“Everything okay?” I said carefully, walking slowly toward him. “I mean, I know things aren’t okay. We found out our families have a history of treating each other like shit and killing each other off and your uncle is a possible terrorist. A word I’d never heard of before until coming to this realm, but it fits.”
He didn’t respond, instead raising a shaky taloned hand to grip one of his dark blue horns like a vice, his body shuddering. Something definitely wasn’t okay. And then I was hit with a thick whiff of his peppermint scent. It was almost suffocating. This was not normal.
This was his rut.
He stood up and turned to me, his wings surrounding him majestically, his body larger and more toned. It really was mesmerizing to see him in this hybrid form. His eyes glowed as he looked me over slowly, as if he wanted to devour me. But in a good way. My stomach clenched, and I stared silently back at him, waiting for him to respond. To tell me what he wanted. He was the alpha; this was his rut. I was his.
His massive wings folded closer to his body, and I looked down to see that he was incredibly hard. His pajama bottoms were concealing little, his cock poking against the thin material. And a small stain of precum was spreading over the bottoms. My eyes couldn’t look away. I wasn’t even trying to be discreet. Not that I had to. He was mine.
He grinned mischievously, his teeth sharp and dangerous, as if reading my mind and perhaps he was. “Run,” he said, his voice thick and deeper than normal.
The command in his voice almost pushed me forward, although he had not used his alpha voice to compel me to move. “What are you talking about? Why?”
He tilted his head to the side with a lazy smile, eyes flickering at me. “One…two…”
I was smart enough to quickly get it. Alphas liked a chase and I was to give him one. “Oh, we’re counting now. I need to put on clothes and shoes.”
“Three…four…”
I raced to the door and stuck my feet into flat leather lace-up boots. “Let me at least put on shoes.”
I was going to look crazy running outside half-dressed, but I was also a little excited. And maybe a little scared. He was almost at ten, and I wasn’t ready for him to catch me. We’d never played the chase game before, and with him in his rut, I had no clue how he would behave. For once, I wasn’t in control.
Maybe I liked it.
“I’m at ten, Sunshine.” He gave me a devilish grin that shot straight to my core, igniting my already heated center. His tail swished back and forth like an eager little puppy ready for a treat. Except I was the treat, and he was no damn puppy.
I forgot how much I loved Ivan in his rut. There was something about his dominance, even more than his usual alpha behavior, that got me excited. It had to be the omega in me.
He stuck his tongue out as if tasting the air with that forked tongue. “Why are you still here?” he asked, breaking my lustful haze.
I swung open the door. “I don’t know!” I cried, taking off.
Only once I was outside, I didn’t know exactly where to go. Billie’s pack had a lot of land and there was a small, wooded area past the pool. That might be my best bet. Oh, who was I kidding? Ivan would catch me. This was only about how long it would take.
I pumped my arms, running as fast as I could toward the woods. I’d play the game, but I wouldn’t make it easy for him. I was scared and excited at the same time.
I jumped over rocks and branches, not wanting to trip. If I kept running in a straight path, this chase would end soon. I didn’t feel him close behind me. He was probably walking, knowing he’d catch me in his own sweet time. He was toying with me.
I veered to my right and moved deeper into the woods. Finding a suitable tree, I teleported up, perching on a thick branch. Teleporting was a skill that some Nodoorians possessed, but it was limited. We could only teleport within close range. I wondered if this would be considered cheating, requiring further punishment, but a sudden noise, a stepping on twigs, caught my attention, and I froze.
“I can smell you,” Ivan called, although I couldn’t see him anywhere. “You leave a trail, love. I can taste your scent on my tongue.”
Damn omega hormones were giving me away. I twisted around on the branch to see if he was behind me below, but I saw nothing. It was as if he were a ghost. What kind of game was he playing?
“Do you know what I am going to do to you when I find you?” he continued.
I shook my head, not sure if he could see me. He could fly, after all. I definitely wasn’t going to respond and give my location away. Although, he had to know where I was, we were mates, and I couldn’t hide from him. This was fun for him, even in his aroused state. I was impressed at his control while in his rut. That wasn’t how it used to be. Was he more in control because I was his mate now?
I heard him chuckle. “I’m going to press you against a tree and take you from behind. Do you want that, love?”
Yes, I absolutely wanted that. I could already see it in my head.
His voice went into a whisper, but I could still hear him so clearly. “To feel me deep inside you, filling you, brushing against that spot that makes you come undone? To feel my hands on those beautiful breasts, my fingers between your legs, bringing you to ecstasy? Do you want that as much as I do, my sunshine?”
I felt a faint breeze on the back of my neck, and I slapped at my skin, turning slightly but seeing nothing. Oh, he was good. I couldn’t recall him being this sneaky in the past when we were playful. Perhaps being his mate really had changed him.
When I turned back around, I yelped in surprise, seeing him hovering in the air, wings expanded like a beautiful angel. A very naked angel. The surprise caused me to lose my balance, and I tilted back, falling halfway off the branch, but Ivan caught me with his tail. It wrapped around my back and then lifted me higher until it dropped me into his arms.
