14. The Only One
The Only One
MURDOCH
T he river ’ad faded behind us a while ago, but the memory o’ me cock buried in ’er body is present even now.
’er pheromones, an’ the scent o’ ’er sweetness beneath the wildflowers an’ river moss are drivin’ me mad as she walks beside me, close enough that ’er shoulder brushes me arm evera so often.
I pull ’er tu me, running me tongue ova her deep brown skin, shudderin’ at ’er taste, especially wen she looks up at me as if she expects me tu strip ’er o’ the clothes she’s jus’ made ’erself an’ feck ’er against the nearest tree. Shite…
Me mate. Me Omega. Me Emerald. She’s goin’ tu be the death o’ me.
Too beautiful… too perfect… loved by the earth.
Even the crystal water drops from the river still clin’ ontu ’er skin as if desperate tu be with wit’ ’er even a second longer.
The wind lovin’ly caresses ’er ’air, not a lick o’ frizz in sight.
I want tu give ’er the world… an’ t’is dick…
The t’ought o’ snatchin’ ’ er up, cockin’ a leg ova me shoulder, an’ shovin’ me tongue intu ’er arse an’ pussy runs like a nasty replay in me mind, an’ I’m tempted tu du it…
but we’re so feckin’ close tu being’ done wit’ t’is game!
I want ’er laid out on the fur o’ me bed naked an’ soakin’ me sheets.
The path ahead twists t’rough a thin stretch o’ silver-barked trees. We are na far from the checkpoint. Close tu riddin’ ’er o’ the pain an’ trauma she’s been running from. I canna allow me cock tu take t’at from ’er, no matter ’ow prettily she begs me wit’ t’ose sexy, emerald eyes.
I will na allow it.
I need tu get ’er tu safety… I would ’ave jus’ taken ’er an’ removed ’er from the arena, but it is’na possible. The Demon Kings imbued the area wit’ a barrier t’at instantly kills those who so much as caress it, so the only way out is the check point or death.
I want more… I smirk, glancin’ at ’er wen her t’oughts connect wit’ me t’rough our bond.
She unlike me, canna control wat t’oughts I hear, so often times, ’er mind brushes mine, sparkin’ the protective instinct in me.
’er t’oughts are precious, always shy an’ warm, wit’ questions about me t’at she always talks ’erself out o’ askin’ because she dinna want tu be a bother tu me…
but litt’l does she know she’s the one person who could neva be a bother.
’el l, if I’m honest, bits o’ ’er memory leave me wit’ questions o’ me own.
A dim cell, metal chains, the pungent stench o’ filth, despair, an’ disease keep flashin’ in me mind, along wit’ a woman who looks jus’ like me precious one, but a wee bit older.
’er eyes are like Emerald’s eyes, an’ she looks kind yet tired as she stares down, rockin’ a younger version o’ me soulmate ’er mum?
Sister? Aunt? Whoeva she is, she whispers words o’ despair intu me mate’s ear even as ’er own heart broke.
Leave this place, Emerald… don’t trust Alphas. They will only use you, break your heart, and leave you with a bond and a baby you can’t break or afford… Pain an’ anger lance me chest at ’er memory, t’ough it is’na all me pain an’ anger… most o’ it is ’ers…
The memory flashes across me mind once more… an’ it’s as if she’s battlin’ wat the woman told ’er an’ the bond she’s created wit’ me. Which one is real? Whose words should she trus’?
“Who’s the woman yer t’inkin’ about?” I ask, causin’ ’er tu gape up at me in shock, but realization comes ova ’er an’ she bashfully looks down at the ground befer lookin’ ahead. Wen she speaks, ’er voice is soft, yet t’ere is bitterness…
“My mother…”
“Ah… she’s be autiful…”
“Was…” she corrects an’ I glance at me precious one, takin’ ’er hand.
“Me condolences.” I kiss the back o’ ’er hand an’ she smiles, t’ough it does’na reach ’er eyes. I stay quiet, givin’ ’er the space tu speak if she wants or tu remain quiet, but she squeezes me ’and wit’ strength.
“It’s not your fault…”
“No… but Alphas are at fault,” I tell ’er, ’avin’ seen enough tu know t’at much, an’ she goes quiet again befer breakin’ the silence.
“ They are, but not all… and I see that now,” she speaks quietly an’ with intention… the words o’ a woman who’s learned a lesson she can instill in others… kind, remorseful words o’ a queen.
“Who ’urt yu?” I demand an’ answer. I want tu leave room fer ’er tu speak wen she’s ready, but even if I ’ave tu crawl t’rough the recesses o’ ’er mind, I’ll find those names… t’ose tribes… an’ I’ll carve ’er memory in t’ere flesh righ’ befer they die.
She peeks up at me as if she’d ’erd me t’oughts, an’ I’m sure she did. I was’na tryin’ tu keep ’em tu meself. Wen she speaks wit’ intention, I’ll act wit’ it… an’ they will die, an’ luckily, me precious one is’na tu soft-hearted tu deny me takin’ ’er retribution.
“The Ashfang Tribe,” she answers an’ cuts ’er eyes at me.
“Tell me…” I nod, notatin’ ’er words.
“W-well… they rounded us up when I was six,” she murmurs, keepin’ ’er gaze on the path ahead.
“Even though I was so young, I still remember that day so vividly… the burning huts, the screaming people…” she grits ’er teeth.
“While I don’t remember a lot about our village, I do remember that it was quiet…
a bit boring at times, but the people were kind… ”
“Yer father?” I ask an’ she shrugs.
“Your guess is as good as mine… before my mother’s death, she told me that she’d foolishly fallen in love with an Alpha that left her pregnant with me and told me never to follow in her steps…
but by then, I didn’t need her words to tell me that much.
We’d been in bondage for years and came to the conclusion all on my own that I hated Alphas already… ” she spits an’ I dinna blame her.
“Rightfully so,” I growl, fistin’ me ’ands .
“I agree… when you see that type of death and destruction towards the people you care about and love, how can you not hate the group responsible? But still, it wasn’t the death of my tribe that scared me… it was my mother believing the very people who lied, stole, and killed…
My mother was a kind woman, but she was…
to put it kindly, a romantic. She wanted love and marriage, and she was beautiful, so even when were rounded up like cattle and send to camps, she stood out and received special treatment.
She used that to get in good with the tribe leader and she was once again too trusting.
The leader not only forced a bond on her, but he forced her to stay in a pheromone-induced, sex-crazed haze and used her as his special product… ” she bitterly recalls. Shite.
“He was so cruel… I barely remember seeing her…
sometimes weeks at a time, but when I did, she was haggard.
Her beauty had already started to fade… that mother fucker and his clients used her until there was nothing left but skin and bones on her body and grief and hatred in my heart.
When she died, they tried to make me replace her…
hell, I think they tried before then, but my mother would fight against it.
I think that’s when they decided to kill her, but regardless, I wasn’t going to see myself have the same fate.
I found an opening and ran like never before…
I lived from village to village, fighting and fending for myself.
I think that’s around the time I developed my power, but it was weak.
However, any power was better than nothing .
Once I received this power and honed it just a bit, I decided to join the Hunt, believing it was my way out.
Win the prize money, buy my passage to the human world…
a place where we could hide, where Alphas don’t treat Omegas as trash.
I wanted out, even if I had to die trying…
it was better than waiting to be used as a sex slave,” she finishes an’ I look at ’er eyes, gleamin’, fierce, an’ vulnerable all at once.
“That’s why I ran. That’s why I fought.”
She voices as if tryin’ tu defend ’er earlier actions o’ running from me. I ’ate tu admit it, but I understand ’ow she feels. She ’ad a reason tu run… a growl rumbles in me chest, low, primal, an’ protective… I’ll kill ’em all.
I will’na let fear seep intu ’er conscience again. Not while I live. Not while I breathe.
I pause, pullin’ ’er intu me arms. kissin’ the top o’ ’er ’ead.
“Yu will ’ave t’at freedom, precious one. I’ll see tu it. No matter the cost.” She peeks at me, ’er gaze soft, ’er eyes low as she stands on ’er tip toes.
“I already have it…” She wraps ’er arms around me neck an’ a growl rips from me. I scoop ’er intu me arms, runnin’ me tongue ova ’er lips. I dip me ’and under ’er t’igh, ready tu play wit’ me precious one’s pussy… but curiosity ripples between us .
“The scar on your stomach…” she asks, leanin’ back wit’ not a care in the world, knowin’ I’ll neva drop ’er. She runs ’er ’and ova the scar in me chest, causin’ me tu shudder. “How did you get it? Don’t lie and say hunting… I can tell you’re not just some ordinary hunter… I can feel it.”
I give a short laugh. Smart, as always. T’ere’s no hidin’ me shite past from ’er… but t’ere are certain t’in’s I want tu keep from ’er… I want tu surprise ’er wit’ the real freedom only a queen is allotted, but fer now…
“I joined the Hunt fer blood,” I admit. “Me brother…” I trail off an’ ’er head tilts.
“One of the ones whose scent lingers on your anger…”
Another growl escapes me. Befer I can stop it, the memories rise, causin’ ’atred tu boil in me chest.
“Aye, brother, Garven, an’ me ex-lover…” I spit out bitterly.
“I trusted ’em both… an’ they betrayed me.
Tugether, t’ey colluded an’ tried tu burn our kingdom tu ash.
T’ey also poisoned me with Banes root. I made the mistake o’ trustin’ the wrong person an’ was stabbed in the back fer it…
or rather, the stomach.” A gasp comes from ’er, ’ands goin’ ova ’er mouth in shock.
“BANES ROOT?!” She bares her teeth an’ I smile at ’er anger. “THEY WERE TRYING TO KILL YOU!” she growls an’ I kiss her sweet lips.