seduce a dominant into mating was unheard of in his life. And yet he was determined to pull it off. The question was, when and how?
This morning, the answer to the problem involved starting coffee. Griffin was that rare man who liked a cup even as he came off his turn on patrol. These days, with Griffin’s strength still not a hundred percent from his encounter with a bear, the alpha made the guy take shorter runs. Ryan wasn’t surprised to see him come out of the woods a few hours before the others would. If it were up to him, the beta would be resting still. It wasn’t, of course. Ryan had no say in such matters and didn’t expect to.
He was the one, though, who’d nursed the beta back to health after the bear attack. He understood more than anyone, other than the healer, just how bad it had been. A shudder ran through him. It had been a terrible time, the worst thing that had happened since joining the Rogues. He’d been grateful that the alpha had allowed him to take on the duty. More, he was heartened that Griffin hadn’t objected.
As he filled the brewer with water, he kept his gaze on the powerful wolf bounding across the backyard. The brown coat was nothing special, but the grace of his movements despite his size and the confident manner of his lope was impossible to ignore. And all of that was nothing compared to his human form. Griffin shifted at the bottom of the porch stairs, rising slowly to stand on his two feet. His golden skin glistened in the early sunlight as he stretched and ran his hands over his short hair. Corded, bulging muscles bunched and twisted with his movements. The sight of the thick, long cock swinging between his Griffin’s legs gave Ryan a quivery feeling low in his belly.
He looked away quickly, not wanting to be caught staring. He fumbled with the coffee grounds and worked to even out his breathing. Any overt signs of his attraction could work against him. Griffin had been nothing but kind and patient. Still, dominants were naturally attracted to reticent, biddable servients. It made it easy for them to care for the most fertile and vulnerable members of the pack. Ryan had those attributes down pat, too, notwithstanding his almost radical plan to make the beta his own. He needed to show them now because he wanted Griffin to like what he saw. Otherwise, what Ryan hoped to accomplish would come to nothing.
The kitchen door opened a second after he got the coffee brewing. Milo let out a screech in welcome, which Ryan instinctively moved to silence. “Easy, honey. No need to wake the entire longhouse.” Ryan sprinkled down more cereal and again ran his hand over the pup’s head.
“He’s not that loud.”
The sound of the deep, low voice both calmed and excited Ryan. He closed his eyes a second to appreciate the soothing quality and pointedly ignored the other. When he felt his reaction was well-hidden, he turned to greet the beta. He was disappointed and relieved that the guy had put on a pair of jeans before coming in. It seemed as if Ryan was constantly being buffeted by two disparate reactions to the beta’s presence.
With his gaze downward, he gave an appropriate greeting. “Good morning, Beta. Coffee will be ready in a few minutes.” He swallowed down his nerves. “May I fix you some breakfast?”
Griffin approached with that easy gait conveying his confidence. He had always been so, even when he was a young dominant joining the alpha’s inner circle. “I’ll pour myself a cup, thanks, and no need to put yourself out with food. I know you’re in the middle of bread-making.”
Ryan cursed inwardly in a very un-omega way at the reminder. He’d allowed Griffin’s presence to distract him, and that wouldn’t do. There was no chance the alpha would ever give him a say over who Ryan mated with next if he couldn’t first prove to be a reliable pack member.
He dared to shoot the beta a smile of thanks before returning to his bread. The sounds of the man rummaging around, getting a mug, pouring the coffee, were hard to ignore. Ryan did so with difficulty, especially because Griffin didn’t simply leave the room. Instead, he leaned against the counter near the spot where Ryan worked and quietly drank.
Ryan let his subconscious and muscle memory carry him through the motions of mixing the dough, turning it out, and dividing it into the right portions for loaves. He sprinkled flour on the surface of the prep island and began kneading the first piece. He favored the slapping form, followed by folding and pressing with the heel of his palm to activate the gluten. Milo gurgled and banged his tiny hands on the highchair tray as Ryan put on the show. He smiled at his son, and the tingle at his pecs reminded him that it had been a couple of hours since he’d last nursed the pup. Gods, he hoped his milk wouldn’t let down before he was ready to feed Milo. Wouldn’t that be an embarrassing thing to happen in front of the beta?
“He’s gotten big.”
The casual observation caused Ryan’s movements to falter. He swallowed down some more of those nerves before saying, “Yes, his appetite is endless. It seems like it, anyway.”
Ryan could hear the awkwardness in his voice. He shouldn’t have been surprised by it. He wouldn’t have been perhaps, except that things had been different when he’d acted as a nurse to the beta. It had been easy to cast aside his own interests and focus instead on what was immediately necessary to help the man while he healed. Ryan had gone about his tasks with self-assurance and had even been surprisingly assertive whenever the beta had balked at taking care with himself. It was only now that their lives had returned to a normal pattern that he’d lost a lot of his confidence.
“Looks like he’s about finished with his cereal. Should I give him some more?”
Ryan paused long enough to glance over and confirm that Milo had indeed scarfed down what had been in front of him. If he ate a little more, it would buy Ryan time to finish getting the loaves rising before he had to nurse. He didn’t like asking a beta to do pup care, however. That wasn’t a role for dominants.
He paused in his kneading. “Thanks, but I can do it.”
“No worries, I’m on it. You’ve got your hands full–literally–with dough.” Pushing away from the counter, the beta reached inside the jar of cereal and pulled out a fistful. “Here you go, little omega.” Griffin squatted down in front of the highchair while he sprinkled the food out on the tray. Milo gurgled and waved his hands.
Ryan couldn’t hold back a smile. “Thank you.”
Griffin flashed a grin at Ryan. “I’m happy to help. He’s such a sweet pup, it’s hard to resist him.”
Ryan felt his cheeks heat up at the attention. Griffin was not only powerful, he was the most handsome man Ryan had ever seen. Having all that masculine beauty directed at him was unnerving. He returned his focus to his task. “I’ll be done soon here, and I’m happy to make you some eggs, if you’d like.”
“I’d appreciate that, thanks. I don’t want you to go to any trouble, though. You’re busy as it is.”
“It’s no trouble, really.” Ryan set the portion of dough he held in an oiled pan to rise. Then, he picked up the next one. “Milo’s taken to the highchair. It’s a real help having my hands free.”
“Yeah, he’s a good pup. Aren’t you?” Milo gurgled some more at whatever the beta was doing. “You haven’t weaned him yet, huh? Not that it’s any of my business,” Griffin hastened to add.
Ryan glanced at him. “Um, no, and it’s fine to ask. The alpha said I can nurse Milo as long as I want to keep my heat at bay.”
Griffin took a long drink of his coffee and straightened. “That’s good. I don’t expect you’re in any hurry t
o mate again.”
Slapping the dough on the counter, Ryan pondered how to respond to that observation. Or, whether to do so at all. Surely the beta didn’t mean anything by it. He wasn’t fishing for any kind of information, like how Ryan might feel about mating again. Was he? No one really expected an omega to have a preference about such things, despite the appearance that some in this pack had been allowed to choose.
Like Loki. What kind of freedom did a forcibly mounted and breeding omega really have in picking his mate? Not that Ryan had forgiven the boy for putting Griffin in danger, even if it had been an accident as Loki claimed. He still felt sorry for him. Loki appeared to be happy with Bard, but was he really, or was he simply making the best of the situation? Ryan didn’t know. What he did understand was that if his future was going to be better than his past, he had to take some initiative. Maintaining a conversation with Griffin was the first step.
“I, um, don’t mind that idea, actually. I mean, that’s my nature, to mate and breed, so I’m not opposed to it. It’s only that I’m hoping for someone who will be good to me and Milo, of course.”
Griffin returned to his previous spot against the counter. Even with the summer heat seeping into the kitchen, the warmth emanating from the beta’s big body reached Ryan. Goosebumps perversely raised up on his arms and his nostrils quivered at the dominant’s heavy scent.
“You should take that as a given,” Griffin said in gentle voice. “I understand why you don’t, but Lorcan won’t allow someone to claim you unless he’s sure the guy will live up to his duty. This alpha would do that even if you weren’t a member of his family. That you are, adds equal protection. You know that, right?”
Ryan nodded. “I do, yes.” The next loaf was set to rise, and he started on another. “He’s also told me I will have the final say once he’s approved someone.”
“Yeah, I’m not surprised.”
Neither of them spoke for a couple of minutes. The only sound in the kitchen was Ryan’s pounding on the dough and Milo’s happy eating.
Omegas Unchained (The Rogue Pack Book 8) Page 1