Kestrel
Iblink and give myself a few seconds, but Pix is already shoving me harder against the tree. My gaze finds a trickle of blood, and I reach up and touch it, wiping it away.
“You’re hurt.”
His expression closes down.
“I’m not going to ask you again. Who are you?”
“Ah, yes. Forgive me. I’m Kestrel.”
He stares at me.
“Raptor’s gone. She comes out only when we really need her. Did she scare you? Are you okay?” I murmur the words, watching his expression carefully. But my gaze keeps flicking back to that dripping trail of blood that’s running from his temple down to his jaw.
“We?”
“We, us. All of us,” I murmur and reach out again. He flinches backward, glancing at my hand with a wide, pointed glare.
“Where is Merle?”
I shrug. “Merle isn’t needed right now, and she’s resting.”
“Resting?”
I frown at him, reach into my pocket and find a tissue, I pull it out and dab at his face, cleaning up the blood. I work at the spot until the blood is gone.
“There, you’re perfect again. Not that you aren’t always perfect, you are,” I babble, but I’m mildly infatuated with this omega.
“Kestrel?”
“Yes, that’s me.” I smile at him, trying to reassure him. “Kestrel. I am a fan of yours. The way you move and how kind you have been. Got a little bit of an omega crush to be honest.”
He ignores me.
“And that was Raptor?”
“Yes, she’s, uh, a little intense,” I let out a little laugh and move into his space again, reaching up and putting just my fingertips on his jaw. The contact feels like a lifeline between us, a connection. This omega has been hurting so badly, all I want to do is fix him and soothe his pain.
“And Merle is in there, too?”
I nod, stepping back as his tone gets angrier and more hostile.
“We?” he snarls.
I chuckle. “Caught that, did you?”
“Yes! Don’t fucking laugh, this is not funny.”
“Hmm,” I burst out laughing, despite his anger, and bounce towards him, watching as he bounces back, looking me up and down, alarmed by my sudden shifting mood. “Are you scared of me, Pix? You shouldn’t be. I would never hurt you.”
“You just stabbed a man into a sieve.”
“No, that was Raptor. She’s a little stabby. I like to take care of people. Totally different personalities. I just want to make you feel good.”
“I see. So, you’re like a totally different person than Merle?”
I nod. “I am.”
“I want Merle back.”
My smile slowly fades. “What about us?”
“Us?”
“Me, Raptor, Raven, Jay, Dove.”
“There are six of you?” he almost shouts.
I just smile at him, not giving him the answers he wants. I’m angry with him now, but I need to contain my anger. If I get too stressed, Raven will come out, and if she comes out, everyone will hate us, and then I’ll have to come and patch things up again.
I turn away and find myself face to face with the alpha that I recognise as Blaze. He steps towards me, but his expression is dark and threatening, so I dance back, but that finds me pressed up against Sage.
Their scents are what hit me, what undo me.
In the shared memories we have, they are dulled down, but being out and experiencing it, it’s like heaven.
“Where is Merle?” Blaze asks, so cold, so impassive.
I huff and try not to be offended, but then King appears. I find myself walking towards him without understanding why. He’s got a scratch on his shoulder, and I dab at it, cleaning it up.
“This is Kestrel,” Pix says in the kind of voice that is just oozing for a fight.
Rolly glowers at me as he gives me a wide berth.
“Kestrel?” Roseland asks sharply. “Oh, I thought…never mind.”
“Yeah, I know I’m not who you are all looking for,” I say bitterly as King catches my wrist, preventing me from mopping up any more of his wounds.
“Wait, who are you looking for?” Pix accuses Roseland.
“Raven,” Roseland says her name softly, with a great deal of affection. So much that even I’m startled.
“You know Raven? There’s actually another one of them?” Pix almost shouts. “You knew there were more of her?”
Roseland watches me carefully. “Raven told me about you. She said you take care of everyone. Merle blocks the pain, but you hold the front. Raven and Raptor protect you all.”
I incline my head, smiling shyly. “It is so wonderful to meet you, Roseland.”
“Are there others? What about the others?” Pix asks sharply.
“Well, Jay is another protector, but he’s-”
“He?”
I sniff, ignoring Pix and his disbelief.
“Dove is little. She doesn’t come out much. And Raptor is the ultimate protector. Blood will rain if she comes out to play. Like I said, she’s a little stabby.” I wrap my arms around me and shiver.
No one does anything or even cares. Rude.
Rolly blinks several times. “When will Merle come back?”
I scowl at him. “When she stops hiding.”
“Why is she hiding?”
“Who the hell knows? She saw something that scared her, and it summoned us. We can’t remember. Merle doesn’t like to remember the past. She has this tendency to just block out the things that scare her.”
“Who is us and we?” Blaze asks.
“The rest of us.” This is starting to get on my nerves now. It’s darker, the storm is heading away, and the world is suddenly quieter, and dawn is breaking, bringing light with it.
“Where were you before?”
“Here, but not. We have been surfacing; you just didn’t notice,” I snap thoroughly over this interrogation.
“Who punched me in the throat?” Pix snarls.
I hesitate, trying to recall the memory. “Looks like that was Raven.” I cluck my tongue. “Let’s get out of the rain. We have a long way to travel, and there is bound to be more of them coming.”
“Do you remember?” Roseland asks.
I look up at him. We, Raven, Raptor, and I have all been in love with him for ages, though he has never met any of us. I shake my head.
“The information about the night you almost died is information that only Raven has. She, Merle, and Dove have all the memories of what happened there. And Merle blocks it out.” I hesitate.
“I am sorry, Aaron. I’m the one who keeps us alive and living.
I make sure we eat, live, drink, and find shelter. ”
His expression softens. “It’s not your fault, Kest.”
I preen at his use of my nickname…I look down, brushing my hair behind my ears, and beam when I see the golden orange tips have stayed in my black hair.
“This way,” I murmur. “I know a place we can go.”
Rolly lets out a pained sound.
It takes everything in me to ignore it and not turn and try to make it better. They follow me. I’m not sure what else they would do, but they can’t help it. I have the omega that they all want.
No, I am the omega they all want.
I’ve heard of omegas with shattered landscapes who meet packs who reject some of the alters. Would this pack reject us? The thought consumes me until I feel someone else pushing at my control.
“No, not yet. We’re not in danger.”
Raven and Raptor subside, trusting my assessment, but it leaves me highly conscious of the fact that I need to be more careful about my thoughts and feelings.
The cave is just a slit in the side of a cliff, but if you walk inside, it opens up into a mini-ecosystem where you can light a fire but are protected from the weather.
I found it on one of those brief moments Merle gave up control of the body while we were hiding.
I pick up sticks and bring them to Sage, who stares at me with a blank face.
“Can you start a fire?”
His expression is cold and alien, and it hurts.
He quickly starts a fire while I strip off, hanging my soaking clothes up to dry.
“You’re naked!” Rolly squeaks.
I look down at myself. “Wow, I sure am. How about that?” With a little salute at the suddenly speechless alphas, I step into the heated pool and sink down under the water.
I hold my breath for as long as I can, then burst up through the water, laughing as I roll to float on my back.
“Merle doesn’t like anyone seeing her scars,” Pix says pointedly.
I clench my jaw, beyond irritated with them now.
“This is my body, too. They are my scars. I was the one who got them, who made us eat when the others wanted to die. I’m the one who suffered through the pain of their healing. Why can’t I wear them? They aren’t something I’m ashamed of, Omega; they are something I survived.”
Pix sits on his heels and stares at me. “You are bold, loud, and confrontational.”
“Strong is the word you’re looking for. I’m not going to fawn and cuddle up to you as a broken omega needing fixing. I’m going to stand by your side, wearing my own wounds and building a life for us.”
“I’m not-”
“You are my omega,” I snarl and rise from the water, stalking him. He backs up, almost tripping over himself. Water pours down my body, but I ignore it.
“Daega O’Connell. You belong to me now. You have been fighting Merle, but she wasn’t right for you. Merle doesn’t know what to do with an omega, but I do.”
His eyes go wide and fully dark. “How do you know that name?”
“We’ve been keeping tabs on you and all your friends.
But you are the only one who interests me.
I want you kneeling before me, standing beside me.
I want your slick and your knotless cock buried inside me.
We want to hear you scream, Omega, and then I want to put my omega bond on you and wear yours. ”
He’s pressed up against the wall with nowhere left to go.
With a sinister smile, I reach out, walking my fingers up his chest. “I’m not Merle, Daega,” I whisper. “I’m a whole new beast; lucky for you, there are a few more of us who have staked a claim, too. You won’t ever be left alone.”
I turn to find all five alphas staring at us with wide eyes and their mouths agape. I wink at them, let the stunned omega go, and return to the water, swishing my hips seductively and humming under my breath.
“Oh, boy,” I heard Sage murmur. “How many did you say there were?”
I wake up with an uneasy feeling.
I shift until I’m kneeling, watching the alphas until I find the one who is dreaming. It’s Sage. His limbs twitch; his eyelids flicker.
He’s in distress, if only in his dream.
I stand up and carefully walk over to him, kneeling, then I carefully maneuver myself down on the thin mat beside him and press myself into his side.
The soft purr comes out like I’ve practiced it.
I’ve spent years soothing the other alters inside me, trying to ease the hurt from a world that only knows how to give pain.
I’ve never purred for anyone else.
Sage wakes up. I feel the exact moment he does, and a second after that, he’s curled around me, pulling me tight against him. His thigh wraps over mine, and he puts his chin on my head.
I lay there finding that it’s never been easier to push the purr from my chest while listening to his heartbeat thud beneath my ear. It’s the most soothing and happy sound I've ever heard.
“Was it a bad dream?”
“No, I barely remember it. Most probably it was just my training.”
“Training?”
“I was created to kill. The perfect beta attack dog, and then I presented as an alpha, and they realised that it’s nearly impossible to control an alpha.”
I chuckle and reach up between us, stroking my fingers across his broad chest. “Did you make them suffer?”
“Oh, yes. They all paid for their crimes. Everyone except my dad, but his time is coming.”
We’re silent, but I can feel the question. “Just ask.”
“Merle saw me kill someone. Is that what made her run?”
“Not you, just any violence in general. Merle suffered a lot. She is not as strong as the rest of us in some respects. When it comes to violence, she retreats.”
“Does she know what we are?”
I hum. “Yes, but she’s choosing not to acknowledge it. To her, you are Sage, the alpha who makes her smile and brushes her hair. You aren’t a strong killer.”
“And what am I to you?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m hoping you will be our alpha, and I’ll be your lover. That we’ll end up together forever. That you will all see us for who we are and love all of us.”
Sage hums and rolls on his back, dragging me with him. “Tell me about yourself, Kestrel. What do you like?”
“I love cooking. Games. Camping and adventures. Though Raptor is the adrenaline junkie. She would have been over that waterfall so fast. She is fearless,” I murmur with a chuckle. “I am, well, a lover would be the best description.”
He rolls me onto my back and leans down, kissing me. I fall into it, arching into him and moaning. He pulls back.
“You kiss differently,” he says unhappily. “I thought maybe this was a game.”
Disappointment hits me, and I sit up, staring down at him. “Your cock isn’t the same size as Blaze’s but it’s still a cock. But remind me to point out the differences after I’ve fucked you both.”
Sage throws his head back and laughs. “Touché.”
I snarl at him and push up. The dawn light has illuminated the cave entrance. I find my shoes and pull them on before walking to the entrance and glaring out at the forest, listening for any signs of people.
“I need to speak to Raven,” Roseland whispers behind me.
I tense as he drags his fingers up under my shirt. If he’s trying to get Raven, he’s going about it the whole wrong way, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to tell him how to get her to rise out of me.
“Please.”
I shake my head. Raven doesn’t want to come out and up.
Raptor is closer to the surface.
And it’s not a good idea if she comes out to play. Not for any of us.