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Did he mean it? Had he changed his mind about what he wanted with me? Did I even want him to?

  I shivered against him and his arms tightened protectively. Feeling very tired all of a sudden, I closed my eyes. I didn’t know why, but for some reason I felt safe with him.

  I fell asleep against him with my bottom burning and my pussy still sore.

  Chapter 4

  Magnar

  The amount of restraint it had taken to resist the tiny little omega in my arms had been the hardest thing I’d ever had to do in my life. Every bone in my body was screaming for me to take the innocent woman as hard as she needed to be taken. I’d seen the way her body had called for mine. I’d felt the way her tight pussy had grasped at my fingers and I couldn’t help but fantasize about how it would feel around my cock.

  Even now, my balls ached and my cock felt as hard as an iron spike. My knot craved to be sunk deep in her beautiful body for the hard fucking she needed. I couldn’t shake the scent of her slick, sweet and enticing and utterly fucking intoxicating.

  I couldn’t drag her into this mess. I didn’t know her, and I didn’t trust her. As a gift from the Cult, she could very well be one of their own sent to keep an eye on me in my new role on the throne. It was entirely possible that she could report back to those above me at any indiscretion and especially if I used the crown in any way to step out of line with what they wanted. They had their agenda and I had mine.

  I’d worked too hard to rise in the ranks to have it thwarted by a tiny blue-eyed omega. There was no way I could risk it. She was going to have to be dealt with and quickly.

  I stormed through the halls, stopping for nothing and no one. Servants paused and asked me questions about the feast and I just shook my head. Soon enough, they got the hint and turned away to find the answers elsewhere. I didn’t look back.

  I made my way up to the king’s chambers without pause. By the time I reached my rooms, Ariana had already fallen asleep in my arms. Her naked skin was soft against mine and my cock throbbed even harder.

  Her innocence was captivating to behold. From the surprised look on her face as she’d come for me to the way her muscles had tensed hard as she climaxed all over my fingers, it had been clear to me that she’d never felt a man’s hands on her body before tonight.

  A hard shudder of arousal settled at the base of my spine and I gritted my teeth. I had to get it together.

  In my chambers, there was a wing I’d never used because I had never needed it. The long dead alpha kings of the city would either keep their omega or even a beta mistress close at hand. I’d never taken one because I hadn’t wanted to put myself or anyone else in danger. The women I’d taken to my bed had never stayed the night.

  I strode into the room and noticed that it had been prepared earlier that day. The bed linens had been fluffed and turned down. A fire was crackling in the stone fireplace and a fresh bouquet of lily-white roses had been set in an elegant vase on the windowsill. There was a bowl of fresh fruits and a pitcher of water set on a corner table. I also noticed that there was a pile of folded blankets and a multitude of soft pillows neatly placed on top of a fur rug in the corner of the room, in case the tiny omega wanted to nest.

  My omega.

  I snarled at myself for thinking of such things. Without jostling her too much, I laid her down on the bed and tucked her in. For a long moment, I stared at the sleeping omega. She looked like an angel. Her blonde hair was so light and pale against the white of the sheets. Her thick eyelashes practically brushed the tops of her cheeks, which were tinted pink from what I’d put her through in front of the audience that had come to see my crowning.

  I didn’t need to see her heart-shaped bottom to know that it was still bright red from my palm.

  She would likely hate me when she woke, but it had been necessary. The Cult had needed to see my gratitude for their gift, but more important, they’d wanted a public showing of my ability to put her in her place. They’d wanted to see me teach her a lesson with my cock, but I’d given them something else to appease them. I’d been harsh and demanding and I hadn’t given in even when she’d pleaded for mercy. I hoped it would be enough. I prayed to the gods that it would be.

  I turned away from her. I would keep her here. She would want for nothing, but I would never touch her again.

  I left the room and padlocked it shut. She wouldn’t be allowed to leave or roam the castle on her own. She would be my prisoner now. It would be difficult for her, but it was a better fate than death.

  I staggered into my bedroom and practically tore my clothes from my body. The fabric was too tight. My skin was too sensitive. My cock still hadn’t softened and was beginning to bridge into a painful ache that made it hard to focus on anything other than the naked woman locked inside my chambers. I strode into the stone-built shower, pulled the chain, and released the heated water from the vat above, allowing it to rain down on me.

  I tried to think of anything other than the way her tight little pussy had clutched at my knuckles. The aroma of her slick still hung heavy in my nose. It felt like her body was calling to me from several rooms away.

  I was losing control in a way I’d never experienced before, and it was all her fault. She didn’t know what her sweet innocence was doing to me. She didn’t know how much I wanted to be her first in every way.

  I slapped my palm against the stone wall. I roared and punched it hard enough to hurt and still it wasn’t enough. My chest heaved with restraint and I smacked my other hand against the marbled rock.

  Hesitantly, I splayed one hand across my belly. When I could deny my need no longer, I drew my palm down and took my cock in my fist.

  With the hot water racing down my back, I dragged my fingers up and down my cock. Would it be wrong to think of her? Just this once?

  To imagine what it would feel like to throw her up against the wall of my shower and thrust every last inch of my cock in her slick-soaked cunt. To feel the way her body would squeeze tight around my thick length at the same time that she struggled to take it. To hear her scream my name again and again with every brutal climax that I forced from her willing body.

  My fingers worked up and down my shaft even faster, but I didn’t rush it. No. I’d allow myself to think of the intoxicatingly beautiful woman all I wanted and then I’d never think of her again.

  I told myself that over and over even though I knew it was a lie.

  I wanted to take her nipples between my fingers and pinch them. I wanted to take her over my knee and spank her bare bottom bright red until she was sore and soaked with her arousal. I wanted to mark her with my belt so that no man other than me would ever touch her again.

  I groaned.

  My cock was so impossibly hard. I squeezed my fist around it even tighter, stroking up and down the entire length. The heated water rained down my back and the muscles of my back tensed as pleasure rattled deep inside all the way to the pit of my bones.

  What would she sound like when she took my knot? Would she cry out with desire? Would she come the moment my seed marked her pretty omega cunt as mine? Would she beg me for more?

  I worked my cock with my fist, taking my time and enjoying the enticing fantasy of her naked on her knees, begging for my seed deep in all of her tight little holes.

  Of her screaming my name.

  Of her bound to my bed.

  Of my mark on her neck.

  I growled and stroked my cock in a frenzy. Finally, when I couldn’t hold out any longer, my thick cum spurted down into the swirling water and into the drain beneath my feet. I came harder than I thought possible and watched with a warped sense of awe as one spurt after another of my seed washed away, wasted because it wasn’t marking her skin.

  I felt sated, but there was a part of me that felt empty and unmistakably hollow.

  Until the next time.

  I sighed, caving my shoulders forward. For now, this would have to do.

  With my most urgent need sated, I could get my head back on
my shoulders, although I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer it would be until I lost control like that again.

  I feared it would be with her still in the room.

  Chapter 5

  Ariana

  I woke up naked, in a strange bed and an unfamiliar room. The mattress was soft, made of incredibly plush feather down that befit the luxury a member of royalty was used to. I curled the covers up around me as I looked around the room. It was simple. There was a glass window framed in a thick wood lattice and beneath it were a table and two straight-backed chairs. There appeared to be an attached restroom and a closet. Inside it were a number of simple dresses like the one that had been given to me the day before.

  The one that had been ripped from my body by the king. The man who was meant to be my alpha.

  I swallowed anxiously, searching the room for his presence. There was almost a sense of disappointment that settled deep in my heart when I realized that I was alone. My stomach growled and I finally pushed the covers out of the way to grab a piece of fruit. I chose a massive golden apple and took a bite, groaning as the delectable juices practically poured down my chin. I rushed to cup my other hand beneath to catch the runoff. I was so hungry that I ate the whole thing and when I was finished, I licked each finger clean. I poured a glass of water and tipped it up to my lips. Surprised to find that it was still cold, I drank every last drop.

  When I finally felt sated, I walked into the restroom and washed my hands, using the lemon-scented bar of soap that had been left for me. There was a massive carved stone tub with running water, and I looked at it longingly. It had been ages since I’d taken a bath and I brushed my fingers against the hard rock, wondering if I would be able to take a chance to enjoy it.

  I walked back into the room. It was L-shaped and when I turned the corner, I discovered a small library with the most comfortable reading nook I’d ever seen. I reached out to touch the spines of the books, reading some of the titles and finding a range of topics from romance to history to even prophecy stacked on the dark wood shelves.

  I walked back toward the bed and into the closet. I pulled a soft ivory dress free and wrapped it around my naked body. I stepped into a pair of fur-lined slippers and sighed in pleasure at the soft warmth. I approached the bedroom door and grasped the doorknob. I tried to turn it, but it didn’t budge.

  I was locked inside.

  I’d traded the cold dank dungeon for a fancier cell in the castle.

  With disappointment, I released my hold on the door and walked over to the window, looking out at the city instead. It appeared to be a normal day. People were walking the streets or driving their horse-drawn carts to sell their wares at the markets. There were some with food, others with cloth, and even more with weaponry of every kind. The people of Kingsworth went on their business unaware of the darker underbelly of the city. The Cult of the Blood Moon held power here. It was they who determined who stepped into power and who decided when someone needed to be removed.

  They were evil. They needed to be stopped.

  I had to figure out how I could use this new position as the king’s omega to do that. I sat down at the table and hissed when my backside pressed against the hard wooden surface, swallowing heavily. I was still sore from the spanking Magnar had given me at the celebration of his crowning.

  Everyone watching had seen me naked. He hadn’t allowed me to hide anything, but that wasn’t the worst part of it. That wasn’t the part that made me angry.

  He’d gotten to me and I’d begged him to come even with my punished backside and slick-soaked thighs on complete display.

  And I’d done it.

  I’d come for the first time in my life. Really fucking hard.

  I loathed the fact that I wanted to come for him again. I yearned for his hands on my naked skin once more. I stood and walked back over to the bed, deciding to sit on its soft surface instead.

  Ever since I’d been captured in Ravenrath, I felt like I’d been trapped in a whirlwind unable to break free. Now completely alone, sore, and satisfied, I finally had a moment to think with a clear mind and remember the real reason I was here. I ignored the fact that it was mostly just because he wasn’t here.

  I wasn’t here to find a mate. I was here to learn about the Cult.

  The Alpha Brotherhood had been my home for as long as I could remember. My father was its leader. I was one of the only people that knew of his identity outside the title of Ghost. I’d never known my mother. She was a beta who’d died giving birth to me. My father was all that I’d ever known, and he’d raised me as his equal.

  The Brotherhood was a secret organization of people that had come together long ago to follow the will of the gods with the belief that the universe functioned in equal measure of order and chaos. Without both, the world would fall into ruin. Identities were protected. Ideals and rules were maintained and throughout the passing of time, we had people stationed in nearly every major city and even throughout the lesser wilds to see to it that our mission was upheld.

  We had one enemy. The Cult of the Blood Moon.

  The Cult had resisted our attempts at infiltration for a long time. Sometimes it seemed that they were always a few steps ahead of us and other times, it was as though they were several steps behind us.

  We hadn’t known just how deep their roots dug into Kingsworth. Just in my time here, I’d seen that they were more powerful than we’d suspected. The omega trade was even stronger here than we’d ever realized, and I knew that this was only the beginning of what I could learn here.

  Even Magnar could be a source of information.

  I rubbed my upper arms with my hands and the quiet sound of the unlocking of my door captured my attention. I turned to see a servant with a food-laden tray. She entered and placed it on the table with the fruit bowl.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  She nodded politely and turned away.

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Did they cut out your tongue too?” I pressed.

  When she nodded, I grimaced with sadness. I understood why they had done it, but that didn’t make it right. She left just as quickly as she had come, and I pushed myself off the bed to go inspect what she had brought. There were several drumsticks of meat, platters of cheese and sausages, along with a number of sliced and steamed vegetables.

  I heard her lock the door and I prepared myself a plate. I ate my fill of the delicious spread and when I was finished, I shuffled over to the reading nook. I inspected the books once more and pulled one down to read. It was a book of the city’s history and I was curious if it was written by those who lived here.

  I settled down in the cushioned reading chair and spent several hours learning about the time since the Great War. There were a number of passages that caught my interest, including the suggestion of a secret set of passages within the castle as well as many other small details I hadn’t considered before as to the composition of the king’s advisors and the way the city was organized into certain districts by class.

  I read by the light of the sun and when it finally started to set, the servant returned and stoked the fire in the fireplace. She lit several lanterns around the room. I didn’t say anything other than to politely thank her. I knew that she couldn’t answer. I wouldn’t learn anything from her.

  When I grew tired, I climbed into bed and fell asleep.

  For several days, I simply rested, read, and passed the time watching the city through my window. Most nights, I relaxed with a hot bath. At first, it felt like heaven. The soreness between my legs and across my backside faded until there was nothing left and for some reason, that saddened me. Then after about a week, I began to feel restless.

  I was back in my reading nook when I heard the sound of the door unlocking once more. Assuming it was the female servant who had been attending me, I didn’t look up until a man cleared his throat nearby.

  It was Magnar.

 
“Ariana,” he murmured. His gaze was dark and hard to read. I wasn’t quite sure what he wanted, and I stiffened in response.

  “King Magnar,” I replied respectfully. I didn’t make any motions to move. Instead, I just stilled and waited for him to give any indication of why he was here.

  “I wanted to see how you were doing. Are you enjoying your time here? Is there anything I can get you?” he asked gruffly.

  His presence was unexpected and if I really thought about it, completely unnecessary. If I had needed anything, I could have asked my servant.

  I took a deep breath as I tried to figure out the real reason why the king was here in my chambers. His scent surrounded me. He smelled of smoke, citrus, and sweat and I found it so enticing that I breathed it in once more.

  “I enjoyed painting once,” I answered carefully.

  The tension between us was thick.

  His jawline tensed and I pressed my thighs together, uncomfortably aware that just his presence had caused my body to pulse with a warm desire. My pussy clenched and I came to the reluctant conclusion that I was wet. Not once had I felt the urge to slide my fingers in between my legs since I’d been in this room, but simply him standing in front of me right now made me want to.

  “I’ll bring you an easel and paints. I’ll make sure you have everything you need,” he answered. I wondered if he could sense my arousal. I did everything I could to hide it, but when his nostrils flared just the slightest bit, I knew that I couldn’t.

  He would know I was wet for him.

  “Thank you, Magnar,” I answered dutifully. He took a single step closer and I didn’t move a muscle. His fingers clenched into fists for a moment, but then he visibly relaxed. I didn’t let down my guard.

  “It is my pleasure, Ariana. I’ll bring you some supplies tomorrow,” he said curtly before he turned around and walked out of the room. He locked the door behind him.

  I was caught off guard by his visit and my core pulsed greedily with desire. Locked safe inside and all alone, I lifted my dress and hesitantly explored my inner thighs. I wasn’t just a little wet. I was soaked and my clit throbbed with need. When I lightly grazed my finger over top of my pulsing bud, I jolted as a rush of electric desire caught me off guard. I chewed my lip and turned my gaze nervously to the door. There was no indication that he was coming back. The servant typically didn’t come check on me for at least another hour.