Chapter 4
Zayd
“Are we almost there?” Layla asks, her voice full of sadness as she follows me to our room.
Her scent is intoxicating. If Strykr had not sent all of the unmated alphas to the training comb after so many of them tried breaking into the med comb when Layla’s heat overwhelmed her, there would be a trail of dead alphas along this corridor, fighting to the death to claim her.
But my Layla is not to be claimed.
Not by me or any alpha.
I swore to her and to her husband. I will keep my word no matter how hard my instincts conspire to break that promise.
“We are here.” I punch the code into the panel. The door slides open. “If my room is not to your liking, you are welcome to alter it. You will need to nest. Please. Tell me what you need to make yourself comfortable. I am here to tend to your every need, omega.”
Layla’s body shudders as she begins to sob. “I need my husband.”
I kneel at her feet, bringing our faces level. “I am sorry, Layla. If I could heal him faster, I would.”
Layla wipes her tears away with her tiny fingers. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“I would never lie to you, Layla. Omegas are sacred. Whether we are to be mated or not, I will honor you as though we are.”
“I appreciate that, Zayd.” Layla swallows heavily like she has a rock in her throat.
“Your heat is coming.”
“I’m scared, Zayd. I don’t want to cheat on my husband, but I don’t want to feel that pain again.”
“Do not think of me as a mate. I am but a salve to ease your pain. A tool for you to use as you need.” This arrangement is not what I want with my omega, but Strykr was right. Layla is not my omega. “I am here.” I strip my clothing and lie naked on my bed. “I will do as you ask.”
My nostrils flare, and my cock hardens as Layla’s slick begins to flow like a river, readying her for my knot.
The longer she waits, the more the pain shows on her face. Her brow furrows, and her cheeks bloom, blood red.
There is a war inside of me between the part that made a promise to her and her husband, and the part that wants to drag her onto my lap and spear her with my cock to take away her pain as a good alpha should.
“I need it,” Layla says, her eyes flitting from my lap to my eyes and back again.
“I know.” I hold my hand out, inviting her to my bed. “Sutton knows.”
Layla nods and approaches me, taking small steps.
“This will not work with clothes on, Layla.”
She pauses.
With her hands on the button of her jeans, she utters softly, “Close your eyes.”
I do as she asks. From the bottom of my heart, I will do whatever she asks of me.
With my eyes closed, my acutely tuned hearing allows me to imagine what Layla does.
The buzz of a zipper, followed by the rustle of thick fabric, sliding down her legs, tells me she now stands naked next to my bed.
The sweetness of her slick pouring from her center fills the room, bringing my cock to full attention.
And I wait.
Even when she groans in pain, I stay put.
This has to be her decision. I must wait for her to make it. No matter how much it pains me to know how easily I can ease her suffering.
But it is not so easy for Layla. Even with Sutton’s permission, their relationship will never be the same after this.
“If there was another way, I would show it to you,” I say in an effort to ease her mind, if not her body.
Layla sniffles and gulps air, sobbing.
Then, to my surprise and relief, her feet shuffle across the floor.
The sharp points of my claws threaten to punch holes in the mattress when it dips ever so slightly next to my hip as Layla crawls onto the bed.
It takes every ounce of resolve I possess to keep my eyes closed and my hands at my sides when her warm, wet center slides down the length of my cock, and I have to fight the urge to thrust into her when she moans and rolls her hips.
The only thing I cannot control is the purr that rolls through me and then her when it vibrates my cock inside of her.
An omega in heat can be just as savage as the alpha determined to claim her.
Because this is Layla’s first heat, I am fully prepared for the rough clawing of her nails on my skin as she rides me harder and faster until her heat is fully satisfied by my release and swollen knot stretching her to her limit.
However, as she slides her soaking sex up and down my length, the only thing I feel are the drips of tears and tight fists pressed against my stomach.
All I want to do is look Layla in the eyes and tell her how sorry I am. The act of taming an omega’s heat should be a joyous one. It means life and love and commitment.
But it means none of that for Layla and me.
She does not love me. She does not want to have my child or commit to the bond an alpha and omega are meant to share.
Unable to fight the frustration over our situation, a growl rolls in my chest. The sound intensifies the vibration in my shaft, making Layla contract around me in a delicious rhythm that draws unrelenting pleasure from my loins.
Layla sighs as my knot stretches her channel, locking us together.
With her hands flat, Layla’s weight presses heavily on my stomach. “How long is this supposed to last?”
“Not too long.”
Her arms shake, hands vibrating on my stomach, struggling to hold her body upright.
I squeeze my eyes tightly shut, wanting so desperately to pull her against my chest. Hold her. Comfort her.
But I made a promise. I am here for her. In whatever way she needs. If she needs me to keep my eyes closed and my hands to myself, that is what I will do. I will do whatever and only what she tells me to do.
As soon as my knot begins to retract, Layla pulls herself free.
“You can open your eyes now. I’m covered.”
My heart skips finding her standing next to the bed, wrapped in a sheet. A single bare leg peeking through the slit.
“May I use your bathroom?” she asks.
“Of course.” I gesture to the door at the back of the room.
Layla walks around the foot of the bed and disappears behind that door, taking my heart with her.