Page 36 of Shared Omega

But not right now.

Right now I am too bone tired to do anything but curl up in my Alpha’s protective arms in the darkness, breathing in his masculine scent as the weariness of the day overcomes me and I pass into a deep and dreamless sleep.

***

When i wake up, my head is aching from oversleeping, but my muscles feel refreshed and energized in a way I’ve never experienced before.

I feel good. Really good.

But something is missing.

Last night I fell asleep all tangled up in Dog’s protective arms, my body enveloped in the warmth of his breath. Now I’m all alone and naked.

Dog is gone, but his scent still hangs heavy in the air.

I roll over and look around the room.

Warm sunlight is coming in low through the gaps in the boarded windows, drawing golden streaks on the walls. I can see the room more clearly now, but there’s not much to take in—the moss-covered floor and peeling, stained walls. The ceiling is sagging precariously where the beams have rotted through. Brilliant motes of dust swirl lazily in the sunlight poking in.

My Alpha is standing at the window looking out, his intense eyes striped with sunshine. His body is motionless except for the slow rise and fall of his breathing.

“Dog?” I whisper.

He doesn’t look at me but simply raises a finger to his lips, signalling silence.

Then I smell it. It’s hard to pick it up beneath the intensity of Dog’s strong musk filling the room, but it’s there sure enough. It’s a scent like Dog’s but different in ways I can’t put into words.

But one thing is certain.

It’s an Alpha.

PART TWO:

THE PACK

CHAPTER 11: TRUK

The morning sun is still low in the eastern sky. Its golden rays angle in through the trees, drawing long shadows over the clearing and the ruined house. The only sound is the soft rustle of the leaves stirring in the breeze. My muscles are tense. My heart is thudding inside my ribs.

Someone is inside my house.

I clearly marked this place with my scent, but the trespasser ignored the warnings.

Now he will have to die.

The wind glides across the clearing, carrying a mixture of scents from the old, ramshackle building, a remnant of the old times, before the great change. There are the usual smells of mildew, rotting plaster, and termite dust. But underneath that is another odor, faint but unmistakable.

Alpha.

A lone Alpha is inside my house.

I snuffle the breeze again, taking in the intruder’s scent, analyzing it. It’s a strange scent. Difficult to place. He doesn’t have the sickening, goatish smell of a Farlander, that’s for sure. No, this one is much more like the Alphas that dwell inside the ruined city.

But his signature doesn’t match any of the packs I’ve smelt before.

Curious.

Without meaning to, I find a low, rumbling growl starting up deep in my chest. It is involuntary—a natural reaction to finding a strange Alpha trespassing in my marked territory.