Omega Mine

Chapter Fourteen

Trey returned to Dougan’s and didn’t bother with the crowds. He knew Diskant and Kinsley would be in the far back room at the base of the stairs, where a table and chairs were placed in a quaint and private alcove. The location provided adequate protection for Diskant’s female as he could monitor who ventured up the stairs while allowing them privacy to talk, ensuring they wouldn’t be interrupted or disturbed.

When Trey made it around the corner they were just as he expected, seated across from each other with a couple of shot glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Both stopped talking and looked up when he approached. Diskant kicked the chair closest to Trey from the table and sat back.

“It’s all taken care of.” Trey took a seat, snagged one of the glasses and poured a shot. “Aldon is ready to present a roadblock when we need it.”

“What about my mate?” The friendliness in Diskant’s face vanished. “Did he have an explanation for why his kind attacked her?”

Trey shook his head. “He had no idea what I was talking about. He said it had to have been rogues in the market for a blood slave.” At Diskant’s infuriated glare he added, “It would make sense. You can’t say you don’t understand the temptation.”

“How in the hell did you get involved with Aldon Frost?” Diskant said the vampire’s name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“He needed a security system when he moved here. I helped him out in exchange for a favor owed.” Trey shrugged and downed his shot.

“Most people pay for that kind of thing with money,” Kinsley remarked. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be in business.”

“He needed a rush job. I don’t do anything that eats away my private time without expecting something extra in return.” He poured another shot with a steady hand, even though his insides felt as solid as Jell-O. “Where is Emory?”

“He went to an unoccupied room on the second floor. I told him to get a shower and a decent change of clothes. He might feel like shit but he’s not doing us any favors by looking like it.” Diskant took the lone shot glass from the center of the table and studied it as he rolled it between his fingers. “I sent Nathan to watch over him. He’s on a short fuse, Trey. He’s eventually going to become feral.”

Trey nodded, unable to argue the point.

A year before Emory had started having trouble controlling his bestial half. It had been obvious his younger brother was an Alpha; his disposition and temperament made that apparent shortly after his first shift. They were damn fortunate he’d managed to keep the wolf at heel for so long. Now he was too old to deny exactly what he needed. Alphas could survive as a member of a pack without being in charge but only if they were mated. The bond calmed the beast and allowed for a measure of peace—which was exactly what Trey was banking on.

“We have to reunite him with his mate.” Trey lifted the shot glass full of whiskey, studying the clear amber fluid. “After we take out the Shepherds we have to take him to Colorado to retrieve her.”

“Have you lost your bloody mind?” Kinsley snarled. “You cannot bring a Shepherd into the city to mate with your brother.”

Trey turned to the cat shifter, relieved that Diskant had imparted the ugly truth about Emory mating a Shepherd. If he was going to bring an unwilling female to his city he didn’t need prying Alphas making a fuss.

“What would you have me do? Watch him slowly go mad until we’re forced to put him out of his misery?”

“He’s been a danger to everyone in his path.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Trey corrected Kinsley smoothly. “The entire time he was in Colorado he never lost control. It wasn’t until after he was separated from his female that the changes started.”

Kinsley’s brogue thickened, as it was prone to do when he became angry. “You cannae trust information from your brother.”

“This is information straight from Gerald Night.” Trey smiled when Diskant’s head shot up and Kinsley’s anger changed to shock. “I contacted him shortly after Emory arrived. He said that Emory was just fine with the pack in Colorado Springs. There were no issues whatsoever with his control.”

“That’s not possible,” Diskant said. “If I couldn’t break through to his wolf, there’s no way an Alpha could.”

“I’m not sure why it happened, although Emory was close to his mate so I imagine she was partially responsible.” Trey stared at Diskant and braced himself when he asked, “Ava is telepathic, isn’t she?”

Any friendliness in the Omega’s face vanished. “Why the fuck do you want to know?”

“If we can keep one of the Shepherds alive she can tell us where we can find Mary.”

Diskant’s eyes shifted color and the fingers around the glass he held slowly fisted. “I’m not taking my mate anywhere near them.”

“You don’t have to. We can bring one of them to her. All we need is a location.”

Trey thought his close friend and pack mate would say no. No matter their closeness or connection, the female had overtaken his importance. Then Diskant’s irises became a familiar warm amber hue and the tension left his shoulders as he placed the shot glass on the table.

“If we do this, we do it my way. You’ll bring him to a place I decide and you’ll follow my instructions.”

Trey nodded and retrieved the bottle of Jack. “The sooner we do this the better.”

“You’ve got that right,” Kinsley said. “The prides took my word that this was settled but with Shepherds they won’t believe a word until the threat is removed.”

“I sent five of my best scouts to sniff them out before I left. We should know something in a few hours.”

“What are you thinking?” Diskant asked.

“We find and have Kinsley approach them with an offer to hand over Emory to throw them off the scent, then conduct the actual exchange just before dark. Shepherds won’t expect vampires to be involved so when Aldon does his part it will give us all the opportunity we need. But we have to make sure we take one alive.” Trey filled his glass to the rim and paused. “We need to know where Emory’s mate is.”

Diskant took the bottle from Trey and began pouring his own drink. “If we can stop them before they leave the state, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

Trey nodded and sagged as the invisible weight on his shoulders lightened considerably. Everything was falling into place. “Once we have the information we need I can start planning a trip to Colorado.” At Diskant’s questioning look he explained, “With your help, Nathan can take care of things in my absence. I’m going to contact Gerald and ask if he’s willing to offer assistance after we arrive. He wasn’t happy when he learned he had a nest of Shepherds living so close, so I have a good idea what his answer will be.”

“So that’s the way of it then?” Kinsley mused. “No room in your plan for the rest of us.”

“There won’t be enough of them to go around.” Diskant grinned, revealing elongated canines that matched his gleaming, catlike green irises.

The sounds of heavy stomping coming down the stairs stalled the conversation. The footsteps approached, coming closer, until Emory appeared with Nathan. He was clean-shaven and his hair was slicked back. The clothing was clean—a black T-shirt and jeans—and fit him decently enough. Though his irises were still bright, he no longer appeared agitated.

Trey lifted his glass, drank the strong beverage and rose from his seat. As he placed the glass on the table he turned to his sibling.

No matter what Emory had done in the past, he was still his brother. He wouldn’t be the one delivering the bad news to his mother and father, informing them that their son had returned only to be condemned to death.

“Come on.” He moved to Emory’s side and clasped his shoulder. “You need to eat and we need to talk.”

Diskant watched as Trey, Emory and Nathan walked down the hallway and disappeared into the crowd. The bar was still crowded with members of Trey’s pack who would remain until the Shepherds were taken care of. That was the beauty of the location. There were five floors in the building: the bar, the second, third and fourth floors comprised of bedrooms and showers, and the fifth floor apartment for him or important guests they protected during times of crisis.

When he thought of the apartment, recollections of Ava weren’t far off. He was still stunned by the level of their connection. The telepathic joining was as powerful as the bloodbonding—perhaps stronger in ways. Feeling what she felt, knowing beyond a doubt that she yearned for his touch as much as he ached for hers provided a powerful rush he couldn’t deny.

“You should probably get back upstairs,” Kinsley remarked knowingly. “If I had a lass as lovely as yours waiting for me I wouldn’t waste my time down here with a bottle of Jack and the company of a friend.”

He grinned. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”

Kinsley bowed his head, studying the shot glass in his hand and nodded. “That she is.”

He stood and stepped away from the table. “Are you going to stick around for a while?”

Kinsley lifted his head to look him in the eye. “I think it best I visit a few of the prides before the morn. There is liable to be tension and we need to know if they’re planning on doing something stupid. Not that I think they would, mind you. None of them are willing to risk their tails over a death in the ranks. We’re not the loyal sort wolves are.”

“Thank you.” He extended his hand and Kinsley shook it.

“Not a problem. If you learn anything between now and then, you know how to reach me.”

Diskant turned and took long strides toward the stairs. When he reached them he climbed up three at a time. He finally reached the top floor and stopped, attempting to cool his desire before he opened the door. Images of his mate waiting for him totally naked, spread out and draped across the bed, sent a jolt through his cock.

He’d never be able to get enough of her. No matter how many times he lost himself in the heavenly cradle of her body.

He froze when he entered the bedroom and found Ava—completely dressed and perched on the corner of the bed—with a cell phone in hand. She gazed up at him with stormy indigo eyes, her expression unreadable.

After walking to her slowly, he kneeled in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and shrugged. “I have to tell you something but I don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning is often best.” He patted her chin playfully, hoping to lift her mood. Instead she averted her eyes and sighed.

“Everything is so confusing.”

“Why don’t you start by telling me who was on the phone?”

When her blonde head lifted to meet his concerned gaze, she looked torn and afraid. “I don’t want you to freak out. You have to listen to me.”

“I’m listening.”

She took a deep breath and answered, “It was Craig Newlander.”

Several volatile emotions overcame him as his protective nature awakened. He rose and moved away from her before she could see his facial features changing or notice that his canines were beginning to elongate. As it was, his fingers burned as his claws attempted to break through the skin.

He faced the wall, willing his temper to ice. “You said you weren’t involved with the Villati.”

“Diskant…” He heard her weight shift from the bed, as if she were standing to move closer.

“Don’t, Pinkie,” he cautioned in a low, steady growl. “Stay where you are.”

She didn’t listen.

He felt her arms wrap around his waist, her chest pressing into his back. “Craig approached me shortly after my parents died. I met with him a few times and accepted the information he offered but when I got a bad vibe I decided that whatever it was he wanted it wasn’t worth the risk. Then Thomas stole something I treasured and sold it to Craig to pay off a gambling debt.” Diskant’s anger receded as she continued speaking, her fingers gently stroking his chest. “I made a deal to get it back but the meeting never happened.”

“Why?”

She released him, stepped around and placed her body between him and the wall. Gazing up, she rested her hand on his chest, over his heart. The frantic tempo immediately slowed beneath her palm and the tension left his body, causing the muscles under her fingers to go soft.

“The night I was supposed to meet with his liaison was the night I met you—the night you saved me. The next morning, after I left your home…” She shook her head, as if embarrassed by the memory and her decision to leave him high and dry. “I told Craig I was done. He tried to contact me but I threw away the phone he’d given me and refused to take his calls at the club.”

He brought a hand up and placed it over hers. “What does he want?”

“I don’t know but whatever it is, it’s not good. He knows that vampires attacked me that night in the alley.” Diskant’s hackles rose at the memory and when he growled softly she soothed him by rubbing her hand over his chest. “There’s something he’s not telling me. Something important. I tried to get him to talk but he wants to arrange a meeting with you before he’ll spill.”

Diskant studied his mate’s pensive face. Meeting with the Villati would cause an unavoidable shit storm. For the most part shifters had managed to fly below the radar and keep their secrets secret. It was too dangerous to have mortals sniffing around, especially when they liked to record things to pass down through the generations. That could very well change depending on what Craig Newlander wanted.

“It’s okay.” She finally broke the awkward silence. “We don’t have to meet him.”

He brought his hands to her hips and tugged her into his arms, keeping her close. Concern for her safety overrode everything else. If the bastard knew something important concerning his mate, he had to know what it was. Ava wasn’t a shifter and could be easily harmed. Since vampires were involved it was likely he would need to be on the offensive, keeping one step ahead.

“As soon as this thing with Emory is done I’ll make all of the arrangements. I don’t want you to worry about anything. From now on I take care of you.”

“I don’t want to be any trouble.”

“Never.” He cupped her chin and held her gaze. “It’s my right and privilege to see to your needs.”

She smiled wistfully. “Privilege, huh?”

“Damn straight.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her face into his chest and sagged in his embrace. Then he sensed her exhaustion. She was hungry, she was tired and she needed a good night’s rest. The bloodbonding was in full swing now. Soon she’d notice the changes that indicated she was bonded to a shifter. Sex was just the icing on the cake when you had enhanced strength, reflexes and longevity to look forward to.

“I’m going to go downstairs to get you something to eat. Dougan keeps the kitchen stocked so I’m sure I can find you something you’ll like.”

“I’ll go with you,” she murmured into his shirt, nuzzling him affectionately. The cat in him reciprocated the amorous display, rising to the surface as he brushed his chin over the top of her head and inhaled deeply, drawing her sweet, feminine fragrance into his nose.

Shifting his arms around her midsection, he turned her in his arms and started walking to the door. They traveled down the stairs like a couple of infatuated teenagers, sneaking kisses at each floor. When they made it to the final hallway he kept her exactly as she was—her back to his chest, her head beneath his chin—and grinned at the amused expressions of the pack members as they moved aside, giddy from Ava’s giggling as she wriggled back against his ever-growing hard-on.

Glancing to the left, he noted that Trey, Emory and Nathan were seated in the booth with an empty pizza pan between them. Another pizza was placed alongside the cleared tray, the steam rising from the cheesy surface indicting the kitchen was hard at work.

They came to the large double doors behind the bar and went through. As Diskant expected, several females were busy preparing meals for the pack. Most had traveled from their nearby homes to see to the needs of their brethren, including those who were still too young to mate. The moment they saw him and Ava, all activity stopped.

The women with prepared food brought the trays forward, bowed their heads and lowered their gazes. He waited for Ava to choose what she wanted but realized she had no idea how profound the gesture was.

Bending at the waist, Diskant put his mouth to his mate’s ear. “They’re showing their respect, Ava. Now that we are mated you command the same power within the pack that I do. They won’t eat or serve anyone else until we’ve chosen our meal.” Releasing her, he lowered his arms and stepped back. “Choose what you’d like.”

It wasn’t a normal introduction and for a moment he thought she’d hesitate, which wouldn’t have been a good thing. Respect in a pack was garnered from power, control and confidence. Without those traits you went directly to the bottom of the food chain. As his mate, and a human, it was understandable that she would be confused. However, at some point she had to proclaim her place in the pack.

“Take what you want,” he ordered. It was a tone he’d never used with her before, and he hoped she’d use her talent to understand his motive. At that moment he was an Omega giving his mate a direct command.

It was difficult to mask his pride when she stepped forward with her head held high and took a plate from the female to her left and helped herself to another tray from the female to her right. It was too much food for her but that was precisely the point. Right then she’d managed to convey her importance by making one very important choice. As the mate to an Omega, it was her right to lay claim to every single morsel she desired, even if she only intended to throw it in the trash on the way out the door.

Turning to him, she extended a tray. “What would you like to drink?”

Damn if she didn’t captivate him. Even now—out of her element amidst a kitchen full of shifters—she continued to show him just how complex and intelligent she was.

“Bring a pitcher of Killian’s and some bottled water to our room.” Diskant spoke over Ava’s shoulder to Katie, the bloodbonded human female on the left who was now empty-handed, as he accepted the tray from Ava. When he returned his full attention to his mate she was smiled and stepped past him, leading the way back upstairs.

This time she guided the way through the bar. He allowed her to take the lead, staying close enough that he could grab her if he was so inclined but far enough away that her independence made a statement to the pack. Whether she knew it or not she was assuming her role in their ranks, showing them that she was capable of standing on her own. They recognized that, appreciated and respected it.

They made it through the crowd and entered the empty hall. As her ass swayed on the journey up the stairs he imagined sinking his teeth into the creamy swells one at a time. He wanted to bend her over the bed and force her to take him in the most primitive way of his kind. There was nothing sexier than fucking a woman in the ass. The trust it required was absolute, the ultimate act of submission.

His blood ran hot at the thought, cock swelling in anticipation. It would eventually happen. One more mark and the blood bond would be cemented. If she could face the beasts within him, claim them as her mates and accept their hold on her they would become tied for the duration of her life—or until the end of his. At that point she’d be just as wild and eager to try new things as he was to introduce them to her.

He closed the door after they entered the apartment and tried to staunch his need. Ava needed to eat, rest and recover from everything that had occurred in the last few days. She didn’t need him rutting on her like a fucking sex fiend. Placing the tray on the counter, he stopped short when he turned and found Ava on her knees before him.

Her large blue eyes were cloudy, her cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of red. Her tray of food was resting on the end table in the living room, left behind as she’d followed him into the kitchen.

So much for food, rest and recovery.

She unbuttoned his pants, yanked them down and wrapped her lips around his cock. He groaned and buried his fingers in her hair, tugging on the short strands, bringing her forward until the glans bumped the back of her throat. The mental connection they shared opened and he was able to feel her gratification at satisfying him like this. She loved his taste, his scent. It was a bestial tendency, something she’d never experienced before. The prominent entities within him—the cat, wolf and grizzly—also longed to reside in her. She would be the female who would sate them in ways no other ever could, completing them in a manner that would unite them as one.

Her fingers traveled along his inner thigh before she gently cupped his sac. She massaged the heavy weight with careful fingers, rolling the sensitive balls in her hand. He let his head fall back as she took control, taking more and more of his length into her mouth with each pass. The hot, wet cavern provided a dizzying suction, her lips and tongue bringing him closer to the pinnacle. When he started to pull away, she released his testicles, cupped his ass and sucked harder.

I want to swallow you whole, she whispered in his mind. I’m so hungry for you.

He came the instant he slid to the back of her mouth and she swallowed. His semen shot down her throat and she didn’t choke or gag, swallowing each wave, drinking him down until his semi-hard cock slid from her glistening lips.

Gasping for breath, he lifted and carried her into the bedroom, making sure to close the door behind them so they wouldn’t be interrupted. Once there he lowered her to the bed and slowly undressed her, taking his time, licking and lapping at every delectable curve of her body. Peeling off her bra and panties, he moved between her legs and inhaled her scent. Her cunt was shimmering, the dewy folds puffy and pink.

She arched her back and cried out as he palmed her ass, brought her to his mouth and tasted her sweetness, coating his tongue in her honey. He alternated between fucking her with his tongue and lapping at her clit, using fast, measured strokes.

She panted, writhed and ground against his face. “Diskant.”

“All mine, Ava,” he whispered as he feasted on her.

“All yours,” she murmured breathlessly.

She shattered in his arms as he focused on her clit, flicking his tongue over the distended bead that had pushed its way from the fleshy hood. Up and down, back and forth, each lap sensuous and teasing. She grasped at his head, her legs stiffening around his shoulders. Parting her cheeks, he lowered his head and gazed at the rosette he wanted to claim before he tasted her there, running his tongue over the surface of the puckered skin as she gasped and squirmed.

“Do you like that?” He pulled away and looked at her.

The red stain on her cheeks answered his unspoken question. He would be the first and only man to claim her dark passage, the only one to know the heaven that existed in ramming his cock deep inside her ass.

“One day soon,” he rotated his finger along the sensitive tissue that was still wet from his tongue, “I’m going to take you here.”

Her eyes darkened and her breath caught, her silence indicating she was more than willing to try. He released her ass and moved up her body, sliding up her sweat-slicked frame, licking at the shimmering, salty beads along the way. She was entirely open to him—arms wide, legs spread, mind unlocked—and a quick shift of his hips was all it took to be buried inside of her.

Cock to cunt, skin to skin and heart to heart.

So close that he could have sworn he could feel her very soul.

Her fingers raked the skin on his back as she worked herself against him, straining for that one, last mind-numbing climax. He rolled his hips until his cock was nudging her clit with each downward stroke, so that with each thrust he slid his length against her. The feral portions of him raged for him to take the final step, to allow them to surround Ava in their strength, their power, their essence and mark her in their scent. It would be so easy to do, bringing them wholly together.

“Yes,” she rasped against his throat, clinging to him. “God, please.”

“Soon,” he promised and increased the pace, plunging harder when he felt her quicken. Denying his urges came at a price, making him wild in his motions as he plowed into her delicate body. Each retreat was met by a harsher, less forgiving, return. He had to spend himself inside her, satiate himself and allow her to rest and recover. The third mark would be the most important one, requiring all her strength.

When she came, he immediately followed. Her pussy spasmed, clenched and vibrated around him, shrouding his cock in heat, squeezing him until he thought he’d die from the agony of it. He roared, his hoarse bellow echoing off the walls as ripples of white-hot pleasure ricocheted through his body.

As he settled over her, blanketing her small body while pulling her in the shelter of his arms, he knew that next time he would finally do what he longed to do.

Ava was his other half, his bloodbonded mate.

There was no going back.