Ryan cried out this time and bowed forward, all flailing arms and fluttering legs. Then his world spun, and he found himself face down, ass up, yet still impaled. Griffin struck with his razor-sharp canines while cum continued to spurt out of Ryan’s dick. The dueling sensations fried his brain. He completely pancaked and was barely aware of the twin howls of his wolf and his mate’s.
Griffin paused only a few seconds to sink his teeth into the back of Ryan’s neck before he picked up speed to drill the omega’s pliant ass. He’d made his mate—his mate—come twice. Even now, the boy’s body twitched in the aftermath of the second orgasm. His little wolf was excitedly yipping and prancing in enthusiastic welcome of Griffin’s. The last of his worry over how Ryan and his wolf would take to a new mating evaporated. Haldon was dead and no trace of him remained. It was a glorious feeling to be mated to the omega Griffin loved, and who could blame him for reveling in it for a little while?
But he couldn’t remain embedded in Ryan forever. He retracted his teeth and lapped the puncture wounds clean as the first wave of his climax crested and fell. He held himself up with his arms as he rode the orgasm to its end, every muscle shaking from the strain. When his cock finally stilled, he collapsed in a roll that had both him and Ryan lying on their sides. His shaft remained hard and mostly embedded in Ryan’s ass. Right where he wanted it to be. This might not be a breeding situation, but that didn’t mean he was done. A few minutes of rest and he’d be ready for more.
He could only hope his mate would be, as well.
As if he’d made the wish out loud, Ryan stirred with a breathy moan. “More. Please.”
Griffin pressed a kiss against the boy’s temple. “Yes, my love. Soon. Give me a moment. You’ve drained me dry and I need time to recover.”
A smile graced Ryan’s pretty face. “Mmm. Love you.”
Griffin’s heart did a slow roll at that simple declaration. While they’d both expressed that sentiment before, something about hearing it when he knew Ryan wasn’t on guard made it more special. He believed it was the truth, not merely what the omega thought he wanted to hear. He gathered him close and murmured the words back, feeling them with an intensity that almost scared him.
It didn’t take long before Ryan moved restlessly against him and squeezed his dick with a clear invitation. Griffin’s cock rallied and soon he fucked Ryan while they stayed on their sides with slow, yet deep, thrusts. Reaching around the slender body he held, Griffin found and clasped Ryan’s stiffened dick. He jerked him with the same languidness of his thrusts. The next time they came, the third for Ryan and the second for Griffin, it was a drawn-out affair. The pleasure peaking after a slow climb and tumbling down with equal laziness. There was no hurry, as if their bodies sensed that any worry they might have felt prior to mating had vanished into security.
Ryan fell asleep almost immediately. Griffin tried to do the same but had trouble. He was too keyed up, his mind racing with plans about his new life with his mate. The room they lay in was dictated by the alpha as their home for now. Soon, though, he would prove his worth and gain permission to build a home for his family. The way Milo was taking to solid food, it wouldn’t be long before Ryan would go into heat and be in whelp with another pup. Griffin’s pup. Their pup. Although Griffin truly loved Milo and would always think of him as his son, there was a primitive need to plant his own seed inside his mate.
He busied himself while he spun out his ideas by gently plucking the crushed flowers from Ryan’s hair. It had been such a lovely touch and he hated destroying them. He set them aside in case Ryan wanted to keep them. That was a thing some shifters did he thought for sentimental reasons. Once the hair was clear, he carefully unwound the messy braid to allow the lovely strands to fan out around Ryan’s shoulders. So pretty and fragrant. Griffin sniffed quietly, enjoying the scent. This was how his life would be from now on, surrounded by the gentle, soft nature of an omega. Sights and sounds and smells from Ryan would blunt the harder ones that Griffin possessed as a dominant.
He lost track of time until Ryan became restless, although not from a desire to be mounted again. A quick glance in the warm glow of the dwindling candles showed that Ryan’s pecs had swollen. His nipples glistened with leaking milk. His mate needed to nurse, which meant that Milo must be starting to fuss, as well.
Griffin shifted his ears to pick up any sounds nearby and caught the pup’s mewling along with Kyle’s murmurs of comfort.
Damn. I can’t forget that I’m not the only one who wants my mate.
Disengaging his softened cock from the velvety cocoon of Ryan’s ass, Griffin stood and shoved his jeans on. Then he opened the door as quietly as he could and went out to meet Kyle. Light shown from the adjacent bedroom. The alpha mate was swaying back and forth outside it in an effort to keep Milo from crying.
Griffin quickly went to him with his hands out. He mouthed a thank you as Kyle handed the pup over. Milo’s fussing eased once he was pressed against Griffin’s naked chest. Knowing that the pup instinctively reacted to his dominant sire pleased Griffin immensely. It capped the night nicely, cementing his happiness and making him look forward to the future even more.
Kyle gave him the once over with an assessing look before nodding and going back into his room. Griffin returned to Ryan and hustled over to the pallet when he saw his mate had woken with outstretched arms. Griffin didn’t let go, however. Instead, he held Milo along with Ryan until the pup had latched greedily onto one nipple.
Ryan turned sleepy eyes on him. “Thanks. Milo may not need my milk as much anymore, but I still need him to nurse or my ducts become painfully engorged.” He dropped his gaze. “Sorry, that’s probably more than you want to know about the whole thing. I, ah, understand if you want to leave the room.”
Griffin rocked back on his heels. “Why would I want to do that?”
Ryan’s expression turned shy and uncertain. “Well, you know…”
“No.” Griffin shook his head slowly. “I…oh.” The answer came to him in a flash. He knew a moment of real anger at the knowledge that along with every other shitty thing Haldon had done to his mate, he’d made him ashamed for providing their pup with nourishment.
Plopping down on his ass cross-legged, he reached for some of the throw pillows scattered near the pallet. “Here, let’s make you more comfortable.” He lifted Ryan’s head a little, careful not to disturb the nursing pup.
Once he was convinced that he’d made things easier for his mate, he said, “It’s going to be hard, but I’d like for us both to try to forget you ever had a mate before me, or that Milo isn’t my biological pup.”
When Ryan raised his eyebrows at him, he clarified. “I don’t mean that we ignore reality, it’s only that I don’t want your prior life and experience to cloud either of our thinking. Please try not to judge me based on your past with…you know.” He couldn’t bring himself to say the fucker’s name, not in this place of newfound happiness.
“And it’s important that I don’t worry about putting a foot wrong based on what I assume you went through.” He scratched the back of his head, struggling to find the right words. Which was crazy because as a beta, words were kind of his thing.
“I guess what I’m saying is that we need to do a lot of talking, at least at first. Get to know each other and be totally honest. Does that sound okay?” He ran fingers through Ryan’s hair to sweep it off his forehead.
Ryan’s response was a smile and a nod before he focused on his hungry pup. “I’m glad you want to be here for this.”
“Good. It’s really amazing when you stop to think about it. You’re literally producing food. I envy you.”
“You do?” Ryan looked dubious.
“Yup. You can really see the hand of the Gods in something like this. I’m not particularly spiritual, not like say the Strongbloods, but this seems otherworldly to me for sure.” He leaned in to get a closer look. “And, it doesn’t bother you for me to watch?”
“No. Ouch!” W
ith a wince, Ryan stuck a finger between his nipple and Milo’s pursed lips. “He’s got teeth coming in.” He switched the pup onto the other pec.
A bead of blood welled up around the injured flesh. Griffin didn’t hesitate to lick it closed, marveling at how his saliva was a such a balm to his mate. His dick, however, got the wrong idea and tried to rally. He cut that nonsense off in an instant. You’ve had your fun. It was going to be tricky with a pup in the same room with them. They’d have to wait for the little guy to go to sleep, then be very quiet. The idea didn’t hold much appeal, but that was the nature of having a family and until Lorcan allowed them to move into a private hut, Griffin would have to live with the constraint.
Which would be easy because he was deliriously happy.
Once Milo had drunk his fill and fallen back to sleep, Griffin snuffed out the candles so that he and Ryan could do the same. The pup lay between them, and while Griffin missed having his body entwined with his mate, he dropped off in utter contentment, nevertheless.
He woke hours later, his internal clock telling him it was past dawn even though the windowless room was shrouded in darkness. He stood and stretched, careful not to wake up either of his boys. It pleased him that they were both sound asleep, although how long that would last was hard to tell. Ryan had been getting up so early for months, he might rouse at any moment. Except Milo was quiet, and that meant there was nothing external to disturb the omega. Not if Griffin managed to sneak out and bring back some breakfast.
Yeah, he liked that idea. His turn on the perimeter would come soon enough, and he wanted to be sure his family was taken care of first.
He managed to creep out without making a sound. His sense of smell and hearing told him that the alpha family had left their quarters already. His human ears were sufficient to detect that the kitchen staff was in full swing, although fresh bread was probably not on the menu with Ryan still sleeping. Which was fine. Everyone could make do with the leftovers as far as he was concerned. He would beg what he could off Joey and return to his family with as little disturbance to everyone’s tasks as possible.
He never made it.
As he neared the end of the hallway, a wailing sound pierced the peace of the longhouse. The gut-wrenching cry raised the hairs on Griffin’s body and had him picking up speed and pivoting at the same time. He sprinted through the great room and out into the back of the compound. Now the piteous noise was joined by howling. As he raced toward the ruckus, others joined him from all directions. He paused only a second, taking in the scene of the Green Mountain and Strongblood betas and gammas shifted and squaring off. Every wolf bared his teeth and pranced to and fro, waiting for their alphas to give the signal to attack.
In the middle of the menacing dominants stood Elijah on one side and Graydon on the other. Unlike their boys, the alphas were fully human, and the reason for the confrontation was obvious—Graydon cradled a hysterical Ethan in his arms. The omega was wrapped in a blanket with only his face showing, but his pain and misery were clear to see.
The why of it was a mystery still. Somehow everything had gone to shit, and now there was only one course of action for him. He shifted on a bounding leap that shredded his jeans and put him shoulder-to-shoulder with Caleb and Liam. Others of his pack were forming a protective semi-circle between the snapping, snarling foreign wolves and the living quarters of the pack members. If there was to be a fight, it wasn’t going to spill over beyond the visiting packs’ own kind. Every dominant Rogue would die before allowing that.
Always anxious to protect the weak, Griffin felt the need even more so now that he had a family of his own. Visions of Ryan and Milo flashed through his mind, making him bare his teeth and growl in warning. Not that anyone was paying attention to him. The Green Mountain and Strongblood dominants were hyper-focused on their alphas and each other.
A whiff of blood caught his attention. It was coming from Ethan, although the why and how was impossible for him to understand at the moment. It didn’t matter. His drive to fight increased with the scent. He increased his warning growl and his hind legs bent in readiness. Every fiber of his wolf mind and body was ready to spring. It only required a signal from his alpha.
“What did you do to him?” Elijah yelled in fury, his body jacked forward and his arms waving.
Graydon took a step away. “Stay back and leash your boys or mine will tear them to shreds.”
“Put him down so that I can kill you the way I should have yesterday.”
“I will gladly fight you, brother, once the healer has seen to my mate. If it’s blood you want, you’ll have it.”
Elijah took another step forward. “It’s blood you’ve shed, you fucker.”
“You know nothing, and you’re wasting time. I must get him to the healer.”
“I’m here.” Andrea approached with Lorcan by her side.
The alpha flicked a quick hand signal to Griffin and the other Rogues, telling them to stand down. Griffin whined in frustration, yet obeyed, reining himself in without losing his readiness. The proximity of his alpha to the two combatants and their boys was unbearably provocative.
The healer walked fearlessly between Elijah and Graydon. Ignoring both, she concentrated on the omega. “What has happened?” Her gentle voice was soothing in the way of her kind.
Except not for Ethan. With another wail, he answered. “I’m losing my pup!” Then he sobbed against his mate’s chest.
“We’ll see about that,” Andrea said in her still-quiet voice. “Calm down, now. That’s not helping anything. Bring him to my room,” she added before turning and heading back into the longhouse.
There was a second in which no one else moved or made any sound at all. Only the harsh breaths of the dominants could be heard.
Lorcan broke the silence. “You heard her. Graydon and Elijah, you will come with me. There will be no fighting in my longhouse. Is that understood?”
Elijah nodded. “Of course. My apologies. The Green Mountain Pack has no quarrel with the Rogues.”
“Agreed,” Graydon chimed in. “I only want my mate tended to. Any disputes between the Strongbloods and the Green Mountains will be settled without harm to you and yours.”
Lorcan nodded once. “Good. I expect no less. Now tell your boys to stand down. They can stay shifted so long as they do not engage with each other.”
There was more affirmation, which pacified Lorcan, although he nevertheless signaled his own pack members to stay vigilant. And as he passed Griffin, he said, “Take up the rear.”
Surprised, Griffin waited until first Graydon carrying Ethan, then Elijah passed him before following on their heels. He shook his head with pride at the alpha’s confidence in him. If either visiting alpha started trouble, he would be the first to engage.
And the Gods help them if they did anything to risk his family.
Chapter Nine
Ethan took in great, heaving gulps of breath in an effort to get himself under control. He clawed at Graydon’s shoulders despite the man’s tight grip holding him aloft. It felt like if he didn’t, he would shatter into a million pieces. Inconsequential ones at that which would become dust to be ground down under other shifters’ feet. He’d failed. Conception was one thing, whelping another. If he couldn’t bring life into this world, no amount of breeding would matter.
I’m broken after all. Graydon’s immense virility had allowed his seed to take root. Ethan’s defective body had been unable to contain it.
He shuddered as another cramp hit him. Stickiness, almost like slick, seeped past his hole. The feel of it made him sick to his stomach and forced another cry from his lips.
“Easy, my love. Try to calm yourself as the healer advised.” Graydon’s voice was low and steady, yet there was a strain to it, as well.
Ethan rubbed his tear-streaked face against the warm hardness of Graydon’s chest. “I’m trying. Please don’t fight my brother,” he added in a quavering voice that he couldn’t control.
Go
ds, as if his miscarrying weren’t bad enough, he had the added guilt of being the cause of a brutal battle. The sounds and scents of all those dominants in fighting mode had only added to his misery. He couldn’t let anyone get hurt or even killed because of his failing.
“Don’t concern yourself with that. It’s alpha business. You need only focus on your health.”
Ethan whimpered and shook his head. “I can’t stand the thought of it. Please.”
Realizing he was pleading with the wrong man, he pried open his eyes to peek around Graydon’s arm. Elijah was right behind them, practically nipping at Lorcan’s heels. “It’s not Graydon’s fault, brother. Don’t blame him for my weakness.”
Elijah’s stony expression softened as he said, “Listen to your mate, Ethan. There’s nothing for you to worry about on our account.” His lips thinned before he added, “We both only want what’s best for you.”
The reassurance eased his mind somewhat. Then there was no time to dwell further on it as they entered the healer’s room. The scents that greeted him were soothing, as was the woman’s calm voice. He knew that whatever care he required, he’d find it with her. Not that he held any hope she could do anything to stop the inevitable loss of his pup.
“Over here, if you please, Alpha Graydon. Gently now, place him on this pallet.”
Graydon knelt with Ethan still in his arms with a grace that was surprising given his size. Ethan landed on the soft pallet with barely a bump. When he couldn’t quite manage to let go of the man himself, Graydon pried his fingers off without hurting him. His mate didn’t let go entirely, however. Instead of retreating from the messiness that was to come, Graydon knelt beside the pallet and held one of Ethan’s hands.
“The mate can stay, of course, but the rest of you go out into the hallway. This poor boy doesn’t need an audience and all of your aggressive scents are mucking up my herbal ones.”
The woman’s implacable tone was impressive. Even in his desperate condition, Ethan could appreciate how well she ruled the dominants. He fisted his free hand against the soft bedding and watched her as she unwound the blanket covering him in order to give her exam.
Omegas Unchained (The Rogue Pack Book 8) Page 17