Page 37 of Ruined Omega

Now his fingertip is pressed against my hole. My channel clenches and flutters in anticipation of what’s coming. Just one little push, and that thick Alpha finger will be inside me.

But the moment is interrupted by a startling bang of metal on metal.

Someone’s feet tread heavily and rapidly down a set of stairs I cannot see.

Another bang as the door at the end of the shelter flies open.

With his finger still pressed against my needy hole, Baen looks up at the intruder. His lips peel back from his fangs in a snarl, and an explosion of fury erupts behind his eyes.

Just as quickly, however, his expression softens.

“Taliesin? You’re alive!”

CHAPTER 12: HINES

I toss my head back against the soft rim of the nest and look at the doorway. From this angle, everything is upside down.

There is a man standing in the open door. He is lit from below by the wavering glow of the candles, sending stark shadows upward over his features. His head is a wet mop of jet-black locks plastered to his dark skin. His upper body is clad in the tattered remnants of a white tank top that hangs in ragged strips, leaving his hard, chiseled abdomen exposed. Below, he is wearing a similarly destroyed pair of jeans that have been burnt and torn into ragged denim shorts.

I can hardly believe it’s really him, really Taliesin. But there are two features that erase any doubt.

The first are those glacier-blue eyes

The second is his scent. His unmistakable Alpha scent.

It’s similar to Baen’s, but different, carrying specific scent markers that identify him as Taliesin. No other Alpha has that smell. It’s as personal to him as his name. As unique as the patterns of whorls on his fingertips.

I shouldn’t be able to pick out those details of his scent. It’s another sign of my transitioning physiology.

“Tal!” Though my voice is still weak, I manage to shout happily. “Tal, it’s really you! Oh God, I thought you were dead.”

I roll over in the nest to look at him right side up.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see anyone in my life. I was so certain that Tal had been killed. Any normal man would have been crushed to death in that wreck.

But his skin, miraculously, appears mostly unscathed. When he turns to shut the door behind him, I see that even the bullet wounds on his back have closed. Incredible.

My happiness, however, does not seem to be reciprocated by Tal. He doesn’t even answer me, and I can sense the anger emanating from his body like waves of heat. His anger is not directed at me, however. All of his attention is focused on Baen, who is still hunched over me protectively.

Tal growls low and aggressive. “What the fuck are you doing to the target, Baen?”

I sense Baen’s muscles tense. I try to clamber away, but his arms pin me in, keeping my half-naked body trapped beneath him.

“She needs help,” Baen answers in a growl of his own. “That’s what I’m providing.”

For a moment, nothing in moves inside the shelter except the incessant flicker of candle flames. The room is so still and quiet I can actually hear the sizzle of the burning wicks. The air between the two Alphas seems to crackle with energy and aggression. Another wave of goosebumps washes over my flesh.

It’s Tal who finally breaks the silence.

“Help?” he snorts derisively. “You’re the one who’s gonna need help when I’m done with you, boy.”

His lunge is so quick I almost don’t even see it.

Baen rises to meet the attack, but he’s a fraction of a second behind, and Tal gets the upper hand. Their bodies meet with a sickening crack of muscle on muscle. Baen tumbles backward, sprawling on the floor.

“The omega is mine,” Tal roars. His voice is so loud it rattles the jars on the shelves. “MINE!”

Tal steps forward, placing himself protectively between me and the other Alpha.