by Zoey Ellis
The Alpha became more erratic with his movements, his rough, hoarse breathing now growls as he jerked into her once, twice, and the third time, with hard slams she felt so deeply she tensed, automatically clenching around his cock.
And then he was still. His breathing calmed before he moved.
Amara moaned as he withdrew from her, and suddenly she was empty. She bit back a whine at the feeling and her hips moved almost on their own, as though to encourage him back in. It wasn’t normal to be empty so soon. He needed to stay inside her. Amara blinked. A sudden shock coming over her at her own thoughts.
The Alpha leaned over and unbuckled her wrists, but she lay there for a few moments, unable to move from exhaustion and a strange aftershock tingling down her legs.
"I hope that whatever disease you have is unable to get you pregnant," the Alpha commented, sarcastically.
Amara watched him doing up his pants and narrowed her eyes at him, her annoyance returning. He hadn't even bothered to take his fucking clothes off. "I guess we shall see," she remarked, knowing full well she would not be able to get pregnant while her magical blocks remained in place, thankfully.
After that he left, leaving her hanging over the bench.
Amara took her time to push herself down, and when she did, her legs were so weak she had to stumble to the nearest chair. But as she sat, she felt the slight burn between her legs where he had been. Tilting back, she ran her hand over her pussy. She was slightly sore, but it was a satisfying friction that ran deep into her. She squeezed her legs together to feel it more powerfully and then abruptly stopped. Why was she experiencing this when she was supposed to be blocked? She knew for certain that she was, otherwise his scent would overwhelm her, but even then, she shouldn't be able to scent him at all—she couldn’t smell any other Alpha. Maybe it was because of the strength of his Talent. She had to try to speak to the Mothers, or at least the other Omegas. Someone should be able to give her advice about what was happening.
She made her way to the washroom for another bath. It was likely the Alpha would not be returning before tomorrow.
***
The next morning Amara rose early, just before sunrise. The king hadn't wasted any time making full use of their arrangement and neither would she.
She slipped out of the room and headed in the direction of the servant area. Last time she must have made the wrong turn, but she knew roughly where she was in the castle.
Walking along the corridor was no longer the same experience as before. Her frilly, heavy dress that was meant for nobility, weighed her down, and she suddenly understood why noblewomen moved so slowly. Most of the servants avoided her eyes, which was a strong reminder of her new status in the castle. But it wasn't as though she could forget—the slightly raw feeling between her legs kept her highly aware of her new role, and now that the drowsy high from sex had faded, her mood sparked with annoyance with every step she took.
She walked in the direction of the servants’ area, heading down staircases she came to and crossing hallways. The early morning shift of servants were doing their duties, but she encountered very few of them. After a while she realized, once again, she hadn’t seen anything familiar. She stopped in the middle of a corridor. This wasn’t going to work. She thought she had a good sense of direction and knew roughly where the different sectors of the castle were, but this was the second time she hadn’t arrived where she thought she should. Either that, or Malloron was indeed fucking with her food and feeding her potions to make her walk in circles.
She turned to head back in the direction she came from and started in surprise to see Emric standing behind her holding a box.
“Miss,” he said, dipping his head in a shallow bow. “It seems you are lost.”
“And how would you know that?” Amara said irritably.
“This is not a part of the castle I would expect to see you in.”
Amara looked around. “Where am I?”
“In his Majesty’s casting sector.”
Well, that was new. Amara had never heard of a “casting” sector in the castle before. She eyed Emric, suspicion rising. “So why are you here?”
“I am replenishing his Majesty’s stock.” Emric held up a box. “I like to do it early in the morning so it is ready for him in case he needs something throughout the day.” Emric hesitated for a moment. “Would you like me to take you somewhere?”
Amara exhaled slowly, her annoyance fading. “I want to go to the servants’ area.”
“I do not advise it, Miss.”
“I know.” She tried not to snap at him. “But I want to go there anyway.”
Emric watched her closely for a moment, placed the box down, then beckoned her to follow him and they walked down the corridor. “Have you thought about what the other servants will think of you when they see your new status?”
“That doesn’t matter to me.”
“No?” Emric glanced at her, curiously. “You don’t think they will be jealous that you have the king’s favor.”
Amara frowned. “I do not have the king’s favor.”
Emric made a face. “I assure you, you do. No other servant has ever been moved to the Carodoc rooms and given the best food and clothes. I think you’ll find the other servants will dislike seeing you there in all your finery.”
“Do they know what has happened to me?” Amara asked. If the servants knew, then her team would know.
Emric shrugged. “I do not know. It has not been a priority to tell any of them.”
Amara glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, wondering if he was being sarcastic, and saw him smiling at her. His smile was warm and friendly, and she wondered if she may indeed be able to have him as an ally even though she could not trust him.
“And anyway,” he continued after a moment, “I don’t think they will see it as anything “happening” to you. They will assume you seduced him to increase your status.”
Amara stared at him, taken aback. She didn’t think of that. If she went back to the servants’ area, and they recognized her, some of the real servants probably wouldn’t help her.
Emric glanced at her with a knowing look. “Exactly. Anyone you considered a friend would be more likely to strip you of your clothes and finery and burn a black mark into your face to get you out of the way.”
Amara had no response to that. She kept pace with him in silence for a while. “How long have you been working for King Malloron?”
“Fifteen years,” Emric said, somewhat proudly. “I am his longest serving staff member. The servants that were here during his father’s reign don’t count because he didn’t hire them.”
“Doesn’t it bother you to serve a king who does despicable things?” Amara asked hesitantly. The man obviously loved King Malloron, but surely he could see what kind of person he was.
“No,” Emric said firmly. “The Western Lands were corrupt before King Malloron took the throne. There is only so much one can do when faced with ruling a territory among such people as the other rulers. He has done much for the Western Lands.”
Amara couldn’t help but huff under her breath. How could this justify Malloron stealing innocent people and turning them into slaves?
Emric watched her for a long moment as they crossed a hall area with stained glass windows. “People who are not from here tend to lack understanding about how the Western Lands works,” he said after a while. “To think that a vast, corrupted land can suddenly be fixed by the good deeds of one person is naive and idealistic.”
“I never said I expected him to fix anything.”
“To impact any environment at all so it can thrive, one has to become part of it,” Emric said. “King Malloron has done the best that he can do to protect his legacy and, in the process, he’s done a lot for the people of the Western Lands, even if they do not see it themselves.”
Amara almost rolled her eyes. The man was willfully not acknowledging all the terrible things King Malloron had done. “So it’s
a case of the best of two evils? Is that what you’re saying? Is that how you justify being his right-hand man?”
Emric shook his head. “I am not his right-hand anything. I am a loyal assistant to him. He has done much for me—much more than anyone else would do.”
“But you ended up in a role you enjoy,” Amara said. “Not everyone has.”
“My role has challenges in itself,” Emric said. “It is not an easy role to have, even if it looks it.”
Amara nodded. “Do you have a family here?”
Emric shook his head. “No, I have no family.”
The way he replied made Amara glance at him. “You have friends, then?”
Emric shook his head, but said nothing more.
That was interesting. Maybe the man was lonely.
“Friends can sometimes make situations more bearable,” she suggested.
“I agree,” Emric murmured. “But friendship is never real is it? It is selfish. Each person is in it only for themselves, for their own entertainment and curiosity.”
Amara made a noise in her throat. “Maybe that’s how you experience friendship, but I assure you it is not.”
Emric looked at her. “All the friends I’ve known turned their back on me once I reveal my true self. The friendship was never about me. Even those that try to make a connection with me now, it is all because of his Majesty—not really about me. They pretend to care for me for their own ends.” He paused. “It is not as lonely as you think and I prefer that.”
Amara kept pace with him, thinking over his words. “Friendship is about sharing. It’s not about one person or the other. It’s about a mutual connection where you share something unique. You are in a unusual position. Your life is all about the king. It must be hard to find someone who truly feels the way you do about the king. Maybe that is why you struggle.”
Emric didn’t respond, but he maintained a thoughtful silence until they arrived at their destination. “Here we are.”
Amara frowned. “I thought you were taking me to the servants’ area?”
“It’s not long until the first meeting of the day, I assumed you would want to be back by then,” he said, somewhat apologetically. “You’ll have to visit the servants’ area another time. Apologies, Miss.” He turned and then paused. “I enjoyed our talk and will think on what you said.” He smiled and walked away in the direction they’d come from.
Amara watched him go, shaking her head. Maybe this kind of deception is why he had no friends. She entered her room and closed the door quietly, but when she turned around she yelped out in surprise.
"Interesting walk?" King Malloron sat at the table in the middle of her living area holding a silver tankard.
Amara bit back a retort. She absolutely hated being surprised, but she couldn’t expect him not to check up on her. “May I ask what you are doing here, Your Majesty?”
Malloron swirled his tankard lazily, his eyes on her. "I asked you that during our very first encounter, you haven't yet answered."
Amara had pressed her lips together to stop herself answering. She truly wished she could tell him exactly what she thought of him, but she still had a mission to complete in the castle before she could do that.
"I assume it has something to do with the dungeons," the king remarked, before taking a sip from his tankard.
Amara pressed her lips together. “You are having me followed,” she said evenly. “Is that why your assistant happens to conveniently appear every time I get lost?”
His mouth spread into that perfect cruel smile. He placed his tankard down and rose from the chair slowly. "Undress."
The blast of shock that flooded her was quickly followed by hard resignation. It shouldn't surprise her that he would want to fuck her again so soon, but she had hoped he didn’t have a high sex drive. It was said among the Omega mission information that the king hadn’t taken bed slaves for years. She assumed this to mean that he either had a casual attitude to sex, or that his needs were so depraved, it was kept from the eyes of anyone who may speak of it. Clearly one of them was a wrong assumption, and the other remained to be seen.
She removed her dress and layers of undergarments until they gathered at her ankles.
His eyes flicked over her body and then he tilted his head, gesturing for her to move to the bench that she had been strapped to only a few hours ago.
As he buckled her to it again, she inhaled slowly, focusing on clearing her mind. If she could keep her mind separate, it didn't matter what he did to her body. But the feel of the smooth leather under her stomach seemed to trigger a reaction in her, as though her body remembered. The sore stretch of his cock in her pussy still remained from only a few hours ago, and yet the tingling of her slick gathering between her legs began as soon as the sound of his pants unbuckling reached her.
He ran his hand over her back again, squeezing her ass and dipping his fingers to her pussy. When she heard him suck his fingers afterward, her slick truly began to flow. Damn it, why was that so sexy? As he moved behind her, she gripped onto the handles, breathing slowly, and closed her eyes.
She thought she was prepared this time, but she wasn't.
He thrust into her and began to fuck her mercilessly. The sharp penetration caused her to tense, and she wriggled trying to escape, but soon the pain turned into that harsh pleasure, and it filled her body as well as her mind. Her entire body jerked against the bench, causing it to creak and moan under the strain. Every time he sunk deep into her, she curled her toes as a gorgeous shudder bolted through her body.
Suddenly, the Alpha withdrew and tapped the spongy head of his cock against her clit, rubbing it in circles before tapping it again in a rhythm. The delicious feel of the head fondling her spread through her body, relaxing her even more. She whimpered as he ran the tip in circles around her opening and then back to her clit. She widened her legs and tilted her hips, encouraging him to find his way back in, but he continued to tease.
When the anticipation became too much she whimpered and moaned for him, all thoughts of who he was and how much she despised him fled from her mind. She rotated her hips as far and wide as she could, trying to entice him to take her. She could tell by his halted breathing that he was enjoying watching her struggle, but she couldn’t think beyond what she wanted, what she needed.
Suddenly he slammed back in and made up for it. Her slick had built up to make their fucking smoother and deeper and more intense, and she couldn’t help but cry out at the feel of him back inside her again.
He leaned over her, tucking his large hand underneath her body without breaking his rhythm, and taking each breast in his large hands. He squeezed and fondled her breasts, flicking her nipples with his fingers, before taking her earlobe in his mouth again and sucking it.
The feel of him on top of her, the sensations running wild all over her body, caused her crescendo to build quickly. Her orgasm tore through her, vicious and wild and so blissfully intense, all she could do was grip onto the handles as her body succumbed to it.
By the time her climax abated, King Malloron was jerking inside her, sinking his cock deep into her as he came. The base of his cock had enlarged a little, and she found herself pressing down on it, trying to get more of the feeling. She couldn’t understand her need to do it, but she was too weak to fight against it. The king lay on top of her, resting his weight on her as their breathing calmed. Then, he rose up and withdrew. She could have screamed in frustration at being empty again so soon. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but she couldn’t even begin to understand why she felt so strongly about it.
King Malloron casually tucked himself in his pants and unbuckled her wrists. “The next meeting begins in an hour,” he said, his tone somewhat detached. “Be ready for it.”
***
Late in the afternoon, after one of the meetings, Malloron beckoned Amara over to the table.
“Sit down.” He gestured to the chair next to him.
She hesitated. “I thought you wanted
me out of the way?”
He shot her a hard look. “Sit.”
She sat down slowly, wondering about his motives. He had ignored her in all the meetings so far, so it seemed odd he suddenly wanted her at the table.
“I am intrigued by your use of magic, chameleon,” he said casually, as she settled in the chair, her back straight, her hands in her lap. “Tell me how you managed to create a portal to travel outside of the castle walls.”
Amara did not respond. She wouldn’t be sharing any such information with him that could jeopardize her team or any of the other Omegas. He must know that.
“Of course, the other rulers won’t be interested in fine details like that,” he commented. “They will simply want you and your dynamic to use magic to aid their interests.”
“And you won’t use it to aid yours?” she shot back, unable to help herself.
“No,” he replied simply. “I am satisfied that my control over magic is superior to yours.”
Amara huffed out a laugh.
He shot her a look. “You don’t think so?”
She smirked at him. “Of course it is, Your Majesty. Your family created the Talent, after all. Nothing could surpass their ability to see something happen in nature and jot it down in a book.”
His face was like stone as he stared straight ahead. A long moment passed and then he turned to her and pulled down the low neckline of her dress so that one of her breasts popped out. She tried to recoil but suddenly found she couldn’t move. Every part of her body was kept firmly in place by magic, just like when he carried her to the room.
He leaned over and took her nipple in his mouth, his deep brown eyes on hers. Jolts of pleasure skipped through her as he sucked the nipple lazily, swirled the tip of his tongue around it and lapped it gently. Her pussy clenched and tingled as his tongue became insistent, and when he bit down, pulling the nipple between his teeth, she couldn’t help but moan in the back of her throat.
He kissed up her neck and licked his way behind her ear as he pulled down the other side of the neckline to gain access to the other nipple. Flutterings of arousal twisted down her core and by the time her nipples were stiff and hard, her panties were soaked. Amara actually huffed in annoyance when he shifted his attention from them and moved his mouth back up her neck again. Her entire body screamed out for him to give the rest of her the same dedicated attention... especially her pussy. He kissed along her jaw, a smirk on his face. “If your use of the Talent is so sophisticated, why haven’t you been able to break my hold on you?” he murmured.
