As the spasms died down, he retracted his canines and licked at the bleeding wounds. The process reminded him of how he’d helped to heal Seth in the cave using the same technique. It seemed long ago, not the few days it was. He watched the almost magical way his saliva closed up the jagged edges of torn flesh and remembered Andrea saying it was some biological thing tied to mating. Given the bond he felt now with the omega, it was easy to accept. It still didn’t explain why it had worked before.
His heart still hammered from his exertion when he rolled them both onto their sides. His dick hadn’t softened much and still lay cocooned within Seth’s sticky channel. The omega didn’t resist the change in position. Caleb pressed his palm against the boy’s chest and felt a slow, steady beat. He was pretty sure his mate had fallen asleep.
His mate.
His heart skipped a beat at the thought. It was well and truly done. He’d mated to protect Seth because he owed him this much. And, yes he did like the boy. Very much. Liking wasn’t loving, though. Intense as the connection was between them, he could still keep his distance emotionally.
For the moment, there was nothing to do except get some rest. He was going to want to fuck Seth again, now that he’d known how good it could be. His dick was very happy nestled in its new home. And, he could make it good for Seth, too. He’d done so already. The proof was drying on his hand. Giving his mate pleasure and pups and taking care of them would be enough.
It had to be.
****
Caleb started his day the same way he’d ended the previous one—with his cock buried deep inside Seth’s sweetly tight ass. He had lost track of the number of times he’d fucked his mate, his dick having never truly left its new-found sheath throughout the night. And while his conscience pricked over how he might have made the boy sore, his wolf lay curled up immensely satisfied. It had taken a lot of coaxing, but sometime in the wee hours of the morning as Caleb had lain slowly rocking both himself and Seth to completion, the omega’s wolf had accepted his with a calm and contentedness that bode well for their future.
But, with daylight and their new place in the pack as a mated couple, came an unexpected, yet perfectly predictable, shyness and unease by his mate. Sitting at the communal table having breakfast with everyone else, Caleb worried about Seth’s quiet and pokey eating. The boy kept his concentration firmly on his plate of food, which he picked at with his fork. Very little made it to his mouth, and that wouldn’t do.
Leaning over, he spoke quietly in his mate’s ear. “Are you okay? You’re not eating.” When a response didn’t come right away, Caleb became more concerned. “You’re not, um, hurting or anything, are you?”
A dusky pink spot blossomed on the cheek facing him. Without looking up, Seth gave a brief shake of his head. “I’m fine,” he said in a near whisper.
“Then you need to show me by eating more. You’re still recovering from being malnourished and attacked, remember?”
A mulish look set into the boy’s face. “Yes, sir.” He forked up some eggs and stuck them into his mouth.
Caleb grimaced. “What’s the matter?” he tried again.
“Nothing. I’m fine. Please, can’t I eat in peace?”
“Yeah, sure.” Unsettled, yet determined not to crowd his mate, he made himself throttle back. He knew that the suddenness of the change in the omega’s life would require more time for adjustment. He didn’t need some big, clumsy gamma looming over him.
Caleb slumped in his chair, sipping his mug of coffee, and waited until the alpha got up to do the same. Seth followed him and tempted as he was to tell the boy to stay, he decided not to set up a constant battle over small things. Besides, the boy had eaten most of the food on his plate, so there was no real worry.
He hurried to step up to Lorcan’s side. “Alpha, should I take a turn on the perimeter this morning?”
“No. I want you to come see where we’re thinking of building your home.”
His steps faltered. “My what?”
Lorcan glanced at him. “Your home. Yours and Seth’s.” The man chuckled. “Surely you don’t expect to stay in that little shed forever? It’s hardly a place to raise a family.”
“Oh, of course. I just didn’t think it would happen so fast. The sigmas must have better things to do than build a new cabin.”
The alpha flashed him a dubious look. “Well, I do set the priorities around here, and I want you settled into a proper home.”
“I appreciate that, sir, although we’re doing fine for now.” He chuckled self-consciously. “I mean Seth hasn’t even gone into heat yet.” He dared to look over his shoulder where Seth lagged behind them. The omega was biting his lower lip, but with his gaze focused on the ground, Caleb couldn’t catch his eye.
The alpha kept up his long strides, heading to the far back of the cleared compound until reaching a spot near Finn and Will’s new cabin. “Here,” he said, making a vague gesture with his hand. We can at least put up one room with an attached bath before winter hits.”
Caleb halted and surveyed the location. It was close to the tree line. “That would be perfect, sir. Thank you. We appreciate it. Don’t we, Seth?” He turned to his mate, only to realize the boy had stopped behind them. Reaching back, he circled the omega’s shoulders and tucked him to his side.
“This is a great place for our home, isn’t it, sweetheart?” He squeezed lightly with his fingers in an effort to get a response.
“Whatever you say, Gamma.”
Damn, Seth’s reticence was worrisome. Before he could probe more, however, their attention was taken by a high-pitched yip. A pup in wolf form steaked toward them. Before either he or Lorcan could make a grab for Annie, Seth broke free of Caleb’s hold and beat them to it.
“Oh!” The omega’s face lit up as he skidded to his knees and snatched Annie into his arms. He nuzzled his face in her fur as she squirmed. “You’re so soft.” He laughed and turned his brightly-lit face at Will, who came bounding up.
“I couldn’t believe it when you told me she could shift, but now I see for myself you weren’t joking.”
Puffing already and with his hand on his belly, Will shook his head. “Believe me, I’d never joke about this.”
Seth held Annie up and stared at her. She gave him a big, wolfie yawn. “It’s amazing.”
Will huffed. “Yeah, it is. Thanks for running interference.” When he made to take her, Seth pulled back and stood with the pup cradled in his arms.
“It’s okay, I’ve got her.”
“Thanks. I never say no to help. I’m heading to the weaving shed to get some work done. Mabel and Kyle should be there with their pups. We have a play area for them. You want to bring her along?”
Seth’s smile broadened. “Sure. I’m, uh, actually a pretty good hand at weaving.”
“Oh, that’s awesome. Mabel’s teaching me, but another set of hands would be great. Come on.”
Will turned to leave, and Seth took one step after him before stopping. He looked at Caleb over his shoulder, his smile gone. “That is, if it’s all right with you, Gamma?”
The question and the deferential tone it was asked in pissed Caleb off. He wasn’t sure why, except it made him feel like he was some kind of domineering asshole. Like his mate couldn’t simply go wherever he wanted and perform a chore or even socialize without his explicit permission. They’d have to have a talk later that night. Seth had obviously been shaped by his old life of strict and brutal hierarchy.
He tried to paste a reassuring look on his face. “Of course. Have a good morning. I’ll see you at lunch.”
With a brief nod, the omega took off after Will. Caleb watched him go all the way to the weaving shed before remembering that his alpha stood patiently waiting for his attention.
“Sorry, sir.”
Lorcan frowned. “Is everything okay with Seth? He seems withdrawn.” He gave Caleb the fish eye.
Clearing his throat, he tried to meet that glare with a steady gaze of his own. T
he alpha could scare the shit out of even the fiercest gamma. He was also fair, and Caleb hadn’t done anything wrong.
He grimaced. “Yeah, I know. Not sure why.”
“How did last night go? I can tell you completed the mating given that the boy is drenched in your scent.”
Caleb felt his cheeks heat up, as always. Stupid to be embarrassed by something so natural. “It went well. I mean, I made sure it was good for him. You know,” he added with more burning of his face.
Lorcan grinned. “I think I do, yes. And, that’s all to the good. You want your mate to crave your touch. It makes them feel more secure when they’re in the throes of their heat and mindlessly needy.”
“I guess. I really don’t know much about this, to be honest. I’m a little scared I’m going to fuck up this mating thing.”
“Join the club. We’re all scared of that. At least you’ve got one night under your belt without having to deal with heat hormones. Hopefully, you’ll have more time to get to know each other before that whole thing begins.”
The alpha paced away and stubbed the ground with his toe. “I would have liked to have had that opportunity with Kyle. He was so primed to go into heat that I triggered it in less than an hour after he’d left the influence of his sire. It didn’t take long with Will, either. Joey was an unusual case, so it took months before I had any effect on him.”
Lorcan shrugged. “Seth’s health is obviously improving rapidly. He looks way better than he did when he first got here. And, now that he and I are crossing paths a lot…” He shrugged again. “I guess what I’m saying is that you should make the most of the time you have with your new mate before nature takes your choices away.”
Caleb scratched his earlobe. “That’s good advice, sir. Thanks.”
“Be patient with him. That’s another lesson I learned, too late, with Kyle. Omegas always need extra care, but those raised harshly are particularly skittish.”
“Yeah. I think he’s expecting me to push him around. From what little he’s told me, the higher-ranked members of his old pack treated the weaker ones like shit. It sounds worse than Magnus was.”
“And a lot like Haldon’s pack.” Lorcan’s expression turned grim. “That guy’s still spoiling for a fight. We need to increase our gamma numbers fast. Got any ideas?”
Caleb started to shake his head, then stopped. “I might, actually. Back in Canada, near Magnus’ pack lands, there was a small group of ferals. Some of the boys ran into them, although they hadn’t actually invaded our territory. Anyway, of course being Magnus’ gammas, they were hoping for a fight regardless. They came back laughing about how the ferals took off instead of mixing it up with them. Like not fighting meant they were scared or weak.”
“Do you have any idea what their ranks were?”
“That’s the thing, sir. One of the boys told me the ferals were big—a beta and two gammas. They looked like they could come out on top of any conflict. He thought it was weird that they’d turned tail. Like maybe they had females and pups they were protecting and couldn’t afford to get hurt or killed.”
Lorcan’s interest had been piqued for sure. He stared thoughtfully at the ground for a few seconds. “Interesting. They could have been a group like ours. I don’t suppose they lingered in that area, though.”
“I think they did because another patrol spotted them shortly before Finn showed up. Magnus thought he might have been one of them, except the ferals were all white wolves. Like, stark white which implies they were from much farther north. Finn obviously didn’t fit that description.”
“Then there is hope they might still be reachable.”
“Yes, sir.” He paused. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to mention it before.”
Lorcan waved away that apology. “No, it’s fine. This is a long-shot. They could be totally feral and a real danger to our pack. Still,” he added, “it would be nice to at least try to parlay with them.”
“I can go up there, sir. In wolf form, it wouldn’t take me long. And, if I run into any of my old pack, they’d have no reason to challenge me.”
“That’s an excellent idea. We’ll discuss it with the council, but I want you to try it.” He gave him a pointed look. “After you’ve bred Seth, of course.”
Caleb’s stomach dropped. “Oh, right.”
Why did the idea of breeding his mate cause him such instant distress? He had a workable plan. He could make a life with Seth without risking his heart. Part of that life involved pups, and pups needed care and protection. Being a gamma, that kind of job came naturally to him. Nothing to worry about.
Nothing at all.
With a chuckle, Lorcan slapped him on the back. “Don’t look so worried, Caleb. You’ll manage. We all do. Now, let’s go talk to the construction sigmas about starting on the house. You’re going to want to get your mate into a proper home as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
As he followed the alpha to the woodworking building, he started planning out his route back to Canada. His journey would start once Seth was breeding. He tried not to imagine the look on the boy’s face when he learned that his mate would be taking off for who knew how long just as their life together was getting started. But it was for the good of the pack to increase their numbers. Haldon continued to be a threat, and the stronger the Rogue Pack got, the better.
Seth would understand why Caleb had to go. He might even be relieved to be rid of his gamma mate for a while. That thought should have pleased him. After all, it was the idea of being tied to a mate and family that unsettled him. And yet, the notion that Seth would be happier without him around was somehow worse.
His wolf rose up and snarled at his thoughts, leaving him more conflicted than ever.
Chapter Thirteen
“Sorry, I’m not being very helpful.”
Seth lay on the floor of the play area with Annie draped over his back still in wolf form. She seemed really happy being able to use his body as an obstacle course. In front of him, Mabel’s twins kept stacking and knocking over wooden blocks. His job was to retrieve and hand them back over. This was a game that could go on forever.
He was having the most fun he could ever remember.
The activity also helped him put aside his remorse over acting so prickly with his mate that morning. After a night that had gone far better than he’d expected, he’d still felt resentment bubbling up. Having spent almost a year running, he’d ended up exactly where he’d feared all along—mated to a powerful shifter who had control over his body and his destiny. The fact that he’d more or less made the decision himself didn’t seem to matter. He knew he wasn’t being fair to Caleb, yet couldn’t keep his conflicting emotions at bay.
“Don’t worry about it,” the alpha mate called over. “We only have two looms anyway, and your keeping the pups occupied is a big help. Especially with Joey on lock-down for the foreseeable future.”
Guilt pricked at Seth. “That’s my fault. If those shifters hadn’t come looking for me…” There would have been no reason for Joey’s mate to worry, no restitution paid on Seth’s behalf, no need for him to mate Caleb…Stop obsessing about it. It’s done!
“You are not to feel responsible. This is all on Joey. He knew better than to go wandering that far from his cabin and the longhouse so soon after whelping. There is nothing on this planet as touchy as a new sire. He’s lucky Liam hasn’t chained him to a wall. Ouch!”
Seth looked over as Kyle disengaged his daughter from his nipple. He hadn’t seen many male omegas in his life and none nursing up close. It was weird how although Kyle’s nipples were large from feeding his pup, his pecs were barely swollen. They looked nothing like female breasts, and yet managed to produce plenty of milk. Just another part of male omegas’ strange anatomy. Soon, his body would be doing the same thing. Thinking of it sent a shivery tingles to his own flat chest.
“Is she ever going to stop biting me?” Kyle asked, gingerly switching sides.
Mabel sho
ok her head without looking up from her loom. “Not so far in my experience.”
“Not in mine, either,” Will chimed in. “But be happy you can still nurse her. It keeps your next heat at bay.”
With a grimace, Kyle said, “That’s why I try not to complain too much. A few teeth marks is a fair trade.”
Seth grabbed another tumbling block and handed it to the nearest twin. “Don’t you want to have another pup?” He winced as soon as the question left his mouth, worried he’d overstepped his bounds.
The alpha mate looked up at him without any sign of displeasure. “Sure, just not too soon. Lorcan and I agreed to try to space the pups out by a couple of years at least. Having too many pups in a short period of time can be really hard on the father. I want to stay healthy, and of course Lorcan wants that as well.”
That made a lot of sense. He’d seen a number of females worn out from whelping repeatedly in only a few years. “I hope Caleb will allow me to do the same,” he ventured.
Mabel stilled her hands and frowned over at him. “There’s no allowing. You tell him that’s the way it’s going to be. It’s your body, so it’s your decision.” With a firm nod, she returned to her work.
“She’s right,” Will agreed, and Kyle echoed him. “You’ve got nothing to worry about anyway with Caleb. I’ve known him my whole life, and he was always an honorable guy.” The omega’s mouth formed a hard line. “He was the only one to refuse when my old alpha passed me around during my first heat. He’ll be good to you.”
Seth turned his attention back to the twins and their blocks. “But, he’s my mate,” he said after a few seconds. “He has control over my life now.” And that meant the gamma could mount and breed him whenever he liked.
“To a point.” This from Kyle and given his status as alpha mate, his words held more weight. “This is a different kind of pack, remember? If Caleb does anything worrisome, you need to come to me. I’ll intercede with Lorcan.”
Seth smiled at the boy and hunched his shoulders at the same time Annie decided to use them as a climbing rock. She tumbled at the unexpected movement. He caught her before she hit the play mat and sitting up, he held her in front of him.
Taming the Omega (The Rogue Pack Book 4) Page 12
