The door opened, and the soldier who had come running coughed at the sudden rush of Omega-perfumed warm air that surrounded him. I craned my neck to see over Axe’s hulking frame. The soldier’s face had gone bright scarlet, almost matching his red beard and hair. I recognized him; we had done more than one tour of the kingdom together, searching for our Omega, many months before. He inhaled sharply, most likely from seeing Axe’s eyes glow golden. “Graham, what news?”
“General,” he answered, and sketched a bow. “The flares were lit on the eastern tower, sir. Reports of a man scaling the walls, but we can’t locate him now. Lord Vilkurn sounded the alarm, and we found guards dead. Can you…” A soft moan from Vali interrupted his report. His gaze flashed to the bed, pupils dilating so suddenly it seemed his eyes had turned black, and he made a short growl, cut off.
Silent, Axe lifted his axe.
“Apologies, my lord,” Graham said, holding his breath as he spoke, his fists clenching and unclenching. “I would not have interrupted, except the man was last seen near the wide window of the next room—”
His speech ended abruptly as we all heard a slight scrape from the adjoining room, Axe’s private bathing chamber. I lifted myself until I could see Graham’s face. Axe was signing rapidly, and Graham’s eyes were fixed on his hands.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” I said, loudly enough to be heard by anyone listening from that room. “We’re on the third floor here, only a rat could climb the walls of this tower.”
Axe’s fingers flashed, “We can’t leave the nest. You must go into the room and kill the intruder.” He was right; it was better for us to take care of this one now, on our own terms.
Graham nodded. “I need to use the privy. May I step into yours, General?”
He silently slid his sword out of its sheath and moved to the oak door that led into the adjoining room. Axe shifted, somehow seeming to grow even larger than he was, blocking the entire end of the bed.
Vali whimpered again, and I purred, stroking her hair. “Don’t worry, Omega. We’re here with you. We’ll keep you safe.”
Graham opened the door and rushed inside, his sword swinging up to protect himself. I heard him moving around in the room and then… nothing.
“Axe?”
He shrugged, his eyes still trained on the open door, weapon at the ready. I lifted myself again so I could see.
Graham stepped back into our room, sheepishly rubbing a hand over his face. “There was no one there.” His breathing was shallow, his face still flushed as he fought to keep his gaze away from Vali and me. Honestly, I was impressed at his control. To be in the same room as an Omega in heat… well, I wasn’t sure I would be able to resist nearly as well. I supposed Axe’s weapon and size were a bit of a deterrent.
Axe signed, “Can you guard? We cannot leave her.”
“I would be honored,” he answered, “but... I can’t stay in this room.”
“Go to the bathing room; guard the window.” Graham nodded, bowed again, and exited, muttering a soft, “lucky bastards,” as he went.
“Yes, we are,” I said. My knot had softened enough to slip free of Vali, and I moved away, ignoring her pitiful cries for a moment. I reached for the robe that lay draped over pillows on the side of the nest, but Vali growled until I set it back down.
Fine, only Axe would get to wear clothing for the battle ahead. “Axe, what is the plan? Vilkurn must have lit the flares. Rigol is in the city with his usual guards, but they may be under attack as well. We must act.”
“We are guarding the prize,” Axe signed, his eyes glowing golden. “We must trust our brothers and the Goddess to protect them, and us.”
I nodded. Vali was writhing on the sheets now, her skin flushed bright pink, almost red, as she moved her hand between her thighs, trying to ease the burning there. “Your turn, brother,” I said. “I’ll hold your axe.”
His smile flashed briefly under his beard as he mouthed the words, “You couldn’t lift an axe this big.”
I used my hands to describe where I would stuff that axe if he didn’t help our mate, but he was right. I could lift his weapon, but not wield it effectively. I was six feet tall, but Axe was close to seven and twice as wide as I was, all of it muscle. Smoothly, we traded places on the bed, with me guarding the foot and Axe and Vali closer to the headboard.
I kept my gaze trained on the main door, knowing the bathing chamber was guarded, trying not to get distracted by the scent that rose in a great cloud of salted peaches and honeyed cream as, behind me, Axe helped our mate through the next wave of her heat. He was working her with his hands and tongue, delaying the inevitable knotting. He wouldn’t want to be caught in the act as I had been if the next person to walk through the door wasn’t one of our own.
Who could the enemy be? We had so many now, small fiefdoms and larger kingdoms who had begun to send spies and warriors to take Vali by stealth or force. We had almost as many false friends, who invited our whole group to visit their lands, though we never assented. Once they had our queen, they would never let her go. Lorn had advocated for visiting them and killing any leaders who attacked in any way. That would be extremely gratifying, but we couldn’t take chances with our lives now. I rubbed my hand on the mating bite Vali had placed on my neck. If one of us died, we all would since we had tied our lives to hers in the ancient way.
Axe was still working on Vali, feeding her the head of his enormous cock, when I heard something in the bathing chamber again. “Graham?” I called out.
“Yeah?”
Axe snarled soundlessly, and I tightened my hands on the leather-wrapped grip. The voice was male, the answer given in a perfect Rimholtian accent, but Graham Knightley would never speak to his commanding officer thus. “Turn her,” I signed to Axe, and he situated Vali on the bed so she was on her stomach, her face half-covered in the blankets and clothing she’d piled at that end.
Axe kept manipulating her pussy with his hands, and the wet sounds caused my cock to rise again, even in the midst of danger. The door to the bathing chamber swung open with a soft squeal from the hinges, and I centered myself, wishing I had thought to bring more to my mate’s nest than just food. It was a mistake I would never repeat.
Then the enemy was in front of me, and I had no more time for thought, only instinct and action.
