Claimed by the Alpha

by Laxmi Hariharan

  All my instincts go on alert. The hair on my nape rises. I hadn’t considered until now that Kayden might be working with someone else.

  Fear twists my guts. More than ever, I need to find her and get her out of there. Now.

  I draw in a deep breath, scenting the woodsy air. The smell of eucalyptus and rotting vegetation hangs heavy. Laced with it is that honeyed smell of my omega. I growl in my throat.

  A sense of sheer possession overwhelms me. And anger, so much rage. She knew I’d knot her, had anticipated I would mate her, and she had played me every step of the way. Challenging me, provoking me, making me want her until it wasn’t enough to crave her body. I needed her essence in me, and I had broken everything I’d stood for.

  I’d forgotten about completing the revenge on Golan by destroying all trace of my inheritance, wiping out the ruling classes, defeating my half brother…I had forgotten the need for revenge that had kept me going so far.

  When I am with her, all I can think, scent, feel is that skin, those lips, the scrape of her teeth on my dick as she swallows me whole. My cock throbs in response, and I don’t clamp down my desire. Not my temper either. Instead, I dive into it and yank it up over myself. I use it as a shield, for I am not carrying any weapons.

  Remaining in the shadows, I run through the trees. The wind has died down, and the leaves are still.

  When I reach the tower in the center of the island, I don’t slow. I break away from the trees and race to the entrance.

  The first guard sees me. His gaze widens, but before he can reach his weapon, I kick out, catching him in the throat. He crumples to the ground.

  I swing around and slam my fist up and into the chin of the second guard.

  That one goes flying back, hits the side of the tower, and then his body sags to the ground. The thump from the crash echoes through the space.

  Racing forward, I slip in through the entrance. I lunge up the winding staircase and keep going, up the winding steps. When I round the next corner, that aromatic rose-and-honey scent of my omega bursts over me.

  I follow it, keep running all the way up, through the door at the top floor. When I push on it, it swings open. Well, no surprise there. It’s a trap, but they’ve underestimated the fury of the beast who’s taken the bait. I step through the double doors. Moonlight flows in through the windows that cover the walls of the turret. And there in the center, laid out on a bed, I see her.

  Her rich, dark-red hair ripples over the white sheets. Her arms are folded over her stomach. The white of her face glistens in the moonlight. She looks untouched, almost virginal, which she isn’t. I’d taken her, and mated her, and then she’d betrayed me. A growl rumbles up from my throat.

  She stirs, and I forget to breathe.

  Turning over on her side, she flings out an arm. Her tunic parts to expose a creamy thigh. The neckline is deep enough to cling to the tops of her breasts.

  Her nipples peek through the almost translucent fabric.

  Has she been laid out there precisely to lure me in? Every instinct inside me screams to get out of here. The hair on my forearms rises, and a pulse thuds to life at my temples, at my jaw, even in my fucking balls.

  My body insists there’s only one way out.

  To go to her, take her, knot her now, and claim her all over again.

  My vision closes until all I can see is her.

  Only when I find myself standing next to her do I realize that I have crossed the floor.

  Above us, lightning splits the sky, illuminating the entire place in relief. It brings out the hollows under her cheekbones, the purple rings beneath her eyes. She murmurs and moves restlessly, then turns on her back again.

  The white wraparound tunic parts all the way down to show the shadowed valley between her thighs. The scent of her slickness bleeds into the air.

  My shoulders bunch.

  Her hips twitch, and she rubs her thighs together.

  My mouth goes dry.

  Her chest heaves, and a mewl spills from her lips.

  She knows I am here. Her subconscious senses my presence, and her body is putting on a show. Only for me.

  I try to take a step forward and find I can’t. My feet seem to be stuck to the floor.

  She flings an arm up over her head, and one nipple pops up over the neckline.

  My balls tighten, and a groan catches in my throat. I can’t take my gaze off her.

  She moans, and her lips form my name. “Zeus,” she whispers under her breath.

  My heart stutters. Even in sleep she calls to me.

  Lightning bursts in the distance; thunder rolls. Her eyes are shut, but her eyeballs move behind her closed eyelids. She’s dreaming of me. She wants me.

  She moves her head, and I see the bandage on the side of the throat over the claiming mark.

  The bastard shot her.

  The bullet had gone through me and nicked her, right over where I had claimed her. I clench my teeth so hard that my jaw snaps. Blind fury grips me. The fucker hurt her. He put her in danger. He used her to get to me, and he is going to keep doing it again and again. I have to get her out of here. But I need to touch her first.

  I lean over her, and she parts her thighs. Her hand slips down her waist to the triangle between her legs.

  She weaves her fingers through her glistening folds, then thrusts two of the digits into her cunt, and fucks herself.

  The scent of her, that sugary sweetness of her is all around me. Sweat drips down my spine. I wait, frozen, undecided. Knowing I need to get her out of here. Knowing I can’t yet…not without making sure I have claimed her once more, so that my scent is on her, and I’ve marked her as mine. That primal part of me prowls to the fore.

  “Alpha…” The breath trembles out of her, and she wriggles her hips.

  Fuck this, I must have her. Now.

  Something inside me snaps. Everything that is human and decent, which is not much to begin with—but whatever it is that this omega had sensed—that halfway empathetic part of me gives way.

  The monster in me roars forth, the one that had not hesitated to kill to protect my mother, that had throttled my father. Heat sweeps over me, and my mind empties. Placing one knee on the bed I swing my other over her hips, then lean forward.

  There’s a clap of thunder, and her eyes fly open.

  17

  Lucy

  I see his big body hulked over me.

  His massive shoulders are silhouetted against the glass roof, and the lightning that tears through the sky is reflected in the silver of his blue eyes.

  His hair cascades behind him.

  His chest muscles ripple under the black that he is wearing. The material clings to him, tracing every groove, every hard plane of his chest. It sweeps down to dip in at his concave waist.

  The hard rod of his arousal strains at the front of his pants. Precum dampens the material over his crotch.

  My mouth waters. My throat closes.

  That deep, burned pinewood scent of his pours over me and bleeds into my veins. His purr draws at my nerves and my sex puckers with need. The tang of his arousal teases me. My stomach flutters.

  I snake out my hand and grip his rigid cock through his pants.

  His groin goes solid; his thigh muscles twitch.

  With the fingers of my other hand, I continue to fuck myself.

  His dick throbs in my palm. I am not dreaming. He is here. Real and alive and oh, so vital. My breath hitches.

  “No screaming then, Omega?” He bares his teeth.

  I squeeze his shaft, and his chest heaves.

  Oh, he likes that. I bite my lower lip.

  A pulse ticks at his jaw. He pries my hand off his crotch and shackles my wrist over my head. Then he yanks the fingers of my other hand out of my pussy. He raises them to his lips and sucks on them.

  The sensation of his tongue on my skin sends goosebumps flaring down my arm. I shiver; my core trembles. Every part of my skin seems to come alive with anticipation. My
nerve endings stretch until I am sure I am going to scream with the tension building between us.

  His nostrils flare, and those blue eyes blaze with lust and with some other emotions I can’t quite name.

  I raise my gaze to meet his and open my mouth. He releases my wrist, then swoops down to wrap his fingers around my throat.

  “You don’t get to speak. You lost that privilege when you betrayed me. I trusted you once, but never again.”

  His breath is hot on my cheek, like a lover’s kiss, except it isn’t. He’s the Devil, here to ruin me, and heaven help me if I don’t want him to.

  I try to speak once more, but his hold on my neck tightens. His eyes narrow. The skin around his eyes stretches.

  Hatred and loathing roll off him and overwhelm me.

  I stare at him and drink in his features: that patrician nose, that strong jaw, that beautiful neck. All of it pleases me and scares me. I’m so afraid of what he’s going to do next. I need whatever he has planned for my body. Every touch, every nibble, every flicker of heat, of pain, I want it all.

  He shoves one massive thigh between mine, then the other.

  A dense cloud of heat spools off him. It crashes into my chest and pins me down.

  He forces his bulk between my legs, spreading them wide apart. The rough material of his pants chafes over my inner thighs.

  My pulse rate ratchets up, and my belly quivers. More slick streams from my channel.

  His nostrils flare. “Does the threat of violence turn you on, little squirrel?”

  Yes. No. His blue eyes hold me in thrall. Emotions bubble up and stick in my chest.

  He peels back his lips. “By the time I am done with you, you’ll never want to see me again. You’ll loathe the day you set foot in my stronghold.”

  No, no, no. He got this all wrong. I want him, but not with hate. I want more. I want all of him. His heart. His soul. His very essence. I try to tell him that, but he increases the pressure on my throat, and I can’t get the words out.

  His gaze narrows.

  He releases my other arm, then lowers his zipper. His cock springs free. Massive. Throbbing. Erect.

  My heart hammers. Not like this. Don’t. I must have made some noise despite the iron hold around my throat. Or maybe it’s the panic in my eyes, or the pleading I pour down the bond at him. I am not even sure if he will receive my intent, but he must sense something, for he slows down.

  Just enough to press his chest to mine so every part of his torso covers my much smaller body. Then he purrs. The sound sweeps out of him and pours over me, into me, heating me, enveloping me in that sheer ‘Zeus’ essence.

  Warmth surges up from my heels, swelling over my body. Every part of my skin seems to ignite.

  My core throbs, and slick gushes forth. My head rocks back against the pillows, and I can’t stop the whine that dribbles out of me.

  “So needy, so wanting. So fucking responsive.” His eyes darken, going that deep indigo, which I know means he is going to… He plunges his hardness into me.

  A scream peels up my chest only to be caged in my throat.

  He spears me, slamming home in a way that’s meant to hurt. He is my dominant, my master, and all I can do is thrash in his embrace.

  Still, he made sure I was moist enough and wanting enough that there is no pain.

  He pulls all the way out, then rams into me again. His balls slap against my flesh. White pleasure sweeps through me, and he does it again; the waves build with each thrust. I dig my fingernails into his forearm for purchase.

  The need to punish leaps off him. This is different from how he’d mated me in his stronghold. Even then I'd sensed a restraint to him. This is different. This is an alpha rutting an omega, aiming to punish, to make me hate him as much as I hate myself now. He’s right. By the time he’s done, there will be nothing left of me to give him. No love, no need, nothing but the tatters of my pride and my shame at wanting this alpha so much.

  I stretch out my hand, yearning for something more. Needing to connect with him on another level.

  He weaves his fingers with mine, then draws my hand to the side and pins it there. He lunges into my wet pulsing channel and his dick penetrates all the way in. My entire body shudders from the impact. Every single ridge of his turgid flesh leaves its imprint on the weeping walls of my pussy. Intense heat screams out from my core. My hips strain to get closer to him. My spine arches; my shoulder blades dig into the mattress.

  He holds my gaze and thrusts one more time. His throbbing dick slides in impossibly deep sinking into that very secret core of me. He hooks me behind my pelvic bone even as the root of his shaft expands and his knot slots into place locking me to him.

  A nerve beats at his temple. Sweat drips down his throat and plops onto my chest. “Come for me.” His growl sweeps over my skin and on its heels my climax surges up jolting over my legs. My thighs spasm; my stomach tightens. My entire body stiffens then shatters as waves of red and white crash over me.

  His chest planes go solid, and the tendons of his throat flex. He swoops down and bites my shoulder on the unmarked side.

  I fling my head back and open my mouth to scream. He slides the hand that was around my neck, to my lips to smother the sound. I bite down on his palm and taste copper.

  He doesn’t flinch.

  He raises his head, and blood streaks his chin. My blood. He takes his hand off my mouth. “Welcome home, Omega. Your nightmare has begun.”

  A pressure builds behind my eyeballs, and my head spins. “I don’t believe you. You are not a callous man.”

  “I took you without your submission.” His voice is harsh.

  “We took each other.” I lick my lips, tasting him.

  His eyes blaze; a pulse ticks at his jaw.

  My heart stutters, and everything inside me shrivels. Still I don’t lower my gaze. I need to hold my own. I cannot give in, not yet, not until I’ve figured out how to set things right.

  “Semantics.” He grabs the base of his shaft, squeezing it until the last streams of cum shoot inside me, enough for his knot to loosen. He slides out with a wet plop, and his seed streams down my thighs.

  I want him to take it and mark me, to rub it all over me and tell me I am his. I wait…wait for him to do just that.

  Maybe he senses my emotions, for his eyes widen, and he leans in close enough for his lips to almost touch mine. Almost. He bares his teeth. “Fooled you.”

  He pushes back and springs off the bed, then zips up his pants.

  All the heat seems to be sucked out from my body. I shiver, then wrap my arms around myself. I want to scream at him. I have to tell him he’s got everything wrong, but the words stick in my throat. I try to sit up, but my hands refuse to support me.

  He grabs my waist, then hauls me up and off the mattress. His movements are abrupt, yet his touch is gentle.

  He places me on my feet. I stumble, and he rights me, then steps back.

  The remnants of our coupling ooze down my leg.

  He reaches for me again, and I want to flinch. I want to but I don’t. I hold his gaze as he rips the tunic off me and flings it at me.

  “Clean yourself up.”

  18

  Zeus

  The hurt in her face guts me, and I cannot understand my reaction. She doesn’t mean anything to me. She doesn’t.

  She’s the omega who had swept into my stronghold, and I had taken her as any alpha would.

  She fought me, and I mated her.

  She betrayed me, and I…let her down, too.

  I went against that trust she’d placed in me, and I rammed into her, as is my wont.

  That’s all an omega is good for, to breed, to be knotted and filled with spawn to level up the declining population.

  The thought of her heavy with my child sends a primal wave of lust surging through me. Close on its heels is a compelling need to protect her. To keep her safe. I’ll never give her my heart, or the complete possession of my body, but I’ll keep her
safe.

  I’ll keep her in my sight always. She will never escape again.

  I cross the floor to the closet in the corner of the room and pull it open. Taking hold of another of those tunics similar to the one she’d been dressed in, I stride back to her then hand it over.

  Without giving her a chance to speak, I stalk to the door and shove it open. I don’t need to turn to know she’s on my heels.

  The heat of her body flows over me, and once again I am struck by how tiny she is.

  My little squirrel must be caged and protected at all costs.

  I race down the steps, and she is at my heels. Her bare feet slap against the tiles. Her soles will hurt when we run through the stones and the muddy ground outside, and the rain will soak her skin. I refuse to let it stop me. Why is it that the thought of her hurt twists my guts? She’s nothing to me. Nothing.

  Reaching the ground floor, I wrench open the door.

  The rain chooses that moment to pour down. The water flows in gusts, drenching me.

  It’s good, though. It will give us more cover.

  I march out.

  She follows me, and I hear her feet skid on the slippery ground. My heart lurches. She rights herself, and the breath I’d not been aware of holding rushes out.

  I will not turn to help her along. I will keep going, keep my head bent, gaze at the tree line on the other side. I glance over my shoulder to find she is lagging behind. Her clothes are damp from the rain, and the mud flies up in her wake to splatter on her dress. Her feet will be bruised and cut at this rate.

  I reach the tree line then hunch over and jerk my chin at her. “Up.”

  “What?” She frowns.

  “Didn’t you hear me?” I grit my teeth. “You are slowing me down, woman. Get up on my back so I can give you a ride.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest. “I can leave here on my own two feet, thank you very much.”