by Juno Wells
Instead of protesting, all she did was drag her fingers through his hair and pull his head down while she purred against him. Her sounds of pleasure, combined with the squeezing grasp of her sheath around his shaft while she came yet again, spurred him on.
His cock started to spasm as another orgasm hit him, and he scraped his teeth against her scent gland. She moaned, a low, throaty sound of ecstasy, and his teeth penetrated her skin. There was a sharp taste of copper he found unpleasant, but it quickly faded as her pheromones flooded his olfactory senses, and his world became nothing but the Omega beneath him, clinging to him and milking his cock as he imparted his scent, fusing them together and claiming her as his.
When it was over, he rolled over to his side, taking her with him. They weren’t joined by his knot, since she hadn’t entered estrus, and he hadn’t been rutting, but they were still locked together because he kept her that way. He couldn’t bear to pull out from her yet.
He pressed a careful kiss to her forehead as he squeezed her in a light embrace. “My Omega.” He sounded fiercely possessive when he said that, and he grinned, enjoying the feeling sweeping through him. She belonged to him now, but he belonged to her just as much.
“My Alpha,” she said with obvious satisfaction. She was clearly as pleased as he was. Silence settled between them for a few minutes before she lifted her head slightly so she could look in his eyes. She giggled. “Or should I say Spud?”
He groaned. “Never say that.”
She tapped her fingers on his chest. “Tell me how you got the nickname?”
He considered ignoring the request, but she was looking at him with such curiosity, and her expression was so open, that he couldn’t bring himself to deny her anything, even if it meant his humiliation. “Quinn and I grew up as part of an orphan clan after our parents died when we were little. They were part of a new colony and picked up Tycho pox. It wiped out a good part of the adults and a few kids. No one came running to check on the survivors, so we had to fend for ourselves.”
Her brow furrowed, and she looked at him with obvious sympathy. “I’m so sorry.”
He swallowed and looked away for a moment, blinking. Whether it was lucky or unlucky, he barely remembered his folks, so he mourned the absence of memory rather than the people themselves.
He cleared his throat. “Life was rough, and there was a hierarchy. We didn’t get enough to eat a lot of times, but one day, I found a potato someone else hadn’t dug up during harvest. It was full of eyes and going to seed, but I wanted it.” He closed his eyes, easily remembering his empty belly that day and the way his mouth had watered as he envisioned how the potato would taste when roasted.
She was rubbing his arm now, not asking questions. She seemed unable to as she eyed him with compassion.
“An older boy jumped me when I was almost home. He tried to take the potato, but I was determined it was mine. I fought him and beat the sh…stuff out of him. Quinn interceded and pulled me off him, sending Dicky running away. Even then, Quinn was enormous, but I’d held my own. Quinn teased me something awful about how much I was willing to go through for that potato—and I still shared it with him. Somehow, Spud stuck.”
She was blinking rapidly and started to sniffle.
He frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Daisy sniffed again before answering. “I thought it would be a happier, funnier memory. That makes me feel awful and want to cry.”
His chest compressed as the urge to weep hit him for a moment as well. It wasn’t because of the memory of that awful time, but from the proof of the care and concern of which his Omega was capable. He cleared his throat. “It was hard, but I survived. Quinn did too.”
She drew in a shaky breath, and her expression was still serious when she finally broke her silence a short time later. “What happens now, Ryder?”
He hesitated for a moment. “Just because I’m an Alpha doesn’t mean I have all the answers. We’ll be together, but I don’t know where we’re going next. We have to make some money, but I’m loath to risk you by getting back into rathium smuggling.”
“I need to return to the convent.”
His heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t fight back a fierce wave of anger that swept over him. He turned away from her, breaking the connection between them, as he struggled to control his temper. He didn’t want to lash out at her or frighten her. “I already said you belong with me. I can’t be without you now that we have a bond established.”
The bed squeaked as she moved, and he tensed a moment later when her hands ran down his shoulders before starting to lightly massage his back. “I didn’t mean alone. I want you to come with me.”
He looked over his shoulder at her, unable to hide his skepticism. “What am I, an Alpha, going to do at an Omega convent? No one else would want me there, even though we’re bonded.”
She shrugged her shoulder. “I don’t plan to stay, but I’d like to know more about my origins. My mother left me there when I was just three, and I have vague memories of her.” She shuddered.
He relaxed against her hands. “Good memories?” He didn’t think so from her reaction.
“No, but there’s a shadowy memory that comes to mind whenever I think of her. I can’t make out any of the details anymore, and I don’t even know if it’s a male or female, but there’s someone in my memories who gives me warm feelings, and I’d like to find that person. It might be my father, or perhaps it was my mother’s lover. I don’t know, but I want to see if I can find them. Now that I have you to keep me safe from other Alphas, I can leave Paladin and explore the galaxy, including finding my origins. Will you help me?”
He melted at the sweet tone she used, trying not to reveal he would help her do anything. She probably already realized he was firmly wrapped around her finger, and he’d move the alignment of the stars if it would make her happy, but he didn’t need to reveal that so bluntly. “Of course, I’ll help you.” As he said that, she embraced him again, her breasts pressing against his back, and he realized he was up for another round of making love to his Omega.
Sometime later, after they had slept and showered, the computer buzzed to indicate there was an incoming communiqué. They were in the mess hall eating, but he bypassed his wrist comm to have the computer filter the call through the nearest wall monitor. “What’s up, Quinn?” He trailed off as he realized it wasn’t Quinn in the picture. “I don’t think we’ve met. You must be Azaria.”
Her face seemed flushed, though her warm brown complexion made it difficult to discern. She appeared embarrassed though, and he realized maybe she was awkward about the fact he’d seen her naked and in such a state. He struggled to appear nonthreatening as he gave her a smile. “Daisy is right here with me.”
Her relief was palpable, and she turned her attention to Daisy as his Omega crowded into the frame with him, smiling at her friend. Azaria looked upset, and Ryder wondered if Quinn had something to do with that.
“Let’s go home, Daisy.”
Daisy tensed for a moment, but then she nodded. “We were planning to return to Paladin. Before we left, we were going to check in to see if you wanted to come with us.” Daisy seemed almost sad that her friend was choosing to do so.
Azaria apparently had no doubts though. “I can’t wait to get home.”
“I’ll bring our ship alongside and use the pincer arm to help you in,” said Ryder, eyeing her with some trepidation. He wished he knew what had happened between her and his brother, but whatever it was, it clearly hadn’t led to a more permanent connection like he’d found with Daisy. He was sad for his brother, though he understood why Quinn might be resistant to such a bond. Perhaps Azaria had been equally resistant.
With a sigh, he moved away from the comm so he could go to the command room. Soon enough, he had the ship program the coordinates to line up with the cargo bay on his brother’s freighter, and the pincer arm was in position when the door opened a few moments later, and Azaria stepped out in an E-suit.
She grabbed onto the arm as it wrapped around her, pulling her slowly into the Remedy and away from the Catriona.
When she was on board, Quinn’s cargo door shut, and Ryder accepted the incoming hail. “Is everything okay, Quinn?”
Quinn’s expression revealed nothing. “It’s fine. I helped her as much as I could, but now she’s ready to go home.”
Ryder accepted that, knowing he had no right to pry, and from Quinn’s closed expression, his brother wasn’t going to discuss the situation anyway. Instead, he said, “Thanks again. I’ll make sure she gets home safely.”
Quinn’s features spasmed for a moment, revealing the depth of his concern, which left Ryder puzzled how he could bear to send her away. “See that you do, Spud.” With those words, Quinn disconnected the communication between them, and his ship soon veered away from them previous to entering ionospace.
Daisy and Azaria returned to the command deck a few minutes later, and he held out his hand to formally meet her.
“Azaria Khalid, this is Ryder Strang.”
Azaria’s nostrils flared as her eyes widened, and then she looked at Ryder with something akin to accusation instead of taking his hand. “You claimed her. You selfish bastard.”
“It wasn’t like that,” said Daisy before Ryder could defend himself. She put herself between her friend and him, as though he needed to be protected from the brunette Omega. He struggled not to smile, not wanting either of them to think he was mocking the gesture.
“I chose him, and he chose me. He gave me the option every step of the way. There was nothing coerced about it, okay, Azaria?”
After a moment, and her friend regarding both of them with suspicion, her features relaxed, and she exhaled slowly. “I believe you. I know you wouldn’t do anything you don’t agree with, unless you got trapped into it.” She still seemed to bear a little bit of distrust as she glared at him for a moment before her expression lightened when she looked at Daisy again. “I’m surprised you’re returning to Paladin then. As a mated Omega, what will you do there?”
Daisy hesitated and then shrugged. “I don’t plan to stay long. I’m sorry, but I have the opportunity to explore now, and I’d like to find out who in my memory leaves such a warm impression.”
Azaria’s expression softened further, and she clearly knew to whom Daisy referred. “I can’t imagine Mother Risa will deny you access to your records, so hopefully you’ll find what you’re looking for.”
With a meaningful glance at Ryder, Daisy looked at him warmly for a long moment before the turning her attention back to her friend. “I suspect I already have, Azaria.”
Her words filled Ryder with a strange sense of euphoria, and his chest felt like it might burst from the overflow of emotion. Was he already in love with his Omega? Had it been predestined right from the start, and he’d simply fallen in line with fate’s plans?
Normally, he would’ve chafed at such a thought, but with her, it felt so right that he couldn’t question the concept, though he wasn’t one for believing in predetermined anything. With her, everything fit together and made sense, and he was thankful for whatever had brought them together, whether it was fate or an accident.
7
They arrived at the convent’s planet a few hours later, and he was impressed by how well it was hidden on the map. It’d taken specific coordinates from Azaria that Daisy had never bothered to memorize, assuming she’d never leave the planet, to get them even in the right quadrant. Then there was a sophisticated system they had to get through, though he noticed signs of damage.
“That must be from when the Klinoks invaded. I don’t know how they knew we were here, but it must have seemed like a treasure trove to them,” said Azaria with clear bitterness.
“They weren’t expecting much resistance,” said Daisy with a small smile. It faded to a frown as she shot her friend a look. “I’m so sorry I got us both captured.”
Ryder frowned. “I hardly think it was your fault, Daisy.”
She smiled at him as she patted his knee. She was perched on his lap, and it still wasn’t close enough, but it was all the bounds of propriety would allow with their guest also in the command room. Azaria sat in the copilot seat, determinedly looking away from how close they cuddled.
“That’s sweet of you to defend me, but it really was my fault. I’ve never paid much attention to defense, and I did exactly the wrong thing. Instead of running for the shelter at the convent, I ran deeper into the rooms, and it didn’t take them long to find me. Azaria came to rescue me, but there were too many of them, and we were both overwhelmed. I’m going to make sure I learn more about protecting myself.”
He growled low in his throat, resisting the urge to remind her that was his job now. It couldn’t hurt for her to learn to defend herself, though he couldn’t imagine a situation where she would ever be alone and have to, short of his death. “I’ll show you some things.”
She smiled at him again, clearly approving of the idea. “Thank you, love.”
It was a simple endearment, but it threatened to turn his whole body into a pile of goo, and he almost purred again. He wasn’t certain how Azaria would react to his purring, so he kept it to himself, though he squeezed Daisy’s thigh in his hand a little firmer before loosening his hold slightly.
“You’re entering restricted space. Turn around before you’re blown out of the sky,” said a real voice through the computer.
“Mother Risa, it’s us,” said Azaria. “Daisy and me…and her Alpha.” She sounded unhappy as she tacked on the last part.
There was silence, and then a woman’s face appeared before him. He had expected her to be quite a bit older, since she was obviously the leader of the convent, but she couldn’t have been much more than a few years past forty. She had a surprisingly fresh face and blonde hair with nary a strand of gray, but there was an uncompromising hardness in her features that put him on edge.
“What Alpha?”
“Me,” said Ryder with a hint of protectiveness as he pulled Daisy tighter against him. “Daisy wants to know more about her origin so we can find her family, if she has some.”
“And I just want to come home,” said Azaria.
The woman seemed like she might reject them for a moment, but then she sighed and nodded. “I’ll allow the security protocols to give you entrance, but your ship will be immediately locked down once you land. Do you accept those terms, Alpha?” Her voice dripped with disdain.
“I accept as long as everyone realizes I won’t tolerate any signs of aggression or attempts to hurt my mate.”
Her eyes widened. “Daisy was once one of us. No one would hurt her.”
He felt Daisy stiffen against him, and he rubbed her thigh in a soothing fashion. “I accept your terms then.”
The screen went dark without Mother Risa saying another word, and Daisy was clearly tense and unhappy on his lap.
“She talks like I’m not welcome there anymore.” She sniffed lightly.
“It’s not that you aren’t welcome, but you aren’t really one of us anymore.” Azaria sounded apologetic as she reached out to take Daisy’s hand, squeezing lightly. “You aren’t running away from Alphas or seeking protection from them now. You have your own to keep you safe, and you have to admit, it’s a security risk for you and an Alpha to know where we are.”
Daisy scowled. “I would never reveal that to anyone.”
Ryder stiffened his spine as well. “Neither would I. I respect what you’re doing here, and I believe you all have the right to make the decision that’s best for you.”
Azaria seemed to accept and believe his words. She nodded and released her hand. Daisy sagged against her mate, obviously still sad at her change in status among the women she’d grown up with, but she was soon cuddling closer. He hoped she wouldn’t regret accepting his claim, and with the way she curled against him, purring softly, he couldn’t imagine she would. She seemed as happy as him that they’d found each other.
8
It was a quiet, subdued affair, and she was used to it being more boisterous and filled with conversation. Ryder’s presence definitely stifled them, and she had a new appreciation for why Mother Risa no longer considered her one of them. Now that her other half was Ryder, his presence had to be considered as well. He would have an inhibitive effect on the sisters, and she didn’t want that.
With that in mind, she said to Mother Risa, “We plan to leave in the morning. I’d like to see what data you have about me.”
Mother Risa nodded. “Of course. Once dinner is finished, I’ll take you into the office and share what information your mother left about you.” She sent Ryder a look, as though feeling defensive. “I would’ve given that information to Daisy any time she asked. I’m not trying to hide the truth from these women.”
If Ryder had considered that, he didn’t show it. “I didn’t think you were, Mother Risa. The women don’t seem afraid or coerced to stay here. I do worry they might be hearing some untrue things about Alphas though.” He frowned.
The mother scowled. “What might be untrue, Alpha…Mr. Strang?”
Daisy looked at Ryder, taking his hand in a silent reminder not to be too harsh or assertive. He nodded at her once before looking at Risa. “I’m afraid they think all Alphas are selfish, bestial sex machines, who only want one thing and will do anything to take it. Some are like that, but not all.”
Risa sniffed. “I shall have to take your word for it, Mr. Strang. From what I’ve heard, the first assessment is far more accurate. Ones who are supposedly like you are far rarer than the other kind.”
