Page 5 of His Bonded Omega Mate
A cramp halted me in the hallway, and I heard Jared’s impatient tone from outside. My tiger bristled at the audacity of the boy complaining. I had to side with my tiger on that one. Jared was a boy pretending, and we’d never allow him to manipulate us into a mating. Veering off the hallway into my small kitchen, I found the potion that I’d purchased the day before. Poppy had assured me it was the strongest contraceptive that could be brewed. I popped the cork and swallowed it down, thanking the goddess and Poppy for the sweet mint taste.
My gaze flitted to the sick room housing my lovers. I prayed they would understand me doing this, that it wouldn’t damage our relationship. One that was already fraught with issues.
Maybe it was selfish of me to sleep with Jared and likely Hunter and Xander too, but they had backed me into a corner. I’d wanted to stick to toys since Dakota wasn’t available now that he had his mate. Jasper was one hell of a lucky omega. Dakota was gifted in bringing omegas pleasure. There wasn’t anyone else from Sweetwater I could trust. My own pack was a no go.
Jared had been keeping track of my heats, more than a little creepy, and knew Tate and Asher were sick. He’d seen me with my men one night that we’d risked a date and had threatened to tell his father and get my betas banished from the pack. While I knew it was unlikely, I wasn’t willing to risk it.
Asher would tell me to just get this over with. He wasn’t as driven by emotions as Tate was. He kept a firm leash on his lion. My sweet raven would feel betrayed, though rationally he’d know this was for the best. It wrecked me that I was about to do this.
Usually with my heats there was a low burn of arousal for the days leading up to it starting. I usually started them on my own terms, preferring the control that it gave me over my body. That was gone this time. I’d been so busy with my betas and the few other sick shifters of the pack that I’d neglected myself completely. Now I just felt sick to my stomach that it was here.
Hours later, I lay on the bathroom floor and retched into the toilet for the second time, still unable to purge the taste of Jared, or the feel of him inside me.
I got up on shaky legs, flushed, and started the water for a shower. Steam billowed through the room as I got into the cubicle and turned the water as hot as I could cope with. The water cascading down on me blistered my skin, but I still felt nothing. Numb to the pain that I was causing myself, wanting so desperately to feel anything but him.
My tiger surged to the surface, and the warning from my beast had me turning the water back down. The blessed alter knew of my hurts, both emotional and physical, and steered me towards healing. My gift wouldn’t work on myself, but I had spells from Poppy that aided my shifter abilities.
I took stock of my body, wincing at aches and pains as I shifted on my feet. My legs and what I could see of my ass were covered in fingertip sized bruises from where Jared had held me too tightly.
After the first round of sex, Jared rutting pretty ineffectually above me, I’d given up telling him to lay off, or to not hold me so firmly.
He’d ignored my every word. I ended up being grateful that Hunter and Xander were there. They kept the young alpha from being worse. Alone, Jared would have likely ignored my cries of pain.
That had been the worst heat that I’d ever endured, which included my first one where I used the toys my mother had researched for me. I’d hardly known what to do, how to properly give myself pleasure, that I’d ended up a sobbing mess. Mother had sent for a male omega to assist me from another pack. Together we’d gone through the rest with him giving me tips on angles and such. The omega hadn’t touched me sexually. The idea of omegas with omegas was abhorrent to most packs.
Since then, I’d learned more about what worked for my body, how to sink into that mental space that allowed my body to relax, heightening my enjoyment. I’d needed all of that with Jared. Xan and Hunt had helped, each touching and kissing my body, distracting me from my betrothed’s rutting. Without them, I would still be a heat soaked mess on my sheets.
I washed three times to be sure that all of his scent was scrubbed from my body, then got out of the shower, wrapping myself in the fluffiest towel I owned.
My bedroom stank of sex, sweat and the unwelcome alpha male. There was no way I’d be sleeping in there for the next few days. I cracked the window and stripped the sheets from the bed, chucking them in the trash so the scent wasn’t inside my home any longer.
The whole space felt violated as much as my body did. All I wanted to do was curl up with my betas and hide from the world. So that’s what I did for a few hours.
Tate and Asher were sharing the bed in the spare room. I’d thought about asking for hospital beds or having them stay at the clinic, but I knew they would prefer to be with me. I dumped my towel and crawled onto the bed, situating myself between the two betas.
Out of the two, Tate was my comfort. Asher pushed me, challenged me to be stronger, better. So it was Tate that I curled up against.
The tears came easily. In my anguish I prayed to The Luna like I’d never done before to save me from my fate. I couldn’t be mated to Jared. I’d run. Flee from Northarbor before that could happen. I’d literally die mated to the man. First in spirit, then in body. My alter stirred at my maudlin thoughts, their presence comforting in the early dawn light.
I woke later to the sound of my phone ringing. My heart sank because it could only be a call from my alpha and I’d have to lie. It was better to attempt it over the phone, but there was no way that I’d manage that convincingly.
The device was on charge in the kitchen and I stumbled towards it, hoping I’d miss the call. It stopped ringing, making me think I’d gotten my wish, but started up again straight away.
Logan, the Alpha Leader, just like I’d thought.
“Morning, Alpha,” I greeted, trying to inject some enthusiasm into my voice.
“Hiroshi.” His voice was clipped. Fuck. What could I have done to piss him off now? Had Jared ratted me out now that he’d gotten his way? “I owe you an apology.”
“Excuse me?”
“I have a report here from Jared’s guards. They are concerned that though the pair of you came to an arrangement, that it wasn’t fully consensual on your side.”
“Um —“
“There are also concerns that he was too rough. I apologize, but Hunter took some photos without your permission, showing several bruises and marks covering your body.”
What the hell? I couldn’t decide if I was angry about the violation, or comforted that they were worried about me, enough to report Jared to his father.
