Midlife Omega (Midlife Shifters Book 3)

by J. L. Wilder

  "I don't know," he mimicked. "Not sure why I expected you to say anything different."

  "Sorry," she said. "Just...excited about tonight, I guess."

  "There you go," he said. "Excited is better."

  Echo knew that "excited" didn't really describe how she felt. "Fearful" was more like it.

  After all, tonight was the night of the claiming ceremony—the night the entire clan would learn which of the women was fated to become Stone's prime mate, the woman who'd carry his children.

  "No," he said, stepping closer and cutting the distance between them to less than a foot. "That's not it, gorgeous. You're holding back on me, aren't you?"

  He reached up and took her chin into his hand, tilting her head up to face him. Stone was tall, and built. Echo always felt he loved the way he towered over the women, and most of the men of the clan.

  "Holding back what?"

  His smirk spread.

  "You think you're so hard to read, baby girl. But you know I can see right through you."

  "I—"

  He didn't let her finish.

  "Let me guess," he said. "You're worried that it won't be you? That one of the other girls is going to be warming my bed from here on out?"

  "Y-yeah," she said. "That's it."

  He let go of her chin, moving his hand onto her cheek.

  "Don't blame you," he said. "It's a hell of an honor to be the alpha's omega. She gets to carry my babies—she gets to be the favored mate."

  All Echo wanted was to snatch his hand from her face and step away. But that would be the worst decision she could make. Stone was all alpha—all temper. Offending him would mean a slap.

  Or worse.

  "And the worst fucking part," he said. "Is that it's out of my hands. All we can do is perform the ceremony."

  "I know," said Echo. "And that's what worries me."

  It worried her, but not in the way that she knew Stone thought. She knew he could easily see through her lies in most cases, but hoped that this one would be close enough to the truth that he wouldn't.

  "You and every other girl here," he said with another smirk. "The chosen omega...it's a hell of a life waiting for her. Carrying my cubs, sharing my bed, spending the rest of her natural life learning how to please me."

  He shook his head.

  "Don't blame you one bit."

  Then Stone leaned in, closer to Echo's ear, close enough that his bristly beard rubbed against her fair skin.

  "But I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, baby girl," he said. "See, being the alpha comes with its perks, you know?"

  "What...what kind of perks?"

  "See, I only get one omega. Only one girl's fit to carry my cubs. But that doesn't mean I don't get to have a little fun on the side."

  He placed his hand on Echo's slender shoulder and turned her towards the rest of the pack, all of them lining up to begin the first part of the ceremony—the run. There were dozens of them, men and women, ready to shift and tear through the woods as fast as they could, eager to see who was the fastest.

  "That means that every girl here is gonna warm my bed one night or another. And you bet that gorgeous little ass of yours that you're not going to get left out."

  To make his point, Stone reached around and grabbed Echo's ass, giving it a squeeze before she realized what the hell was going on and jumped away.

  "Hey!" she shouted. "What the...!"

  A few of the other members of the pack noticed and looked over. Stone's eyes narrowed, and Echo knew that she'd fucked up. Stone was a man used to getting what he wanted, and what she'd just done wasn't an option with someone like him.

  "The fuck you say?" he asked after shooting a hard glare at the other members of the pack, getting them to mind their own business.

  Shit, thought Echo.

  "It was just...surprising," she said, forcing a small smile. "Getting grabbed by you. It...does things to me."

  His anger faded, his grin returning.

  "You're gonna need to get used to me having my hands all over you, baby girl," he said. "Because you've got no idea how long I've been waiting to get you naked and squirming underneath me. I'm gonna fill you so full you're not gonna be able to walk right for a week."

  He put his hands on her hips and pulled her close, close enough to feel his cock through his jeans.

  "You like that?" he asked, his voice a low growl. "Because it's gonna be yours. Not all yours...but something tells me you'll be happy to share."

  Echo said nothing, only wanting to get out of his arms as fast as possible.

  "Maybe tonight," he said. "But definitely soon."

  He finally let her go, stepping back and dragging his eyes over her body.

  "Now," he said. "Time to run."

  Relief washed over Echo as Stone turned his back to her and approached the rest of the pack. As he did, she looked out into the woods, wondering if she had it in her to take off right then and there, to break free from the Hearteater pack like she'd always wanted.

  I've got the speed, she thought. Not a single bear here can outrun me. One of the few perks of being a half-breed.

  But she knew, as fast as she was, that Stone wouldn't let her get far. And she also knew that the punishment would be fast and severe for throwing a wrench into the ceremony.

  "Listen up, Hearteaters!" called out Stone as he made his way towards the pack. "You know what fucking time it is!"

  Cheers and yells sounded from them. Echo glanced at the open woods one last time, before starting off toward the rest of the group and falling in.

  The rest of the girls in the pack shot her the same dirty looks Echo was long used to by now. Despite being with the Hearteaters for all twenty-one years of her life, ever since her pregnant mother was taken in by them, she'd never fit it in with the rest of the women.

  June, one of the girls, shot her a particularly sharp glare.

  "Didn't think they'd let the half-breed be a part of this," she said quietly.

  "Yeah," said Marlene, another of the girls. "You'd think being here would fuck up the whole ceremony."

  "Screw off," hissed Echo as she fell into line.

  "Wow," said June. "Same smart mouth as always. Bet Stone's going to be happy to put it to good use."

  "Maybe when he's bored with the rest of us,” said Charity, a third girl nearby. "Because there's not a fucking chance in hell a half-breed like you is going to be chosen as Stone's omega."

  Echo said nothing. She'd had her entire life to get used to the abuse from the other girls and wasn't about to let it get to her now.

  She turned her attention back to Stone as he slowly paced in front of the pack, his hands behind his back.

  "I've been your fucking alpha from day one," he said, slamming his fist against his chest. "But tradition's tradition, and tonight's the night we make it official."

  He paused as he paced back and forth, letting his words hang in the cool night air. Stone pointed off into the woods.

  "And I'm not going to waste any more fucking time!" he shouted. "When I give the word, I want you all to run! You find the site and we start this thing! Got it?"

  The men let out yells of anticipation, and the women stood silently, all with the same sensual smile on their faces as they gazed at Stone. Echo couldn't believe how obvious they were being, how shamelessly they wanted to throw themselves at him.

  But Echo wanted no part of that.

  "When I say go, you go!" shouted Stone, his voice booming through the woods. "Now shift!"

  One after another, the members of the pack shifted into their bear forms until only Echo and Stone remained human. Stone shot her a quick glance, one that said, "quit screwing around."

  She closed her eyes and shifted, black fur sprouting from her skin, her hands and feet shifting into paws.

  "Now," said Stone. "Move!"

  He shifted into his black bear form, and it was on.

  Without another word, Echo turned towards the woods and ran, knowing deep d
own that after tonight, her life would never be the same.

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  About The Author

  J.L. Wilder likes wild things! Her alpha shifters are gruff and tough, with a pinch of tenderness. Curl up with these bad boy book boyfriends, and they will have you howling at the moon!

  When not writing shifter smut, J.L. spends as much time as possible exploring the outdoors. She loves getting into trouble with Ace, her Siberian Husky.

  You can grab a free shifter romance and join her email here.