Secret Omega Page 3

  The alphas hunted and fought to protect the pack. That was simply the order of things, and nothing more than that.

  Yet this omega? Was he so different than the others? Cunning, sharp, tough, yet still kind and gentle all the same. With one hand, he'd fight back invaders, and the other hold his pup tight.

  No omega back in his old pack ever did that.

  Stone liked it. He liked it a whole damn lot.

  Chapter Four

  Peregwin

  Peregwin felt it before he’d even opened his eyes. An aching belly, a stirring between his legs. He hated it, yet it always came around all the same.

  His heat.

  Without a mate, it grew even more troublesome. An alpha’s touch was the cure to all the problems brought on by heat, even if it would also cause more problems in the coming months.

  Ollas still slept in a curled ball, hogging all the covers as he always did, and snoring softly. Peregwin wanted nothing more than stay cuddled next to Ollas, but the sun was on the horizon, and he didn’t have the luxury of lying in bed when there was so much work to be done. He gave the chubby little cheek a small kiss and regretted it when it made Ollas’s eyelashes flutter. He held his breath, not daring to move until Ollas had settled back into a deep sleep.

  A loud groaning snore brought his attention to the corner. Oh curse the moon he’d almost forgotten about that heap of trouble. Stone. That was the alphas name.

  Why was he risking so much for a rogue? He was an admitted thief. By helping him, Peregwin was defying his packmaster and disrespecting his pack. The last thing he wanted. But what else could he have done after wounding a poor soul who was just looking for a meal? Despite his rough exterior, Stone didn’t seem bad. And Peregwin had known enough horrible alphas to know when he saw one.

  The clothing Stone had squeezed last night into rode up, showing off his abdomen, which looked as hard as his name would suggest. A handsome face, darting black eyes, and slick black hair, Stone's mere presence was a bad thing to have when combined with the heat Peregwin was coping with. The last thing he needed right now was to get pregnant and be trying to explain to Briar how it happened.

  Doubly so, because Stone wasn't sticking around. That would mean a withering pup, and all the agony that comes with it. Being raised in The Bloody Fang’s pack, Peregwin had seen enough heartbroken omegas, thrown aside by the alphas who’d impregnate them in order to extinguish the offspring they couldn’t be bothered to care for. It was such a cruel curse of nature that an omega was required to continue mating with the alpha who impregnated him in order to carry a healthy pregnancy. It made it all too easy for an alpha to enslave an omega to his will. An omega would do anything to protect his child. Peregwin knew that better than anyone.

  He growled at himself for even having thoughts about Stone. The last thing he needed was another alpha in his life. He needed to fight his baser instincts. He was more than that. Peregwin grabbed a blanket off of his bed and threw it over the bound alpha. As if that would hide the temptation.

  "Dada?" Ollas sat up as he caught his father throwing the blanket.

  "Pup, you rest well?"

  "Why you throw your blanket, Dada?"

  "Err...” He wasn't sure how to explain their temporary guest. “... Dada's just redecorating." He smiled awkwardly.

  Ollas didn't question any further, only rubbed his eyes as he slid out of bed. Peregwin swore that he had grown another good bit taller overnight. He sighed, wishing he could slow time down and savor these moments while his son was still small. There was always so much work to do, and so little time left over for his family.

  "I need to go talk with Briar, Ollas. You want to come with? Go play with Danas?"

  "Yeah!” he said eagerly, then blushed a bit. Oh dear, was he really already developing a crush? When he’d been a captive of the Bloody Fang, Peregwin hadn’t been given the option to choose his mate. Their brutal packmaster had decided he wanted Peregwin as a mate, and that was that. It hadn’t mattered what Peregwin thought of him.

  In this new world he had hoped to build, would an omega like Ollas be allowed to let his feelings determine who he mated with?

  Peregwin laughed to himself. It wasn't anything worth worrying about. Ollas was so very far from his first heat, no matter how quickly and suddenly he grew.

  "Come along now," Peregwin picked up his sling and strapped it over his shoulder before helping Ollas climb into it. He loved feeling that little body cuddled against his back, even if Ollas was hardly a baby anymore, and growing heavier by the day.

  “Giddyup, Dada!” Ollas cried, pulling on Peregwin's shirt.

  He laughed, and started out on the trek up the mountain. He did need to go talk to Briar. He wouldn’t say a thing about Stone. Stone was his little secret. Yet he did need supplies. He’d used the last of his aloe in treating the outsider's wound. That combined with the feelings he’d had when he’d awakened, he could only hope Briar would be able to provide a heat suppressant as well as a healing salve. Lies were forming in his head as he walked through the village. He hated being dishonest to Briar, but he didn't see any other way. He wasn't going to cast Stone out into the wilderness to wither and perish.

  "Morning," Peregwin said, walking into the pack master's hut.

  "Morning," Briar was quick to respond. There was most definitely a certain glow about him that caught Peregwin off guard, the gleeful smile on his friend's face only made him more curious.

  Ollas dashed right past Briar to meet Danas, who was still barely awake himself. The two were so close in age, and it was a joy to watch them grow together.

  A pang hit Peregwin, reminded him that he wasn't here to admire his pack's pups, as much as he truly enjoyed doing that. "Briar, um... would you have happened to have prepared any heat suppressant?"

  Briar frowned. "I'm so sorry, Peregwin. I haven't been able to go gathering recently."

  Peregwin sighed. "It's fine. You've seemed exhausted these days. Have you been well?"

  "That's sort of something I want to share with you."

  "What's the matter?"

  "Let me just say it. I'm pregnant."

  Peregwin's eyes went wide at Briar's words. "Oh…” He took a moment to recover himself before adding, “That's wonderful."

  He truly was excited for his friend, but concern nagged at him. The lean times hadn’t been getting any better. The two of them together had been working themselves ragged trying to do their duty to the pack and raise one pup each. The burden of pregnancy and another pup, though? Peregwin would never directly question Briar on something like this, but he hoped the pack master was prepared for the troubles that may come.

  "Does Rohan know?" Peregwin asked. “Is he excited?”

  “Excited is an understatement. It's all he can talk about.” Briar shook his head. “But he's especially afraid of our pack being jeopardized. I think that's why he got into such a rage with that outsider last night."

  "Oh." They meant Stone.

  "He practically begged me to let him go back and kill the rogue. He’s sure he was a spy who’s going to report back to some god awful pack that will attack us and drag us all back into slavery." Briar must have noticed the concern on Peregwin’s face, because he added.

  “I’m sure Rohan is just paranoid about attacks from violent packs. The rogue was certainly just a lone predator looking for an easy meal.”

  It nagged at Peregwin that maybe thinking with a heat-addled mind could have been blinding him. No, he pushed that thought out of his head. If Stone was a predator, the omega had given him plenty of opportunity to strike. Too much in fact. If he had put so much as a paw out of line back in the Bloody Fang—let alone stabbed an alpha—Peregwin would have been lucky see the next moonrise.

  He gave Briar a placating smile. "You know how alphas are. They're protectors and sometimes they imagine threats to protect against.”

  "Rohan’s not wrong. The threats are all too real.” Briar shook his head. “But we can't let o
ur fear drive us to cruelty."

  Peregwin nodded, his jaw setting. "Mount Liberty is not the Bloody Fang. We will never become the Bloody Fang."

  Briar turned away. Peregwin knew it was much harder for Briar to recall his time in the Bloody Fang. While Briar had only spent a short nightmare in the Bloody Fang, Peregwin had been raised with their cruelty. At the time, he’d thought it was the only way the world could work.

  "We don't have the heat suppressant. That's fine, I can cope. Do you have any extra healing balm, though?"

  The pack master crossed his arms. "Is something the matter?"

  "Oh no, nothing really. I just... cut myself cooking sometimes. You know how it is. You want to blend things together, so you chop them smaller and smaller. Then you nick a finger, and you have a nasty wound that won't heal right without attention."

  "That's terrible, Peregwin, let me see your hands."

  He quickly responded by shaking his head. "Oh no, I took care of it. See, they're all healed up." He fluttered his fingers toward the other omega. "I just want to be prepared if I make a mistake again is all."

  Briar let out a breath. "Sure, let me dig something up."

  "Thank you. I don’t mean to inconvenience you, especially since you're with pup."

  The pack master laughed softly. "I won't be heavy with him for awhile, so I have no excuse not to do my part. I have to take care of pack business, and that means taking care of my pack."

  Briar dug into the cupboard, and handed a small jar to Peregwin. The omega nodded his thanks.

  "Taking care of my pack also means taking care of you, Peregwin." The pack master looked his way. "You look like you haven't been sleeping well."

  "Oh, no, I'm fine." Another lie. With being out looking for Stone and then agonizing over thoughts of him, Peregwin hadn’t spent much of the night sleeping at all. "It's Ollas," he began, continuing his lie trail.

  "What's the matter with Ollas?"

  "He's not sleeping well. He always wants to be next to me, and you know how it is. A pup tosses and turns. Keeps waking you through the night."

  "I don't know. Danas has always been an angel when I let him sleep beside me."

  "I guess you never know with pups. Some are serene, some are troublesome. You love them no matter what." Peregwin smiled, still loathing his lies to Briar. "At least I get to cuddle with my favorite person as I sleep."

  Peregwin always let Ollas sleep beside him, nightmares or not. It kept the pup calm, and it kept Peregwin calm as well. Ollas was the only being he knew as blood. As much as he could view Briar and Rohan as family, blood was so very important. Ollas was his world right now, for better or worse.

  Briar placed a hand on Peregwin's shoulder. "Go rest. I'll take the pups out and we'll gather the suppressant herbs, along with a few other things. I'm sure they'll find it fun."

  Peregwin looked at the two kids, running around chasing one another. Ollas tripped over his own feet. Peregwin was about to rush to his side, but Danas was quicker to helping him back up. Peregwin just smiled. "I'll take you up on your kindness. Those two will love doing anything together."

  "Good. I want to see you rested, Peregwin. We’re all dead without your cooking."

  The omega nodded, and then turned to his son. "Ollas, you can keep playing with Danas for awhile. Control yourself for Briar, you hear me?"

  "Okay, Dada!" The pup yelled back.

  "Take care of yourself, Peregwin," Briar repeated.

  "You too. You're going to be dealing with a whole litter soon enough."

  Briar just smiled, and turned to the children. He took off, calling them his way, leaving Peregwin alone. He’d been instructed to get some rest, but there would be none of that. There was still far too much to be done. He had an entire pack to feed and Stone had only added to the mountain of chores he had to complete before noon.

  Returning to his own hut, Peregwin was surprised to see that the alpha was already awake. Even bound, he had managed to sit up and try to find what little comfort he could.

  "There you are. Thought maybe you'd abandoned me to rot," Stone said as Peregwin came in.

  "I just needed to gather supplies. How's your shoulder feeling?"

  "Like some jittery omega stabbed me in it."

  Peregwin glared at him. "I can throw you right back out on the wastes. It's no fur off my snout."

  The alpha shook his head. "I'm just playing. It feels like hell. I wasn't lying when I said you gave me a mighty big blow there."

  "Well hold tight. I got something that should dull the pain and help it heal."

  Peregwin tore fresh bandages from the cloth he used to bundle dried meats. He lay them out next to the little jar of healing balm, wetting a few to wash out the wound. The pang between his legs struck again, and he couldn't help but look Stone's way. Why did his heat have to strike now? He trembled in place, took a deep breath, and met Stone’s gaze.

  "This might sting a bit as I apply it." Peregwin approached the alpha. He hesitated before unbinding him, but it would be hard to bandage his shoulder with his arms twisted around the way they were. "Just reminding you I still know where my knife is and how to use it."

  "How could I forget?"

  He let the cords fall, Stone now totally free. The alpha still didn't make any fast movements. Every moment that passed like this, Peregwin trusted Stone a little more, and in turn, trusted himself a little more.

  He pulled the shirt from Stone’s hard body, and examined the wound. It was raw and ugly, gaping just a little. It would still take some time to heal, even with proper care.

  The omega wasted little time in applying the medicine. The alpha winced, but kept himself together as Peregwin rubbed it in. "This should keep the pain away for another day or so."

  "You spoil me."

  Peregwin struggled. His heat still nagged at him, and putting his hands on someone as handsome as Stone wasn't helping. His hands trembled as he applied the bandages. He couldn't push away thoughts of Stone taking him, forcing him down, and mating him, making full use of the heat that hit him.

  He couldn't fall for this outsider alpha. It would only lead to turmoil and heartbreak. And yet? When Stone turned his head to face Peregwin face to face, his resolve was shaken. Instinct was overcoming him.

  Stone couldn't stay here. Not unless Peregwin wanted to do something he’d regret.

  Not unless he gave in and did something he desperately wanted to do.

  Chapter Five

  Stone

  Peregwin's hands were so tender, so skilled. They were the hands of a healer, a father. A lover.

  Stone just couldn't shake it. The overwhelming scent of the omega's garlic bath had dulled even his senses, but even then, he couldn't shake the scent.

  All the same, he understood the reservations Peregwin had. He still didn't understand the sympathy or the kindness that was being shown to him. He should have been some scavenger's meal already, not standing here with these blissful hands on his skin.

  Hot need bubbled inside him, threatening to boil over. Back in his old pack, Peregwin would have already been face down and given the fucking of his lifetime. That was how omegas were treated—if an alpha wanted him, the alpha got him.

  But this wasn’t Stone’s old pack. Or any traditional pack. No. The lone alpha seemed to have been claimed by his omega, not the other way around… or was it more like they claimed one another? There was a strange equality in their relationship that Stone didn’t quite understand.

  What he did understand was that Peregwin wasn't just a soft body to be taken, but he couldn't deny that he noticed how the omega was looking at him. Was it possible that Peregwin wanted Stone?

  "You," Stone said, the sting of his wound now dulling. "You ever have an alpha of your own?"

  Peregwin hesitated. "I once thought I did. I’m not that stupid anymore. I'd call my former mate a lot of things, but I definitely wouldn't call him my own."

  Stone chuckled. "Tell me, then. I'm a stranger in a stran
ge world right now. Being here… it’s as if the omegas here have desires of their own." A strange thought that Stone had never been confronted with.

  "Desires?" Peregwin asked as if he had no clue what Stone was talking about, but his pale cheeks flushed pink.

  "Omegas enjoy mating, don’t they?"

  "Why would you care about that?” Peregwin’s blush said everything his lips would not. “I already know what it’s like where you’re from—if an omega looks delicious, an alpha would gladly devour him. An omega’s desires are irrelevant in your world." There was a bit of sadness in his tone, telling Stone that there had been more than one occasion when his former alpha had been less than agreeable.

  He looked back at Peregwin. Darting brown eyes, avoiding direct contact. The way he fidgeted. He was so nervous. Stone had already proven he had no will to hurt him. No. He only wanted the furthest thing from it, to give Peregwin unfathomable pleasure, and the omega wanted it too.

  It only made Peregwin all the more enticing.

  Stone, no matter how much he yearned to be better than he was, was still a beast in the form of a man.

  His lips met with Peregwin's.

  There was surprise for a moment as Peregwin’s supple lips pressed against his, then it was quickly replaced by the desire that Peregwin had pretended didn’t exist.

  He pressed his lips to the crook of that sweet smelling neck and murmured, “So you’re saying you don’t want this?”

  The omega swallowed loudly before barely whispering, “I never said that.”

  A possessive growl tore from Stone’s throat. He was going to take this omega. He was going to make Peregwin scream with all the pleasure he’d ever been denied. Damned if anyone heard them. In that moment, Stone would rather die than quiet his need.

  Stone swept Peregwin off his feet and lay him on the bed before tearing off his tunic to expose the gorgeous body that Stone wanted to claim as his own. To think that this body had carried life within it. It took Stone’s breath away.