Chapter 7 Grey
GREY
A Few Seconds Earlier
Ashlyn’s confessions were so unexpected, that I fucking forget how to breathe.
She’s a virgin.
Because she knew her fate.
She knew I was her fate and didn’t let anyone touch her.
What am I supposed to do with that knowledge?
My beast is roaring with victory inside me, demanding I charge forward and take what’s mine.
Fuck.
The way she looked at my knot when I shadowed back in here… It was like she wanted to go to her knees and acquaint herself personally with my cock.
Only now I want to kneel for her. Pleasure her. Thank her.
Because she waited for me…
Every possessive instinct I harbor is both appeased and inflamed by that realization.
I watch as she picks up the bucket and sets it by the sink, her movements stiffer than they should be.
But I don’t even care what she’s trying to do or what she said about cleaning the fish.
All I want to do is devour her.
I don’t walk into the kitchen, I shadow there, grab her hand before it can touch the contents of the bucket, and spin her around.
Her blue eyes blow wide, confusion crossing her features.
I don’t give her a chance to comment or question me. I simply do what I’ve wanted to do since the moment we first met.
I kiss her.
And I don’t kiss her nicely, either.
I kiss her with a passion that’s been brewing since the second I learned of her existence.
She thought I needed more time to process this.
Fuck, she couldn’t be more wrong.
I processed and accepted it the second I locked eyes with her photograph.
Some Alphas fight their fates. I have no desire in wasting time. And I show her that with my tongue. Let her taste me. Truly know me. Feel my interest. My desire.
She’s soft. Beautiful. Intelligent. Altruistic.
I would be insane not to want this. Not to want her.
Releasing her hand, I reach up to palm her nape and pull her closer. All she’s wearing is one of my T-shirts, the fabric hanging around her like an oversized dress.
I know there’s nothing on beneath it, a fact that has my dick throbbing in response.
I’m hard.
Pretty sure I’ve been hard since she stared boldly at my knot.
“Fuck, Ashlyn,” I breathe against her mouth, my beast raging inside with intrinsic need. Controlling him will be impossible soon.
And I… I’m not sure what will happen when I let him go.
That’s the feral part of me that I fear. The one that’s far too like my father.
Thinking of him reminds me of her note, the post script she wrote about how I’m not like him.
She couldn’t be more wrong.
There’s a viciousness inside me that longs to be set free.
That Z-Clan compulsion to destroy.
I don’t want her to ever meet that feral part of my nature.
And I can’t trust my beast not to introduce her to it.
Not yet, anyway.
Maybe not ever.
Though, she said my beast wasn’t the one she feared. What did she mean by that?
It’s a question I lose track of as her hands meet my abdomen, her palms burning against my skin as she slowly caresses my torso. Exploring. Learning. Stroking.
A little moan of pleasure escapes her, causing me to reach down and grab her hips. I need her even closer, but this height difference between us is making that difficult.
I lift her into the air and her legs automatically wrap around my waist, her arms going to my shoulders.
And suddenly it’s like we were always meant to be this way—her body cradled against mine as I carry her to the bedroom.
This is moving fast.
But I don’t fucking care.
This female was meant to be mine. And she waited for me, I marvel again. Fuckkkk, she waited…
What I don’t tell her is that I waited, too.
I’ve been with a handful of women, but never an Omega. I saved my knot for my intended. I worried I may never find her, that perhaps my V-Clan genetics altered my destiny, but still… I held back and never embraced any other opportunity.
So knowing that Ashlyn did the same…
I lay her out on the bed and crawl over her, my lips seeking hers once more.
Perfection.
I pin her to the mattress and ravage her with my tongue.
Mine.
My cock throbs as I settle between her thighs.
Omega mate…
I’ve never felt so off balance, yet stable, in my entire existence.
She feels incredible beneath me, so soft and warm. I palm her cheek, needing to keep her lips against mine as I explore her with my opposite hand.
Gently at first.
Testing her boundaries.
Identifying any limits that might exist.
Tracing her arm, noting the goose bumps pebbling against her skin.
Stroking her shoulder and then down her side, my thumb brushing her plump breast in the process.
Never once does she stiffen. If anything she just goes more placid against me, like she’s melting into my touch.
And maybe she is.
“Did you foresee this?” I wonder out loud, my voice a whisper against her mouth. “Do you know what comes next?”
She shakes her head, causing her nose to bump mine. “N-no, “she stammers, her big blue eyes looking up at me. “I’ve never… you’ve never… in my dreams, I mean.”
I frown. “I’ve never what?”
“Kissed me,” she says, sounding far more shy than the last few days.
I pull back a little. “I never kissed you in your visions?”
She shakes her head again. “No.”
“Did I knot you?”
Her pupils dilate. “No…”
This doesn’t make any sense. I go to my elbows on either side of her head, needing to understand. “We’re fated.” Not a question, but a statement.
“Yes.”
“You know we’re fated.”
“Of course.”
“And never once have you dreamt of me kissing you?” I demand.
“Not once.” Her eyes go to my mouth. “But I’ve thought about it before.”
I arch a brow. “Not as a vision, just a… fantasy?”
Her cheeks pinken. “Yes.”
Hmm. I study her features, liking the way the pink starts to turn redder with each passing beat. “What did you fantasize about?”
Her eyes widen. “That’s private.”
“Says the female who was openly ogling my knot back in the kitchen,” I drawl. “Tell me what you want me to do to you, Ash. If you share, I might reward you by making the fantasy come true.”
This will help me know how far to take this.
And it gives me better control over my beast.
He’s quiet inside, waiting for her response.
She says nothing for so long, that I think she’s going to ignore my request. Then finally her light-blonde eyelashes flutter and she looks up at me again. “Can I show you instead?”
“You can do whatever you want to me,” I tell her honestly.
A wicked little glint enters her gaze. “I’m not sure you should give me that power.”
“Do your worst, Omega,” I dare her, then roll off of her to lay on my back and tuck my hands behind my head.
Her expression shifts into one of wonder, almost as though she can’t believe I’m letting her lead. Then she gingerly crawls over me to straddle my hips. There’s no mistaking my intrigue, my cock pushing against the sweats to settle right against her pussy as she situates herself on top of me.
The little flare in her nostrils tells me she noticed.
And the way she moves a bit against my shaft suggests she likes it, too.
The oversized shirt hides her curves, but I see the subtle hint of her nipples protruding against the fabric. She’s interested.
Which is also evidenced by the dampness I feel seeping through my pants.
She’s aroused.
Slick, I think, wanting to push up into her. Gods, I want to feel that against my cock.
No, I want to taste it on my tongue.
I’ve never had the pleasure. Never experienced an Omega’s tight cunt. Always waiting for my intended—for this.
Yet all Ashlyn has done so far is straddle me.
She’s studying my torso, her hands at her sides.
“You can touch me,” I say, inviting her to play. “In fact—”
My wrist begins to buzz and I nearly jump out of the bed, the reminder of the metal against my skin instantly killing my mood.
“Fuck.”
It takes me a moment to remember how to breathe, the vibrations reminding me of another time… of a collar choking me whenever I tried to shadow…
Ashlyn strokes my arm, drawing my attention back to her. She’s frowning, but not at me—at my watch.
Because a screen has appeared with Cael’s name scrolling across it.
He’s calling me.
Which isn’t like him at all.
Sighing, I grab Ashlyn by the hips and pull her off of me. I can’t talk to him while she’s straddling my cock, especially with her slick permeating the air. “I’ll be back after I talk to him,” I tell her.
A strange little expression crosses her face, one I can’t quite read. “Yeah, okay. I understand.” Something about that reply strikes me as off, but I’ll address it after I make the buzzing stop around my wrist.
I lean in to brush my lips against hers. “We’ll revisit your fantasy, too,” I promise her.
Then I shadow outside of the cave and accept Cael’s call.
“What?” I demand, unable to hide my impatience.
His eyebrows fly upward in response. “What Omega has your knot in a twist?” He feigns an epiphany in the next moment. “Oh, that’s right. Ashlyn. How is our little seer, hmm?”
“Do you want me to hang up on you?” I ask him.
“Do you want me to call again?” he returns.
My jaw grinds, my irritation mounting. “You know I hate metal against my skin, Cael.”
“I do. But you need that device for safety.”
“Then don’t use it for random phone calls,” I tell him. Especially, when they interrupt an intimate moment with my Omega, I nearly add.
“This isn’t a random call. But you answered with so much politeness and poise that I haven’t had a chance to enlighten you on the purpose yet.”
I roll my eyes. “Stop wasting my time, Your Majesty, and spit it out.”
“Stop wasting my time, he says,” Cael parrots at me, shaking his head. “If only you knew.”
“Cael.”
“My, but she really does have you all tied up, doesn’t she?” Cael muses, and I move my hand up to hit the Disconnect button.. But then he adds, “I’m calling about Oros.”
My hand returns to my side. “What about him?”
“We have a meeting set for a little under two hours from now. Virtual. Do you want to join?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “But I assume that means you need me in Lunar Sector.” Because I won’t be able to join securely from here. The watch is powerful and useful. Alas, it has limits.
“It does,” he admits. “However, it should be a brief discussion.”
I nod. “All right. I’ll re-secure my runes here, then come in just for the call.”
As much as I would love to take Ashlyn with me, I can’t. If her presence is felt or even suspected in Lunar Sector, then I’ll have to answer to a trio of powerful V-Clan Alphas that I really don’t want to deal with right now.
Cael’s expression says he feels the same. Still, he asks, “Will she be safe there?”
“Temporarily,” I reply. “But I can’t be gone for long.”
“We’ll time it,” he says. “Tell me what you’re comfortable with and you can leave if we reach that limit.”
“I’ll talk to Ashlyn about it, see what she prefers.” I don’t want to leave her here unprotected or without any concept of when I’ll return. “If she’s not comfortable, though…”
“Then I’ll handle the call alone and provide you with a summary.”
I nod.
“But Grey,” he says, a note of seriousness in his tone. “He mentioned needing to share important information about a new Omega acquisition. He told me to be prepared to accept his declaration, whatever the fuck that means.”
I frown. “You don’t think it’s related to Nikiski, do you?”
“I don’t know. Oros is impossible to read.”
“Most Drakon-Clan Alphas are,” I mutter, running my fingers through my hair as I try to interpret the cryptic information. “Gold Sector has a lot of caves, right?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“With candles?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I haven’t visited that area of the world since the Pre-Infected Era, so I honestly don’t know what the Greek Isles have become. Other than dragon ridden, of course.”
I sigh. “Yeah, all right. I’ll talk to Ashlyn.”
“Good. Let me know if you’re not coming, otherwise I’ll see you in”—he looks at something off screen—“ninety-eight minutes in my office.”
The screen goes black, signifying the end of the call.
I shake out my wrist, mostly to make the translucent magic retract into its metal encasing, but also because I need to reassure myself that the watch isn’t a collar.
With a mental grimace, I shadow back into the cave and find Ashlyn right where I left her.
If only, I could join her again.
“You need to eat,” I say, heading into the kitchen. “And we need to talk.”