Alpha's Temptation Read online

  These creatures were hideous, with thick and scaled skin that seemed impossible to penetrate and sightless white eyes that were clearly an adaptation to the darkness. Their noses pressed to the ground as multidirectional ears like a cat's tilted in the direction of the ship. This was the first thing she had seen that made Castor appear small as their bulk was twice his and they rose on hind legs to a height significantly taller than he was.

  Aura scrambled to the back of the ship, far enough she could no longer see the fear-inducing creatures as Castor maintained a defensive position at the gap in the ship's hull.

  He took his first shot, recoil from the weapon forcing him to take a step back as there was nowhere for him to brace himself. She heard a screech of pain but had no idea if his weapon was strong enough to kill these armored creatures with one shot.

  Metal shrieked as claws swiped against it and Aura covered her ears with a cry of pain. Castor backed up as he reloaded, but not quickly enough. The first creature appeared at the side of the ship, its snarling face visible even from where Aura huddled in the corner.

  A clawed hand pushed through the opening and hooked onto Castor’s shoulder. He yelled in pain as the arm retracted, dragging him toward the opening. Aura could only watch in fear, a scream caught in her throat, as the creature pulled him through the gap in the hull and he disappeared into the night.

  The sounds of a fight were audible, even as she realized that it was one her Alpha couldn’t possibly win. She buried her head against her bent knees, unable to watch any longer as flesh struck flesh and howls of pain came from outside.

  The sound of creaking metal being forced apart compelled her to look again. Another gruesome face appeared in the opening as a second creature forced its way into the ship.

  She huddled against the far wall and prayed for divine intervention from the gods who had never answered her prayers. Clawed hands reached up to widen the gap in the metal with a sharp screech, the creature seeming unbothered by the sharp edges.

  Her hope of remaining protected inside was dashed as the creature fit its shoulders through the hole and crawled inside the ship. It inhaled with a wet snuffle and immediately turned its head to face her, obviously catching her scent.

  There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide as the thing advanced forward. And now she could smell it, a fetid mix of rotten meat on its breath and the dank dirt of forest floor on its skin.

  This what it felt like to face death, she realized, to know that it was coming and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. She realized that she had retreated far enough to press against the dead Alpha whose body was still suspended from the hull by a sharp piece of metal.

  The monster advanced on her, its nostrils flaring as it deeply inhaled her scent and blew it out on a putrid breath that made her want to gag.

  Her back pressed against something hard, the shape of it distinct as she pushed back against the wall. The dead Alpha still had some sort of weapon strapped to its side, likely missed by whoever had scavenged the ship for resources.

  Aura kept her gaze on the advancing creature, able to see her own reflection in the gleam of spittle on its sharp and elongated teeth, as her hands fumbled behind her. She separated the weapon from its holster and it fell into her hands, heavy enough she almost dropped it.

  The creature had to maneuver through the narrow space which slowed its movements. But it drew ever closer, moments away from reaching her and consuming her whole.

  She brought the weapon around to her front, noting that it was a similar shape to the one Castor carried only made of a much different material. It was only a matter of pointing it in the right direction and pulling the mechanism at the bottom.

  The creature bared sharp teeth as it lunged for her.

  A shot rang out loudly enough to deafen her, and a simultaneous bloom of blood appeared on the creature’s face. She had caught it right between the eyes.

  It flopped heavily to the side and landed on her extended legs, crushing them beneath its weight. A hot gush of blood spilled out to coat the floor and seeped into the heavy animal skin wrapped around her.

  Aura watched it die with a pounding heart, uncertain if the creature had enough life within it to attack her again. But the light faded from its eyes as the thing stilled, leaving her trapped beneath its body.

  And she couldn’t even cry for help, unsure if Castor still lived and certain that her shout would just attract more predators. Her hands pushed at the rapidly cooling carcass but not with enough force to move it more than an inch.

  “Aura.”

  She heard the pained gasp of her name just as she accepted that she would die here. Unbelieving, she looked up to see Castor forcing his large body through the gaping hole in the ship's side, seeming unconcerned as the sharp edges cut into his skin.

  “I’m here,” she said, voice barely above a croak as she nearly passed out at the realization he had come back for her.

  Relief shone in his eyes as he made his way towards her, bruises swelling one eye nearly shut and covered in blood that couldn’t all possibly be his own.

  Castor fell to his knees and shoved with all of his strength to lift the dead creature off of her.

  In one moment she could finally breathe but in the next, she was crushed against his massive chest. He lifted her easily and carried her away from the carcass of the terrible creature and to the other side of the small ship, hugging her close

  Her gaze moved over him in a frantic survey, partly to assess him for life-threatening injury but mostly because she couldn't believe that he still lived. When that creature had ripped him away into the night, she'd been convinced that was the last she would ever see him again.

  Being surrounded by so much death only made life seem that much more precious.

  His hands stroked up her body, leaving a trail of blood in their wake as he searched for any injuries. Aura understood his frenzy because she felt it as well. So she submitted to his fevered assessment, watching his face where his concern for her wellbeing did not quite overtake the rage still burning behind his eyes.

  Words caught in her throat as she stared up at him, mind swirling with conflicting emotion. It wasn’t possible to communicate the depth of what she felt. Relief was punctuated with continuing fear and a desperation so deep it suffused her down to the bone.

  So instead of speaking, she grasped his cheeks with hands that did not completely span the width of his face. His own hands stilled as he stared down at her, both of them incapable of speech. She communicated with him in the only way possible, the way that was clearer than words could ever be.

  She kissed him softly, and so sweetly it was little more than the press of her closed lips against his. The kiss said everything she couldn’t, conveying more than should exist if they were simply two survivors in hostile terrain.

  When she pulled away, his eyes had turned the color of a storm-filled sky as a familiar growl vibrated through the air between them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Omega had saved herself.

  Castor would not have imagined it was possible if he had not witnessed it with his own eyes. Her hand had been steady and her aim true as she planted a phaser round right between the Hurlock’s eyes. One shot. One kill.

  Aura had not collapsed in fear or given into death. Instead, she had found a way to not only defend herself but to take out a creature that even seasoned hunters feared crossing their path.

  He regarded her with the same awe as he imagined would accompany seeing the face of one of the hidden gods.

  She was miraculous.

  The adrenaline that had propelled him forward during his fight with the Hurlocks had not faded. He had killed one with his bare hands and used the gun to wound the other before stabbing it through the eye with a piece of broken metal. Blood covered his hands but the rage still flowed through him, now without the outlet of further violence.

  And when she kissed him, mouth sweet even through the sharp tang of
blood, he lost his fragile hold on control.

  When he reached for her, delicate hands already rose to embrace him as they fell into each other like two halves finally coming together as one whole. She fit underneath them as if she were made to be there, and he rolled them both on the floor so her body was trapped beneath him.

  But she did not react with fear at being confined beneath him. Instead, her face tilted back to allow him better access as his lips fell upon hers. He kissed her like she was simultaneously the most precious thing on the planet and also the thing in the world he most wanted to devour. But she kissed him back with equal force, caught in the same spell that had overtaken him.

  Their mating was as frenzied as it was possible for a joining to be without an estrous high or the furor of a rut to compel them. Clothing was stripped away harshly enough it tore in places, both of them too far gone to notice.

  Castor grunted in frustration at the many layers separating them. His mind was no longer concerned with masking her scent when the flavor of it on his tongue stoked an addiction that would never be sated.

  He knew his hands were rough enough to cause injury but couldn’t bring himself to slow. And the sounds that Aura made beneath him were not ones of pain.

  Instead, she groaned low as he entered her. It was enough for sanity to briefly return and he held himself momentarily still within her as she writhed beneath him and begged with words he didn’t understand but whose meaning was clear by her grasping hands and desperate gasps.

  But when she became frenzied, nipping at him with tiny sharp teeth and digging her nails into his shoulders, Castor lost any sense of restraint. His fine hold on control had finally broken.

  Heedless of the danger that remained or that the sound might attract more predators while they were still exposed, he pounded into her.

  Her arms wrapped around his neck, forcing him closer to her with surprising strength as their bodies moved together in a familiar dance. There had never been a woman who matched him as perfectly as she did and nothing about that had changed.

  His hips thrust with enough force that the tip of him struck her womb, arresting the movement as her heated flesh closed around him. But she didn’t respond with sounds of pain, instead wriggling her body in a frantic movement, trying to force him deeper. Her legs quivered as he retreated and she attempted to compel him forward again. He held there for a moment, gratified by the angry and desperate sounds she made. But he would not allow her to take control, reminding her with murmured words that he controlled her body.

  Sharp teeth bit into the sensitive skin of his chest. Castor roared, unconcerned with who might hear it. His hands pressed the desperate Omega underneath him down onto the metal floor, but she did not release the hold she had on a mouthful of his flesh. The pain of her bite punctuated the pleasure and sent any bit of sanity he had left spinning off into the universe.

  And he responded in a way that was completely outside of his conscious control. His mouth shifted to the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder. The skin was sweetly scented there despite the reek of sweat and fear that pervaded the space. When his tongue dipped out to lightly lick at her flesh, the taste of her burst into his mouth like the first bite of a delicious meal.

  Bite. In that moment of both startling clarity and complete obfuscation, he could not think of any compelling reasons to resist the overwhelming urge that consumed him.

  Bite her. Bite her. Bite her.

  His mouth latched onto the fragile skin before he could fully think through his actions. Her scent suffused each of his senses until he was completely surrounded by it. The sharp tang of her blood filled his mouth, sweet and thick as liquid sugar.

  Aura may have made a sound of pain beneath him but Castor was too far gone to notice. And her small mouth did not release its grip on him as they fed on each other. The pain was secondary to any other consideration as pleasurable pressure built deep in his chest.

  Finally, her mouth opened in a scream but no sound escaped her lips. She panted as if she had just run for miles and couldn’t catch her breath. There was no estrous to numb the pain of teeth breaking her skin, but she didn’t push him away. Instead, her hands gripped the back of his head like a band of iron, strong enough that he could not pull his head away even if that was what he wanted.

  Tears slipped down her cheeks but she still clasped him tighter to her as if they could disappear into each other’s skin and truly become one. As his knot expanded and her cunt clamped down with impossible pleasure, they both flew higher toward climax. The sensation of being joined only intensified.

  He could sense her in a way that he never had before as if a conduit had been opened between them. Her fear and pain were his to share, as was the pleasure they felt.

  Castor climaxed with a roar that rang off the metal of the jump-ship, loud enough to attract any predator within hearing but he was beyond caring. Aura followed closely behind him, the building pressure of his knot inside her too much stimulation on her quivering and oversensitive flesh. Her inner muscles rhythmically squeezed, drawing spurts of cum from his cock as he finally eased the pressure of his mouth and lapped at the oozing wound on her shoulder.

  He came to himself minutes later as she shifted uncomfortably beneath him, dimly aware that he was crushing her into the metal floor.

  Sensation burned deep inside of his chest like a coil of heat that did not quite burn but had itself wrapped around his heart. He had bonded himself to this Omega that he had known for only a handful of days. No, they had bonded each other. Her own mark on his skin ached like a savage wound, even if he couldn’t see it.

  What in the seven hells had he done?

  A loud and droning noise shattered the silence. It wasn’t the crash of Alphas or Hurlocks thundering through the trees. Instead, it sounded mechanical like the whir of copter blades and the firing of an engine.

  Castor jumped to his feet and rushed to the gaping hole in the ship's side. Pre-dawn light filtered over the horizon, casting the forest in a strange glow. And just above the treetops, he could see an unmarked skycar, the type reinforced for travel through the Forbidden Zone and to other sectors.

  Rescue had arrived and from Pandora, his own sector.

  But relief was short-lived as he scrambled into action. Helping Aura to stand, he wrapped her more solidly in the furs, covering the wound on her shoulder before securing a thin tie around her waist. He then shrugged into another length of animal skin, ensuring that the broken skin on his chest in the perfect imprint of her teeth was concealed.

  The urge to keep their new bond a secret was innate, but the more he explored the idea, the more sense it made. His return would be met with dozens of questions, many of which he would be entirely unable to answer.

  But the men who jumped from the hovering skycar and landed heavily to the ground were not ones he recognized. These were not Guardian Alphas sent by Central Command to rescue him. Instead, they dressed like the hired guns typically seen in the service of Alphas with private wealth to spend on the best security.

  One man stepped forward, obviously the leader. “Prince Castor?”

  Castor strode forward as the regal bearing he had adopted since childhood reestablished itself. “Who asks?”

  “We come on behalf of Legion Aristophus. He is eager to see you reach the city safely.”

  Legion. Castor had heard the name and almost never in positive terms. The man was a notorious cartel boss who had threatened or cajoled key officials into lucrative contracts with the government. Legion was the last person who Castor would expect to organize a rescue expedition.

  “Why?”

  The mercenary leader appeared uneasy. “This area is dangerous, perhaps we should discuss it further once we are airborne.”

  Castor agreed with an annoyed growl and scooped Aura up into his arms. “Lead the way.”

  They settled into the utilitarian interior, the skycar designed more for military-type maneuvers than for comfort. He tried to re
lax into the hard seat but tension sung through his body and he knew Aura could feel it. Her small hands clutched at his arms, hard enough that her grip left tiny half-moon marks on the skin

  But Aura still looked around with wide eyes from her position on his lap, limbs frozen with what he could only assume was shock. She didn’t seem to notice the oozing wound on her shoulder that was barely covered by the fur.

  A roil of emotions moved through him, many of them unrecognizable: Fear and pain and anger and satisfaction and want. He wanted to wrap his arms as tightly around the girl as he could and also shove her as far away as the small space would allow.

  He had claimed an Omega.

  And part of him was deeply satisfied with that realization, the beast inside of him finally sated by bloodshed and possession. But the rational part of him, the part that had lobbied for Omegas’ rights and considered itself particularly enlightened was disgusted by what he had done.

  No one could know about this, he realized. An unexpected feeling lurched through his chest. It was regret, although he wouldn’t have been able to name the emotion if asked. With a barely audible sigh, he shifted Aura off his lap so she sat on the bench beside him. Then moved away so a small distance separated them, enough that he could breathe without inhaling her scent with every lungful of air.

  Castor sensed her gaze on him but he forced himself to keep his head turned away. Whatever emotion swirled within the dark pools of her eyes would be too much of a distraction for him.

  “Explain what it is you want with me,” Castor asked, falling into the role of the imperious royal like he was donning a second skin. “Why would Legion, of all the Alphas in Pandora, have me rescued from the Forbidden Zone when my father’s own advisors have apparently called off the search?”

  The mercenary leader glanced from Castor’s stern countenance to the bowed head of the girl beside him before returning his gaze to the prince’s face. “Legion stands accused of your murder. An accusation that is obviously unfounded.”