Omegas Unchained (The Rogue Pack Book 8) Page 2

  Griffin broke the silence. “There’s certainly a lot more choices for you now that the gathering has started.”

  Ryan thought he heard something in the beta’s tone. Worry maybe. No, that made no sense. What did a guy like Griffin have to be concerned about? Certainly not that Ryan would want some foreign shifter as a mate when he had Griffin available.

  Before he could think of a suitable reply, the back door opened, and Ethan, the Green Mountain omega stood on the threshold. He flashed Ryan a smile. “Mind if I come in?”

  Ryan’s first reaction was irritation. He didn’t appreciate the interruption when things were going well with Griffin. A second later, he chastised himself for being silly and jealous. It wasn’t like he had a claim on Griffin. Besides, Ethan was no one to worry about or envy. The poor boy was barren. How horrible would that be for an omega? Breeding pups was the whole reason for their existence.

  And, as much as Ryan hated thinking it, the sad truth was a beta like Griffin would have no interest in such a shifter. Only an alpha could afford to mate with a non-breeder as part of his harem. So long as he had others to give him pups, taking an omega for pure sexual pleasure would be considered acceptable among their kind. Other dominants were different. While they were expected to have what fun they wanted with sigmas, mating was serious business. It was a way to pass their blood line along. Every dominant wanted that.

  Ethan approached with a broad grin that didn’t fade. He seemed unfazed by the presence of a dominant. “Anything I can do to help? I promised my brother I’d make myself useful to the host pack if he brought me.” He scratched at the back of his neck and quirked his lips. “The truth is I rise early and I’d go crazy with nothing to do.”

  “Oh, um…” Ryan looked over at Joey’s white board where the omega always wrote out his menu for the next day before retiring. “Looks like it’s omelets this morning, so if you don’t mind prepping the veggies?”

  “Sure. Happy to. Is everything in the fridge?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great, on it.”

  Ethan could feel the other omega’s eyes on him the whole way over to the massive refrigerator. Used to scrutiny and ignoring it, he went about the mundane, yet welcome, task of finding and prepping the vegetables. It was easy, mindless work, and the Rogue’s kitchen was pretty modern. As much as the one for his Green Mountain Pack, notwithstanding how newly-formed the Rogues were. Their alpha, Lorcan, seemed cut from the same mold as Ethan’s brother, Elijah. So it wasn’t surprising really that in a short period of time, the Rogues had modernized their pack lands.

  He pulled out peppers and mushrooms and brought them over to the sink to wash. “Do you want onions, too?” he asked the room in general. He wasn’t sure of the omega’s name.

  “Yes, please. Onions are a pack favorite.”

  “No problem, I can handle that.”

  “Really, that’s not necessary. You’re a guest.”

  Ethan snorted as he broke open and seeded the peppers. “That’s nice of you to say so, but really my brother is the guest. I’m just along for the ride.”

  “It was kind of him to allow that.” This from the beta who stood a little closer to the other omega than was strictly necessary. And from Ethan’s brief assessment, he was drinking his coffee at a glacial pace.

  “Yes, sir, it was. Elijah spoils me, I have to confess.”

  “That’s easy to do with an omega,” the man replied.

  Ethan smiled briefly in response. The other omega–damn, what is his name?–slapped the dough in his hand hard against the counter. He stiffened, as well, although subtly. O-kay, things were becoming clearer by the second about the lay of the land in the room. It was obvious the omega was interested in the beta, and vice versa, if Ethan was any judge. And, he was. He understood the way of dominants, and as a formerly mated omega, he knew desire when he saw it. That was true even when it was carefully banked, as it was with this particular beta.

  The omega wasn’t hiding his emotions nearly so well. Then again, omegas usually didn’t. Ethan was atypical in that respect. After all that he’d been through, masking his feelings came easily. That was particularly true when it came to his pain. He hated for anyone to see how much it hurt to be what he was–a barren omega, a thing so rare, everyone had refused to believe it until a year of daily mountings had produced no heat and no pup.

  Humiliating.

  Heartbreaking.

  My life.

  No amount of crying or feeling sorry for himself was going to change it, either. The only thing he could do was pretend it didn’t bother him. It also cost him nothing to avoid antagonizing someone like this omega who clearly had his heart set on the beta in the room. Where the pup had come from, he wasn’t sure. There was a lot about their host pack that he knew nothing about, though it was clear from the scents that the beta was not the pup’s sire.

  Not wanting to give either the beta or the omega the impression that he was trying to entice the dominant or cause trouble in the host pack, Ethan concentrated on his job. The built-in wooden cutting board was in a prep area closer to the highchair. He moved everything over to that spot and grinned at the happy pup sitting there before grabbing a knife. The pup babbled at him and waved his fists.

  “Sorry, little one, I don’t think there’s anything here your father would let me give you.”

  “No, there isn’t,” the omega confirmed. Wiping his hands on a towel, he came over and reached for his son. “It’s mostly a milk diet still with some cereal and fruit.” He hefted the surprisingly big pup out and settled him on his slender hip.

  “It seems to be doing the trick. He’s a big boy.” Ethan kept his eyes on his task. It hurt a lot to see another omega with a pup.

  The omega chuckled. “Yeah, he is.”

  “I’ll get out of your way,” the beta said, putting his mug into one side of the wide sink.

  “Oh, no,” the omega replied, even as he sat on one of the kitchen chairs. “I was going to make you eggs.”

  The beta smiled as he shook his head. Gods, he was a handsome one. “It’s fine. You’re busy, and I can wait until breakfast. Really,” he added with that dominant tone that meant the discussion was over.

  “Thanks for the coffee, Ryan.”

  Ryan, of course.

  “See you later, Ethan is it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m Griffin.” On that final note, the beta headed for the great room.

  “Bye, Griffin.” Ryan uttered the words softly and with a dejected tone. Then he lifted his shirt to give his pup access to a nipple.

  Ethan made a conscious effort to not look. Nursing was the most natural thing in the world next to mounting and breeding, and nothing anyone in a pack would pay any attention to. Normally. But for him, it was the hardest part of his barrenness to get past. To never have the chance to nurture his own pup was almost unbearable. Hiding his feelings was difficult enough without letting Ryan see his expression.

  “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

  Ethan paused his cutting, surprised that Ryan had not only picked up on his feelings, but was willing to ask about them head on. It was refreshing, actually. Everyone in his own pack tended to tiptoe around the issue as if it didn’t exist. Not wanting to make one of his hosts feel like he had to leave his own kitchen, Ethan dismissed the notion.

  “No, certainly not. You need to feed your pup when he’s hungry.”

  “Yeah, I know. I just thought maybe given your, um, situation, it wasn’t something you like seeing.”

  Ethan shrugged. He opened his mouth to lie again, then closed it. “You’re not wrong,” he admitted, although he wasn’t sure why.

  Maybe it was because his time with Ryan and the other members of the Rogue Pack was limited. It was nice to have a chance to speak more freely with a peer without worrying about getting endless looks of pity for the rest of his life. He got plenty of that already even with his pretend indifference.

  He looked up fro
m his chopping and grimaced. “It’s only been about six months since my mate sent me back to Green Mountain. Up until the time he did, I kept hoping things would change. Obviously, that can’t happen now. I haven’t had a lot of time to get used to being barren.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ryan said in a soft voice. Then he winced and repositioned his pup.

  Ethan’s eyes widened of their own volition. “Did he bite you?”

  “Yes,” Ryan hissed. “More teeth are coming in.”

  “And you don’t want to wean him because you’ll go into heat again?” Barren or not, Ethan knew the drill. All omegas did.

  Ryan nodded. “That’s right. I’ll put up with bloody teeth marks if I must to keep control over my life a while longer.”

  Ethan moved on to the last of his vegetables. “Is that a thing here? I mean, your alpha is cool with that plan? Or, are you mated?” He realized that was unlikely given how much the omega was telegraphing his interest in Griffin, but he didn’t want to make assumptions.

  “My mate is dead, so it’s only Lorcan who has to agree. He’s fine with it.”

  Now it was Ethan’s turn to say, “Sorry. Losing your mate must be tough.”

  “Not for me.” Ryan switched his pup to the other breast. “I hated my mate and was glad when Lorcan killed him. It was a short war, and not one of Lorcan’s choosing.”

  “I heard about it.” Ethan hadn’t realized the dead alpha, Haldon, had left a mate, let alone a pup. “And, Lorcan let you keep the boy?”

  Ryan nodded slowly. “Yes. He’s very kind.”

  “I’ll say. Of course, Elijah would have done the same. I think our packs are going to get along really well.”

  “It seems so,” Ryan agreed.

  Because he found he liked Ryan and their conversation had flowed easily, Ethan dared to ask, “So, Griffin?”

  Ryan’s eyes flashed. “What about him?”

  Ethan grinned. “I take it he’s your end game. You want him as your mate,” he clarified when Ryan’s expression indicated confusion.

  Now the omega’s cheeks pinked up. “What if I do?”

  “No worries, dude. I’m not trying to horn in on your action.” He scraped all of the cut vegetables into a bowl. “How about I start in on softening all of this for the omelets?”

  “Joey–the omega in charge of the kitchen–does like everything to get a quick sauté before going into the omelet. You don’t have to do it, though.”

  “I want to.” So saying, Ethan wasted no time grabbing two cast iron skillets and setting them on the large stove. He turned up the heat before hunting down oil.

  “You’re not interested in Griffin?”

  Ethan answered while he coated the pans. “Why would I be?” He glanced over his shoulder. “He’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong. But I’m not in the market for sex, even outside my own pack where there’d be no strings attached. And, Elijah’s modern views notwithstanding, he wouldn’t like anyone who isn’t my mate touching me. I don’t want to upset him or cause him to pick a fight over my honor.”

  Although he meant every word he said, an image of the massive Strongblood alpha, exuding raw power, flashed through his mind. A spark of deep desire jolted him. It had been like this ever since the man had pinned him with a hungry look. His wolf yipped in response. He tamped down the feelings and quieted his wolf. They could only get him into trouble.

  “Besides,” he added as he dumped the vegetables in the sizzling pans, “Griffin barely noticed me. He’s way into you.”

  “You think?”

  The hopefulness in the question had him turning to face Ryan. The boy’s eyes were wide. “Yeah, ‘course I do. Don’t you?”

  The light in Ryan’s eyes dimmed a bit. “I’m not sure. It’s what I want. I know Lorcan will approve since he let Griffin join the pack. If only Griffin would offer for me, I’d happily mate him.”

  Ethan gave the veggies a stir. “How would that be for you, mating with a beta after being an alpha-mate? It’s a step down rank-wise.”

  “I don’t care about any of that,” Ryan scoffed. “All that matters is that my next mate be a good man.”

  “Griffin seems nice.”

  “He is. He’s the best, most honorable shifter I know.”

  That declaration caused Ethan to abandon his task for a moment while he stared at the other omega. He’s in love. He wondered if Ryan realized that his goal involved more than a practical solution to his inevitable problem. Probably not. Love wasn’t something their species had truly recognized until recently. Sure, the old ones spoke of this fated-mate thing. No one these days believed in that stuff. It had likely been a primitive way of expressing the emotion. And, omegas like Ryan had been raised to accept whatever life they were ordered to. That Ryan dared to set hopes for his own future was amazing enough.

  “Hey, what’s up?” The omega in charge of the kitchen, Joey, came in carrying a pup in a sling.

  “Good morning, Joey,” Ryan said as he detached his pup and patted his back. “Ethan wanted to help out, so I asked him to cut up the vegetables for the omelets. I hope that was okay.”

  “Sure.” Joey fixed his attention on Ethan. “And, you’re softening them? That’s awesome. I appreciate the help.”

  Ethan relaxed a hair, not realizing until he did that he’d feared a negative reaction. He was mindful of how he was the interloper here. “You’re welcome.” He turned off the heat on both burners. “I think they’re done. Is there anything else I can do?”

  Joey pursed his lips and hummed. “The rest of the kitchen staff will be here shortly, so no, thanks.” Grabbing a banana, he peeled it half-way down, broke off a chunk and handed it to his enormous pup. “Here you go, L.C.” The pup didn’t hesitate to shove most of it in his mouth.

  Ethan chuckled. “He’s got a good appetite.”

  Joey grimaced. “Don’t I know it. He’s draining me dry these days. I’m going to have to wean him.”

  Ryan sighed. “Oh, Joey.”

  “It’s okay. I likely won’t go into heat until fall and I’m fine with breeding again so soon.” He shrugged. “When you mate with a gamma, you can’t be surprised when you pop out ginormous and voracious gamma pups.”

  Ethan watched as the father gave the rest of the banana to his son, then headed for the corner where the highchairs were stored. That was a sign that the Rogues were prosperous. Having human conveniences was a luxury that not all packs had or wanted. But when Joey tried to seat his pup, the boy shrieked and thrashed.

  “Damn,” Joey said, giving up. “This is what I get for carrying him around in the sling all the time. I can’t cook with you in your pouch, L.C.” The pup responded by slapping his banana smeared hands on his father’s cheeks.

  “I’ll take him,” Ryan offered, standing.

  Ethan knew there was a better solution. “How about I hold him? I don’t have anything else to do.” He pasted a smile on his face and reminded himself that he had to be able to be a useful pack member. If he couldn’t breed his own pups, he may as well get used to caring for others.

  Joey looked at him skeptically. “Are you sure? L.C. is hefty, and you’re not very big.”

  Ethan rolled his eyes. “Like any of us are? Come on,” he added, approaching with his arms outstretched. “I’m stronger than I look.”

  “All right, if you’re sure?” Joey handed the pup over. “He’s sticky, though.”

  “I don’t mind.” He didn’t, either. When the pup eyed him suspiciously, Ethan grabbed one of his hands and sucked on the fingers. “Hmm, banana.”

  The pup thought it was hilarious, and just like that, they were friends. Ethan sat down on a nearby chair, because the kid was very heavy, and watched Joey whirl around the kitchen to prepare breakfast. After putting his own pup back into a highchair, Ryan went to help him.

  “So, did I see Griffin come in earlier from patrol?” Joey asked the room in general.

  Ryan answered, awkwardly to Ethan’s ears. “Ah, yeah. He just wanted c
offee.”

  “Which you kindly made even though you don’t drink it,” Joey observed. There was a lightly teasing tone to his voice.

  “It’s no more than I’d do for any dominant.” Ryan’s cheeks pinked up as he spoke.

  “Of course.” Joey winked at Ethan, then started cracking eggs in a large bowl. “It’s nice having the beta fully in the pack, though, don’t you think? He’s gorgeous.”

  “Joey!” Ryan’s eyes flashed. “What if your mate heard you say that?”

  “What? Liam knows I didn’t go blind when I mated with him. And, he’s very secure in my love. I was only making an observation and one I bet you’ve made yourself.”

  “Maybe.” Ryan busied himself with slicing day-old bread. “I’ll prep the French toast.”

  “Thanks.” Joey looked over his shoulder. “What do you think of Griffin, Ethan?”

  Although he was surprised at being so included in the conversation, Ethan was more than happy to join in. Coming to the gathering was turning out to be a good idea. He was having fun already.

  “He’s certainly an eye-catcher, but not exactly my type.”

  “Ooh,” Joey cooed. “So, tell us what is.”

  “Hmm.” Ethan refocused his attention on the pup, suddenly uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken at his own instigation. “I don’t know. Just different, I guess.”

  He left it at that, except he wasn’t being open. He did know, but the truth unnerved him. And no amount of effort deny it would succeed for long because he had a very clear idea of his perfect mate–wild, dangerous, and not quite civilized–the exact opposite of what he should have been attracted to given his upbringing.

  And, that very guy had walked out of his dreams and onto the Rogue Pack’s land, offering to buy him.

  Chapter Two

  Graydon used the barrel of rain water to wash off the last of the blood and gore that stuck around his human mouth. The morning was already dawning bright and hot. His run hadn’t done much to cool his blood, although the game he’d killed and eaten had taken the edge off his hunger.