by Merel Pierce
She wouldn’t be Rayne anymore.
“Why are you out of bed?”
She jumped, her startled cry echoing in the dim room. “I just needed to use the bathroom, master.” She bowed her head, giving the impression of the perfect slave. It was a part she played well. Docile and obedient—that’s what she was, at least on the outside.
Her master’s dark, beady eyes swept across her, narrowing into slits as he took her in, and Rayne gulped back the hysteria threatening to overtake her even as fresh agony ripped through her. She doubled over, wrapping her arms tight around her middle.
“Are you ill?”
“I think I might be,” she lied easily. “I am sorry, master.”
At this point, a beating would be welcome. No one would wonder why she was in so much pain if she had just been disciplined, and her master would hide her away from any potential buyers until her bruises had faded. It wouldn’t do for his most beautiful slave to be seen with her face swollen and hideous. Not if he wanted to make a profit on her.
He waved a fat-fingered hand in her face. “Try and sleep it off, Ryane. I don’t want you looking like…” He gestured at her in an all-encompassing wave, lip curled in a sneer. His eyes lingered a little too long on the curve of her breasts where her arms had pulled the nightdress tight. He licked his lips.
“Wha…” Suddenly his nostrils flared, black eyes sweeping to her bed. He was a Beta just like she had always thought, she was so she knew he couldn’t smell her like an Alpha could, but there could be no hiding the wet patch of her sheets.
“Master, help me, I think I'm going to pass out,” Rayne called out, using her most pathetic voice. If he had seen, if he even suspected what she was, then her life might as well be over.
Rayne knew the moment he saw it; something far worse replaced his sneer. A smile—an actual smile. She could already see it in his eyes. He was working out what he could get for her on the block.
A brand new Omeg,a and a virgin to boot.
“Well, better late than never, eh?” He dragged a finger down her cheek, his sour breath making her recoil.
“I… I don’t know what you mean, master.”
He chuckled low, gut jiggling with the force of it. “I think we both know what is happening, Rayne. Finally, the Omega I was promised. Late, but it's not unheard of.”
Rayne moved without thinking. For the first time in her twenty-one years, she let her instincts take over. She would never be a sex slave, which meant she had to escape.
Somehow.
She had to find her way out of the city walls and into the wilds whilst trying to evade the endless procession of posturing Alpha-holes and patrols. She needed to find somewhere isolated to wait out her estrus. First, though, she had to get out of this room.
His hands never moved from his side as she made a wild grab at the needle-like dagger on his hip. He didn’t even make a sound as she thrust it into his chest. He only stared down at it with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing like a fish’s, lips smacking together.
Rayne stumbled away, desperately trying to wipe his hot blood from her hand and leaving a bright red smear across her nightclothes.
What the hell had she just done?
There would be no mercy for her now. If they caught her, they would execute her, and it wouldn’t be quick. She would be made an example.
She had no choice now. It was escape or die.
Soundlessly Rayne dragged the thin grey blanket from her bed, wrapping it around her shoulders to hide her bloodstained clothes as she stepped over the former master’s body and through the door.
*
Elland’s silver eyes scanned the crowd that thronged the square. He was always on guard, even when he was reclining, a drink in one hand and a beautiful brunette firmly on his knee, his arm wrapped around her tiny waist.
They had concluded their business here. Buying suitable Omegas to take back to their home planet of Auria was hard work, and tonight was their one chance to relax and blow off steam before they flew their precious cargo back to the men who would worship them. Yet he just couldn’t relax.
His eyes started their endless sweep again, goosebumps erupting on his bare forearms as some sixth sense alerted him to possible trouble. He was a beserker of Auria, one of the most feared warriors in the galaxy, and he always listened to his gut.
And it was telling him something was wrong.
Honeycomb—the delicious treat Elland was so fond of—he could suddenly smell it everywhere, so strong he could taste it on the back of his tongue. He sucked in a breath, his dark brows pinching together. There was something else there as well, something even more tempting.
Slick.
As soon as it registered, it was everywhere, brushing against his skin like a thousand soft fingers. Slick and honeycomb. Or maybe it was the slick itself that smelled like his favorite treat.
Somewhere out in the mass of revelers was an Omega, and she was going into estrus.
His nostrils flared again as he sucked in another lungful of the delicious smell, the brunette on his lap forgotten as he started to search for the woman. What Alpha in his right mind would bring an Omega into this crowd when she was going into heat?
“Elland?” Sharp nails raked down his arm, tracing the blue tattoo-like swirls on his skin.
Usually being this close to a beautiful woman was enough to help him relax and forget, for a time, his duty to his people. But tonight? Tonight, her forwardness was nothing but annoying, her very presence suffocating.
This Omega, one of many who worked the pleasure houses around the auction house, wasn’t the source of the smell. She smelled of nothing but desperation and whatever cheap perfumed oil she had coated herself in. It made Elland sick.
“Leave,” he barked. Her face fell. “Now.”
He wanted as far away from her as possible. He needed to find…
Then his eyes fell on the small figure as it slipped between two low buildings. Shrouded in grey, he could see nothing of her features even with his heightened senses. He could only tell she was female from the petite form.
Gotcha.
He stood without warning and the woman fell from his lap, landing at his feet with a cry.
“Arran!” he called to his second-in-command. Without even looking at the woman, Elland stepped over her prone body and into the bustle of the square, Arran close behind.
He needed to find the sweet little Omega he had sensed. After all these years, after too many slave auctions to count, Elland was sure he had finally found the Omega meant for him, and he wasn’t about to lose her now. No master would keep her from him; he would pay anything, and if she wasn’t for sale, then he would take what was his without asking.
Chapter Two
“Elland, what…”
Elland raised his hand. Arran didn’t even finish what he had been asking as he fell silent. His silver eyes hooded, and his easy smile slipped from his face until it was eerily similar to Elland’s own grimace.
There were only two people Elland trusted in the entire universe to have his back, and Arran was one of them. They had fought shoulder-to-shoulder in numerous battles, and like Elland, Arran had yet to find his mate in the Omegas they’d transported back to their home planet. Unlike many Alphas who opted to buy their Omegas young—sometimes far too young—the men of Auria liked their woman strong and grown. They had no use for weak females who would produce weak children.
“Shh.” Elland’s nostrils flared, his eyes darting down the dim alley between the building he had been sure he had seen her disappear down. Her scent was stronger here, swirling around him like a thick cloak.
She was definitely here somewhere, not far away at all.
“There's an Omega here.” Arran's sucked in a breath and Elland fought back the urge to punch the grin straight off his friend’s face. This Omega wasn’t for him. The words were on the tip of his tongue when a small cry rent the air.
It was a female, and she was terrified.<
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He moved without thinking, booted feet and long legs making short work of the alley with Arran close behind. Skidding to a halt as he rushed around the corner, the first thing he saw was her.
She was tiny, curled up with her knees to her chin and a holey grey blanket wrapped tightly about her. There was a flash of white-blonde hair, and then Elland narrowed his eyes at the five men surrounding her, each of them in uniform.
Guards.
A growl vibrated through his chest as one stepped forward, his weapon pointed directly at her pale, terrified face.
“Ah, there you are. We have been looking for you.” The man's grip on her thin arm was hard enough that even in the gloom, Elland could see the marks he was leaving on her skin. Rage engulfed him, and something else—something he had never felt before.
The overwhelming urge to protect.
“And the best part is that where you are going, no one will mind if we have ourselves a little Omega pussy.”
The brute still hadn’t noticed the arrival of the two Auria warriors. His eyes and hands were too busy roaming over the petrified Omega’s body as she shrieked, kicking in a futile attempt to get away.
Rape. They were talking about raping her. Elland felt his face contort. Dirty Beta scum. Who did they think they were that they could touch her? Force her? Touch what was his? Auria Alphas might have been feared throughout the galaxy—they always towered over everyone else, their blue markings swirling over their bulging muscles and the shaggy blue hair gave them the look of barbarians—but one thing they were not was rapists.
Arran's hand on his arm made him look down but just for a second and then he was moving, dragging the startled guard off the helpless woman with a sound that was more snarl than anything else. He tossed him away like the trash he was, and the man hit the opposite wall with a thud. Elland didn’t wait to see whether the man regained his feet.
Legs parted, he rolled his shoulders as he turned to the remaining men, eyes never leaving them and his huge frame firmly between them and his mate. At least, he was pretty sure she was his mate.
“What's going on here?” His voice was a low growl, and the Betas shifted uncomfortably.
“This woman…”
“This Omega.” Arran stepped to his side, his silver eyes flicking to the woman huddled behind them. Elland saw the way his eyes darkened as the smell of her slick engulfed him. His struggle to control himself was plain on his face. Elland wondered whether his own face was twisted in the same way; it was getting harder and harder to control the rut starting to build.
“Betas aren’t allowed to touch Omegas,” Arran said.
The guards’ hands went to the weapons at their hips, and Elland bit back a laugh. Did they really think they could take them on and win? It was comical.
“No one touches this one.” Elland’s voice was low, a growl that was barely audible.
Arran shot him a look, one eyebrow arching, but he didn’t say a word.
“She is wanted for murder.” The guard said matter-of-factly.
Finally, Elland risked a glance down at the woman at his feet. She scrambled to bring the corners of her ragged blanket over the tatters of what looked like a sleeping garment, and he caught a glimpse of her rosy-pink nipple before she managed to cover herself. He licked his lips as her eyes widened. She seemed even more terrified of him than she was of the guards.
“Who ripped her clothes?” he asked.
“She was struggling. Resisting arrest.”
“No one is taking her anywhere.” And there it was. Now he was close to her, now the delicious smell of her was all around him, and there would be no way he would allow any other man to put his hands on her.
“She is wanted by the law for her master’s murder.”
Elland’s lips curled into a growl, teeth flashing. “You are telling me this tiny slip of a girl…?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. She isn’t going anywhere. I lay my claim on her.”
His smile was predatory as the guards stepped forward.
*
“No.” Rayne couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice as she stumbled to her feet and launched herself away from the giant blue-haired man acting as her protector.
She would rather go with the guards and face her fate than go with him. Death would be better than being claimed by an Aurian berserker, and the man could be nothing but one of those beasts. Their brutality was legendary, spoken of in hushed whispers by slaves everywhere.
They were every Omega’s worst nightmare. No slave sold to them was ever seen again. Rumors of their inclination to pass around their Omegas until the poor woman died from internal injuries were spread by every slave in every corner of the galaxy.
Rayne would rather be executed than be subjected to that. They were all so huge, towering over all but the tallest humans. It was easy to see why those women died of horrendous internal damage.
“No, I'll go with you. Don’t let him take me!” She had seen the way the two blue-haired men had looked at her. The bigger one had actually licked his lips as if he wanted to take a bite out of her flesh.
“Little one.” The hand that closed about her bicep was surprisingly gentle. She had expected crushing strength as he drew her back to his side. Using the mass of his body to half-shield her even as she struggled to free herself, he added, “Stay where you are safe.”
“Help me,” Rayne pleaded with the guards, who were staring at them dumbfounded, the uncertainty of what they should do plain on their faces. “Please…”
“You need her to release her into our custody,” one of the Betas said.
“I'll go,” Rayne promised. “I’ll go willingly. Let me go!” She tried to wrench her arm away, but he tightened his grasp, silver eyes swirling as he stared down at her. He smelled clean, like what she imagined the smell of grass after a rain shower to be like, and something else. Something she couldn’t put her finger on.
Something wild and free.
One word shattered the silence: “No.” He shook his head and his blue, almost black hair fell free from where he had tied it, framing his face. Hair that beautiful would make any other humanoid species look effeminate, but not this man. He exuded masculinity. He was an Alpha in every way.
Everything Rayne had been desperate to avoid.
It all seemed to happen so fast. One minute she was being held to his side, and the next he had tossed her behind him, leaping forward with a war cry on his lips, the other, slightly smaller man hot on his heels.
Rayne didn’t hesitate, not even when her knees scraped on the rough ground in her haste to get away. Awkwardly, she scuttled away on her hands and knees before she managed to get to her feet. This might be her only chance to get away.
She had barely stood when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her against a solid wall of muscle. “And where are you running off to?”
Kicking furiously, her bare feet making contact with his legs, she struggled harder, eyes wild as she finally let herself look around.
The guards were all on the ground, whether dead or unconscious, she didn’t know. Either way, they weren’t moving. It had taken only seconds for these two Aurians to subdue them all. And the guards had been armed.
What chance did she have?