OMEGA

by TheValkyriesShadow

Summary:

For millennia, omegas have been hunted. History records that sometimes it was for sport. Others for glory or their own nefarious deeds.

When Gwyn's village is attacked, she is taken deep underground, traveling miles in tunnels only to be preserved and saved, for when the universe needed her most.

Now, she is one of the last omegas.

Three hundred years after she's entombed, tomb raiders dig up her stasis chamber. The ship they smuggle her on is shot down over an overgrown, jungle like planet where Gwyn finds not one, not two - but five scent matches. It is on this planet that she makes a stand for magic. For life. And for herself.

Will she be able to defend the love and care of a pack, or will she be left to live as the last omega, forever alone?

Notes:

Written for ACOTAR Omegaverse Week 2025!

Chapter 1: Crash Landing

Gwyn

 

Suddenly, I exist again.

Air rushes into my lungs. My pulse beats throughout my body. Thrumming through my veins. I open my eyes, but I can’t see anything.

Hidden away in my box.

I can’t stretch or move. 

I’m so hungry…thirsty. 

A shudder went through my body. Gentle, but unexpected. An outside force.

Where was I? The last thing I remembered were the sobs and chills that wracked my body as I lowered myself into a tomb. Sacrificing everything because they told me it’s what I had to do. For the sake of life everywhere.

Another shudder. Stronger this time. I tried to move but couldn’t. Still strapped in my stasis chamber. But why was I awake? I should be in a deep, deep sleep. For the rest of time.

Everything was silent. Not a sound. Not a hum. Just the gentle whir of the fan that cooled the mechanisms of the device that fed oxygen into the containment.

Floods of memories came back to me. Quicker now. 

Flashes of fire. 

Screaming. 

My village under attack. 

Alphas searching for omegas. 

A hidden passage under the floorboards. 

A bunker under the ground.

And a rectangular box. 

This box.

A point behind my navel lifted, then I was jostled, tossed violently around by an almighty explosion. My container tumbled and I tried moving again. Nothing. I guess it was better than being tossed around inside my containment like a ragdoll –

Falling. I was falling…where? Onto a planet? Into the abyss of space? My scream was muffled by the mask that covered my nose and mouth.

I closed my eyes and waited for the sweet release of death.

But it never came.

Well…at least I don’t think it came.

There was a jarring smack as I hit some sort of solid surface, bouncing around and around until. CRACK! 

The door to my containment box opened.

The straps unbuckled.

And I was free falling. Until something tightened around my leg – another crack. And pain holy gods the pain!

My oxygen mask was torn away, my scream rippling into the night sky.

I opened my eyes just in time to see the ground inches from my face.

My head split with a pain so sharp it took my newly gained breath away.

Then everything went dark.

 

—

 

A chirping sound trilled. A coo. 

Something warm caressed my face.

Fresh air.  

I pried my eyes open, my lashes sticking together with… blood.

I raised my hand, tenderly feeling my temple. Fuck! It throbbed, sending a wave of pain through my skull, down my spine. Though no fresh blood came away from the site when I raised a hand to feel the bump. Just sticky coagulation.

I rubbed the flakes of dried blood from my eyes and looked around. 

Green. All I saw was muted green, the full moon illuminating the land with a soft glow. I saw flits of other colors. Brown, yellow, blues, a splash of red. I tried rolling over. Something sharp jabbed my side. A piece of metal. The stasis chamber.

Cracked and destroyed – oxygen. I scrambled at my throat, but… I could breathe here. Wherever here was.

I sat up, every bone and muscle screaming in protest. I bit down my own shout of pain. I didn’t want to attract any beasts.

Or other threats…

Sliding my legs beneath me I sat up on my hip, propping my body up with a shaking, bloodied hand.

I was in the woods. It was nothing like the woods I remember with its tall, deciduous trees, the leaves bustling in the breeze. 

These woods were thick and humid. The leaves looked like they would be brilliant shades of greens and yellows in the sunlight. They hung limply, but happily in the sticky heat. Colorful flowers, closed up for the evening, dotted the underbrush. The buzz of nighttime insects and creatures danced around me like a natural symphony. 

I breathed in the fresh air. Even if it was thick with moisture, it filled at least one of the aches in my chest. 

The sweat beading on my skin reminded me of another need. Water.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me. Weaving through the matter to hone in on the element of my people.

There. Not far…a small, crystal blue pool.

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out, cramped and shaking. I could just about crawl through the unbearable pain in my joints. And my knee. Glancing down, I could see a shard of metal sticking out, but…no time. 

I needed water.

Gritting my teeth, I inched away from the wreckage of my container. The thing that had been my solitude for … gods I didn’t even know how long I’d been in stasis. 

Your stasis will last until the threat is over.

That’s what the village alpha had told me. 

You are precious and rare, Gwyneth, the last of your kind.

I gritted my teeth and pushed myself to stand. Willing the blood to pump faster and start moving those muscles.

Something in my gut twisted. Why was I here and not back at my village? Safely tucked away in my stasis chamber under the temple?

I pondered this and many other questions. If I wasn’t back home. Who brought me here? And why?

My head pounded. I couldn’t think with this throbbing pain reminding me I was injured. Hungry, thirsty, alone, and  –

A tear rolled down my cheek as I forced myself to stand, using a tree with vines wrapped all around it for support. I wasn’t going to get anywhere sitting on the ground. 

I took a step forward and a sharp jabbing pain cracked through me from foot to hip. I stifled my agonizing cry with my free hand. Holy fuck –

It took a moment for the stars that crackled in my vision from the jolt to subside. I wiped my eyes with a dirtied freckled hand, and grasped the tree with both hands. I couldn’t support my weight… fuck.

Slinking down to the ground, and gathering my pride. I began to crawl. Inch by agonizing inch. Half dragging my broken and mangled leg behind me. 

Every inch was agony. Every movement torture, but my body begged for water. Needed it.  

And when it finally came into sight, I cried. Fresh tears poured from my eyes, the last of the water in my body leaving from the sheer joy of finding more. 

I pushed through the underbrush, panting and whining as thorns tore at the dirtied dress I wore.

It was the Summer Solstice. I was wearing my favorite baby blue dress. The skies were a magnificent shade of cerulean. That perfect summer day.

Then the explosions…

I shook my head of the flashbacks. Blocking out what happened before so I could focus on now. 

I winced with every pull forward. I’m pretty sure I had thorns in the palms of my hands now, splinters in the leg I was dragging along the ground. Getting snagged by unknown plantlife and eaten alive by tiny bugs. 

Maybe this pool would be big enough to bathe in, cleanse my skin and tend to my wounds.

My stomach clenched, my head whirled with excitement at the possibility of cleanliness that when I stumbled past the thick growth and to the pool's edge, it was with such joy, such possibility.

With a rabid thirst, I plunged into the water. It wasn’t cool, lukewarm at best, but it was the best godsdamn water I’d ever felt. I drank it in, scooping it voraciously in my mouth, until I remembered I should drink it slowly before I just vomited it all up and put myself back at square one.

I slurped it, then splashed my face, whining at the sting on my temple that was now pounded against my skull.

A twig cracked nearby.

My head shot up, my vision blurry with pain.

I didn’t see the other one there.

I didn’t notice the cedar aroma when I stumbled into the clearing. But now I notice them. Standing on the other side of the pond. A large, winged being, dressed in black gear. Blue lights flickered across the militaristic garb. His eyes pierced the dark, glinting in the moonlight. A stunning figure poised at me, hands raised.

I should’ve spotted the alpha, before he spotted me. 

Fuck.

Pushing myself off the ground, I tried scrambling away, but damn my broken leg…. I stumble and trip and the last thing I remember is a shrill whine – my shrill whine – breaking through the buzzing sounds of the night as my leg gave out and pain roared through me. Traveling up my spine as I fell to the forest floor.

Everything tilted and blurred.

Then darkness engulfed me again.

Balthazar

 

Well fuck me.

I stand next to the cool crystal pool Azriel called me back to. I kneel down next to the unconscious omega. Azriel stays feet behind me for some reason. 

As if he's scared? Anxious? 

I don’t know. 

Honestly? It’s hard to smell intricate notes like that in the thick humidity and over the stagnant smell coming off this omega.

Her blue dress was mostly intact, though ripped and torn from the crash…

She could be the omega we've been tracking. The one who was stolen from the ancient tomb.

“Do you think she was on the ship?” I ask.

Azriel takes only a step closer, “Her injuries are newer. So I’d say she was. Or she just has really bad timing.”

I examined her further, ignoring her sour scent the best I could. 

There was this feeling. Behind my ribs. Like I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Is this what Azriel was feeling and he didn’t know what to do with it?

Cause I sure as hells don’t know what to do with the feeling either. It’s stronger than the oath I took to protect omegas. It’s something rooted deep. Pulsing now that it has been felt for the first time.

What the hells has come over me? This sudden need to care grips me. And not just care in the sense that this was my job to help omegas, but I wanted to scoop her into my arms and care for her until there wasn’t a scratch on her.

And then I’d care for her in any way that she’d ask me to –

I shaked the need and continued my observations with deep, steadying breaths. 

There’s nothing she’s wearing that tells me shit. She could be from anywhere, honestly. But…wait…I move her left foot slightly and wince. A shard of metal is embedded in the side of her knee. 

My chest squeezes at the thought of the pain she must be in. I brush her sweat slicked copper brown hair, to the side…

A strange sense of relief and worry rushed through me. Relief, because this is, in fact, the omega we’ve been tracking. Fitting the description of the entombed omega to a “T”. 

Copper hair that frames a freckled face and the scent of water lily. I could just barely note the delicate floral under the staleness that pervaded. She hasn’t been touched in nearly three hundred years.

Then came the worry. I clench my jaw at the massive gash that cuts from her hairline, past the corner of her eye and ending on her cheekbone.

“Holy fuck,” I breathe out, “She needs medical attention, stat. ”

“Where the fuck are we going to find medical attention, Balthazar?” Azriel barks, the normally calm alpha is angered. I don’t recoil or flinch from his bark. 

I turn around and growl as I wave a finger between us, “Us, you knothead.” As if he forgot he’s a medically trained soldier.

He hesitates. Then grits out, “I can’t.”

I huff, “You’re on grade A military suppressants, Az.”

“I know.”

“You’re fine –”

“Balthazar,” he barks, but this time, it sticks. Clings to my bones and forces me to listen. “Her scent.”

Despite the alpha hold he has on me, I give him a face, “Az, she hasn't seen the daylight in gods know how long, nor has she bathed. Of course she’s going to smell – come on –”

Azriel still doesn’t move. 

I stand and turn to him, “She needs medical attention. I’ll carry her, but I need you as back up. I’m not leaving you –”

Finally he says, “It’s not her physical scent, dipshit. It’s her scent…her omega…It’s strong, powerful. I think she –I think she’s my –”

Azriel couldn’t get out the words that now bounced around in my head. 

“Are you telling me, right now, that you’re a scent match for this omega?”

Azriel goes wholly still.

“Fuck me…” I breathe.

“I can’t help it,” he grunts. 

“I know.”

“She smells… Touch-starved…” His words are short and terse, like he’s fighting back that alpha urge to pummel everything in sight. I didn’t need to be told she hasn't been handled with the care omegas need. I could smell, beneath a sterile-like scent, that she hasn't been touched in a very, very long time.

“Az,” I needed to calm him before he lost his shit. “I’ll carry her. You keep watch around us. Protect us, her, from further harm.”

Once he visibly relaxed, I waited until he’d readied his dagger and shortsword. Then I scooped up the omega, physically aching at the pitiful sounds that she made. 

Perhaps there was a hold she had on me too? Whatever this warmth in my chest was for the omega, it was strong, and solid. Compelling me to push on through the forest. 

For her.

Azriel

 

Of course I’d find my scent match in the middle of this massive jungle of a planet.

But thank the gods she’s who we’ve been looking for. We knew we were close, but then the ship crashed and I thought that was the end. That we’d be back to square one trying to find her again.

The new complication was, we were scent matched. I shouldn’t touch her. Because if I touch her, I don’t know if I could let her go. If I touch her… I’ll ruin the whole mission. If I touch her…My alpha howls and whines and settles restlessly in my chest. 

I keep a watchful eye as we trek the jungle. One on the forest around us. And one on her… that omega Balthazar carries. 

And I can’t stop thinking about how perfect she is. Beneath the stale odor she’s currently exuding, there’s a freshness that’s begging to be freed. 

To be cared for. 

To be loved.

My chest tightens as I watch Balthazar carry her with the utmost care. Avoiding branches and keeping his grip firm. I’m warmed by the site. 

I want to carry her, but….if I did? Would I hurt her? Would my alpha be so unhinged that I wouldn’t be able to control myself?

If I carried her…I don’t know what I’d do. 

She’s already so frail and fragile. I’d only crush her. Destroy her. When all I want to do is mend her and build her back to a place where she feels happy and safe and fuck –

This was no time to scent match and especially for the omega, who once we save, we may never see again. 

A gentle sprinkle of rain began to fall. Balthazar called back that he’d continue travel until it became too much. 

As if he summoned it, rain started pelting down from the heavens in a torrent. Branches swayed violently, leaves and twigs and debris swirled around. Balthazar sprinted ahead. I followed. The beta's chestnut and citrus scent and the omega's were easy to track.

We dipped into the crack of a cave.

The shelter was a reprieve. Large enough we could stand in it, but not quite spread our wings. The only downside was now I was stuck in a small space with the omega's scent filling it. I could already feel my pulsing need to touch her overheating in my veins.

Balthazar laid the omega down near the far wall and said over his shoulder, “I know it’s not ideal weather right now, but I can smell your anxiety and it’s making her twitch. Take a walk and fetch me yarrow, poppy, and those thick, fuzzy leaves. They’ll be useful for cleaning her up.”

When I didn’t move, glued to the haze of the suffering omega in front of me, Balthazar turned and gave out his own bark. “Azriel, go!” Not that he was commanding, but it still packed a punch. A reminder that doing this would help her.

I turned and left. 

 

—

 

When I returned, all herbs in hand, it was to find Balthazar hovering over the omega – who was stark naked.

A growl rumbled in my throat and Balthazar sighed, “Relax…I’m giving her one of my extra shirts. Her dress was barely hanging on,” he mumbled, indicating the blue fabric that laid on the floor. He shook out a blue, Prythian Legion fatigue button down and laid it atop the omega, tucking it around her. 

I grabbed my bag and pulled out the tarp I packed. “Here, to keep her warm.” 

“Now you’re thinking, alpha,” he teased, taking the tarp from my hands and blanketing her with it.

Then Balthazar got to work on her wounds. Focusing on the gash in her forehead first. “She’s probably concussed. Dehydrated. Hungry. If she was in the stasis chamber up until the crash, she was probably slowly fed supplements through it… You said she just dived head first into water?”

I nodded. My throat working at the memory or her stumbling upon me while I filled my canteen. She shocked the hell out of me. I was so zoned in on working out a way for them to complete the mission after the crash that the startling sound of this omega stumbling into the waves made the growl rip from my throat without a second thought.

I growled at her. She had looked back at me so terrified. 

I eyed the omega still sleeping on the floor. The gentle rise and fall of Balthazar’s shirt as she breathed deep and slow. The tarp had my scent, but it’s not as nice as a shirt. My alpha whined at me. Go to her. Give her everything.

What if she wakes up? She’d see my face and be terrified. 

My alpha rolled its eyes. You’re an alpha, you’ll know what to do.

No I fucking won’t, but thanks for the vote of confidence.

Balthazar came to stand next to me, both of us looking down at the battered and beaten omega. He glanced back at the rain still pouring relentlessly outside and asked, “What food supplies do you have? She might be ravenous when she wakes up.”

I shook my head, “Not a lot. I could go scrounge for something. Or hunt?” I crossed my arms. The idea of leaving the omega behind had my hackles rising. But fresh air would be best.

I gathered my bags and weapons, and with one last look at my partner and the omega, I ducked into the stormy night.

Chapter 2: The Shifter's Quest

Fenrys

 

The pouring rain makes our journey through the woods difficult. 

Ithan and I just managed to escape the wreckage of the downed ship with only minor injuries. A scratch here, a bruise there, but being in our wolf forms will give our human bodies some time to heal; time we would need to find shelter from whatever beasts may roam these lands. And now shelter from the endless torrent of rain.

The rain makes it difficult to sniff out specific scents. I keep my nose to the ground and check behind me every so often. Making sure Ithan is still following.

I wonder how he feels about this delay in plans…

This is his passage quest and we were meant to only be docking here to refuel then make the last trek to The Gates. Where I would walk with Ithan through endless, unknown terrains that would test the strength and wisdom of his wolf. Until we reach the Full Moon Pass – A name I often roll my eyes at. Sure the moon was always full on this planet, with its highest peak seeming to almost reach the illuminated disc in the sky. But the ancient shifters really couldn't come up with anything better?

Regardless of the name, it was Ithan’s chosen path. Hopefully we'd still be able to make it, or else he'd have to choose another path and he was dead set on this one. Confident that this was the path that would prove him the warrior he thought he was.

Young pups.  

A true warrior knows you can't plan your path. He would eventually figure that out. Perhaps sooner rather than later with their current predicament. 

We'd just rounded a grove of thick trees, a place that could maybe offer enough protection from the weather when a scent caught my nose – and apparently Ithan’s nose too.

I heard his gentle chuff behind me. Then intense sniffing. He whined, pointing his nose westward. The same direction I was picking it up from. 

He raised a grey paw slowly. His instincts set on locating the source of the slight floral beneath the stagnancy. 

I sniffed again, trying to place the mottled scent…

It smelled like the forest around them, but different still. The scent of moss in an old river bed. Like something that once was so lively and flourishing, dessicated by time.

And something else. Something… alluring.

I would've tried to place the scent further, but Ithan was waiting no longer. Before I could bark at him to hold, he was off, running towards the scent. I rolled my eyes, but followed. Who knows what they were walking into. What captured their wolves' attention….

We burst through a thick tangle of vines and bushes and were hit with an intense wave of the scent as we stood at the mouth of a cave.

We lowered our heads. Listening for any sounds. Smelling any other scents. There was a nutty scent with a hint of citrus, and a coniferous woodsy scent. I’ve only scented that kind of smell once before. Around trees that never lost their leaves, or rather pines, and they stayed green all year long. It was deep, almost calming. Another deep inhale and –

Ithan growled and continued into the rocky outcropping. I had no choice but to follow. Begrudgingly.

I almost ran into him as he came to a sudden stop inside the cave. All the scents we'd been picking up hit us like a ton of bricks. Especially the decaying floral scent. Looking around the cave, it was apparent who that scent belonged to.

A figure was curled up on the ground, their body covered by a tarp. There were two small backpacks off to the side. No one else was around.

A whine pulled my attention away from my assessment to find Ithan nosing at the sleeping figure.

I yipped quietly and Ithan responded with another whine as he nudged me with his shoulder, pushing me towards the heap.

He stuck his nose under the tarp again and started nudging it to the side. I tried pressing my snout to him to push him away but the scent…that decaying floral, there was something sweeter beneath it….

An omega.

They'd found an omega in the middle of this godsforsaken planet. And she smelled…awful. 

I was suddenly annoyed and angry at whoever was with her. What were they doing? Did they not understand how precious an omega is? How rare and cherished they are?!

Ithan’s whining was constant until he took it upon himself to curl up behind the omega and lay his head atop her chest.

I tried whining and growling for him to move, but he wouldn't budge. Huffing, I joined him and laid out next to the omega. I put myself between her and the cave entrance where a curtain of rain poured down.

If whoever was with her came back, they'd have to face me first. 

Gwyn

 

The moment I felt consciousness pulling me back to the surface, I became aware of how warm I was and …

Was I vibrating?

I peeled my eyes open. 

A white mass of… fur? I blinked again and again and, yup…that was fur. 

I lifted my head – ow fuck – or rather tried to lift it, but everything was so sore. So instead, I attempted to roll onto my back, but was met with resistance. I glanced back, craning my neck to see as best I could.

Another mass of fur…grey. 

I moved against them and oh. They were vibrating, no…

They were purring.  

Oh gods… I breathed in deep. A strong cinnamon and coffee scent, mingled with vanilla and clean cotton sheets ebbed around me…and a musky scent…

Alphas.  

Both of them… alphas.

I swallowed the whine that wanted to escape my throat, my omega curling in deeper. 

“Hey! No – fuck. ” 

I nearly jumped out of my skin as a voice somewhere beyond the white mound of fur called out. The mounds started to growl. The vibration was now a rumbling that rattled me to my bones.

“Gods, I leave for two minutes…” The voice says again. This time not as loud.

The white furred one let out a warning bark.

I stiffened at the sound and the voice beyond mumbled, “ Alphas.”

The grey mound behind me wasn’t having it. 

He rose onto his feet and I could finally see what kind of creature he truly was. 

A massive wolf loomed above me – fuck – he was the size of a horse . I curled into the back of what I assumed was another wolf, ducking my head. 

What the hells was happening? Had that strange alpha at the pool taken me? Did these wolves eat him? Was he one of the wolves? Was he the strange voice beyond?

I tried swallowing, wetting my mouth so I could speak up to remind the alphas I was here. To let me go. To not harm me…

Growls rippled around the cave, the white wolf rose then too. I tried scooting back, but it was no use. I couldn't move without pain jolting through me. Pitiful whines escaped my lips.

“Wait – stop, please – the omega! You’re scaring her, and she needs water!” The voice of the male I couldn't see pleaded. True concern laced every word.

The large wolves before me stopped their advancement. I craned my neck until I could see the newcomer. 

He had wings – like the stranger from the pool, but this winged creature was not him. The sharpness that had been in the stranger’s eyes was not there. Instead there was warmth. A sweetness that latched onto my gaze and swirled in me like a soft blanket on a cold day. He placed a canteen on the ground and took a step back.

“You take it – I’ll take it,” The newcomer looked at the paws of the dogs. “Can you even –”

A shimmer of light passed over my vision and I gasped as the wolves suddenly shifted, changing before my very eyes with a tap of their paws into –

Humanoids?

Naked humanoids. 

“I will take it to her,” the shifter on the left said. He had been a white beast a heartbeat ago and now he was a tall, muscular man. His long golden hair fell in a cascading mane around his shoulders. It was a tad unkempt and wild, but still gorgeous. All the muscles along his backside rippled – from his shoulders to his calves – as he crossed the cave to retrieve the canteen. 

The beta stood his ground. Unflinching. Though I caught the way his arms and shoulders stiffened. Ready to defend. 

The white wolf – man – snatched up the canteen. He faced the beta then, towering over him. In a voice so low, I almost didn’t hear him, he asked, “Why did you abandon her, beta?”

The beta’s mouth dropped, “I was getting her water.” He gestures towards the silver canteen. “I’m a Legion officer. My partner and I have been tracking her and will be bringing her to –”

“Never leave an omega unattended. Especially one in pain. They are rare and precious! One of those monsters in the jungle could’ve come in here and taken her –” The other human, the grey wolf who was now a young alpha, with muscles not nearly as big as his companions (but certainly getting there) stepped forward and snarled.

“Okay! Alright – I get it. Gods above.” He turned his gaze on me, his eyes softening. Reassuring me.

“Where is the alpha that is with you?” The golden haired alpha asked.

“Hunting.” The beta’s gaze snaps to the male’s crotch and he makes a face. “Do you need – clothes, or something?”

Both of their hands move to the wrist bands they wear and in the blink of an eye, clothing appears on the two shifters.

I had seen magic and the way it could be manipulated, but I had never seen magic like this before…

The young alpha barks again. He’s loud and boisterous, but he’s exuding a sense of righteous duty that for some reason makes me trust he’s not going to hurt me. He asks gruffly, “Why did the alpha leave? Did he do that to her?” He points back at me, his gaze never leaving the beta.

The beta rolls his eyes and looks at me again, then the water. “Can you please just give her the water and I promise, I’ll explain everything.”

“Don’t tell us what to do, beta.” 

With a frustrated sigh, the beta looks to the ceiling and closes his eyes. Brave in the face of two alphas, and says, “Oh my gods please control him.” I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but a second later, the young alpha lurches forward. 

My heart skips a beat, my stomach flips and I wonder if they're about to brawl. I watch the young alpha spring forward to barrel into the beta and tear him apart, but the other alpha’s hand shoots out, knocking into the young one’s chest. Holding him back. The beta’s wings flap as if they are agitated. Otherwise he doesn’t move.

In fact, he just crosses his arms. Looking bored as hell. 

“Ithan. Enough!” The older alpha snarls and barks at his companion. “They’ve kept the omega safe. They are feeding her and giving her water.”

“Yeah and what if they’re the ones hurting her and denying her the touch she needs?”

“The total opposite actually –” the beta says, unmoved by the accusations. He’s trying to keep the peace with his witty remarks. It seems to only be irritating this Ithan.

I take this all in while I’m also trying to scoot away from the potential danger, but I only make it a few inches before I’m shaking.

My omega had peeked up at some point during these introductions, but stayed low. Only observing. It was nice to finally feel her at ease again. I’m just surprised that she’s coming out now while she’s surrounded by alphas…

I mean…It had been nice, having the shifter’s fur surrounding me. Keeping me warm. I missed their purrs the most though, that soft vibrating that soothed the aches and pains. Without it my muscles screamed in agony.

I think…I think if my omega was more alert, she’d tell me I needed them. It’s been so long…since I had comfort. Since she had comfort. 

But surely they wanted something from me. Right? Did they want to hurt me? Shove me in a cage and sell me?

Or did they truly worry for my well being and safety? 

They hadn't done anything yet to make me think they wanted to harm me. 

Or that they knew who I truly was…

The beta got me water. I inhaled and caught a scent that didn’t belong to either of the alphas. Something nutty and citrusy. The beta's scent. It lingered on the shirt draped over me. 

He’d given me his clothing. I couldn’t smell much past the synthetic materials of the tarp, but I could guess who cocooned me in it…and are those bandages I’m feeling? I wondered if I smelled them, whose scent would be interwoven in the scratchy material? 

He’d covered me. Nursed my wounds. The beta certainly meant me no harm. That much I could puzzle out.

The wolves stumbled upon me, unsupervised apparently, and their first instinct was to curl around me and start purring, healing me with the vibrations.

Surely this meant their intentions were good too, right?

But…what of the stranger at the pool? The one who surprised me? Who smelled so enticing I could follow the scent everywhere? 

Did he just…leave? Was he the alpha with this beta? Why wasn’t he here? Did he not care? 

Something in me twisted at that thought. For some unfathomable reason, me and my omega, keened and wailed at the thought of this total stranger – who didn’t owe me anything – didn’t want me... 

“Enough!”

Silence fell in the cave. I hadn't even realized they continued arguing over how and who would care for me.

A new voice barked their command. A force like I’d never felt before rippled around the cave. All the back and forth stopped. Their barks and growls and snarls. The only sound was a high pitched whine –

I had been squeezing my eyes shut. My hands around my ears. Trying to block out everything around me and figure out what the hells was happening. 

“Balthazar – go to her,” the newcomer said.

“But –”

“Now.”

There was the sound of gravel and stone crunching under boots then, “Omega… hey, shhh…” The whining came to a stop. 

It was me… I was whining. 

“You’re alright. You’re safe. We’re not going to hurt you.”

Every word he spoke was a layer of warmth placed over top of me, soothing me. It lulled the racing thoughts, numbed the pain. 

I glanced up at Balthazar. The beta. His dark, brown eyes were warm and soft, his scent gentle and comforting. Understated compared to the alphas scents that had greeted me when I woke, but a presence all the same.

He gave me a lopsided smile and whispered, “Hey.” 

I didn’t move. Only my gaze traveled. From Balthazar to the two shifters. And finally to the newcomer. 

The other alpha.

The stranger.

His hazel-green gaze was already on me. Just waiting for me to look at him. That sharpness was there, but they softened as I looked at them – truly looked. 

I can’t explain the almighty force I felt when I looked into his eyes. The way I felt grounded and understood and seen.

But yet…he didn’t come closer to me. He showed a restraint no alpha ever has. 

He was choosing to stay away from me.

 

—

 

Azriel.

That was the name of the strange alpha. The one who stared and stared at me, but never approached.

He was very attentive. Knowing what I needed before it was even a thought in my mind. Telling Balthazar what to get me.

He had growled at the two shifters, telling them to leave, but my omega whined. We enjoyed their soft fur and warmth. Azriel huffed and allowed them to stay. For me.

I didn’t understand why. Why did he insist on caring when he didn’t even want to touch me? I guess I didn’t smell the greatest. 

Oh gods was that it? 

It made sense. I hadn’t been touched for an unknown amount of time. Well…touched in the way that made my omega happy anyway. The last time I was touched it was by the village alpha, blessing my deep sleep... 

My scent, I knew, was abhorrent. It was all decay and burning sourness – years of no contact. Of course he wouldn’t want to be near. That scent meant no one would want to touch me…even if I was in stasis for a long period of time. 

I wasn't loved.

I hated thinking that was the reason. It was something I couldn’t help. I calmed my omega. Soothed her and reminded her that a very nice beta was touching her. Tending to her.

Honestly? I had no complaints. Balthazar was so gentle. And considerate. Asking for my permission first before he tended to me. 

He explained to me that he had wiped as much dried blood from my skin as he could without irritating any injuries while I was unconscious. He also set my leg with sticks and twine. Cleaned my open wounds. Patched up the nasty gash on my temple. Balthazar offered me water for what felt like the tenth time, and I declined again. I didn’t think I could take another sip. They’d already refilled the canteen three times. 

“Are you sure, omega?” He asked, his voice soft and comforting. 

Gods I wished I could tell them my name, but my vocal chords were in such disuse.

I tried opening my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a squeak. So I nodded. Again.

“I think you’ve filled her with enough water –” Ithan said. I could feel his heat from here. Radiating off of him. From the other shifter too, whose name I learned was Fenrys. I wanted that warmth. Needed it. 

My omega whined. I sighed and shivered.

Ithan, Fenrys, and Balthazar all honed in on me. Even Azriel took a step closer at my plea. But he forced himself back, instead snapping at the others to also hold, but their never ending questions and concerns over me filled the cave, drowning out the pounding rain that still fell.

“She’s cold –”

“She’s touch-starved –”

“The omega needs us!”

“Stop!”  

That commanding tone echoed through the cave again and everyone stilled. Even me who wasn’t moving at all. I pressed my lips together. A strange sensation was building in my chest. A bubbling sort of feeling and oh –

I was laughing. Giggling.

Oh gods, I’ve lost it and the alphas are going to leave me thinking I’ve gone insane…

But I couldn’t stop. Something about having strange alphas and a beta taking care of me just didn’t compute. I was rudely shaken out of my stasis, tossed onto an unknown planet, and now had three alphas and a beta dotting over me. There was the faintest hint of giddy excitement that maybe…maybe this was the end of the suffering for omegas everywhere and it was happening while stranded on a strange planet.

But the giggles turned to sobs. I was alone. Alone in the great vastness of the universe. Whatever this was with the alphas, it couldn’t last. They had lives. Places to go. People to care for.

The last thing they needed to worry about was me. A forgotten omega.

A cool touch rested against my cheek and I flinched. I had shut my eyes tight again, trying to hold back the torrent of tears. But as soon as I felt that touch I jerked. Finding Azriel before me.

I almost couldn’t believe it. My mind must be playing tricks. He was kneeling next to me, the palm of his hand rested against my cheek. His thumb wiping away my tears.

His scent… gods his scent… it overwhelmed me. Covered me like a warm blanket on a chilly night in deep coniferous woods.

“Omega…what’s wrong?”

Like I could speak….But I tried again. I needed to tell them…tell them they could leave. That I didn’t need them to worry. That I wasn’t worth the trouble…

My omega keened and whined harder. Obviously not liking that idea. So instead, I attempted to speak with something more simple. I tried telling them my name.

“My…” I managed to eke out that one word. Everyone stilled. Azriel leaned in closer. I felt Balthazar’s presence near my head, and heard him shift in the dirt. Fenrys and Ithan inched closer. I cleared my throat through the tears and tried again. “My name…is Gwyn,” I rasped. Gods I forgot what my voice sounded like. Well, it sounded like shit now, but it would get back to normal soon. 

Azriel’s hand cupped over mine and that’s when I saw the scars…so many scars all over his hands…

“Gwyn,” he repeated my name back to me with reverence. “Gwyn, I want to hear everything you have to tell us.” I whimpered. Flashes of my past before I was left alone in my stasis crossed my mind. I didn’t want to take them there. Not right now. “But you need rest. And we’re stuck in here for the foreseeable future.” The rain outside pounded harder, the wind whipping it around the trees and brush.

Another pressure met my body. On my leg this time. A large, warm hand.

“What do you need now, Gwyn?” Ithan asked.

I shifted to look at him. Then at Azriel. At first he bristled at Ithan’s hand palming my calf, but the annoyance passed quickly. Turning all his attention on me. Waiting for my answer.

Touch…Warmth. My omega pleaded to me. Please. She was desperate, clawing at me from the inside. 

I repeated those words to the group in front of me and everyone jumped into action. Fenrys, with his dark, onyx eyes knelt before me. “You seemed quite cozy cuddling up to me before. Would you like that again, sweet girl?”

Sweet girl? My gods what was happening? I nodded. My omega purring with the thought of Fenrys’ warmth seeping into me. Fenrys and Ithan shifted back into their wolf forms and surrounded me again. Both of them purring instantly. I peered over Fenrys who laid in front of me. Searching for Azriel whose presence was so calming…But he stood on the opposite side of the cave again. Letting the others fret and gather around me.

Why wouldn’t he give me more?

I felt a hand brush my hair and I lifted my chin, my gaze catching the beta who was so kind. So sweet…

He sat back on his knees, watching. I blinked at him. In my pain induced state, I vaguely remembered the way he carried me. How he wiped away the blood and dirt I’d been covered in.

“Balth’zar,” I whispered. His brows rose, shock on his features. I blinked at him and he seemed to understand the request, because the next thing he did was scoot closer, offering his thigh for me to rest my head on. 

This had to be a fever dream, right? No way would I be lucky enough to have four males care for me in such a way. 

Was I absolutely crazy for letting these strangers tend to me? Maybe. Omegas were rare. So rare that alphas would jump at the chance to dominate and bond one on the spot. But my omega was happy. For the first time in a long time. That’s all that mattered…and sleep… normal sleep, brought on by me initiating it rather than stasis. That’s what my omega and I needed.

There was an awkwardness to the group as we got comfortable on the hard cave floor. I felt their muscles stiffen every time one of them moved. But their scents remained calm, neutral. All of them focused on one thing.

Me.

I let my body relax, one muscle after another. 

The cocoon of warmth tightened around me, a darkness falling over my form as something laid atop me, stretching across Fenrys and Ithan. It was Balthazar’s wing. The dim light from the cave filtered through the leathery appendage. The soft warmth of its coverage put me at ease.Then a deep purr began in the chests of all three males and I was lulled into a deep, deep sleep. The first proper sleep I’ve had in years.

Finally, my omega stopped shaking and ever so slowly, she settled too. Lulled by the cozy scents and soothing purrs around us.

Ithan

 

An omega.

How long has it been since any shifter has seen one? Too long. 

But yet here she was…sure another alpha, a stronger alpha, found her first, but…he seems okay. I guess.

Did he feel the same pull for her as I did? That same chant of, omega omega omega,  over and over in his head? Pounding at his skull? 

I was the first to wake in the morning. Hot sunlight streamed through the cave opening and I was panting from the heat. Something is half covering me –

I picked my head up and sniffed at a wing? Ah…Balthazar’s wing. It was draped over me, Fenrys, and Gwyn. Locking in the warmth. 

Okay…so the beta had her best interests in mind. Check mark for truly caring. Though, the distance Azriel is giving the omega irks me the wrong way. He slept on the other side of the cave, or rather watched all of us as we slept. 

Perhaps he felt something. An elder once told me he was too afraid to approach his scent match for days because he was so nervous.

Or maybe he was just an ass…

Hell if I know how these things work. She's the first unbonded omega I've seen and what a treat that I get to be hers. That's all I cared about.

My stomach grumbled then and I glanced around the cave. The omega, Azriel, and Balthazar were asleep. Fenrys stirred just as I moved. His large, white head lifted to look back at me. He blinked and chuffed. He was hungry too. And I'm sure my – our – omega was starving. 

Wow… our omega. How did Fenrys and I get so lucky to both feel that pull towards her? I could tell he did. Our bond linked us on a cosmic level. I knew he felt that need to care just as much as I did. 

A puff of her scent wafted from beneath the layer of clothing, tarp, fur, and leathery wings. Underneath the staleness of her scent, I could just get a hint of contentment. 

Balthazar shifted next to her and I heard him mumble low, gentle words. 

And she said something back.

Gods it was good to hear her speak. When she was only whining and making small noises, my heart broke. Who shoved her away and didn't care for her, leaving her touch-starved and wounded? 

A low growl started in my chest and I had to swallow to keep it down. No need for unnecessary tension. Sensing my hackles were raised, Fenrys gave me a good kick to the ribs. I snarled back and stood. Shifting in my human form and walked over to the lone alpha. I kicked Azriel’s boot, “Hey. Do you have food?”

Azriel awoke with a start and shot me a glare. “Not enough,” he growled. He sat up and immediately looked over to where Gwyn lay with the others.

Balthazar was just waking. Pulling his wing back to reveal the sweetest, freckled face. The tiniest bit of jealousy I felt that Balthazar got to sleep next to her melted away as I beheld her half-awake form. A smile bloomed on her face, a small, wincing smile – but a smile nonetheless.

Azriel made a noise. Content with the omega’s state he continued, “I planned on trying to find a working escape pod. You and Fenrys can hunt. Balthazar will stay here with Gwyn.” Azriel gave me a once over. “Do you always walk around naked after shifting?” He asked.

Balthazar and Gwyn moved then, the beta picked his head up from where he laid, allowing Gwyn to use him as a pillow. And Gwyn …those big teal eyes traveled down my torso, ending before she could look long enough at my half-hard, just woke up, cock. My ego deflated only a fraction as she quickly tore her gaze away, but her cheeks blossomed with a rosy tint nonetheless.

I pressed the button on my wristwatch and clothes appeared on my body, as if I had never taken them off. The cloth pants and shirt only slightly tattered from the long journey Fenrys and I were on. Fenrys shifted and changed quickly. Pulling   one of his scarves from his pack, he handed it to Gwyn, “For you, so I’ll be with you even when I’m deep in the jungle, hunting for food.” 

Gwyn’s teal eyes grew as she took the scarf, her fingers tentatively reaching out before curling into the soft fabric. She stared at it like she’d never been gifted something before and breathed two soft words.

“Thank you.”

Fenrys smiled and nodded my way, “Let’s go Ithan –”

But suddenly I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to give her something too. I pulled a cap from my bag and fitted it to Gwyn's head. She glanced up at it and smiled. Well fuck, now I definitely didn’t want to let her out of my site. Because what if we go and she’s not here when we get back? I didn’t know how much I could truly trust Azriel and Balthazar.

“Why can’t I stay here with her? Balthazar can hunt –”

Azriel’s growl rippled around the stone, “Balthazar stays with Gwyn. You two go and hunt –”

“Do you think I can’t protect her?!” I raged as I cut him off. My alpha was offended and angered. She was mine.

Azriel glared at me, “You will do as I say pup or you can leave.”

I opened my mouth to retort – no one called me pup, except for Fenrys – but said alpha was pushing me towards the cave entrance with his broad hands.

“Not now, Ithan,” he hissed. I tried to fight against his pull, but he had me out of the cave before I could do anything. “Ithan –”

“What the hells! I didn't do anything, Fen.”

“I know, but we need to approach with care. Until we know what happened; how she's feeling about all this, we need to be careful. Respectful. She's one of the last omegas–”

I huffed, “Like you need to tell me twice -”

“And – ” Fenrys continued, ignoring my interruption, “We need to keep her safe. Omegas are hunted –”

“I know –”

“Would you stop –” Fenrys barked his command at me, and I went wholly still. He sighed, pulling his hand over his face before he finished. “They are hunted by forces greater than we can handle. Azriel and Balthazar are from the Legion, they are equipped and have the connections to get her to safety. We need them, and they need us. If you and I are feeling something for the omega, then they certainly are as well.”

“Even the beta?”

He nodded slowly, “Even Balthazar. He looks at her with just as much longing as you and I. There's something between us all, I think.”

“How is that even possible?” I ask. Four random males happen to scent bond, or feel some sort of bond, with one of the last omegas?

Fenrys shook his head and shrugged. “I don't know. All I know is I feel that unmistakable pull towards the omega in there and I intend on following it until she tells me to stop. Which I hope to the gods is never.” 

He glanced over to the cave entrance, longing and adoration in his gaze. “She needs food.” He looked back at me, his gold curls hanging limply on his shoulders. Usually his hair is so voluptuous and bouncy. After not showering and getting caught in a torrential downpour, it was now tangled and knotted. Leaves and other forest debris stuck to it.

“Prove to them you can take care of her and focus on her needs,” Fenrys added, placing a hand on my shoulder. His thumb gracing the bond mark he left on me. It sent a shiver through me. Duty and dedication coursed through my veins.

Alright then. I’ll show them all. I can be an alpha. A proper alpha. An alpha Gwyn needs.

Chapter 3: Roundtable

Balthazar

 

I have personally never seen an alpha lose their shit over an omega before. They’ve been hunted and used almost to the point of extinction so of course it’s rare in the first place. I’ve seen Azriel interact with the omegas we’ve saved, but he’s always put together. Professional.

I have never seen Azriel act the way he’s been acting since Gwyn stumbled upon the pool he was at.

The frantic way he told me. How he looked so pained to be around her. How sensitive he is to Gwyn’s smell, even though it's buried beneath acrid sourness.

He could smell her fear. Her pain. Her centuries without being touched. But yet he wouldn’t approach.

I know Azriel. I know his need to prove himself. To show he’s worthy of something. How many late night hours did he spend working on cases? How much had he sacrificed to save something so precious to our existence?

Too many. Gods I wished he could see how worthy he already is. Azriel’s the only alpha I would trust with an omega, yet he can’t see that himself…

And now?

Now I have two more alphas to keep calm in this godsforsaken cave that is suddenly way too small.

The shifters are just as strange. I mean…what are the chances of this happening?! Three alphas who all happen to scent bond with her? 

And then there’s me. The beta who…

Who what? 

I wish…I wish I knew what it’s like – to have that bond with someone…

I glance back at Gwyn and I’m surprised she’s looking at me. And I’m surprised she’s sitting up.

I give her a small smile, “Hey there champ –” 

Champ?! Not as smooth as Fenrys' sweet girl, but I'd work on it.

Gwyn’s brows twitch together as I mentally kick myself for that one and ask, “How are you?” I stuff the last of the breakfast cooking materials back into the bag and join her. The two shifters left about an hour ago to hunt. Azriel left thirty minutes later to scout the site of the crash. Leaving me alone with Gwyn. Which honestly? I was glad for… Finally some alone time without alphas sniffing and hogging her.

Hogging her? As if this could ever be a thing between us anyway. 

She looks straight at the entrance and asks, her voice still a little raspy, “Where are we?”

“Lakos. The ship we came in on was supposed to dock here to refuel, but then…” I mimed an explosion and Gwyn’s eyes went from squinting to widened in an instant. It was so cute the way she listened to stories. So expressive. Showing that she was truly listening. All ears on me. I watched her as the alphas spoke to one another. How she never missed a beat and listened to everything they said. Watched their every move. Wary, but curious.

“What were you doing on the ship?”

I take a deep breath. Damn…how was I supposed to explain this to her? How was I supposed to tell her that we were on the tail of the people who took her stasis chamber from its hideaway and have a whole fleet of Legion waiting at the final destination in three weeks to arrest him and bring down his omega hunting and trafficking business?

Gods… I didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened to Gwyn if we didn’t locate her in time.

“Azriel and I are in the Legion.” When saying that doesn’t seem to enlighten anything in her, I continue. “We’re special agents. We were – are – on a mission.”

Her head tilts and she winces from the small movement. “What kind of mission?”

Damn her curiosity.

“Uh…” Gods I don’t know how to tell her. So I guess the best way is to just…say it? 

I sigh and scoot closer to her. She leans her shoulder against mine and waits. “Gwyn,” I start low, “Azriel and I were tracking down your – the tomb raiders who took the chamber you were kept in –”

Gwyn stiffens next to me, and although my sense of smell is not as good as an alphas, I can almost taste the putrid smell of fear. I put my hand over hers where she’s balled it into a shaking fist. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you, Gwyn. We set out to save you…and that’s what we intend to do. The crash and you stumbling upon us just made that easier, for lack of a better word.”

I give Gwyn a moment to breathe and relax. Her fingers unfurl beneath my hand and then she’s lacing them with mine. It’s unexpected and nice. Oh so nice…why does she feel so… perfect?

“Thank you,” she whispers. 

“Well…” I feel my face heat. We didn’t cause the ship to crash which technically was more of her saving grace than us… “You’re welcome. Though, whatever caused the crash got you to us sooner so…” 

Then Gwyn does the absolute unexpected, and turns her head, grimacing at the tiniest of movements, and places a chaste kiss on my cheek. Then she rests her head on my shoulder. “Me and my omega are grateful. I – “ 

Gwyn falls silent and I glance down at her. Tears streak her face, her shoulders shake. I lay my palm on the side of her head and pull her to me as she curls into my chest and I hold her in silence as sobs wracked her body.

“How long? How long have I been in stasis?”

I hold her closer, feeling her wet cheek against my neck.

“Nearly three centuries –”

“And my people? What became of my village?”

“Gone…destroyed moments after you were safely hauled away.”

She nods. Resigned to her fate. Knowing that when – if – she woke from stasis, that it would be in a totally different world. But it didn’t stop her from feeling. To Gwyn, the events from almost three hundred years ago happened only yesterday.

Her cries burrow into my skin as I hold her closer yet. The sound shatters my very essence as her emotions pour forth.

 

 

Azriel

 

I make the trek back to the cave as quickly as I can. The sun is already setting low in the sky and the longer I'm away from her, from Gwyn, the worse the ache in my chest feels. 

She's my scent match. That much I am sure of, but there is something more. A greater force that can't be stopped. A sense of belonging. Like she's the only thing in the world where I feel…normal.

I'm still kicking myself for growling at her…I really should just keep my distance. Show her I mean no harm by keeping her out of harm's way.

But I also want to make her my only purpose in life .

So that's why I'm now hauling back a large duffle bag of supplies: food, canteens, clothing, towels, blankets, medical supplies, even a book or two I scrounged up.

And as I return back to the cave, I can't help the way my heart beats faster. How I practically skip into the cave to show her the things I brought back for her – or rather the things I’m going to give to Balthazar to give to her…

As I approach the entrance of the cave, I stop. And smile.

Gwyn is sitting in Balthazar’s lap, her fingers flying wildly across the holographic map projected from the beta’s watch. She's smiling. Her mouth slightly opened in wonderment. Her eyes are lit with curiosity. She zooms in and out from random spots on the map. Clicks any buttons she can. The topography changes wildly as she taps the top right button over and over. Then the map spins and spins and she's giggling and oh my gods it's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

Balthazar watches her with wonder and awe. Honestly, same beta, same.

I have to remind myself that she has never seen this kind of tech before, with magic woven into the inner workings and mechanisms. Imagine all the things I could show her! All the equipment I'd teach her how to use if….

If she can stay with us…If she even wants to stay with us.

If there’s any possible way we can see her again after she’s given her testimony to the Legion.

Shit. I don't even know what's going to happen now. 

I’ve never seen this happen before. An alpha Legion officer who scent matches with an omega they rescue. I don’t even think there’s a protocol for this specific situation. A huge oversight on the Legion's behalf.

Shaking the anxious thoughts away, I make my presence known and the pair look up at me. Balthazar smiles wide and Gwyn – Gwyn's smile falters, just slightly. And she huddles just a fraction closer to Balthazar who frowns.

“It's okay, Gwyn. It's just Azriel.”

Fuck. I don’t want her to be scared of me. But I can’t let myself get close. It would only make losing her harder. I can sit with them. I don’t need to touch her. 

Just…show her something. My alpha whines. Show her we care. I give her a half smile and approach them slowly. Making each step deliberate. When she doesn't back away further or flinch, I join them. 

“I got some supplies. I think you'll be quite pleased, Gwyn.” 

Gwyn craned her head to see, sitting forward and digging through the bag before I could even pull anything out. She sniffs out a sweater of mine and my alpha chuffs and purrs as she pulls it from the bag and breaths in my scent. 

“I couldn't find pants that would fit you, but I did find a jumpsuit the mechanics wear on the ship. Thought that would also be a good way to disguise you, if need be,” I supply as she pulls out the blue work overalls.

Gwyn is quiet as she continues sorting through the bag, snacking on crackers while she does so and gods I never thought someone eating crackers would be so adorable. The crumbs fall onto Balthazar’s shirt she still wears and they pile up on the bunched up tarp in her lap.

Then she finds the soap and comb and her head snaps up to look at me. She winces at the fast motion and says, “There's a place for me to bathe?”

I can't help the satisfied smile that spreads across my face, “Of course. We might be able to find a waterfall or something on the map.” I point at Balthazar’s watch.

But Gwyn shakes her head. “I can find us water. Faster than we can scroll around on the map,” she supplies as she jerks her head towards Balthazar.

“How?” Balthazar asks, bewilderment painted on his face.

She shrugs, “You have your tech, and I have my innate abilities.” She gives us both a coy smirk then closes her eyes. 

Balthazar and I watch as her brows furrowed slightly, a muscle twitches in her face then ….“Half a mile that way -” she points north. “- there's a waterfall.”

My mouth falls open and Balthazar pulls up the map on his watch, confirming with a nod to me. “How did you know that?” He asks.

“I told you – innate abilities.” 

“But what does that mean?” I ask. It was said the omega in this tomb had great power. I mean, she was kept secret and safe in a box for hundreds of years, so obviously that meant she was powerful on some level. Which is why they sent Balthazar and I. As magic users and high ranking Legion officers, we were the best equipped for the job.

She finds my gaze and holds it. That spark in my chest flickers and brightens. “I'm an elemental. Water is my speciality.”

“Your specialty?” Balthazar leans forward, a deep ‘v’ cutting between his brows. His chest rests against Gwyn’s shoulder. Comfortable with the weight of him. Something that definitely doesn’t poke at that yearning to be that comfortable with Gwyn. Nope. Not a bit.

Gwyn leans into Balthazar and explains, “We are all born with the elements in our blood. Our souls. My people have the ability to harness the elements and mold them with the magic that weaves throughout the universe.” I’m still wrapping my mind around her being able to control the elements as she continues, “I can sense water, hone in on it and find it anywhere.” She turns her full attention to me. “That’s how I found the pool. I dove in when I could sense its nourishing and healing essence.” 

My heart hammers in my chest. It’s hard not to lean over and hug her so tight she explodes. I want to say in every language possible I’m so sorry for growling at her. I want to reach out, press my lips to hers, and –

I reel my alpha in and clear my throat, “What else can you do with your natural connection to the element?”

Her teal eyes sparkle in the sunlight that streams through the cave entrance. “I can control it. Make it move how I want. Shape it into the sharpest sword.”

“Can you show us?” Balthazar asked. The beta is absolutely floored.

A blush flashes across her cheeks, then quietly says, “I can maybe muster up enough strength to show you when we go to the waterfall. I’ve been – out of practice.” She flinches, her eyes turn down. Avoiding our gaze.

Go to her. My alpha is clawing at me. Urging me to just fucking do it. Go to her like I did last night when Balthazar and the shifters were arguing.

Maybe I could? Maybe I could just touch her and it won’t be a sensation that’s seared into my mind for eternity.

I shift across the cave floor, closing the distance between us. I was as close as I was last night when I soothed her. Her eyes catch mine and it’s like the birth of a star. Explosive and life changing. I can hardly catch my breath. Gwyn watches me with a steady gaze, waiting for me to say something. To touch her…Her lips part, ever so slightly and she breathes in.

My hand shakes as I raise it and rest it upon hers. 

“You show us when you’re ready. If you want to show us,” I say, softly. My alpha sighs as I comfort her.

Our omega. Something settles in me at the soft purr my alpha emits at the thought of our omega.

She nods. “I want to show you.” Her eyes light up and through the scent of decay, something sweet curls out around her, enveloping me. I want to taste and know that scent so intimately it becomes a part of me. “Can you take me to the pool now?” 

Eagerness flares in her gaze, excited to venture out and show me – us – something new. Butterflies knock around in my stomach, my heart stuttering. I can’t think or form words. 

Balthazar comes around and crouches next to us, his hands on our shoulders, “I think it would be a great idea to go to the pool, but we should maybe wait for Ithan and Fenrys. They’ll be back soon with more food. Hopefully.”

I look back to Gwyn. “Are you okay with waiting?” While I wanted her to feel comfortable and clean again, it would be best to wait for a few reasons. “They’ll be able to let us know how safe the forest is. It’ll also be good to eat something before making any sort of journey.” My stomach clenches in hunger as I say it, but I know Gwyn’s must be doing flip flops of all sorts.

“That makes sense.” She looks down at her legs then murmurs, “I should maybe try standing first. You said it was only a sprain, right?” Her attention turns to Balthazar who nods and answers.

"A bad one, but yes."

Then she looks at me. Expectantly.

Take her hands. Help her stand!

Again, my hands shake as I hold them out to her. She eyes my scarred hands before she's looking back up at me. My fingers curl around hers as she slides her hands into mine and there’s electricity like I’ve never felt. I clench my jaw to keep from whining out my approval.

Slowly, I help her to her knees and change my hold on her, hooking one of my arms around her. “Is this okay?” I ask. 

“Yeah,” her voice is breathy. It tickles my skin, sending shivers across the pulse in my neck. My alpha nearly faints at the sensation and I do everything I can not to rub my cheek and neck against her. Scent marking her.

“Hold onto my shoulders,” I tell her. I try not to breathe in that delicious scent that fights its way through the sourness. 

Then I lift her.

Gritting her teeth, Gwyn lets out a small whine and I almost start lowering her back down, but there’s no twinge of pain and distress is brief on her scent before I get a big whiff of her true scent. It breaks through the blanket of physical and emotional distress on her and hits me like a ton of bricks. It’s floral and more sweet than I could ever imagine. And there’s a light airiness with musky undertones that I didn’t catch before.

It’s that scent of sheer will power. She’s determined and who the fuck am I deny her her goals?

I help her find her balance, holding her against my chest until her moss and water lily scent is the only thing that is filling me. Oxygen is no longer needed. Just her godsdamned aroma. 

I glance at Balthazar who smells her too, his nostrils flaring, his jaw unclenching. But he isn’t as affected by the enticing scent with his beta designation.

I should step away before it’s too much and I do something I regret. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to scare her or make her feel uncomfortable.

I didn't want to become so attached that our inevitable departure wrecks me until I'm nothing.

I catch Balthazar’s gaze and he knows exactly what I’m about to ask him. He had a hell of a knack for knowing what someone needed before they even said it.

“Gwyn, babe, you’re doing a great job,” he reassures her. She smiles through a grimace and shifts. Her scent blooms again, chuffed by Balthazar’s compliment. The corners of his mouth twitch up, the dimples on either cheek popping out. “So good that Azriel needs to step away for a second. I’ve got your back, though, okay?” His scent puffs out around them, chestnut and citrus.

Calming the alpha who rages within me; the alpha who wants her more than life itself.

Her eyes snap to mine and fuck if that look in them doesn’t stoke the warmth in my belly. She’s no doubt smelling both of us surrounding her. I didn’t want to accidentally put her into a heat spike – or me into a rut.

I step away from her, immediately missing the feel of her in my arms, but I stay back. Watching Balthazar as he slides in and takes over.

He’s gentle and patient with her as I watch him walk her back and forth in the cave. Helping her stretch out and get reacquainted with the steady ground beneath her. They take a couple breaks, but Gwyn is persistent. Balthazar is right there for her. 

Despite living in a cave for the moment, I felt a sense of home being with the two of them. Balthazar made her laugh. She made him blush. And all of it made me undeniably greedy. 

I wanted this forever.

 

Fenrys

 

The kid is never going to let anyone forget that this was his passage quest.

Saving an omega. 

He said it for the seventh time in the past five minutes and I just know he’s proud of himself.

I’m proud too, of course. This is his quest after all. The only battle would be him learning to keep himself in check around other alphas. Not me, obviously, but Azriel. Ithan would learn the hard way if he crossed Azriel – who was not only more powerful in a physical and skilled way, but in his alpha dominance as well. I could feel it rolling off of him. That commanding presence that made me want to stand at attention at his words.

The Legion warrior was skilled. I could see it in the way he moved. Every movement he made was done with purpose. He was swift and cunning and honestly, quite attractive. Very attractive. I'll admit. There were a few instances back int he caves when I caught myself staring at his lips... wondering what they felt like. If his wings were sensitive like everyone says. 

We were getting nearer to the cave and I barked for Ithan who was strides ahead of me. Eager to return to Gwyn. 

That’s one thing I’d give him. He was loyal and one track minded with the omega, that was for certain. Not that I wasn’t, because I was smitten with her as soon as we came across her. I was eager to return to her as well, but we needed to shift back and don our clothes. 

Ithan slowed to a stop, his large grey head turning to look back at me. He whined. I shifted and pressed the activation button on my watch. Clothes appeared instantly on me, clinging to the humidity that pervaded my skin. 

“Shift and cover yourself.” I picked up the string of small rodents we caught and started walking to meet up with him.

His wolf rolls his eyes before following my instructions. He growled, “I can smell Azriel from here.” Ithan’s scent is sharp with annoyance on the wind.

I huff, “Get used to it.”

Ithan growls again. Young alphas.

We enter the cave and I’m surprised by the sight I see before me.

Gwyn and Balthazar are standing in the middle of the cave, Balthazar’s hand hovering near Gwyn’s as she walks with him. They come to a sudden stop as we enter and Gwyn wobbles.

Everyone takes a step or two towards her, ready to catch her, but Balthazar is there, steadying her instantly with his body.

Gwyn watches us with curiosity. Her eyes flick to Ithan and her gaze travels up and down, taking him in completely. Her teal eyes sparkle and then she’s looking at me. A blush creeps across her cheeks.

I smile back at her, “Hey sweet girl. See you’ve found your sea legs.” 

Her smile somehow gets brighter, her teeth flashing, “Azriel and Balthazar were helping me. I’d watch though, apparently my scent is too much for alphas.” Her blush deepens and she ducks her head. Azriel makes a strained noise off to the side. Obviously pained that he’s too affected by her scent to be any closer. I test out the waters and take a few steps closer myself and –

Woah –  

The sweetest floral and clearest water scent hits me. It’s soothing and intoxicating all at once. There’s a hint of distress and decay, but it’s muted.

I hold my hand out to stop Ithan from advancing. His pupils were already blown with interest. I feel his growl in his core and I put more of my body in front of his. 

“Slow, Ithan. You’ve never been near a perfuming omega before.” It would be like a drug to the young alpha.

Gwyn looks around at all of us, “Am I – am I one of the first omegas you’ve all seen?”

“Ithan and I live on a planet where omegas have been completely wiped off the grid. Many of us hope to come across an omega on our Passage Quests.” I glance to Ithan and add, “You are one lucky alpha, pup.”

Ithan purrs. Then he unclenches and clenches his fists. Fighting off the power of her scent. I get a hint of the beta’s scent and I know he’s working double time to keep us all calm.

Gwyn looks to Balthazar and says, “You’ve seen many, right? You and Azriel have been saving them?” Her eyes are wide with worry.

Balthazar grimaces, “We save who we can, yes.”

“So the omegas aren’t in danger of disappearing?” She asks hopefully, though there’s worry in her voice.

“Not if we have any say in it,” Balthazar answers bravely, but his eyes are pained. 

I looked at Azriel, “How did you know where to find her?”

“We received reports that an ancient tomb had been dug up.”

“Ancient tomb?” Ithan asks. “What does that have to do with Gwyn?”

Azriel scowls, “Because Gwyn was in the stasis chamber they stole.”

Ithan and I growl at the same time. The idea of Gwyn being taken in such a nefarious way…I chase the thought from my head. She’s here. She’s safe.

Instead I ask to clarify, “You were in a stasis chamber?” I look at Gwyn and my heart catches in my throat as she holds my gaze. Her teal eyes shimmering with tears.

She nods, “For three hundred years apparently.”

I look at Azriel and Balthazar who nod in confirmation. “What happened?” I asked. I needed to know why and how my omega was kept in stasis in a box underground.

The Legion officers and Gwyn all look at each other. Balthazar and Azriel nod to her, giving her the floor to tell her story. Gwyn says quietly, “Omegas were being hunted. I was the only omega in my village. On my planet, as far as I knew. So to protect me and the future of omegas, they buried me in a temple. To keep me safe.”

The cave is quiet. Azriel’s shadows swirl in agitated circles. Bathazar’s wings fold in around him and Gwyn. Ithan and I bristle. 

“Did anyone survive?” I ask.

“Reports vary,” Azriel said from the shadows. “But most say there were no survivors.”

“Did any of the reports mention my sister? Catrin?”

Balthazar and Azriel’s grave expression told me the reports did mention her, but not how Gwyn was hoping.

“She’s one who has been honored at the site,” Balthazar answered. “She’s remembered well, Gwyn.”

Gwyn nodded and sniffled, “I – I knew when they came that it was for me and me alone. And that no one else mattered. I just hoped —” I smelled the sharp tang of salty tears before I saw them pour down her face. “I hoped she would’ve gotten away…somehow.”

Balthazar tugged her closer. She didn’t fight his hold as he enveloped her in his arms. “She fought back," he said. "Hard. Reports are varied. Many claim she resisted longer than any one village had against the tomb raiders, but in the end…” Balthazar trailed off. His voice breaking as he spoke. “I’m so sorry Gwyn…” 

Then Balthazar buried his face in the crook of her neck as Gwyn sobbed. The pull I felt was immense. Not only for Gwyn, but for the two Legion officers whose job it was to save the remaining omegas.

I was so overcome by the emotions that I was caught off guard when Ithan barreled past me and made a beeline straight for the embracing pair. My pulse raced and I leapt forward to stop him from letting his alpha take over.

I didn’t need to.

Ithan had thrown his arms around Balthazar and Gwyn, pulling them in for an all encompassing hug. Exuding care and love in his unhindered act. I watched as one of Balthazar’s arms slowly, tentatively, reached around and clutched at Ithan’s shirt. Gwyn nuzzled deeper into their hug and suddenly I was feeling very, very left out.

I glanced at Azriel who stood stoned face by the wall. Frozen like he didn’t know what to do. Or like he was holding back from reacting.

A small whine brought me back to the trio who were still hugging in the middle of the humid cave. 

It wasn’t Gwyn’s whine. I’d heard plenty of those to know what that sounded like. Rather it was a whine I barely heard. One from a young alpha who always put on his alpha mask. Never showing anyone his true emotions. Hiding under his pretenses of what being an alpha means. That whine ached within me. Plucking solemnly at the bond between us. 

I couldn’t just stand there and hear that noise without doing something.

Closing the distance between me and the embracing group, I joined in. One hand on Ithan’s shoulder, squeezing it to reassure him. My other arm hooked around Gwyn and Balthazar. 

My alpha urged me to rest a hand on the back of the beta’s head. So I did. I held him just as I held Ithan and Gwyn and within that split second, everything changed. A spark in my chest ignited as my heart overflowed with joy and rightness.

My chest rumbled, vibrating into the small group of creatures from across the universe.

I turned my head and looked at Azriel. He stood in the shadows. Watching…unmoving.

What was he holding back from? Maybe he didn’t feel what we were all feeling for the omega?

But ...Azriel’s eyes were pinned on the back of her copper head. An intensity I’d only ever seen in alphas who had found their scent matches. 

He had to be feeling something too.

I held my hand out, because sometimes that’s all someone needs.

Azriel watches it warily, as if it’s going to jump out and bite him, but then…then he takes a step forward.

A deep growl revs to life next to me.

Ithan is glaring at Azriel. Boring a hole into the winged male. “He doesn’t deserve to be here if he can’t make a decision to be there for his omega on his own!” The young alpha snarls and shoves through the group. Attempting to get in Azriel’s face.

I round on Ithan and shove him away before he could do something completely stupid. Balthazar covers Gwyn, shielding her behind his body. I didn’t blame him. Ithan’s alpha hormones just took a complete left turn and he did not like Azriel’s behavior.

I grabbed his shoulders and shoved him back into the cave wall. Getting in his face I spat, “Calm alpha!” My bark echoed in the cave. Reverberating to a tone that would resonate in Ithan’s bones. Then the younger alpha did just that. After a few heavy pants, his breathing slowed. His pupils shrank. His pulse was still racing and his face still red with anger, but he had at least settled. 

For now.

“He’s done nothing but give Gwyn a cold shoulder –”

Azriel snarled as he took a few solid steps forward, exuding the power of the Alpha. “I am not giving her the cold shoulder. Do not begin to tell me what to do, pup.”

Ithan growled, “Gwyn needs us right now. All of us. And you’re in the corner glowering – for what?!”

“You don’t know what she needs!” Azriel bellows back at him and Ithan stills. His eyes widening at the Alpha energy seeping out in Azriel’s words. Azriel’s chest heaves before he continues, almost breathless, “Only Gwyn can decide what she needs.”

“Don’t you feel it?” Ithan begins. His words send an ache to my core. “Don’t you feel her pain and sorrow?”

Azriel flinches. Gwyn is watching on with curious interest. Waiting for Azriel to answer.

“That’s none of your business,” Azriel finally says. And without waiting for the rest of his answer, Ithan launches himself towards Azriel.

I grab him just in time, again. He snarls as he fights against my hold, “It is if she needs a pack and we’re all scent matches!” The tension crackled in their rocky hideout.

That nutty, soothing scent bloomed as Balthazar moved closer to Gwyn, who is wary of the tension between the two alphas. “There are a lot of decisions that need to be made,” he states. “We should discuss everything that needs to be done before jumping to any conclusions. Going at each other's throats is not going to help anyone.”

He’s trying to calm everyone down, and it’s working. Ithan relaxes in my hold. Azriel steps away from the young alpha, still annoyed and bristled. But calmed.

Thank the gods for Balthazar. 

I nod and agree with the beta, “Our first priority is finding a way to get off this planet safely and that means finding a ship to carry us or a way to contact someone to come fetch us.”

Balthazar gives me a nod, thankful that someone else was on his side.

I continue, “All of us being scent matches is a surprise. We don’t know each other. We’re practically strangers, but isn’t that how it sometimes works out? We’ve gotta be flexible and listen to each other instead of going at each other’s throats – got it?” I give Ithan’s arm a little tug, forcing him to look at me. The young alpha’s eyes narrow, before he glances at Gwyn and everything about him melts. 

Finally he nods. “Got it.”

Balthazar and Azriel nod too. Even Gwyn – who has been nothing but patient with us males.

After tensions diminish and we’re able to talk without yelling at each other. We discuss our next plan of action.

Azriel mentions the smaller emergency ships may be drivable, but are probably banged up from the crash. Ithan offers his mechanics knowledge. Balthazar plans a route off the planet with the map he projects with his wrist tech. I'm here to help wherever. I’m supporting Ithan as his quest guide, so I'll go where he goes and in the morning me, Ithan, and Azriel will head to the crash site and locate a ship.

Gwyn is quiet for most of the discussion. Adding her vote when one is needed. She offers to help out Balthazar. The two appear to have formed a relationship. She's stuck to his side like glue. His arm opens up for her automatically whenever she draws near him. She nuzzles into him like he’s the warmest blanket. All the while her scent gets stronger. Breaking through the touch-starved staleness. It is a drug I want to inhale for the rest of my life. It's soothing and intoxicating and the more Balthazar holds her hand or lets her lean into him, the more her natural scent shines.

We're nearing the end of our discussions, belly full of the strange hopping creatures with three long ears Ithan and I caught today when Gwyn clears her throat, “I uh, know that getting out of here is priority number one, but since we're not doing that until morning.” She glances at Balthazar, then Azriel, “Can I bathe now?”

It’s a relieved turn of conversation and laughter ripples around the group.

I smooth back a lock of hair that stubbornly won’t stay behind her ear and say, “Anything for you, sweet girl.”

Chapter 4: Forging A New Path

Gwyn

 

I had scent matches.  

After all these years locked away to keep me safe…

I was appalled that someone had taken my tomb and tried to move it. That they would probably pry it open and sell me to the highest bidder. Y et I was also relieved. Relieved that it had happened because if it didn’t…would I have missed the love and care these males wished to give me?

I only knew one alpha male before others came and destroyed my village. He was one of our elders. and he was slaughtered along with everyone else.

He was kind and gentle. Always had a story to tell and a hug to give.

The alphas who attacked my village were mean and vicious. Cruel and uncaring. Dominating.

But this experience? Meeting these alphas?!

I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that the moment I wake from stasis I find my scent matches. 

A crew of random males who are all one track minded on keeping me safe? It was…a lot to take in. I mean, I was still figuring out if Ithan was more hot headed than sweet and if Azriel really wanted me or was just doing his job. Regardless of my reservations, they'd treated me with respect. Making me an equal by insisting I vote and making decisions with them. 

Now they only needed to pass the test.

Would they let me fucking bathe already?!

After Fenrys pledged to do anything for me and called me sweet girl again, which had my heart fluttering and face heating, Balthazar’s chest vibrated with an amused purr as he added, “We did say we'd take you when Ithan and Fenrys got back.”

Azriel stayed quietly off to the side. It's clear he doesn't want to come near me, but he can't stop boring a hole into my face with his gaze. I'm aware of him every time he's looking at me. Which has been since he came back from his scavenging early this evening. 

“You did,” I said with amusement. “Though, I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk the distance.”

“I can carry you there,” Fenrys offers. He drops the bone of the rodent leg he’d been chewing and stands.

“I’ll come too,” Ithan supplies rapidly. He stands next, knocking his plate over in his rush to show his eagerness. I stifle a laugh and he catches the playfulness in my scent. He gives me one of his boyish smiles and my omega’s tail twitches in response. I nearly do the same. Wagging my hips. Matching his enthusiasm.

I think she’s slowly coming around to these males. As am I. 

I wait for Azriel and Balthazar’s answers. I already know what Azriel is going to say before he says it. It still doesn’t soften the blow or stop my playful scent from being tinged with sourness as he says, “I’ll stay here. Keep watch. Balthazar, Ithan, and Fenrys can take you.” His tone is flat. And I can’t understand why he’s not showing more emotion like the other three are? 

Maybe I really am just another job to him. Another omega to save.

Balthazar squeezes my shoulder as he feels the rejection rolling off me like waves. He stands then, giving Azriel a look. The alpha ignores him and simply collects the bag of towels and provisions before handing it to Balthazar without a word. 

I’m hurt, but the prospect of finally bathing and with three males that I knew had my back trumped the feeling of rejection. If only a little.

After Fenrys shifts, Ithan and Balthazar help me onto his back. It’s strange. I’ve ridden a horse a few times, but this is nothing like that. Without a saddle I can feel every muscle bunch and move between my legs. I run my fingers through his fur. Feeling the soft texture of it gliding against my skin. His musky sweet scent shrouds me and it feels as if I’m bundled up in the softest cotton sheets.

I take in the jungle around me as we travel at a fast clip to the pool. Fenrys doesn’t falter a step or slow down, even with the extra weight of my body on top of him. For the most part Ithan and Balthazar are quiet. Talking only when we get closer. Ithan has us hold while he shifts and scouts ahead. He returns moments later, back in his clothed human form. The coast is clear and we continue forward.

I’m jittery with excitement. It’s been too long since I had any proper care like this. My omega yips in anticipation of the cleansing the water will bring.

We break through large frond leaves that hang like curtains around the pool. My breath catches as we emerge and see a pool with a small, cascading waterfall. The water sparkles in the moonlight. The gentle rush of it fuels my soul and eases my nerves.

I start to dismount before anyone realizes. Fenrys tries lowers himself closer to the ground to help me, but I don’t need it. I get a second gust of wind with the water in sight and make a wobbling beeline for the water. 

I strip out of the overalls and Balthazar’s shirt and slip into the water.

Holy gods this feels amazing. I let out a satisfied moan as the water stings any wounds that are still healing, but it’s a good sting. The kind of pinch that cleanses and rejuvenates. The pool is shallow. If I stood to my full height it would probably come to my waist. I sink in until my shoulders are submerged and I let out more moans of satisfaction as the water hugs my body.

There’s a rumbling purr and a whine from the edges of the pool and I open my eyes to find the three males staring after me. Ithan and Fenrys watch me with that alpha gleam in their eyes, their scents filling the space around me. 

Balthazar eyes the two alphas, but looks at me and grins, “You should give them warning next time you’re going to strip down to nothing.” His scent bursts through theirs, easing the alphas.

I feel a blush creep into my cheeks and I sink lower into the water, “Oh…noted.” I wait for them to move, but they seem unsure whether they should join or not. “Are you three just going to stand there, or…? I’ll give you privacy if you’d like.” I can’t help the smile that broadens across my face as I turn my back to them.

They don’t need to be told twice as I hear water splashing moments later. It ripples around me and I know they’ve entered. I can feel their presence in the water through my connection to the water before I actually see them.

I don’t turn back around until I feel a hand on my shoulder. Chestnut and citrus wrap around me and I turn to find Balthazar, waiting with a rag and soap.

“You can bathe yourself, but just know, we'd all be willing to help if you need it,” he said with a playful wink. My face heated more. I took the rag and soap and decided to at least try to wash myself before embarrassingly needing their help.

Turns out, I needed them a lot sooner than I thought. Squatting in the water eventually became too tiring for my wounded leg and I couldn't bend to get anything below my knees, nor could I reach my back…I couldn't lift my arms higher than my chest. Something in my ribs kept twinging with pain whenever I tried to move.

Balthazar was by my side the moment I asked for help. 

With careful hands, he took the soap and cloth from me and helped me settle onto some rocks in the water. The water came up to my chest, just hiding my breasts. Regardless, I don't think Balthazar’s gaze would've wandered, no matter how much he might want to look upon me naked.

Ithan and Fenrys were currently taking turns keeping watch. The one who wasn't watching was helping to wash me too.

When I was finally clean, I sat and enjoyed just being in the water again as the males took their turn to cleanup. 

Closing my eyes, I reached into the magic that swelled and pulsed inside me like waves in the ocean. I lifted my hand above the water and tried accessing the magic. I was attempting to make a tiny whirlpool, something small to work out my dormant abilities. A few sprinkles of water hopped above the surface, but otherwise nothing else happened. 

The males joined me, encouraging me to keep trying. They watched as I tried again and again, all of them curious about my abilities. 

“Sorry this isn't a cooler show,” I said as the shape of the bird I made out of water wobbled and fell back to the surface. “Usually I'd be able to make it fly above our heads then shower down on us.”

Ithan watched in amazement with what I did accomplish. “It's cooler than anything I'd ever seen.” 

I eyed Ithan and Fenrys. Curious about their reason for being on that ship. “So what brought two shifters from your own planet to here? Where were you going?” I ask.

Fenrys looks to Ithan, “This is your quest, you tell her.”

“Quest?” I tilt my head to Ithan. Waiting for his response.

Ithan blushes , something I hadn’t seen him do outside of anger, and says, “This is my passage quest.” I shake my head, not understanding the meaning and he continues, “Three years after an alpha comes into their designation in my tribe, they go on a quest, a rite of passage. Most of the time it’s in hopes of finding an omega. Usually alphas aren’t so fortunate to have that happen to them —”

“But you were,” I add, letting the water drift me closer to the young alpha. 

He shrugs and looks smug as he pulls me into his side. “Perhaps,” he starts. He nuzzles his nose into my neck, just below my ear and inhales. Breathing in my scent. I giggle and I can’t help but notice the heat that coils within me. 

“I’d barely started my quest when all this happened. We hadn’t even reached the destination I’d chosen.” I feel his large palm rest against my hip, his other arm wrapping around my back until his hand curls around to my front. His fingers tickled my ribs. He has me in a tight hold, but I’m not afraid or nervous – as Balthazar and Fenrys seem to be. 

They’re watching Ithan with intensity. Ready to spring forward should Ithan’s unpredictable alpha take over, but he  holds me like I’m his most prized possession. 

“Will you continue on with your quest after this?” I twine my legs with his under the water as I ask my question.

He smiles and replies, “Only if you’ll come with me?”

“That’s allowed?” I can’t stop my hands from traveling across his stomach and chest. Feeling his solid warmth beneath my skin.

“I have Fenrys tagging along…I’m sure one or a few more won’t hurt,” he says with a devil may care attitude. My fingers graze over the silvery bite mark on his neck. Ithan sighs at the touch and glances over at Fenrys. “We’re pack mates…or at least, we’re two shifters trying to start our own pack.”

“And pack mates go with you on quests?”

“Not typically,” Fenrys adds. He too has drifted closer. Coming to sit on the other side of me. His legs bump into mine and Ithan’s as he settles in next to us. “It’s a bit complicated, but when alphas are ready to embark on their passage quest, an elder alpha goes with them. Sort of like a guide, but we’re mainly there to make sure the young alpha doesn’t lose themselves to their alpha side.”

“Fenrys and I bonded in a way we both hadn’t with other alphas. Or even betas. So when he asked to be my guide and to start a pack with him. I couldn’t say no.”

I looked over at Fenrys and saw his own silvery bite.

My omega purred and yipped, warmed by the two shifters and their story. I snuggled deeper into Ithan’s side, feeling safer than I ever have been surrounded by the three males. I let myself relax. Let the water in the pool caress my skin, and Ithan’s arms hold and ground me.

We spend a little longer in the water before we head back to camp, Ithan taking me on his back this time. He's just as soft as Fenrys, his rippling muscles not unnoticed beneath his thick grey fur. I feel closer to him than I had after our shared moments and I carefully lay my head atop his as we move through the forest.

Azriel is waiting by the cave entrance when we arrive. A look of apprehension on his face, like he was about to run out looking for us. 

We set up our bed space and I have an overwhelming urge to find more blankets and pillows, but those are scarce when you've been tossed from a spacecraft onto a jungle planet. So instead I curl into the tarp and any extra pieces of clothes the males give me. There's a shirt each from Fenrys and Ithan and a jacket from Balthazar and Azriel. The hazel eyed broody male has continued to keep his distance from me, but I can smell it – the way he aches to be near me. 

Why doesn't he just give in? What is he fighting?

And why?

 

Nesta

 

The forest is full of life and activity this morning. The perfect unassuming day.

The day we strike.

The Valkyries and I picked up the omega’s scent two days ago. We've been watching and waiting. The moment they left the cave we got into position. Surrounding and following them through the jungle on silent feet. This was our home after all. This was where we thrived. We knew more about the dense greenery than anyone else. We could follow them for days and they'd never know.

We didn't need to follow them too long. We knew their plans. They weren't exactly quiet about them. They were going to hijack one of the rescue ships from the wreckage and take the omega away from us. 

My omega.

I wouldn't let them. I wouldn't let them take her away and do whatever unspeakable things they could think of to her. 

She was the last Valkyrie Omega. 

She belonged with us.

I crouched behind a thick tangle of vines, peering around them to watch the group cross the small stream. I checked the perimeters. Roslin and Ananke had the north covered. I could just make out their ambush spot, their camouflage hiding them too well from wandering eyes.

Deirdre and Ilana brought up the rear, creeping along and following their scents.

I clenched my jaw. All those scents. It was dizzying. The moment I had picked up the omega's scent I knew she was mine. My alpha chuffed and howled, begging to have her in our arms, but the other scents…three alphas and a beta…for some reason, they spoke to me too. I could pick them out individually and follow them without even needing to try. Which is why I needed to be removed from the tracking. Because every time I scented them all together like that, my alpha wanted to take hold and claim - not just the omega, but all of them.

I didn't tell the others this. They were already suspicious of the males, as was I. Even if their scents filled me with contentment.

I heard Lorelei's bird call. The one that indicated the group was taking a rest. 

This was our moment.

Emerie tapped my shoulder and made the hand motion that we had them surrounded. I nodded and signed back. Wordless communication that was second nature to us.

We pushed in, their conversation becoming clearer.

“...My map is glitching – I think we're maybe an hour from the rescue ships?” That was the dark haired alpha. He had a calming, deep forest scent.

“You think? Don't tell me we're lost -”

“We're not lost. Gwyn knows how to track water –”

“Yeah but we're not tracking water. We're looking for a hunking piece of metal -” The younger shifter, the hot head that he was, was always arguing with the winged alpha. At least that's what we'd picked up from spying on the cave.

“Alright, Ithan, if you have an idea why don't you try to figure it out?” 

I noted that the young one was Ithan. I heard Ithan’s low growl and I stiffened. If he hurt our omega with his rage…

“Didn't you already go to the ship?” Ithan confronted the alpha. The ice cold glare he gave Ithan sent shivers down my spine.

“Ithan.” The other shifter, the long haired blonde, used his commanding growl on the younger shifter. 

I held my fist up. This is when we'd attack. When they were distracted with their bickering. I rounded a group of trees, getting a better look at the situation. The omega sat cross legged on the ground next to the beta. The two of them watched the volley of words as the three alpha males began to argue. 

I crept forward until I could smell each of their individual scents. The chestnut and lemon, fresh linen, the spice of cinnamon…it was like a perfect concoction made from so many little notes I gravitated towards. None of the other Valkyries were as affected by it. 

Keeping my fist raised for them, I crawled forward. Slowly inching my way through the underbrush until I was close enough. I gave Emerie the stay close, wait for my signal hand gestures then waited for her frog chirping signal. An alert to the others. 

I listened until I heard their answering calls. All various sounds mimicking the creatures of the land.

That’s when I stood and stepped out into the clearing. The sound of my sword sliding out of its sheath echoed, cutting into the alpha male’s voices. Silencing them.

Growls and snarls rippled around the forest, mine included.

“The omega is mine,” I declared.

The brooding, icy eyed alpha stepped forward. His weapons were still sheathed. Trying to play it cool, but I saw his scarred fingers twitch ever so slightly towards them. He was prepared to fight. And I don’t imagine him being slow and inexperienced. Something in his lethal stare and the way he carried himself told me he was highly skilled. 

The shifter alphas covered the omega. The beta prowled forward, halving the distance, hovering. Half an ear on the trio behind him, half an eye on his Legion partner. And trying to disperse the tension with his warm chestnut scent.

I held the Alpha’s stare as he said, “She is an unmarked omega and a protected individual. She stays with us.” A small wisp of shadow curled around the Alpha’s ear and neck. His eyes narrowed and this time when he opened his mouth to speak, it was with command. “She is under the protection of the Legion. You and the six others with you will drop your weapons. We have no quarrel with you, but we will use force if you approach or attack.

The other males growled low as their eyes darted around the jungle. Looking for the six others the alpha somehow discovered. 

My Valkyries. 

Fuck how did he know? 

I watched his shadows vibrate with intensity. Hovering by his shoulders. Were they communicating with him?

I took this moment to look at the omega for the first time since stepping into the clearing. She was crouched behind the shifter with the long blonde hair, peering around him. Her teal eyes wide as she watched the events unfold around her. Her scent was still tinged with a slight staleness. Her need rattled my bones. It urged my alpha to go to her. To protect and coddle and take care of her as an alpha should.

I lowered my sword and gave my girls the call to relax and approach slowly. 

The omega was who mattered most and right now, and she was scared. 

The males all moved, turning their attention to the jungle and the warriors now revealing themselves. 

I sheath my sword and held my hands up, “I do not wish to harm the omega. But she is mine.”

“On what grounds.”

“Her scent. Beneath the smell of her neglected needs. I can sense it.”

He didn’t move. None of them did. All four males stood rigid as if I’d said the most absurd thing.

The beta spoke, quietly. Still pumping out his calming pheromones. “Are you saying you’re her scent match?”

I nod once, “I am.”

The omega, who’d been quiet and unmoving, took a step around the shifters, who surprisingly let her go. Though I could tell her abrasive action irritated them just a bit. Their guard was tighter as they moved with her like her own personal shadows.

“She’s right,” her voice broke through the low growls that ebbed and flowed. The sound was like a beautiful song. “My omega…she’s –” Her chest rose with her rapid breathing. “She’s content. Happy…you…” She looked around at her current group, then back to me. “All of you…we’re all scent matched.”

I didn’t want to believe it, but a part of me knew that the reason their scents affected me so much was because they were my scent matches. All of them.

She continued her path forward, her gaze traveled from the braided crown I wore atop my head, to the boots on my feet. Taking in every detail. Her eyes flicked to the other Valkyries before she turned to the males, looking around at all of them.

“I think we should go with them,” she said. 

The alpha’s massive wings flapped. “No. We stick to the plan,” he replied. His voice icy and cold.

The omega spun to him, “Tell me you don’t feel the bond with her too? Because I can feel it. You want to know what I need, Azriel?” The alpha, Azriel, blinked and the Omega continued, “I need her. I need all of you. Somehow. In some twist of fate and destiny, we are all scent matches. We are far stronger together than apart.”

I smiled, “The omega has spoken.” She turned to me. Her copper hair falling over her shoulder. I wanted to reach out and touch it. Run my fingers through it. “I am Nesta, Alpha Valkyrie. You’re invited to our home, but any foul play and we will not hesitate to take necessary actions.”

Azriel, wasn't so keen. “We have orders from The Legion. Getting her to the safety and protection onboard one of their ships –”

The omega’s eyes blazed with annoyance before she rounded on Azriel again, “Would you, for once , make a decision you full heartedly believe and stand behind?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the beta take a step closer. Ready to intervene. Azriel narrowed his eyes, but I still noticed the flash of shock that crossed his face. He tried masking his hurt with a stoic, icy glare. But I saw it. 

"We have orders."

"Fuck the orders!" Everyone stilled. In our time watching the cave. We had never heard the omega get angry or sound scared. Now? She was like the strongest wave. Overtaking us all. Omegas were usually so calm and meek. Not this one. This observation made my alpha preen with pride. "There is something more between us and my omega is urging me to follow it. It's going against every instinct I was told to follow when it comes to alphas. Don't trust them. Be careful. Watch your back and never let an alpha have control."

"Maybe you should listen to those instincts a little more closely," he says, low and threatening.

My hackles raise and I'm ready to jump in front of him for Gwyn. The omega is a fire cracker though and she spits right back.

"I'm going with Nesta. You can either come with me, or not." Her voice wavers slightly. "Though -- I do hope you come. All of you."

A muscle in Azriel's jaw twitches. “Fine.” His attention turned to the beta. “Do not let her out of your sight. I’m going to retrieve the ship. Ithan – you’re with me.”

The younger shifter’s jaw dropped, a retort ready on his lips, but his blonde companion cut him off, “I will go with you, Azriel. I know enough about mechanics to help you.” Azriel looked like he wanted to argue, but he clenched his jaw and gave a curt nod before turning into the bushes. Disappearing out of sight.

A soft whine pulled my attention back to the omega who was leaning on the beta. Sadness pervaded her striking features as she watched the alpha go. 

My alpha told me to go to her. To wrap her in my arms and shield her from everything.

“You’re hurt,” I said, breaking the tension. Getting to the matter at hand. “We have medicine to heal you faster. I can carry you –”

Ithan stepped forward, a growl in his tone as he said, “I will take her.” Then without warning, he shifted into an enormous grey wolf. He nosed the omega’s hip. She gave him a small smile despite the smell of her rejection in the air.

I’m sure Azriel had his reasons. But I was going to have a word with the Alpha when he came back.

Gwyn

 

I was crushed.

Heartbroken.

Watching Azriel stalk away through the lush greenery of the jungle was like watching everything you cared about get sucked into a void.

How? How can I care so much about him when I’ve only just met him. How can I care so much when he's barely laid a finger on me? Was I that grotesque to be near? How could I care when he chose finding a ship over staying by my side?

Everyone was silent on the journey through the jungle. Nesta glanced back at me often. She looked at me softly as she gave me reassuring smiles and nods. 

Nesta was a surprise. I was flabbergasted already by the males I'd already met. How the alphas were so attentive to my needs. But Nesta? I'd never met a female alpha before and the moment I laid eyes on her I wanted to know what her love and care felt like. I wanted to melt into her arms and follow her anywhere through the vast unknown of the jungle.

Her and her Valkyries were silent as we wound our way through thick brush and vine covered trees. I was amazed by how they moved together as one unit.  That’s when I realized they were using jungle noises to communicate.  It sounded so real.   No wonder they’d snuck up on us so easily.

We came up to an arch caved. Vines and branches hung around the entrance, hiding it from prying eyes. The tunnel was dark inside. Balthazar’s hand squeezed mine as he asked, “Where does this lead to?”

Nesta smirked, “It leads to Valla, our home.”

Still unsure, Balthazar asked, “Can I scout ahead to confirm?”

Nesta pulled the vines back and waved him on, “Go right ahead, beta.”

“The name’s Balthazar,” he replied.

Nesta blinked slowly at him. A small smile playing on her lips. “Balthazar…just be careful. It’s a narrow passageway. Watch the ledge.”

Balthazar nodded. Then ducked under the vines.

A few minutes ticked by. I was trying not to let my nerves take over, but I was scared for Balthazar. What if this was a trap? What if he was injured or dying and we were just sitting out here doing nothing…

Before I could voice my concerns. He returned. His eyes lit with excitement. “All clear.” He joined my side again.

“Well?” I asked.

“Well what?”

I nudged him, “What did you see?”

He smirked, “I think you should see for yourself.” He gave Ithan a pat on the shoulder. Urging him to follow the three Valkyries that led the way in.

I held my breath as we crossed through the shallow cave entrance and into a city more beautiful than anything I’d ever seen before.

Built into the tall, rocky ravine walls was a stone city dotted with colorful flowers and curtained with rushing waterfalls. Lush greenery grew along the walls, vines creeped along the ground. Birds and other small creatures skittered about as they emerged. It was stunning. Everywhere I looked I noted something new. Gold glinted in the sunlight where it lined doorways and windows. One long bridge arched high above them. They were well and truly hidden here.

“Weclome,” Nesta began, “To Valla.”

 

 

—

Nesta set us up in one of the lower rooms. I couldn’t climb the steps leading up to the other parts of their fortress and it was tricky for Ithan too. He could go on four legs on his own, but not with me on his back. Though it didn’t stop the three of them from insisting on carrying me some way. I instead asked that they just set me up on a lower floor until I could be healed through whatever means Nesta was telling us about. 

As much as my omega was enjoying the attention. I couldn’t wait to have use of my own legs and proper mobility again. By the time Nesta came into the room with the healer, I was on the edge of the bed, vibrating with excitement.

Madja, a dark-skinned woman with sweet, dark eyes, tended to me. Her gentle, cooling magic caressed everywhere she touched as she examined my injuries.

“I see someone has dressed these wounds and has been taking care of them? Who would that be?” She turns to look at Nesta, Balthazar, and Ithan.

Balthazar steps forward and says, with a tinge of uncertainty, “That would be me.” I held back my smile as I watched him stare with apprehension at Madja. 

“Beautiful work,” she complimented him.

Balthazar visibly settled. “We’re given basic training. I took a couple more courses though. I found it fascinating…” He trailed off, his cheeks flushing as he babbled on. 

I really liked Balthazar. A lot. He was so kind and caring, attentive to my needs and others. Always making sure everyone kept a level head. But I could see he was still wary of Nesta. He watched her carefully as she sat next to me on the bed, leaning into my side. A weighted comfort. 

A moment later Madja was asking Balthazar to go over the injuries he’d assessed, pulling him out of his alertness. My jaw clenched as Balthazar described my wounds. Lacerations. Contusions. Sprained ankle. Head trauma. My mind wandered to my stasis chamber falling from the ship. Landing in the middle of a jungle. The feel of the fresh air on my skin. The determination to find water and safety. 

Azriel.

Something in my chest pinched. How is it that the first living being I see after my capture, is the one who was trying to save me all along? The one who turned out to be my scent match. 

The Alpha of the pack, should we form one. 

And how is it, that he’s all these things…but he does the opposite of everything I want him to do. I want him to notice me. To talk to me and touch me. I want him to look at me and know he’s changed my life.

“Are you alright?” Nesta’s voice breaks through my never ending spiral of thoughts.

I nod, “Yeah – just…thinking.”

“Gwyn, I’m going to need you to lie down so I can examine your ribs. Balthazar thinks they may be broken or cracked.”

Turns out, I was all sorts of banged up inside. Three broken ribs (explains the sharp, biting pain I felt in my side), a couple of fractured toes, a bruised tailbone…but it was all erased in a matter of minutes.  Madja laid her hands over me and a cooling, bright light spread across my body. The glow grew as it spread over the injuries. My right side, toes on either foot, and although I couldn’t see it, I could feel the healing magic seeping into my skin and bones in my lower back and head.

When the healing stopped, subsiding like a wave being dragged back to the ocean, Madja stood from her perch on the edge of the bed and declared me healed from all physical injury. I sat up slowly. Rejoicing in the lack of pain that would normally be shooting through me right now. Then fresh, hot tears poured down my face as I stood on my feet. No pain. No agony as I straightened up to my full height. The years of immobility and fresh wounds were gone, just like that.

I turned to Madja. And hugged her. “Thank you,” I breathed. 

Madja gave my back a small pat. With mirth in her voice she said, “Just take it easy for the next 48 hours. I may have healed you, but you’re still recuperating. Don’t rush it.”

With that, Madja was gone. I was left with two alphas and a beta…and everyone with scents that were permeating all sorts of emotions. Balthazar as always was emanating calming chestnut. Ithan his territorial, rich coffee. And a new one. One I needed to get used to. Was Nesta’s muted smokeyness. That tang of her scent reminded me of the metal forks they’d use over the fires back home; fat, plump sweets skewed to the ends of them.

I didn’t know Nesta well enough yet, but the scent was off. Less pungent than it had been in the woods when she’d ambushed them. My omega’s tail wagged excitedly when I thought about the bold way she jumped into the fray to make her claim on me.

I shouldn’t like it…but I do. I don’t even know her true intentions yet, but I want her. I want her like I want them all and it’s driving me insane.

What was this overwhelming warmth that filled me? It nudged its way under my skin and hasn’t let up since I’d arrived here. Was it something about this place? I thought being in the caves would be cooler, but I was sweating.

I wanted to speak to Nesta alone. Get to know her without two males breathing down my back.

It only took five minutes of persuading them to give me space with her. I guess when you task them with gathering things like food and clothes for me, it’s a lot easier to convince them. The way they fell over themselves for me was so strange when they’d first all found me, but I was definitely getting used to it.

When the two of us were finally alone. I found Nesta’s gaze. Which wasn’t hard. She was already watching me with a look that was not so far off from another alpha's.

“So…I’m the last Valkyrie Omega, huh?” Nesta doesn’t say anything. She just supplies a nod. I continue, “What – does that mean exactly?”

I wasn’t expecting such a devastating smile from the Alpha Valkyrie, but when Nesta’s lips stretched across her face, her eyes light up with a silver gleam to them. Without taking her eyes off of me, Nesta sat on the bed and patted the mattress next to her.

“Come,” she commanded, “There’s a lot to discuss.”

 

Chapter 5: Hunted

Fenrys

 

I sit on a large boulder. The wreckage of the crash is strewn about the jungle all around us. I wondered when something was going to come out of the woods, summoned by the absolute racket Azriel is making. He’s slamming metal. Cursing up a storm. There’s a mechanism that is connected and in perfect condition, yet it’s not responding to the power he supplies the ship.

A loud metal clang reverberates through the air. Making my skin itch with its vibrations.

“You want me to take a crack at it?” I ask.

“No,” Azriel growls.

“You sure? You seem angry.”

“I’m fine.”

I chuckle, “I’ve been guiding a young alpha around for nearly three years. I know what an angry alpha looks like.”

Azriel throws the wrench into the woods.

“FUCK!” He yells.

“Bit dramatic,” I mutter. Even Ithan never got this angry with all those new testosterone hormones bounding about. I watch Azriel sink to the ground. Knees bent like one of those massive blue frogs we saw on the way to the ship. He cradles his head in his hands, elbows perched on his knees. I can hear his heavy panting. His shaky attempts to steady his nerves.

“You good?” I called. From here I could just see the top of his head and the tops of his wings. The talons glinted in the late afternoon sun.

No answer. 

Then…“I – I don’t know.” 

He sounded broken honestly. Depleted of all his energy to keep fighting whatever it is he was fighting. I could scent it in the air. The hint of citrus that normally hung in his scent was sour and so pungent I wrinkled my nose at it. 

I waited to see if he’d say anything else, but all I heard was his ragged breathing. A short growl revved up for a second, but he tamped it down. I asked, “Wanna talk about it? It’s just you and me out here and I swear on the Shifter code, whatever is said, it stays between us.”

“It’s Gwyn –”

“Obviously.” 

Azriel moves for the first time, his head whipping around to glare at me through his leathery wings. I clamp down on my amusement.

He turns slowly back around and says, “All my life I felt like something was missing. Like there was a piece of me that was never whole. Then I saw Gwyn at the pool and something just snapped. ”

“Sounds like a mating bond –”

“No –”

“Yes,” I followed up quickly.

He growled and whipped around to face me again. Coming to stand to full height this time. His icy hazel eyes bore into me. Searing right to my bones. My skin prickled at the glare. 

“I can’t be mated to her.”

“Why not?”

“I am a Legion officer with one job and that’s to get her to safety and bring the bastards that took her to justice. It’s what I live for, Fenrys. It’s what I have been doing for hundreds of years –”

“How old are you?”

“Now? You’re going to ask me this now?”

“Yeah.”

“538.”

“And you’ve been doing this since…?”

“Since I was 200 years old.”

“Wow.”

“What is the point of your questioning?”

“I don’t know. I was just curious. But I bet you feel calmer now though, don’t you?”

Azriel growls, but says nothing. He picks at a part on the ship. “I don’t deserve her.”

“Why?”

Azriel doesn’t say anything.

“If there’s anyone who deserves something as precious and valuable as a mate, it’s you.”

“You hardly know me,” he states. 

“I know you well enough. I know you care. I know you would do anything because that’s all you’ve been doing. Is it a little stony, maybe.” Azriel shoots me another glare, but it’s softened. “But you mean well.”

My alpha wants me to reach out to him. So I do. I put my hand on top of his and surprisingly, he accepts it.

“You care so much that you’ve made it your job to prove that you will do anything for an omega.”

Azriel scoffs, “I’ve lost more than I’ve saved. And those I have saved…” He trails off. His Adam’s apple bobbing with the effort to swallow. A lump forms in my own throat. “...Life isn’t the same for them.”

“You think Gwyn will meet this same fate?”

“I know she will.” 

What the hell did that mean? Azriel glances around and his wings stretch wide. The left one wrapping around my back. “The Omegas we can save are put into protective services.”

“Well you work for the Legion and have connections because you saved them. You should have every right –” 

Azriel shakes his head, “It’s not that simple. I haven’t seen any of them. I have no idea where they’re taken…I don’t know what to do. I have a duty to uphold. If I don’t take her in to give her testimony. We can’t catch the raiders and traffickers. We have no proof except to directly intercede on an exchange and get her testimony. But if I do take her in. They’ll get her testimony, then whisk her into protective services and I’ll – I’ll never see her again.”

“So you thought you’d get mad about it?”

“No. I’m angry because I’m forcing myself to stay away from her when all I want to do is be close to her. If I get close to her, it’s going to make watching her walk through those solid, black doors a lot harder. If I stay away. It’ll hurt less.”

“I don’t think that’s –”

“Shh…” Azriel signals to get low.

Voices. A couple of them. All male. 

“Haltz, go left with me. Jarel and Drabek take the right!”

Azriel signals again. Telling me to follow him. We stay crouched, gliding in the tall grass. Away from the ship decks. Slithering through the crashed ships. His wings drag behind him and I have to be careful not to step on them.

“There!” Gunshots ring out. Plinking against the metal around us.

“Run!” Azriel shouts. And I do. Racing over the mound of dirt dug up from the ship crash landing. We slide and jump down the other side. Our arms are pumping wildly. Our legs are blurs in the thick underbrush of the jungle. The gunshots grow quieter. But the voices persist. 

“We can’t lead them back to the Valkyries. We could try to shake them until nightfall. It’ll be harder to track us then,” he whispers.

“Alright. We should throw off the scent as much as possible. Double back. Change directions. Climb a tree. Whatever we gotta do.” I eyed his wings. “Can you fly?”

He made a face. “The trees are too close together. And there’s too many vines. We could try and locate an opening in the treetops. I could maybe fly out that way.”

With our plans set, we headed out into the forest. 

Ithan

 

While I’m slightly put off that Balthazar and I were ordered around to fetch food. I was certainly glad to do it for my omega.

Plus, Nesta was a little intimidating. Even my alpha wanted to bow down and heed her every word.

The thrill of her command dissipated the more Balthazar and I wandered the grand stone halls. Every time I drifted closer to the beta, all I could feel was electricity between us. A vibration that traveled through me, urging me to touch. To scent. 

I think he felt it too. He didn’t try to back away whenever we were close. In fact, he seemed to sidle closer. Purposefully brushing his fingers with mine. Smiling and joking. 

My alpha and I have never been more curious than we were with him. Nesta too, honestly. It was like I was finally exposed to the right concoction of drugs for a lifetime ailment. A mixture of scents and auras that melded so well with mine.

I’d barely interacted with Nesta, but I wanted to. 

By the time we returned back to Gwyn and Nesta, they’d made themselves comfortable. Leaning back on pillows, lounging on the mattress as if they were at a sleepover. 

Balthazar gave me a nudge with his elbow and a mischievous smirk lit up his face.

Following his lead, we bounded to the bed, pouncing on them amidst their shrieks and giggles. We nestled next to our omega, showering her with attention.

“What did we miss?” Balthazar asked, tucking a piece of hair behind Gwyn’s ear. She smiled and bit her bottom lip.

“I didn’t know it, but apparently the alpha of my village knew about the Valkyries and the prophecy.”

“What prophecy?” I asked.

Gwyn blushed, her scent blooming. Muted only by shyness. It was the faintest hint of floral, enticing enough to make my alpha howl. “The one where I’m a descendent of an ancient omega goddess.”

“You’re a goddess?” I ask, awestruck.

Gwyn blushes, “I am not a goddess – I think you have to venture to the after life to be gifted that title.”

“Well…” Nesta draws out the word and everything in me tingles. My omega is a goddess. “You are prophesied to be our Omega leader. And leaders around here are praised. So in a sense. Yes. You are a goddess.”

Gwyn laughs, but looks at each of us in turn. “You know…my omega has been quite chuffed since coming here. It’s like she feels at home or something. Comfortable. Relaxed.”

“And what about you Gwyn. How do you feel?” Nesta asks. Her fingers slide across the mattress, tracing gentle patterns on Gwyn’s forearm.. “After all this informational and emotional dumping?”

Gwyn purrs at Nesta’s touch, “I feel good. And you guys? Are you all okay?”

“Never been better.” The words escape my lips before I can stop them. I also don’t miss the way Balthazar’s fingers brush against mine and stay there as he leans in closer to Gwyn. He may be annoyingly devoted to Azriel to a point that it physically irritates me, but there’s something about his boyish smile that tugs at my chest. Something endearing about his loyalties. 

“I have to side with this one,” Balthazar says, nodding to me. I growl a little, but it’s all in jest. His eyes lit up and I forced myself to look away.

“I have waited for this moment for years, Gwyn. To finally have my omega home with me…” Nesta said, tears welled in her eyes and Gwyn didn’t hesitate for a second. She reached out, tugging the alpha into her arms.

“This all feels so right. The strings of fate leading us all to this one moment.” Gwyn’s voice is prophetic. Like each syllable is a spell being cast.

Nesta sniffs into the crook of Gwyn’s neck and stills. I sniff too and – oh.  

I smelled it at the same time Nesta did. Gwyn’s change in scent. The thick, sweetness that enveloped them. Not a trace of decay or bitterness. It was invigorating. Her sweet water florals and something that smelled like a glittering pool. Untouched in a sacred forest grove.

Holy fuck. She was powerful in every way.

Balthazar was crowding her then. Taking her face gently in his hands. Wait…what was he doing?

“Gwyn?” The back of his palm is on her forehead. His brows relax. “I think you may be having a mini heat.” Nesta and I shuffle back. Giving them space. All these alpha pheromones. Loving ones that seek connection and understanding with her. Her wounds healed. A mini heat was bound to happen.

“Yeah, sorry. I just…” Her hips roll and she crawls into Balthazar’s lap. Seeking the beta’s reassuring touch. “It’s been so long…” she whines, the sound desperate. A need inside her that won’t relent until it’s fulfilled.

“You don’t need to apologize, Gwyn,” Balthazar says, smoothing her hair out of her face and I see her eyes. They’re not hazy like she’s in heat, but they’re hooded with lust. Her body melts into Balthazar’s. Nosing under his chin and purring into his chest. The sight is fucking adorable. I just want to cuddle up behind them. Lift her long, limber legs and bury myself deep until I’m knotted inside her as I furiously kiss and lap at Balthazar’s mouth while she moans and quakes with orgasms between us.

I whine, stroking my cock in my pants as my mind goes haywire thinking about all the ways I could make her feel good. How I could take care of her. The need was unbearable. An itch under the surface. 

Fuck where was Fenrys to hold me back when I needed him? 

Then Nesta was there. Laying a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “Easy alpha. Maybe you should step out. You’re going to go into a rut.”

Balthazar had continued to talk to Gwyn, but I was too much in a haze to realize – shit. 

I was going into a rut. 

I’d be embarrassed by how quick off the mark I was. How so easily I felt the need to rut, but I’m fucking feral. All thoughts were about that beautiful omega and how much I wanted to fill her with my cum. Watch her grow with our pups…

“-- I can be here to facilitate, but Nesta and, shit…Ithan?”

I whine. Fuuuck I needed to knot something.

Balthazar

 

Shit balls on a stick – Ithan would go into a rut now!

“Nesta, can you take him somewhere safe?” My voice was low and calm, but I was worried about the alpha that just went into their own mini rut. Ithan needed to be removed. Pronto.

Gwyn’s safety was the number one priority. And a rutting male was not safe. Especially a shifter whose unique and close connection to his wolf also put him closer to his base needs.

Nesta took Ithan’s upper arm. Moving him backwards and out of the room. “Hey!” Ithan shouted, but the Valkyrie had him across the room and out the door before he could utter another word or escape her grip. 

The door shut and I was left with a perfuming omega.

“Gwyn, how are you feeling?” I asked, stroking her back. She was still in my lap, straddling my thighs and facing me. Her head tucked under my chin. I didn't even realize she'd burrowed herself into this position. Too focused on making sure Ithan was taken out of the equation. 

She sighed, “A little hot. Very needy. I – I don’t even know the last time I've felt like this…” she wiggled in my lap, making it difficult to keep my own body from reacting, but she was coherent which meant she wasn't in full on heat.

“I can help you, but I need to ask you some questions first.”

She picked her head up and gave me a questioning look. “Questions?” She repeated, tilting her head. Then she shot me a pouting face, “I don't want to answer questions –”

“I know, and I'll help you, however you need, but this is for your safety. Are you on suppressants?”

Gwyn smiled at that, “It's been three hundred years since I've been awake, what do you think?”

I shot her a look, “Just following protocol…you didn't take them before your stasis?”

She shook her head. Her hands began to wander, trailing up my stomach to my chest, wrapping around my shoulders. 

“If your next questions are going to pertain to having sex…I never have. I've only used dildos, and I was fingered once. No chance of pregnancy or disease.” 

I shivered as her fingers ran through my hair. Catching her gaze I asked, “Do you want to use a toy now?”

Her teal gaze pinned me. Her fingers curled against my scalp. “No,” she answered. “I want you, Balthazar. I want you to help me…”

I froze. I wasn't an alpha and couldn't give her what she needed. But she knew this. Why would she ask for me?

“Are you sure?”

Gwyn whined, “Yes. Balthazar please…I only want you right now. Just you inside me.” She rocked her hips against me again, rubbing against my hardened cock.

I groaned at the sensation and her soft, answering smile made butterflies burst in my stomach. I grasped her hips, stilling them as she searched for any sort of relief. “I’ll take care of you,” I said.

Gwyn moaned and started stripping out of her clothes. She was naked and presenting to me before I could speak another word.

“Please, beta?” Her plea settled low in my gut.

I palmed my jumping dick. Just the sight of her ass in the air, her folds shining wet with slick. It nearly did me in. Fuck. If this was her during a mini heat…I could only imagine how perfect and pouty she’d be during the full thing.

But despite her perfect ass waving at me, I couldn't let this be the way she experienced sex for the first time.

“You look so good like that, omega, but I want to look at you. I want to see all the faces you make as I tend to you.”

Gwyn mewled, but adjusted her position, laying on her back with her legs opened wide.

Her fingers went right to the heat between her legs, swirling against her clit, spreading her lips. 

I discarded my clothes until I stood just as naked and exposed. Her eyes dropped to my cock and whether on purpose or involuntarily, her ass lifted from the bed, pushing her swollen pink heat towards me. Slick ran down her thighs with just a look…

“You tell me if you need me to stop, okay?” I closed the distance between us, breathed in the sweet smell of her arousal. It didn’t hypnotize me like it would an alpha, but holy gods her scent was life changing.

She nodded with a whine, “Yes…I will.” She pushed her hips out more and I knew I couldn’t wait any longer.

I cupped her heat in my palm. My hand was covered in her slick in mere seconds. She moaned and pushed against my hand, grinding against my palm and fingers. Groaning, I palmed my cock again, stroking it slowly. I was aching for her, a sensation that coiled within, vibrating harder than I ever felt.

“Good girl,” I cooed as I played with her folds and circled her clit. Coaxing her pleasure out. I inserted one finger…two, and Gwyn mewled at the way my digits filled her. “You’re already so wet and dripping. I could sink into you with one thrust.” 

Then I ducked my head and feasted on her sweet folds, sucked her throbbing clit.  Gwyn bucked into my face, my fingers sliding deeper inside her as I licked her until she was babbling.  Her hands reached out then, pushing my head back and pulling me to her, our lips crashed together a moment later for the first time. Her tongue pressed for entrance. I opened and let her in, let her devour my slick covered mouth as she saw fit.

I ran my fist up and down my thick shaft, then lined the tip to her entrance, rubbing it between her lips. Spreading her slick. Coating us both in the sticky, sweetness.

Gwyn whined as I pulled from the kiss to watch her writhe and clench, waiting for me to fill her. But I teased her a bit longer. Pushing it just enough for her to feel it, then coming out. Rubbing it all over her thighs.

I couldn’t help but let the knowledge get to my head that she chose me to help her. That this beautiful, perfect omega wanted me, a beta, to tend to her. 

I was going to relish in it.

And relish I did.

I teased her entrance. Brought her to a maddening edge before stopping. Until she was shaking and moaning for me.

“Pleease, beta….give me your cock…”  

A few more taunting slides in and out. “Since you asked so kindly…and have been so patient…” Lining the tip with her entrance one more time, I sank in slowly. Giving her a moment to acclimate to my size.

Her delicious heat enveloped my cock, squeezing and surrounding it in her swollen cunt. Her face contorted into the most painful, angelic expression. Her mouth falling open in a perfect ‘o’. Her moans and whines filled the room and her hands grasped at the sheets below her, twisting them in her fists.

“Oh! Oh gods Balthazar….fuck you’re so – so big –” She was panting, wiggling to adjust to my size and I let her. I watched with fascination as her lips stretched around my girth, adjusting to me like it was a perfect fit. I held still as she pushed back and pulled forward, working herself on my cock like I was her own personal toy. 

Fuck maybe that’s what I would become…her toy to fuck and pleasure herself on as much as she wanted…

The thought somehow got me harder and I couldn’t stop my hips from canting for a few beats. Pumping into her as I thought of all the naughty things she could do to me. All the naughty things I’d let her do to me.

Keeping myself sheathed inside her, I reached between us and found her clit, circling her swollen nub while I rocked my hips, my cock pushing into her as deep as I could get it. Stretching her wide.

“Oh gods yes! Just like that…so good… so fucking goood–ohhh…”

Her first orgasm had her walls squeezing around my dick. Hard . Hard enough that I almost pulled back from the pain, but I stayed deep inside her, continuing to circle her cluster of nerves while my cock barely moved inside her, holding her through her blissful release and into the next waves of pleasure.

“Yes…yes omega, you’re so beautiful the way you cum on my thick cock. Like a goddess. Do it again for me.”

My fingers swirled her throbbing clit faster. My hips canting quicker, bent over her like a wild dog let loose. Gwyn moaned with each thrust, making small little noises that went straight to my cock.

“Oh…fuck…Balth-a-zaarrr–ahhhh!” 

Gwyn came again, grabbing a pillow and biting into it. The sight of her acting out her instinctual needs to bite sent me over the edge and this time I joined her, spilling into her. My thrusts forced a mix of slick and cum to leak and squirt down her legs, coating my own thighs and stomach.

With the utmost care, I pulled out of her. Watching the rest of the salacious mixture come out with my cock. Pooling into a puddle on the sheets.

Damn, we should’ve put a towel down. I made a note to promise Nesta that I’d clean it myself, but later.

Now? Now I had a panting and satiated omega to tend to. I used a corner of the sheet to wipe the slick from her freckled thighs and stomach. I peppered her with soft kisses everywhere I cleaned her until my mouth carried me across her body and up, up up to her neck.

She raised her chin, inviting me to scent her.

The first nuzzle of my scent glands against hers sent shivers of excitement down my spine. Her smile though, that was what drew me in like a moth to the light. So bright and beautiful. Radiant like the stars in the sky.

“What’s that smile for?” I asked. 

“Come here,” she answered, curling a finger in a come hither motion.

I obeyed and as soon as I was close enough she pulled me in, pressing her lips to mine and gods I saw stars. It was pure heaven kissing her. The way her lips moved against mine, her sweet little sounds as we tasted each other.

It was my turn to whine as she pulled away from the kiss. “Thank you, for helping me Balthazar.”

I couldn’t stop the goofy smile that spread across my lips, “You’re welcome, Gwyn.” I stole another kiss from her before continuing to clean up.

The whole time I wondered if this was a dream. A wonderful dream that I’d wake up from and find it wasn’t real, but then Gwyn snuggled into me. So warm and perfect in my arms. Our scents mingled in a delicate balance of jasmine and chestnut as we both closed our eyes, and fell asleep in post-coital bliss.

There’s no way this was a dream.

I was her beta, and she was my omega.

 

Notes:

I will be taking a little break from posting in this story until Gwynriel Weeks 2025 is over on August 23rd!

Chapter 6: The Omega's Pack

Nesta

 

I toss Ithan into a room down the hall away from the omega. I barely got the door shut behind me when two hands slammed down on either side of my head, rattling the wooden door.

“I’m not going to hurt her!” Ithan growls. His breath is hot on my neck.

I adjust my footing and reply coolly, “Well that’s a chance we couldn’t take.” I bring my elbow up and swing back, knocking Ithan in the nose.

The young alpha stumbles back, grasping his shocked face. He looks like a puppy kicked to the curb. I feel a little bad for hitting him so hard. But only a little. Young alphas need to be knocked around from time to time.

He pulls his hand away from his nose and inspects it for blood before glaring at me, “Let me go.”

“Nope.”

“She needs me –”

“Balthazar is with her,” I say simply, leaning back against the wooden door.

Ithan growls again. Then whines, “Please…I just want to help her…”

I can see that alpha instinct rolling off of him in waves, that deep need to tend and care for his omega. He’s opening and closing his fists, there’s worry set in his brow. I know the feeling too well. 

“You’re young and not as in-control of your alpha. If something happened –”

“Nothing is going to happen!”

“Ithan!” I bark. The younger alpha takes a step back. “I’m not letting you out.”

He scowls at me, “So what, you’re just going to stand guard and watch me jerk off into my hand?”

I shrug, “Basically.” Though the idea of helping Ithan through the first hurdle of his rut is… intriguing. “Unless you’d like a companion?”

I push off the door and close the distance between us. Whenever I scented the alphas in the woods, I could pick out all their scents like they were labeled. Ithan’s, I knew, was strong. Like fresh brewed coffee. 

And right now? In this enclosed space with the alpha in rut – his scent was everywhere. Clinging to the furniture. The carpets and curtains. And me.

Ithan regards me. Curiously. “What? Like you want to help me?”

“If that’s what you need. I completely understand what you’re feeling. You want to wrap that beautiful omega up in your arms and hide away with her in a mountain of blankets. You want to rub your scent all over her, and hers on you. You want to stroke her. Pet her. Whisper to her how perfect and good she is –” Ithan’s eyes are going wide. His fists clenched at his sides now. “When she has agreed to have all of us there for her and she’s in full on heat, then you can go to her. But right now, she has asked for Balthazar alone. We have to respect that.”

Ithan stares at me for a long time. Then nods. “All I want to do is respect her.”

I smile, “Good. Now what do you want to do about your rutting needs?”

 

—

 

After careful deliberation and discussion, Ithan accepts my help. 

We’re sitting side by side on the couch in the sitting room I brought him to. I’m leaning back, relaxed and comfortable. The younger alpha sits upright. Nervous.

“Ithan,” I purr. “Come here,” I gesture for him to lay in my arms.

He eyes me, wary of what he’s about to do, but then he leans in and I wrap him in my arms before he can pull away. He stiffens at first. His hands wrapped awkwardly around me. Hovering over me, while I rub soothing circles up and down his back and sides. After a moment, his muscles begin to relax and he’s nudging his face into the crook of my neck. His need to scent taking over.

I tilt my chin up and let him rub all over me.

It feels good. So good. The Valkyries and I will bond with each other by scenting, but when you do it with your scent match…

My clitoris throbs and engorges, aching to touch him and soothe his ungratified alpha. 

Slick trickles between my legs. It’s not the same as an omega’s. It’s not as thick and there’s less of it, but it smears between my legs anyway. 

Ithan catches a whiff of my secretions and stills his scent marking. His lips are inches from mine. His deep, brown eyes pin me to the couch and I feel every part of me melt under his gaze. There’s a strong alpha in there. Hiding beneath his insecurities. 

I can tell he wants to go further. To explore and sate his curiosities. “Go ahead,” I tell him. “I’m here to help you, Ithan. Do what you need to do. What your alpha is telling you to do.”

His eyes roam over my face. Down my body and he takes in every detail. From the wavy hair that I took down from my braided crown. To the clothes I still wear.

There’s hunger, and something else there. He’s being shy about demanding his needs.

“Ithan,” I whisper, my fingertips brushing his lips before they cup the side of his face. “Don’t think.” I tilt my chin up, my lips grazing his.

And he finally takes.

Drinking in my lips he moans and crowds over me. Caging me under him. My alpha barks and bends down, wagging her tail at the prospect of what he’s going to do to me.

“Take off your clothes and turn around,” he growls softly.

Not enough command. I arch a brow at him, “Command me like you mean it, alpha. ”

His response is to force me into position. Grabbing my hips and flipping me over like I’m a ragdoll, and fuck if that doesn’t make me horny. Then he hooks his fingers in the top of my pants and pulls everything down in one go.

I present for him, retracting my protruding clit and allowing him access.

Ithan growls as his fingers dig into my hips and I hear him drop his pants next. 

I look back at him over my shoulder. He stands, holding his long cock in hands. His perfect girth throbs in his touch. I wiggle my ass for him, “Come on alpha. What are you waiting for?”

I’m met with intense pleasure as he slides right in, forgoing any more delays. 

“ Oh fuck!” I cried out. It’s been too long since I’ve had a male alpha. The feel of them filling me and thrusting against my throbbing walls is a sensation I can’t even begin to describe. It pulses and aches for more, more… “More!” I called out. “Harder, Ithan… Harder!”

Ithan roars behind me and his thrusts quicken. Pushing deeper into me with every cant of his hips. Until his knot is engorged and pressing against my entrance firmly, but not actually knotting me. He spills into me and I’m coming on the dregs of his orgasm. Milking him for every last drop. Squeezing around his sensitive cock until he’s hissing and begging me to let him go.

He slaps my ass when I don’t let him immediately go. My strong walls holding him inside me for as long as I can. I scent the playfulness in the vanilla that sweetens his coffee aroma, and I hold on just a little longer.

Ithan fell against me the moment I let him go, nudging me into the couch beneath us until he was curled all around me. Gently, he takes our pants off the rest of the way and pulls a blanket over us. Keeping us both comfortable. I let his tending needs take over and allow him to touch and feel every part of me. Allow him to scent me and place delicate kisses on my shoulder. 

I start to purr and Ithan joins me. My body relaxes into his and I say quietly, “You’re going to be a great alpha for our omega.”

At that, Ithan’s purr revs louder and we both fall asleep, tangled on the couch.

 

—

 

Ithan and I make our way to the dining room the next morning where Gwyn is sitting in Balthazar’s lap. He's feeding her fresh fruit as she smiles. Contented.

Before I can stop him and gauge his rutting state, Ithan bounds for them, his long legs carrying him across the long, cavern-like room.

I follow his scent and I note its normal and not strong and heady like it was last night. I'm glad I didn't stop him because the sight of him beaming as he puts his arms around both Balthazar and Gwyn is endearing. Making my heart flutter with a sense of completeness. 

At least between the four of us. 

Azriel and Fenrys haven't returned yet.

Azriel

 

Our clothes are soaked and covered in dirt and plant matter when we make it back to Valla. The sudden downpouring of rain making the last half mile of the journey messy as fuck.

Most of the Valkyries here give us a wide birth. Whether it's because we look like we've been in the trenches or because we are exuding alpha pheromones, they all move to the side for us.

We run into Emerie who takes us to Gwyn and the others in the dining room.

As soon as we're in everyone runs to us…or rather, to Fenrys. 

I try not to let the disappointment show, but I guess I should've expected it. I was out of line before. I shake my head of that problem for the moment and focus on the new issue. “We've got to move out. We were tracked for a few miles, but we lost them. It'll only be a matter of time before they pick up our trail and we don't want to lead them here,” I say, interrupting everyone's greetings for the blonde alpha.

Nesta pokes her head around the group, “And what of the escape ships? That's what you had gone out for right?” She asks with a hint of annoyance.

“We found one that's in pretty good shape. We were ambushed before we could finish the work needed on it,” Fenrys supplies. 

“I could go out this time and take Balthazar with me. New scents would keep them off our tail long enough to get to the ship and do what needs to be done,” Ithan chimes in.

“Well–” Balthazar starts. Then he glances to his left where Gwyn is standing. Purposefully not looking me in the eye. “Azriel, we need to talk. You and I –”

“And me,” Nesta cuts in.

“If this is about me, then I should be involved too,” Gwyn adds, sternly.

I furrow my brows as I look between everyone. “What's going on?”

The four who stayed behind all look at each other then at Fenrys and I who are still waiting for an answer.

“I went into a mini heat,” Gwyn says, as if she's talking about the weather and not the most critical experience an omega goes through.

I smelled it then. The sweetness to her scent. How all four of their scents mix together. I figured it was just because they were all running over to Fenrys but…

The sweetness of her jasmine intertwines with Balthazar’s scent to the point it nearly makes my cock hard. But wait –

“What did you do?” I asked Balthazar. The beta’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. “Did you follow protocol?” 

The way he shifts on his feet tells me everything I need to know.

“Balthazar, what did you do?” I ask again, my voice has hit a new, unsettling calmness. The air is electric with the buzz of alpha energy.

Ithan and Nesta step forward. As if defending the beta.

“He did what Gwyn asked of him,” Ithan answers. 

Balthazar still has pleading eyes on me as I turn my attention back to him. I start to lecture him, “If the Legion finds out –” 

“She's our scent match, Azriel,” he says, cutting me off. His voice cracking with emotion, “I asked her the preliminary questions, and after determining she wasn't in full on heat and was able to consent, I gave her the choice. And she asked me to stay.” 

“They're not going to care if we're scent matches –”

“Then fuck them!” I flinch back at Balthazar’s declaration, but he took a step closer to me. “Azriel…she's more than just another omega. She's our omega. This isn’t like the other cases –”

I don't know why. But I'm angry. Not necessarily at Balthazar or the fact Gwyn is on the cusp of her heat, but because I know this isn't going to end how Balthazar is imagining it will. 

Gwyn steps forward then, leaning into Balthazar’s space, shooting daggers at me. “Balthazar was there for me, Azriel. He was sweet and gentle…if the Legion has a problem then maybe you should consider where your loyalties lie –”

“This isn't about loyalties,” I say through gritted teeth, my anger rising. “The Legion saves omegas, but it does so in a way that keeps them hidden. Gwyn – the moment you are brought to headquarters, I can't guarantee that we'll see each other again.”

The words hit a chord with everyone. Balthazar hangs his head, knowing my words are true. Fenrys is quiet as well, as I told him as much back at the escape pod, but Ithan and Nesta growl, crowding around Gwyn.

Ithan says, “Then don't bring her.”

I shake my head, “We have to. We need her testimony.”

“That's her decision,” Nesta says. “You can’t make her.”

“You’re right, but if we don't, the tomb raiders who took her will walk free. Free to continue hunting down omegas across the universe.” 

Nesta and Ithan gawk at Balthazar and I.

“There's gotta be something –” Ithan croaks. He wraps an arm around Gwyn’s shoulders and pulls her in. His chin nuzzled her head. Nesta takes Ithan’s other hand while Balthazar crowds Gwyn's other side. One hand on her back, the other her stomach – 

What happened while Fenrys and I were gone? 

There's a closeness to the four of them. Something that makes my chest ache at the sight. Aching because I want that.

“Then maybe we take care of the problem ourselves,” Nesta finally supplies. Her eyes are lethal and cold.

Fenrys chimed in, “That would get us into way more trouble than it would help.”

“Unless they don't know,” Nesta supplies.

Everyone is quiet for a moment. Contemplating Nesta’s words. Then Fenrys speaks, “What are you saying, Nesta? We kill the tomb raiders and, what? Cover it up?”

Nesta opens her mouth to reply, but I stop this real quick.

“No,” I interjected. “That's one way to separate us all. Forever.”

A silence falls over the group and I look over everyone. 

They're all looking at Gwyn, who is staring at me.

“I'd like to speak with you,” she says. “Alone.”

My eyes flick to everyone before finding her teal gaze again. There's a fiery determination in them. One I can't deny. 

I give her a nod and she breaks away from the huddle that surrounds her. Everyone's scent follows her and it's intoxicating. It settles into every fiber of my being. Pulling me to complete it…

She walks past me and I follow in silence. All the way to the room she stayed in. I can tell it's hers because her scent is heavy in the air.  As is Balthazar’s. 

The door shuts with a click and she rounds on me, her eyes wild with anger. 

“What have I done?” She asks.

I'm confused by her question. “I don't –”

“Why don't you want me?”

“I never said –”

“You don't have to say anything, Azriel. I see it in the way you treat me. In the way you talk about me like I'm an object and not a living being.” Her chest is rising and falling quickly. Her fists clenched at her sides. “Do my wants and needs not matter?”

I want to go to her. To ease that tension – the tension I created…

“Gwyn, listen. I can explain –” But can I? Can I tell her that her future is not with me, or any of her scent matches? She knows she’s going to be taken away, and a pack isn’t complete without the omega. If we lose her, we’re sentencing every single one of us to a fate worse than death. A fate that will eat us from the inside out. Destroy us until we can’t take it anymore. Why doesn’t she see it?

She crosses her arms as she waits for me to explain. But my mouth bobs open and shut like a fish as I searched for the words. As I try to find the right way to explain it to her, I decide that the only way to do it. Is to just tell her . 

“Gwyn, you’re right. I have been avoiding you –” Her face pinches with hurt. “-- But not because I can’t stand to be near you. Or because of something you did. I’m avoiding you because…”

The words are so much harder to say to her than they were to Fenrys. 

I look down at my hands. At the scars I received trying to save a shipping crate full of omegas. My eyes prickle with tears. Wet spots appear on my hands where my tears fall. 

Then her hands are there. Holding mine. And my tears fall on her freckled skin.

There’s patience and kindness in her gaze when I look up. As if looking upon her makes everything clear, I finally find the words. “I have lost so many omegas. The ones I do save, I will never see again. I don’t know if they’re happy. If they feel safe. If they have found loving packs.” 

Her hands curl and tighten around mine. Encouraging me to go on.

“The moment I saw you – scented you – across the pool. I knew. I knew because there was a rightness to seeing you. Like everything in the world tilted into place. I wanted to touch you. To hold you. Care for you. Tend to you, but then I remembered why Balthazar and I are here. And I remembered the fate that awaits you and I just couldn’t – I couldn’t lose you like that. I couldn’t let you in for fear of what it would do to you and me…to all our scent matches.”

As I say it out loud, I hear how utterly stupid that line of thinking is.

“But…that’s selfish… so selfish of me.” The words come out between sobs and I feel like the biggest ass in the universe. “I have never thought you were unworthy or something to be ignored. You are a treasure worthy of worship and I’m afraid to lose something so precious that has been given to me.”

I realize in that very moment, that if I spend this time keeping myself away from her, I’ll never have gotten to know her. I will fight tooth and nail for her, but if I am to lose her – I would want to have loved my omega as she should be.

I suck in a breath and breathe out. “I’m sorry Gwyn. I thought what I was doing would be the best…for both of us. But it wasn’t fair to you. You have a choice. Your wants and needs do matter… and I know I have done a terrible job of proving myself, but I want to fight for you Gwyn. If I am granted a second chance. I swear I will prove that all I have wanted to do was call you mine –” When I look from our joined hands to Gwyn’s face. I see tears. Tracks running down her cheeks. “But I – I understand if your mind has chang -”

I stop talking mid-sentence as Gwyn cups the side of my face. Her thumb brushes my cheek bone, wiping away the fresh tears that trickled down.

“You were a major alphahole. I won’t deny that, but…” she regards me with careful consideration. I only hope I haven’t broken her heart. That she’ll still choose me even if my actions were less than commendable. “-- I understand what it’s like to make the hard decisions. To decide between yourself and the lives of others.” 

I realize then we’re more alike than I knew. She sacrificed everything, life itself, to save omegas. It’s something I would do in a heartbeat as well. For her .

“Let’s focus on one thing at a time, yeah?” She says. “Focus on getting a ship up and running first, then we’ll figure out the rest.”

My shoulders sag just a smidge, “We might have to face the people who took you along the way to repairing the ship.”

“Then we’ll do that,” she states with finality. Her teal eyes turn sad as she says, “Do you really not see the omegas you save?”

I shake my head. Words are too hard to get past the lump in my throat. 

I don’t know what’s going through her mind, but then she does something I never would have expected her to do.

Gwyn hugs me. Wrapping her arms around my middle, laying her head on my chest. She breathes in deep and I know she’s inhaling my scent. 

I return the hug, tentatively. Holding her in my arms for the first time. My chest nearly explodes with the overwhelming need to have her in my arms like this forever. Fresh tears well in my eyes and I rub my chin gently against the top of her head. Waiting for her to tell me to stop scenting her.

But she doesn’t. She leans into my touch and sighs.

We stand like that for a few moments before she pulls her head back and says, “You’re not off the hook yet, alpha. Prove to me you truly care, then maybe you’ll be in my good graces.”

I can’t help the chuckle that rumbles in my chest as I reply, “Of course…omega.”

Gwyn

 

We spent the next hour planning and packing. 

Preparing to venture out into the wild jungle.

We decided to leave in the cover of night. With Azriel’s shadows hiding us and a group of Valkyries who would follow. They would keep to the trees, communicating with Nesta using their animalistic sounds.

I made a note to ask Nesta to teach me their secret language once we got on the ship.

I also wanted to ask Balthazar and Azriel to teach me how to wield a weapon. This world was different from the world I left behind when I was put into stasis and I needed to adapt to survive.

I thought about this as we left the safety of the hidden Valkyrie stronghold, our group walking in a single file through the arches and pathways that led out into the jungle. Nesta taking the lead. Ithan and Balthazar right behind her. Then Fenrys in front of me and Azriel taking up the rear. His presence was unmistakable behind me. Like I could feel his very essence pouring off of him in waves.

I considered how we all completed each other in some sense. How well we all meshed together, after we could see past the differences of course.

Nesta had pulled Azriel to the side after I spoke with him and there was only one guess what they were talking about. When they came back out from the room she unceremoniously shoved him into, Azriel looked like a child chided. A stark contrast to Nesta’s wide, satisfied grin. She obviously told him to be nicer to me or she’d eat him alive. 

It was probably unnecessary after I had already scolded him, but I guess the extra reinforcement couldn’t hurt.

They both exuded this alpha confidence that made my omega purr and bark with excitement. I tried to get her to relax, but her energy was at a whole new level since we all got together, and now that Azriel wasn’t avoiding me and everyone was slowly getting to know each other, my omega was near insufferable. 

She was constantly pacing and making it impossible not to stare longingly at each of my scent matches.

And now I felt that deep, sensual ache inside me. 

Wanting all of them to tend to me.

To cover me in all their comfiest clothing. Wrapped up in my nest –

A nest.

I hadn’t thought too much about a nest. Just having that craving once a day or so ago, but now that I had all their scents memorized and locked in, I want to sleep in the mixture. Snuggle into their arms and close my eyes. Imagining a snowy morning with fresh brewed coffee, pastries, soft blankets, and a cozy fire shared together.

I could see it. Ithan and Balthazar making breakfast. Standing close together and whispering in soft, sweet voices. They had grown the closest in our little group. Their back and forth banter turned into something more teasing. Balthazar was so curious about Ithan. I could see it in the way he asked him questions and joked around. Ithan in turn, I think, was maybe just realizing that he could trust Balthazar. Despite wanting to bite his head off when they’d first met.

Ithan had even warmed to Nesta in their short amount of time together.

Of course, their scents had been extremely mixed together when they’d come to breakfast after my mini heat. They didn’t divulge too much information, but I could guess what happened. Ithan in a rut. Nesta an older alpha who was level headed and commanded every space she stood in. 

I wondered what Fenrys thought. If he would feel protective over the younger alpha who he was bonded to. My questions were answered when I found Nesta, Ithan, and Fenrys packing food for the journey. The three of them worked in tandem as they discussed their interests and told stories of their lives. Not a single shred of animosity or hatred. 

I saw it in Fenrys and Azriel too. I don’t know what happened in the woods when they were looking for a ship, but they stood comfortably next to each other while we planned. Fenrys helped the two Legion officers make tactical plans. Him and Balthazar often teaming up to annoy Azriel in some form. Whether it was making shadow jokes or taking turns trying to steal Azriel’s black blade from his thigh holster – neither of them could fool the eyes Azriel apparently had on the back of his head. Seeing every movement the other two males made. Catching them just before they could succeed.

My omega, and I, had gone haywire for the show, my giggle giving away where I lurked in the shadows, eavesdropping.

Even Ithan and Azriel had started coming to terms with each other. While Ithan still liked to push Azriel’s buttons, the Legion alpha had stopped verbally snapping at him and instead settled to glare with an “over it” attitude. Okay, they weren’t one hundred percent on the same level, but they were certainly getting there. And at least they were actually trying.

We all just fit.

I was grateful for all of them. For everything they were doing, not only for me, but for each other. The way we…the way we had started to become – a pack.

My omega barked with joy at that thought. A pack.

 

Notes:

I once read that someone imagined female alphas having a sex organ that was similar to female hyenas where the have penile-clitorises that retract to allow for a penis to be inserted. Otherwise, it's extended or 'closed', giving the female full control of who can and can't have intercourse with them. Female elephants have this too!

Anywho, I liked the idea and thought it made sense for female alphas in this omegaverse!

Chapter 7: DEFCON 1

Nesta

 

A sudden downpour forces us to take shelter when we’re about half an hour into our travels. 

We find an outcropping of rocks with an overhang large enough to accommodate us all. But only just.

We’re squeezed together. And even though it’s an outdoor space, our scents are so strong I’m immediately overwhelmed.

And if I’m feeling the effects. Our omega certainly is too. Her going into heat wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility. 

Gwyn is standing next to me and I check her scent. No change yet, but…I lean in to whisper to her, “I think it’s important we discuss what we should do in case you go into heat.”

She turns her freckled face to me. Our eyes lock and she nods, “Agree.”

I sweep my arm out. “Floor is yours,” I say, inviting her to open up the conversation.

She clears her throat and we all stand to attention.

“We should discuss my heat,” she begins. The alphas immediately hone in. Taking as many steps as needed to crowd around her. Balthazar keeps us calmed with his warm chestnut scent.

“Are you feeling feverish now?” The beta asks.

Gwyn shakes her head, “No. But if my mini heat was any indication…it won’t be long until I go into my full heat.”

Azriel tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. At least he's stopped being such a dick to her…

“What is it you need, omega?” He asks.

Her cheeks flush at the way he says omega and I won’t deny the tingle I feel low in my own gut.

“If it's something you all want, I would like all of you to be there to tend to me,” she says it like she's embarrassed to ask. As if any of us would scoff at the idea.

Fenrys hooks a finger beneath her chin and lifts her face to his, “I'm there for you sweet girl. Whatever you need.” Gwyn blushes deeply and nuzzles into his chest. The tall alpha wraps his arms around her, his muscles bulging.

“You know I'm there for you,” Ithan says, inviting himself into the hug as well. Gwyn giggles and welcomes him in. 

Balthazar wraps an arm around the omega's shoulders, “I was there for you for your mini heat, you know I'll be there for the real deal.” Gwyn sighs as Balthazar plants a kiss on her cheek.

I step into the huddle and take one of her hands in mine, “I was made to be your alpha, Gwyn. It would be an honor to be there for you.”

We all look from Gwyn, to Azriel who hasn't spoken yet, but I could feel his hesitation. Smell it in his scent, the citrus of his cedar coming through a little too strong. I don’t think it’s the same hesitation, this time I think he’s nervous how everyone will react. Worried that he’d already fucked it up beyond forgiveness.

His throat works as he puts his hands on Gwyn’s shoulders and turns her until she's facing him, his thumbs brushing her collar bone making her visibly shiver with his touch.

“Whatever you need omega –” he begins. His voice shook uncharacteristically. “I'll be there,” he finishes.

Gwyn beams at him, then at everyone else. “Thank you…all of you. I –” She stops talking as an almighty roar shakes the ground and stone around them.

“What was that?”

“Fuck,” is all I can say as another quake rocks the ground, then another and another. The booming is getting closer and closer… “It’s a dinosaur. A big one that we really don’t want to come face to face with.”

The Valkyries and I have run into many dinosaurs. Most will just eat leaves and otherwise ignore you. But then there are the hungry meateaters who will hunt and attack on sight. Those are the ones that are difficult to escape once they spot you. Because once they spot you, you’re their prey and there was no escaping.

“A what?” Ithan asks.

“Dinosaur, they’re massive reptiles and –” another roar interrupts my explanation. Louder and much closer this time. Close enough that we have to cover our ears from the screeching scream it releases. “We gotta go – now!”

We all rush from the cover of the outcropping and dart into the jungle. I lead the way through the brush, keeping the group to the thickest groupings of trees and bush. Keeping us as covered as possible. 

We run through a thicket of vines and emerge onto the other side, only to stop dead in our tracks.

Before us looms the most terrifying of dinosaurs. 

My mouth goes dry, my stomach drops, and I know we’re well and truly fucked.

 

Fenrys

 

The lizard Nesta spoke of towers over us. At least two stories. Powerful muscles bunch and flex as it stands up on dark green and blue back legs. The front arms are shorter with long claws that curve into sharp points. The talons glint in the clouded sunlight. The rain that still falls trickles over its scales, running in rivulets down its body as it stares us down with hungry, dark beady eyes.

A strong, muscled jaw hangs open, revealing rows and rows of razor sharp teeth. Its spittle dribbles from its maw. 

“Gods above,” I whisper in terrified awe.

Nesta gets into a fighting crouch, pulling her sword from its holster along her back. “Its underside is its weakness. Or the mouth.”

“Wait, we’re going to fight this?” Ithan asks, gobsmacked.

“We have no other choice,” is Nesta’s only response.

“We could run,” Azriel suggests

Nesta shakes her head. “It’s locked in on us now. It won’t relent until it catches us.”

Azriel swears beneath his breath, taking a step in front of Gwyn and shielding her. Then he calls out his orders, “Nesta and Fenrys take the front, Balthazar you and me will hit it with our guns. Ithan, cover Gwyn and if shit hits the fan, take her and run.”

I see the determination flash in Ithan’s eyes. There’s a hint of holy shit I’m chosen to protect our omega, but it’s replaced with a steadfastness that sends a pulse of protection down our bond. My chest wells with pride for how far Ithan has come. How worthy he’s proving himself to be.

The feeling lasts only a moment then we're settling into our positions. The creature lunges forward, snapping its jaw down as it growls low and long and rushes us.

Nesta, without hesitation, charges down the beast. Her sword poised to strike fast and hard. Her silver eyes wild with rage, her alpha glowing with the promise of death. She’s a magnificent sight and it takes me half a second to gather my composure and follow her into battle.

I shift the moment I gain momentum and use the thrust of power to charge forward. Mud kicking up behind me as I barrel down on the enemy. I’m so close I can see each individual scale. I push off my back legs and spring into the air, just avoiding the slash of its tail as the appendage whips around its mighty legs. With a fierce snap of my jaw I nip at its heel and it roars.

I land on all fours, sliding in the mud. I turn my body around and face it again in time to see Nesta slicing down along its other leg with a mighty war cry.

Red streaks light up the sky as Azriel and Balthazar unleash their rays. They hit, and the reptile rears back, then ducks low, releasing an ear splitting roar before charging right for the Legion officers.

Nesta and I rush after the dinosaur, trying to pull its attention back to us, because just beyond Azriel and Balthazar, are Ithan and Gwyn. 

They retreat back into the thick of the jungle, but Gwyn doesn’t seem to be going easily. She fights against Ithan’s hold and I can’t hear what she’s saying over the roar of the rain and fight. 

But she’s desperately trying to join the fray. 

I send a wave of reassurance and calmness down the bond with Ithan and out of the corner of my vision I see him turn to speak to Gwyn.

I lunge forward, grappling to the reptile’s haunches, biting down anywhere my teeth can sink into.

It screeches and I’m unaware of its tail that whips through the rain and smacks into me, crushing me against its massive body. 

Pain explodes everywhere, radiating from the point of contact and I lose my grip on its skin, dropping to the ground with a thunk.

I howl out in pain, and shakily I try to rise to my feet, but fail.

I can hear Gwyn and Ithan shouting my name. Hear the others fighting and raging.

Then a strange silence, as everything stills…no, not everything.

The rain -- and the dinosaur.

I peel my eyes open angst the pain that lances through me with the smallest movements and before me is an incredible sight. 

The rain was frozen in mid air. Hanging around the grove, but that wasn’t the strangest thing. What was more incredulous, was the reptile as it too hung suspended in mid air, a torrent of swirling water encasing it in a bubble created from the rain water. 

I shift my gaze and see Gwyn standing in a wide stance, her arms held up before her. Her fingers curl as she slowly twists and turns her wrists, directing the water around the reptile, capturing it. Her hair billows around by the wind of the storm. Her eyes shining with an ethereal blue glow.

Nesta watches the display in wonder as Balthazar moves to cover Gwyn, because Ithan and Azriel are running to me.

“Fen? Fenrys?” Ithan slides to his knees and I whine for him. “Oh thank gods you’re alive,” Ithan breathes out and ducks his head, burrowing it into the scruff of my neck.

“Fenrys?” Azriel's voice comes from behind me. I feel the weight of his strong, scarred hands press down on my sides. His fingers carding through my thick, white hair. “Ithan, should he shift, or is it better to stay in his wolf form?”

“He should stay like this. Our shifted forms heal quicker, but his injuries need to be stabilized.”

“Okay, I’ll stabilize him – Gwyn!” Azriel calls out to our omega. “How long can you hold?”

Her voice sounds strained and far away as she answers, “I don’t know! Not…much… longer!”

I try to steady my breathing, but I’m worried for what will happen to them if Gwyn can’t hold it long enough. 

Leave me.  

I wish I could talk to them. Tell them to save our omega and leave me. I try sending the sentiment down the bond to Ithan, but my pain overrides every other feeling as Azriel begins to wrap my back legs together, stabilizing my broken bones.

“Nesta? Where are the Valkyries?” Azriel calls to her.

A shrill bird call echoes out into the jungle as Nesta calls to them. There’s no answer., “Something is not right. Why didn’t they warn of the dinosaur?” She tries the call again.

Nothing.

My ears twitch at a sound. Somewhere in the distance, but not too far. Close enough for me to detect, but far enough away that if it’s trouble, we’d have time to get out. I try to connect to Ithan again, pushing a warning vibration to him. He stiffens next to me, his hands that cradle my head still in my fur.

“Fenrys hears something,” he relays.

“What?” Azriel asks.

“I don’t know, but we should keep moving. Lose the dinosaur somehow. We might’ve attracted other unwanted hunters.”

I can’t see anyone’s face, but I feel the tension stretching across my fellow alphas at Ithan’s warning.

Then in the distance…I hear it again. Closer. 

The others hear it too.

Shouting. Gun shots.

“Fuck,” Azriel hisses. His strong hold is reassuring as he begins to bark out his orders, “Ithan – I’m going to need you to shift and take Gwyn with you –”

“Where?” His breaths come in quick and I hear the worry in his voice.

“Head towards the ship wreck. We’ll meet you there – “

“As soon as Gwyn drops that dinosaur –” Nesta begins, but Azriel cuts her off.

“We’re going to back up into the woods. Gwyn will hold the dinosaur until the tomb raiders catch up to us. She’ll drop it, then she and Ithan will run. Nesta and Balthazar, you take Fenrys and follow.”

“What about you?” Nesta asks. There’s a hint of worry in her tone, but otherwise she’s steadfast.

“I’m going to do my job and arrest the sons of bitches.”

I squirm under Azriel’s touch, not liking the sound of this plan at all, but every movement I make burns with pain. I want to howl out at my frustrations. I feel useless…dead weight…unable to help at all.

“That’s an insane plan,” Nesta supplies. “Let me help you. Balthazar can carry Fenrys on his own. We’re not too far off from the ships.”

There’s a beat of silence and I try to crane my neck to see what emotions and thoughts are brewing on everyone’s face, but all I see is the lush green canopy above and suspended rain drops.

“Alright,” Azriel finally says. “Alright – Balthazar!” He calls the beta over and explains the plans, who then relays the information to Gwyn who is immediately in a tizzy over everyone splitting up, but we don’t have time to come up with something new as the shouts get closer.

There’s a crash somewhere behind me and Nesta calls out, “Emerie! Roslin! What happened?”

“We were ambushed – the tomb raiders –” 

Another crash in the woods. A gunshot. I hear Nesta explain our plans to the Valkyries as she gives them orders to stay as backup.

Then the world is tilting and spinning as I’m lifted into Balthazar’s strong arms. 

“Gwyn now!”

As quickly as it had stopped, the rain began again, followed by the earth quaking thump of the lizard's large body dropping to the ground. I hear its growls of frustration as Balthazar runs into the forest, following a protesting Gwyn.

“No! No stay together! Please – Fenrys!” 

She yells for me. For all her scent matches, but I never know if her calls are answered as the sounds of the jungle are muted and everything goes dark.

 

Ithan

 

“Balthazar!” 

I watch as he drops to his knees, gently placing Fenrys on the ground. Fenrys -- whose eyes are closed, his white fur matted with blood, and our bond…it’s muted.

Gwyn is shaking and crying in my arms as I try to keep us on track.

“Go, Ithan! I got this.” He hovers over Fenrys, his hands running over my mentor’s body, looking for the worst of the wounds. He pulls out a piece of fabric from his bag, rips it into strips, and starts wrapping it around Fenrys’ torso. 

“Fenrys…” Gwyn whines next to me. 

Balthazar looks back up at us, eyes wide and alert, “Go! We need to get Gwyn out of here!” 

There’s shouting and a mighty roar back in the grove where we’d held the dinosaur off.

Then Gwyn wrenches out of my grasp and careens forward, falling to her knees next to Fenrys and burying her face in his bloodied coat. Her shoulders shake with sobs and she’s whispering reassurances to him.

“It’s okay, Fenrys…Balthazar will take care of you. It’s okay.” She places her hand over his heart and my own heart squeezes. My throat tightens as I watch my omega comforting my mentor and fuck – Fenrys better not leave me now… “Come back to me, okay? You come back to me.”

Gwyn kisses Fenrys on the head then does the same to Balthazar, “You come back to me too, got it?” She says, holding the beta’s face in her hands and I nearly crumble right there because Balthazar looks at her like she’s the most precious thing in the world and then he looks at me and everything shatters. His hazel-brown eyes swim with tears and he nods to both of us.

“I will. We will. We’ll be right behind you.”

He stands and pulls something from his belt before handing it to me. “Take this. It’s my communication device. Azriel has the other one. There should be enough juice to communicate for a few minutes. Use it sparingly and only when needed. Got it?” 

I nod, “Got it.” Then Balthazar wraps a hand around the back of my head and rests his forehead to mine. 

“Take care of our omega, alright?” He whispers. His nose bumps mine and I want to tilt up and cover his mouth with my own. Know his taste before I might never get the chance…

“It’s what I was born to do,” I reply, wrapping my own hand behind his neck and squeezing.

Balthazar holds onto me a moment longer before he lets go and takes a step back. Then another, watching me. His mouth opens like he’s going to say something, but he closes it a moment later and heads back to Fenrys’ side.

Gwyn finally comes back to my side, but I’m still watching Balthazar. How his rich brown skin is slicked with sweat and blood, how his brow sets in determination as he ducks back to work on Fenrys and all I want to do is hold all of them. Keep them with me no matter what, but…

Another roar and more shouting and gunshots.

I grab Gwyn and we rush deeper into the jungle, away from the commotion behind us.

Once we’re far enough, I shift and Gwyn climbs on my back. Without another delay we race into the trees.

With my snout down, I sniff the ground, the air around us, searching for that familiar scent of metal and fuel the ship gives off.

We run through the trees for at least fifteen minutes when Gwyn points to the west and shouts, "There!" 

I can just make out the ship wreck through the trees.

“Wait there’s something down in the ravine – “ I follow her outstretched arm to the small, sloping ravine south of the wreckage. 

Sure enough there’s another glint of metal. I think it’s an emergency ship, and if it is, it's perfect. Off to the side where they’d have coverage to hide and work on the ship. I don’t know if it’s the one Azriel and Fenrys had been working on…

I let out an unintentionally whine at the thought of Fenrys laying limp in the grass. Gwyn ran a hand from between my ears, and down my neck to my scruff. As if reading my mind she said, “I know, I miss him too. He’s in good hands.”

Dammit all, now I was thinking of Balthazar and the worry that crept into my chest at the thought of anything happening to him.  

I shook the thought away and continued on through the thick underbrush towards the emergency ship.

 

—

 

A quick test of the ship detected only minor issues. Things I could easily fix like a loose battery and busted wheels. These ships often had backups of parts and sure enough, once Gwyn and I started scouting the ship, we found plenty of supplies in the cargo holds. Beyond mechanics. There was food, water, and emergency supplies. The jackpot of ships.

Gwyn started cleaning up the inside of the, putting away the supplies that fell out of cabinets or tipped over bins, while I worked on the battery first.

The rain had still not let up and I was soaked to the bone as I tightened the battery deck and switched out the internal thermal heating fans that kept the battery at a constant, stable temperature. Once I was done here, I’d check on Gwyn’s progress inside and start work on the ship's wheels.

A crash from inside the ship startles me and I smack the back of my head off the ship’s underbelly as I quickly stood.

Swearing and rubbing my head, I started for the main port entrance. “Gwyn!” I called out and rounded into the doorway. I stopped short at the sight before me.

An assortment of supplies were scattered down the hall. Plastic wrapping lay crumbled in piles, mattresses leaned haphazardly against the walls, and a drawer of medical supplies had tumbled to the ground. There, on all fours, frantically gathering the bandages and suture kits, was Gwyn.

“ Shoot! Oh no…”

“Gwyn?”

The omega stopped and spun on her heel. Her eyes widened, her brow set in worry. “Ithan?” She stumbled over a stack of pillows, crossing the hall to me and - holy gods – her scent hit me with full force, a smack to the senses. It was like a switch was flipped inside me. Physically. Mentally. Everything shifted and my alpha surged to the surface.

Following my instinct, I met her halfway, took her into my arms, and began nuzzling my chin to the top of her head. Purring I whispered into her copper hair, “What do you need my little goddess, I’m here.”

Gwyn let out a strained sigh, “I was trying to set up a nest…but there’s no perfect place for it and all the fabrics smell like the plastic wrap they were kept in, there’s not enough pillows, and I knocked over the medical supplies when I was trying to move the mattress off the examination table –”

I pull her back and run a thumb over her jaw and bottom lip and her words fall away, as I soothe her with gentle strokes. Gazing into her mesmerizing eyes, I listen as she continues.

She takes a deep breath and says sadly, “I wanted to surprise everyone with it.” 

A warmth coils in my chest and stomach, an overwhelming need to provide.

“What do you need, omega?”

Gwyn looked up at me with wide, pleading teal eyes, and I watched as her bright eyes turned glossy and hooded with wanton need in a matter of seconds. Her scent rolled off of her in waves of heat –

Wait.

I blinked and focused on what was happening. The more reasonable side of me tugging back on my alpha leash, reigning myself in so I could keep my omega safe. Focusing on the task before me, I place the back of my hand to her forehead and my breath catches in my throat.

She's burning up.

I take her face in my hands and try to remember what Balthazar did to assess her…

She had a fever. Her pupils were dilated, her eyes hazy with desire. Her breathing had quickened…

Gwyn was going into heat -- and I, a young rutting alpha, was alone with her.

Notes:

✨️space dinos✨️ because why not? 🦖

Who's ready for Gwyn's heat? 🙋‍♀️🥵🤭 It's gunna be angsty af 🫣

Chapter 8: Heat Distress

Notes:

We gettin' to that nitty, gritty heat business 🥵

Balthazar

 

The ship comes into view just as the sun begins to set. The rain is slowly letting up, but there’s a misty drizzle still covering the land. The forest grows dark and visibility is low as fog begins to creep around the trees and vines. 

Fenrys hasn’t woken up, but he is stable and breathing, with a strong pulse. His wolf form was finally given the chance to heal once I got the bleeding to stop. Went through nearly all the blankets I had packed for Gwyn’s heat to do so, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. She’d probably berate me for not using them if I decided against it.

My trek is slow in the jungle as I close the distance, careful not to stumble or trip in the sloping ravine as I carry Fenrys in my arms. It's at this moment I really notice how heavy he is, how much weight I’d been carrying. Realizing this makes the weight almost unbearable and my adrenaline that had been pumping starts to fade away.

Keep…going!

I was so close, that warm feeling of coming home sparking inside me. That excitement to see my omega and Ithan again, overwhelming.

As the ship is fully revealed, I see a faint light emanating from the main port, and a box of tools left strewn beneath the battery compartment…

My pulse is a throbbing, panicked beat in my neck as I stop short, taking a moment to assess. Why were the tools just out like that? Where were Ithan and Gwyn?

No signs of a scuffle…no blood…as I walk around to face the main port, I hear nothing. It’s silent and still. There’s no static of danger in the air, a natural energy that I became used to detecting after hundreds of years of duty.

I step onto the ramp that slopes easily up to the entrance, and that’s when I notice it.

Gwyn.

River moss, rosemary, and something decadently sweet. Thick and heavy.

And one hundred percent in heat. 

There was another scent too…like strong cinnamon musk… Ithan.

I duck into the entrance and tiptoe forward – oh .

Their scents were thick in the air. My cock instantly twitched at the mixed scents, and now with my own scent mingling and intertwining? It was intoxicating .

I go to set Fenrys down on a bed in one of the chambers, but there’s no mattress. None in the next room, or the next. So I set him on the floor in one of the rooms, and draped my jacket over him before I sought out Ithan and Gwyn, gathering some water and the only blanket I had on my way to find them.

It had been quiet up until I entered the middle section of the ship. 

A soft moan. One of pain, not pleasure, came from the cargo hold. 

I round the corner and stumble at the sight before me. 

A makeshift nest consisting of the mattresses taken from the other rooms, covered the back half of the hold. Most of the blankets and pillows lay in a pile by the door. Boxes of food and emergency supplies were stacked along the right wall.

Sitting in the middle rocking a distraught omega in his arms, was Ithan. A few scrappy blankets were haphazardly tucked around Ithan’s muscled arms that cradled her. Both of them appeared to be naked beneath the blankets.

His head snapped up as I entered and I saw every emotion flit across his face. From panic to surprise to relief back to panic…

“Balthazar…” he breathed. “Thank fuck…I don’t know what to do.” Ithan wrapped Gwyn up tighter. 

I rushed to their side, but didn’t enter the nest. Not without Gwyn’s permission. “Tell me what happened.” 

I pass Ithan a nearby towel and watch as he pats her flushed cheeks and sweating forehead and he starts to explain.

“She was prepping the inside of the ship while I was fixing the mechanical issues outside. We were separated for maybe thirty minutes when I heard a crash inside the ship somewhere. I came in to find Gwyn in a nesting frenzy. I, uh, went into a rut instantly…it took me a second to realize she was in heat. Her eyes just changed so suddenly…into that hooded expression…” Ithan swallowed, his head falling back with a thunk to the wall. “It’s hard to hold back those alpha urges when your scent match is in heat…but Nesta showed me I can control other things. So I focused on the nesting and tending, gave her skin to skin contact, but her omega is anxious…I think…I don’t know – she only just started cramping and she’s not producing enough slick,” he strains on the last bit, his muscles bulging as he hugs her tighter. Clearly struggling to see and feel his omega like this. Especially in a rut? He must be aching, but Gwyn…

“She’s in fight or flight mode, her body isn’t going to show the normal symptoms…just like any other living being in a stressful situation.”

“What do we do?” Ithan turned his panicked expression to the omega in his lap. 

“We ease her as much as we can…I’ll fetch anything with a familiar scent on it. Keep doing exactly what you’re doing, reassure her. Okay?”

Ithan nodded, “Got it, so –” He glanced at me, only to shyly pull his gaze away, “So I’m doing this right?”

I couldn’t wait for permission to enter her nest. Because once I did I was going to kiss that alpha.

“How do you feel, Ithan?”

He swallowed hard and answered, “Good…I – I followed my alpha instincts. She’s relaxed considerably from when she first went into heat.” The warmth in my chest grew as I watched him smile down at Gwyn. 

“Then I’d say you’re doing more than good. I’m going to grab some of Fenrys’ stuff to offer to her –”

“How is he?” Ithan asked. One hand held the back of Gwyn’s head, his fingers gently soothing her scalp.

“On the mend. Once I stopped the blood flow and bandaged him up he started healing faster. I’d say he’ll be awake in another hour or so. You can see him once I can go into the nest?”

Ithan chuckled, “He’d reprimand me with a long spiel about leaving an omega during a stressful heat…even if it is to see him after he was mauled.”

I gave Ithan a knowing smile. Azriel would do the same thing to me if I were in Ithan’s shoes. 

I leave and come back with some of Fenrys’ things. I pass him Fen’s jacket and the last blanket I had from the Valkyrie palace. It had that hint of Nesta’s scent. Enough that Gwyn audibly moaned when she smelled it.

These were hardly enough to build a nest she was hoping for and she was still shaking and whining.

I picked up the communication device and radioed in to Azriel.

“Azriel, come in. Over.”

A moment of silence and then…

“Thank the gods – Balthazar – Are you with Gwyn and Ithan? Over.”

I smile at the genuine worry that hid beneath those words. “Affirmative. Over.”

“Status? Over.”

I sigh, “Heat distress. Level 3. We need more blankets and pillows. Anything that smells like us. Over.”

“We’re locking the suspects up in Valla. We’ll gather the bedding from the beds we all slept in. Over.”

“And get your asses over here. We all need you guys. Over.”

“Roger that. Over.” Azriel said.

Then I handed Gwyn the communication device. Azriel’s chilled scent still clung to the velcro on the holster. Now, she had a little bit of everyone’s scent.

Her freckled fingers curled around the device, sniffing as she picked up the alpha’s scent and she moaned, “...Alphaaa.”

Her fingers pressed the buttons on the side of the device, but not quite hitting them right. I knelt next to the nest, “Omega…let me help you with that. Can I come into your nest?”

Gwyn’s hazy teal eyes blinked at me, then she outstretched her hand. 

I took it, sucking in a breath as she pulled me in, pressing my hand to the device. Without hesitation I pressed down on the talk button.

I nodded and Gwyn licked her lips, “Alpha…?” There was no answer at first, just crackling. “Az –?”

“I’m here! Omega – I’m here.”

Gwyn visibly relaxed at the sound of his voice. A small smile working itself onto her lips, before another wave of cramps had her doubling over. Panting through the pain, she asked one word.

“Safe?”

Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks as Nesta’s voice came through, “We’re safe, princess –”

Ithan snorted and clicked the button, “Princess?”

Nesta radioed in lightning fast with the comeback, “Yeah – because that’s how I’m going to treat her when I get my hands on her. Want me to call you princess too, alpha?”

It was my turn to snort as Ithan blushed. Then we both looked at Gwyn and she was calmed. So relaxed and at ease. Her breathing had evened out, her jaw was unclenched. Pressing down on the button he said, “You can call me whatever you want. Just get here in one piece, got it? Or …over?”

I chuckled and leaned into the alpha. 

“Roger that,” Nesta said a little too loudly. “Sorry…roger that…over…”

Ithan stilled the rhythmic rocking he had started and breathed out, “She’s…she’s purring.”

I laid a hand to her chest and sure enough, beneath her clammy skin was a gentle, barely perceivable rumble. But it was there.

“That’s it, omega, you’re okay. You’re safe. We’re all safe and we’ll all be here for you.”

 

Azriel

My mind is a whirlwind of information and protocols.

And my alpha is on high alert. 

Gwyn is in heat and I'm not there for her. 

That moment in the jungle when we all went our separate ways to carry out the plan, my alpha had whined as I watched Gwyn disappear into the thick jungle flora.

I couldn't explain it at the time, but I just had this feeling. A constant nagging in the back of my skull.

The feeling stayed with me long after Nesta and I had hid in the bushes after Gwyn dropped her magic. From then on, it was go, go, go…Not seeing us, the dinosaur bolted for the trees, no doubt confused and frightened by what just happened to it. The moment it was gone, the raiders crashed through the bushes and we jumped out. Fighting tooth and nail. Gaining the upper hand as the Valkyries that caught up to us ambushed from the tree tops. 

We had them captured and under arrest in a matter of minutes. The rest of our time away from the group, we were trekking back to Valla to keep the raiders locked up in their cells until we could find enough ships, or even send out a distress signal, if it came to that. And all the while I felt a pull to go back. To join my omega and the rest of my scent matches.

Now, we were frantically gathering everything we needed to get to our distressed omega. I couldn’t shake the nerves that crawled along my veins thinking about her being uncomfortable or worried…

“What is a level 3 heat distress?” Nesta asked me as we gathered and folded the blankets from Gwyn’s room. Her mannerisms were stiff and preoccupied. She too must be itching to return to Gwyn.

“The omega has a nest, but there’s a problem. Either there is someone in the nest she doesn’t want. She doesn’t have the right items. Nothing smells how she wants it to….Because Balthazar told me we need things that smell like us, tells me she might be experiencing extreme anxiety over her scent matches seeing it. Plus the added stress of being separated and in potential dangerous situations –”

Nesta nodded, hearing my explanation, “What if getting this stuff doesn’t help?”

I shrugged, “We’ll reassess. We could move her back here, but that’s risky. There was never a situation I’ve experienced where bringing an omega the scents and fabrics she feels comfortable with doesn’t help. We’ll re-scent everything when we get back. Especially since it looks like the rain has continued – dammit –” I shoved the pile of blankets into the duffle bag and slung it over my shoulder, casting a scowl towards the rain beating down on the windows. “We should get moving, this is going to hold us up.”

Nesta gathered her first platoon, a group of six dedicated Valkyries, and together we all hauled as much as we could carry... blankets, pillows, food, provisions, someone even donated their string of glowing blue and white stones to aid with a relaxing atmosphere.

Leaving the captured tomb raiders locked up in the cells of the Valkyries stronghold, we ventured back out into the forest – to our omega.

Gwyn

 

Everything. Was. Wrong.

At least, it felt like every terrible thing that could happen did. For a moment. The scents were wrong. The feel of everything was wrong. 

I didn’t have all my scent matches with me. Wrong.

One of them was injured. Wrong.

I didn’t know where anyone else was. Wrong.

Then there was my nest…

It was sad. So terribly ugly and sad. I’d understand if they wanted nothing to do with an omega who can’t even make a good enough nest out of the materials available.

Wrong. 

But then…

Then Ithan scooped me up into his arms when I collapsed with the weight of my anxiety. He cradled me and covered me with the extra clothes in his bag. Rocking me and stroking my hair. Soothing me with his cinnamon coffee scent. Helping me feel some sense of groundedness. It’s what tethered me to reality.

I was wholly aware of the cramps rocking through my abdomen, and the lack of slippery slick. I felt dried out and spent and I hadn’t even done anything yet. 

I must have overextended my water power abilities and I was shutting down from the exertion. My body needed to recover, but with my heat raging through me I could hardly do anything but think of the pain and how to just push through it.

The moment Balthazar showed up and was there to help Ithan. I relaxed, even if just a little. I could breathe again, smelling my scent matches, hearing Azriel and Nesta and knowing Fenrys was on the mend.

It was like a switch was activated and my purr revved to life. Slowly at first, until I was roaring.

I hear Balthazar say something about checking on Fenrys and my heart pumps gently. At ease. My shoulders are no longer hunched. There is a tiny nagging worry in the back of my head. Something that probably won’t be gone until I have everyone in my nest, but it’s not nearly as distressing as those thoughts I had had earlier. The ones that told me everyone was dead or in mortal peril or, gods forbid, my nest was atrocious.

Now, I’m able to relax in Ithan’s hold. Bask in the warmth of his body heat rolling off of him. Now that I could focus on my surroundings, I could smell it…his musk. It was thick. Choking in the most delicious way.

My body responded. My chest fluttered with excitement. My stomach clenched with need, and slick gushed between my legs, coating his belly.

I felt Ithan jerk slightly beneath me. Then he called out for Balthazar who was back in the cargo hold in seconds.

“She’s producing slick,” Ithan said, his announcement filled with excitement and admiration. “What a fucking beautiful goddess you are. Is all that slick for me?” His hand ran down my side, cupping my ass and thigh. His fingertips leave shivering trails along my skin.

I whimper and nuzzle into him, my omega’s tail wagging at his praise.

I want him. I want his thick, sweet cinnamon and dark coffee scent inside me .

I want his knot.

Guided by my omega's neediness, I place my thighs on either side of Ithan, my slick coating his bare thighs as I scramble to find his cock to sit on.

His muscles flex beneath me. “Fuck - Balthazar,” he growls for the beta, seeking his reassurance. His fingers dig into my hips, holding me so his cock rubs against my backside. My whole body tingles at the contact and my slick runs down my thighs. 

Everything before me is a sea of scents and touches. I barely see the outline of Ithan and Balthazar, but I smell them, and they smell like everything I've been dreaming of.

“Slow, omega…we're in no rush here,” Balthazar says. His voice is low in my ear, his tone carrying over in calming waves as he rubs a hand up and down my back. “I know how much you want your alpha’s knot, but you're also just getting back on your feet.”

His warm hands run down my shoulders as he presses my front to Ithan’s chest, my ass lifting up with the new position. I moan as my wet entrance nudges his cock. The alpha continues to hold my hips that desperately seek to grind against him. To take his length fully into me and lock to him.

“You're so beautiful, omega,” Ithan purrs, but something has changed in his tone. There's a silk depth that settles into my bones and I turn to puddy in his hold. “Good girl.”

I whine, my hips seeking escape from his hold. 

“Slow, Ithan, in case she’s not one hundred percent there…” I pant and whine as I feel fingers spreading my slick covered lips. The touch makes my hips jerk, my clit brushing against Ithan’s cock. “How does she feel?”

Ithan’s chest rumbles with a satisfied moan and he answers, “Soft and wet… fuck …can I?”

Balthazar chuckle deeply somewhere behind me and he must’ve nodded his approval because the next second I cry out as Ithan finally lowers me onto his cock, my lips spreading around his thick head. Inch, by a slow agonizing inch, I sink onto his length. Relishing the full feel of him until I'm sitting against his balls. The base of his cock already starting to feel fuller.

“Alpha,” I whine. “Feel…so… good…” my hips move off their own accord. Grinding down onto Ithan’s length, filling myself to the brim. 

Ithan holds still beneath me, letting me ride him. 

Holding back from the rutting alpha I know is in there.

“Alpha…please…” I stop with my entrance barely grasping the tip of his cock. A teasing pulse of my walls makes him jump. 

I stare down at him.  Focusing my gaze so I can see every detail of his smiling eyes and boyish smirk. 

He looks right back at me and says, “Fuck it. Hold on tight goddess.”

In one swift movement, Ithan guides me until I'm in Balthazar’s hold, my back to the beta’s chest. Then Ithan is crowding over both of us.  Balthazar’s hands find my breasts, massaging them in his palms. Twisting and pinching my nipples with his fingers. 

I smell his soothing chestnut scent before he whispers, “Such a perfect little omega…do you want your alpha to rut inside you? Fill you with his cum?” His hand trails down my torso until it rests against my flat belly. “I bet you want to be full of his brood, don’t you?”

I writhe in his touch seeking more , but Ithan holds me with one large hand pressing down on my stomach. His other hand guides his cock to my entrance.

“Answer him,” Ithan grinds out. His rutting haze makes him curt. His thumb circles my clit. His cock still sitting just inside my opening, but not deep enough to feel him.

“Yes –” I manage to pant out.

Ithan wastes no more time, sheathing into me with one thrust. Filling me completely. I cry out, my head falling back onto Balthazar’s shoulder as I try to gather everything I’m feeling. The pull of Balthazar’s fingers on my nipples. Ithan’s thrusts as he backs out, then slides in again, until he's got an agonizingly slow cant that is pushing me thrust by thrust to the edge. 

“Fuck goddess, you look so good with my cock inside you.” I squirm and moan, begging him to go faster as I squeeze my legs around his torso, giving him all the access he needs.

“Faster, alpha!”

He obliges, not wasting another second, he’s pistoning into me, crushing me into Balthazar who hums his approval. Whose own cock is pressed into my back. The heat of them both encompasses me in a blanket of safety, all three of us slick with sweat, and I get the overwhelming urge to have them both inside me. But by the time the thoughts become coherent my body is ascending into a blissful release and I scream out. My walls flutter and contract as Ithan thrusts one last time –

“Ooooh FUCK!” I call out as Ithan shoves his knot past my swollen folds and locks into me, spilling his cum. The pressure of his knot is a delicious sensation and I collapse between them, sated and knotted.

“Good girl…fuck, that was hot,” Balthazar pants behind me and I’m vaguely aware of his own release sticking between us as I lay between his legs. 

Ithan tries to move above us, but he’s stuck fast inside me. We both groan as he moves, the tug of his knot sending a wave of pleasure through me. I feel Balthazar wrap an arm around Ithan and I, pulling the breathless alpha down until he draped over both of us. “Relax alpha…you two aren’t going anywhere for a moment. I got you…”

Every muscle in my body, and Ithan’s, relaxes as Balthazar soothes us; reassuring Ithan that he did exactly as was needed and petting my hair until I was drifting off to sleep. 

Chapter 9: Houston, We've Got An Omega In Heat

Notes:

🔥NSFW🔥

Get your rain coats and cold showers ready cause the slick is flowing and the heat is #hot 🥵💦🫠

Azriel

 

The moment I saw the ship hidden in the ravine, I ran. Nesta, right behind me. Our breaths came out quick and sharp as we raced through the thick flora of the forest floor. 

That beautiful jasmine and river moss scent hit me all at once.

And all at once, I succumbed.

To my emotions.

To my alpha.

To Gwyn.

I dropped the bags I carried the moment I stepped inside the port opening. My eyes watered with tears that threatened to pour over as I sped through the bunker hallway, following Gwyn's intoxicating scent -- straight into the cargo hold where I find Balthazar and Ithan on either side of our omega. All of them naked and sharing one blanket. They were cocooning her in their warmth, hugging her close in their arms, and the sight made every worry wash away.

Balthazar and Ithan picked their heads up at the same time. Peering over with wide eyes that relaxed the moment they saw Nesta and I in the doorway.

We crossed the mattress covered room to Gwyn’s nest and only then, did I allow myself to stop and I dropped to my knees at the edge. 

“Omega – I’m here,” I said, my voice cracking. 

Gwyn picked up her head at the sound of my voice, our scents permeating the space. My alpha whined, nearly begging to hold her. To comfort and love her and fill her, endlessly.

Her silky copper hair fell in curtains around her shoulders, her teal eyes hazy with sleep and desire as she spied Nesta and I. Her hands outstretched instantly, beckoning us forward.

Balthazar and Ithan made room as I toed off my boots and crawled over the bare mattress to come in behind her. Folding myself around her lithe form. Tucking her back to my chest. Once Nesta slid in between Gwyn and Ithan, and her strong legs wrapped around mine and Gwyn’s, I extended my wings to drape over all of us. 

Burying my face in her hair, I whispered to Gwyn, “My omega…I’m here now. I’ve got you.”

Gwyn made a soft contented sound, snuggling her face into Nesta’s chest and backing her naked bottom into my crotch. My cock, which had been hard the moment I scented her, pressed against the restricting tactical pants I wore. Nudging between her perfect cheeks that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into.

“Your nest is perfect, omega. There’s plenty of room for all of us,” Nesta reassured her. Petting her hair and face gently she continued, “And you looked so cute and radiant curled up with the pup and beta. Did they take good care of you?”

Gwyn sighed blissfully and nodded. Nesta rested her forehead to Gwyn’s and the omega’s body melted into us, devolving into a writhing wanton state as she asked, “Good. What does my princess need now?”

Every single one of us held our breaths, stilling the smaller movements we made to get closer to our omega as we waited and listened, or rather watched as Gwyn tipped her chin up and claimed Nesta’s lips with a kiss. Their moans rolled together as we all began to move as one.

Balthazar helped me remove all my gear while Ithan did what he could for Nesta’s clothes while the female alpha devoured our little omega. Her mouth moved slowly and sweetly on Gwyn’s, her hands roaming the omega’s soft curves, cupping her breasts and kneading the supple flesh. 

I slid back in behind Gwyn, dragging my hands up her calves and thighs as I laid down. Then I wedged my hand between her thighs and opened her legs to us. 

Her heady scent filled the room, making all of us moan and growl with the primal need to take care of her, in every sense of the act.

My fingers trailed down her slick damp thighs, finding her heat and stroking her swollen pink lips before cupping her whole sex in my hand. Her body pushed and pulled between Nesta’s mouth that had now begun to explore Gwyn’s breasts, suckling her nipples and sucking her skin; to my hand that gently massaged her pussy.

“Alpha…alpha…” Gwyn whined, her hands grabbing for Nesta’s head and neck, pushing her down. Nesta’s endearing chuckle filled the room and she obliged our omega. Sinking down between her legs, Nesta trailed kisses up and down her thighs. Teasing our omega by getting so close, but backing away at the last second. 

I moved my hand, letting Nesta tantalize Gwyn while I explored her body. My fingers brushed her stomach, cupped her breasts, rolled her nipple between my fingers, until finally settling against the front of her throat. My thumb brushed over the pulse in her neck, my nose nudging behind her ear. Licking and kissing her skin everywhere I could reach. Memorizing her taste.

Gwyn let out a long, low moan and I glanced down to see Nesta’s tongue lapping up the slick that gathered between the omega’s legs. Tracing the pink folds and circling her sensitive nub.

Ithan and Balthazar watched on, the two of them stroking Gwyn’s hair, Nesta’s back, my wings…the five of us creating a sensual rhythm together.

But there was a small hollow part of me, something that felt incomplete. 

“Balthazar, how’s Fenrys?” I panted between kisses I laid along Gwyn’s shoulders.

The beta’s chestnut scent filled the space as he inched closer, “Much better, I checked on him thirty minutes ago and he was awake, just resting. I'll go check on him now.” Balthazar left, and the rest of us continued our agonizingly slow worship of Gwyn’s body. Nesta licked, I kissed and kneaded her, Ithan stroked her hair with one hand, and his cock with the other, watching us devour our omega.

Balthazar returned minutes later with a limping, but lively, Fenrys in tow.

The tightness in my chest lifted, and as if sensing him, Gwyn’s eyes popped open and she lifted her head. “Alpha?” she called out to him, her voice thick with heady desire.

Fenrys smiled, lighting up the room as he answered, “Hey there sweet girl. Look at you being pleasured by everyone. Taking good care of you while I was on the mend.”

He too stopped at the edge of her nest, but Gwyn reached out for him immediately, “Alpha…need you…” she strained and keened. Nesta and I had not stopped our pleasuring, and Fenrys, already naked and hard for her, crawled toward us.

Balthazar settled next to Nesta, stroking her back and petting her ass that stuck up in the air. “Just be careful, Fen, you’re better, but not one hundred percent. Take it slow,” he warned, lovingly.

Fenrys only hummed that he heard him and took up the empty space on Gwyn’s right, curling next to our omega, his lips placing kisses all over her face. “I missed you, sweet girl.” Gwyn purred in response. Her hips undulating against Nesta’s mouth, her body writhing from her alpha’s touches.

Gwyn’s orgasm came without warning, all the teasing and taunting coming to a head when all her scent matches had finally joined her. Her body released the tension that had been building and she moaned loudly, her throat vibrating against my fingers that still held her neck gently. 

I hummed and softly moaned with her, “Fuck my little omega you make such beautiful sounds.”

Gwyn’s eyes peeled open enough for me to see a sliver of her hazy teal eyes peering up at me. She smiled and rolled into me. Nuzzling into my chest she hooked a leg around my middle, nudging me closer, my cock pressing to her entrance.

“Knot…please alpha…” she whined, kissing and sucking along my chest, her hips grinding against me.

I take her sides in my hands and roll her onto her back, caging her beneath me. My wings create a dome around us, claiming our private moment.

Gwyn wiggles, her thighs on my hips hugging me and I take a moment to just admire her. Gaze upon the beautiful woman my alpha was begging and barking for. I settled my arms on either side of her head, sliding my fingers into her copper locks, and claimed her mouth. Our lips slant together to fit perfectly. Meant to be.

Her hips hike up, rubbing herself against my throbbing cock before I sank into her wet slicked heat, filling her in one thrust.

Her eyes widened, her mouth dropping and gods she was perfect. The little noises she made as I gently rocked into her. Letting my length sink into her slowly. Savoring every inch of pleasure before I was deep inside her, her slick gushing out around my cock.

Then I made small, languid thrusts with my hips, capturing her mouth as her moans escaped in breathy huffs. Her fingernails dug into my skin, marking my back with long scratches. Seeking to grab ahold of every part of me.

“Faster…alpha…knot….please,” She muttered against my lips.

I grinned, sweat dripping from a piece of hair that hung from my forehead as I praised her, “Such a good little omega, asking so nicely to be knotted by your alpha. You feel so good right now. So wet and ready, clenching around my cock when I shove in just a little harder.” I snapped my hips forward and Gwyn’s eyes rolled in her head, her scream of delight cut short as I did it again and again. Pulling out slowly, snapping in fast and quick. Coaxing her pleasure forward, my own heat coiling low and steady inside me. 

I felt my knot start to engorge, felt the resistance of it against her pulsating walls. 

“I’m going to knot you, omega. You’re going to be so full of me...with my cock, and my seed." I reached down, palming her flat stomach and groaned, "Imagine you full of our brood. Knotting you is going to feel so fucking good omega."

Gwyn panted and wailed, clutching my skin, “Yes! Yes alpha – knot meee!"

Her head fell back, her back bowed. I quickened my thrusts, her walls clenching around my cock, squeezing and massaging until I gave her one last push, my knot popping into place as my seed spilled into her. Gwyn came loudly, muffling her scream in my shoulder. Biting down on my skin, not enough to break the surface, but just enough that I felt a rush of warmth pulse through me. My alpha begging for her to bond with me, make me her mate.

Clutching her to my chest, I rolled us onto our side, tucking my arms and legs around her, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable in our joined position.

Once we settled, I nuzzled into her hair, kissing her on the top of her head. “You took my knot so well, little omega.” Gwyn squirmed, giggling happily at my compliment. Her walls clenched around my cock and she rolled her hips. The tugging of her swollen cunt around me made my head spin. I chuckled and moaned, “Are you asking for more?”

Gwyn rolled her hips again, a request I couldn’t refuse.

Ithan

 

Fuck they were going again and my little goddess’ moans were like sensual music to my ears. My cock was throbbing hard and my hand was just not doing it.

Balthazar caught my eye from across the nest, his gaze pinging from my hand that clutched the base of my cock, to my lips, to my eyes…his face flushed as I caught his stare.

A nudge to my shoulder had my head snapping to the right to find Nesta staring down at me pointedly. “Fenrys and I are going to organize the blankets and pillows for Gwyn to choose when she’s ready.” Her eyes flicked to Balthazar for a moment before she placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered, “You two better be fucking each other senseless by the time I get back.”

My mouth dropped, but she was already walking off, snickering with laughter. Fenrys too, gave me a wink and a hug, telling me he was proud…and he agreed with Nesta’s statement.

With the only sounds being Gwyn’s soft pants and moans as Azriel brought her over the edge, again, the silence between Balthazar and I grew until I couldn’t handle it any more.

I stood, my cock in my hand, and carefully stepped around the joined pair until I was standing before Balthazar. He looked so fucking pretty on his knees staring up at me. It made a ping of desire shoot through me, right to my cock. I gave my length one long pump. Balthazar’s deep brown eyes followed the movement.

He swallowed hard and asked, “What does my alpha need?”

Fuuuck.

“Your mouth…”

Balthazar stood to cup my face. His movement was so quick and sudden, I nearly stumbled backwards. But the beta’s strong hold kept me grounded as he leaned in, and kissed me.

Warmth traveled from my lips all the way to my toes and on instinct, I grabbed his hips. Tugging him closer to me. His body flush against mine. Our cocks ground together, the sensation sent shivers up my spine and I let out a lewd moan. Balthazar saw his opportunity and dove in, his tongue dancing with mine. Our mouths moved together as one as we began to lower down to the mattress, Balthazar pushing me back so I was laying against one of the inclined mattresses. 

I whined as he pulled away from my lips, “Balthazar?”  I breathed, panicked that he’d changed his mind. Kissed me and thought better of it.

“Don’t worry alpha I’m not going anywhere,” he answered with a wicked smile. His low rumbling purr vibrated through him as he lowered himself. Down…down…down until he hovered over my cock, his lips inches from my pink, swollen head. He glanced up through his long lashes, that wicked smile turning into a boyish grin as he asked, “Can I tend to you, alpha? I’ve been dying to taste you.”

My cock twitched in response, the heat inside me coiling to an immense pressure before Balthazar could even touch me.

“Fuck yes…please,” I moaned.

Balthazar chuckled and without waiting another moment, he took the base of my cock in his hands and licked the drop of precum that leaked out. An intense jolt of pleasurable electricity went through me as his soft tongue lapped my sensitive skin. His hands moved slowly along my shaft, twisting and squeezing at just the right spots.

“Godsdamn Balthazar –”

Chuffed by my exclamation, he hummed, and the sensation went right through my cock. My hips stuttered and he grabbed my balls as he took my length into his mouth. Swallowing me without hesitation. 

“Fuck! Oh – fuuck!!!”

His grip tightened on my base and balls, his tongue and mouth made crude slurping sounds, his drool dripping down my length and I saw stars as he sucked and licked with fervent desire. I felt the swell of my knot already rising. 

Balthazar did too, because as soon as he felt it, his mouth moved to suck and kiss the swollen flesh. I whimpered and whined, my hips thrusting up into his hands, seeking everything he would give me.

“Hm, you like that alpha? You like how I worship your knot?” He chuckled and took the head of my cock into his mouth again, his hands now massaging my knot as it thickened.

“Fuck…I do – I really do, gods!”

He sucked hard, squeezed my knot, and when his fingers pressed behind my balls…

"Holy gods Balthazaaarr!!” I roared. The heat of the coil inside me exploded and I was spilling into the back of his throat. My hips canting in his hold, fucking into his mouth as my orgasm crested and came down, my whole body shaking.

Panting, I slumped against the mattress, my eyes heavy with my release. I was so spent, I barely had enough energy to react as a warmth pressed into my side. I peeled my eyes open to see curly brown hair laying on my chest. 

Balthazar had curled up next to me, his head resting on my chest, his purr soothing as he wrapped around my torso and legs. Tentatively, I raised my arms, wrapping them around the beta, returning the affection. My own purr rumbled in my chest, content.

Just as I closed my eyes I felt another presence on my other side. I opened my eyes one more time to find Gwyn, snuggling in next to me, her purr louder than any of ours. Azriel followed, spooning her. Glancing up at me, he gave me a slight nod and a semblance of a smile.

“Our omega likes the two of you together,” he whispered, his voice low with alpha energy.

Balthazar lifted his head, running his fingers over Gwyn’s cheek, “She was watching?”

Azriel chuckled, nuzzling into her hair and mumbled, “It was hard not to…” he glanced up at me and grinned, “You’ve got a set of lungs on you, pup.”

I chuckled and tugged Balthazar in closer to me as Gwyn and Azriel crowded my other side. The four of us purring as we fell asleep.

 

Nesta

 

Fenrys and I returned to find everyone huddled on one of the mattresses, the few pieces of fabric they had barely doing anything to make the nest something cozy and inviting…or at least, that’s certainly how our omega saw it.

Gwyn was amongst the huddle, but she was fidgety. Moving in and out of her alphas and beta anxiously, adjusting the one sheet and two jackets she had.

Good thing two of her alphas came bearing gifts for her, ones that she would hopefully love. 

Nerves butterflied in my stomach as I approached the nest, holding up our bags and offering them to Gwyn. “I’ve got something for you, princess.”

Gwyn peered over curiously, and for a moment I was nervous we would offend her. That she would see the fabrics and pillows not as a gift, but rather suggesting her nest needed to change. But our omega beamed when she realized what we were holding. Crawling over Azriel’s legs, the alpha sleeping too deeply to care, she reached for the bags and asked, “For me?” Her words slurred slightly, still very deep in her heat. I had to bite my lip to ground myself before her sweet scent sent me over the edge.

Her eyes widened as she opened the bags and rummaged through the blankets, pillows, and clothing items we were able to procure.

I was blinded by copper hair and flailing arms as Gwyn dove forward, grabbing me in a hug. “Thank you alpha,” she sighed.

Without wasting another moment, Gwyn selected each item carefully, rearranging them so they laid and bunched just right around the sleeping males and surrounding empty mattress space. Slowly, her nest took form. Her smile became bigger and brighter as she worked, contented and proud.

When she was done she tugged me and Fenrys into the nest, curling into me and nuzzling her head under my chin. Her knee wedged between my legs as I circled her with my arms. Fenrys tucked in behind her, his arm draping around both of us.

“Your nest is perfect, sweet girl,” he whispered. Then he placed kisses along her freckled neck, his golden hair falling in curtains. It tickled both our faces and Gwyn giggled and sighed before she began to squirm.

“Do you like the way I kiss your neck omega?” His voice had gone from sweet to thick and heady and our omega responded enthusiastically. 

“Yes alpha…more…need you both,” she moaned.

Fenrys’ answering purr was loud and deep. My own purr revved up as he lifted his head, looking down at our omega he asked, “Are you asking for both of your alphas at the same time sweet girl?” 

Gwyn purred and stretched, her ass grinding against Fenrys’ crotch, her face rubbing against my breasts. I stroked her hair, my thumb brushing her cheeks as she nodded and whined, "Both now!"

Fenrys caught my gaze, “You said you brought some toys? What do you say? Should we have a little fun with our omega?” 

“Oh absolutely,” I purred in response. My alpha yipped and spun with anticipation, excited for what I had planned for my omega.