I'm shaking. My hands feel like they're rattling with need. My vision goes hazy, like I'm on the edge of a rut.
I stalk her to the edge of the kitchen, swiftly closing the gap between us. One hand wraps around her waist, my other hand presses between her shoulder blades, and I push her forward, so she instinctively reaches up, palms slapping the wall.
I lift the t-shirt, exposing her perfect, round, bare ass. My hand traces down her spine before roughly grabbing a palmful of one cheek, kneading and squeezing her flesh. Mona's honeyedperfume fills the air. Saturates it. Her omega whimpers, so I squeeze tighter.
"Harder," she rasps, so I pull back and slap, my fingers digging in and shaking her ass.
"Jesus, do that again," she moans, dropping her forehead to the wall.
I laugh darkly. "Orion. Mate. Or Alpha. That is what you call me." Then I reach back and slap her ass again, a full red palm print staining her skin. Her ass jiggles as she pushes it back toward me. With her legs spread, and at the right angle, I can see her pussy spread open, slick dripping. My mouth waters.
I'm so fucking hard. My dick is literally weeping.
I'm two seconds from saying fuck-it and dropping my pants when the front door opens.
"Fuck!" I yank her shirt down. "Go change. Now." My voice shakes.
No way do I want anyone but Grayson seeing her like this. Her perfume is hard enough to ignore.
Fucking omegas. It's too much. So much stronger than anything else. Like this biologically evolved weapon designed to make every shifter in their vicinity lose all sense.
"Bossy." Mona grins, holding the sides of my shirt down so it covers her completely. Problem is, all it does is strain her hard nipples and big, round tits against the soft material.
I groan and drop my head in my hands, then point toward the stairs down the hall. She huffs a laugh and scurries off.
Doc wanders in a second later. "Is it safe to come in?" he jokes.
I groan again, wondering how long I can handle this courting business without bonding my mate. We haven't told her much about the ritual, she's got enough worries for now. And I meant what I said, I'll do what I can to share the burden, and thatincludes not laying everything we expect of her at her feet when she's barely been here a week.
I clear my throat and adjust my pants. It'll take a minute or ten for my cock to soften, but no need to traumatize Doc with it. "Any reports or injuries?" I ask. "I've been a little preoccupied."
Doc smiles genially and shakes his head. "No, no injuries. I've not heard much, only that there was an intruder but they've been chased off. Grayson is organizing a hunt, all enforcers have been called in. He's calling in a red threat."
We have hundreds of enforcers throughout Silent Peak. Only about half live in town, close to the heart of our lands, and interact with the clan at-large daily. The rest live more primitively, in dens, up the mountain and through the forest, spread out over hundreds of acres. We haven't had all hands on deck in years.
"Mona smelled like magic when I got to her. She was sneezing it out, like she'd breathed it in. She must have been targeted. She smells fine now, but I want you to take a look."
He nods and, just as Mona's steps echo down the hall, the front door opens again. I'm not surprised when she pivots and heads toward the living room.
"Where is she?" Grayson roars. Doc and I follow the sounds of Grayson's growling, then hear a slight "Oomf," and find Mona wrapped up in his massive arms. Her feet swing a foot off the floor, and he squeezes her so tight I can hear her labored breath.
"Ease up," I remind him.
He glares at me, but does as I say. Mona's bare feet hit the worn hardwood floor, but Gray's hands still roam over her.
"I'm okay," she assures him. Gray and Mona had a fairly contentious start, but it seems all but forgotten as he pours over her in worry and she lets him.
He leans in and takes a deep sniff. Finding nothing amiss, he does it again, on either side of her neck. He even tries to lift her arm, but she shoves him away.
"Dude. Chill."
"I will not chill. Doc? Have you looked her over yet? What have you found?"
Doc meanders closer, pulling Mona away from the overbearing alpha. While he listens to her pulse and seems to follow Grayson's apparently apt sniff-test by doing one of his own, Gray and I step off to the side.
"What did you find?"
His jaw ticks, making his already feral vibe seem even more violent. "Two witches. We haven't caught them. They're… unusually fast. It's like they disappeared. I know witches can erase their scent, but it's like they knew exactly how and where to evade us…" he trails off, then shakes his head. "We'll find something. For now, we're on a red-level threat. I put it out to the broader clan. It'll be busy in the forest for a while until we get some answers."
