by Merel Pierce
The tip of his tongue poked out between his full lips as he ran his hand down the swell of her breast, rough palm grazing her nipple. It hardened and puckered under his touch, and she arched into his hand, wanting more of what he was giving her. His growl sent a new flood of longing through her core.
“I need,” Rayne moaned as his hands dipped lower still, fingers tangling in her wet curls.
“I know what you need.” He pushed her down on the bed, hands parting her knees and spreading her wide as his eyes feasted on her.
Rayne had a moment of self-hatred. This was what always happened to Omegas, wasn’t it? They forgot themselves in their need to be taken. But it was just a moment. She didn’t even feel embarrassed that this man, this Alpha, was seeing her naked when she didn’t even know his name. He forced one thick finger inside of her, making her hips jerk off the bed with the intense pleasure of it.
“Oh, pet. I know exactly what you need.”
Rayne watched with wide eyes as he lowered his head again, lips she hadn’t even kissed yet suctioning over her small bundle of nerves only she had ever touched.
He sucked on it hard, teeth grazing. His growls added another layer of sensation as she lost herself totally.
Fingers tangled in the silky strands of his hair, she pulled him closer as her hips began to move. A contented noise escaped his mouth as she rode his face.
Rayne was gone.
She was an Omega now.
Chapter Five
Elland traced a faint line down her naked back from her hairline to hip and back up again. He lingered on the spot where he planned on marking her. He couldn’t wait to make her his. Kissing the spot, he smiled lazily as he watched her sleeping.
At least sated as she was, there was no more pain, but he knew it would return and he had to be ready. So far, he had been able to ease her with just some small caresses, not that he was complaining. The way she reacted to him was exactly how he’d always imagined his Omega would, and even when she was frightened and fighting, her body welcomed him.
“Commander.”
There was a note of apprehension in Arran’s voice as he spoke through the door. Taking one last look at the sleeping woman, her head on her bent arms with her pale hair brushing down her back, Elland rose to answer using the intercom.
There was no way he was going to allow Arran or any other man to ever see his mate naked. Still, he couldn’t bear to cover her. His eyes lingering on the swell of her ass, Elland shifted uncomfortably. He would take her there as well. He would fill all her holes with his seed.
With his mark on her and her body full of him, no one would be able to take her away.
Reluctantly he dragged his eyes away from her sleeping form. “Yes, Arran?”
“We have a problem”
Elland sighed. “It best be a big one for you to disturb me now. And I'm talking life and death.”
He leant heavily on the wall, gaze lingering on the woman who was still sleeping soundly. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as she gave the quietest of snores, turning so he had the perfect view of perfectly formed breasts, each topped with a large rosy nipple.
A contented sigh escaped her lips as she settled back to sleep, and his small smile turned into a full-blown grin. He had done that—taken her pain away and satisfied his woman as only a mate could.
“Not life and death, at least not yet.” Elland could hear the first notes of laughter in his friend's voice. “Could be for you, though. The king…”
He didn’t get to finish before Elland smashed his fist into the metal door, buckling it. “Fuck!”
“Do you want me to patch him through?”
His eyes skirted to his very naked mate. It was strange how he hadn’t even asked her name yet. That would have to change before he marked her. He couldn’t call her “pet” forever, even if that suited her perfectly.
“No, definitely not. Give me… uh…”
He was already moving, pulling fresh clothes out of the overhead locker and slipping them on. It wouldn’t do to greet the king naked, even if Hades was a friend.
Some protocols had to be followed, especially now when he had already broken so many of his own people's laws.
“I’ll just get dressed,” he finished finally, his large hands making quick work of his shirt buttons as he stepped through the door. As he searched Arran's face, the smaller man lowered his eyes. He didn’t even try to catch a glimpse of the naked woman sleeping behind him.
*
“Your highness.” Elland slipped into his usual seat, trying to tame his hair into something resembling order. He nodded politely to the hologram flickering before him.
His king looked pissed. “Care to explain?”
“I—”
“Do not fucking interrupt me, Elland.” Hades’ voice was thunderous even over the coms, his image flickering as he moved too quickly for the technology to follow. Everyone but Elland swung their eyes downwards. “You attacked several guardsmen, put at least two of them in the infirmary—”
“They deserved it! They attacked a defenseless Omega. Beta scum,” Arran hissed.
“Ah, yes. I will get to you as well, Arran.” There was a clear warning in Hades’ voice.
“Don’t blame Arran,” Elland said. “He was following my orders. There is no need to punish him.”
“It is my decision whom to punish, not yours. You are not king.”
Elland said nothing. He knew Hades. Arguing with him was useless until he calmed down.
“Then I request to take any punishment you think necessary on behalf of my crew.”
Someone behind him sucked in a breath.
“Elland, stop being such a fucking hero all the time.” Hades was shaking his head. “Why did you kidnap a wanted murderer? You do realize she killed her master, right? Stabbed him straight through the heart.”
Hades’ silver eyes, ringed with a dark blue that was similar in shade to the blue marks on his skin, bored into Elland’s. “They want her back, so turn that ship around, take her to face her punishment, and I will forget it ever happened. So far, we have pleaded ignorance using the excuse that our coms have malfunctioned. They want her, and they will come for her.”
Hades set his square jaw. “Take her back, tell them you didn’t know her crime, and then get the Omegas you are meant to have on board back to us. That is your job.”
“No.”
Hades’ eyes widened. “What did you say?”
“I said no, Hades. I will not take her back, not now and not ever. She is mine.”
“Yours?”
“My mate.” They were two simple words, but the weight of them could be seen on Hades’ face. “She is my mate, and I will kill any person who tries to take her from me.”
Hades nodded once, and Elland was happy to see the tension seep from his shoulders. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am sure.”
“But how are you sure?”
Wasn’t that the question the unmated Alphas of Auria always asked themselves? How did they know when they had found the one? It was something even their elders had always struggled to explain.
Elland paused. How did he know? How was he so certain? Was it her scent? The way he was instantly protective over her, jealous of any other male who looked at her? Or was it the fact that emptiness and panic gnawed at his gut whenever he thought of losing her?
He didn’t even know her name and he was mad for her already.
“I knew once I caught her scent across the square. I can't explain it. It was like everything I loved, every good memory, all rolled into one. And then when I saw her being attacked…” Anger had him clenching his fists before he continued. “I had to do something. I had to have her, and I am keeping her.”
“And you…?” Hades didn’t need to finish his question.
“It will happen. Things are…” Elland scratched a hand across his chin. Her virginity wasn’t something he wanted common knowledge. Hell, he didn’t even
want his king to know, if he could help it. “She is delicate. I do not want to rush it and risk…”
Risk her hating him for it. He had to make it good for her. He knew he could make it good for her.
“I understand, Elland, but…” The steel was back in Hades’ voice. “…if you plan on keeping her, then the mark needs to be given and she needs to be trained quickly.”
He paused as Elland digested the message his sovereign was giving him. The chair creaked as Elland shifted his weight.
“And her image will need to be changed if they are looking for a blonde,” he continued. “Is she really golden-haired?” He shook his head, dismissing the question before Elland could answer. “No matter. What’s important is she cannot be who they’re looking for when they board your ship. And they will come for her. Is there any way you can get hold of counterfeit ownership papers?”
“I can do it.”
Hades’ eyes flicked again to Arran. “Why am I not surprised?” He barked a laugh. “Now listen, we have to work quickly.”
Elland smiled. This was the Hades he knew, the Hades he had grown to manhood with. Always quick to break the rules.
Not even becoming king had changed that about him.
*
Rayne woke slowly, her body relaxed against the softest mattress she had ever slept on. Instinctively she reached for the Alpha as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but her hand came back empty.
“Hello?” Her voice was small as she gazed around, sleep still clinging like a fog to her brain. When had she ever slept so well?
Realization hit her hard. She had reached for him, the stranger who was both her rescuer and her captor—the Alpha barbarian who’d touched her so gently was the first thing she’d thought of when she opened her eyes. How could that be?
Already her Omega hormones were taking over, making her forget herself. She didn’t want to be anyone's mate, especially not to some blue-haired alien.
She didn’t even know his name.
She couldn’t be his… even if he and his masterful tongue had taken all the pain away and made her body feel things she never even believed possible.
Angrily she shook the thought away. She would not be a slave ever again. Not even to her own body.
Catching sight of the half-open overhead locker, Rayne scrambled up on the bunk to peer inside. It wouldn’t do her any good to stay naked in this room with slick creamy on the insides of her thighs. She needed clothes, and there was no way she could wear her ruined nightdress even if she could find it.
It didn’t seem to be anywhere in the room.
Her only option was his clothes. Dragging one of his black uniform shirts out, she studied it. The fabric was thick, but not coarse, and he was so big it would easily cover her to her knees. Not ideal, but serviceable.
Gratefully she pulled it on, her beaded nipples chafing on the soft material and becoming harder.
“What are you doing, pet?”
She squeaked, whirling. How had she not heard him come back?
He raised an eyebrow, his frame relaxed as he leant against the closed door with his arms crossed.
His face wasn’t relaxed, though, and Rayne shrank back. “Nothing.”
He crossed the room in an instant, his eyes narrowed as he took in his shirt on her body. Gripping her chin between his rough fingers, he tilted her face so she had no option but to look at him.
“Pet? Why are you getting dressed?”
“I… I…”
“Planning on going somewhere?”
Rayne squared her shoulders. Her entire life she had been the docile, obedient slave, but she wasn’t a slave anymore. She was free. No Alpha-hole was going to change that.
“I am leaving as soon as I can.”
“I don’t think so,” he rumbled. “You are my mate.”
“I don’t want to be anyone's mate. I want to be free.”
“And you think you won't have freedom with me? On Auria?”
“I know I won't. You just want me because I am an Omega and I’m going into heat. There is no other reason.”
He reeled back, but just as quick as he was gone, he was back. His eyes searched her face as he bent so she had no choice but to stare back.
“Is that really what you think, pet?”
“I don’t want to be anyone's broodmare. The thought of you inside my body makes me…”
She didn’t get time to finish as Elland crushed his lips against hers, silencing her. He growled into her closed mouth and her body spasmed.
“Don’t ever lie to me again, pet.”
“I'm not lying.”
The sound his hand made as it made contact with her ass echoed through the quiet room. Rayne gave a startled cry, reaching to rub the offending cheek, but his hand found it first. Slipping it under her shirt, he filled it with her flesh as he kneaded her stinging globe.
“Liars get punished, pet.”
Chapter Six
“Come here.” Elland held out his hand in invitation as he settled himself on the edge of the bunk, his muscular legs spread.
Hades was right. The sooner he took her in hand, the better. He had been too soft with her, too afraid of her rejecting him to realize that the Omega in her would look for an Alpha who could take control. A weak Alpha was of no use to her; she needed someone who could protect her, and there was no one better suited for the job than him.
He just had to be the Alpha he really was.
“No.” She was backing up, shaking her head furiously, but he knew she wasn’t afraid. Every growl that fell from his lips made fresh slick fall from her. He could smell it.
“If you don’t come here, then I will come to you, and then I won't be as gentle.” He shifted, repositioning himself in his pants. The smell of her was making him uncomfortably hard.
“I have taken a beating before.”
He closed his eyes as the images her words brought on engulfed him. It was all he could do to shake them off. They had no part in what was about to happen. No one would ever lay another hand on her in anger as long as he lived.
“Now.” He put his weight behind the word, barking it at her. He was a man who was used to being obeyed.
At last she took a hesitant step towards him.
“Good.” He tugged on the hem of her shirt—his shirt—bringing her between his legs. “I'm doing this for your own good.”
She squealed as he upended her, draping her across his knees and pushing up the shirt covering her round ass in one fluid movement. There was still a rosy tint to one biteable cheek from his previous spanking.
He growled his approval as fresh fluid leaked from her, but taking her would have to wait. First, she had to learn never to lie to him.
The first slap made her jerk out of his grasp, but she didn’t cry out. She only turned her face away from him so he couldn’t gauge her reaction.