AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I found that I didn’t care what he looked like. My brother would have rushed forward to protect me out of duty, but with Nearden gone, there was no other who would have placed themselves between me and danger.
Especially not Edar. That drunk would’ve pissed himself as he stumbled away.
“I’m Nala.”
It was the only thing I could think to say. I couldn’t dispute his claim, nor did I want to.
His other hand came up to stroke through my hair as he stared down at me, his purr throbbing to life between us. My knees gave out as I melted, the tightness in my chest that I’d carried for so long finally coming loose.
No one had purred for me since Nearden’s death, and the sound was everything I needed.
It was the sound of home.
The monster caught me as I fell, clutching me to his broad, vibrating chest. The silkiness of his fur surprised me, and I couldn’t help but rub my cheek against him as he swept an arm behind my knees.
“I am Av’dag, my little rabbit.”
My eyes drifted closed, and I felt him turn, striding away from my brother’s cabin. Relief flooded through me. My brother had arranged my mating to Edar without me, so he could arrange the dissolution of it without me as well. I held no remorse over leaving.
Tangling my fingers in Av’dag’s fur, I snuggled closer to his warmth, letting him take me wherever he wanted. There was a pinch of regret over leaving my nesting materials behind, but they were the things I’d used with Nearden, and I needed to make a clean break. They would always remind me of him and my life before, and while I didn’t want to forget him, I wanted to start over.
I wanted a new life.
Chapter Four
Av’dag
Imarveled at the omega snuggled in my arms. Once she’d opened her eyes and looked at me, I’d expected her to scream and run again.
To try to get away.
To escape themonster.
And yet she’d accepted me taking her for myself without a fuss. Offered me her name, and allowed my arms around her.
The gods had blessed me.
Clutching her tighter, I broke into a lope, moving through the trees as fast as I could without risking injury to my omega. The scent of her heat grew, the sweetness of the slick coating her thighs making me salivate, and I needed to get her back to my caves before it was too late. I forgot the pain in my shoulder and chest from the bear’s claws in the rush of elation flooding through me.
Already, I wanted to throw her to the forest floor and rut. To sheath myself in her tightness until my knot locked us together and I could make her mine. Until I’d fucked a babe into her belly so I could watch her swell with new life.
She was small, but I knew it was possible, because Mel’ar’s mate already carried his youngling inside her.
My erection bobbed as I ran, heavy and uncomfortable. I tried to ignore the soft curves of the omega in my arms, but it was impossible. The sooner I got us back, the sooner I could find relief within her.
I raced up the mountain, taking a direct path back to the clan. I’d been tracking the bear for over a day, but he had wandered, and I’d traveled slower to stay on his trail.
It was still a long trek. Nala fell into a restless doze in my arms, her soft snores tangling with my purr. Even as my strides slowed with the difficulty of the climb, I maintained the soothing vibrations to combat the cramps I felt tensing her middle. She would whimper and wriggle, but never fully woke.
The caves of the clan were spread over a wide territory, each of the alphas claiming a set of their own once they reached maturity. Being an older alpha, mine were near the center of the sprawl, and I tensed each time we neared the openings of other unmated males. I held respect and position in the clan, but even I would be challenged for a ripe omega if another alpha caught her scent before we made it to safety. It was a relief when the dark opening of my cave appeared ahead, and I let my steps slow.
Purr fading to a low rumble, I gently jostled Nala.
“Awaken, my omega, and see your new home.”
She stirred, rubbing her cheek against my chest before turning to look. Her eyebrows rose as we crossed through the entrance, her fingers tightening in my fur as I carried her deeper into the warren where she would be safe. Her body stiffened when I placed her on her feet, and I worried for a moment that she had changed her mind about mating a monster.
“I cannot see. It is too dark.”
