Chapter 18 Thorus

Shit.

It's time for me to step in before these two young fools rip the poor little omega in two.

I would have intervened sooner if I'd known the crazy little female was going to throw herself between them like that.

In a heartbeat, I'm on my feet and striding toward Brik and Markus, who are jerking Syra back and forth between them like two feral dogs fighting over a piece of meat. I don't bother shouting at them. They wouldn't even hear me, frenzied as they are. Instead, I speak to them in a language I know they'll understand—pain.

Before the two young alphas even realize that I'm standing beside them, I snap my hands out and grab both of them by the ears.

Then I twist.

Hard.

I could rip those ears right off their heads if I really wanted to, but I don't give it that much torque. I don't want to injure them, just get their attention. It works.

"Fuck!" Brik yelps.

Markus doesn't say anything; he just bellows in pain.

They both let go of the omega.

A moment later, both of them turn on me, their eyes blazing with anger. Even Brik, my protege, looks like he's ready to attack me. The natural thing would be to match their aggression with a display of my own, but that would only escalate the situation, and that's not what I want.

Instead, I pluck the omega out from between them and spin her around so they can both see the look of terror written across her beautiful features.

That works too.

Their hostility immediately evaporates, replaced by twin expressions of concern. They both start to move toward Syra, but I shove them away.

"Back off, you damn fools. Give the omega some room to breathe."

I turn Syra around and cradle her face in my hands. There are tears in her eyes, but I can't tell if it's her fear that put them there or her need. The scent of her heat is intense, and it makes my cock go as rigid as a bone beneath my loincloth. We alphas are going to have to tend to her heat soon. It's going to require all three of us to put out the fire that's burning within her.

"I'm sorry," I tell Syra. "I should have stepped in sooner. Are you injured?"

"No," she answers in a trembling voice. Then her face hardens. She takes a step back and pushes my hands away. "I'm fine."

Source, she's a tough little thing. I like that about her. I like it a lot. It means I'll need to use a firm hand when it comes time to break her.

But that can wait. First, I need to talk to the other two alphas and make sure we're all on the same page here.

A new scent reaches my nose. A pungent odor of burning hair.

I glance across the hideout to the place where we keep the furs, and I notice a little thread of smoke rising from the edge of the pile. A half-burnt log from the fire got flung over there during the scuffle, and it has started to singe one of the bear skins. It hasn't had time to turn into a full-blown fire yet, but it will if left unattended.

It's a perfect distraction for the omega.

"Syra," I say. "It appears there is a little problem with the furs. Do you think you could handle that for me?"

She looks happy to have a job to do. She grabs a waterskin and runs across the cave to extinguish the fire.

Brik and Markus both stare at her as she goes. I can't say I blame them. Her naked backside is truly a sight to behold. But there will be plenty of time for admiring the omega's beauty later. Right now, we need to talk. I need to let these alphas know who is boss in this cave.

I snap my fingers to get their attention. They give it to me.

I start with Markus, since he's the one who started the fight.

"What the hell was that all about?" I ask him.

"Brik accused me—"

"I heard what Brik said. He accused you of being a traitor to the Tribe. Do you think attacking him was a good way of refuting that claim?"

Markus thinks about it for a moment, then shakes his head.

I'm glad to see he is willing to listen to reason. He's a hot-tempered young alpha, but at least he's not a complete idiot.

The same cannot be said for my protege.

"See!" Brik says triumphantly. "The fact that he attacked me proves—"

"Shut up," I snap at him. "Haven't I taught you anything, Brik?" I grab his wrist and lift his hand. "Did I teach you to think with your fists?" I let go of his wrist and flick the tip of his erect cock hard enough to make him wince. "Did I teach you to think with your cock? No! I've taught you to think with your brain." I punctuate that last statement by giving him a good stiff swat upside the head, just in case he's forgotten where his brain resides.

Brik looks down at the floor, abashed.

"Sorry, Thorus," he mumbles.

Maybe I'm being too hard on the kid. I was like him once too—young, dumb, and full of cum. A lot of alphas his age would be sharing an omega mate with their pack, and they'd already be working on making babies with her. I've avoided taking a mate for our pack because our job as rangers is so dangerous. Just a year ago, the third member of our pack got killed in the line of duty, and ever since we've been trying to track down the pack of Farlanders who killed him. Brik's desire for revenge is perhaps even greater than my own.

But after we've avenged our fallen brother, then what? I can't expect Brik to deny his urges forever. I thought I could deny my own, until I met Syra. Now I'm not so sure. That tough, defiant little omega has shaken me to my core. It's not just her heat that's having that effect on me. It's not even just her beauty, although that is considerable. More than anything, it's the sense that some force beyond our understanding has drawn us all together. Not just me and her, but Markus too.

I look at the strong, unpierced youth for a moment, then I turn my attention back to Brik.

"Markus is not a traitor," I tell him, my voice gentler now. The time for chastising is over. Now I just want to inform him, so he can learn from his mistakes. "You made your accusation without having full possession of the facts. You see, Markus here gave me some extra information, which the omega failed to divulge. You wanted to know how Markus happened to show up right when Syra was getting attacked? Well, he told me. He's been stalking her for the past four years."

Brik looks at me, shocked.

"Stalking her? But that just proves what I suspected."

"It doesn't prove anything, Brik. There's more. Markus and Syra's relationship goes back even farther than that. They were childhood friends."

Brik frowns. "Syra said nothing of this to me. How do we know Markus isn't lying?"

Markus's face darkens, and he prepares to speak, but I place a hand on his shoulder to quiet him.

"Markus isn't lying," I tell Brik. "I know this because I saw them together when they were kids." I look at Markus. "The night they fell through the ceiling of the ritual chamber."

The anger drains from Markus's expression, and he looks at me in wonder.

"You know about that?"

"Yes. I was there. I'm the one who caught Syra."

His eyes turn into two circles.

"That was you?"

"That was me. The pair of you caused quite a ruckus that night. I'm beginning to think it was the start of something that is only just now coming to fruition."

Markus shakes his head in disbelief, and I can practically hear the thoughts swarming inside his head. I give him a reassuring clap on the shoulder.

"The Source works in mysterious ways, son."

Markus nods slowly.

"Now listen to me," I tell him. "I understand you feel jealous and possessive of Syra. That's only natural, considering your history. And I also understand you thought you were helping her by doing what you did last night in the mausoleum—the sleeping potion and all that. But a single alpha cannot satisfy an omega in heat. Syra is going to need all three of us to help her get through this. So I want you and Brik to set aside your petty squabbles for the time being, and think about the omega."

Markus looks at Brik reluctantly, but at last he gives in and nods.

"I'm willing to do that," he says. "For Syra."

"That's good, but there's more. Over the next few minutes, I'm going to need to do some things to Syra that you probably won't like, but I want you to understand, all of it is for her own good. She's a tough, strong-willed omega, and she's going to require some breaking in."

Markus sets his jaw, but after another moment, he nods again.

"I understand," he says. "And I trust you."

"Good lad. Well then, I'd say it's time for us to attend to our omega."

I gesture across the room. Over the past few minutes, while I've been talking to the two younger alphas, I've been keeping an eye on Syra and what she's been doing over there, but Markus and Brik have had their back to her this whole time. Now, as they turn and see the state she is in, their hard cocks jump with renewed arousal, and they both begin to purr with excitement.

The omega is presenting herself for mating.