Omega's Savior (Omega Destiny, International Book 3)

by Kian Rhodes

  Within a few minutes, I was biting back a grin as Chuck had been summarily dismissed by Omega Walsh and I was left standing in front of him, waiting for instructions.

  When I left Bari in the hallway outside the solarium a little more than an hour later, I was planning on catching a quick shower before joining the residents in the dining room for some food. When I caught the scent of distress emanating from a small hallway off to the right, I swung around the corner without giving the action another thought. Following the scent trail around another corner, I found myself facing a slender back, its owner hunched over as if in pain. There was a quiet desperation in his voice, and it took me a minute to realize he was speaking into a cell phone.

  “What do you mean Hudson doesn’t know anyone named Paul?” the Omega snapped as another wave of desperation flooded off of him and washed over me. “Of course, he does! We’re getting married!” Whatever the voice on the other end of the line said, it must have hurt because Paul flinched as though he’d been slapped. “But..”

  I watched as Paul pulled his phone from his ear, choking back a cry as he stared at the screen in disbelief. I cleared my throat lightly. I’d expected him to startle -perhaps even jump-but I hadn’t expected him to suddenly spin and go on the offensive, pulling his fists up into a defensive posture.

  I raised one palm and offered my most non-threatening smile. “Easy there, tiger. I’m not here to hurt anyone, remember? My name is Sylas.”

  Paul lowered his fists slightly, looking far from convinced. “What do you want?”

  I shrugged. “To talk, if you’re willing?” I took a step forward, counting on his inherent physical need for my presence to keep him from bolting.

  “About what?” Paul’s nostrils flared as he drew in my scent, his shoulders relaxing a tiny bit more.

  “Oh, this and that,” I said breezily. “I’ve never been to Texas before. Are you a native?”

  Paul stared at me disbelievingly. “You snuck up on me while I was on the phone so we could have a stilted conversation about where we’re from?”

  My laugh broke free. “Not exactly. You’re a friend of Bari’s, right? I saw you when I was introduced. I was trying to find my way back to my room,” I said with a sheepish shrug. “I think I got turned around.”

  “Oh.”

  “Any chance you could show me the way back?”

  Paul frowned again. “It’s not that hard,” he said with a sigh. “I’ll give you directions.”

  “But what if I get lost again?” I asked with a frown. “I’m already starving and I’ll miss dinner.”

  “Fine,” Paul groaned, shoving his cell phone into his pocket. “Let’s go.”

  As we made our way through the hall, I walked a little closer to the Omega than was good manners, but Paul didn’t seem to mind. In fact, several times I caught him angling his face toward me as he inhaled. And when we closed ourselves in the tiny elevator, my scent built up to a level I would have been embarrassed by anywhere else, but Paul didn’t seem to mind as he leaned against the wall and soaked the pheromones up.

  I watched him as unobtrusively as possible. Paul was relatively tall for an Omega and handsome bordering on pretty, with high cheek bones spattered with freckles, long red lashes framing slightly wide-set green eyes, deep red lips, and a long, lean body that hadn’t yet begun to show the gift he carried. All in all, he was pretty damn hot, so I wasn’t at all surprised that someone had worked to charm their way into his pants.

  “This is it,” Paul announced, pulling me back to the present as we stopped in front of my suite door.

  “Thanks so much,” I gave him a smile and he flashed a dimple in response.

  “No problem,” Paul choked out, color rising in his cheeks as my keen hearing caught the lub-lub of his heart speeding up.

  Then Paul turned and was gone, leaving me to continue my earlier wonderings about what exactly his situation was and why, with all the worry about Bari, no one seemed concerned about Paul.

  Chapter Three

  Paul

  For almost a week I managed to hide in plain sight by sticking to Bari like glue. Then, his protection was suddenly ripped away from me, ironically by the same Alpha who had tossed him aside and landed him at ODI in the first place.

  He’d left earlier that day for what was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill pre-divorce court hearing. I’d begged off my classes by claiming a headache and was alone in my room, mentally sifting through my ninety-day escape plan when a light knock at the door made me groan. Assuming it was one of the counselors checking on my headache, I cracked the door and then hesitated when I saw the visiting Alpha, Sylas, standing in the hall.

  “Um, hi,” I stammered. “What do..can I help you?”

  Sylas smiled. “Hi, yourself. I was hoping to have a private conversation with you.”

  “You were?” I said, shaking my head. “Why?”

  Sylas cocked his head toward the door I was peeking out. “It would be more private if I could come in?”

  I hesitated. True, I could honestly tell him that the house rules prohibited me from having an Alpha in my room, but something in me was desperate to get just a little closer to the man. Sighing, I pushed the door open. “I guess.”

  The single step I took back didn’t leave quite enough space for Sylas to pass, so his muscular arm brushed over my chest as he entered, sending tingles racing down my arms. I closed the door and leaned back against it, crossing my arms over my chest. “What do you want?”

  Instead of becoming annoyed at my abruptness, Sylas smiled and held a square of folded paper out to me. “Bari asked me to give this to you and said you should read it before I leave.”

  Unfolding it, I scanned the words.

  Paul,

  I’m sorry to send bad news, but the council ordered me sent home for the next few months, which will leave me unable to assist you. I took the liberty of telling what little I know of your situation to Alpha Rogers and he has agreed not only to hold your confidence, but also to assist you in the same physical manner he was me. I would advise that you spend as much time as possible in close contact while available as the baby needs the physical presence of an Alpha for optimal growth in the first trimester of the pregnancy.

  Best wishes,

  Bari

  “Fuck.”

  I barely noticed when the paper slipped from my fingers or even when my knees buckled. Sylas stepped forward, catching me as I slumped down after the paper. Lifting me in his arms, he carried me to the bed and gently laid me down. Reaching for the water bottle I kept on my nightstand, he raised me high enough to sip from it.

  “Drink, Paul,” he instructed, his deep voice firm. “You’re distressed.”

  I swallowed the cool water and then collapsed back against his arm. “He told you.”

  “That you’re pregnant? Or that you’re trying to conceal it?”

  “Both, I guess.”

  Sylas shrugged. “I knew you were pregnant the moment that I walked into the solarium the first day,” he said softly. “In fact, I was confused why no one else seemed concerned about your condition. Bari did explain that you are attempting to keep the pregnancy a secret but didn’t say why.”

  I stiffened, my mind racing as I searched for a reason that might make him less likely to tell the Director. The hand holding me up to drink began to rub soothing circles on my back.

  “You don’t have to tell me, Tiger,” he murmured. “You must have your reasons.” Lowering himself to sit on the mattress, Sylas somehow managed to shift me from lying on the bed to being cradled in his lap with extraordinarily little effort. “Do you know you’re sick?”

  I bit down on my lip and turned my face into the soft knit of his t-shirt. “Um, I did some research when I realized I was..you know,” I admitted into the fabric. “I know it’s better to have the father around, but I thought I was doing okay.”

  Sylas made a humming noise in his chest. “Well, you’re still upright,” he agreed teasing
ly as he slipped one hand up the back of my shirt. “Is this okay? Skin on skin contact will help the fastest.”

  Leaning slightly away from his strong body, I pulled my shirt off, dropped it to the floor and waited expectantly.

  Sylas laughed. “You’re a shy one, hm?” He pulled his shirt off as well, revealing an expanse of tawny skin with only the faintest smattering of blond hair.

  “Do you shave?” The question popped out of my mouth before it even registered in my brain, making me blush. “Sorry. None of my business.”

  “I don’t mind,” Sylas said with a deep chuckle, gently pulling me back against him and tightening his arms around me when I sighed and melted into the contact. “Mm, that’s nice. To answer your question, Tiger, no. I’m naturally pretty hairless.”

  “Oh.” As I snuggled against him, it occurred to me that Sylas was also not as warm as I’d expected, but since he’d been brought in to help a dragon Omega, maybe that made sense? “Are you a dragon, then?”

  “Something like that,” he agreed easily, still stroking my back. “Kind of a distant relation. How are you feeling?”

  I sighed and tried to snuggle closer. “Fucking amazing.”

  Sylas tsk’d. “That’s a dirty mouth you have there, Tiger.”

  “Sorry,” I apologized automatically as I soaked in the deliciously masculine scent of the man holding me. “Please don’t go. I won’t swear, I promise.”

  Sylas made another humming noise in his chest. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Tiger. I’ll help you through this.”

  A moment later I was fast asleep.

  Chapter Four

  Sylas

  Once Paul dozed off, I figured I’d put him down and continue holding his hand so he didn’t wake up stiff from sleeping all balled up. I stood and pulled back the covers on his bed to tuck him in. When I tried to lay him down, he clung to me like a little monkey.

  “Stay,” he mumbled in his sleep, tightening his grip around my neck.

  “I am,” I whispered in his ear, carefully untangling his arms. “I’ll be right here.”

  A small, unhappy noise slipped through Paul’s lips and his brow furrowed when I placed him on the bed and took his hand. When his scent started to register distress despite the contact, I frowned and kicked my boots off.

  “Okay, Tiger,” I murmured, pulling the covers back again and stretching out on the mattress beside him. He was shivering as he curled into me before I could even pull the covers up, struggling to get as close as possible.

  Not good.

  Well aware that I was crossing a line, I threw the covers back again and eased the lounge pants that Paul wore from his body before shoving my jeans over my hips and using my feet to drag them off and kick them away. I maneuvered Paul onto his back and promptly stretched over him, caging him beneath me and supporting my weight on my elbows and knees, pressing every inch of our bodies pressed together.

  The sweet Omega beneath me gave a huge, shuddering sigh and mumbled something I didn’t quite catch, but from the immediate sweetening of his scent, I assumed it was approval. I held that position until the man beneath me relaxed completely and then rolled over to my back, pulling him with me and draping him over my body as he slept. Giving in to the hedonistic pleasure of the contact, I closed my eyes as well. After all, a little nap couldn’t hurt anything.

  Or so I thought.

  ~*~

  I heard the door creak open and was crouched next to the bed in an instant, claws and fangs on the knife’s point of control that had taken me centuries to perfect.

  The light filtering in from the window was faint, suggesting that we had napped longer than anticipated, but it was still enough that I could see clearly. Breathing in through my mouth, I tasted the air. The rather unimpressive being storming through the room was human and gave off no Alpha, Beta, or Omega indicators, suggesting that he was a non-presenter. A full human.

  “What the hell?” The angry man standing before me presented no true threat and I slowly rose to my full height, putting us mostly eye to eye. “Who the fuck are you and why are you in my son’s bed?”

  Behind me, I heard a rustling in the covers. “Father?” Paul sounded confused and still half asleep. “What are you doing here?”

  “Are you kidding me?” the man shouted. “I find you in bed with a man old enough to be me and you want to know what I’m doing?”

  I held in a laugh at the thought that I was old enough to be Paul’s father, but guessed that correcting him to old enough to be his ancient ancestor wasn’t really going to help. Still, when he tried to step closer to the bed, I stepped with him, blocking his path.

  “Get out of my way, you fucking pervert!” Paul’s father shouted. “I’m taking my son with me now!”

  No! No! No!

  The terror emanating from Paul at his father’s declaration distracted me and it took a moment for the chant of no to register as more than background noise. Spinning around, I stared at Paul in open-mouthed amazement as I tried to remember how many hundreds of years it had been since I had heard another being in my mind.

  Unsure if he could hear me in response, I focused on broadcasting my thoughts anyway. Try to relax. He’s not taking you anywhere, but you’ll have to trust me.

  Paul’s eyes widened and I realized he actually had heard me. At his slight nod, I turned back to his father.

  “Paul is under my protection,” I said with deliberate calm. “You won’t be taking him anywhere.”

  “I..what?” The man all but roared. “What does he need protection from? What the fuck is that about? Who are you?”

  Behind me, Paul’s distress level was rapidly dropping and I heard a faint yawn followed by a sigh. “Please don’t swear, Father. Sylas doesn’t like it.”

  And that, in case anyone was wondering, was when the manure really hit the fan.

  Chapter Five

  Paul

  When I first woke up and found myself facing Sylas’s backside, naked except for a pair of skintight black boxer briefs covering his butt as he faced down my bellowing father, there was a split second when I thought I was dreaming and not in a good way. Of course, once I woke up and realized it was real and my father was threatening to haul me away, things promptly got much, much worse.

  Remembering all too well the abuse he’d heaped on me the last time I had refused to cooperate, I bit down on my tongue to keep my mouth shut, silently screaming no! in my mind. To my absolute shock, a calm, soothing voice -Sylas’s voice- came in response, assuring me that I was safe and urging me to try and calm down. Truthfully, I was so shocked that I promptly forgot I was scared.

  “Now,” I heard Sylas say firmly, his voice steely. “You are intruding and I am asking you to leave.”

  The incredulous look on my father’s face had me fighting back a fit of giggles. No one but no one talked to the Senator from Texas like that. Except, apparently, the nearly naked Alpha who was braced between us.

  My father wasn’t a small man by any means, nor was he unwilling to use violence to get his way. I drew in a sharp breath as he raised one fist and took a threatening step toward Sylas but my protector gave a sound that I almost thought was an amused snort and my father froze, slowly dropping his fist and letting his fingers unclench as his face turned an unhealthy shade of red.

  He stumbled backward, reaching for the doorknob with the hand behind him, his face still tomato red. “The Director will hear about this,” he hissed unpleasantly. “The police will, too!”

  Backing out the door, he turned and ran. Sylas stepped over to reclose the door, taking care to lock it before turning concerned eyes on me.

  “Paul? Are you okay?”

  I shook my head with a small laugh. “I don’t even know. Am I still sleeping?”

  Sylas cracked a smile and walked over to sit beside me, apparently oblivious to our near-naked state. “I take it that that was your sire?”

  I sighed. “My father, yes.” Once the adrenaline began to wear off,
fear set in. “Sylas, you should probably go before he gets back with the police. He’s not a good person to piss off.” I forced a laugh. “There’s a good chance that he’ll blame you when he finds out I’m pregnant and try to ruin your life.” I groaned.

  Instead of grabbing for his clothes, Sylas just shook his head. “He’s welcome to try. He never even asked if you were okay.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, that’s kind of how it is. He usually pretends I don’t exist so I don’t know why he was even here.” Except, I probably did. “Unless he wants more money.”

  Sylas’s brow crept up. “Excuse me?”

  “You really should go,” I reminded him. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”

  “I’m not leaving you to deal with him unless that’s really what you want,” Sylas said firmly. “You seemed frightened of him and he didn’t seem concerned about your wellbeing.”

  “Really?” I blinked. “You would really stay and help me?”

  “I will,” Sylas said with a warm smile. “Now, we should have a few minutes. Why don’t you give me the story?”

  Blowing out a breath, I slid out from the covers and walked over to the dresser for some clothes. If I was going to be committed, it wasn’t going to be in my undies. “It’s not a great story,” I warned. “He’s been a United States Senator for over thirty years. Twenty-two years ago, he had an affair with my Dad, the one who raised me.”

  I pulled a soft t-shirt over my head and reached for my skinny jeans with a dry laugh. “Turns out that he’s an ABO denier.” At Sylas’s blank look, I explained. “Someone who thinks Alphas, Betas, and Omegas aren’t real? Just a way to drain resources from the regular people?”

  “Weird but okay,” Sylas muttered.

  I nodded. “Anyway, since he doesn’t believe Omegas are real, he also didn’t believe he could get his boyfriend pregnant.”

  “Let me guess,” Sylas said dryly. “He was wrong?”

  I snorted a laugh. “A little bit. Anyway, apparently he paid support to my Dad, but kept me a secret from everyone. I didn’t even know who he was until I was fifteen and my Dad was killed in a car accident.”