Omegas Unchained (The Rogue Pack Book 8)

by Samantha Cayto

“That’s inherently contradictory,” Kyle bit out.

  Not wanting to be the cause of disagreement between the alpha and his mate, Ryan quickly pulled himself together again. “Please, Kyle, it’s okay. I’m glad to have the choice, but I get that the alpha is looking out for my and Milo’s interests.”

  Lorcan smiled. “See, Ryan understands.”

  Kyle folded his arms and grunted. “Anyone with one eye and half a brain could tell you that Ryan truly loves Griffin and has since…well, as long as he’s been here, that’s for sure.”

  Now the alpha chuckled, not concerned with his mate challenging him. He pulled Kyle back until he was snuggled in his arms. “As someone who has two eyes and prides himself on having a full-sized brain, I can concur with that. And, having been mated before, Ryan obviously knows what it entails.

  “This time, however, he isn’t going to be tied to an aging shifter who courts death. Griffin will likely live a long life and breed quite a few pups off him. As a beta, he won’t be able to provide as many comforts as an alpha could.”

  Now the alpha spoke directly to Ryan “There won’t be any nanny sigmas and a big longhouse to call your own.”

  A bit insulted, Ryan lifted his chin once more. “I don’t need or want any of that. So long as my pups and I are safe and warm with adequate food, it’s enough, except for one other thing—I want love.”

  “Elijah-”

  “Likes me,” Ryan said, although he was surprised at his own boldness. “After one lunch together, I can’t believe he can claim to feel more than that. Perhaps he would come to love me, but as I said, I can’t love him. Griffin has my heart and always will.”

  Lorcan was silent for a while. Then, “I agree with you about that, although I think our Strongblood guests would disagree maybe about how long it takes to know whether you’ve found your perfect mate.”

  With a thoughtful gaze, the alpha went quiet again for what seemed like forever. Ryan tried not to fidget. He would have become more anxious, except that Kyle had relaxed and his expression told him that he had nothing to worry about.

  “It’s settled, then,” Lorcan said finally. “I’ll speak with both Griffin and Elijah, but you’ve made your choice and I can find no fault with it.”

  Ryan couldn’t hold back a sigh or a smile. “Thank you, Alpha.”

  “I’m happy to make you happy, Ryan. As long as you haven’t changed your mind, we’ll wait until the gathering is over for you and Griffin to mate.”

  “I won’t, sir… change my mind.”

  “I believe you on that point. Still, a short delay will give you and Kyle time to spruce up your room, make it suitable for you and your mate.”

  Ryan nodded, although he was secretly a little disappointed that they weren’t going to get a place of their own. At least not yet. Surely that wouldn’t be the case once they had another pup. There would be barely space for the three of them as it was.

  Kyle voiced that concern for him. “That little room is too small, Lorcan. It doesn’t even have a window. They need a hut of their own with space for their growing family.”

  “Yes, yes, my dear,” the alpha soothed. “Eventually. For the moment, I want them with us. Not that I don’t trust Griffin, because of course I do or I wouldn’t agree to the mating at all. It’s simply a matter of keeping the family closer together as we all continue to get to know one another better.”

  Ryan pressed his hands together, anxious to end the audience with the alpha without causing friction. “I understand perfectly, sir. I’m sure Griffin will, too.”

  “That’s settled, then.” With another kiss to Kyle’s head, the alpha stood, placing his mate gently on his feet. “I’ll go talk to Elijah. I expect you’re eager to go to your pup and future mate.”

  “Yes, sir.” Ryan popped to a stand, hardly able to contain himself. His dream was about to come true. It seemed unreal. On impulse, he rushed forward to hug Lorcan. “Thank you, thank you, Alpha! You’ve made me so happy.”

  Lorcan hugged him back, briefly, yet with obvious affection, something that made Ryan want to cry all over again. “You are very welcome. And don’t worry about Elijah. He doesn’t strike me as a vindictive man, and if he is…well, that will just be further proof that this is the right decision.”

  Kyle beamed at Ryan before grabbing his hand. “Let’s go.”

  Elated, Ryan let himself be dragged away and toward the two who held his heart.

  ****

  “Where have you been?”

  Ethan startled at his brother’s sudden appearance, as well as his stern tone. He eyed Elijah warily. “I was taking a shower in the longhouse. We’re allowed,” he added, trying to appear casual and unconcerned by the question.

  Elijah got closer and peered at him through the gloom of their campsite. There was only the soft glow of one electric lantern to see by. But the alpha wasn’t observing him using his human sight anyway. Elijah partially shifted his snout to take a deep sniff. A low, guttural growl erupted.

  “Did you really think that would be enough to wash away his scent?”

  Ethan tried to look unfazed even as he silently regretted his lack of control. He hadn’t meant to take things quite so far with Graydon. He’d wanted to give the man a blowjob and maybe get a little help with his own arousal. Full on mounting had been something he was going to leave until the last night. He should have known that once that virile alpha put his hands on him, there was going to be no restraint possible by either of them.

  He had hoped that his long, hot shower, including a make-shift douching, would mute the scent. Plus, he’d expected to retire to his pallet before Elijah did, then rise before him and take off for the kitchen. If he’d been successful, Elijah wouldn’t have noticed a thing until maybe the gathering was over. Too bad something had happened to end his brother’s time with the host alpha early. And of course, Graydon was the type of alpha whose mark would be hard to dilute. So his half-baked plan fell apart in a split second, leaving him with nothing more than bravado.

  “No, I was merely making myself comfortable before going to sleep.”

  Fully human once more, Elijah grabbed him by the arm and pulled him farther away from their other pack members who lounged around talking quietly.

  “Have you lost your mind?” His brother shook him once. “You promised you would behave if I brought you along.”

  Ethan tried to free himself from the painful grip. “I am! I didn’t do anything wrong.” This highhandedness was not like Elijah. He rarely lost his temper and had never hurt him.

  Elijah tightened his fingers. “Really? You think offering your ass to a strange alpha is okay? You know better than that.” His face came in close. Elijah’s wolf, dangerously agitated, showed through his eyes.

  His own wolf whined in response and cowered. Ethan, however, refused to be intimidated. “It wasn’t like that,” he bit out. “Graydon and I are attracted to each other. I didn’t expect that to happen, but once it did, he and I agreed to meet up for some mutual fun. I wasn’t taken advantage of. He was respectful,” he added because it was critical that Elijah not go after the other alpha for some perceived family affront.

  If anything, his words made his brother angrier. “I don’t care if he read poetry and showered you with flowers, fucking you was unacceptable. You and he both should have known better.”

  Ethan pressed his palm against Elijah’s chest in another futile effort to free himself. “Why? I’m experienced and know what I was getting into. It’s not as if he can get me in whelp.”

  Having to remind his brother of that painful truth caused a deep ache to throb inside him. In fact, his entire body hurt all of a sudden. His head felt heavy and he desperately wanted to lie down and get some sleep. That’s what came from being ridden hard by a powerful man, he supposed. His mate hadn’t claimed him with nearly the same vigor.

  Instead of letting go, Elijah grabbed Ethan’s other arm and pulled him in closer. “That’s not the point. You’re an omega and
an alpha’s family member. A level of respect and adherence to protocol is required. He knew better than to lay hands on you no matter how much you tempted him or led him on without my consent.”

  “Which you wouldn’t have given.”

  “Damn right, I wouldn’t have. That man has only one foot out of the primeval forest litter that our kind has wallowed in since the dawn of time. I was never going to allow him to use you as a chew toy.”

  “It wasn’t like that!” Now his voice rose. He didn’t care who heard, although he immediately tempered that thought when it occurred to him the last thing he wanted was for Graydon to come and join the fight.

  “Of course it was like that. He’s using you to get his rocks off, that’s all.”

  “That’s fine because that’s all I was looking to get out of him, too.” He knew the moment the words came out of his mouth that he’d made things worse.

  Elijah’s wolf eyes were back. “You are my brother. I expect you to act with the proper decorum and letting a man who’s not your mate mount you is definitely not that.”

  A giggle bubbled up despite his fatigue and fury. “Listen to you, Elijah. You’re all about being a modern alpha except where I’m concerned. Other pack members do what they please when it comes to sex and mating, and yet I’m not allowed the same freedom.”

  “I gave it to you once and look how that turned out.” Elijah’s eyes went wide the moment the words passed his lips, and his wolf retreated, leaving only the human.

  Ethan flinched as if he’d been slapped. Certainly, his brother’s hand wouldn’t hurt half so much as his words did. “It’s not my fault I’m barren,” he said with a quaver in his voice that he hated.

  Elijah’s grip and voice gentled. “Of course it’s not. But you chose to mate with Walden. You wanted him so damn badly. I went along with it even though I had my reservations about how strong an alpha he really was. I never expected he’d reject you, naturally. I just felt like he wasn’t quite right for you.”

  He swallowed audibly and glanced away. “When he brought you back, claiming you were defective and implying that I’d sold him a bill of goods, well…I wanted to rip his throat out. The casual cruelty to you was insupportable. He took your heart and love for him and tossed it away as if it meant nothing.

  “Only my concern for the pack and what a war with Walden would do to it stayed my impulse. The best I could do was give him one good, personal punch in the face and cut off contact with him. This gathering and the chance for a treaty with two strong packs is an opportunity sent by the Gods. It more than makes up for our breaking from Waldon.”

  Elijah’s expression hardened again. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll put up with anything to achieve those results. If Graydon thinks access to you is part of the bargain…I’m trying to keep you from being hurt again, Ethan,” he finished.

  Ethan sensed he was close to tears, which was odd given that he’d cried himself dry long ago. Or at least, he thought he had. “I won’t be. Not this time. I know where I stand with Graydon and have no illusions about how this ends. I don’t want to be in a harem and no dominant can afford to mate with only a barren omega.”

  He raised what he hoped were pleading eyes to his brother. “I don’t want to live the rest of my life alone and untouched. What’s wrong with my having casual sex with someone I’ll probably never see again? Who suffers any harm by this, Elijah?”

  “You do,” came the quiet, yet firm answer. “Whether you realize it or not, you deserve more respect than comes from a quick mounting in the woods. Come on.”

  Letting go of one of Ethan’s arms, Elijah nevertheless tightened his grip on the other and used that hold to tug Ethan past where the others sat on their pallets pretending not to be listening.

  Ethan dug in his heels, although it was stupid given that his body cried out for the chance to get horizontal. “Please, Elijah, stop treating me as if I’m a dumb omega.”

  “I will if you stop acting like one.”

  That rebuke stung, especially as it made the others smile. “This is ridiculous.” Concerned that his brother was going to literally start a war with a pack that made Waldon’s look like a bunch of pups, he blurted out a rash promise. “I won’t see him again, if it’s such a big deal.”

  “It is, and you’re right, you won’t.” Elijah dragged him over to the camper. “Get in and go to bed.” He turned to Graham and pointed his finger. “Don’t let him leave.”

  “Yes, Alpha.” There was no hint of amusement in the beta’s tone. The alpha’s fury was now obviously in the red zone. Not funny at all, and Graham was sufficiently smart to worry about that wrath turning on him.

  Ethan climbed into the camper and flopped down on his pallet, barely able to keep his eyes open. “Elijah, please let it go.”

  “It’s too late for that.”

  “What are you going to do?” Gods, he felt awful, both emotionally and physically.

  “Nothing that an omega need concern himself with. This is alpha business.”

  With that, his brother was gone. Ethan’s eyes shut as if weighed down by lead. As worried as he was, he couldn’t stay awake. The feel of a blanket being laid over him was the last thing he knew before sleep claimed him.

  Chapter Six

  “Trouble, sir.”

  “Indeed?”

  Graydon stayed where he sat at the edge of the forest. He laced his fingers behind his head and leaned against the tree behind him. He crossed his legs, as well—the perfect picture of non-aggression. Not his usual style, but his sojourn with Ethan earlier had done wonders for his mood. Nothing like mounting your Gods’ fated mate to relax a man. He’d never experienced such utter contentment. The last thing he felt like doing was fighting. Besides, he didn’t want to get on his future brother-in-law’s bad side. That would undoubtedly upset Ethan, and Graydon wouldn’t allow anything to do that.

  It was surprisingly hard to keep his composure as Elijah came charging over in full-on pissed off alpha mode. Graydon had to hand it to the guy. He presented himself as a mild-mannered man, so un-alpha like in his typical demeanor. Yet underneath that façade beat the heart of an alpha in the finest tradition of their species. Seeing the look on Elijah’s face as well as the way he held himself strung tight, ready to shift and attack, gave Graydon new respect for him. Elijah’s posturing conveyed that the outcome of a fight was not foregone to be in Graydon’s favor.

  “We need to talk, Strongblood.” The Green Mountain alpha’s tone implied that words could turn into bites at any moment.

  Without changing his relaxed posture, Graydon nodded. “I’ve been expecting you.”

  Elijah stopped right by Graydon’s feet, paying no attention to how Kael and the others had stood to form a protective phalanx. It was as if Elijah didn’t see that he was outnumbered. Or rather, he didn’t care. Graydon’s estimation of the man increased once more.

  “I bet you have. No amount of washing could get your stench off my brother, although he certainly tried.”

  Graydon couldn’t hold back his grin of satisfaction. “Naturally. I’m sorry that Ethan thought he could hide what we’d done.” His face fell in sudden concern. “I trust you didn’t take your obvious anger out on him.”

  “Don’t be insulting. I treat my brother with the care his kind requires. It’s you I’m going to pound into the ground.”

  Elijah’s indignation rang true, so Graydon relaxed again. He lowered his arms slowly so as not to appear to be making an aggressive move. It also allowed him to use his hands to cover his groin given that the mere thought of Ethan was making his dick swell. Waving a hard-on in Elijah’s face wasn’t going to ease the tension between them.

  “I’m glad to hear it, and you’re welcome to try to best me, of course. I would prefer not to fight, however.”

  Elijah’s hands balled into fists. “Why? You don’t strike me as someone who backs down from a confrontation.”

  “I don’t, when aggression is warranted. It’s not in t
his case.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yes.” It was getting rather hard not to laugh out loud. The Green Mountain alpha’s face was practically turning red with his ire. “It’s not, I mean.”

  Graydon sighed. “I assume you’re spoiling for a fight because you believe I’ve dishonored your brother. Whereas, nothing could be further from the truth. My offer for him still stands, you see.”

  If anything, that statement made the man more furious. Graydon really had trouble understanding these so-called modern packs.

  “My brother isn’t a commodity to be bought and sold.”

  Graydon inclined his head, willing to appease the man. “Fair enough. I apologize if my suit for Ethan is clumsy. Pray tell me what terms will you accept?”

  Elijah scoffed and leaned in. “None.” Once again, he ignored the warning signs coming from Graydon’s men, this time in the form of growls.

  With a flick of his fingers, Graydon had them stand down. “That’s the one answer I can’t accept. I will have the boy as my one true mate. Your acquiescence is desirable but not critical.”

  Elijah pulled back a fraction, nothing obvious, yet Graydon detected a change in the man’s demeanor. “Why do you say that? The mating part. You know he can’t give you the pups you need.”

  “So you and he keep saying. I don’t believe you.”

  Elijah scoffed. “Why not? I know it’s rare…”

  “It’s impossible. Only the overeducated and too-human shifter would countenance such a ridiculous thing. The Gods made omegas to breed. They don’t make mistakes.”

  “Right, well Ethan’s experience trumps your blind faith. He was mated a full year and never went into heat.”

  “That pathetic alpha you gave him to wasn’t capable of triggering it. Obviously. I won’t have that trouble.” He couldn’t keep his natural arrogance out of his voice or stop the smug look from crossing his face.

  Elijah shook his head slowly. “Nothing wrong with your confidence, I’ll give you that. And because you actually seem to sincerely believe that what happened between you and my brother was a warm-up for a mating, I’ll forego beating your ass. For now.”