by Leann Ryans
Hips bucking of their own accord, she let out a moan, watching his hand move faster. The feel of his finger circling her sensitive nub distracted Lyric from the fear of him forcing his way into her at any moment, and in minutes she was on the edge again.
When his hand stopped stroking his shaft to clench his knot, Raider’s groan was the only warning she had before his release began to splash against her mound. With the first hot spray he stopped circling her clit and pinched it between two fingers, forcing her back to bow off the furs again as a second release rolled through her. She could feel the heat of his cum coating her pussy and thighs, running down her to soil the furs below them, and the thought that he was marking her increased the depth of her pleasure.
When Lyric could unclench eyes that had slammed shut during her orgasm, she could see Raider still holding his knot as he rubbed his other hand around the head, milking occasional small spurts from his tip to add to the mess covering her lower half.
Noticing her watching him, he reached forward and began to smear his release on her belly and thighs, sending tingles through her body as he massaged the sensitive tissues around her core. She was still aroused, but her body was too tired for her to move, so she lay limp and let him do as he wished to her.
Once he had rubbed most of his cum into her skin, he tucked himself back in his pants and crawled over her, giving Lyric another searing kiss before laying down next to her on the furs. Tucking his body around hers, he threw a blanket over them both before letting out a purr that further melted her bones.
Warm and relaxed, Lyric drifted off, briefly disappointed that she hadn’t gotten to experience his cock herself.
15. Raider
Carefully crawling from the bed, Raider moved to the tent flap and let himself out. Tying it closed behind him, he made his way through the dusting of snow to where Bear sat tending the fire.
“I’m surprised to see you,” he said once he caught sight of Raider.
Smirking, Raider responded, “I have to make sure everyone is doing what they should be and haven’t run off.”
Bear snorted, looking back into the flames.
“They won’t run off without their share,” he said.
Grunting in reply, Raider sank to the ground and reached for a chunk of bread sitting next to him. They usually wouldn’t have anything except meat while traveling, but the men had grabbed what they could from the village to bring back with them.
Tearing off a bite, he noticed Bear’s nostrils flaring as he leaned in his direction.
“You may want to wash that off unless you want the men to riot. It was bad enough out here when they heard her,” Bear told him.
Raider’s lips stretched into a grin.
“Jealous old friend?”
Snorting, Bear leaned back and braced himself on his arms.
“Maybe a little,” he admitted, looking at Raider from the corner of his eye.
“I’m an alpha after all, it’s natural to be drawn to an omega and curious about what it feels like to be with one. Is it really any different than the betas?”
“I wouldn’t know, I didn’t bed her.”
Scoffing in disbelief, Bear sat up and leaned nearer.
“I call bullshit. What was all that noise then?”
Chuckling, Raider tossed the end of the bread loaf at him.
“What, can’t you please a woman without using your cock?”
Snorting again, Bear stood.
“Of course, but that’s just supposed to be the warm-up. What’s the point if you’re not getting your dick wet?”
Laughing out loud, Raider leaned back and lounged next to the fire as he looked up at his friend.
“Oh, it got wet. Without having to dip it in.”
Eyes narrowing, Bear shook his head and began to walk off between the wagons.
“I’m going to do a round while you’re out here.”
Waving a hand at Bear’s back, Raider laid back on the ground with his hands behind his head. Looking up at the stars, he listened to the sounds of the camp around him. It was impossible to pretend you were alone with the sounds of horses stamping and quiet voices all around, and he couldn’t help wishing he was already home. His village wasn’t any less populated than the one he had attacked, but his people were more spread out. His cabin was a ten-minute walk from any other, and he missed the solitude where he could pretend no one was relying on him and he had no responsibilities.
Letting out a sigh, Raider raised himself to his feet, making his way over to the wagon that carried a barrel of water. He would have gone to the stream to wash, but he wasn’t going to move beyond where he could see the tent.
Pulling his shirt over his head, the cold air sent a shiver down his back and goosebumps racing across his skin. Washing his face and chest, he cleaned his hands before pulling the shirt back on, the water on his skin soaking into the cloth.
Bear came back into the circle of wagons, his usual stoic expression pulled into a scowl.
“What?” Raider asked.
“Damn fools thought I wasn’t going to check on them. One of ours was drinking while one of our tails hung out in the tree above him.”
Rolling his eyes, Bear dropped back down next to the fire.
“I can stay up a bit if you want to get some rest,” Raider offered.
Bear waved a hand at him.
“Go to bed. You have someone to keep warm now. I’ve got this handled,” Bear replied, pulling out his knife and a sharpening stone.
Nodding, Raider turned and made his way back to the tent, entering to find Lyric sprawled across the furs. For such a small thing, she could take up a lot of space. Removing the damp shirt again, he moved her over until he had enough room to lay next to her, pulling her limp body to his as he buried his nose in her hair.
Her floral scent tickled his senses as his body relaxed. They would meet up with the leader of the Andtay in the morning to split the bounty from the raid on her village, then they would have a hard ride to make it off of their land before nightfall. Raider didn’t want to be on it any longer than necessary. Too many allies had become enemies over the temptation of an easy mark with a high payout, and omegas were priceless.
Breathing in deep, he realized he had forgotten to change Lyric’s bandage as his hand brushed over the lump under her shirt. Frowning, Raider debated on waking her to change it, but decided she would be okay until morning. He could tell she wasn’t used to riding, and the injury combined with a full day on a horse had already started taking a toll on her body, with more to come as they traveled to his home.
Sighing, he cleared his mind and let himself drift off to sleep.
He woke to Lyric struggling to pull herself out from under his arm and the leg he had thrown over her in his sleep.
“What’s the hurry? Where do you think you’re going?” he grumbled in his native language before remembering she couldn’t understand him.
Apparently, she got the point anyway.
“You’re heavy and I need to get dressed.”
Cracking an eye open, the inside of the tent was light enough to let him know it was early morning, but still before dawn.
“Why?” he grunted, rolling over so she could stand.
“One, because your meat is prodding me in my bare rear and it’s making me uncomfortable. Two, because I need to relieve myself.”
A grin split his face at her first comment, drawing his eyes to the bare bottom she spoke of before it disappeared behind the baggy pants he had given her to wear. The scent of arousal in the air let him know it didn’t bother her in the way she made it sound.
Rolling to his feet before she could get away, Raider reached out and pulled her into his arms, mouth descending to claim her lips before she could protest and push herself way. The dazed expression on her face when he released her had warmth blooming in his chest. He wanted to keep that look on her face. She wouldn’t be able to resist him for much longer, and he planned to make her his long before her
spring heat descended.
16. Lyric
It took a surprisingly short amount of time for the men to break camp and be on the move again, Raider letting out a roar to wake everyone once they were back from taking her to relieve herself. With a wicked grin, he had taken the other omegas with them at her insistence, and she wondered what payment he would want from her that night.
Back in the saddle between Raider’s legs, her own twinged and ached from the unfamiliar exercise of the previous day. Flushing at the memory of what her legs had been stretched around besides the horse, Lyric attempted to adjust herself and hoped he wouldn’t be able to smell her arousal over the other scents surrounding them. He had not allowed her to wash his scent from her skin, and she reeked of alpha cum.
One hand on the reins, he slid the other from her waist to her thigh, rubbing circles with his fingers. Groaning as the tight muscles relaxed, Lyric leaned back into his chest, resting her head on his shoulder.
“How much farther to your home?” she asked as she enjoyed the massage.
“Once we return the Andtay warriors to their clan, it’ll be another three days of riding to get to the village.”
Lyric barely stifled a groan at his words.
Chuckling against her back, he said, “You’ll get used to riding and the soreness will pass. Today will be rough, but we can travel slower once we reach my territory.”
Humming, she let her head loll to the side as his nose ran along her neck and nuzzled her ear. After the night before, his touch no longer felt so strange, and she wasn’t as eager to get away from him. If she forgot about what they had done to her village and her father, she had to admit that being claimed by Raider was much more appealing than the alpha she had been promised to before. Her instincts were pushing her to give in and accept her place.
Shoving thoughts of the attack away, Lyric concentrated on enjoying the moment. There was no way to change the past, and little chance of her changing the future that now lay before her. She had decided to forgive and move on as best she could. She couldn’t hold on to any hate for the man at her back after learning his reasons for what he had done.
Lyric could feel Raider’s demeanor shift as they broke out of the trees onto a snow-covered field. While there had been a small amount of snow on the ground the morning in the clearing where they had camped, beneath the trees had still been clear. This field was covered up to the horse’s fetlocks, and it forced them to slow their pace.
Travelling in a tight line through the field that stretched as far as she could see to the east, the lead horses broke the trail for the ones behind. By the time the wagons passed through and they brought up the rear, his horse was slogging through dirty snow and half-frozen mud kicked up by the ones ahead of them. Raider sat up straight in the saddle now, head looking around at the field, instead of the more relaxed pose he had been in during the ride through the trees.
“Are you looking for something?” she said, tilting her head to look over her shoulder at him.
Meeting her eyes briefly, he gave a small smile.
“We are meeting with the Andtay Bruegar shortly. I just want to be aware of what’s around us.”
The way he said it made her think he was looking for an ambush, and Lyric perked up, looking around at the distant hills herself. Raider must have spotted something because he pulled their horse out of line and rode towards the front.
Pulling up close to the warrior in the lead, the men spoke for a few minutes as Lyric continued to look around, trying to find what he had seen across the field. Holding up his fist, the riders all slowed to a stop.
“There is no reason for everyone to cross the field through this snow. It appears to be deeper ahead, so my men will remain here with Barshul and our wagons. Andtay warriors, you will follow me with your wagon to the meeting.”
Since he was speaking in his language, Lyric couldn’t make out a thing he said to the warriors crowding around them now.
“What about the omegas?”
Lyric caught the word she had learned for herself, and her head snapped to the side to look at Raider’s face in confusion. She studied the carefully neutral expression on his face with a growing feeling of suspicion.
“We will take Andtay’s share of the omegas with us to the meeting.”
Catching that one word again, Lyric’s heart began to race.
“And who will pick the ones we get? Or how many?” another gruff voice called.
Lyric could see Raider’s jaw clench as he glared at the men speaking. She had never wished to understand what was being said more than she did in that moment. Her and the others were being discussed, and she hated having to wait and see what was going to happen.
“The agreement is already in place with your Bruegar regarding how many omegas will stay with your clan. And how everything else will be divided. If you have questions about that, perhaps you should approach him about it?”
“That doesn’t say who gets to choose which stay and which you take. I think you should present all of the omegas to him so that he may choose.”
Growling under his breath, Raider gave himself a little shake before nodding to the alpha. Lyric caught the word for leader in the exchange and the first thing that came to mind was that Raider was being challenged over the omegas.
“In that case, there is no reason to split up. Let’s push on.”
Turning his back on the warriors, Raider said something to the alpha he had referred to as Barshul before taking the lead position in the train of travelers. Craning her neck to look around him, Lyric watched the one who usually led wait as the others passed before taking the position at the end of the line.
Looking back up at Raider, she whispered, “Is everything okay? What’s going on?”
Glancing down at her, he returned his stony gaze to the horizon before answering her.
“We were discussing our plan. We will meet with the others soon.”
“Why were you discussing omegas?” she asked, suspicion filling her voice. It seemed like he was hiding something.
Raider looked down at her again, and his expression grew cold as he remained silent.
“Are you going to answer me?” Lyric asked, no longer trying to keep quiet as she pulled away from his chest.
“Since when do I answer to you? I am the alpha. You will remain silent until I have handled my business and we are back in the relative safety of the trees.”
With that, he looked over her head towards a hill rising into view ahead of them. She could see a group of mounted men standing on the crest looking down at them as they made their way closer at an ever-slowing pace.
17. Lyric
Lyric was furious at his response. It confirmed that he was up to something she would not like, and she refused to just back down.
“I don’t care if you’re an alpha or not, you will tell me what is going on,” she demanded.
Raider let out a furious snarl, glaring down at her with teeth bared as she instinctively ducked. Seeming to swell in size as his dark eyes pinned her in place, he wrapped one hand around her jaw and turned her head painfully to the side so that she twisted in the saddle.
Whimpering at the pain of his grip and her protesting spine, Lyric dropped her eyes to his chest as his growl continued.
“You will remember your place, Omega,” he hissed. “Complete silence, or this time, your ass will be bare when I punish you for disobedience.”
Risking a glance back up at his furious face, Lyric whimpered again even as the crotch of her pants dampened. Raider released her jaw and she turned back to the front, hunching in on herself and keeping as much distance as possible between them while sitting between his legs. She could still feel a low-pitched growl rumbling from his chest as they began to climb the hill where the others waited.
While being higher than the others around it, the hill was still low, and the wagons could crawl their way up the side of it without too much strain on the horses. The top was wide and flat, and t
he men of the other clan were waiting on the opposite side of the crown from where they emerged.
Two of the wagons and a little less than half of the men stopped behind Raider when he raised his fist again, while the third wagon and the Andtay warriors crossed the space to line up behind the group of men waiting on them.
“Greetings Raider, it seems you were victorious,” called the large man in the center of the group.
“Greetings Verik, we were,” Raider responded. “Your wagon is full of the things your men brought back for you.”
“And what of the omegas?”
Lyric watched the man speaking, surprised they were using her language this time. From what she could see, he was about the same size as Raider, around seven-foot-tall, with short black hair. She noticed the bulk of his leather armor under the fur cape he wore as he swung down from his horse, Raider mirroring his movements.
Left alone in the saddle of Raider’s horse, Lyric wasn’t sure what to do as Raider waved the wagon containing the omegas forward into the space between the two groups. Opening the cage, he reached in, yanking out the first omega as Verik made his way across to them.
“We only captured six. Per our agreement, you get two of them,” Raider said as he pulled another woman from the back of the wagon.
“Hmm, yes I remember. I’m sure you won’t deny me the right to choose from the six though,” Verik responded, crossing his arms over his chest as he inspected the two omegas shivering in the frigid air.
Lyric briefly wished she was closer so she could see Raider’s expression.
“Of course not,” he responded, his voice controlled.
With his long reach, there was nowhere for the omegas to hide inside the cage, and he shortly had all five of them standing in the snow.