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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Get the hell off me,” Tavish roared yet again. The omega wearing a plain white floor-length ecclesiastic robe, complete with a thick lace veil, didn’t stop running her hands over his naked body as she stood beside the bed. Being cuffed, wrist and ankle, to a metal bedframe meant he couldn’t do anything apart from ineffectively twist his body away from her. Being in this position with Mir flashed into his mind. His body had wanted the contact both times, but now his mind shied away from it.

“Daven, for fuck’s sake, stop her and let me up. I haven’t got time for this. I need to find Mir.”

His untie stood next to the cell door, leaning up against the white tiled wall, watching his nephew being touched, no, fucking assaulted, against his will.

But even if he could get his hands free, the right wouldn’t be much use as he could feel the last three fingers of his left hand were splinted together. Hopefully, he hadn’t broken more than one phalanx, but he had more important things on his mind, and if he didn’t talk himself out of this, on his cock too.

He took a calming breath, despite the room spinning a little, and focused back on his untie. “Let me go. I’m not going to say it again.” The small bandages on the inside of his elbows meant he’d been sedated, another reason for his lightheadedness. But he had no idea how much time had passed, hopefully hours rather than days.

So far, she’d confined her attentions to his chest, biceps, abdomen, and thighs, but he was sure her avoidance of his genitals wouldn’t last much longer. Her mown grass scent, backed with intense heat musk, was doing all kinds of despicable things to his hormones, and his traitorous body didn’t seem to give a flying fuck that she wasn’t Mir. His cock lurched and dripped precum on his sweating belly. Even more embarrassing was that they had an audience.

His stony-faced Untie Daven, stood against the wall next to the closed cell door. Two brown-robed betas knelt silently on the other side of the bed to the omega.

But at least Tavish was conscious again. He’d been furiously trying to get to Zepish when Mir rode past like a bat out of hell, and that dark-haired fucker calmly raised a gun.

Zepish shouted, “No,” but the gun still fired, the explosive noise hitting Tav’s ears like an overhead thunderclap.

Fifty feet away, Mir jerked, but kept their seat. The alpha brought up his other arm and steadied the hand holding the pistol. That was the moment Tavish’s sanity snapped like a dry twig.

His father released him, or lost his hold, Tavish didn’t care which, and he was on the alpha who had shot Mir, shoving him in the back, following him down, teeth fastened in the side of the fucker’s neck. Blood spurted into his mouth. His victim roared, bucking and grasping at Tavish, trying to throw him off. Roars came from around him, but they didn’t matter. Every fiber of his being exploded with hate and violence.

His teeth closed, and he tore the bite of flesh away, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to go deeper and be nearer to the front of the neck to hit the carotid.

An arm pushed under his throat, and he was wrenched back. Snarling like an animal, with hot, salty, blood coating his mouth and chin, he grabbed for the arm, trying to pull it off.

“Get the fucking restraints, and somebody go for the doctor.” Telish’s voice came through gritted teeth, but the pressure didn’t let up on Tav’s throat.

“What about Mir?” Daven called.

“Leave her, she won’t get far.”

Tav’s enemy thrashed on the ground mere feet away, trying to push away the twins who were attempting to both hold him down and staunch the blood flow.

Langish’s gaze flipped up toward Tav. “You ok, Pa?”

Tavish let go of his father’s arm, as that tactic clearly wasn’t working, and punched at his father’s head.

Telish grunted, and the pressure on Tav’s throat increased. Instinct made him grab back at the limb cutting off his oxygen. “If I can’t handle one fucking bookworm, it’s time for me to head to the retire—”

Tavish’s ears roared as he strained to see where Mir had gone, but all he could see was an empty road before his vision blackened.

I’ll find you; I promise I’ll—

Rage still burned inside, like magma seeking a crack in solid rock so it could break free and reign chaos and pain on the world. But Tavish knew that if he let his hormones get the better of him again, his situation would never improve. He needed to stay calm, get out of here, find Mir, and make sure those fuckers didn’t hurt any other omegas.

Taking a breath, he tried to bring his sensible, logical beta self to the fore. “Let me go, Untie. This is completely illegal, and you know it.”

Daven folded their arms. Despite their swollen red nose that Tavish imagined they’d gotten in the fight, they appeared as immovable as the leather straps around Tavish’s wrists and ankles.

Tavish lifted his head to search the square white, tiled room for any clues about his location. The windowless cell contained nothing but the bed, a desk and chair, and a small chest of drawers. A large red triskelion surrounded by a DNA chain dominated the wall next to him. From the scent pervading the room, the omega had been here for some time. He wanted to hate her cut grass scent, but it was only repulsive because it wasn’t Mir’s warm, spicy cinnamon. Regret for not bonding Mir when he had the chance almost choked him; if he had, his body wouldn’t react to this stranger, whatever she did.

“Possibly. But I wouldn’t bet on a court finding in your favor, even if such a case ever got to one, seeing as this practice is sanctioned by the church and has been happening since its founding. How do you think the church gains staff? It’s not as if it’s a career choice offered on local bulletin boards.”

How clergy were recruited had never entered Tav’s head. They were just… there. And right now, he didn’t give a shit. Mir was at best wounded and—

Just the thought of it felt like a pit had opened under him. It didn’t help that he’d seen plenty of fatal penetrating wounds, although never one caused by a bullet. Stab wounds appeared so small on the surface, but that was the tip of the iceberg. Underneath, the carnage could be immense, and on a pregnant— He clenched both fists, using the pain in his broken hand to cope with the hideous images in his head.

“Are you listening to me or not? Because if you’re too far gone to—”

“I’m listening,” he gritted out. “Continue.” The longer they talked, the longer the omega wasn’t touching him and the higher the possibility of talking his way out of this. Daven had always been a reasonable beta, although obsessed with family success.

“You ruining Langish’s guardian ceremony has tarnished the reputation of the whole family, and there are unavoidable consequences—”

Tavish couldn’t believe his ears. “I did? What about the fucker who—”

Daven gazed down at him as if he were a turd. “Yes, you, Tavish. It’s only because this is a family matter that you’re here and not in a police cell. Although, despite the grievous bodily harm and attempted murder of your half-brother, seeing as you are in musth—”

I didn’t kill him. His beta self was pleased, but he’d never been further from that person right now. The taste of that fucker’s blood in his mouth, the way he squirmed and roared in pain beneath him… It’d felt so damn right. He tuned back into what Daven was saying.

“—and he did try to shoot an omega you have imprinted on, so it would probably go in your favor.”

“Try to shoot?” Tavish bit out. “If Zep hadn’t distracted him, that bullet might have gone in Mir’s back or head, and he was trying to fire again. And you think I was in the wrong? What sort of monster are you?”

Daven carried on regardless of his nephew’s emotional state. “I nearly caught the horse, and if you hadn’t been attacking Zepish, Mir might not have been so scared. We could have talked about it and found an amicable solution.”

Tavish strained against his bonds, pain flashing up his arm. “Amicable? Have you seen what Zep did to Mir? The fucking scars? The heat implants? He—”

“He is no longer your concern, nor is Sakish or Mir.”

He felt like he’d been kicked in the balls, but at least he had a name for the alpha he’d see dead if he possibly could. He had to swallow and concentrate for several seconds before asking the question that crushed his soul. “You, you didn’t give Mir back to either of them, did you?”

“You need to think about your own future now.”

Tavish lurched impotently on the bed, muscles straining against the leather cuffs.

“Fuck my future. I have no fucking future without Mir. I’m not saying another thing until you tell me how Mir is, and by all that’s holy, if they have been harmed, I’ll—” Tavish was saved from coming up with a suitable threat as Daven butted in.

“Good. Then you won’t interrupt me again, and talking is not necessary for what will happen here.”

Tavish opened and closed his mouth, realizing he’d been manipulated just as cleverly by his untie as he had been by Clayen. Not for the first time, Tavish wondered which sibling out of Daven and Telish possessed the real power behind the Grabar name. His own manifestation had been an accident, and he knew he was far brighter than either of his twin alpha siblings. Is that how it usually went? A bright beta controlling things behind the scenes while a showy alpha stood in front?

His mind flicked back to those many conversations with Brenen and their other Pro-Beta friends at university. They’d argued that the decision should be taken entirely away from the gendered as their ‘biological imperatives’ clouded their judgment. Daven was certainly far cooler and more rational than Tavish right now.

“What would not be difficult to convict you on is presenting forged documents to falsely claim another alpha’s omega, and considering the timeline Zepish claims, those babies are not yours either,” Daven paused, probably waiting for Tavish to refute the allegation, but he couldn’t, and even if he did, time and a simple DNA test would prove him a liar. But at least his untie spoke about Mir and the babies in the present tense. His anxiety stepped down a rung on the ladder to complete madness.

“It would be a minor sentence but would cause the family significant humiliation, especially if this proves to be a paternity dispute between brothers. The press would love that. Can you imagine the embarrassment we’d suffer? Tell me where you got those fake certificates, and we’ll deal with it ourselves.”

If the forger was anyone but Clay, Tavish imagined they’d get a visit that they wouldn’t survive. Embarrassing the great Grabar clan would likely mean a death sentence.

“Will answering get me out of here?” Tavish didn’t think anything terrible would happen to Clay if he named his little sib. Dragging Clay into this would only be worth it if it helped Mir, because if he did, he could kiss goodbye to any further help from Clay. Tavish hoped his sneaky favorite sibling would continue to support them both as long as it didn’t compromise their own comfortable life.

“This is not a punishment, Tavish. It’s a needed intervention.”

“My fucking hand is broken and strapped up by a damn amateur. I’m tied down on a fucking bed about to be assaulted against my will, and separated from my wounded, heavily pregnant mate.” He could hear his volume rising, but he couldn’t control it as anger burned through him. “And you claim this isn’t a fucking punishment?”

Daven sighed in disappointment as both those in religious robes mouthed pointless silent prayers. “You have always been the most exasperating of my niblings but also the most like your mother. That has always gotten you a little leeway, but no more. Your hand is broken from hitting your sibling, and it was splinted by Dr. Seten’s successor, who should have been you. And if they are not as good a doctor as you, you only have yourself to blame. If you had affiliated as a beta, this wouldn’t have happened. If you hadn’t attacked your brothers, this wouldn’t have happened, if—”

“—If I hadn’t manifested, Mir would be dead, thanks to my brothers that you find so fucking fascinating.”

Daven’s jaw clenched. “For once, do what your elders tell you, what your body is telling you. Knot Sister Whatever, get yourself proven, and your contribution to the church done in one go. If that happens, your father promises that this unfortunate incident will be forgotten. He knows how much hormones can affect alphas without access to receptive omegas.”

He’d almost forgotten the omega remained in the room. She now kneeled on a cushion beside the brown-robed betas, head bowed and hands raised to chest level with the first three fingers of each hand tapping together one by one. Rather than the relaxed, almost hypnotic movement most people used when praying, her finger taps were fast, almost frantic. If he could hear her heart, over the thumping of his own, he bet it would be racing.

He could see her dark hair through the heavy lace veil, and her height and weight seemed within a normal omega range, but that was about it. As for her age, she could be anything from fifteen to forty-five, as few omegas went into heat when younger or older than that. And she was most definitely in heat. His cock lurched, twitching on his belly as if trying to get his attention again.

Pushing through the red haze of lust—so he wasn’t acting like the musth-crazed alpha his family claimed—Tavish spoke through gritted teeth.

“You know as well as I do that I was fully justified in attacking an alpha trying to murder my mate. And that is what Mir is, whatever those two fuckers say. And at least Zepish is involved in their long-term abuse. I found evidence that Mir had been implanted with heat-inducing implants for years, as well as severely beaten and terrified for enjoyment. That’s the kind of people we’re related to. The great Grabar name is nothing to fucking shout about.

“Now, let me go, and I promise I won’t press charges for false imprisonment and kidnapping. I’ll collect Mir, and we’ll leave you in peace. But I warn you, I am not finished with either Zepish or that fucker.” Even saying his name felt like giving him some sort of recognition.

“I’m sad to see that your language has deteriorated since you alphaed. Or perhaps that’s just a certain omega’s influence.”

Tavish lurched against the bonds, muscles straining. They creaked but didn’t give. Gritting his teeth against the urge to simply thrash and roar, he lay back on the bed, but every nerve buzzed. “Mir is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“And that proves just how deluded you’ve become since growing balls. As a doctor, or former doctor anyway, you know about genetics. That ‘fucker’ is my genetic nibling, just as much as you are. What you don’t know is that he was conceived in this room, or one very much like it, just as your two other alpha brothers conceived their first offspring here after they both went into musth. I’m sure you remember that?”

“None of that has anything to do with me or Mir,” Tavish stated, his temper hanging by a rapidly fraying thread.

Mir wouldn’t let any other doctor near them while conscious, and the longer that wound was left to fester, the more danger Mir and their babies would be in. “And I’ve told you before, and I’ll keep telling you until you understand. I am not going to knot anyone except my mate, so you might as well let me go so I can find Mir. Have a shred of decency. They’re heavily pregnant, scared, in an unknown place, and wounded.” Listing the reasons why he needed to get out of here didn’t help his temper.

“Oh, I don’t think so. Not in your current state. You, my boy, are officially in musth, a hormone overload caused but not doing what the Almighty intended when they caused you to alpha. And as such, you can be legally detained with the consent of your sire until it passes, which can take over a month without mating. The good sister is going to solve that issue for you.”

Tavish banged his head back on the pillow, beads of sweat prickled his overheated body. His tongue gathered the salt from his upper lip, touching the stubble that had lengthened yet again. His blood throbbed in his temples, throat, and most of all, his groin.

“When the hell did you get religious, Untie?” He took a deep breath, held it for five, exhaled for five, then repeated the breathing exercise. “This is nothing but a physiological reaction that anyone with half a brain can control with a little effort. It’s like being drunk. Impulse control is lowered, not non-existent. I can—”

“You would have killed your own flesh and blood if the twins and your father hadn’t pulled you apart. As it is, Sakish will bear the scar on his neck for life. And he is your brother, your half-brother, although he was claimed by the church at conception, just like the—”

“What makes you think I give a shit about that monster other than seeing him in an unmarked grave?” Tavish shouted and immediately regretted it. The other people in the room were silent, but it didn’t mean they wouldn’t repeat his murder threat to the authorities. Alphas who committed severe crimes were gelded, but right now, losing his balls didn’t seem like too high a price.

Closing his eyes, he tried the breathing exercise again, but all it seemed to do was help her heat scent invade his mind and drag it to hot wet heat enclosing his cock, his knot. Lord Almighty, he wanted it, even as his mind screamed no.

This must have been what it’d been like for Mir, both hating and wanting…

A groan tore from his throat at the memory of Mir’s heat scent. Warm cinnamon overlaid with musk so strong it’d made his knees wobble. He’d thought the addictive sedatives Mir had been given had been more abuse, but right now, if someone offered him something that would let his mind float away, he might have taken it rather than continue to suffer this mental torture. The mown grass scent the omega emitted both revolted and enticed, and if he ever got out of here, he bet he’d throw up if someone cut grass near him for the rest of his life.

He couldn’t do this to Mir, couldn’t betray them like this. He’d promised, he damn well promised, that Mir would be his one and only. How could he ever look them in the face again? Mir would understand that he’d been forced, wouldn’t they? It wasn’t as if it hadn’t happened to— A growl rumbled from his chest at the thought of Zepish, and that fucker Sakish, holding Mir down, forcing them. The growl turned into a roar. His teeth bared and cold saliva coated his chin as he thrashed mindlessly against his bonds.

After long minutes, he wound down and lay still on the damp sheets, staring at the ceiling, still not believing what had happened, what was happening. His own fucking family was doing this to him and had done the same thing to Mir.

“Tav, when are you going to realize that you have no choice? Malthusia and the family line always come before any individual. If you sign the paperwork,” they indicated a sheet of paper on the desk, “to give your father first choice of infant from the pregnancy, with any others reverting to the church, I’ll release you to get on with business, and you’ll get a proving certificate. A legal one this time.

“Natelle is past her fertile years, and your father has no wish to take on another omega.” Tavish just stared at them. After all he’d said and done, including refusing to affiliate, Daven still thought appealing to his family loyalty would work?

Daven’s jaw clenched. “Your mother was it for him, and it nearly killed him when she died. He only kept going for the sake of the family. Although Natelle is socially acceptable as a Prime omega, she’s never produced anything like you. Her pups are strong workers, but that’s it. You have always been more like your mother than any of the others, and we can’t pass up the opportunity to keep her genes, and yours, in the family.” Daven looked around at the stark, white, tiled walls that surrounded them. “And I thought the last time I’d see this place was when Zep was here.”

Tavish tugged on the leather cuffs, ignoring the sharp pain in his hand, not believing his ears. They thought him crazy, but this was ridiculous. “We’re not damn animals. We’re people, not genes to be mixed in a Petri dish and—”

A sad smile graced Daven’s face. “We are Malthusians. A divine genetic experiment is all we’ve ever been, and it’s our duty to follow in the footsteps of our makers. Randomness leads to the chaos across the veil.”

“Is that you speaking, Untie, or the damn priests?”

Daven continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “To settle you on the task at hand, Mir is perfectly fine in the bosom of her family, but she is no longer your problem, or your concern. You aren’t bonded, her guardian, or the sire of her current pregnancy.”

Even though he knew the words were true, they hit Tavish like a gut punch. His belly heaved, and he closed his eyes to concentrate on stopping himself from throwing up all over himself.

Daven sighed. “Tavish, seeing you in distress gives neither me nor your father pleasure, but if you’d done your duty by your family in the first place, none of this would have happened. You’d be the highly respected beta family physician I and your parents always hoped you’d be. Instead, we’re here. I’m glad your Ma isn’t here to see this. She’d be so disappointed in you.”

“Fuck you.” Tavish’s neck ached as he lifted it yet again to glare at his untie. “Using Ma as a weapon is damn low, even for you. I was fucking ten when she died, thanks to Pa putting her aside. Don’t you dare tell me either of you cared about her. You’ve never cared about anything apart from the fucking family name. I do not consent to this, and if you do not release me, I will use every avenue at my disposal to see everyone involved in jail.”

Daven regarded him silently, disappointment radiating from him. “Is that before or after you chew out the throats of your brothers like a rabid animal? I thought I could appeal to your sense of duty, but just like when you were a beta, I’m wasting my breath. I’m glad your father isn’t here to see you kick him in the teeth again.”

Daven picked up the contract and tore it up, then turned to the omega. “You may proceed. I would normally only bear witness for the proving certificate, but under the circumstances if you start to fall after the knotting reaction, I’ll support you so neither of you are injured.”

“Thank you, sir.” To Tavish’s surprise, her voice was strong, eager. Not at all like the meek, reticent, coerced person he expected. Had hoped. It would have been so much easier if he knew she didn’t want this either. She reached for the buttons on the front of her habit.

“For Christ’s sake, this is ridiculous. I’m not a stallion that you can arrange to service the mare of your choice. I’m a bloody person with rights.”

The omega approached the bed, and sweat began to drip down his temple and flanks. Her heat musk invaded his nose, his mind, and body. He gritted his teeth as he realized he wanted to taste it on her skin like he had Mir’s. Wrong, this is wrong, they are nothing alike. I don’t want her. But his painfully hard cock proved him a liar.

Reaching out, she ran her fingers up Tavish’s thigh, and he wanted her touch higher. He wanted her mouth, her—

“Daven, please,” Tavish pleaded. “You know this isn’t right.”

Wordlessly, Daven moved to sit in the single chair in the room.

The omega finished unbuttoning the front of her habit, and the garment dropped to the floor.

Smaller than Mir, but Mir was the biggest omega Tavish had ever met. Sleek muscles under unblemished skin. Fit. Healthy. An adult in her prime. He told himself he was assessing her for abuse, as his beta self would have done when presented with a new patient. An ideal parent for any alpha’s pups. For his pups.

He shoved the thought away. “No, no, I can’t. This is wrong.”

With the veil still fixed over her hair and face, she reached for a white ceramic bottle on the desk and poured some straw-colored oil into her hand. Any thoughts vanished as she smoothed the oil across her flat chest, down her abs, then dropped lower until those long fingers parted, and she caressed the erect inch-long omega cock rising between her legs. Tavish cock lurched, and his knot tingled. He wanted, needed, to look away. Instead, he focused on her shining slick that already covered her inner thighs. A vision of his nose, his tongue, between those strong, soft limbs, licking, sucking…

He shook his head, trying to dispel the vision, despite his foggy mind and overheated, hormone-wracked body. “Mir, think of Mir.” Speaking aloud somehow added weight, determination to his words, although he doubted anyone would listen. “This is wrong. I don’t want this, I—”

Body tense with anticipation, she kneeled on the bed, then lifted her leg over Tavish’s thighs.

“Please, you don’t have to do this.”

“Calm yourself. I am not me. You are not you.”

Tavish screwed his eyes shut. “Fuck, she’s as mad as a March hare.” He opened his eyes and strained to see Daven past her body.

“Untie, please. If you don’t care about me, think about your grand niblings. She’s clearly suffering from some sort of psychological disorder. The pups—”

She pressed her palm flat against his chest, smoothing the remains of the oil into his skin, before moving down to his cock that was already fit to burst. The trail her fingers left burned as if she’d smeared him with acid, not blessed oils. To his relief, she only gave him a brief stroke, but his cock twitched as if trying to get to her without his permission.

“Now that we are blessed with the sacred oil, you are the alpha incarnate, and I am the omega incarnate. Together with the beta incarnate, we will create life. Three to lean on each other. Three to help each other. Three to work together for the good of all. So I have said.”

The omega, Daven, and the monk joined in the benediction Tavish had heard during every church service he’d attended as a child and teen. “So it will be.”

She reached back, wrapping her hand around his cock, then lowered her hips, and Tavish found himself in mindless, sweet hell.

The pressure, the slick friction on his cock, connected to a part of his brain that’d never been active before. Her scent surrounded him, engulfed him, as much as her body did but something wasn’t right, he needed more. The tip of his cock ached with the need to touch, to push against…

She shifted, and something cupped his cockhead. His hips lurched up, needing the connection, but she rose again.

“No, no, don’t move,” he blurted, “don’t—”

“Stay still, omega, the alpha knows.”

With a whimper, the body above his stilled, and Tavish arched, pressing his cock back into the position that sent a spark of pleasure along every nerve, but it didn’t continue.

He drew back a fraction of an inch and thrust again. The last rational part of his mind knew he was battering her cervix with his precum, softening it, opening it.

He grunted as her body gave into his and opened, letting his cock push through. Her inner muscles clamped onto his cockhead, and the spiraling pleasure detonated. It was like the climax he’d had with Mir, but more, so much more. The heat of it scalded, but he was happy to burn. His vision hazed, mind blanked, until nothing remained but the sweet pressure around him.

The pleasure concentrated in the base of his cock as it swelled, locking them together. The omega he’d just filled with his seed relaxed, her head hanging forward. Through blurry eyes, he saw one of the monks and Daven supporting her on either side. The sooner his knot went down, the sooner he could withdraw from her body, and for that to happen, she needed to come again.

He swallowed. “Free, free my ankles. I can’t thrust properly like this.”

After sharing a glance, the betas both reached back and untied the straps on his ankles, then on his wrists. With a heave, Tavish flipped them over and thrust into her harder, even though his cock could only move half an inch. The omega let out a gasp, and her channel clamped down again in rhythmic waves, milking him into her.

Dizzy and disorientated, he held himself on his elbows, looking down at her parted lips, which, thanks to the veil, were the only part of her face he could see. Lips that begged for a kiss, lips that weren’t Mir’s.

“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Daven’s quiet voice hovered somewhere beyond his ability to focus. “And I’m still damn glad I never manifested.”

“Likewise.” It was the first time any of the monks had spoken. Maybe they thought a mating alpha couldn’t or wouldn’t listen.

“He never wanted to be an alpha,” Daven said, voice wistful.

“The Almighty works in mysterious ways.”

“That’s true. I’d still station some betas outside and keep the door locked, just in case he comes to his senses. He’s an unusual alpha.”

Her channel began to pulse again. Tavish groaned and pushed in harder.

“Not that unusual, my child.”

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