Chapter 26 #2
The omega covered the distance between them before Levi could finish, launching a fist at his face.
Levi could have deflected, but he didn’t, allowing him to land the punch. It was hard enough to snap his head to the side, but little more than that, and when he turned back, Elm appeared more surprised by his actions than Levi was.
“Feel better?” Levi drawled.
It was obvious the omega did not.
“Are you going to—”
“Has Kian ever hit Sky?”
Elm’s eyes flashed. “Of fucking course not!”
“A good alpha doesn’t need to beat their omega into submission.”
He tilted his head. “Didn’t you just finish telling me about how your dad crippled your mom?”
“My father wasn’t even a half decent alpha,” Levi stated. “I won’t be him. Their story won’t be ours.”
“What if I don’t want our story at all?”
“You will.” Levi didn’t make unnecessary gambles.
Didn’t take random risks. Yes, his rut had snuck up on him and expedited things, but they were always going to end up here, with the omega wearing his marks.
Elm needed more time to acclimate, clearly hadn’t realized the way he looked at Levi gave away his hidden yearnings.
This wasn’t as one sided as the omega believed.
“There are rules,” Levi said. “Whether you agree to them or not.” His hand whipped out, capturing him by the nape and hauling him in close. “You will never belong to another. You want time to adjust to your new reality? All right. We’ll start with learning obedience.”
He dragged the omega into the bedroom, easily overpowering him when he tried to resist. With a hard shove, he tossed the younger man onto the bed, allowing him to crawl to the center of it. As though that miniscule bit of extra space would keep him safe.
Moving to the couch, Levi settled in the center, aware of the omega’s suspicious stare.
There were a few velvet boxes on the end cushion and Levi opened one of them, picking out the first item.
They’d start slow and work their way up, but no matter what, today wasn’t ending without his omega understanding his place.
“Come,” Levi ordered. “One last chance to do it yourself.”
Since he was easing him into things, he made sure the item he was holding was visible, allowing Elm the chance to view it and recognize that it wasn’t anything dangerous.
His omega would probably hate knowing Levi caught the flicker of excitement in his eyes when they landed on the object.
After months together, Levi had a pretty good grasp on who Elm Erskine really was. Even things he hadn’t verbally admitted to had become simple enough to piece together after all of this time observing him.
The omega’s greatest wish wasn’t to become some famous artist.
Or to find himself.
He’d never sought freedom, or accolades, or self-expression. Hadn’t longed for money or power either.
No, what Elm had always wanted more than anything was to be special.
More accurately, for someone to find him special. To choose him. To spend each day reminding him that he was a treasure worthy of a king.
Perhaps it hadn’t happened in the way he’d envisioned, but his king had come to claim him, and Levi was determined to treat him like the valuable omega he was.
After they’d learned some lessons on submission.
He was the Dominus. His life was fraught with dangers. Enemies who wouldn’t hesitate to get to him by harming his mate. Elm had always been a free spirit, even as the brother of Kian. He’d never had to worry about watching his back or whether or not a stranger could be trusted.
If they had to spend the rest of their lives at the lodge, so be it, but that was the very last resort. Levi knew Elm would go stir crazy if he tried to trap and isolate him to that degree.
Never in all his years had he ever cared about another’s happiness, and yet here he was, worried about Elm’s.
“You’ve dreamed of a collar, haven’t you?” he took the risk and asked, unsure if Elm would be honest or try to deny it. When his omega opted for silence, Levi gave him an out. “Are betas gifted collars?”
“Not usually.” Elm shifted, then seemed to come to a decision and climbed off the bed. He approached slowly, as if he still didn’t entirely trust Levi’s intentions, coming to a stop a couple of feet away.
Levi adjusted his legs then motioned between them with his chin, clicking his tongue when his omega hesitated yet again. “If you submit, I’ll let you hold it before putting it on. You want to see it, don’t you?”
Elm worked his lower lip between his teeth but then stepped forward.
“On your knees.” Levi waited for him to follow the order, purring for him when the omega did as he was told. Along with the praise, he sent a soft wave of soothing pheromones at him, then held out the collar for Elm to take.
He’d selected it carefully, the white leather buttery soft, the silver clasp at the back and the ring at the center polished to a gleam.
The same symbol that was tattooed to Elm’s finger was embossed on one side, with Leviathan on the opposite.
The markings were light enough no one would be able to make them out unless they were standing too close.
And if anyone did get that close to his omega, close enough to read Leviathan’s name and realize who Elm belonged to, it would be far too late for them.
“Here.” Levi held his hand out, palm up, once he’d given the omega time to look at it.
Another purr rumbled up his chest when it was given over without fuss.
Before the rut, Elm had already behaved so well for him.
The two of them had fallen into a routine and a sort of mutual respect that had been comfortable. He wanted to get them back there.
Levi undid the latch and moved to secure the collar around Elm’s neck, adjusting it so the o-ring rested in the center. Then he gave it a little tug, forcing the omega to teeter forward, grinning when Elm’s hands instinctively landed on Levi’s knees for purchase.
Inside one of the smaller boxes was a pair of white gold nipple clamps, and he tsked when Elm caught sight of it and tried to retreat.
“You want answers, don’t you?” he reminded. “Behave. If you do, I’ll tell you—”
“What you did,” Elm interrupted. “I want to know what you did to me while I was unconscious.”
“Aside from oversee your life saving surgery? And the tattoo?”
“This can’t be all of it.” Elm ran his right thumb over the ink. “I remember hearing you. You said you didn’t want me awake for my punishment.”
“I didn’t want you in pain.” Levi quirked a brow when Elm made a face. “Don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that,” he surprised him by saying. “It’s just that only makes me more certain there’s something else. I may not have gotten any before, but I’m pretty sure this one tiny finger tattoo wouldn’t hurt enough to warrant you shielding me from it.”
“Let me get this straight,” he drawled. “You’re supposedly shocked that I would take you as my omega, but not that I wouldn’t want you to suffer?”
Elm’s gaze dropped to the clamps. “I think our ideas of suffering may differ.”
“Played with these before?”
“The edge in your tone makes me want to say no.”
“And the truth?”
The omega sighed. “Yes. Once or twice.”
“Not a fan?”
“They’re…effective.”
They would be. Levi had figured out how much the omega liked having his nipples played with during sex. While he wanted to see Elm wearing them, the toy was admittedly more for Elm’s benefit than his own.
The body was easier to control than the mind. Overcome the first, and the second would follow.
“I’m going to condition you to want me,” Levi revealed.
Elm’s chin lifted slightly. “Haven’t you been doing that for weeks already?”
“So you knew.” He pressed open one of the clamps and attached it to Elm’s right nipple. When his omega hissed, he sent out a wave of soothing pheromones, and then attached the other end to his left one.
The chain dangled between the two of them, and he tugged on it lightly, chuckling when that caused Elm to gasp.
“I’ve never had anyone like you before.” Levi caught him by the jaw, thumb firmly tracing his bottom lip. “Sex in the past was a chore. But with you…I’m eager to discover what else can be different when the right person is involved.”
Elm’s eyes narrowed. “What are you getting at?”
“Instead of talking back, you should put these lips to better use.” He released him and settled on the couch. “Make me come with your mouth, omega. If you can do it, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
The omega searched his face. “Is this how it’s going to be? Are you planning to use sex to get me in line?”
“It may be the oldest trick in the book,” Levi agreed, “but there’s a reason for that. Besides, the longer we exchange pheromones through physical means, the stronger the bond.”
“We fucked for two weeks, Leviathan. I think we’re good.”
“Do you?” His eyes drifted down to where the omega was semi-hard.
Elm growled but didn’t deny it or try to cover his arousal.
“It’s healthy for a mated pair to—”
“I get it,” Elm cut him off.
Levi snorted. “If you understand, then get to work, treasure.”
Elm’s annoyance returned, but his hands went to Levi’s pants anyway.