Loving the Omega

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Loving the Omega

  A Redwood Pack Novella

  By

  Carrie Ann Ryan

  Loving the Omega

  A Redwood Pack Novella

  By: Carrie Ann Ryan

  Published by Fated Desires Publishing, LLC.

  © 2014 Carrie Ann Ryan

  ISBN: 978-1-62322-118-8

  Cover Art by Scott Carpenter

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  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

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  Loving the Omega

  Maddox Jamenson almost lost his mate before he knew she existed, but his life is now exactly how he’d dreamed it. The war with the Centrals is over, and his family is healing one day at a time. Ellie is reveling in the simple perfection that is her life and family now, but that doesn’t mean she can shed the self-doubts and concerns that come with being a new mother, mate, and Redwood.

  When a disturbance in their quiet life threatens to ruin everything they’ve fought for, Maddox and Ellie will have to learn not only to rely on each other more than ever, but find within themselves the power to forgive.

  Author’s Note: This is a novella set after book 7 to give you a taste of Maddox and Ellie. It is best that you have already immersed yourselves in the Redwood Pack world, however even new readers will enjoy a glimpse of one of the Redwood’s favorite couples.

  Dedication

  To those who loved Maddox as much as I did.

  Redwood Pack Characters

  With an ever growing list of characters in each book, I know that it might seem like there are too many to remember. Well don’t worry; here is a list so you don’t forget. Not all are seen in this exact book, but here are the ones you’ve met so far. As the series progresses, the list will as well.

  Happy reading!

  Adam Jamenson—Enforcer of the Redwood Pack, third son of the Alpha. Mate to Bay and father to Micah. Story told in Enforcer’s Redemption and Forgiveness.

  Anna Jamenson—late mate of Adam.

  Bay Jamenson—new member of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Adam and mother to Micah. Story told in Enforcer’s Redemption and Forgiveness.

  Beth—member of the Redwood Pack. Aunt to Emily.

  Brie Jamenson—daughter of Jasper and Willow.

  Cailin Jamenson—Only daughter of Edward and Pat. Mate to Logan. Story told in Fighting Fate.

  Camille—deceased former member of the Redwood Pack.

  Caym—demon from Hell summoned by the Centrals. Lover of Corbin.

  Charlotte Jamenson—half-sister of Ellie’s. Will be raised as a daughter by Ellie and Maddox.

  Conner Jamenson—son of Josh, Reed and Hannah. Twin to Kaylee.

  Corbin Reyes—new Alpha of the Central Pack. Lover of Caym.

  Cyrus Ferns—deceased former unit teammate of Josh’s.

  Donald—member of the Redwood Pack.

  Edward Jamenson—Alpha of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Pat. Father to Kade, Jasper, Adam, Reed, Maddox, North and Cailin.

  Ellie Jamenson—Daughter of the former Alpha of the Central Pack. Mate to Maddox and mother to Charlotte. Story told in Shattered Emotions.

  Emily—young member of the Redwood Pack. Orphan and niece of Beth.

  Emeline—elder of the Redwood Pack. Lost her mate in the first war with the Centrals.

  Finn Jamenson—son of Kade and Melanie. Future Heir and Alpha of the Redwood Pack.

  Franklin—deceased former member of the Redwood Pack. Camille’s lover.

  Gina Jamenson—newly adopted daughter of Kade and Melanie. Her birth parents, Larissa and Neil were killed during an attack.

  Hannah—Healer of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Josh and Reed. Mother of Conner and Kaylee. Story told in Trinity Bound and Blurred Expectations.

  Hector Reyes—deceased former Alpha of the Central Pack. Father to Corbin, Ellie, Charlotte and Ellie’s twin.

  Henry—Redwood Pack member and store owner for 60 years.

  Isaac—deceased member of the Central Pack.

  Jason—member of the Redwood Pack and one of the Alpha’s enforcers.

  Jasper—Beta of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Willow and father of Brie. Story told in A Taste for a Mate and A Beta’s Haven.

  Jim—hot dog vendor and one of Josh’s former friends.

  Joseph Brentwood—deceased former Alpha of the Talon Pack.

  Josh Jamenson—former human Navy Seal. A Finder and partial demon. Mated to Reed and Hannah. Father to Conner and Kaylee. Story told in Trinity Bound and Blurred Expectations.

  Kade Jamenson—Heir and future Alpha of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Melanie. Father to Finn, Gina, and Mark. Story told in An Alpha’s Path and A Night Away.

  Kaylee Jamenson—daughter of Josh, Reed and Hannah. Twin to Conner.

  Larissa—deceased member of the Redwood Pack. Witch and friend to Melanie. Mate to Neil and mother of Gina and Mark.

  Lexi Jamenson—former Talon Pack member and new Redwood Pack member. Mother to Parker and sister to Logan. Mate to North. Story told in Hidden Destiny.

  Logan Anderson—former Talon Pack member and new Redwood Pack member. Uncle to Parker and brother to Lexi. Mate to Cailin. Story told in Fighting Fate.

  Maddox Jamenson—Omega of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Ellie and father to Charlotte. Story told in Shattered Emotions.

  Mark Jamenson—newly adopted son of Kade and Melanie. Her birth parents, Larissa and Neil were killed during an attack.

  Melanie Jamenson—former human chemist and mate to Kade. Mother to Finn, Gina and Mark. Story told in An Alpha’s Path and A Night Away.

  Meryl—Redwood Pack Elder.

  Micah Jamenson—son of Adam and Bay.

  Mrs. Carnoski—elderly customer of Josh’s when he was human.

  Neil—deceased member of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Larissa and father of Gina and Mark.

  Noah—member of the Redwood Pack and former lover of Cailin’s.

  North Jamenson—doctor in the Redwood Pack, son of the Alpha. Mate to Lexi. Story told in Hidden Destiny.

  Parker Jamenson—new member of the Redwood Pack and son of Lexi’s.

  Patricia (Pat) Jamenson—mate of the Alpha, Alpha female, and mother to Kade, Jasper, Adam, Reed, Maddox, North, and Cailin.

  Patrick—disgruntled member of The Redwood Pack.

  Reed Jamenson—artist and son of the Alpha of the Redwood Pack. Mate to Josh and Hannah. Story told in Trinity Bound and Blurred Expectations.

  Reggie—deceased former member of the Central Pack.

  Samuel—deceased former member of the Central Pack.

  Willow Jamenson—former human baker and now mate to Jasper. Mother to Brie. Story told in A Taste for a Mate and A Beta’s Haven.

  Chapter One

  The quick, lethal slice of the blade robbed him of breath, and he gasped, clinging to that last thread of life he knew would fade away as he exhaled. Fire scorched down his throat, down his spine. The absence of pain, the absence of agony was a torture in itself. He reached out, begging, screaming until his voice was raw.

  It wouldn’t matter though.

  It never d
id.

  The darkness surrounded him, clawing, digging its talons into his skin until he bled dry. It was the same thing every time. No matter what he did, he wouldn’t save him. He’d watch him die and lose the connection to the one man who mattered.

  He pushed off the enemy and the cloying scent that meant the nothingness had found him and ran through clay and mud to the man who’d fallen, the man who’d been his everything as a child.

  “Dad!”

  His screams did nothing.

  The man fell to the ground, his body burning, turning to ash. There would be no rebirth. No phoenix rising. Only death.

  “Maddox! Let go!”

  He turned at the sound of his mother’s voice, the pain underlying her terror unbearable. She stood in a ring of fire, a sad smile on her face.

  “Let go, baby. Stop fighting.”

  Maddox Jamenson jolted from sleep, a scream on his lips. Sweat slicked his back, and his hands shook. He let his face rest in his hands as he tried to throw off the nightmare as he’d done every morning since his parents had died, but it wasn’t enough this time.

  He staggered from bed, his feet sliding on the tile when he got to the bathroom, his body still in a state of shock and sleep. As he vacated his stomach of whatever was left over from the night before, he closed his eyes, trying to will away the shakes.

  Soft hands rubbed the scars on his back, soothed his aches. His mate, his love, Ellie placed a cool washcloth on his forehead, and he leaned into her, his eyes closed. He knew she sat on the floor next to him, her back to the sink as she took the brunt of his weight. She’d carry him through fire. Had literally done that once before. Just as he had done for her.

  Those days were over now. At least they should have been.

  Ellie shifted so he sat between her legs, supported against her chest, and ran her hands through his hair. “Feel better?”

  They’d lain the opposite of this before, his large body cradling hers. The picture they made now would have looked odd to outsiders, but this was him and Ellie. They were who they were. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  Maddox nodded, finally opening his eyes to see his mate. Her dark hair framed her face, the worry in her dark eyes mixed with sleep—sleep they both should still be relishing in.

  “I’ve been better,” he replied truthfully. He ran his tongue over his teeth and winced. “And I need to brush my teeth.”

  Ellie wrinkled her nose then kissed his temple. “Yeah, brushing your teeth sounds good. But what about the nightmare? Was it the same one?”

  He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, before forcing them back open. He was man enough to admit he was too afraid to keep them closed for too long afraid of what he’d see.

  “It’s the same thing each time. I feel the bond between my father and me snap, sever, break. It’s not just the Alpha bond, but the one that holds us together as a family…”

  “…and your connection to him as an Omega,” his mate finished for him.

  Maddox leaned into Ellie’s hold once more then stood up, holding out his hand. She put her hand in his, and he pulled her up, tucking her into his body. With her there, his wolf calmed, and he didn’t feel so out of place, out of sync anymore. He slid his fingers through her long black hair, loving the soft texture against his skin. Memories of her hair brushing his sweat-slick skin as they made love filled his mind, and he held back a groan. Yes, he loved her hair. The dark tresses fell over her honey-dark skin, the combination a perfect blend of what he loved about his mate.

  “Want to talk about it?” she asked through their mental connection.

  Their mating bond was unique in that it had held this special feature. They could communicate thoughts to one another along a special path created when they mated. He could hear the thoughts she sent him and vice versa. They couldn’t hear every thought, and he was glad for that. Without that barrier it would be easy to become lost inside her mind forever, painful memories and all. If he could, he would find a way to erase everything she’d been through with the Centrals and soothe her aches, but as Ellie had pointed out, without those, she wouldn’t be the person she was today. It was the same for him as well. They each needed their own space, but knowing that the other person would be there, even in that special connection, made Maddox feel more centered.

  He wasn’t sure how the extra power through their mating bond had happened, or if there were true instances beyond rumors of it happening to others, but he was grateful for it.

  Before they mated, Maddox had felt that special spark with his Ellie but had also felt cut off from her in a way that terrified him. Not only had he been an idiot in thinking she was his twin brother, North’s, mate, but he hadn’t been able to feel her emotions.

  As the Omega, he had that bond with each and every packmember—except his twin. He could feel the highs and lows that came with living, and it was his job to keep the emotional health of the Redwood Pack in alignment.

  Without the mating bond, however, he hadn’t been able to feel Ellie. That alone had made him feel adrift in an endless stream of pain and loss.

  Now, though, he had everything.

  Or at least he tried to believe he did.

  “No, I don’t need to talk about it again,” Maddox finally answered. Ellie let out a breath then leaned into him, brushing her teeth at the same time as he did.

  They’d discussed his dreams and what they meant over and over in the past month since the Redwoods had defeated Caym and the Centrals, but they couldn’t find a way to make them stop.

  There was no Omega for the Omega.

  Not even the mate who loved him with everything she had could be his Omega.

  “Mom? Dad?”

  Maddox grinned despite the sour way they’d woken up and pulled Ellie into the bedroom at the sound of their daughter’s voice.

  “We’re in here, Charlotte,” he called out, grateful he and Ellie had worn clothes to bed that evening.

  Charlotte huffed and rolled her pretty brown eyes—so much like Ellie’s— as she walked into the bedroom. Seven years old and the little girl already had the attitude of a pre-teen.

  Not that Maddox cared a bit. Considering how they’d found her, he’d take the attitude and eye-rolling over the abject terror and fear he’d seen the first time they met any day.

  “I know you’re in here. That’s why I knocked first.” She said it with a smile and that hint of giddiness that told Maddox she was just happy she could speak whenever she wished.

  When they’d first found Charlotte, she’d been chained to a wall in Corbin’s basement. Charlotte, fearful and in danger, tried her best to help Maddox and Ellie out of a dangerous situation. As soon as they’d gotten near the girl, they knew who she was.

  Hector’s daughter.

  Corbin’s sister.

  Ellie’s sister.

  It hadn’t been a hard decision to take Charlotte away from the Centrals and bring her to the Redwoods. In fact, he wasn’t sure he and Ellie had talked about it beyond the plan to save the little girl. Once Charlotte became a Redwood, there had been the issue of just how to raise her. Others might have raised her as a younger sibling and found a way to deal, but Charlotte desperately needed a mother and father.

  The little girl had told them that in plain words.

  There was no way to say no to that, and they adopted her as their own.

  The fact she called them Mom and Dad, though, that was new. And still a kick in the chest every time he heard it. The good kind of kick, though. The really freaking good kind.

  “Can we have French toast?”

  Maddox blinked at Charlotte’s question then shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. His mind had been on the past and what they’d overcome more often than not lately, and he needed to start focusing on the future.

  “No? We can’t have French toast?” Charlotte asked, her lip wobbling.

  Maddox knelt down before picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder. She squealed and wiggled, but he
had a firm hold on her. He’d never let his daughter get hurt. No matter what.

  “Yes, I’ll make you some French toast.”

  “Do you want me to make it?” Ellie asked behind them, laughter in her voice.

  “No,” he and Charlotte said at the same time then froze. Maddox turned and pulled Charlotte so he held her in front of his chest. “Uh…”

  Ellie raised a brow and folded her arms over her chest. “You both are way too much alike. And I only burned the French toast once.”

  Maddox grimaced, remembering the taste. He wouldn’t let her throw it out. No, he had to eat it all to prove to her that he was a good mate.

  Or a crazy one.

  “Ellie, baby…”

  His mate winked then tickled Charlotte, who in turn thrashed and ducked in his arms. Soon he was laughing with the both of them, the perfect morning after another shitty night of dreams.

  “Crap! Why can’t I get this right?”

  Maddox winced at Ellie’s words but didn’t get up from his spot on the floor. He kept painting Charlotte’s dresser as a surprise for her when she got home from the play date in the center of the den.

  Ellie had tried baking.

  Again.

  And from the burnt smell filling his nostrils and the frustration radiating off his mate mixing with the paint fumes, she wasn’t doing well. The woman could cook and not kill them. They all knew that. She could make pastas, rice, some sauces, and even dressings.

  As soon as she had to add sugar to something and call it a baked good or even French toast, it was like she forgot how to use an oven.

  For some reason he thought that was the cutest thing ever. Not that he’d ever tell her that.

  “I see that smirk, Maddox Jamenson.”

  Maddox schooled his features as Ellie came to his side before sitting down. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Ellie snorted then leaned into him. He set his paintbrush down and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.