by Juno Wells
As she rushed him, jumping into his arms, he caught her and held her tightly against him before burying his mouth against her throat, nuzzling her scent gland and licking frantically. She was the one in estrus, but he was suddenly close to rutting, and he was certain he wouldn’t be able to hold back the urge. He would have to remember to be careful with her, to ensure she enjoyed the experience, but he wasn’t certain how he would do so as his mind hazed over with animalistic passion, the Alpha inside roaring its pleasure at finding an Omega to breed.
3
He smelled so good, and she hurt so much that Daisy couldn’t resist. She launched herself into the Alpha’s arms, throwing back her head as he started nuzzling her scent gland. She writhed against him, rubbing her sheath against his stomach as she sought relief. At some point during her estrus, she must have ripped off the jumpsuit the Klinok had given her, because she was completely naked.
He wasn’t, and she found that displeasing. She started to pull at his uniform, and he growled in approval. When he set her down, she immediately reached for him again, but one stern look from him and another growl of warning had her freezing. Even in the throes of this intense estrus, the Omega in her responded to the Alpha in him.
Part of her hated that weakness, but it wasn’t the rational part of her in charge now, and that concern soon faded. Once the Alpha in front of her had removed his armor and flight suit, he took her back into his arms. She went eagerly, wrapping her thighs around his waist as she sought out his thick cock, rubbing her slit against it. Slick poured from her, drenching both of them, and he moaned. She wanted nothing more than to have him inside her, and she started to take him.
“Slow down, Daisy.” He seemed to have trouble getting out those words as he carried her to the captain’s chair nearby. He sat down, and this allowed her far better positioning, perched on his lap as she was.
When she rubbed against him again, he moaned, and he didn’t fight this time as she reached for his shaft to line it up with her opening and take him inside. There was a moment of intense pain, and his eyes widened.
“Were you a virgin?” He sounded appalled at the thought.
Daisy had no time for conversation or clear thought. She only wanted to feel, and with the fever burning through her, it urged her to press down, ignoring the jolt of pain before she started to writhe against him. Within two or three thrusts, it no longer hurt, and then it started to feel amazing.
His hips were jutting upward now too, taking her as rapidly as she was taking him. Daisy threw back her head, her curls falling down her back, so he bent forward to lift one of her breasts, taking it into his mouth and sucking on her nipple firmly. She’d never been with a man before, especially not during estrus, so she’d been unprepared for the intensity of the emotions it evoked.
It wasn’t just a physical feeling of well-being and pleasure. There was an emotional element to this she had never expected. She felt cherished and cosseted, even as he thrusted into her with a violent intensity that she was matching, needing to come to alleviate the ache inside.
He reached between them to stroke her clit. Daisy cried out, opening her mouth in a shout of euphoria as her orgasm started to crash over her. He continued to thrust, maintaining the rapid tempo and his hardness as he coaxed another orgasm from her. It was only as she started to slowly relax from that one that his cock inside her twitched, and spasms of his release filled her.
She keened with pleasure at the sensation, which brought her another climax, and her sheath tightened around him when his cock swelled, the base knotting to keep them together. He was breeding her, and in her primitive mindset at the moment, that was all she wanted in the world.
His mouth went to her scent gland again, licking frantically. When his teeth scraped against her, she moaned. Part of her wanted to press against him, urging him to claim her, but a stronger part of her warned her to pull away. She couldn’t move at all, and the decision was left to him. She didn’t know if she was relieved or upset when he pulled away without biting her.
It took some time for the animalistic haze to fade and for normal, rational thought to return. As the fever abated, Daisy realized she was still joined with a complete stranger, lying on his lap with his shaft buried inside her, knotted to keep them together. Her eyes widened with alarm, and she sat up quickly, making him wince at the way it tugged on his cock inside her. Fear filled her, and she was frantic to escape.
“Easy, Daisy.” His tone was soothing, and so were his hands as they clasped her shoulders, squeezing gently. “I won’t hurt you.”
She hated how she was driven to respond to that note of tender authority, which rendered her muscles looser and took some of her fear. She stared at him uncertainly. “I don’t even know your name.” She had shared such a frantic, frenzied mating with an Alpha whose name she didn’t even know. Even now, his sperm would be trying to meet her egg and produce new life with a man who was a stranger. She dropped her head in shame at her own behavior, tears burning her eyes.
Gently, he nudged up her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look at him. “I’m Ryder Strang, and I want you to know I never would’ve bought an Omega under normal circumstances. You were just so frantic with need, and I couldn’t resist the impulse to take care of you. That’s my biological imperative.”
She shook her head. “Alphas are dangerous, abusive, and selfish. You don’t own me. Just because you paid some alien who kidnapped me doesn’t mean you own me.”
He surprised her by nodding. “I agree. As I said, I was responding to the need to help you.”
She glared at him, squirming on his lap as his knot started to soften. “You were clearly helping yourself as well, Alpha.”
His eyes narrowed. “If you recall, I offered you the option of staying in the box and filtering out your pheromones to prevent me going into rut. I was prepared to find you suppressant, but you begged for me. It’s like catnip to an Alpha. I could no more resist your needs than I can suppress the urge to take care of you. That’s how I’m wired.”
She was still angry at his actions, but she was forced to reevaluate her opinion as she recalled him making the offer. She’d been disoriented with fever and need, so she hadn’t been able to seriously entertain the idea. Even now, she couldn’t imagine she could have lasted another hour, at minimum, while he tried to find suppressant for her, and she nodded grudgingly. “I concede we were both forced to act because of our biology. That’s over now.”
“Nearly.” He looked down wryly, where their bodies were joined. “I should be able to release you in a few minutes.” His eyes closed for a moment, and he looked utterly sated. “I had no idea it would be like this with an Omega.”
In spite of herself, she was intrigued by the awe in his tone. “You’ve never taken an Omega before?”
His eyes opened, and he shook his head. “I’ve only ever met a few. The last one I met was at a market planet a few weeks ago, and she was mated to her Alpha, Remy. Maya was her name, but I felt no attraction, because she was already claimed. I’ve only ever been with Beta women, and one Alpha female.” He closed his eyes and grimaced, clearly recalling that incident with a hint of reluctance.
“I didn’t expect it to be like this either.” She gave the admission grudgingly, relieved when he softened enough she could pull away from him and stand up. Immediately aware of her nudity, she searched around for the jumpsuit she’d worn, finding it crumpled in the box. She rushed over and donned it. By the time she turned back to him, fully dressed, he was also wearing his flight suit and was in the process of strapping on his armor again.
He seemed like a decent enough guy, especially for an Alpha. She cleared her throat as she moved closer. “I need your help.”
His eyes widened, and they also darkened slightly. The hazel was ringed with silver from his rut, and she knew her eyes were probably the same and would be for a while until all vestiges of her estrus faded.
“What do you need?”
“I
need to return to that ship and rescue the other Omega, Azaria. She’s more like my sister than a friend. Please, Alpha.” It was instinct to call him that, along with the tone she used.
She could tell from his body language he wasn’t going to agree even before he shook his head. “It wouldn’t be safe. How could the two of us hope to rescue her? She’s probably been sold by now anyway.”
Daisy crossed her arms over her chest, trying to push back the wave of tiredness sweeping over her. Ryder seem to be suffering similarly, so she assumed it was a natural consequence of their frantic mating. “She’s like a sister to me. I can’t just leave her to her fate.”
“I get it.” He sighed as he stood up, coming to stand near her. He seemed like he might reach for her, but apparently decided she wasn’t in the frame of mind to accept his touch readily. His hand remained firmly at his side. “I have a brother, so I understand how you feel, but I don’t see how we can do anything about it.”
She glared at him. “You don’t have to do anything besides return me. I’ll find her myself.”
He let out a scoffing sound. “Or the Klinoks will find you first, shoot you full of more enhancer, and sell you all over again. Is that what you want?”
With an angry sigh, she shook her head and looked away from him. He had a valid point. She really didn’t want to be sold to a different Alpha. She wasn’t all that happy to have been sold to this one, but at least he didn’t seem to be as bad as the Alphas she’d heard about while living at the convent.
He was the first one she’d ever met, since the sisters cloistered themselves on the planet to avoid interacting with Alphas, but just because this one appeared to be kind didn’t mean Mother Risa was inaccurate in her information about Alphas typically being self-absorbed, selfish, and unmoved by the pain they might cause Omegas.
“I don’t want to be captured again.”
He stifled a yawn. “In that case, I suggest we lie down. It’s a natural reaction following estrus and rutting. We’ll probably both sleep for hours.”
Reluctantly, she followed him from the bridge after he secured it using his A.I. program, set on autopilot. She eagerly watched the code he inputted to do so, though she tried to appear like she wasn’t. He didn’t seem to realize there was anything off about her interest, and he led her down the hallway to the sole quarters a moment later.
She was nervous as she stepped inside with him, thinking he expected her to sleep with him, and perhaps more, so it was a pleasant surprise when he gestured to a loveseat. “I’ll take that, and you can have the bed.”
“No, that’s okay.” She preferred to be closer to the door. “I’m much shorter than you are, and I don’t see how you can fold yourself onto that, Mr. Strang.”
He gave her a strange smile. “I think you can call me Ryder. We’re that familiar, aren’t we?” His hazel eyes twinkled with amusement that was difficult to ignore.
She allowed herself a small smile. “Yes, I suppose we are.”
He looked at the loveseat and then the bed for a moment. “I suppose I should argue about this and insist you take the bed, but the truth is, neither one is particularly comfortable. I’ve been saving up money for more important things, like keeping the ship running.” He winced then.
She frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”
His neck turned red, and he shrugged. “Nothing. Nothing important.”
As he moved to the bed, she heard him mutter something about rathium bars, but she couldn’t quite make it out.
She was genuinely feeling exhaustion creeping over her as well, so she did her best to curl up in an uncomfortable position on the loveseat. The lumpy furniture made it difficult to relax, and she was relieved it would be harder to fall asleep. She kept her eyes mostly closed as she watched him settle into bed. He stripped off his armor but left on the flight suit, and she appreciated that, though part of her mourned not getting another glimpse of his gorgeous Alpha body.
She’d hardly had a chance to appreciate the male beauty of it earlier, caught in the throes of estrus. Now, she allowed herself to remember what she could of that overwhelming, frantic coupling, deciding he must have quite a beautiful body. It was enough to cause a stirring of arousal again, but she quickly forced her thoughts elsewhere. She didn’t want to risk entering another cycle of estrus, or she might never be able to catch up with Azaria.
He was asleep a short time later, confirmed by gentle snoring. She waited a few minutes longer, pinching her arm a few times to keep from falling asleep, before quietly easing off the loveseat and approaching his door. He hadn’t bothered to lock it, so all she had to do was press the button instead of applying her palm, and it opened with a hydraulic hiss.
She watched him carefully to make sure he didn’t wake up, but he only stirred slightly before turning more onto his left side. Once she was sure he wasn’t going to wake, she tiptoed through the door, closing it behind her. Then she moved down the hallway and retraced their steps back to the command deck. Fortunately, it was a small freighter, so it made it easy to navigate.
When she reached the command deck, she unlocked the ship using the code he’d inputted. She didn’t know a lot about technology, but she thought his system might be outdated, since it didn’t require a biometric scan to unlock. Maybe that function didn’t work. Whatever the case, she was relieved the code brought up the navigation system. “Computer, locate the Klinok market ship and plan a course.”
Lights on the console flashed for a moment, and the computer’s male voice, with a rich timber and faint accent she didn’t recognize, said, “Coordinates confirmed.”
“Lock in and proceed.” She hoped that was the right terminology, since she hadn’t spent much time flying. She’d taken out a skid a few times on the planet to run errands to the nearby moon, where the sisters sometimes traded with the farmers (all Betas) who lived there, but that was the extent of her traveling aside from the Klinoks kidnapping her and bringing her this far.
She tried to stay awake, but exhaustion was creeping over her. It was a long stretch of time to have nothing to do when she was so exhausted, and the third time her head slumped forward to rest on her chest, Daisy wasn’t able to make herself rouse enough to lift it and try to stay awake. Instead, she dozed off.
“What are you doing?”
Daisy roused abruptly at the angry tone of the Alpha towering over her. Part of her trembled, and it took everything she had not to submit with a squeak and beg his forgiveness. She ruthlessly squashed the urge and stared up at him, trying to appear unafraid and unaffected. “I’m looking for the Klinok ship so I can find Azaria.”
He scowled at her. “Did you wait until I’d fallen asleep to sneak out?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “What if I did? You weren’t going to help me.” She was afraid he might snatch the opportunity away from her now, though when she looked at the nav system, they were about to catch up with the Klinok ship.
He growled at her, and the sound made her tremble with a little bit of fear, but oddly, a strong sense of anticipation. She had to quell the reaction.
“I should turn the ship around right now.”
She waved at the console. “I guess I can’t stop you.”
He glared at her. “I don’t like being forced into situations, Omega,” he said with a strong hint of reprimand.
Most likely, if she had been his mated Omega, she would’ve been unable to hold out against him being displeased with her. The way she’d heard it from the sisters, she would practically be his trained dog if she submitted as an Omega was wired to do. Abruptly, she remembered he’d never bitten her to formalize any claim, and she was strictly relieved about that. Of course, she was. “I don’t like being denied a chance to save my friend.”
With a scowl, he moved to a different seat. She expected him to reprogram the coordinates, but instead, he simply stared at them for a moment. “Fine. We’re almost there, so I’ll take my skid over and see if I can find out any information about wh
o bought her. You have to accept she’s probably long gone by now, but maybe we can find a way to track her down. Will that satisfy you?”
Her chest felt like it fizzed with bubbles of happiness, and she smiled at him. It was a warm, genuine smile, and when he purred softly, she felt like preening around the command deck. She forced herself to stay seated. “Thank you, Ryder.” It was a struggle not to call him Alpha. And she hated that impulse.
He departed the ship as soon as they were in skid range. She hadn’t asked to go with him, realizing her scent and unclaimed status would still put her at risk of being discovered or taken by any other Alphas who might remain aboard the Klinok ship. Instead, she paced restlessly around the command room, hoping Ryder could find out something about Azaria’s fate, something actionable they could use to save her friend.
As she paced, her mind kept returning to the penultimate moment of their mating, just before he came inside her. It should’ve been the natural point where he bit her, claiming her as his Omega.
Why was she so upset he had quelled the urge to do so? She didn’t know a thing about him, and though he might be a decent Alpha, he could also be a horrible, abusive one. She should be thanking her lucky stars he had no intention of claiming her rather than feeling incensed he chose not to. Why would she want to be permanently bound to an Alpha she didn’t even know anyway?
Telling herself she was being ridiculous and irrational, she tried to talk herself out of caring that he hadn’t claimed her. The only benefit would have come from the protection his claim would afford her from other Alphas until she could return home to Paladin.
Once she was home, it wouldn’t matter anyway, though she intended to make sure she joined the rank of the sisters who protected them all. It was high time she learned how to fight and defend not just herself, but the other sisters at the Omega convent. If she had before, perhaps she could have helped stem the tide rather than end up being the first one abducted.
