Captured Omega

Chapter 40

Olly

Auryn parts her lips only slightly, slipping her tongue into my mouth. I’m more than aware of the world around me—Emmett and his muttering curses, Diego’s spicy scent and Spanish endearments. Gage and his deep growls.

But everything around me is hazy, except for the deep need to satisfy my alpha. My omega. My pack. A strange sound escapes my throat. It’s soft and somehow it comes deep from the gut.

It’s…

Fuck, am I whining?

Before I can process anything, I hear an echo of growls around me, the bed shifting as I get lost in Auryn’s kiss. She grabs my neck, her small fingers glazing over the throbbing vein in my neck, and she tilts my chin up to look at her. I catch the faintest glow in her gaze as she stares back at me. I can’t take my eyes off of her. My gaze dips to her lips, kiss-swollen and sweeter than any bowl of ice cream. Like cinnamon that warms the soul.

Without thinking, I grab her, sliding my hands in her hair and pulling her back with me into the bed, my body brushing up against Emmett’s. I’m vaguely aware that barely weeks ago, touching Emmett, even like this, would have thrown probably the both of us into an argument—or me into a panic—but now, it’s like knowing his body is there, knowing my pack is here in such an intimate way…

Beta feels comfortable.

Beta feels loved.

I let my hands rove over Auryn, my fingertips touching her everywhere I can.

I already came, which I didn’t expect. But it seems when it comes to Auryn, I can’t help but give my alpha what she craves; after all, she and my pack give me the things I crave, as well.

No one’s ever touched me like Auryn touches me, and I don’t think anyone will ever touch me the way she does ever again.

Since Auryn has shown up, I’ve learned what comfort truly feels like. I crave it. Her comfort. Her warmth. Her sweet, sweet cinnamon spice and peppercorn scent. The smooth feel of her skin beneath my fingertips or her hair spilling through my fingers as I grip it. Her mouth. God, I don't think there’s a spot on my body that her mouth has touched that hasn’t driven me to hunger, though I’m sure my hunger is far different than what my alphas hunger for. But no one makes me feel as if that’s a bad thing. In fact it’s the opposite. We’re all spent, including me, but no one pushes me or makes any comment as I wrap my arms around my alpha, twisting my legs between hers as I grip her hair, and the words fall out of my mouth so easily, it feels like pure instinct.

“I love you,”

I say, my voice steady, stronger than I’ve ever heard it. I don’t whisper, I don’t shy away, I don’t apologize. For once, I just do what feels right. The room is silent except for the heavy breathing of my packmates. Auryn’s eyes glisten, and the corners of her lips turn up. I swallow, taking a breath before the next words make themselves known. Because I know once I say them, I can’t take them back. But…why would I want to? Why would I want to ever take back the truth?

“I love all of you.”

I almost worry that I’ve said the wrong thing or ruined the moment because Auryn only stares at me with glassy eyes, looking like she’s about to cry. My heart catches in my throat, my entire body thrumming with anticipation and anxiety.

I’ve never told anyone that, and I’m pretty sure this is not the reaction that is supposed to happen.

Fuck.

Just as I open my mouth to apologize, I feel Auryn grab me. I half expect her to say something, half expect that when she moves slowly, she’s going to kiss me. But she does neither of those things.

What she does is so much better.

Her mouth latches onto my throat, and her lips against my skin are soft, warm, and slightly wet.

But it’s her teeth on my flesh that makes my spine straighten and my dick twitch.

The sound that escapes my throat is most certainly a whine, but this time I don’t feel self-conscious. Because it feels natural, and I don’t dislike how it sounds.

My eyes fall shut as her tongue slides over the spot where she is biting and kissing me. Emmett’s hand slides down my hip as a purr rumbles through the room.

“Same, asshole,”

Emmett says, his voice tinged with humor. Auryn’s lips pull off of my neck, and she looks down at me, her growl just as strong if not stronger than any other alpha in the room.

And all at once it’s like the sight of her ignites some long-lost part of me I didn’t know existed until I saw her. Until this very moment.

Without thinking I grab her neck, and I sink my teeth into her with a groan.

Her blood pools to the surface, faint and sweet. It’s not metallic like I would expect. It tastes…

Good. It’s not something I’d want on a regular basis–that would be weird–but I don’t hate how it tastes or feels on my tongue.

I’m vaguely aware that I’m semi-hard again, but I don’t think about it. I think it’s just a natural reaction to Auryn. To knowing that this—this instinctual bond that exists between us—is the only thing I’ve ever truly desired.

And it’s not about the instinct. It’s not about the sex. Hell, I don’t think it’s even about the science, and Auryn is definitely a scientific discovery of epic proportions.

No, I think this—this bond I have with Auryn and no one else—it’s about something so much deeper.

It’s fate. It’s a natural, primal order. It was written in her blood, and in mine.

She was meant to find me. To find us. To bring us all together.

“Santa mierda!”

I hear Gage mutter, “You said it, Diego,”

his voice faint. When I pull my mouth from Auryn’s neck, I kiss her. Harder than I think I’ve ever kissed her before, but the chemicals in my brain are all over the place right now. I’ve never felt like this. Ever. I don’t want this feeling to end. I tell her I love her. Over and over again as I kiss her, because it’s the truth, and now that I’ve said it, I don’t want to ever stop because I like how it feels. The words on my tongue, mixed with her blood.

She grabs me softly, her voice barely a whisper. “I love you, too, Olly.”

I’m faintly aware that her voice is so low I don’t think anyone else can hear her.

I blush because I really think that's on purpose. Auryn makes her presence known. She’s a little hurricane, and her impact is something that can be felt hard and for miles.

Which is why I can’t help but feel tears prickling the edge of my eyes. Because even in a sea of alphas, my alpha makes me feel like I’m special. Like there’s only us.

And my pack, surrounding me right now, makes me feel stronger than I’ve ever felt.

“Aww, he’s blushing,”

Emmett teases, and just like that the moment is over, and Auryn giggles. I curl into her, pulling her against me, nuzzling my face into her neck. I don’t want to let her go, and no one fights me for her. That itself is a huge victory, an enigma. It’s almost like I’m an equal, even though I know I’ll never be on the same level because it’s just nature’s order.

But maybe, just maybe some things don’t need explanations. Not everything needs to make sense, sometimes. Sometimes, things can just be as they are and that’s good.

This…this is good.

Auryn’s scent hits me like a balm. The sweet scent of cinnamon that makes my mouth water also warms me, and her peppercorn spice is just as warm mixed with lemongrass and sunshine.

I wrinkle my nose as I realize that the sunshine scent is…gone, though. She smells a bit different. The scent I’ve learned to love and look forward to is different. There’s a hint of lavender that wasn’t there before, but Emmett took her shopping, so maybe she bought some perfume.

All at once exhaustion hits me, and I sigh, my bones going limp. My dick seems to have settled down, and I’m no longer hard, which is good. I hadn’t planned on coming down Auryn’s throat, and though I liked the surprise—and I didn’t hate how it felt at all even though I didn’t know what to expect—but I’m not entirely sure I could go again, and I don’t know that I want to. I just want to be here, like this, wrapped up in my alpha, in my pack, sated on the feeling in my heart right now.

Auryn loves me.

My pack loves me.

What more could I possibly want?

When I wake, it’s surrounded by warmth. My body is tightly pressed against Auryn’s, but I’m acutely aware of someone’s dick poking me in the ass. I grumble as my senses try to wake up, but whoever it is seems to think I’m Auryn because they growl and thrust their dick against me, and I tense. It’s not a horrible feeling, but it’s definitely making me anxious. Then I feel a hand on my hip, sliding over my stomach, and the tart scent of cherries and smoke hits me like a freight train.

“Back to hating me now, are you?”

Emmett grumbles behind me.

Emmett’s dick is touching my ass. I relax, if only because I don’t want to offend him or hurt his feelings. I know how difficult things have been for him since he came back from the Orions’ cell.

And I know how sensitive things have been for Em on an intimate level. I’ve touched his dick already. Brought him to release even, so this shouldn’t feel so intimate. But it does. Because Emmett isn’t just grinding his dick against my bare ass cheek, he’s…holding me. Like I’m holding Auryn. Auryn, who is still purring away in her sleep as she nuzzles her face into my chest. I get the heaviest scent of lemongrass and lavender that hits me.

Is her scent…changing? Because we’re bonded?

My brain reminds me that omegas can take on the scents of their scent match alphas, but none of us smell like lavender…

Still, it’s the only thing that makes sense. Our bond is changing her.

And I guess it’s changing me, too.

I look over my shoulder at Em, and his hand squeezes my stomach almost as if he is afraid to let go of me. Sandwiched between him and Auryn, between smoke and lavender, something in me settles. Being between my alphas…it’s…

Comforting.

“I don’t hate you,”

I murmur. I don’t move, because I’m afraid if I do it’ll offset some weird balance. Emmett must pick up on my apprehension, and he sighs, sliding his hand back just a fraction to remove it, but I grab his wrist. Without thinking, I hold it in place and shift my body so I back into him only slightly. “I distinctly remember saying I love all of you.”

Emmett’s hand trembles beneath mine for a moment, and I realize he’s just as nervous as I am. This alpha—this strong, resilient, pain in the ass alpha— is nervous I will reject him and his advances. Me! A beta!

I realize this moment is a turning point. Not just for me, but…for Emmett, too.

For us.

“Yeah but—”

“No buts,”

I say, sliding my fingers between his. I squeeze his hand. “I don’t say anything I don’t mean. You know, autistic and all.”

Emmett relaxes, squeezing my hand back. I can feel his dick against my ass, hard and wet. I wish I could say I was hard too, but I’m not. Which makes me feel self-conscious.

“So you’ll always tell the truth, right?”

Emmett asks as he cuddles me. My cheeks heat, and I nod as Auryn’s lips grace my neck in her sleep, right over the spot she bit me. I feel my body relax, and a whine escapes my throat as her lavender lemon scent fills my lungs.

Emmett lets out a content chuckle.

“Yes,”

I say. On the other side of Auryn, I see Gage and Diego wrapped together. Gage’s arm brushes the edges of where my hand meets Emmett’s. Three hands rest over Auryn’s warm stomach, and I feel strange.

Warm, sated, but also…

“You can tell me if you’re uncomfortable,”

Emmett murmurs sleepily. “I just…need you to know that.”

I nod.

“I’m not,”

I whisper. “Uncomfortable, I mean. You are warm, and you smell good.”

I squeeze his hand, the words falling out of my mouth of their own accord.

“You can tell me, too,”

I say softly. “If you’re ever feeling uncomfortable or anxious or—”

I look at Auryn, at her peaceful expression.

She’s practically glowing in the morning light. She’s so beautiful, and looking at her makes my heartbeat quicken.

Emmett purrs against my back.

“I feel pretty fucking good right now.”

His dick twitches against my flesh, hard and wet. I grin, knowing that he’s well on his way to recovery. He didn’t grimace too much last night, which must mean coming is becoming less painful for him.

I don’t move, and he mutters my name.

“Huh?”

I ask, realizing I spaced out.

“Are you okay with this?”

he asks, and I realize all at once what he’s actually asking.

“Um…as long as you don’t put your dick in my ass, I think I’m okay.”

Emmett chuckles softly as he thrusts his dick against my cheek. “Can I come on your ass?”

I think about the question for a moment before I answer. “I suppose.”

His hand tightens its grip as he thrusts against me, smearing his precum along my ass cheek. His thrusts quicken as he growls.

My dick is still soft, and I tense as his hand slides from mine and grabs my cock. Anxiety blankets me because I know he knows I’m not aroused. Will that set him off? Will he think there’s something wrong with him if—

“This okay?” he asks.

I nod. “I think so, but…um, I can’t—”

“I can stop,”

he says, but I hear the heat in his voice. He’s close enough already; I don’t want to hurt him if I stop him. Mentally or physically.

I shake my head. I close my eyes, let out a sigh and push back against his thrust, my body tightening. A low whine leaves my throat because I want to satisfy him because he’s my packmate. Because I love him.

But my dick isn’t like his or Gage’s or Diego’s. I can’t fuck at the drop of a dime, and until Auryn came into my life, I was perfectly content to never fuck anyone. Hell, I barely enjoyed fucking my own hand.

Auryn stirs, and I freeze. Emmett does too. Her eyes blink as she takes in the sight of us, and for a minute I think everything that happened is about to fall apart. But then she leans up and kisses me while one hand joins Emmett’s around my dick.

Together, they wordlessly stroke me until Emmett growls out that he’s coming. My dick barely twitches as a warm wetness explodes on my flesh.

“Such a good boy,”

Auryn whispers as she kisses me. I feel the bed shift, and then a moment later, I feel a tongue—Emmett’s tongue—on my flesh, and I nearly jump off the bed.

“Just cleaning you up,”

Emmett says, his voice tinged in humor and love.

Love.

I settle a bit as Auryn kisses me with praise.

“We’re going to make breakfast. You three can, uh, join us when you’re done.”

Diego winks, and he and Gage get up and start getting dressed.

I grin as I watch them, and though I should feel weird given everything that’s happened, I don’t. No one looks at me oddly, no one makes me feel like what just happened was anything out of the ordinary.

“Auryn, honey, you should get up eventually.”

I notice the scent of lavender is thick, and Gage’s pupils dilate, if only for a second. “Showers. Breakfast in twenty minutes,”

he says, and Auryn grunts.

“Fine.”

Of course, our combined shower starts off fine, but I soon realize as Emmett and Auryn kiss one another that we’re going to be late to breakfast. I sigh, wrapping up my shower. Auryn whines, not wanting me to go, and I’m torn.

“Stay,”

Emmett growls. “Unless of course, you’re uncomfortable.”

I shake my head. “I’m okay if you are.”

Auryn purrs in contentment, kissing me once again until lavender fills my lungs, sandwiched between Em and me. I kiss her, getting lost in the feel of her lips, of her fingers on my jaw. I lose sight of everything except the moans she feeds me as Emmett takes her. My dick is hard, and I groan. Auryn reaches for my dick, but I back away only slightly. I’ll gladly give her what she wants, but I’d be lying if I said I wanted to come right now.

“Do you want to?”

Emmett asks. His gaze meets mine over Auryn’s shoulders.

“Huh?”

“Do you want to come, too?”

I shake my head. “No, but if my alpha wants me to—”

Auryn sets her fingers on my jaw as the water crashes around us, and something in the air shifts. Lemongrass and lavender give way to cinnamon and peppercorn, and my heart beats a little faster as she looks up at me.

I worry my brief refusal will break everything. But Auryn settles her hand on my hip instead and kisses me.

“No means no. I will never take something from you that you don’t want to give, Olly.”

I relax almost instantly at her words because the way she says them is so full of love it’s hard to ignore. It makes me feel warm. Comfortable. “You give me so much; let me give you what you need.”

And then she kisses me. Deeply. Her fingertips graze my skin, and she whispers that she loves me. I kiss her back before leaving her and Emmett alone to come together, and it doesn’t feel weird.

When I walk into the kitchen, Diego and Gage are side by side, laughing, cooking, both shirtless in their sweats. They turn to see me, Gage giving me a knowing look. I head straight for the coffee pot.

“Eggs and chorizo okay, buddy?”

Gage asks. “Diego and I figured some protein was what we all needed after last night’s, er, marathon.”

“Sure. Sounds great,”

I say, pouring a cup of black coffee and heading for the table.

Breakfast isn’t awkward despite the fact I can still smell that heavy lavender scent and tart cherry mingling with smoke and sunshine.

But once we’ve finished our breakfast, the tension is back. Today is the day.

Tonight, we will descend on the Orion pack house and rescue those omegas, and we'll burn that bloody compound to the ground. With Sneed. With his piece of shit alphas who hurt my pack.

The air is thick with unsaid things, and I decide to break the tension the only way I know how.

“Auryn, can you come with me to the lab for a bit? I’d like to—”

“Absolutely,”

she says, and I can hear the worry in her voice. No one fights her as she slides out of Emmett’s lap and nearly sprints over to me. I don’t feel on display like I used to in front of them anymore. If anything, I feel like I’m one of them. An equal. Even as a beta.

For the first time ever, I feel powerful.

I feel like I can hold my own against a pack of alphas, and it has nothing to do with strength or agility, and everything to do with the alpha beside me.

Auryn slides her hand in mine and all but drags me out of the kitchen, power walking us down to my lab.

I grab the last clean lab coat off the hook. “Are you feeling all right?”

She sticks to my side like glue, and that lavender scent is so thick I think I might actually choke. It seems to be getting stronger.

“Define all right,”

she says as I set up my station with my equipment. I’ve done this enough times with Auryn that it’s almost become second nature. She finds her seat, her legs dangling a bit because of her height on the chair. I organize and get everything together mindlessly.

“I have not heard you whine or whimper in days,”

I say. “Are you feeling any other omega instincts?”

“You mean like the nesting instinct or the overpowering drive to fuck you and my alphas?”

I look at her with a twisted grin, unable to help the blush in my cheeks.

“Because if that’s what you’re asking, I swear I’ve never felt it this bad before. Even in heat.”

“Make a fist for me,”

I order her. My voice comes out more commanding than it usually does, but Auryn doesn’t balk at it. She purrs, her pupils dilating.

She just had breakfast, but she looks at me like she’s starving, that lavender sunshine scent heavy between us. She makes her fist, and I tie the tourniquet around her arm.

“Yes, sir,”

she teases me, and I can’t help but smile because we both know who’s actually in charge here.

Still, the way Auryn lets me feel like I am in charge, like I am an alpha in a sea of them, is not unnoticed.

“Just a pinch,”

I tell her as she bites her lip.

That heavy lavender hits me again.

“You smell different,”

I say as I slide the needle in her arm.

She wrinkles her nose. “I mean, I showered after—”

“No, your natural scent. Before it was a blend of lemongrass and cinnamon most days, thanks to your hybrid blood, but now—”

I watch as the dark crimson blood fills the tube. Her blood is flowing fast today, and I have to be quick changing out the tubes. “Now you smell like lavender. The rest is still there, but the lavender is…overpowering.”

“My scent has changed?”

she asks warily.

I nod. “It can happen when bonds are formed between an omega and an alpha. Especially if an omega is in heat. Sometimes during breeding they’ll take on the alpha’s scent. Among…”

My blood chills as years of research hits me with one fact I did not consider.

“Other things,”

I say as the thought lands.

Omegas can change scents when they are pregnant.

I bite my tongue as I look at her, not wanting to get ahead of myself. Auryn is a hybrid so, realistically, this could be a hybrid thing. It could just be a reaction a hybrid has to bonding a pack.

She’s been here for a few weeks, tops.

But she came to us in heat.

And we all bred her at some point during that heat, and in the days after her heat cycle ended.

I know this. But alpha females also have a heat cycle, and there’s no information about whether or not hybrids experience one heat cycle, both, or some combination of the two.

Alpha females have higher sex drives and tend to seek out sex more during their heat than a typical omega to increase their chances of successful conception, but omegas…

An omega is most fertile during heat and in the week after it ends.

The alphas I could understand. Driven by their instinct to rut and breed, it makes sense they’d be clamoring to knot Auryn because it’s their primal instinct. Their alpha reacts to her omega on a cellular, basic level.

But me?

I have no excuse. I’m not an alpha with a primal need.

I’m a beta. I can’t even knot. I’ve never even had sex before I met Auryn, for God’s sakes!

I steel my resolve because I don’t want to alarm her, but also I’m feeling slightly alarmed because as I replay the last few weeks, hell the last few days in my brain, I realize the probability of Auryn being pregnant is high.

Beta is scared.

For Auryn and for himself.

I swap out one more tube of blood, fighting to keep my hands still. Auryn stares at me with warm, misty eyes.

She looks at me like she wants to devour me, and she perfumes for me. Heavily. My dick twitches, responding to this new scent with renewed interest.

I like how she smells right now, how she’s looking at me.

Fuck, now I’m hard, and now is really not the time.

I work on finishing up, placing the cotton ball on her arm. I tell her to hold it, my voice betraying no hint of how anxious I actually am. I can’t freak out yet. I need evidence. I need facts. I need science right now. Once I know that I’m not spiraling, and I have the results in front of me, I’ll know for sure.

I’ve tested her for pregnancy with every blood test, and the tests always come back negative. She’s a hybrid. It’s very possible her alpha DNA will present stronger than the omega genes, and she may have difficulty conceiving.

She might not be able to conceive at all. There’s no way to know because there’s no record of anything like this—a hybrid alpha omega—let alone a hybrid bonding and mating with multiple alphas.

And a beta.

Fuck.

“Are you okay?”

she asks as she hops down from the chair once I’ve bandaged her.

I run a hand through my hair, working hard to keep myself even. “Of course,”

I lie. I hate lying to her, but I know I can’t reveal my concerns until I have something to be legitimately concerned about.

Am I worried my alpha is pregnant? Maybe.

Am I worried I got my alpha pregnant? That question makes my chest tighten, and the fact I can’t say no makes my breath come in faster.

Do I want to get Auryn pregnant?

Auryn takes a step closer, the deepest purr emanating from her chest as the lavender perfume fills the room. I’m faintly aware my dick is wet with precum, and I hate that I can’t control the way my body is responding right now.

“Mm-hmm,”

she murmurs with a grin. She pulls me against her, which isn’t much considering I’ve got a good seven inches on her, but the feel of her rumbling chest against me settles everything.

“Better?”

she asks, her voice low and husky.

Her blood samples sit on the counter calling me. I glance at them. Knowing just what lies in her blood, what could lie in that blood, makes me feel anxious.

“Uh huh,”

I say, forcing a smile. I can’t let her see me crumble like this. Not until I know for sure there’s something to crumble about. “I just…have a lot of work to do,”

I tell her.

She regards me with a sly grin, and for a moment I think she’s going to press me but she doesn’t. Instead, she steps away and gives me the brightest smile.

“I’m going to head to the gym,”

she says. “Get some shooting in before I blow Sneed’s fucking head off tonight.”

I nod. “Good idea.”

She smiles as she turns and leaves me to my own devices, and only once she leaves do I let out a breath.

“Fuck,”

I mutter aloud to myself as I hurry up and get the blood samples separated. I toss two into the spinner, and ready the third tube just as I have these last few weeks.

My heart is in my throat as I prepare the sample and wait.

The waiting feels like it takes forever, and I guess it sort of does, because as I meddle about checking the first two tubes, I realize it’s damn near four o’clock when Gage raps on my office door.

But I can’t move from where I sit, pouring into the microscope, my blood frozen. I can’t tear my eyes away from her blood, the final printout beside me, calling my name to look at it once more.

I’ve looked at it one hundred times since it came out of the printer, expecting to see something other than what is written, clear as day.

Science doesn’t lie.

My heart is heavy, my body tense, my breath short. I think on some deep, cellular level I knew the truth.

There was still that slim chance that I could have been wrong.

But I wasn’t wrong.

“Hey,”

he says carefully. I look up from my microscope. “You okay? You’ve been locked in here all day.”

I shake my head, the words stuck in my throat.

Auryn is pregnant.

I want to say them. I need to tell her, to tell him, to—

“Worried about the mission?”

Gage presses, and my breathing comes in fast because suddenly as I look at my alpha, I feel like I can breathe. Like no matter what, he’ll make sure everything is okay. He’ll make sure Auryn is okay.

He’ll make sure I’m okay.

And all at once the words fall out of my mouth.

“Auryn is pregnant.”