30. Orcus

Flame's jaguarlooks ready to rip my throat out. "We need to find her. Now."

I snort at him. "I love you like a brother, but this is my game." Which I've already said twice. "I'll hunt her when she's ready to be hunted."

Which should be any second now.

My inner Alpha is pacing, causing my feathers to strain against my back.

I want to seek.

To bite.

To claim.

But I want to give my Omega the head start I promised her.

This is the mating dance between Mythos Fae. A hunt.

She wants me to prove that I'll always find her.

And I want her to prove that she knows how to properly nest.

The way Alina melted into her Omega role, allowing the instincts to overtake her, is further proof of who she is meant to be—who we are meant to be together.

Flame growls again, not liking that our intended mate is running through a forest full of unknowns.

However, I just spent the better part of the evening putting up protective shields everywhere. I could smell Alina's impending heat, her pheromones making it decidedly difficult to focus. It didn't help that she kept eyeing me with obvious interest, watching the way my wings moved as I sent energy cascading all around us.

Oh, she thought I was too consumed with my task to see her.

But I fucking noticed.

The only part of my manifestation that feels undone is the nest inside, but Alina will fix that soon.

Once I find her. Mount her. Claim her. And knot her.

My dick throbs in response, my body more than ready to take our Omega and fuck her into oblivion. However, my soul calls for patience.

Soon. Very soon.

Our Omega is hiding.

This is her way of accepting our bond. If she didn't want me, she wouldn't play. But she wants to be hunted.

It's primal.

It's instinctual.

It's erotic as fuck.

My muscles clench, my legs demanding that I chase.

Flame looks ready to do just that, but a look from me holds him in place. I respect him as a fellow Alpha, despite our different fae breeds. However, I'm still his God.

Which means I'm in charge, and I'm claiming that right tonight.

The clenching of his jaw tells me he's not pleased, but he's conceding.

I won't let anything happen to our mate. He knows that. Just as he knows I need this.

And so does Alina.

She's embracing her Omega soul. I felt her acceptance the moment she bit me.

Consent isn't always verbal.

Sometimes actions say everything.

"I'll bring her back," I promise Flame. "But I need this. She needs this."

He gives me a stiff nod, the man inside him clearly understanding me. His animal, however, is a different story entirely. His jaguar scents Alina's arousal, bringing his feral nature to the surface.

But it's my turn to play with our mate.

Reaper and Flame have already had their taste.

Now it's time for me to introduce her to my tongue.

And my knot.

"Update Reaper when he returns," I add. He's only been gone for a little over an hour. I don't expect him to return for at least another two or three.

Whatever he found in the Elite City will have to wait.

Alina is our priority right now.

"Be ready, Flame. When I bring her back, she's going to need us. All of us."

The Shifter Fae nods again, his jaw clenched.

I lean my head back to inhale, my eyes falling closed as Alina's strawberry-like aroma taunts my inner Alpha. Mmm, she's ready.

Her natural perfume has blended with the woods, creating an enticing fragrance that has my wings stretching wide before disappearing at my back.

I want to find her the old-fashioned way.

No magic.

Just pure, masculine drive.

I stalk forward into the trees, following the sweet scent of Omega need. Strawberries. Cream. So much fucking cream.

It's her slick. Her desire. Her demand for my damn cock.

My knot throbs.

My balls tighten.

My wings threaten to burst from my skin once more.

And my steps quicken.

Thisis a fantasy come to life. A dream I never thought I would experience.

Hunting my Omega mate.

I inhale deeply once more, my body vibrating with hedonistic determination. Find. Rut. Knot.

My Omega is quiet, telling me she's hiding, just like I told her to.

Nesting.

It's an important skill, one she'll use to protect herself and our young.

Mmm,but that scent can't escape me. Alina Everheart is mine. My intended. My mate.

"I'm not sure if it was wise or na?ve to hide so close to the cabin," I muse, spinning toward her resting place. She's slipped behind a pair of bushes, the subtle color of her blue jeans barely visible through the leaves.

I step forward, half expecting her to dart out of her spot and run. But she doesn't move.

So I crouch, ready to pull her out, and realize… she's not there.

I reach in and grab her jeans, yanking them out from the branches with a chuckle. "I stand corrected," I say to no one in particular. "Clever indeed."

Standing again, I scent the air, searching for her sweetness.

The jeans—which are covered in her slick—distract my senses. The realization that she's pantless also distracts me.

My lips curl, though, my Alpha impressed with our Omega's quick wit.

I create a portal back to the cabin and throw her jeans through it. Flame catches them, his reflexes on point. "Our Omega is very good at this game," I tell him through the mirrorlike door.

Then I close it and focus on her fragrance once more.

Mouthwatering,I think, loving her decadent perfume. Fuck, the things I'm going to do to her…

I pick up my pace, more determined now than ever to find my Omega and reward her with my tongue.

That determination strengthens when I find her tank top hidden in another pair of bushes.

Followed by her bra.

And finally, her panties.

Either she's only wearing shoes, or she's left those for me to find next.

Flame growls when I send him the final item of her outfit—the soaked underwear—and starts issuing a demand when I shut the portal once more.

It's a demand I don't need.

Our Omega is naked.

Not only that, but she's naked and wet.

"Oh, I'm going to knot you so fucking hard, little one," I tell her, aware that I have to be close to wherever she's hiding. "You're going to need that new safeword." Not that she'll even know to use it when her heat hits.

She'll be so damn needy that she won't care how we fuck her.

Which makes it all the more imperative that I observe her limits now.

Because she hasn't completely lost her senses yet—as evidenced by how well she's hiding from me.

An Omega in the throes of her estrus would be lying out in the open, legs spread, and begging her Alpha to fuck her. Not cleverly nesting in the woods.

"Sweet Omega of mine," I coo at her. "I'm so fucking proud of you right now."

I creep forward, my nose leading me to a thick tree. Either Alina's behind it, or she's left me her shoes to find.

Given the strong aroma of strawberries, I'm certain it's the former.

"Hello, little one," I say, voice soft. "Care to reveal my prize?"

The prize being her naked form.

She doesn't respond.

"Hmm, I see." I step around the tree and grin when she takes off running down a nearby path. Her dark hair trails in the wind behind her as her long, shapely legs move quickly through the underbrush.

I give her a few seconds, then sprint after her, my inner Alpha more than ready to take our mate to the ground.

She's running in her shoes—an intelligent choice I mentally applaud—but the rest of her is utterly exposed, which creates quite a show. Hips swaying. Tits bouncing. Hair swinging.

My Omega is fucking perfect.

And I can't wait to see her swell with our future child.

I don't care if it's my seed that does it, or Flame's or Reaper's. The babe will be Mythos Fae because of Alina's blood.

A miracle, I think, the word one I voiced earlier as well. Because that's exactly what we might create together. And even if we don't, Alina is still a miracle unto herself. An Omega soul in a human form.

Not human for much longer, though,I muse as I close the distance between us. The moment I bite her, she'll become a fae.

And that bite will mate us for eternity, too.

Mine, mine, mine,my steps say as I pound the earth in her wake. Mine, mine… "Mine."

She screams as I snag her by the waist, taking us both to the ground below.

Her nails scrape along my chest and shoulders while we wrestle across the dirt, her growls ferocious and borderline feral.

I catch her wrists and hoist her arms over her head, pinning her hands to the ground beneath one of my palms.

She snarls, her hips bucking up into mine, only she's no longer fighting me. She's trying to draw me closer—as evidenced by the way her athletic legs wrap around my hips and pull me into her.

I give in to her silent demand, relaxing into her splayed thighs, and place my lips at her ear. "I need your new safeword, little one."

"Monster," she breathes, arching into me.

I pull back, needing to see her beautiful eyes. "Monster."

She nods. "Because you, Reaper, and Flame aren't monsters. You're fae. You would have to do something to make me very uncomfortable for me to say otherwise."

A shudder runs through me. The thought she put into this… it further demonstrates how perfect she is for us.

It also proves that she's still very much coherent, despite her mounting heat.

"Monster it is," I say, my wings unfurling once more at my back to cocoon us on the ground.

She gazes up at me in wonder, her black eyes rimmed with intrigue. "You're going to claim me."

"I'm going to claim you," I echo back at her, giving her a chance to voice her safeword if that scares her.

But she doesn't.

She simply stares back at me expectantly.

I lean down to kiss her softly, extending the moment just a few seconds longer, but the way her mouth parts for mine tells me she's more than accepted our intertwined fates.

She wants this—she wants us.

Knowing that has me thrusting my tongue into her sweet little mouth, my inner Alpha demanding that I do this right.

Alina moans, her slick center practically soaking my jeans as she grinds her pussy against my hard cock.

She doesn't seem to care that there's a barrier, her body so pent up with need that she's willing to endure the roughness for a little friction between her legs.

I kiss her harder, my hand pushing her wrists into the ground as I move against her in kind.

Fuck, I need more. So much more.

My wings rustle as I shift to unbutton my pants. The zipper practically undoes itself, my hard dick forcing its way out like it can't take another moment inside my jeans.

Alina gasps as my arousal meets her damp flesh, her eyes going wide and instantly looking down. "Oh, fae, that's…"

"A knot," I say for her as I lift up to finish removing my pants and shoes. While I'm kneeling between her legs, I help rid Alina of her footwear as well, leaving her gloriously naked beneath me.

Her midnight irises are glued to my knot, her mouth wide like she's inviting me to fuck her there first.

But the hint of fear taunting her scent tells me those lips are agape for very different reasons.

She's intimidated.

And rightly so.

There's a notable size difference between us, one she's certainly taking into account right now.

Yet another sign she's nowhere near lost to her estrus. Otherwise, she'd be begging me to cover her with my wings and mount her into oblivion.

"Remember what I told you before, Alina. Your body was made to handle mine. Just like my heart was made to love you. We're meant for each other, but you have to trust me to take care of you. Can you do that?"

She swallows, her gaze slowly rising to mine. "That… is going inside me?"

I grin. "Yeah, Alina. And you're going to love it."

Her expression radiates incredulity.

"Don't worry, baby. I'll warm you up properly first." I grab her knees to spread her legs wider, needing her to accommodate my shoulders. "We'll take it slow. And I'll check in with you along the way."

Because the last thing I want to do is hurt her.

"Okay," she whispers. "I trust you."