by Zoey Ellis
Cailyn stared at his release as it drained down, then looked up at him. The disappointment in her eyes tore through him.
“Take down the barrier, kitten,” Drocco demanded, feeling himself already hardening again. “Take it down and you can have it.”
She sat back on her heels for a moment, looking sorrowfully at his hardening cock, before turning and crawling back to the wall.
***
The next day, the Talent-crafters examined the barrier. Drocco watched them carefully, his dagger in hand. Not one of them looked at the Omega writhing on the floor beyond it, but Drocco remained on edge. As soon as they had finished examining, they left the room immediately and discussed with Torin outside. Cailyn brought herself to yet another orgasm and Drocco could do nothing but stare in frustration. In fact, he ached to pull his pants down and stroke himself to another powerful release, but that wouldn't help him right now. He needed to know what the Talent-crafters thought about the barrier, and a jittery nervousness entered him for the first time ever. He didn't like the feeling.
"Tell me," he demanded, the moment Torin re-entered the room. They had agreed to not tell the crafters that Cailyn was a Talent-crafter herself.
"They said that the barrier is strong and has indeed been infused with your blood as you suspected," Torin said, situating himself with his back to the Omega. "It has been created by an extremely skilled Talent-crafter, but they don’t think that the crafter is from the Western Lands, something about the way the magic has been woven is unique; not something typical of the Western Lands or the Eastern Lands."
"What about the barrier?" Drocco snapped. He didn't give a shit about any of that other stuff right now. "How long is it going to last?"
Torin pressed his lips together disapprovingly, but said, "It is solid, Drocco. It will not allow any flesh to pass through it in either direction but it may allow for objects or food. They think it will last at least another eight days."
Drocco thought back to all of the reports he'd read about Omegas. How long did the Haze typically last for? As he tried to remember, he was distracted by Cailyn. She was back on her knees up against the barrier, looking at him with a pleading gaze. A hint of a smile appeared on her face. Drocco took a breath and held it, waiting to see if she would truly give him a smile.
"Drocco," Torin said. "Focus."
Drocco turned to him and blinked. What the hell had they been talking about?
"Eight more days for the barrier at least," Torin reminded him.
Drocco exhaled in frustration. "I can't remember how long the Haze lasts."
Torin nodded. "It is typically a week and a half, according to the reports, but it can depend on a lot of factors, like her diet and her general health. If this is the first time that she has been around any Alphas, I don't know how that may affect her. It could last longer, it could be shorter."
"So basically, you don't fucking know," Drocco snapped. "How long has she been in it so far?"
"Four days."
Four days out of a possible week and a half. So that left potentially…
Cailyn was turning around and sitting against the barrier, her back to him. Drocco frowned. That would not do.
"Drocco," Torin sighed.
Drocco growled at him. Torin needed to get the fuck out. The man was distracting him from his Omega.
"Will the barrier last longer than her Haze or not," he asked. "That's all I want to know, Torin. Can you tell me that, yes or no?"
Torin's gray gaze turned to steel. "You are the expert on Omegas," he said, his voice hard. "You told me to focus on my training and not study them, or spend my time concerned about their cycles or their Hazes or their breeding patterns. You learned all of that. So you need to focus and be the one to tell me if her Haze will last as long as the barrier. The barrier will end in eight days. If her Haze is typical, it will end in seven days. I cannot tell you if it’s typical."
"Get out," Drocco ordered, as he headed towards the barrier to find a way for Cailyn to turn around. Torin couldn’t tell him what he needed to know. Drocco would simply have to wait and see.
That evening, Drocco pushed a jug of water at the barrier and watched as it penetrated and slid over to the other side. So the crafters were right. Cailyn sipped from it now and then but didn’t seem to be eager to have it. She was more taken by the fact that Drocco was near the barrier.
Drocco began pushing through basins of soapy warm water, food, and other liquids she needed. She washed and sipped and nibbled, but Drocco got the feeling it was practiced behavior. He stopped trying to get her to take down the barrier. She simply hadn’t been trained to listen to an Alpha during her Haze. In a way, it was encouraging. It suggested she hadn’t been with an Alpha before. No real Alpha would allow an Omega to remain focused on her own needs during her Haze, and not listen to him. He joined her masturbation, both of them watching the other pleasure themselves, both desiring the other through the glistening magic keeping them apart.
***
After a few days, Cailyn began to sleep a lot more than normal. Drocco noticed subtle changes in her behavior. She seemed more restless, not happy to simply lie around with her fingers in her pussy anymore. She also seemed to be noticing her surroundings more. She pushed out basins with dirty water and bowls of stale food, while looking around the room curiously, not just focused on Drocco.
It put him on edge. The barrier remained strong and if she was coming out of her Haze, she could potentially disappear through a portal.
At Torin’s insistence, he had eaten a small plate of food each day from the day the Talent-crafters came, but he suspended all non-urgent visits to the room and began to focus all of his attention on everything she did. There were moments where she seemed unhappy, only to be taken over by the need to pleasure herself again. However, within two days, he noticed that the barrier seemed less solid than before. When he placed his hand on it, it gave under pressure. It was weakening. He issued an order for no one to enter, even Torin. He wanted no distractions and no chances for anything to go wrong. If the barrier weakened, he needed to be ready in case she tried to make use of the Talent. Clearly, she was very skilled and, although the Talent was not known for its combat uses, nothing would surprise him.
The day after he issued the order, the barrier began to shimmer. Drocco got up and stood next to it, watching and waiting. Cailyn lay asleep on the floor. She looked absolutely exhausted and Drocco clung to the hope that she would stay unconscious until the barrier dissolved.
The barrier glowed brighter and then completely disappeared.
A powerful wave of her magnificent scent slammed into Drocco, expanding to fill the entire room. It seemed to penetrate him and all thought left his mind, as his cock hardened even further.
He stood over the sleeping Omega and crouched down to her. Her dress, drenched in her own sweat, slick, and come, had managed to stay around her torso. Her hair was an absolute shaggy mess, tangled up and matted, but she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
He ran his hands over her body, relishing the feel of her soft, smooth skin. He hooked his hand underneath her knees and spread her open, reaching in to feel that delicate, soft slit he had only ever seen through the barrier. It was dripping wet, an abundance of slick and come coating her entrance. He fumbled with his pants, releasing his hard cock that seemed bigger than he had ever felt it.
He pulled her toward him and lined himself up, rubbing the tip of his cock against her soft skin.
She moaned and fidgeted before her eyes fluttered open. He loomed over her, noticing her eyes weren't as gold as they were the day before. He pressed into her but couldn’t get far. He pulled out slightly and pressed back in, a groan rumbling in his throat at how tight she was. She was coming out of her Haze and yet still opened her legs wider for him and whined as he pushed even further in.
"Take it, kitten," Drocco muttered, his breath jagged. "Take all of it."
She wriggled and ran a hand across his ch
est, mumbling something to herself that included the word “Alpha”, her eyes half-lidded. He continued pressing forward, and she whimpered until he was all the way in. He forced himself to hold still to give her time to stretch for him. Her wriggling sparked incredible sensations that shot through his cock, and although a hot desperation rose to pound into her, he also wanted to savor the moment. He was the first Alpha to experience an Omega in the last one hundred and eleven years. Even in the midst of his rut, that thought seared through his mind.
He began to move slowly inside her, leaning his weight onto his hands either side of her head and grunting at the feel of her tight, wet slickness around him. Cailyn sucked in air and arched her back, her eyes rolling in her head as he sunk deeper, her whole body twitching underneath him. He worked in and out gradually getting faster as her slick gathered in a frothy mess at the base of his cock. She cried out, her pussy squeezing him as she grabbed his wrists and jerked her hips up to his, encasing him further. At that, he lost control. Twisting and jerking his hips, he slammed, and pounded, and drove into her furiously, intoxicated by her scent and the glorious feel of her. He reveled in all of her—her breathy moans, her fingers curling around his thick wrists, and the utter ecstasy on her face. He lost himself—so much so that when she screamed out in orgasmic bliss, her muscles contracting around him, he came so hard it overwhelmed him—his every pore so engulfed by uniquely delicious sensations and the potent scent of her that the orgasm tore through him, scratching out all thought from his head.
When he finally came back to his senses, he lay on top of her panting, crushing her into the ground as he still spurted inside her. He pushed up to his elbows and looked down at their joining. Her swollen, red pussy lips stretched around his knot—the enlarged base of his cock—securely lodged inside her, locking them together.
Drocco had never been the type of Alpha that could knot with Betas. Grandfather had told him repeatedly that true Alphas only knot with Omegas, and it seemed like that was true. The closest he’d gotten was a slight swelling with a Beta who had hidden that she was on a Haze recreator. He had never had a knot of this size and had never felt such pleasure at being encased so securely by a pussy so tight. He glanced up at Cailyn. She had fallen back asleep. He took a fistful of her hair, and let it run through his fingers. He licked her neck and sucked on it, enjoying the salty taste of her. He lifted her eyelids. The gold was almost gone. It was likely she would not be pregnant from this mating, and even though that was disappointing, it had to be done.
She began to get restless the longer the knot remained inside her, stretching her wide.
Winding a thick arm around her small waist, he carefully maneuvered them to an upright sitting position and lay her head on his chest, stroking her back until she settled.
Drocco stared down at her as she pressed her cheek to his chest. He had no idea who this woman was, where she came from, or what the hell she was doing in his Palace, but her fate had been decided. She came to work for him under false pretenses, but it was clear that she was supposed to belong to him and there was no doubt now that she did. The problem was, she had revealed herself to be a traitorous deceiver. That had to be rectified immediately. He had to retrain her just for him and discover all the secrets that surrounded her existence. She would learn to be loyal and faithful to him—he would make sure of it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
CAILYN
Cailyn’s consciousness returned in slow waves.
Everything ached, and she groaned as the pain registered. She worked her jaw, trying to lubricate her dry mouth. Victoya should have been keeping her properly hydrated, but judging from her protesting limbs, it seemed the Haze had been more intense than normal this time.
Cailyn rolled over on the bed and cried out as a sharp, unfamiliar pain shot up between her legs. Her eyes flew open and she sat up carefully, her heart sinking as she looked around.
An enormous bed stretched all around her and at each corner, a thick bedpost rose up high to connect with a golden canopy overhead. Surrounding the bed was a lavish room. Thick, deep, umber carpet covered the floor and the walls were patterned with intricate decoration, color-coordinated in reds, browns, gold, and cream. Two burgundy couches sat on one side of the room, and next to them an engraved mahogany table with matching chairs. Mats, rugs, and floor cushions littered one corner of the room, where a heavy dark curtain hung along one whole wall. Soft, ivory light poured from circular orbs in the ceiling and walls. Nothing looked familiar.
Cailyn tried to keep a hold of her panic. Moving slowly, she shifted to the edge of the bed and slipped her legs over the side. Pushing herself upright she stilled, thinking back to what she could remember. It took a few minutes, as it always did, but soon the fragmented memories aligned in her mind.
Emperor Drocco.
She had created a barrier so he wouldn't get to her. She gritted her teeth. Judging by the pain between her legs, the fact she was naked, and the standard of the room around her, that had not worked. The barrier had been strong, created by his own blood. How the hell had he gotten through it?
She shook her head. That didn’t matter right now. She had to get out immediately. Focusing her mind, she drew on the Talent to recreate her blocks. Nothing happened. She tried again, forcing her breathing to calm and her mind to clear. Nothing. She couldn’t feel any magic in the air at all. Shit!
Pushing away the fear building in her, she got up and stumbled over to the wall-wide curtain. It couldn’t be drawn; it seemed to be pinned in place at the top, but behind it was an enormous window that made up one whole side of the room, similar to the one in her quarters. The sunlight blinded her for a moment, but when her eyes adjusted she looked out upon a wide green forest, one she recognized. It surrounded a part of the Palace that no one had access to. It spread out before her, extending from the Palace and ending in the distance where it met with the city of Ashens.
A glass door in the center of the window led to a high-railed balcony, but of course, it was locked. She methodically searched the room high and low for a key or a way to escape, moving as quickly as she could while trying not to wince at the pain from her Haze.
At the Compound, Omegas sometimes paired up to satisfy each other with their tongues and fingers and phallic contraptions, but Cailyn had never been interested in that. The idea of having to look another Omega in the eye afterward was too mortifying. Instead she and her friends, Viktoya and Amara, would look out for each other on rotation, keeping each other safely in their rooms and making sure they drank, ate and kept as clean as the Haze would allow. Some Omega spies would seek out men to have sex with while on their missions, to experience it so they could use it as part of their missions, but Cailyn never felt any need to do that. Besides, many of those spies would end up wanting it regularly, and she didn’t become one of the best by seeking out such distractions. However, none of those Omegas she had spoken to about it had ever talked about being in such pain afterward.
Normally she would be achy after her Haze, but this time it felt like every muscle in her body had been stretched to its limit. She paused at the thought. Maybe they had. Cupping her sex, she gently felt along her sore slit, and a realization came to her. Drocco had knotted her—that’s why she was so sore. He could have mated her numerous times, which meant she could be pregnant.
She took a shaky breath and bit her lip as tears sprung to her eyes. No… she had to get a grip. Her memories of the Haze would come back soon enough and she would know for sure what had happened. For now, she needed to find a way out.
The enormous room had three doors; the thick and heavy one on the wall opposite the bed was locked from the outside, another was in a corner of the room and led to an equally lavish washroom that held small windows, the last set of doors led to a wide closet that held a few sets of men’s clothing.
Cailyn returned to the wall length window and looked around for something to smash it. It was too thick to smash with her fist, but nothing in the room
could be used for that purpose, there seemed to be a lack of ornamentation in general; no candlesticks, paintings or accessories—not even a clock. She paced the room, desperation overcoming her—there was no way out. Of course, Drocco would not allow the first Omega he had ever come across to escape so easily. He had found a way to prevent her from using the Talent and was no doubt planning to keep her secure until he had had his fill.
She was in the hands of the most vicious Alpha known to the Eastern Lands, who had an army of Alphas at his disposal. Her fate was bleak. She thought back to her home, the Omega Compound. All the warm, friendly Omegas that lived in peace and harmony. Her time with them was over—she would never see Victoya, or Amara, or the Mothers again. Her life would become exactly what she had been fighting to prevent all her life for Omegas. She dropped down against the wall next to the bed and dug her fingers into her palms as she blinked away angry tears.
As the raw edge of her anger faded, she calmed and tried to consider her situation logically. She always knew this outcome could be a possibility—all spies were told to prepare for it. She brushed her tears away and used the washroom, realizing that her hair had been washed and she had been cleaned up after her Haze. Maybe there was a servant she could appeal to. She returned to the bedroom and stripped a sheet from the bed to tie around herself and wait for the Emperor, firming her mind. He could do whatever he wanted to her. She would never lead him to the Omegas.
When the lock turned in the heavy door opposite the bed, she stood and faced the door, her lips pressed into a straight line. Blurry memories of the Haze had returned and although she was glad he hadn’t gotten through the barrier until the very end, an annoyance churned in her that he had fucked her when she had been mostly unconscious and exhausted.
The Emperor’s enormous bulk stepped through into the room, and the door closed immediately behind him, locking without him having to do anything. It confirmed her suspicions that there were guards outside the door.