“It’s okay, little star,” he murmured. “It’ll feel good in a moment.”
She gave a little bark of laughter. “You say that every time.”
“And every time it’s true. You will know nothing but pleasure at my hands, Serena. My omega.”
She cupped his cheek in her hands and took a long look into the eyes of the male who had taken away everything she’d known and offered only himself in return. If this was her fate… so be it. “T’kinn. My alpha.”
He shivered and then growled. “Say it again.”
She kept her gaze locked on his as she ran her finger tips over his lips. “Mine.”
He tensed, withdrew, and then surged into her with a deep sound somewhere between a roar and a snarl. Her name was twisted into the sound. Then he was moving. Claiming her. His mouth crashed down on hers, sealing in her cries as she rode the waves of pleasure that washed through her. There was no denying her need anymore. It was all-consuming and she let herself get lost in it.
Closing her eyes, she moved with him. She let the heat wash up, stealing all thoughts but those of him. She gave herself up willingly and kissed him back, fighting gently for control of the kiss until he growled, his dominant nature coming to the fore.
Her heart leaped as he moved, capturing her wrists and stretching her out beneath him. Lacing his fingers with hers, he held her in place, his deep thrusts speeding up while becoming harder and deeper.
Eyes black as midnight looked down at her, his mouth open as he panted with the tip of one fang showing. He’d changed, just a little, in a blending of the male and the beast. She wasn’t afraid of either. Not anymore.
There was just pleasure—hers, his, and theirs. Her hands clenched into fists, nails biting into her own flesh as she tensed against his hold, straining to reach climax.
“More!”
“As my omega wishes.” He shifted their bodies, changing the angle of his thrusts so he could stroke her clit with every thrust.
“Oh. That. More.” Her words were broken, ragged, and breathless. She didn’t care. All she wanted was …
“Yes!” She arched off the bed as her release hit.
It was raw and all-consuming, sheer pleasure exploding through every cell in her body. She gasped, her breath stolen. She wrapped herself around him as he sped up, his hips driving against hers. The cords stood out in his neck, every inch of his powerful body chasing his own release.
Then he thrust one last time before he stiffened and threw his head back to howl in triumph as his cock swelled and knotted, triggering another release as he spilled his seed deep within her.
7
The test was positive. He knew it would be. Her scent had told him, but he had to be sure.
Kinn suppressed a growl as he stood in the middle of his lab and looked at the test results on the screen. His omega was pregnant and everything should be perfect. She’d accepted him as her alpha and submitted to him. The days of her heat had been the most blissful of his life. Exhausting, and their constant fucking had damned near rubbed his cock raw… Gods, when the others had said omegas in heat were insatiable, they hadn’t been wrong. He was a trained and battle-hardened warrior at peak fitness and even then, a few times he’d thought she’d wear him to exhaustion.
But… he ran a hand through his hair. The female who had come out of heat hadn’t been the same as the one who had gone into it.
It didn’t make sense, but nothing about Serena ever had. She was contrary and stubborn with a sharp tongue and an even sharper mind. She was nothing like an omega should be. At least, nothing his kind had seen since… He tugged at his hair in frustration.
There had to be an explanation. Some reason why these humans showed some of the same characteristics as the Tolath’s original omegas. Only some, though. Serena’s current behavior wasn’t anything mentioned in the medical archives. She was… fading. The sparkle in her eyes was gone, as was the fire that had so infuriated him.
She would sleep in the nests she made. In fact, she slept too much and ate too little. And the nests were still not big enough. They were just for her, not him as well. He’d tried urging her to make them bigger, so he could comfort her as she slept, but she continued to ignore all the extra bedding material. Even trying to provoke a reaction from her was pointless. She just agreed with everything he said.
He closed his eyes, tipping his head back. He never thought he’d miss the argumentative side of her nature. Ever. Now? He’d do anything just for her to wrinkle her beautiful little nose and deliver a stinging set-down about him being a brutish alien or something.
Anything.
Every test he ran was inconclusive. He was the best healer on the planet, but these omegas—especially his omega—confounded him. The bit of membrane she’d used to somehow control or hide her omega nature had been too old and used up to give him the answers the Lord Overseer wanted. All he could confirm was that they had at least one way to escape detection.
Asking Serena was pointless. She’d stay silent and look at him with eyes that reminded him of the broken omegas he saw among the L’crav.
He pushed the thought away. She wasn’t broken. He hadn’t broken her. Not like the L’crav had done with their omegas. He cared for her and gave her everything she needed. Food, bedding, safety… the comfort of his body when she asked for it.
He opened his eyes, gazing at the patterns on the ceiling without seeing them. She didn’t ask, though. She didn’t deny him, but she didn’t seek his touch either. Not as he’d seen Var and Rath’s omegas do. She didn’t look at him like they looked at their mates either, nor had she bitten him.
With a growl, he slammed his hands down on the counter in front of him. This stopped now. Turning, he stormed from the room, determination filling every line of his body. She would be happy. He would make sure she was.
And then she’d sass him again with fire in her eyes, and they would be a properly mated pair.
He found her in one of the side rooms she’d claimed when she was still turning his life and healing hall upside down. She wasn’t alone. The Mother Superior was with her again. It occurred to him he didn’t even know the female’s name. Everyone used her title, a mark of status that he didn’t quite understand. She was a female, and not even an omega.
“Mother Superior. I will speak to my omega now. You may return to visit another day.”
He expected her to murmur her goodbyes and leave as ordered. She was a beta, and they were conditioned to serve. But she didn’t. His frown grew as she ignored him and reached forward, her hand over Serena’s as she linked gazes with his omega. After a long moment, she nodded. Squeezing Serena’s hand, she rose gracefully.
“If you need me, Serena, you know where to find me.”
For a moment it was like Serena didn’t realize Mother Superior was leaving. The other woman was halfway to the door before she responded. “Yes, Ari.”
The beta woman locked eyes with him and nodded toward the door, an unspoken order that surprised him enough to get him moving before he realized it. Then instinct almost had him digging his heels in. This was a beta, for xarth’s sake. No alpha took orders from a beta.
But… she obviously wanted to talk about Serena, the concern clearly written in her eyes.