Gods, Arius, where are you? Closing her eyes against the image of the huge Alpha lounging in the chair, his ankle resting on his knee, his robe parted to reveal the threatening, shadowy depths beyond, she felt her fingers clench, frozen, on the hem of her top. I can’t do this. I can’t—
“For fuck’s sake!”
It all happened so fast. His musky scent was suddenly overpowering her, then a great tearing sound rent the air and she felt the whisper of a chill as her breasts were exposed. Within seconds, her skirt met the same fate.
Standing in the ragged pile of her torn clothing, Saskia felt the color rise to her cheeks and her hands moved instinctively to cover herself. She couldn’t have opened her eyes if her life depended on it.
“There! That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
She was unable to suppress the flinch as his huge paws began to roam over her naked body, batting her hands aside, gripping her buttocks, squeezing her nipples, sliding down to cup her sex.
“Look at me,” he growled, and he sounded so like Arius that she opened her eyes without thinking. Then, unable to bear the revolting leer on his face, she closed them again.
The second slap across her face hurt even more than the first. Tears of pain filled her eyes and her cheek felt like it had been set alight.
When Arius finds out, you’re a dead man. The thought was strangely comforting.
“In case you’re hoping to be rescued by your ex future mate, you’re in for a disappointment,” Deimos said.
She opened her eyes, glaring at him, trying to ascertain whether he was telling the truth.
“You didn’t really think I’d be so stupid as to have you brought here without… taking care of him first, did you?” He gave a bark of laughter.
“What did you do to him?”
“Let’s just say he won’t be coming to your rescue any time soon.”
It was as if someone had switched the lights out. All the fight went out of her, along with the hope. Instead, a bolt of anguish punched her heart with such force, she almost dropped to her knees. “What do you mean?” she said in a broken whisper.
“I mean,” he said, placing both hands on her shoulders and steering her towards the nearby bed, “that you belong to me now, little Omega.”
It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be happening. Arius was huge, powerful, younger and stronger than his uncle. Not to mention they were family. Arius was his heir. Surely not even Deimos would be mad enough to get rid of his only heir without first ensuring he had a replacement?
Numb with the overwhelming sense of loss, Saskia didn’t resist as she was pushed down onto the mattress. She was only vaguely aware of Deimos’s hands gripping her ankles and tugging her legs apart.
Dead? Arius… dead? A vivid image of his face, lit up with that rare, infectious smile he had, rose unbidden in her mind and this time, she was unable to prevent the tears as they started to slip from her lashes.
True, she hadn’t wanted to be his at first, had resented him for his power, for his sense of entitlement, for so many things… but the thought of losing him now, after she’d grown used to feeling his arms around her, his scent surrounding her, the way his beard tickled her skin, the look in his silver eyes when he was inside her, his purr…
Gods, his purr. She would give anything to hear him purr again.
“Fuck!” Deimos’s harsh voice tore her back to the present and she realized he was on top of her on the bed, naked, she was naked, he was…
“Fuck!” It was a shout this time, and she saw he was tugging ineffectually at his cock, which dangled limply between his legs like an overcooked noodle.
“I don’t understand,” he said, apparently to himself. “I’m in rut. This shouldn’t be…” He caught her looking at him and immediately his expression turned icy. “This is your fault,” he snarled. “Lying there like a fucking doll, crying like a fucking newborn. How’s a man supposed to be aroused by that?”
Saskia lay there, frozen, unsure what to do, too scared to even blink.
Deimos plunged two fingers inside her and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying out.
“Gods, you’re not even fucking wet! Where’s your slick? You’re supposed to be in estrus! You smell like you’re in fucking estrus!”
She let out a startled cry as he buried his face between her legs and inhaled deeply, his tongue slithering over her private parts.
It didn’t feel good. It felt disgusting, and she forgot herself, gripping his head and trying to push it away. “Stop that!” she cried, writhing to get away from him until a resounding slap on the top of her thigh stopped her in her tracks.
“I swear to all the gods, if you don’t keep still, I will call Cerus back in here and have him hold you down,” he snarled.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him whether he wanted the servant to witness his humiliation but she didn’t want to goad him so she stopped struggling.
Thankfully, he had apparently lost interest in licking her and reared up again, staring down at her with an odd expression on his face. She winced as he removed his fingers from her dry sex with a sharp tug.
“It’s the wine,” he said. “Too much fucking wine.”
Saskia could have wept with relief. If he couldn’t mate with her, he would surely sleep. And while he slept, she could think about what to do next.
She’d escape somehow. And then she’d…
A thought occurred to her.
“How did you do it?” she said.
“What?” Deimos had resumed stroking his soft cock.
“How did you kill him?”
“Kill who?” he said distractedly. Then realization dawned and his hand stilled.
“Arius. He’s not dead, is he?”
“Dead?” Deimos looked genuinely confused. “I never said—”
The relief was like a sucker-punch to the gut. It was soon followed by a white-hot fury unlike anything Saskia had ever experienced before. “You bastard!” Launching herself at him, she took him by surprise and he toppled backwards off the bed, taking her down with him. Beside herself with hatred, she slapped his face, his head, anywhere she could reach, raking her nails into his skin. “You fucking bastard! You let me believe you’d killed him!”
“Cerus!” Deimos roared, raising his arms to protect his face.
Saskia took the opportunity and gripped the soft, dangling flesh between his legs, digging her fingernails into the sensitive skin and pulling and twisting with all her might.
With a bellowing roar of pain, Deimos threw her off him just as the door flew open and Cerus came running in. “Sire?”
Saskia had rolled to one side and as soon as Cerus bent down to assess his king, she took her opportunity. Fueled by adrenaline and rage, as well as a desperate desire to see Arius, to make sure he was all right, she scrambled to her feet, and ran.
Chapter Twelve
Arius had kicked open countless doors, swept through countless rooms, stalked down seemingly miles of hallways, and still there was no sign of his mate.
For all he knew, it was too late, and Deimos had not only mated with Saskia, but claimed her as his. He thanked the gods he’d ensured she got the tattoo and prayed Deimos wouldn’t notice it was still healing. No matter what else, as long as she was alive…
This is what you get for being good, he thought savagely as he slammed yet another apartment door closed behind him. For doing things by the book. For being fucking nice.
He should have sunk his teeth into Saskia’s neck the night he’d first found her, protocol be damned. He should have put a bullet in his uncle’s head the first time he’d tried to take Saskia.
She’s mine.
Images of her pale, naked body jerking helplessly while his uncle rutted vigorously on top of her made the bile rise up in his throat.
And what the hell had Cerus been thinking? Arius had trusted him with his life. With Saskia’s life. He wondered whether Cerus had somehow prevented Deimos from ingesting th
e suppressants, and cursed himself for entrusting Cerus with the task of spiking his uncle’s wine. He should have asked Tavos to handle it.
Then again, there had never been any disagreement, any indication that Cerus might switch loyalties. Arius wondered what Deimos had offered the man in return for his betrayal.
Unable to think of any other vacant apartments in the east wing, he headed back down to the ground floor. His phone buzzed as soon as he exited the elevator. It was Tavos.
“We’ve found her, Sire.”
“Is she all right?”
“Shaken, but yes. I’m taking her to your apartment now.”
Arius almost dropped to his knees with relief. “Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”
Part of him wanted to find Deimos and vent his rage right away, but his desire to see his mate with his own eyes, to make sure she was genuinely unharmed, was stronger.
The walk back to his place had never seemed so long.
Bursting through the door, he was greeted by the sight of Tavos busily trying to light the fire while Saskia sat, shivering, in the armchair, huddled in a blanket.
“My little darling.” In a flash, Arius was by her side, the purr rising up from his chest automatically as he pulled her into his arms and cradled her against him.
She sank into him, muttered, “Thank the gods,” and burst into noisy sobs.
Arius continued to purr, horrified at the way she was trembling, furious to discover she was completely naked under the blanket.
Tavos, having successfully started the fire, met Arius’s gaze. “I’ll wait outside,” he said quietly and closed the door behind him.
For a long while, they clung to each other, with Arius comforting Saskia the way Alphas had comforted Omegas since the very beginning.
Arius was desperate to find out what had happened.
Another part of him didn’t want to know.
Saskia was the first to speak, once the worst of her shuddering had died down and she was all cried out. “D-Deimos,” she croaked, then cleared her throat. “He told me… he said you were dead.”
While all his instincts screamed for him to roar and rage before going on a rampage to tear his uncle limb from limb, Arius knew he needed to remain calm—outwardly, at least—and listen to everything Saskia had to say.
“I was in the gardens, with Cerus, like we agreed,” she went on. “Then Cerus suddenly said we had to go. I thought it was on your orders, at first, I thought your uncle was on his way down. But I soon realized we weren’t coming back here. Cerus betrayed you. He betrayed us.”
Arius stroked her hair, still purring softly, noting the warmth that spread through his chest at her first ever mention of them as a unit. Us. It had a nice ring to it.
“D-Deimos wanted to… well, finish what he started, he said, but when it came down to it, he couldn’t do the deed. He claims to be in rut but he stayed soft. I took the opportunity to fight him off and then I ran. I must have been in shock because I was going the wrong way, I think, but then Tavos spotted me and brought me back here.” She took a deep breath. “Arius, I’m so sorry.”
He was incredulous. “Sorry for what?”
“You said it was dangerous to go out before you’d officially claimed me. I was so desperate to get out from these four walls that I wore you down. So this is all my fault…”
She trailed off as her voice broke, and buried her face in his shirt.
Arius tightened his hold on her. “Hush, little darling, this isn’t your fault. Cerus deceived us. Deimos is insane. The main thing is that you’re all right.”
“Gods,” she cried, “when I thought you were… Arius, I couldn’t bear it!”
Trying not to dwell on that statement—on the ridiculous joy her words caused to bubble up inside him despite his anger—he kissed the top of her head, inhaling her soft scent. “He was lying, pet. I’m fine. As you can see. And I’m so very proud of you.”
Leaning back, she looked up at him. Her aquamarine eyes were rimmed with scarlet and blurred with tears. Her nose was red and she was deathly pale, her hair disheveled. Arius thought he’d never seen her look so beautiful. “Proud of me? Why?”
“You fought him off! You escaped.”
A shy smile spread across her lips. “I did.” Then she frowned. “What are we going to do about him?”
“You leave that to me,” he said, pulling her to his chest once again. “I’ll sort it out. In the meantime, what do you need?”
She shuddered. “A long, hot bath. I want to feel warm and clean again. I feel so dirty.”
As little as Arius wanted to think about it, he had to know. “When Deimos was… when he was unable to perform, what did he say?”
Saskia gave a hollow chuckle. “That it must be the wine.”
Obviously, the suppressants had worked. Arius had deliberately kept that little plan from his mate, not wanting her to believe the danger had passed in case it hadn’t. Thank the gods for Tavos. At least his loyalty could still be relied on. Arius made a mental note to find some way to reward the man, once all this was over.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand and leading her to the bathroom. “Let’s get you warmed up and clean.”
A short while later, Arius left Saskia soaking in a hot bath. While he was loath to leave her alone again so soon after her ordeal, he knew what he had to do couldn’t wait.
“Tavos,” he said as soon as he opened the front door.
“Sire?”
“I wanted to thank you. For everything.”
The man flushed, his scarlet cheeks clashing with his hair. “Just doing my job.”
“The suppressants worked. Saskia is…” A lump rose in Arius’s throat and he swallowed past it, clenching his fists. “In any case, things could have been a lot worse.”
Tavos glanced down and Arius realized he was eyeing the gun still tucked into his waistband.
“I need to go and deal with this matter once and for all,” Arius went on. “Please ensure Saskia remains inside until I return.”
“Sire—” Tavos began, then stopped, obviously censoring what he’d been about to say.
“Yes, Tavos?”
“Be careful.”
Arius barked a bitter laugh. “I will.” He motioned with his head, indicating the door. “Guard her with your life, as I know you will.”
“Of course, Sire.”
“Good man.” Arius strode away, his heart sinking at the thought of what he was about to do. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he thought about it, he knew he had no other choice.
As Arius had suspected, Deimos was back in his own royal suite. Now that Saskia had escaped, his uncle had no more reason to hide.
Or so he thinks, Arius reflected sourly as he shoved open the door to Deimos’s apartment. After all, he had given his uncle every reason to believe he wouldn’t act against him, even after a crime as heinous as trying to steal his mate.
A quick scan of the room revealed it was empty. Good. Fewer witnesses.
“There he is! My favorite nephew.” Deimos’s grin was too broad, too forced, as he emerged from an adjoining room. “Have you come to gloat?”
“Where’s Cerus?” Arius said tightly.
“I sent him to get something for me. He’ll be back shortly.”
“I see.” Arius took a deep breath. Then he marched straight up to his uncle and punched him full in the face, relishing the sick sound of crunching cartilage as his fist connected with Deimos’s nose. “That’s for trying to rape my mate.”
Deimos staggered back, cupping his face, trying ineffectually to stem the sudden spurt of blood gushing from his nostrils. “You little prick! You haven’t even claimed her yet! Besides,” he wiped his chin with the back of his hand and straightened, an oddly triumphant expression taking over his face, “she wanted it. Told me you couldn’t satisfy her. Told me she wanted the king, not his pathetic nephew.”
It took every shred of self-control Arius had not to punch his uncle again bu
t instead he played it cool. “I know you’re jealous of me,” he said slowly. “Frankly, I’m not surprised. I’m younger, stronger, and your subjects would prefer to be ruled by me. Not to mention I’ve found my Omega. I will sire heirs and go on to rule Sandor like a true king after you failed so miserably.”
Deimos’s eyes were wide, incredulous. All trace of self-righteousness had vanished, to be replaced by the expression of one who was being hit with an unwanted truth.
Arius reveled in it.
“Besides,” he went on casually, “even with an uninterrupted attempt, you were unable to successfully mate with her. A beautiful young Omega in heat, lying helpless in your bed, and you couldn’t even get it up! Pathetic old, sad fuck that you are.”
Deimos was trembling now, shock giving way to rage on his hard features.
Arius took a step towards him. “How did it feel, being unable to perform your most primal, basest instinct as an Alpha?” He gave a derisive snort. “In rut, no less, with a lovely naked girl completely at your mercy, and your sad, limp little doodle wouldn’t play along? I bet that was incredibly frustrating.” Another step closer.
Deimos continued to stare, his face strangely ashen, his mouth working soundlessly, the blood from his smashed nose still dripping from his chin.
“And how would you feel if I told you that I was the cause of that? The cause of probably one of the most humiliating experiences of your life? That I arranged for your wine to be spiked with suppressants to ensure that you were no more physically capable of mating with any woman than you were capable of growing a set of horns?”
With a tortured roar, Deimos launched himself at Arius. “I’ll fucking kill—”
His hand completely steady despite his pounding heart, Arius raised his gun, and fired.
The bullet hit Deimos point blank in the chest. For a nanosecond, he looked at his nephew with a storm of disbelief raging in his eyes. Then he sank to his knees.
“I’m sorry, Uncle. I didn’t want it to come to this. But you left me no choice.”
Primal Possession: A dark Omegaverse Romance (Alphas of Sandor Book 1) Page 12
