Unmated. Fuck. Fuckity-fuck. That smell! Young, available, unmated omega. His natural impulse was to drop everything and go to her, circle her, gain her attention.
The two younger breed looked enough like Naya that Alreck knew they were also family. Had to be the sister and older brother.
Something was happening with Naya, her distress increasing as her family walked down the manicured path toward her. Darre scooped her up in his arms, purring and drawing everyone’s attention.
The faces of Naya’s family whitened, their mouths dropping open, scandalized at the open affection shown between their daughter and her bond-mate. Behind the elders and young brothers, a shadow passed over the single omega’s expression before disappearing. From where he stood, Alreck couldn’t see her eyes, but she held herself under such rigid control that he could almost see the cracks traveling through her facade. Strong, beautiful, in need. His attraction to her was instant. The little female pinged every fucking one of his boxes.
He had to tear his eyes away from her to check and see how his men were doing. Jordan had big eyes and Blane’s mouth was open, taking in the scents over his tongue. Flaring with sudden territorial rage, Alreck wanted to knock their heads together and take them out of the running as competition. Were they scenting that pretty omega?
He couldn’t just jump between his own men and start fights now, though. He’d never felt more trapped between duty and desire, instinct, and intellect.
Somehow, he would make that omega his own. The decision was irrefutable, made the moment her scent collided with his instinct, overruling rational thinking. She would be his.
Following her parents, she came a little closer, just into to the range of his nose. He clenched his teeth against the urge to be a dog like Jordan and open his mouth to taste her essence on the air. But he wouldn’t.
She was a closed flower, waiting to be opened. He saw no alpha other than the pup of a brother, not that it mattered. Any man not family that could be in the same room with her and not want her was a fool who deserved to die.
A slimmer, sophisticated version of Naya, this woman carried the weight of some trial he couldn’t guess at. Locked down tight, her potential lay hidden and untouched. She was ice on the verge of melting. He would be the fire to caress her skin and find her heart.
He was going to shake her up and wake the storm. That omega was gonna choose him and give him her bite. Alreck wouldn’t miss his chance. He pushed down the urge to rush into her space and command her attention. He had to be careful. If he acted out of place and those actions created a risk to Naya, his alpha would do more than have his head. There could be conflicts with his own men too. He couldn’t be a fool and let go of his controlnow, his damn instinct to rush in was going to have to take a back seat to some practical strategy. They would be here a few days. There would be time.
With an imperceptible shift, the wind turned and washed more of the unbonded omega’s perfumed essence over him. Fuck. She was delicious-wild berries in the late summer heat, and a salty, creamy cinnamon musk.
On the other side of Darre, Jordan took a step forward as if pulled by a magnet. Still holding Naya, Darre’s muscles bunched as if to go in that direction. Alreck could feel the energy shift. At the same moment, Naya leaned away from Darre toward her brother.
The pull of his mate in a different direction distracted Darre and saved Jordan’s life.
The scent of an omega started a chain reaction into violent possibilities, all of them falling into the trap of their instincts and biting at each other until the one with the biggest claws won.
His attention on his mate, Darre set Naya on her feet so she could touch her brothers and greet her family. Her parents seemed at a loss, keenly uncomfortable. What did they see when they looked at Naya? They had all been through quite a few changes since they were last together.
Only Naya spoke. Whatever had bothered her before, her anxiety had faded. She touched the hands of her parents, introduced her mate, and gently suggested they go into the house.
Chapter Eight
Phee rushed back into the safety of the house as soon as she dared. Mother called her to come into the dining room, where a midday meal waited for their guests. There was enough food and wine in there for a fifty people.
But Phee couldn’t do it.
Naya’s alpha was a feral-looking monster of a male. Overtly masculine and dominating, he’d caused the hair to stand up on the back of Phee’s neck when his eyes swept over her family. He gave her the impression he was a man who could kill them all in their beds, laugh about it, and sit down to breakfast an hour later without a second thought.
This was the type of rough male Mother had warned her daughters about, saying he would eat them alive, hurt their bodies, and take away all their choices. Yet when Naya’s smile dimmed at seeing their parents—Mother always had a way of walking over her—the beast had swept his mate into his arms and purred away her unhappiness as if they were the only two people alive.
Phee didn’t know what to think of the strange, incongruent image. It was the most romantic, sweet thing she’d ever seen but it went against all she’d ever been told.
Now that Phee knew everything Mother said and did was a self-benefiting lie, Phee had to accept that she had believed and lived those same lies. No one coerced her. No one forced Phee to hunt the prize of becoming an important and respected omega. Mother’s way of doing things had been easy and safe.
Phee had thought she understood all about the alpha and omega bond, but now that she saw Naya with her mate, she wondered if she understood anything of life at all.
And the men arriving with Naya and her mate were all thecommonkind of males—saber-rattling ruffians wearing clothes stained by old battles. They were a pack of drooling Sector 2 dogs, straining at their chains—not good men, and not alphas who knew their proper place. They bristled from head to toe with big, fat swords and knife hilts. One of them even carried a stick at his waist that she presumed was for beating things.
That one had looked right at her, and her heart leapt in fear. A hitching, surprised jump, that had to be fear. What else could the feeling be?
Not as big as Naya’s male or as old, this one still intimidated with his size and strength. She shivered, thinking of the beastly club against his thick, well-formed thigh.
No.What was that? What was this feeling coming from her—was it interest? Lust? What kind of fool was she to look at an alpha with desire when nothing could ever happen?
Her brother, Talis, stopped Phee at the back stairs on the way to her third-floor room, his hand on her arm. “You aren’t going to say hello to Naya and her mate?”
