Chapter Thirty-Seven

Kiandra

My mate returned to the tent late in the evening the next day, covered in dark sand, and I swiftly prepared the tub with warm water before inviting him inside. He observed me with desire in his eyes as I straddled him and cleansed his powerful body with the cloth in my hand. However, when I leaned forward to rinse his hair, he shifted, capturing my nipple with his mouth and sucking fervently. I gasped and threaded my fingers through his hair, gently tugging, but he refused to let go.

"Cartan, I'm trying to clean you," I chuckled, and his warm tongue glided over the hardened nub.

"I'm taking care of you," he responded, sucking again.

I attempted to focus on my task, but it proved challenging with the sensations he was evoking between my legs. He maneuvered me, and when I descended once more, his cock was there, sliding into me leisurely. I gasped in delight as I took him in fully, and he trembled beneath my touch, yet he didn't move or shift me in any way. He seemed content to have me wrapped around him.

"Carry on," he instructed. I shot him a scolding look before resuming washing his body, admiring his well-defined muscles, and loving his magnificent physique.

"Will you ever tell me anything about yourself?" I inquired. "A'has."

His eyes widened when he heard me use the Old Language to address him as my Alpha.

"You're learning," he praised.

"Slowly," I replied, seizing his hands and placing them on my breasts. He began kneading and teasing them before moving closer to suck on one of them again. I shifted my hips slightly, and he growled in satisfaction. "You know these will be filled with milk at some point."

Another pleased rumble escaped his lips before he switched to the other nipple, sucking vigorously.

"Nothing will prevent me from savoring them," he assured me before running his tongue over the nipple, sending shivers through me as I continued to rock my hips slowly.

His hands settled on my hips, letting me move while maintaining a firm grip that showed his power.

"We are building something together, but you won't share anything about yourself, and neither will the others. You have very loyal clan members," I panted, increasing my pace as I chased my climax.

"I hope you haven't been seeking answers from the other High Alphas," he warned.

I shook my head and leaned toward him, resting my hands on his shoulders. "No, I promise I spent the day with the others."

His hand slipped to my ass, gripping the sensitive flesh firmly. "Otherwise, you know what will happen."

I chuckled at his teasing threat, but he gripped me even harder, causing me to hiss. Then he took control, making me ride him faster. Orgasm overtook me suddenly, and I arched my back, crying out my release before I felt his knot expanding, stretching me wider. I continued to move atop him until he held me tightly against him, locking us together, and then he released inside me, leaving us both sighing contentedly. I rested my body on top of his, and his hand began playing with my wet strands.

"Tell me something," I implored, realizing that his walls had come down after our intimate encounter. Perhaps having me wrapped around him had helped him speak.

"You truly want to know my story, don't you?" he mused.

I nodded. "I don't like being in the dark."

He smiled. "I know, little Omega."

"Tell me about your past. I know you didn't grow up with the other Alphas."

"Ah, so they've let something slip."

"Just tell me, please," I pleaded, his wet fingers tracing my shoulder and arm.

"My father took me from my mother's arms and left me to die in the desert."

I stared at him in shock, but he met my gaze with a calmness that made it seem like what he was saying was entirely ordinary.

"W-What?" I stammered.

"It's quite common to test your Alpha sons in this way," he explained.

"Common?" I repeated incredulously.

"It's an ancient practice to ensure their strength and resilience. However, their fathers typically retrieve them after a few days."

"Days?" I exclaimed, pulling back and placing my hands protectively over my stomach. "If we have a son, we are not sending him out into the desert!"

He gently placed his hand over mine on my stomach, his expression slightly cool.

"Cartan!"

"The other High Alphas went through it as well," he explained. "The difference is that their fathers actually came for them, and they were older."

"How old were you?"

"I was five," he replied.

"What? We are not subjecting our son to that!" I retorted vehemently.

"Well, the tradition has been fading away more and more. It might be considered outdated," he admitted with a faint smile.

"Very outdated," I stated, crossing my arms and hearing him chuckle.

"It's okay, little Omega. If you don't want it to happen, it won't. Normally, they are older, prepared for the challenge, and trained for it. They aren't left with nothing, and they are always retrieved. I wasn't."

"Why weren't you?"

"My father believed I wasn't growing fast enough. He thought I was too weak to become a true Alpha."

"I don't understand. A true Alpha has an Omega mother and an Alpha father, but you mentioned that such pairings haven't occurred in decades."

He nodded. "You're right. They haven't, but that's because not everyone knows my story."

I moved closer to him, placing my arms on his chest, and looked up at him with curiosity. He chuckled at my inquisitive expression, encouraging him to tell me more.

"My mother was a Beta woman, and she couldn't conceive."

I stared at him, puzzled. "That doesn't make sense. How could she be your mother, then?"

"It's said that my father disappeared in the desert for a while. They went out on a routine hunt, but it went wrong. He vanished among the rocky terrain, and they couldn't locate him. They were certain he was dead, which led to a power struggle within the clan to determine the next leader. Many Alphas perished in the process, but not long after, he reappeared, looking perfectly fine. It was a mystery, but he claimed that an Omega found him and nursed him back to health. Some believed he had been hallucinating or delirious, but the fact was their Alpha had returned, so they didn't care about the how. Then, several moons later, on the quietest night anyone could remember, the camp was filled with the cries of a baby."

"A baby?" I questioned.

"Yes, and right outside my father's tent, he and his mate found me. Everyone was perplexed, except my father. He claimed me as his own, but no one understood why or how. Some thought he accepted me solely because he wanted an heir, but my Beta mother explained the unique bond between an Omega and an Alpha. Yet she swore she loved me as her own."

"You remember her words?" I whispered.

"I remember them vividly. Naturally, my father had expectations for his son, particularly a true-born one, but I failed to meet them."

"How could you? You were just five."

He sighed, his fingers tracing patterns on my skin again. "It doesn't matter. I should have been stronger. I should have been able to endure more, but instead, I almost perished out there."

"How did you survive? On your own?"

"No, there are other Alphas in these parts, smaller groups that keep their distance from us. They follow different ways of life, and one of these groups found me. I was raised there," he revealed.

"But now you're here."

"Yes, I am."

When he didn't offer more details, I applied gentle pressure to his chest, and he chuckled.

"Fine, but this will be the only time we discuss this," he conceded. I shook my head in disagreement, which elicited a growl from him. I leaned in closer, kissed his jaw, and then his lips, showing my submission to him once again. "I returned and ended my father's life when I was sixteen. I assumed control of the clan at that point."

"What?" I gasped, pulling back from him, my shock evident. "W-Why?"

"I wanted the clan. It was rightfully mine, and I needed to prove I wasn't weak."

"Cartan…"

"But people don't forget easily." He sighed, and I moved closer to him, placing my hands gently on his cheeks to make him focus on me.

"You are the most formidable Alpha I've ever encountered. You possess not only physical strength but also intelligence and quick wit. When you touch me, I lose all sense of self. I knew immediately that you were the perfect Alpha for me, regardless of my initial reasons for choosing you. You were the one I desired," I whispered, watching his eyes darken as his instincts stirred.

He effortlessly lifted me out of the tub and set me down on the furs before laying me on my back, resuming our mating. This time, it felt as though he were branding me with each long, deep stroke, and he reached his climax first, knotting me deeply before his fingers skillfully teased my clit, sending me shivering as I unraveled in pleasure. However, being knotted to him, I could only surrender to the blissful sensations.

Once we had both calmed down, his eyes had returned to their deeper brown, and I smiled up at him.

"What about your Beta mother?" I asked. "Is she here with us?"

He shook his head. "After I was taken away, she managed to conceive and carry a child for a while, but the birth came too soon and claimed both their lives."

A pang of sorrow gripped my heart as I realized that the one parent he had truly known had died before he could return to let her know he was alive.

Cartan pressed his lips to mine. "Don't be sad, little Omega. It's just the past."

"No, the past is history, and history is important. You know this," I reminded him, and I saw a smile curve his lips.

"My clever little Omega," he praised, kissing down my neck and causing me to sigh.

I tried not to let his past weigh too heavily on my emotions. It was evident my Alpha didn't want to dwell on it or discuss it further. He didn't even appear particularly angry about it, although he saw himself as a weaker Alpha in the past, which I vehemently disagreed with. He was far from weak, then or now, and his power far exceeded what I had initially realized.

"Cartan?" I called out, and he pulled back to gaze at me.

"If you're born a true Alpha, why don't the others see you as a worthy one? None of them have Omega mothers, do they?"

He shook his head. "No, but hardly anyone believes I wasn't born to my Beta mother. They don't buy into the story of some mysterious Omega living in the desert."

I pondered his words, running my fingers through his dark hair. "And what do you believe?"

He smiled, appreciating my sharp mind. "I believe when you find an Omega, you don't let her go."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Come now, you must have your own theories?"

But Cartan simply shrugged before capturing my lips once more, and we continued to mate throughout the night.