by P. Jameson
An omega in trouble will force this alpha general to confront his past…
After the humans duped me on a rebellious trip to the Keep, I’ve been placed in the care of one of the king’s generals. Now I’m in more danger than ever. The humans wiped my memory and tried to change what it means to be an omega.
But I’m stronger than that.
With his medical background, Evander should be the perfect alpha to help me recover. His astute gaze and thoughtful manners almost make me forget he’s a brutal alpha. I don’t want him around, but there’s something familiar about the way he looks at me.
As he helps me recover, I realize he plays a bigger role in my past than I ever expected. With Luxoria in peril, he’ll have to trust me with the truth to keep me and the rest of the omegas safe.
His Captive Omega
THE ROYAL OMEGAS
Book Four
By
P. Jameson
Kristen Strassel
PJAMESONBOOKS.COM | KRISTENSTRASSEL.COM
His Captive Omega
Copyright © 2020 by P. Jameson and Kristen Strassel
First electronic publication: January 2020
United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database, without prior written permission from the author, with the exception of brief quotations contained in critical reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this work may be scanned, uploaded, or otherwise distributed via the internet or any other means, including electronic or print without the author’s written permission.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover Design: Sotia Lazu
Formatting: Agent X Graphics
P. Jameson | Kristen Strassel
www.pjamesonbooks.com
www.kristenstrassel.com
Chapter One
Evander
Three years after the establishment of The Division, under the reign of King Alpha Gregor…
She was missing. The little omega that watched me through the gap in the wall. I hadn’t seen her in a week. Not since the beating my trainer gave me for being late to battle practice. I sucked in a deep breath, my ribs still smarting from the incident. It wasn’t the worst punishment I’d received, and my father had warned the other alpha not to do it again. Now, I just needed time to heal.
I searched the wall again, finding the gap where a fist sized rock was missing, but only dim light from the setting sun shone through. No dusty skin that accompanied a sad eye.
Where was she?
I’d grown used to having her around. Especially since my father wouldn’t let me play with the other wolflings my age. Not unless we were sparring with the trainer, and that wasn’t for play. That was for learning how to go to war with the humans. Education and skills will get you through life, boy, my father always said. Fun has nothing to do with it.
But my father didn’t know about her. Little omega. My only friend.
At first, she only watched me play or practice fighting moves, and I pretended she wasn’t there. We didn’t talk, but I knew she was omega by how dirty the small patch of skin around her eye was.
And because she was on the wrong side of the wall that separated our kind.
Day after day, that single green eye peeked through at me, watching, until I came to expect her there every evening. I began to notice how her little eye would light up and crinkle around the edge like she was grinning. It mostly happened when I messed up a move or tripped over my own feet. So, I began doing it on purpose, just to see if I could make her laugh.
One day, it worked…
I froze as a giggle drifted over from the wall. It sounded like bubbles popping, and was the strangest thing I’d ever heard. She sounded very young. Maybe six. So a few years younger than me. Turning my head to find her exactly where I knew she’d be, she gasped as our eyes caught.
“I see you,” I warned. She didn’t move except to blink as I came closer to the gap. Brave, but I already knew that. “What are you doing peeking through at me like this?” I stopped at the gap and crouched low to meet her eye to eye.
Blink. Blink, blink.
“If you can laugh, you can talk.”
Moments passed before she uttered a small, “yes.”
“Thought so. What are you doing here?”
“Just watching,” she said softly.
“Are you at least learning any good moves watching me?”
She shook her head and I frowned. “My guardian teaches me different moves. Ones that can beat yours.”
I raised an eyebrow. Doubtful. “Do you plan on fighting in the omega wars?”
Her head moved up and down with a nod, but her single eye turned sad. “How about you?”
I sighed, hating that it was almost my time. “Don’t have a choice, you know. I’m alpha.”
“I knew you must be,” she murmured. “You don’t seem like a beta.”
As an alpha, I would spend two more years training before interning under the soldiers in one of the four territories. Then I would be assigned guard duty for several years before seeing my first battles. Some males couldn’t wait to hit the battle field, but I would rather be in my father’s office, training under him to be a doctor. He said there would be time for that later, after I’d served the kingdom.
Little Omega cleared her throat. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be talking to me.”
I laughed at her concern. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be at the wall.”
Her eye lowered. “True.”
“How about this, you keep my secret, and I’ll keep yours. That way we can still find time to laugh.”
When she looked up, her eye shone with excitement. “Okay. Deal.”
“Deal.”
From then on, she came to the gap daily. Sometimes I would tell her something funny that happened in the castle where my father was the physician to the king. Sometimes she’d tell me about the shack she shared with four other young females and their guardian, a strong woman who fought in the wars. But always, Little Omega was there, in the gap.
Until the beating.
I kicked a rock in frustration and watched it skitter across the yard. Slumping to the ground, I propped my arms on my knees and blew out a breath. Maybe she was never coming back. Maybe my friend was gone.
Worst of all, maybe it was for the best.
I’d begun to wonder how long we could keep meeting before we got caught. And if we did continue, one day I would be fighting her people and she would be fighting mine. How would we stay friends then?
I looked toward the gap once again, expecting to see nothing but fading light. Except this time, she was there. I blinked to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. She said nothing and I didn’t move, unsure if I should approach or if it would scare her off. I decided to give it a try. She hadn’t backed away that first day, why would she now.
“Where have you been, Little Omega?” I stood to pace back and forth in front of the gap, each pass bringing me closer to the wall.
“Home.”
“Home. All this time? It’s been a week.”
I caught her nod from the corner of my eye.
“I was scared,” she admitted. “Did someone find out about us? Is that why…”
My stomach twisted with the memory of the beating. I’d known she was watching through the opening. Knew she saw me, unable to fight off my trainer, forced to take his punishment without crying. The alpha in me hated her for
it, but I knew that wasn’t right. I couldn’t hate her for witnessing my weakness. Besides, nothing that happened to me inside these walls was worse than what would happen in war. I had to take it with my chin up, my pride intact.
“The beating was for tardiness. I missed my last training session that day.”
Through the gap, I could see her eye fill with tears. “Because of me?”
“No,” I spat. “Not because of you.” If she thought I’d taken a beating for her, she might cry more.
“Why then?”
We’d been having so much fun that day. I’d taught her some jokes. Ones my father told me about doctors and their patients. And she laughed that bubbly sound until I’d lost track of time.
“I forgot, okay? Look, it doesn’t matter.” I paced closer, trying to keep my thoughts straight. She was here, and I wanted her to be, but I didn’t need her questioning me. It only made me feel more confused.
“I’m sorry, alpha.” Her voice sounded painful and struck at my chest right where my heart thumped. “I’ll go now. Won’t come back again. Just wanted to know you were okay.”
Her face disappeared from the gap, and something inside me panicked. I gave up my pacing and dove for the wall, landing on my knees by the opening to peer through. “Wait! Omega, wait.” I held my breath waiting for her to return but seconds passed and my breath came faster. What was wrong with me? “Come back,” I demanded.
Suddenly, her face slipped back into place in the gap and I let out a relieved breath.
“You can’t just leave like that.”
“Why?”
“Because. I’ve been waiting for you every day for a week.”
Her dark eyebrow slanted over her eye. “You don’t hate me?”
“No.”
“I don’t want to get you in trouble.” Her words trembled, telling me just how frightened she’d been.
“You won’t. We’ll be more careful.”
She was silent for a long time. I hated not knowing what she was thinking.
“Well, okay,” she said finally. “If you still want to be friends with me.”
Friends. We’d never said it out loud like that before. An alpha, friends with an omega. It shouldn’t be. It was wrong. My father would say it was treasonous. But my little omega friend hadn’t harmed the king like those before her did. Her only mistake was being born to them. How could that make her horrible?
It didn’t. She was my friend, said it herself. I wouldn’t let anyone take this away.
“We will always be friends. No matter what anyone says. Let’s promise.”
“A-are you sure?” Her voice was so small and I hated that she heard me get beat. Hated even more that it had frightened her away. I needed to make sure she would come back.
“I’m sure. Stick your pinky through the gap. We’re going to swear on it.”
There was only a slight hesitation before her small finger poked through the opening. Dirt was caked around her nail, and it was the only indication that we were different. I hooked my own sparkling clean one around hers and squeezed.
“I swear to always be here, in the gap between our worlds, and to be your friend for always. Now you say it.”
“I…” She sighed and I leaned forward to hear her better. “I swear to be here, in the gap, and to be your friend…”
“For always.”
“For always,” she agreed.
Reluctantly, I released her finger and it disappeared through the wall, quickly replaced by her blinking eye.
“What now?” she asked.
“Now, we go on like nothing ever happened. We pretend the beating never happened.”
I watched her eye grow watery again. Shouldn’t have mentioned the beating.
“Your eye is bruised,” she murmured. “Does it hurt?”
“No.” It wasn’t easy to lie to her, but I didn’t want her to worry. “It’s fine. Tell me what you did today, little omega.”
She sniffed, pulling away from the gap to smear her grubby hand across her cheek, wiping away a tear. “It was a hard day. My guardian was hurt in battle. The others say she’ll be okay, but I’m scared. And there wasn’t enough dinner for us all. It was my turn to skip. But I got extra water, so that’s a good thing.”
She was hungry. Hungry and scared. I didn’t like it. I wanted her to be happy like she was the first day we talked. I thought of the leftover lunch in my bag. I should give it to her.
I looked over my shoulder, half expecting the trainer to find me here again and do worse than he’d already done. And if I was caught sharing food… with an omega…
I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to forget the feel of full grown fists pummeling my gut.
But the urge to see to her needs overrode my self-preservation. Omega or not, she was my friend. She was hungry and I could do something about it.
“I have something for you,” I whispered through the gap. “You can’t tell anyone.”
I watched her eye grow brighter, and I knew I was doing the right thing.
“For me? Is it something you made? Sometimes one of the older ones will find a button or rock and color a face on it, then I can use it to play.”
Curiosity got the best of me. “What do you play?”
“Family.” The way she said it, I could tell she was smiling. “Family is my favorite game. There’s a rock father and a button mother, and two tiny buttons for the babies. They were too small to paint faces on, so we called them babies. I even have an old can to use as a little house. But… what do you have for me, alpha?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Oh.” She waited. “Well, whatever it is, I’ll love it. Because we’re friends and anything you give me will be very special.”
I lowered my gaze, suddenly wishing I had anything else to offer besides some stale bread and cheese, even though she would likely be just as thrilled to have food. Maybe even more so. Still, I wished I had something special for her to play with while she was alone in her shack.
Later. I would bring her something like that later.
Digging in my bag, I found the scraps from the lunch I hadn’t finished. The meal had been more than I needed, and I didn’t think twice about wasting it. I would never waste food again, I decided. Not when little omega was on the other side of the wall hungry.
“Here,” I said, holding a piece of bread up to the gap. “It’s bread from the castle. You can have it.”
Her eye blinked but she didn’t reach through to take it.
“You’re giving me food?”
“Yes. You’re hungry, right?”
Her eye moved enough to let me know she was nodding.
“So take it. I have cheese too. It’s good for you.”
There was a long hesitation before she said, “I can’t.”
“Of course you can.” I frowned when she shook her head.
“My guardian says castle leftovers are poisoned so we can’t eat them. I’d get sick.”
My stomach clenched at the idea. Poison the leftovers. Was that true? It couldn’t be. Food that was going to no one, and it was poisoned to keep it out of omega hands. The King Alpha wouldn’t be that unfair… would he?
I looked over my shoulder again, just to make sure we were still alone. “Listen, little omega. This food is straight from my bag. It was my lunch, but I didn’t finish it. So I know this isn’t poisoned. I would never do that.”
“You wouldn’t?” Her voice trembled. I wanted her to believe me.
“No. Never.”
“Because we’re friends?”
“Yes.”
Her sigh told me she was relieved. “I’m really glad we’re friends, alpha.”
“Me too.” It was true, but admitting it made me uncomfortable. It was forbidden.
“I wish all alphas were as nice as you. I would like it if the grown-ups could get along like we do.”
“I would like that too. Now eat. I’ll need to go soon.”
Dirty fingers grabbed th
e morsel of bread that I offered. “Thank you,” she said before hungrily attacking it.
I watched through the gap as she ate, reminding me of a snarling animal. When she finished, I passed her the cheese.
“You can’t tell anyone,” I warned. “We will both get in trouble if you do.”
Her eye met mine through the opening and she nodded. “I won’t tell a soul.”
“I have to go now, little omega. Remember our vow. Friends.”
“Yes. Friends.”
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, alpha.”
Chapter Two
Rielle
I couldn’t move my arms. What the hell? My head was pounding and it felt much heavier than the rest of my body.
Another tug. Nothing.
I let out a scream when I realized there was a network of wires running from my body into a wall. Bags hung above my head, feeding the wires, and bigger machines displayed numbers, but I had no idea why they were there or what they meant.
“Char.” My voice creaked as I called out for my best friend. My throat was dry as the desert we’d crossed to get to the Human Keep. Was I still there? I didn’t recognize this room. I could’ve been anywhere.
My heart skipped a beat when I realized I didn’t remember anything that happened after we showed up unannounced in the Keep. I’d made the trip with Charolet and Cassian, a reluctant alpha who looked at Char like the sun rose and set at her command.
He’d only disappoint her. But since she looked at him the same way--not that she’d ever admit it--she wouldn’t listen. She never did.
“Charolet!” I put everything I had into my call, pulling against the restraints. They didn’t hurt, but they were strong. Whoever wanted to keep me here also wanted to keep me in one piece.
What happened to my friend? She’d been challenged by omegas who escaped from the Badlands under the promise of a better life. At least, that was how she talked me into going there with her. We’d spend our whole lives fighting for something better. Zelene and Tavia had found a better life, mating with alphas, but I had a bad feeling Charolet and I weren’t so lucky.
