Owned by the Alpha

by Laxmi Hariharan

His gaze follows the move, his eyes hooded. The cords of his throat ripple.

  “You think you can make me lose my control, and rut you like the beast I am?” His voice shivers over my skin. “You thought right.”

  A hoarse growl rumbles up his chest and pours out over me, tugging my nerves, heating my blood. All the pores of my skin seem to open to absorb every bit of that sound. To roll around in it and revel in it.

  “What…what are you trying to say?” I try to form the thoughts in my mind into words, and come up empty.

  I’ve been reduced to this mass of sensations, coming to life at the points where my skin meets his.

  Where that rough sound of his purring throbs through me, heading straight to my belly.

  My thighs tremble, and a burst of slick slides out from between them. The scent of my arousal grows heavy, and I don’t want to hide it from him. If anything, I revel in how tuned in to him I am. How my body reacts to every nuance of his tone. I reach for the mating cord nestled under my breastbone and pulse heat through it—my thoughts, my needs, what I want him to do to me, all of it I shove at him, hoping, praying that it will infiltrate whatever barrier he’s placed between us.

  An answering surge of want spills down the bond and hits me square in the chest. I gasp and look up at him.

  He’s already striding to the door, his jaw clenched. Those blue eyes focused on the task ahead.

  “Alpha…” The word spills from my lips, and I am not sure what I want to say next.

  “Quiet.” His voice has an edge that I have never heard before. Rough, threatening, as if something inside of him has snapped.

  Anticipation stretches my nerves.

  He steps into the space outside of the warehouse. The cool air rushes over my skin, and I shiver.

  It’s been more than a month since I came here to London, since I tried to kill him, and the weather has turned.

  Overnight, the chill had crept in, rain falling steadily throughout the night and day. It’s only a matter of days before the snow arrives. With climate change, the once temperate weather of this place has been pushed to an extreme summer and winter, merging into each other and yet distinct. Like me and him. Same and yet apart. Alike and so different. And now…our fates are wound together—our children have made sure of that. My skin puckers.

  Another purr growls up his throat.

  “How do you do that?”

  “What?”

  “Modulate the sound of your purr so it seems to break out of your vocal cords, then snake around me in a hail of protection, and then you wrap me up in the notes and pull me close and soothe me and turn me on all at once.”

  His steps slow, and he looks down at me.

  His blue eyes are lit from inside as if there’s an inner fire that’s burst to life. “That was almost poetic, Squirrel.”

  One side of his lips curls in that smirk that I have missed and wanted to see so much. I reach up a finger and trace the outline of that luscious, beautiful lower lip.

  He angles his head, and my fingers miss his mouth to slip down over his chin.

  My chest squeezes.

  Apparently, he doesn’t like me touching him—yet. And he doesn’t want to answer my question, not that he needs to. He seems to know exactly what I want, what my body needs. He’s always known what to do on a physical level. Emotionally…well, we have an unseen cord that binds us, and the children in my womb who will soon be the evidence of what we share, a passion, a chemistry that is more than just the need to rut that takes over between an alpha and an omega in heat.

  It isn’t much, but perhaps it’s enough to build something, a semblance of a relationship between us. If that’s all I can get, well, then so be it. I am not going to shy away from it. I am going to use his physical need for me as a starting point.

  I pull back and flatten my fingers over his chest.

  He presses me closer, then picks up the pace.

  The lush gardens, the pool with the fountain in the center, all of it rushes by. He sweeps past the guards, into the stronghold, and crosses the courtyard where his men are practicing.

  I notice the sounds of fighting, of swords clashing, and swearing. All of it dies down.

  He’s done it on purpose, carrying me away in front of everyone, so that there is no doubt as to who is my owner. I should protest, should be angry, but there’s only this weariness dragging me down. My legs grow heavy, and there’s a band around my chest.

  I am his property. His possession. Only his.

  There is no turning away from the reality of my situation.

  He’s the alpha, I am the omega, and our roles will always come down to this, him taking me, possessing me, rutting me.

  So what if he’d told Ethan that if anything happened to him, he wanted me to take over? He is confident enough of my ability to lead his men in his absence. But when we are together like this, we are just a male and a female. One takes, the other gives. It’s what nature intended, right?

  So why is there a lump of emotion in my throat?

  Why do tears prick the backs of my eyes? Why do I squeeze them shut as he takes the steps two at a time, reaches the landing on the top floor, then stalks down to where his suite—my temporary prison—is?

  He shoulders open the double doors and steps inside the room.

  They slam shut behind us, and it feels…why does it feel like I’ve come home?

  I know what is to come.

  I know he will take me all over again, and this time I want it, and more. I want so much more.

  I want him to tell me again that he loves me, that he sees me as his partner, his mate. I want his trust, his devotion, his everything, and you know what? I won't stop, not until I have it all.

  The world tilts. I bounce on the mattress.

  The bed dips under his weight and he follows me down.

  He shoves his heavily muscled thigh between mine and wrenches my legs apart.

  22

  Zeus

  I lean in over her and her shoulders shudder.

  She seems so tiny, so perfect lying under me. It’s hard to remember sometimes how fragile she is. When she’s angry at me and challenging me, her aura is larger than life, and it always seems that she is taller than her height. I rake my gaze down her breasts, over her stomach that... will soon not be concave anymore, and a primitive need to protect grips me.

  The anger beating at my temples dissolves.

  In its place is a curious need to possess, and so much tenderness. I swallow and try to move but can’t.

  “You can touch me, you know.” Her voice is soft.

  My gaze narrows and my fingers tingle to close the distance and cradle the swell of her stomach.

  It's only a matter of time before she swells with my children. I try to breathe and find my lungs hurt. My children. Will I be able to do right by them, more than what my father did for me?

  My breath catches.

  Why does the thought of bringing two vulnerable lives into this world scare me so? Me, the alpha who's brought down fierce enemies, I have never hesitated to rise to a challenge; but the thought of being responsible for another: an innocent child born of our union, my own flesh and blood... a surge of heat coils in my chest. My throat closes. What if I am not good enough? What if I can't protect these little lives, can't guide them or provide them with everything they deserve? What then? My throat closes, and a nerve jerks to life at my jaw.

  Her forehead furrows. She reaches for my palm and tugs it over her stomach.

  My fingers seem to develop a life of their own and I cup her belly. “Mine.”

  The sound of my own voice is a shock.

  Low, guttural, like nothing I’ve ever heard before. It sounds different, like a man possessed. I am possessed by her…by the possibility of the life we have given form to, by what the future holds for us.

  A dull ache knocks at the backs of my eyes.

  There’s a ball of emotion in my chest that grows and throbs. The mating cord tugs at me
, pulls me down. I flip up her dress, then lower my head and touch my lips to her belly.

  She trembles. “I’ve missed you, Zeus.”

  Her words hit me with the force of a storm. Warmth pools in my chest. My throat closes.

  This, being here with her, in my space, in my bed. This is right. This is where she belongs. This is what I’ve been fighting all along. Everything I have ever wanted is here in front of me. I see it now. I swallow down the lump of emotion in my throat and trail kisses up over the cloth covering her breasts to balance my weight over her. “I am sorry I ignored you, Squirrel.”

  The breath shudders out of her. “Why?” She squeezes her eyes shut. “No, forget I asked, it doesn’t matter. Except—”

  “It does.” I can’t help the smile that curls my lips.

  “Yeah.” She cracks her eyelids open. “Sometimes I wondered if you did it on purpose.”

  “What?” It’s my turn to frown.

  “Shut me up in this suite which is filled with your presence.”

  I tilt my head, knowing what she’s going to say, but wait for her to spell it out.

  “Your scent in this bed, in the mattress, in the air. It’s like every part of you is enmeshed within the bricks in the walls. In the very floorboards, in the clothes you left behind in the closet.” Her gaze moves around the room before alighting back on my face.

  “Now that you mention it, perhaps I did, I wasn’t aware of it though. I don’t overanalyze things, but maybe…subconsciously…” I frown. I am at a loss for words, and that doesn’t happen often, I promise. “I guess I wanted you to ache for me as much as I did for you?”

  “Well, it worked. You starved me of your presence, and now I need you, Zeus. I want you.”

  She rises and flings her arms around me.

  I pause, my shoulders going rock-hard. “The children.”

  “Are safe in my womb.” She drags her tongue over the outer rim of my ear.

  Desire sweeps through me. My dick leaps in response.

  “Perhaps we should wait?” I hesitate.

  “Who are you, and what have you done to Zeus?”

  “He’s fucked, that’s what he is.” I half chuckle then lean back to peer into her eyes. “I haven't come to terms with my reactions to you.”

  “Which are…?” She tilts her head.

  “Half the time I want to keep you safe, hide you away from everyone.” I set my jaw.

  Hearing myself, I realize I sound half out of my head with possessiveness. Exactly how an alpha would behave. Yet, that’s not enough. She deserves more, much more than being treated like just another omega.

  “And the other half?” Her lips part, showing off those white teeth between them.

  Teeth that have nipped and bitten me. My shaft hardens. I want to feel them on me again.

  “The other half of the time…” I lean in close, so our noses bump. “I want to tie you up and fuck you so hard that my knot locks inside of you, with no room to move, and you remember the sensation for days.”

  Spots of color highlight her cheeks. A bead of sweat slides down to pool at the hollow at the base of her throat.

  “I lie actually.”

  “What do you mean?” Her brows draw down.

  “I want to do that to you every time I see you.” My heart stutters. My thighs go solid.

  She flicks out her tongue to touch her lips, and my gaze darts to her mouth. “Wha—" Her voice breaks and she clears her throat. "What else do you want to do to me?”

  Our toes collide; my thighs press into hers. “I want to kiss you senseless, right before I take you, knot you, become one with you, until it’s no longer possible to differentiate where I begin and where you end.”

  Her pupils dilate. The scent of her arousal deepens. “And?

  I lock my gaze with hers. “I won’t stop, not until my skin fuses with yours and our breaths mingle.”

  Her chin trembles, and her head falls back, exposing that delicate neck. Even after the way I’ve ravaged her, how can she seem so pure? So untouched. That primal, possessive part of me wants to roar forward and mess her up again.

  Her chest heaves. “Is that all?”

  My vision narrows on her, and a snarl simmers up my throat. “I’ll drink in your every last groan, every last scream that I wring out of you. I’ll take everything from you and come back for more.”

  23

  Lucy

  His words shudder over my skin. His chest planes rumble as the purr roars out of him. Not soft or modulated, it’s a primal call to mate.

  And my body reacts. My womb spasms, the mating cord in my chest throbs in tandem, and slick flows out from between my legs.

  His nostrils flare. A dense cloud of heat spools off him and slams into my chest. I can’t breathe. Can’t think.

  His gaze locks with mine and those blue eyes darken.

  I am completely enraptured by those concentric orbs of blue that draw me in, by the flares so silver, that burn in the depths of his eyes.

  Something unspoken passes between us.

  Without taking his eyes from mine, he pulls away and steps off the bed.

  Grabbing the bottom of his vest he tears it off of himself. All that glorious muscle and hard planes and angles, covered in skin that is rough enough to chafe over my tender flesh. To bring me to the heights of passion which I suspect I still haven’t fully experienced.

  He kicks off his pants and his cock springs free—large, throbbing, its head an angry red. A bead of precum glistens at the slit. He’s never seemed more animalistic as he stands over me looking down on me from his superior height. His nostrils flare, and a deep resonant purr rolls from his lips.

  My pussy clenches. Slick pools between my thighs. I draw in a breath and my chest heaves.

  His gaze drops to my breasts and color flushes his cheeks. Another growl tears out of him, then he swoops down on me.

  He fastens his hands around the sleeve of my clothing and yanks with enough force for the fabric to rip in half.

  I gasp.

  He peels back his lips and glares at me.

  It’s almost reassuring to have this feral side of Zeus back. It’s as much a part of him as the possessiveness that lurks inside.

  As inherent to him as the glimpses of the caring man he’s shown me. He’s complex, my alpha and…I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  He drops his head and fastens his lips around the nipple of one breast. When he bites down on the nub, heat travels all the way down to my core. He brushes the whiskers of his beard down the side of my breast, and goosebumps rise on my skin.

  “You are so fucking responsive.” He growls.

  The sound shivers over my skin, and I wriggle under him.

  That emptiness inside me throbs and grows and I moan.

  “So impatient.”

  A harsh purr flows out of him, and more slick slides out from between my legs. He trails kisses down my waist and licks my bellybutton. His touch is so tender that I shiver. He grips my hip, and I tremble. It’s like every part of me is focused on his touch, his breath on my skin as he kisses his way down to the throbbing flesh at the apex of my thighs.

  “You didn’t wear underwear.” He blows on my pussy.

  I groan. “Didn’t …” My breath hitches. “Didn’t see the point.”

  “You did it to torture me, so the scent of your arousal would be thick in the air, and so I wouldn’t refuse what you wanted.” He peers up at me.

  “Did it work?” I gasp.

  His lips curl. "What do you think? You teased me, pushed me over the edge, little Squirrel." His shoulders go solid. The skin around his eyes tightens and his gaze narrows with intent.

  "Wha...what are you going to do?” My stomach flip-flops yet anticipation tugs at my nerve endings. This is it, this is what I wanted. To unlock the monster inside of him. I'd poked at the beast, shoved at it until it had reared back at me, until it was crazed with lust and beyond rational thought. I gulp.

  He cants his
head, the movement so animalistic, and I know he's sensed my fear.

  He settles down between my legs, his head pillowed on one thigh, “I am going to take pleasure in giving you exactly what you asked for.” He draws a finger over my belly, making lazy circles all around my pussy.

  My body trembles and I clench the mattress with my fingers.

  He has me where he wants me.

  In his bed, surrounded by him, under him...on the verge of submitting to him. Somehow I can't get over the suspicion that he played me all along. He'd waited for me to come to him, and now he wants me to beg?

  He wants me to take that final step, to ask him to take me and put me out of my misery, to show that I have accepted him as my master, and something inside me refuses to give him that satisfaction. Yet.

  A snarl rips from him then he thrusts a finger inside my wet cunt. The shock of it whips over my skin, all the way to my toes.

  I squeeze my eyes shut and refuse to meet his gaze.

  To do so will be to show him exactly the effect he has on me.

  He lowers his lips close to my clit and purrs. The heat of his breath sinks into my tender flesh. The vibrations of his tone shudder over my skin, my womb contracts, and a fresh burst of slick gushes out of me.

  He positions his face at the opening of my channel, then proceeds to lick up all my cum, every drop of it, before rising over me and kissing me.

  He thrusts his tongue inside my mouth, and I can taste myself on him. It’s so fucking hot.

  He buries his fingers in my hair and tugs my head back so I have no choice but to open my eyes and meet that hot, burning gaze. It’s everything I expected. The way he eats me up with his eyes.

  My belly clenches, my sex quivers, and a whine dribbles from my lips.

  His nostrils flare and he answers my unspoken plea with a growl.

  I sense the pulse of desire that runs down his body. His shoulders flex, and his chest muscles ripple as if there is an unseen force inside that’s eating away at him. "You will give in to me completely." The hushed edge to his tone sinks into my blood. The mating cord in my chest thrums. The command in his voice grates over my skin, propels through my veins until it seems to infiltrate every cell in my body. My breath catches in my chest.