Because his essence is still inside me, the warm substance exactly why I didn’t want to sit down earlier.
“You taste that, Ailsa?” he asks, his fingers in my mouth preventing me from responding. “Thatis our king’s seed dripping from between your thighs. Seed that is only released when an Alphaknotsa potentialOmegamate. You’re not human, sweet one. You’re something else entirely. Nowsuck.”
Oh, Gods…Why does this man’s dominance make me so weak in the knees? And why am I so eager to obey him?
“Good girl,” he murmurs as I do exactly what he says.
That, I think in the next breath. Thatis why I obey him.
His praise makes me feel warm.
Cherished.
Important.
“Now tell me you’re an Omega,” he says as he removes his fingers from my mouth.
I swallow, loving the taste he’s left behind. It’s me and Krolic, with a little bit of Catum mixed in.Decadent, I decide, my throat working once more.
“Miss Marvel.” The authority in his voice makes me shiver.
“Craze told me Omegas can be any type of being, including humans,” I whisper, remembering what he said. “So I’m still human, and also… an Omega.”
Master Pillar narrows his gaze, considering me for a moment. “Craze is right—Omegas can be any type of being. But what he apparently didn’t elaborate on is when the elixir is imbibed, it awakens the Omega soul inside that being. And that soul takes over, Ailsa. Whatever weaknesses you may perceive you have no longer apply.”
He walks me back under the water to continue rinsing out my hair, then pulls me close again to work on the conditioner.
I shiver, my nipples beading as they brush his hard chest.
He’s naked.
And colorful, I think, sneaking a glance down at his impressive manhood. He’s bigger than the other men, his knot even more impactful.
I’m a little afraid to take him, especially after how much Krolic’s initial thrust hurt.
But oh, the pleasure afterward… the way his knot attached to me and held me in a downward spiral of oblivion… I liked that. I liked thata lot.
“The ritual requires you to be presented in front of the kingdom,” Catum tells me. “That’s the purpose of having you take the elixir, and for bringing you here. Monsterland needs to know an Omega has been found. The oldest of our kind will demand that the ritual be honored.”
“The ritual that requires me to run,” I translate before he dips me back beneath the water.
His fingers massage my scalp again, his touch hypnotic and nearly making me forget what I asked. But he remembers and responds the moment he tugs me free of the showerhead.
“Yes, the ritual that requires you to run and Alphas to hunt. We don’t trust the Crimson King to follow protocol. We believe he’ll lock you in a cage and breed you, thus claiming you as his because of the heir inside you.”
I swallow. “That’s what the voice said after the ceremony—that I would be bred.”
Catum grunts. “That voice was Craze being a lunatic and trying to scare you.”
My lips curl down. “That was Craze?”
Catum nods. “Yeah, he likes to perform. But he also wasn’t wrong. The Crimson King won’t play by the rules. Impregnating you will solidify his rule.”
“Why?” I ask, not understanding that part. Unless… “Is that the outcome of the ritual? Me… being pregnant?”
He grabs a bar of soap and begins lathering it between his hands. Then very quietly, he says, “Yes. That’s how the claim is solidified.”
My eyes widen. “By impregnating me.” I can’t help the shrill quality of my voice. “What if I don’t want to be pregnant?”
