Saving His Omega (The Green Mountain Pack #1)

Chapter One

Tripp clutched at the edge of the truck’s seat in an effort to keep from being jarred too much as his brother navigated the bumpy dirt road. His body already ached from their long journey and no amount of rest during the down times seemed to help beyond a few more hours of travel. The pup growing inside him had become so big that it stretched every muscle he had. And the strain of the now-rough ride had it twisting with agitation, which in turn disturbed his wolf. No one was happy with the situation, including his brother.

Tripp clutched his belly with one hand as he turned to Blake. “How much longer, do you think?”

Blake grimaced, his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightly while he kept his gaze on the path in front of them. “I’m sorry. I don’t know.” He spared Tripp a glance. “Can you hold on for a while longer? If I don’t find signs of the Green Mountain Pack in a few more minutes, I’ll pull over and you can rest.”

“I’m fine. No need to stop on my account.” He really didn’t want to add to his brother’s troubles. It was bad enough that they’d had to flee their pack because of Tripp. Blake had done an amazing job keeping them safe in the human world over the winter. They were hopefully on the last leg of the journey.

Blake’s mouth tightened. “You don’t have to do that. Omegas don’t have to be brave.”

“Neither do sigmas,” Tripp shot back, his discomfort making him irritable. His brother had been nothing but fearless and loyal. What he’d done to protect Tripp had been far outside anything a sigma was supposed to do. “Sorry. I do understand how much you’ve done for me. If we can find dominants to take care of us both, I want to get there as soon as possible.”

“Gods, that pup is nearly as big as you are.” Blake flexed his fingers and leaned forward to peer through the windshield. “We’ve got to get you somewhere safe before you whelp.”

Tripp winced as the truck navigated another rut, jostling him. “Do you think the Green Mountain alpha will take us in?”

“I’m sure of it. Who wouldn’t want a breeding omega? The forums said this was a modern pack, too. Alpha Elijah has a good reputation.”

Tripp didn’t understand what his brother was saying. Not really. Blake had explained to him about computers and the internet and how shifters had their own places where they talked about their packs and issues important to wolf shifters in general. He wasn’t sure he truly got it all, but Blake did. He’d been the one working with humans to buy them what they needed as they made their way north. He’d gone to what was called a library and looked to see if there was any place they could seek refuge. There had been a few possibilities—the Rogues and the Green Mountains being the two closest acceptable packs to where they were. Blake had chosen Green Mountain because while the Rogue Pack’s alpha was known for sheltering the unwanted of their kind, he still seemed too primitive to trust with their situation. Alpha Elijah was hopefully modern enough in his thinking to overlook his and Blake’s circumstances.

Blake slowed the truck to a stop and tapped his fingers. “I’m sure this is the right road. Nothing else made sense according to the directions I found. The compound is just really far back from the main street, that’s all. We only need to be patient. Let’s get out and stretch our legs.”

Relieved for the rest despite what he’d said, Tripp pulled his door’s handle.

“Stop!”

He immediately complied with his brother’s orders. Although they were both servients, Blake’s sigma status made him better equipped to make decisions. And he was older, so he had more experience in…everything. In comparison, Tripp didn’t feel he was any more competent than the pup he carried.

Tripp looked around to see what the danger was. A flash in the tree line caught his attention. Panic shot through him before being replaced by relief. The gamma he’d spotted had to be from the Green Mountain Pack. There was no way that those chasing them had gotten ahead and anticipated their direction.

Blake turned off the truck. “Stay here.”

Tripp rubbed his belly to soothe himself and his pup as his brother stepped out of the truck with his hands up and out, then he raised his chin to bare his throat. Tripp’s breath caught. His brother was so vulnerable now. He could only hope these guards to the Green Mountain packlands wouldn’t attack first and ask questions later. He wasn’t worried about himself. No pack would likely harm a breeding omega. But a sigma...

“Please,” Blake called out. “We need help.”

Two gammas bounded down toward the truck on either side. Blake froze. All Tripp could do now was watch and pray that he hadn’t caused his brother’s death.

****

“Nearly a hundred percent of our vegetables have survived planting. We should have a good crop and the orchards are promising a greater yield than last year.” Graham couldn’t help grinning at his alpha. “Maybe we should open them up for apple picking. The humans seem to really love that kind of labor as a fun activity for the whole family.”

There was a collective groan around the council table. Everyone treated it as the lame joke it was, but underlying that response was the knowledge they were heading toward a point where their two species really would mix. Better for that to happen on their lands and under their control.

Elijah drained his cup of coffee. “That’s all good news. Thanks, Graham.” He looked around the room. “Anything else to report?”

Before anyone could answer, a young gamma came bursting into the room, almost panting like an eager pup. “Sorry to interrupt, Alpha, but we need you out front.”

Everyone joined the alpha in jumping to their feet.

“What’s the danger, Draco?” Elijah barked out the question, his normally laid back demeaner changing in an instant to his alpha power mode. That side had been coming out more often now that his mate had whelped their first pup.

“There isn’t any, sir. It’s just…well, we have a truck approaching with a sigma and a breeding omega inside.”

“What kind of dominant is with them?” Graham asked before Elijah could. As the alpha’s top beta, he had to be prepared to deal with any problem.

The gamma’s expression turned almost gleeful. “That’s the thing, sir. They’re alone.”

Graham literally shook his head at that unlikely answer. He didn’t say anything, though, as he and everyone else followed Elijah out of the room.

Elijah raced through the longhouse to the front door, his long, alpha legs chewing up more ground than any of his council members. Graham hurried to keep abreast of him. As they walked out, an unfamiliar truck, old and looking as if it were being kept going with bailing wire and chewing gum, pulled into the parking lot. Any sigmas working outside the building had fled the area, understanding that unless the alpha gave the all-clear, they had to assume that danger had arrived at their doorstep. It was hard to get a good look at who was inside the vehicle. All he could tell was that there were two and their size alone told him they were, indeed, servients.

A sigma climbed out of the driver’s side of the truck, confirming half of what Draco had said. This guy was a young shifter, his clothing not much more than tatters, his longish blond hair tucked behind his ears in messy tangles. He approached Elijah with trepidation, gaze down, steps slow, yet he didn’t falter. A few feet away from the alpha, he dropped to his knees and tilted his head to expose his neck. A tremor ran through him, a clear sign of his fear that Elijah would accept the invitation and rip out his throat.

“Who are you and why have you come to my packlands?” Elijah’s tone was stern but not menacing.

The sigma swallowed hard before lowering his chin and answering. “My name is Blake, sir. I’m from a…a pack south of here. I seek sanctuary for my brother. And myself,” he added in a lower voice. “If you please.”

Elijah stared at the sigma for a few seconds before flicking his gaze at the truck. “Your brother is an omega.” It was more a confirmation than a question. Draco wouldn’t have made a mistake about what he’d seen.

“Yes, sir.”

“And breeding.”

“Yes, sir.” The sigma’s voice trembled.

“Where is his mate?”

Yeah, that was the million-dollar question, as the humans might say. Graham was keen to know the answer himself. Even as he waited for it, he couldn’t help staring at the truck, trying to get a clear look at the omega.

“Dead, sir. Long dead.”

The dominants around them, who had remained silent so far, went even quieter than they had been. A widowed omega running around with a sigma made no sense. Whatever had happened to the omega’s mate, his alpha would have picked out a new one for him quickly. Any alpha would to hold onto the omega and the pup. As modern as their own pack was, no one would have ever dreamed of a situation like this. It was insane on the face of it.

Elijha took a step forward. “Stand up.”

The sigma—Blake—did as commanded. His fear was a palpable thing.

“Look at me.”

Slowly, the sigma complied again, but he blinked hard at the effort to stare Elijah in the eye.

“What the fuck is a sigma doing running around with a breeding and mateless omega?” The alpha’s voice was calm because the guy never used his status to frighten servients. But he couldn’t keep his shock and incredulity from his tone.

To his credit, Blake didn’t step away or drop to his knees again. Instead, he straightened and did his best to look directly at Elijah. “He’s my brother, sir. I killed his mate because he was brutalizing him. I knew my life was forfeited because of it, but if we’d stayed, our alpha would have given my brother to someone equally cruel. I couldn’t allow that.” He took a deep breath. “I understand if you won’t give me sanctuary, but please take my brother in. It’s nearly time for him to whelp.”

Elijah muttered some very creative curses before turning to Graham. “Go get the boy.”

Graham didn’t hesitate to comply. He’d run into a circle of fire if his alpha told him to. Fetching the omega from the truck was easy. He slowed his pace as he approached the truck so he wouldn’t frighten the poor boy. When he opened the door, he caught a glimpse of pale beauty, then nearly doubled over and clutched the truck’s frame. There was suddenly no more air in his lungs and it felt as if he’d been kicked in both his head and his balls at the same time.

Graham straightened on a wheeze and held out his hand. “Come,” was all he managed to say.

There was a brief hesitation before a small hand clasped his. Warm. Smooth. Soft . There was nothing more coherent going through his head until his brain kicked into gear, reminding him the boy needed help getting down from the high cab. He wrapped his free hand around the omega’s waist as much as the swollen belly would permit and set the omega on the ground. It was only then that he allowed himself to take a better look. The omega was just as breathtaking as he’d been with the first glance, small, slender and dressed with nicer clothes than his brother. The omega’s hair was also long and blond, but it was braided back in a neat tail. The boy stared at the ground. His trembling reverberated through the hand Graham still held.

“You are safe,” he said softly, desperate to ease the omega’s fear.

Graham’s wolf, meanwhile, was going batshit crazy beneath his skin. All kinds of possessive feelings coursed through him. He wanted to shift into his muzzle to better inhale the boy’s scent and confirm what his human nose already knew—this omega had no living mate. Which meant he was available for him to… No. Not going there. It was hard to ignore those base wolf’s urges and reengage his beta brain into what had to be done.

“Come on. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He tugged gently on the boy’s hand and walked him over to where Elijah and the others remained.

Every pair of eyes was on them. Graham kept his concentration on the boy, keeping his strides short and slow to match the omega’s steps. Not only was the kid short, as his kind tended to be, but the enormous belly containing the pup obviously made walking harder. This omega was ready to pop.

“That’s it. Almost there. What’s your name?” Graham nearly smacked his forehead. It really wasn’t his place to ask any questions.

“Tripp, sir.”

Graham couldn’t keep the smile back. “That’s a nice name for an omega.”

Because they’d reached their destination, there was no chance for Tripp to respond, although it was unlikely he’d speak at all without permission. No one had to describe what this omega’s life had been like. He was obviously trained to keep quiet and obedient. And in a way that had to involve severe punishment for failure. No servient in the Green Mountain Pack showed the same level of fright and subservience that both Blake and Tripp were demonstrating because Eiljah didn’t roll that way. He was tough, but fair, and his punishments only made one think hard about what they’d done. There were no beatings or withholding of food or any of the other misery some alphas employed. The thought of someone hurting Tripp caused a rage to rise within him. And his wolf was howling with the demand to come out and do…something. Someone somewhere deserved a taste of their own medicine.

“Graham!”

He blinked to clear the murderous fury and realized his alpha had been talking to him. So consumed with his urge for revenge, he’d missed an entire conversation between Elijah and Tripp, apparently.

“Sorry, Alpha.”

As usual, Elijah was more annoyed than angry. “Put aside whatever maelstrom is going on inside you and take Tripp to Cora. I want to make sure he and his pup are okay and get a sense of when we can expect him to whelp.”

“Yes, sir.” His wolf pranced with delight over the assignment. He still held Tripp’s hand, too. It seemed right to do so and as the alpha hadn’t ordered him to let go, he kept himself tethered to the boy. “Come with me.”

The omega didn’t move his feet immediately. Instead, he stared at his brother.

“Go,” Blake ordered in a whisper. “Be good.”

At that, Tripp let himself be led away.