Deviant Evolution: A dark Omegaverse science fiction romance (The Controllers Book 4)
Author: Lane, L.V.
Date: 2019-08-21
Publisher: Three Spires Pty Ltd

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Glossary

About the Author

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Deviant Control: An Alpha and Omega dark science fiction romance (The Controllers...

DEVIANT EVOLUTION

L.V. Lane

Copyright © 2019 L.V. Lane

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-6485333-3-7

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author.

Contains dark romantic scenes that some readers may be sensitive to. It is intended for adults only.

CHAPTER ONE

Extensive trials followed the development of the Copper virus, and these yielded what was now categorized as the Delta through Mu dynamics.

These early trials led to the first mass release on the tiny outer-reaches planet, Adora3, a mining planet with a high military presence.

The Copper virus does not work as if given a blank slate. It takes what is offered in the individuals DNA and encourages it to flourish. The first Alpha dynamics manifested within days. Untrained and unchecked, the results were devastating. They were revealed among the strongest, mentally and physically, and many occupied positions of power within the government, business, military, and the police.

Knowing the observers from the Empire’s governing council would destroy them, and the whole planet if necessary, they took action.

All too easily, the virally altered inhabitants of Adora3 infected the next world.

Doctor Lillian Brach

“THE FIRST DAYS and weeks of control are hard,” Ethan said. “You’re probably convincing yourself that you understand how it works. Might be thinking it will be easier now you are back in your home city. That Daddy is going to step in and save his princess, or at worst, hand you over to a nice civilized Alpha.”

“He won’t. No one is going to save you. The only rights you have are the ones I choose to give you. You will learn to obey me. If you don’t, I will take your few privileges away and discipline you until you do.”

“You’re mine now. I don’t just control you—I own you in every way that matters.”

“Did you really say that?” I asked. I should have basic human rights. But I had no such rights, I was an Omega, and under Ethan’s care—because my father, the ruling council, and goodness knew who else, had decided it.

He smiled—a playful smile that wasn’t actually playful. “We’re going to have so much fun.”

Fun for whom? I didn’t need the answer to that rhetorical question, this wasn’t going to be fun for me. Torture, torment, a little of both. I had become increasingly convinced Ryker was borderline nuts—or completely nuts—but I desperately wanted him to come back.

Ethan directed me through the busy spaceport while my mind reeled from his words. I was supremely conscious of his hulking presence and the glances he received. Certainly, everyone in the spaceport was a dynamic of some kind, including several Alphas. None had Ethan’s presence.

Exiting the port, we took a skycar, which whisked us to the capital city. I tried to ignore my burgeoning flush, and was relieved when Ethan received a communication the moment we entered the skycar. He stared out the opposite window, talking to someone via his ear-communicator. It wasn’t a happy sort of conversation, and he bristled with a brooding menace that did nothing to help me control the rising flush.

I stared out of my window at the soaring towers, glistening in the early evening sun and tried to distract myself. Chimera was a cosmopolitan planet, situated in one of the few systems to have escaped the war. Shuttles, skycars and light-rail carriages zipped by, and the rainbow-colored billboards flashed in the waning light.

Being here, I could almost forget the destruction happening elsewhere, and the ever-tightening net that peeled off the next layer of safe zones.

How long until even this great planet was under threat?

Too soon.

I had grown up here, only moving to other systems as part of my research. Tolis had been my home for several years, and there was a strange notion of coming home in peering out that window. Still, I was relieved my father’s duties in the wake of the current crisis, kept him elsewhere. My fragile mental state was in no shape for his indomitable presence.

The respite would not last now that I was back, but I was going to make the most of whatever time I could get.

“I don’t know all the details, but his younger brother died in the chaos after they ripped the Alphas out,” Ryker had said, back when we were on the ship. “To say he doesn’t hold a favorable opinion of the ruling council, is a bit of an understatement.”

My father had picked Ethan as my Controller for when I came into heat; I still could not wrap my head around that. Why would my father allow me to be given over to such a man? What basis would my father select candidates on?

Control, was the immediate answer. He would have to have exemplary control.

Ethan hadn’t been cruel while we were on Tolis, but his methods of control were unwavering in nature. I sighed, then became aware that he had finished his conversation.

I should have stuck to staring out the damn window, but my head swiveled without any interaction from my brain, and I found myself the object of his penetrating gaze.

He frowned. “Are you flushing?”

“No,” I said, a guilty hand clutching my throat as if this might help me.

His frown deepened. “Stop flushing.”

No, that wasn’t going to help.

“For fuck sake.” He dragged me onto his lap. I thought for an alarming moment that he was going to bite me then and there, but all he did was press my head against his chest and offer up a deep, comforting rumble. “Why are you flushing?”

“I don’t know,” I said evasively.

“Eyes,” Ethan demanded, and I looked up because he was terrifying when he gave a command. “Why are you flushing? Did Ryker do something to you before he left?”

“No!” Ryker could be a challenge at times, but my sense of ethics dictated that I couldn’t let him be blamed for this. “It’s you.” He had been angry before those words left my lips; now, he radiated fury. “I don’t remember much about the night you took me from the ship, but the parts I do, give me nightmares. And your speech on the concourse did not help…if I’m honest. And I’ve discovered that not being honest with a Controller is a bad idea.”

“You weren’t honest with Ryker?” he asked, eyes narrowing further.

Why did I immediately think about his belt? “No! Not exactly, it was more that he encouraged me…to be honest…when I was a little reserved about…offering certain details.”

His face said he wasn’t convinced. “We’ll arrive in five minutes. Can you wait five minutes?”

“Yes,” I said. No way was I going to let him bite me here if there was the vaguest possibility of thwarting it, and besides, I had developed considerable stamina with a flush over the last few weeks.

“Good, because I’m going to need to fuck you the moment I get a hit, and I don’t particularly want to get arrested on my first day off in months.”

“That didn’t help,” I said weakly.

Smirking, he turned back to his window. “It wasn’t meant too, Princess.”

CHAPTER TWO

DISTRACTED BY MY blooming flush, I didn’t recognize where we were going at first. In the three years since I had lived on Chimera, so much had changed.

I had presumed my father would have repurposed the apartment, but it was exactly as I had left it. The fresh flowers on the reception table were a pleasant surprise—along with a handwritten note from my father saying he would be over to see me in a few weeks.

I smiled. Few people used handwritten notes any more.

There was nothing from my mother—I fully expected her to turn up unannounced at the most inconvenient time.

My head was pounding, but not unbearably so, and I continued into the lounge where my breath caught on a sudden lump in my throat. There had been a time when I was in the prisoner cage on the Uncorrupted ship that I had wondered if I would ever see such beauty again. High ceilings and a full windowed wall showcased the soaring towers of the city. Beyond, lay the snow-capped mountains, and the collective presented a dramatic contrast between man and nature. The early evening light was sufficient to bring a twinkle to the city and yet still hold the mountain in glorious relief.

Turning back, I found Ethan looming. He had halted inside the doorway, a tic thumping in his jaw.

This was a lot, I realized—luxury beyond most people’s comprehension. I wasn’t precious about such things, had lived a simpler life for the last three years, and yet I knew enough of the ordinary world to understand how extraordinary this was.

The warning Ethan had issued still bore upon me, and yet I was sensitive toward him in a way I rarely stopped to consider. He had grown up on Lyus, and surely there was no greater hellhole in our Empire. It wasn’t even classified as part of the Empire—a dirty corner they preferred forgotten. I had seen slums, wasn’t naive to the way of the world, and yet I had never lived among it. Even then, Lyus could make our worst slums look like paradise. It was hardly surprising he possessed such an uncivilized demeanor.

I wasn’t a humble person. I was confident in my capability, for all society considered me less important now because I was an Omega. You could not erase twenty-five years of self-belief, and I doubted a lifetime ever would. Yet for him, I felt humble, like I wanted to be humble—to humble myself—because it might reset this unnatural balance that had sprung up between us.

He was a walking war god in our world. The thin veneer did little to mask his primal side, nor where he came from. I imagined a troubled childhood spent fighting to survive would leave more than a few scars.

“How old were you when the conscription came?”

The tic continued to thump. Maybe it was a sensitive subject…

“Twenty-five.”

He had been much older than I was expecting, and I had to fight a sudden urge to retreat.

“Only two types of people live on Lyus,” Ryker had said. He didn’t need to elaborate, he was talking about the predators and the prey, the criminals and their victims. “Probably still be running the underworld there if the conscription hadn’t picked him up.”

I’d thought Ryker had been exaggerating, a figure of speech because people sometimes said things like that. He wasn’t exaggerating, I could see that now. Ethan had been an adult when they took him from his home, and his character was already set. Precisely like mine was. What measures must they have taken to integrate him and make him a useful tool in the war?

I had an alarming notion they had done far too much and not nearly enough.

I had misjudged the imbalance, and I could not erase this uncomfortable enlightenment.

The silence stretched. Neither of us made a move to break it. We simply regarded each other in discovery and rediscovery. I didn’t know Ethan, and yet as we stood in my pretentious apartment, I felt like I knew him in ways that transcended ordinary understanding.

I had witnessed him in action, and I could not un-see that either.

“When I first saw you, on the Uncorrupted ship, I thought you were a figment of my flushed imagination. You ripped a soldier apart right before me. It was like you were a god, and everyone else was mere mortals.”

He continued to study me, but the tic had stopped thumping, and the predator was back in his eyes.

I walked over to him, slow steps until I was close enough to smell the rich scent of his pheromones. My stomach tumbled over, a little ripple I felt all the way to my pussy. His smell was also like coming home. All Alphas had a pleasing scent, but his scent was familiar. They had been conditioning me with it, as part of the testing, for the better part of the last three years.

“He was the first name on your father’s list.” Merry had said, back when we were still on the ship.

I drew my hair back from the right side of my neck and tilted my head in offer. “Please.”

His nostrils flared. “Finally, you are learning your place,” he said.

There was no time to assimilate those words. It was like a tightly stretched band had snapped. With one hand, he fisted my hair, and with the other, gripped my ass, hauling me against his body. I clung as his mouth lowered to my throat.

The skin popped. It still hurt, a sharp stinging pinch that transitioned into a dreadful ache with the first deep pull.

The world swung, a dizzying sensation as he took me down onto the thick rug centering the room, still sucking against my throat. My dress, no more than a scrap of silk, was thrust away by his shaking hands.

The need to join was an imperative, a desperation that shook me as much as the tremble in his hands.

Fumbling between us, he freed his thick cock and buried himself in a single savage thrust. I gasped at the jolt of electric pleasure and over fullness. His bloody lips lifted from my throat and then lowered over mine in a kiss every bit as brutal as the thick invasion between my legs. I tasted the blood, my blood and I lost myself in the tempestuous assault.

There he fucked me, one big hand braced under my ass and one tangling in my hair, holding me still for a pounding rhythm that tipped me straight over the cliff. He didn’t stop, but kept fucking into me wildly, as he sucked and nipped at my lips.

Adrenaline rushed through me, and I knew he was close. He roared as he came. Head tipped, neck arched, his face contorted in pleasure. The visual delight was enough to take me over again.

The night passed in a haze. He took me to the bed where he fucked me for what felt like more hours than was available in a single night. After, I fell into a post-sex coma, only to be woken by an alarming determination that I was about to go into cardiac arrest. Thus began a battle to escape Ethan’s crushing weight for long enough to sleep.

The man was a sprawler, and he sprawled all over me. How could a human arm weigh so much? His leg was worse—his limbs were like giant slabs of meat that could cut off circulation, or in extreme cases, prevent me from breathing. Any attempt to dislodge them resulted in a pissed off growl and a tightening of his hold.

The growls made my pussy contract, and that pushed out slick. At least it wasn’t the deep vicious kind of growl that sent my body into a flush.

He sniffed loudly the third time it happened, and tension rippled through his body. Hauling me on to my back, he buried his face between my legs and inhaled deeply through his nose. Splaying a hand over my stomach, he growled again. I was tired, groggy, and sore between my legs, and my exhaustion battled with my growing arousal.

I squealed when his tongue licked the length of my slit. He had come there, more than once; he did not appear to care. More growling followed as he gripped my thighs to keep them prized open and proceeded to eat me out.

I was so sensitive there that I discovered a hidden energy reserve, and gripping a tight hold of his hair, attempted to wrest him off.

I failed in this quest, and as was inevitable under this sensual assault, my body responded. I didn’t think it was possible to come again, yet, it blazed through me like a wildfire. The pleasure was so close to pain that I screamed and every nerve in my body flared to life.

The shattering climax ripped me up and tossed an empty shell back out. Utterly limp after, I was relieved when he stopped. Less so when I realized he was crawling over my body and that thick club he passed off as a cock was about to impale me.

I pressed a weak hand to his chest. “Please—I can’t.” I thought I might die if I got any more stimulation.

Pulling my hand away, he kissed the back in a gesture I might have mistaken for chivalry had he not stuffed his cock into my slick channel at the same time.

It took him a long time to come.

I fell straight asleep after, and with no more than an hour’s rest, awoke feeling exhausted and raw—and hungry, I was ravenously hungry. I was vaguely aware that nothing was crushing me and was debating whether I had the energy to get up when he returned to the room—still naked—carrying a tray.

Subtle light filtered into my white on white bedroom from the corridor, and the wall to ceiling windows offered up the dull gray of dawn. It was the first time I had witnessed the full impact of his naked body. He was lean rather than bulky, but there was so much of him…and I didn’t know a human body could have that many abdominal ridges. Ryker was built like a tank, and his tattoos were vibrant works of art—disturbing art in some cases—but art, nevertheless.

“I thought you’d be more…furry,” I said.

He stopped. “Huh?”

“The—ah—” Why had I brought this up? “Sasquatch reference Ryker made…”

His lips tugged up on one side. “I think it’s more about size than being an actual Yeti,” he said, resuming his approach. His eyes took on a calculating gleam that suggested he was thinking about committing bodily harm to Ryker.

He set the tray down, climbed back into bed, and hauled me between his legs with my back to his chest. Placing the tray in front of me, he didn’t feed me like Ryker did. But instead, sat there petting me the whole time, playing with my hair and running fingers over any available flesh in a way that spoke of ownership. Hungry enough not to care, I stuffed myself with everything on the plate.

“I put enough on there for both of us.”

I froze.

He chuckled. “Just kidding, Princess. Wouldn’t want to come between a woman and her food. And I need to take some responsibility for you being so hungry.” He lifted the now empty tray and set it on the bedside table. “Besides, I’m still fucking high. I’ve zero interest in eating right now.”

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to handle this playful side. Our interactions thus far had not paved the way for such banter.

With the food gone, I became acutely aware of the body pressed against mine. He had saved my life, and while I had a strange notion I knew him, this was unfamiliar territory—and awkward.

“Why are you tensing?” he asked, like he could read my damned mind.

I’d had my share of lovers over the years—not one had stayed the night, and I was at a loss on how to behave. He had made me breakfast, using the same hands he’d used to rip a man’s jaw off. The same hands that were resting lightly over the covers by my waist.

“Relax,” he said gruffly. “Or you’re going to flush.”

No, that wasn’t going to help. I swallowed, still staring at his hands. He had big hands, the biggest hands I had ever seen…he was all very proportional, so this should not have surprised me.

“What does it do to you?” I asked for want of a distraction. Erison Tsing should have dedicated time to testing Ryker and the impacts of my blood. Instead, he’d been obsessed with tormenting me. “We trialed it on Betas, but it was difficult to extract my blood.” Thinking about the suction pipes made me want to bring my food back up.

Drawing my hair over my shoulder, he traced his fingers over the patch where the skin was tissue thin. “It’s like a shot of adrenaline, but it lasts longer, and you don’t get the crash after. Time moves fast and slow, sounds, smells, and vision are sharper, clearer…and you feel freakishly strong.”

He was already freakishly strong. “How long does it last?”

“When we were on Tolis, it wore off after a couple of hours. It has lasted longer this time.”

He continued to smooth his fingers lightly back and forth over the delicate membrane on the side of my neck, and it made me want to fidget. “My flush was much worse on Tolis…and you took less this time.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “The reaction felt stronger this time…Are you going into the research center today?”

“Yes,” I said, hoping this might provide an excellent opportunity to escape the bed. “I should get showered.” Doctor Tsing had big plans for the launch party. And I was sure he would be far more rested than me.

Ethan’s arm tightened around my waist briefly, and then he released me. “Go ahead,” he said.

I shot out of bed and headed for the shower. No way was I hanging around here where he would likely fuck me all day long.

When I returned to the bedroom, he had put some pants on…and there was a white tube in his hand.

I clutched the towel tighter to my chest.

“Are you sore? Ryker said you were sore after.”

I was mortified that they had been discussing me—and specifically this. What else had they talked about? What hadn’t they talked about?

“When did you discuss this?”

“That’s not your concern.”

“When?” I was incensed. I thought I was coming to terms with all this, but that statement pushed me over the edge. I felt surrounded on every front, and it was stifling me.

His lips twitched. “He sent me a report.”

War god or not, I was going to break his fingers if he tried to put them on me. “I want to see it.”

“Not a fucking chance, now answer the fucking question.” Winter had entered his voice, and it brought my temper down a notch. I needed to be smart about this, not make the situation worse.

“Ah, a little,” I hedged. My stomach fluttered. I knew how these inspections played out. I didn’t want an inspection. “I can do it myself.” The request hadn’t worked with Ryker, I was delusional if I thought such evasion might work with Ethan.

His flinty expression made me regret opening my mouth. “If I ask you a question, I expect you to answer it, not deflect. Ryker warned me you would try to manipulate situations when you were uncomfortable.”

And this coming from Ryker, the master of manipulation? His therapist should be struck from the register and banned from ever practicing again!

“I’m not trying to manipulate anything! I’m trying to…maintain some dignity.”

“You don’t have any. You belong to me, all of you, but especially your pussy. And I like to take care of what’s mine.”

My nostrils flared as I dragged air into my lungs. It didn’t help, I still felt like I was suffocating.

“Come here.”

My stomach turned over as I approached. Ethan nudged his head at the bed.

I nodded, let the towel drop, and sat on the edge. Getting down on his knees, he loomed over me, and with his eyes on mine, coaxed me to lay back against the bed, and then to part my knees.

His actions were too premeditated, and it set my stomach to knotting thinking about him inspecting me.

Fingers skittered over my stomach, and I hissed as the muscles contracted again. He wasn’t even growling, and I was getting wet. Thinking about it, he’d barely growled last night other than when I tried to push him away in bed when he’d been crushing me. I suspected he had refrained from doing so to prevent another flush.

He offered me the soft rumble, and my concerns imploded under the weight of that deep soothing sound. My breathing evened out. He was so gentle with me, the touch light. I ought to be embarrassed about the wetness pooling there, but strong emotions of any kind could not take hold.

A finger and thumb parted my lips. Cool cream was slathered into the weeping entrance, then pumped deep using two thick fingers, over and over. The rumble continued, the pumping continued, and a slow, sublime pleasure rose.

When he pressed a single, cream slathered finger into my ass, my languid state unfolded a fraction. He hadn’t touched me there before. It did not need any cream. “Be still,” he growled. Resuming the rumble, he continued to slowly stoke my libido with every stroke of his thick finger. “Your greedy little cunt is dripping.”

His coarse words rocked me, and I sucked in a deep breath, trying to maintain a sense of calm. It was too late. I had lost it, like a tendril of smoke slipping through my fingers. My pussy fluttered each time he fucked his finger into my ass. I fought to find a stable point on the ceiling, but it felt like it was spinning around, a swirling kaleidoscope in shades of white and gray.

A thick thumb swiped over my clit. I nearly shot off the bed.

“Don’t come.”

I shuddered another deep breath as he smeared the cream over every inch of my pussy with his thumb and fingers until every nerve was on fire.

“Don’t come or I will spank you.”

Oh god, why was that threat making it worse? I bit my bottom lip, hard enough to taste a metallic tang. He held me open. One finger in my ass, and another in my pussy while his thumb rubbed back and forth over my clit.

“I need to work the cream in. If you come, I will spank you.”

“Please stop!”

“I’m not done,” he said, tone implacable. “Hold it for me.”

My climax came like a distant wave rolling toward a shore, building with slow, relentless determination. Once it was set in motion, I knew there was no holding it back. My back arched and my head rolled back, and I groaned like an animal in heat.

As the shock subsided, my breath steadied, and I lifted my lashes to bring reality back into view.

The comforting rumble ceased, and my anxiety cranked up a notch as his fingers withdrew.

He stood, taking the tube into the adjoining bathroom. I tried to mentally pick myself up while listening to the sounds of rushing water. Was he taking a shower? Maybe he wouldn’t spank me after all.

It took me long minutes to gather myself enough to get to a sitting position. I should get dressed. It was safer to be dressed.

He returned to the room while I was still debating the best course of action. On my periphery, I watched him rummaging through the clothing in the closet. I frowned. When had they arrived? It appeared he was staying for a while.

“Did Ryker spank you?”

My head snapped around as he emerged into the bedroom once more, wearing a clean pair of pants.

My eyes met his dark ones. “No.” Why hadn’t I gotten dressed? Why was I still sitting here on the bed like I had lost all ability to function?

“Good,” he said. “I told him not to.” I tried to assimilate that statement as he took my hand and drew me to my shaky feet. Had Ryker already notified him about my many and varied transgressions?

“You look guilty,” he said, a smile tugging up one corner of his mouth.

“You’re making me nervous,” I replied. He might not be privy to my catalog of dubious failings, so I wasn’t about to offer a confession. And he had said spank, not the belt. That had to be better, I reasoned. “I’ve…never been spanked. And you made me fail, you know you did.”

His smirk bloomed. “It pleased me to make you fail. Like it will please me to spank you for the first time.” The thick club of his cock was tenting his pants. Had it been there from the start or had my imminent punishment given rise to that beast? He sat where I had been laid, and gave his head a nudge toward his lap. “Over you go, Princess.”

CHAPTER THREE

HER FACE WAS flushed with arousal and fear, and her lips began to tremble. If she started crying, I was going to fuck her. I’d have to spank her after.

Tears on a pretty, little Omega always brought out my beast, not that it ever lurked far from the surface.

And she was more than pretty, she was exceptional in every way.

A single fat tear trickled down her cheek. I was fucked—she was about to get fucked.

I caught hold of her wrist and tugged her in next to my side. I was still buzzing from the last hit of her blood, and I was conscious of how delicate she was, and how easily I could break her in this state. I swiped the tear away with the pad of my thumb. “Stop crying. I haven’t even spanked you yet.”

Most Omegas were bonded by her age. Her father had contacted me not long after she revealed, and I had been on recall ever since. I assumed she had suppressed her heat, either that or she was dysfunctional in some way. No Omega went three years without a sign. I would be happy to give it a helping hand, and I’d be watching her like a hawk to make sure I nixed any attempts to suppress it again.

I tucked a thick strand of blonde hair behind her ear, while her bright amber eyes implored me not to do this. She needed to be spanked more than she needed to breathe. The thought of her going so long without ever being spanked was a travesty. Omegas needed discipline and control. Some needed it daily to keep them settled.

She didn’t realize how badly she needed dominating. I was going to make sure my little doctor got what she needed.

I tipped her chin until she met my eyes. “I’m pleased with you,” I said, swiping a thumb over her soft, damp cheek. There was the slightest hitch of her breath, and a tiny shiver rippled through her body as her lashes lowered. Ryker had mentioned that praising her provoked a nice kind of rise. She was probably confused about this change in my behavior.

Her cheeks had flushed, but it was a healthy kind of flush. I decided then that she was going to be getting generous praise when she behaved and a firm spanking whenever she didn’t. I doubted she would spend much time in between. “I wanted you to come, and you came perfectly. You look beautiful when you come.”

“I can’t do this. I’m too old. I can’t—be controlled.”

That stirred a chuckle out of me. “Let’s get this over with.” Discussion over, I hauled her over my lap. There was no way I could punish her without making her flush—no point in trying.

She started wailing and protesting. I caught both hands at the small of her back, trapped her thrashing legs between mine and began to spank.

She fought wildly for a good long while. Long enough to give me cause for concern…until the dam broke.

It was an extreme release. Her tears were a raging torrent, and she was drowning in their wake. I dragged her into my arms and kissed them away. I tried to control myself, but it was a lost cause. I wasn’t in control, and it terrified me. My hands were shaking, I was still high, and I could hear every broken sob, every shuddering breath like her lips were next to my ear.

And her thick, intoxicating scent of arousal sent my dick from hard to stony in an instant.

Her little hands clung to me, pulling at my hair and urging my lips to meet hers. She opened herself sweetly to the kiss, and our tongues tangled as we swallowed each other’s breaths.

I took her down onto the bed behind me, ripping my pants undone to free my cock. “Such a good girl.” The tears kept spilling, but she was frantic to get me inside her. Shoving my pants down, she gripped my aching shaft the moment it popped out. “Fuck!” My dick was leaking pre-cum over her hands. If I didn’t get it inside of her, I was going to fucking come.

Kicking my pants off, I snatched her hands away, dragged her legs open and plowed straight in.

I exhaled a gusty breath as the pleasure of her tight cunt sent a shiver down the length of my spine. It took me several seconds to find the necessary self-restraint. I wanted to be gentle with her this time. She was sore; I’d seen how pink and swollen her pussy was, and she couldn’t take the hard fucking she was demanding. I rocked in and out slowly, trying to calm her. It worked until she bit down hard onto my pec.

I ripped her off by the hair and scowled down at her bloody lips.

She licked her lips before sucking the lower one into her mouth. This was no practiced seduction. No, it was entirely savage, and the defiant jut of her jaw said she wanted to bite again.

I think I’d just created a monster.

I dragged my cock from her hot pussy, flipped her onto her hands and knees, and fisting a handful of hair, shoved her face into the bed. “You want a hard fucking, Princess?” I kept her face pressed into the bed, so all I heard was a muffled groan. “Show me what you want.”

Her back immediately arched and she pushed her sweet little ass back.

An offer I wasn’t about to refuse. I gripped the back of her neck to hold her in place and fucked her like a beast. Deep, powerful thrusts that brought our bodies together with sharp slaps. She climaxed quickly, her pussy pulling on my dick as she gasped and strained under my hold.

I didn’t stop; kept on hammering into her until my balls tightened to the point of pain.

Then I leaned over her, yanked her head to the side and bit down over her neck.

The growl torn from my throat did not sound human. My balls drew tighter still before I emptied a bucket of cum into her belly. I snarled against her throat, still sucking mouthfuls of blood, and still coming deep. She followed me over, and the rhythmic milking of her too tight pussy drew yet more cum from my balls.

I dragged my lips from her throat, and blood gushed out briefly before the membrane sealed. Pulling her face around, I kissed her hard. The blood had smeared over her throat and face and had trickled onto the bed.

It didn’t turn me off—the mere sight of it made me want to fuck her again.

I took a deep, shaky breath. I could feel a dangerous kind of tingling at the base of my cock. I’d dumped a ton of cum in her belly, and I was still rock hard. If I didn’t gain control, I was going to take it to a place we would both regret.

She hissed when my cock slipped out, poor baby.

“Better take a shower before I fuck you again.”

She puffed out an exaggerated breath and scurried off the bed.

I put my pants back on while she was in the shower, fighting with the zipper because my dick had a mind of its own and it wasn’t close to being done.

Her place was luxury beyond anything I had seen before. All shades of white, tasteful artwork on the walls, and opulence. Since Daddy was on the ruling council, I wasn’t that surprised.

I’d had my share of luxury before the war machine had swallowed me up—I wasn’t as phased by her apartment as she thought I had been. Admittedly, my former homes had never been to this standard…and ten years in the military had dimmed the memory.

Her bedroom had its own lounge area, and I sat on the plush couch and waited for her to finish her shower.

She returned a few minutes later, sending a brief glance my way as she headed for her closet. The sounds of shuffling hangers followed.

“I want to see what you’re going to wear.” The shuffling sounds stopped. “All of it,” I added, biting back a smile.

The sounds resumed. I was sure she was delighted about not wearing the Healer dress anymore, but I was curious about what she would choose. And I wasn’t above searching through the closet myself if I didn’t like what she picked.

She returned, still wrapped in the towel, and tossed some underwear and a collage of blue and white onto the bed. Her eyes flashed murder. I’d have thought after two weeks of wearing a Healer dress, she would be a little less feisty about this.

“Drop the towel.” Her face paled, and her lashes lowered. The spark wasn’t gone, but at least she was attempting to mask it. Her lips trembled, but she released her fierce grip on the towel, allowing it to drop to the floor. I looked my fill. She was a beautiful woman, soft curves, long caramel-blonde hair, amber eyes, and a smattering of freckles over her cheeks adding a layer of cute. There was nothing sweet about her personality. She was a bratty princess, through and through.

I definitely wanted to tame the brat…and get the princess all dirty.

“I’m your Controller. You don’t get to hide your body from me. I’m allowing you to put clothes on because it pleases me to have you covered while you’re outside. The moment you walk in that door, I expect you to be naked.”

She was bristling, and her mask was beginning to slip.

“You’ve got a lot of attitude flashing in those eyes. The only time I see attitude from an Omega is when they need attention. I’m finding it hard to believe you need more fucking or spanking, but I dare say I went easy on the spanking. If I get any more hesitation or resistance, I’m going to bend you over my knee. Now, bring me the underwear.”

Her tiny body trembled as she picked up the scraps of cream silk and brought them over to me. I inspected it and handed it back to her. “This won’t do. Bring me a selection.”

With her fury simmering, she disappeared back into the closet and returned a few minutes later with a multi-colored armful of lace and silk, which she placed on the seat beside me. She bit her lip, clearly worried.

I examined the collection. The sheer black set caught my eye. What can I say, it was a predictable choice, but the thought of that black, silky scrap of nothing against her pale skin only allowed the brain cells in my dick to have an input.

She frowned. “I can’t wear that, my nipples will show!”

“Put your clothes on and show me,” I growled.

Perhaps sensing my patience was limited, she stalked over to the bed, and without further backchat, dressed. It was a tragedy, seeing her beautiful body being enclosed in her selected attire. If I had my way, she’d be here naked for a couple of weeks. I was royally pissed at Ryker for having her to himself during transit.

It had taken a great deal of restraint to allow the handover to happen back on Tolis. There had been a stretched moment, while she had been standing between us, where I’d thought I might rip his throat out instead of letting her go.

I hadn’t been joking when I said she was addictive.

A worried frown marred her brow as she returned wearing a beautiful asymmetric skirt and a white wrap top. I liked seeing women in nice things…or nothing…or nice things and then nothing. “Hmm, they do show, don’t they.”

Cupping her breasts, I pinched and rolled her nipples between my thumb and fingers until they were stiff little peaks. The material was thick enough to hide the color of her underwear, but her erect nipples would definitely show. Her small teeth worried at her bottom lip, and she did an impressive job of trying not to react. Fuck, my mouth was watering, and my cock hadn’t lessened from stony since I’d left her tight cunt.

“Go and get a jacket.”

She didn’t hesitate this time, returning a few moments later shrugging into a white jacket that cinched in at her tiny waist. I could still see the faintest outline through the fabric, but unless someone was staring, they wouldn’t notice. I dedicated time to fondling them over the material. “There, much better. I like knowing this is underneath. Our little secret while you’re listening to Doctor Tsing proclaim his big plans.”

Her face said she wasn’t convinced.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SKY HAD taken on a brighter glow as it transitioned into morning, and my anxiety rose as I anticipated Erison’s reaction if we arrived late. This was our first day back at the Chimera research station, and I knew Tsing was preparing a major launch party. Messing with Erison’s plans would be bad for me. Who knew what evil ideas he could hatch with sufficient motivation. I couldn’t rely on Ethan or Ryker remaining, and I knew the moment they left it would be a hundred times worse. Better to keep things as smooth as possible. I was hoping the new program would distract him from tormenting me, and I might finally be given some leeway to work on a project of my own.

“I’m going to be late,” I said.

Ethan’s hands rested on my hips. I wanted to get the day over with, but the expression he leveled my way made my legs feel weak. I thought Ryker was difficult, and he was in his own way, but Ethan was impossible to read.

“Doesn’t matter.” He set me away and stood, dismissing my concerns.

My lips began to tremble as he headed for the closet. “You don’t understand, he will make my day hell.”

Ethan’s head snapped back, and his eyes narrowed in a way that set my pulse racing. “No, he fucking won’t. If I say it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t fucking matter. You leave Tsing to me. If I decide to keep you home and correct you, that’s what’s going to happen. I’m your Controller. That’s the way it works. None of this is your concern anymore. The only person you need to worry about pleasing, is me.”

I could feel my temper rising. He sounded like my damn father—an attitude of entitlement.

I snatched up the colorful underwear mountain he’d discarded on the sofa. “And what happens after you’ve gone?” There was so much fear and frustration coursing through me, and it spilled out into those words.

I was standing there with an armful of silk and lace. I threw it to the floor in a fit of temper and spun about, intent upon locking myself in the bathroom. It wouldn’t hold him off for long, but it would piss him off, which pleased me to no end.

I didn’t reach the bathroom. For such a big man, he moved with terrifying speed, and I found myself caught within his constricting hold with his palm wrapped around my throat.

My previous knowledge of control did not prepare me for the feel of a hand closing over my throat and the way it could shut me down. This had changed when I met Ethan—he had been the first person to hold me in such a way. I’d seen my father rest his hand over my step-mother’s nape, but that gesture had always appeared loving, not controlling.

He didn’t offer the comforting rumble, and instead, I could feel his chest rising and falling and the faint tremble of his fingers. “They sent me to collect you, changed me so I would be able to meet all your needs. No one else is having this.” He cupped a big hand over my pussy through the layers of clothes that might as well not have been there. “I tolerate Ryker, but that’s all. And if he steps out of line, I’ll step on his neck. As for Doctor Tsing, Ryker’s told me all about his games. There are going to be some changes.”

“What sort of changes?” I asked, hopeful, and annoyed at myself for being hopeful.

He turned me around and sat on the bed, drawing me to stand between his legs.

Aware of his study, I reluctantly lifted my lashes.

“Did you fuck him?”

“Who?” My heart hammered in my chest, but he had a firm grip on my hips and escape wasn’t an option.

“Don’t play coy with me, Princess, or I’ll put you over my lap again. You know I’m talking about Tsing.”

I stilled. “Yes, once. A long time ago.”

Ethan’s fingers tightened. “Ryker thought he only wanted to.”

Oh god! What else had Ryker said? A terrible pounding kicked off at the back of my skull, signifying the onset of a flush.

“Stop fussing. In case you haven’t noticed, people are nervous around me. They would be right to be scared. I’m more than happy to fuck people up if they don’t fall into line, and I care a lot less about perceived constraints than Ryker does, and that man is a walking lunatic.”

“Now you’ve gone and gotten yourself all flushed, and I’m going to need to fuck you again while I sort it out. After, you’ll need to clean up, and I’ll put more cream on your sore pussy. You’re not going to come while I put the cream on, are you? Because you know what will happen if you do, and we might never get out of this room.” He grinned. “No, I don’t mind either outcome, but I suspect you do.”

He had dimples. How could that be fair? I was mesmerized right up until his smile faded, and something dark and sinful took its place. “Take off your panties.”

And instantly, I was a breathless mess.

We left my apartment late, and despite Ethan’s admonishment not to fuss, I did.

It was a shock to see Ethan in civilian clothes. He would be handsome in anything—and nothing, but there was a certain allure to seeing him in ordinary clothes. The black shirt and pants emphasized how extraordinary he was. People stared at him, openly and covertly.

My mind was still reeling from his loaded statement prior to us leaving. All Alphas were possessive of things and people they considered to be theirs, and worse so with Omegas. Attachments formed, I knew this, often without permission. My face flamed thinking about him cupping my pussy and claiming that no one else was having it. But for how long would this determination last? I understood Controllers were possessive while they were allocated, but what was going to happen when they had to leave? How did they switch it off?

I had no answers, but something told me his sense of ownership went deep, even for a mere temporary arrangement. Did my father realize the visceral level of hatred Ethan felt toward the ruling elite? Ethan wanted to break me and mold me into his perfect little pet for many reasons, but the most dominant would be because of who and what I was.

I was a daughter of the ruling elite, the same ruling elite who had ripped Ethan from his family.

An act that had left them vulnerable. Ethan’s younger brother had died. I was a brat in his eyes, and one he wanted to control to satisfy his warped sense of revenge.

I thought he might even want to keep me.

My father wouldn’t agree to that. Would not tolerate that. Daddy may be a charming and brilliant man, but he was still an Alpha and was ruthless when it came to getting his own way. I could not imagine a disagreement between them being a civilized affair. My father would win, and for reasons I could not quantify, this made me feel sad.

Ethan was not a man who should fail at anything, and yet he could not win against the force of a man who formed part of the governing council.

I couldn’t win in this, either.

Ethan wasn’t a bad person. He had saved me…and after…nothing he had done to me was cruel.

Uncomfortable—mind-blowing—but not cruel.

We slipped into the back of the conference room Erison had commandeered for the launch. The whole team had been relocated to Chimera from Tolis. Nearly two hundred individuals spread over various work-streams to support the full program, and Erison controlled it all.

It had been my job once. I had loved it, had been passionate about it. Waking in the morning had filled my soul with purpose and reason. Now I was an Omega, and playing at a game until I came into my first heat. I’d been suppressing it for three years, which would prove challenging now that I had, not one but two, Controllers.

Which brought me right back to my decision to leave. Yet, doing so would not be an easy undertaking, especially with Ethan following my every move. Would his trust come with time? He couldn’t mean to watch me every moment of every day. Could he?

It was too much to hope that Erison had not noticed my late arrival. His face turned my way on several occasions as he continued with his impassioned speech about the new directions the program would take.

It was my suggestions he was repurposing as his own, and I bristled with every word that left his mouth. I began fidgeting when he got to the new transformational stream, which he hoped would improve Omega yields. This was my work from three years ago, work I had used as part of my doctorate paper, and he was blatantly passing it off as his own!

I might have growled…more of a light grumble, but I was dragged out of my seat so fast my head spun.

I was confused…and embarrassed to find myself on Ethan’s lap, with my cheek pressed to his chest and his Alpha rumble vibrating through me.

“Calm the fuck down, little Omega,” he said close to my ear. “Unless you want me to march up to the stage and part Tsing’s head from his body. We’ll discuss what he’s done to piss you off later, and I’ll decide whether to end him in a less public setting.”

My breathing steadied. It was hard to hold onto either the mortification or my anger while the rumbles soothed, but I was painfully aware of those around us making pointed attempts not to stare. Erison’s words faltered, so I presumed he had seen…and I thought Ethan might be glaring at him. I had seen that glare, and I was delighted it was making Erison nervous.

Ethan’s overprotectiveness reminded me of Ryker’s offer to strangle Erison—a bit. I didn’t think Ryker had been joking, much as I’d wanted to believe it at the time. I was certain Ethan was similarly serious.

In some ways, my two Controllers were as different as night and day, and in others quintessentially the same.

“I’m calm now,” I said. I was the lone Omega on the program, and I desperately wanted to blend in.

My inclusion here was a concession I was sure, because of my father’s influence. I was embarrassed, acutely so, by my predicament of being on a Controller’s lap. I remembered those occasions before I revealed when I had watched Omegas being disciplined and comforted publicly. Other dynamics had never seemed to mind. They might chuckle or shake their heads as if watching a naughty child being dealt with. Something inside me had always shied away from the scene. Seeing their faces redden, I would turn away, feeling their embarrassment as if it were my own.

The Copper Virus didn’t work as if given a blank slate. It took what was offered in the individual’s DNA and encouraged it to flourish. I was ever an Omega, and my empathy a result of my understanding of their plight at the deepest level, because I was also one, and because Omegas were naturally empathetic. Had my father always known I would be an Omega, even before I passed the age where other dynamics revealed?

Those soft, indulgent smiles when I asked him to give charity whenever I learned of some plight, even as a young child, must have been red flags to such an astute man. And he had indulged my causes generously. Indulged and encouraged, and nurtured every altruistic notion I displayed.

My mother was free-spirited, and I had often watched her with wonder as one might watch a bright butterfly flit around a flower. She was impetuous and self-centered at times, but I loved her passion and her vibrancy. As a child, I saw only the latter and aspired to be like her.

I was nothing like her and didn’t have a predisposition toward artistic pursuits of any kind. But I still admired the pretty clothes, the laughter, and the fun that flowed in her wake. She was voracious in every way, had more lovers than I can recall, and every one of them adored her and begged her to love them and only them. My father still looked at her as though confused as to how they had ever crossed paths. He was a possessive man, and my mother was the beautiful butterfly that could never be captured or held.

He loved his wife, Celeste, now. I could not imagine him being with anyone else, and certainly not my mother. Celeste was the sweetest, noblest woman I had ever met, and she had love enough for the world. She cared for me as gladly as she did her own children. All of them were Alphas. I was the only Omega born to my father, and she loved me like the daughter she never had. To reject the child of my father’s earlier lover was not a concept she could embrace.

“I’m calm,” I repeated.

“I like you here,” Ethan growled close to my ear. “You’ll stay here until I’m also calm. I’ve spent a good bit of time imagining his broken body scattered about the stage he’s working like a showman. I already want to rip his cock off knowing it’s been inside you. I might go ahead and rip his cock off anyway if I catch him looking at you again the way Ryker said he did.”

I snorted out a laugh. The rumble ceased.

“What the fuck was that?” He demanded, his voice a growl next to my ear.

“You sound like an Alpha,” I whispered.

He surprised me by chuckling and smoothed a big hand over my hair. “I am an Alpha, baby.”

I felt like I was entombed in a bubble while sitting on his lap, like the rest of the world didn’t matter, and I could fall into this too easily.

Could become dependent too easily.

“If you had any idea how close I came to getting out of my seat,” he said carelessly. “You wouldn’t be laughing about it.”

The bubble burst and the comfort dispersed in an instant. Ethan was the personification of violence, had ripped men apart in front of me before, and I was suddenly terrified he would do it again. This was a city, and rules existed here. You couldn’t commit such atrocities on a whim. I hated Erison at times, but he wasn’t a monster in need of a swift end.

My panic rose from its slumber, and I fought to escape his hold.

The soft rumble resumed. I was controlled effectively as his arms surrounded me, pinning me against him, and stilling my flight before it could shift from an idea to reality.

Fear was sitting on my periphery. I couldn’t catch it, not while I was under his cloying control. He would release me soon, and then the terror would smother me.

The session ended against the backdrop of my emotional soul searching. People filed out to the smaller groups, and as the rows around us cleared, he helped me back to my feet. His big hand rested over the nape of my neck. We exited. The next session was a smaller one with Erison, myself, and a select group involved in the transformational stream. I wasn’t ready for Erison yet, and I was certain Erison wasn’t prepared for Ethan so close to the limits of his temper.

“I’m not going to kill the little fuck,” Ethan growled, drawing me in close as he spoke. “But I am fantasizing about it. Don’t deny me this simple pleasure. The man has made your life hell for the last three years. Killing him would be far too kind an outcome. I may come from Lyus, but don’t confuse me with stupid. I am capable of reading, and I know the work to increase Omega yields was part of your doctorate thesis. I don’t claim to understand the nuances, but I recognize scum when I see it.”

I was embarrassed by my own prejudice, both against him as an Alpha and toward a man who’d had the misfortune to rise from a poor beginning.

“I’m sorry,” I said as we passed into the smaller chamber where the detailed planning would begin. “It frightened me when you said it. I thought for a moment that you really were contemplating Erison’s death. I misjudged you, I’m sorry.”

I caught a hint of a smirk as he walked me to my allocated seat. “Oh, make no mistake,” he said with menace. “I am going to kill him. But first I’m going to destroy him—systematically—I will strip him of every bit of false personal pride and fake prestige. I will rip him up and tear him down. And only then, when he is nothing, will I kill him.”

He squeezed gently over the nape of my neck as he parked me into the seat allocated for me. He pressed his lips close to my ear. “I like these clothes. They make you look civilized. I’m not civilized, not even a little, and I’m going to fuck you while you’re still wearing them the moment we get back home. Now, be a good little Omega, and don’t fuss about it. I’ll be right here, and Tsing will behave. If he doesn’t, I’ll have to rework my plans.”

As his fingers withdrew, I shivered. He assumed a position at the back of the room where he propped his shoulder against the wall and…observed.

My heart would not settle, it was like a tiny bird had taken up residence there.

The first part of the discussion escaped me, but eventually the words penetrated, and I became engrossed. I no longer wanted to help take non-dynamics and turn them into Omegas. There were other options I hoped to explore, including possible ways to mask Omega scent and to better manage the extreme nature of heat. This stream of work was my best chance to learn and help.

I couldn’t stop the program, but while I remained, I could have some influence. It was the best I could hope for.

Erison proposed an aggressive approach that made my stomach churn. He was so blinded by the need to outshine me, he was prepared to take risks with people’s lives. Given how poorly he had treated me, this shouldn’t have surprised me, but I could not stand idly by while he turned my former program into a circus.

I could see some of my fellow colleagues shifting uncomfortably. I wasn’t alone in thinking this was a risky approach.

“I cannot support this Doctor Tsing,” I said. “Nor will the research council. I studied the impacts of the drugs extensively during the trials as part of my doctorate, and test subjects showed deteriorations in health with half your proposed dose. Aside from the ethical implications, they will shut the program down should it result in a mortality. I cannot be part of such a directive. I am prepared to petition the council to this effect and tender my resignation if necessary.”

Silence greeted my words. I could see Erison’s cogs turning. He would like nothing better than to see me removed from the program because it would allow him full autonomy and glory. He wanted me gone, but not this way. He knew such a resignation would stir the genetics council to review his proposals. It would spark an inquiry, and an independent review would spot the flaws from a mile away.

Two more people came forward and agreed with me, their wary gaze shifting between Erison and me. I noticed Erison staring over my shoulder. He swallowed.

My glance found Ethan studying Erison in a way that reflected everything he had spoken of.

I shivered.

No one had ever had my corner before, not once in the last three years. Merry tried her best, but she was a Beta, and in the dynamic power game she was only one above an Omega. She had been right. I couldn’t go to my father, he would remove me from the program. As much as I’d used that as a threat to gain Erison’s concession, it was a bluff I was reluctant to enact.

I wasn’t alone in sending surreptitious glances Ethan’s way. His looming presence was tipping the scales in favor of reason without him uttering a single word.

It might infuriate me, but I still hoped it would encourage Erison to retract this insane plan. I had never aspired to be an Alpha, despite the power it afforded. I wished I could be me; an Omega who still held a position that commanded respect. I had no desire for secondhand respect because of who my father was…or any other Alpha. I was a slave to the constraints of the world, but wallowing in self-pity would not help me. I couldn’t change the world, not in a day anyway, but I wasn’t about to give up on it yet either.

I couldn’t predict the future, but I had an influence of sorts, and I would grasp it for as long as I could.

There was still time before my next heat for me to see how this would play out. But soon, I would need to make a decision. Despite all my supposed knowledge, control was nothing like my expectations. It wasn’t quite as cloying, and there might even be advantages to such a partnership—many Omegas appeared content.

Yet, my mind still riled against the inequality, and as I reflected on Ethan’s earlier words, I recognized that I was a long way from acceptance.

It wasn’t a partnership, that was the problem. I was little more than a possession and a sexual imperative, too steeped in animalistic urges to have hope. I wanted to be cherished for my mind as much as my biology. If I were a Beta, or any other dynamic or non-dynamic, Ethan would not have given me a second glance.

My attention was diverted by Erison agreeing to the points, and the proposal moved forward in a much more palatable vein.

CHAPTER FIVE

AFTER THE BATTLE of wills between Tsing and Lilly, I shadowed her for a series of meetings, ending with her spending a couple of hours in the lab with two Betas where they discussed subjects far beyond my basic scientific understanding. It might have been boring under other circumstances, but I found I enjoyed watching her as much as I enjoyed fucking her—and I loved fucking her—so the day didn’t turn out so bad.

It had been an absolute joy to fuck with Tsing during his little power play. I’d discovered a long time ago that my size and stare were often enough to unnerve people. In Doctor Tsing’s case, such tactics were a pleasure that could only be surpassed by me wrapping my fingers around his throat. But I hadn’t risen to the level I had on Lyus by allowing my aggression to take center stage. Many Alphas didn’t know the first thing about control. Couldn’t control themselves, never mind a sweet, needy little Omega. I was good at controlling Omegas because I was good at controlling myself, but when I relinquished that control, where circumstance required it, the results were often spectacular.

I’d made my first personal assessment of Tsing today. I’d gotten a good idea of the situation based on Ryker’s report. Fucking him up would be a great pleasure. Still, it didn’t pay to become overconfident. Tsing was a Theta, and they were renowned for their intelligence. He would be aware of my threat and would be working on a counter move.

It was a relief when the day came to a close, and we took a skycar back to her opulent apartment with its credit hungry views. As the son of two Beta’s who spent the first half of his childhood in a perpetual state of hunger, I’d never imagined finding myself in such luxury.

As we entered the reception room where the pink orchids sat beside the handwritten note from her father, her eyes searched mine. “Still feeling sorry for me?” I asked with a raised brow. Yesterday she’d given me a pitying look like she was imagining a poor little beggar boy getting his first taste of luxury.

Today, she cut me a cool glare that got my cock twitching as my lips curved in a smile. I’d warned her about what I was going to do when I got her home. It seemed my princess wanted to issue a challenge.

And I was more than happy to accept.

I prowled after her into the lounge, watching the sway of her hips in the sky-blue skirt hugging her ass perfectly. The little Omega had no idea who she was playing with, throwing looks like that over her shoulder.

“I get the impression you’re a man who thrives in any environment,” she said, walking over to the window.

The sun had not yet begun to sink, and the snow-capped mountains and soaring city towers were cast into spectacular relief.

“I do my best,” I said, coming up behind her. I rested my hand over the nape of her neck. She shivered.

I liked the shiver.

It hadn’t been all bad on Lyus. I’d been a runner for an operation trading firearms before revealing as an Alpha. After, with the hormones running me hard, I’d killed the proprietor and announced I was taking over. I was big for my age, and had exceptional control, even during the volatile transition into adulthood.

My parents and siblings had not gone hungry again.

In a place where power was the only form of protection, I took it all, piece by piece. I became the king of a mud pit, a backwater shit-hole, but I was still a king.

The war with the Uncorrupted was a distant problem for someone else. The Empire had done nothing for Lyus, and we never suspected the Empire would expect us to do something for them.

I didn’t want to leave Lyus, certainly wouldn’t have done so by choice. I would have fought to the death to avoid any such fate, and I wasn’t alone in this.

The Empire knew this.

After they extracted me from Lyus, the military had done their best to break me and beat me into a good little soldier. It hadn’t worked out so well for them, but that’s what happens when you gas every major city across a planet so you can drag your chosen victims out. Any Alpha found was removed, whatever their age.

There was no going back. Those who didn’t or couldn’t accept the change, died.

I eventually accepted my fate on the condition they extract my family from the cesspit. It was a testament to my skill at killing that they agreed. My younger brother was already dead by then, killed in an Uncorrupted attack, because they had set about plundering Lyus the moment the conscription teams left.

I don’t know how I got through the next few years. It was all a little blurry, but I killed—a lot.

And I found something to hate more than I hated the ruling council. I was in a dark headspace, and the Uncorrupted minions were in my sights.

I took on a role within the war that allowed me a certain level of leeway—operations dangerous enough that I suspected they hoped I might get myself killed and relieve them of the problem.

That had been ten years ago, and I wasn’t dead yet.

And now they desired to change me yet again.

When her father first approached me regarding the temporary control of his daughter, I recognized it for what it was, an attempt to gain leverage over me that would better integrate me. I had acquired a body of knowledge on our enemy during my time working covert operations. At first, they didn’t much care if I lived or died, now they were terrified of losing my knowledge. They wanted me behind a desk, and Lillian Brach was a sweetener, meant to show me the delights of the Empire before she was handed over to someone more appropriate.

I was exceptional at control, and this one needed control badly. For now, the arrangement was meeting both needs.

I was okay with that.

Her father had been open about her failings and his own. He had indulged her—overindulged her—from the moment she was born, and he was concerned she might prove too challenging for the corporate Alpha dogs. He worried his influence might dissuade them from taking the hard-line. He knew the way I worked, and that I didn’t give a fuck who he was, and certainly wouldn’t cut his little princess any slack. He wanted her settled. After, he would pass her over to someone more fitting to her social standing.

As I studied her in the glass, I reflected that her father’s plans hadn’t turned out so well.

The nature of her singularity had put an end to that. It took them a year to work out what was happening to her and what she needed. Another six months of trialing on Betas before they discovered creating her viral match was no easy undertaking.

I’d known there was a possibility I might die when they asked my permission to infect me. All the Betas they had trialed it on had died. It was just another operation with risks, and one I was prepared to take given the magnitude of the prize. And Lillian Brach was quite a prize. I imagined the queue of wealthy Alphas lining up to petition her father. I guessed that now they had tested it on both Ryker and me, they would be more comfortable repeating it for a preferred candidate when we were done.

I’d been resigned to this back when I’d hauled her terrified ass out of the cage on the Uncorrupted ship.

Things had changed somewhere between me fucking her and handing her over to Ryker. At first, I’d convinced myself that I needed more than the usual few weeks, and I would argue for more time.

Then it had occurred to me that I was holding all the cards here. I’d called her father direct before I’d even gotten on the ship for Orla, told him I would fuck up the operation in ways he couldn’t comprehend if he didn’t agree to make this permanent. Told him if he thought about trying to shut me down, I would rain blood on his precious capital the likes of which he had never seen.

I had a knack of being hard to kill, so he knew I wasn’t bluffing.

He’d been shocked, then amused, and he’d agreed…with conditions.

Her amber eyes sought mine in the glass.

“Do you know what you look like?”

She shook her head.

“You look like the kind of woman who wouldn’t give a man like me the time of day,” I said. “And yet, here we are.”

“You can’t begin to imagine the kind of life I led before the power mongers you call a ruling party decided to make life choices for me. Feels poetic that I should end up with the daughter of one of those bastards. I spent all last night with my cock inside your prim little pussy, listening to those sweet sounds you make when you’re desperate to come—and your screams when you do come. Given the way you damn near ripped my cock off in your eagerness to get it inside you after I gave you your first spanking, I’d say you like the rough side just fine.” Her chest rose and fell unsteadily as I grabbed a handful of her soft ass and squeezed.

“Unobtainable,” I added, holding her steady gaze as her pupils darkened. “I need to fuck you exactly like this. I like seeing you in these fancy clothes and looking like a princess. Makes me want to get you all dirty.”

She swallowed, and I slipped my hand around to cup the front of her throat. My body dwarfed hers. She was so delicate, it seemed implausible that someone so tiny could take me the way she did. I pressed my lips to her temple, and her pulse jumped under my fingers—a little fearful and a lot aroused.

I had barely contained myself last time we’d entered this room, had taken her down on the floor and fucked her like a beast.

Turning her around, I backed her up against the glass.

Lifting her head, her bright amber eyes met mine. I undid the buttons on her jacket and slipped it over her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. Then I tugged the ties on her blouse, parting it and yanking one cup of her bra aside to expose her tit. Her breathing hitched as my hand closed over it, cupping the soft weight before pinching the nipple. “I like this view. Beautiful clothes all messed up, tit out, and filling my hand. I thought about doing this to you while we were in that meeting. Wondered how far I would need to take things before people fled the room. Or maybe they wouldn’t. Maybe they would stay there and watch while I played with and then fucked you.”

Her pupils had darkened, but it was lust rather than a flush. I couldn’t get enough of her—it appeared the feeling was mutual.

I dragged her skirt up, pulling it high enough so I could push her black thong to the side and finger her. “Watch what I’m doing to you.”

Her eyes lowered to where my fingers pumped in and out of her pussy, making those delicious squelching sounds. I palmed her ass and dragged her up the glass, enjoying the little gasp that left her lips as I slammed her against it.

“Keep watching.” I popped my zipper open and shoved my pants down far enough to free my cock. Her eyes glazed over, and her lips parted. “Now, watch as my cock splits you in two.”

Bracing myself, I lined my cock up with her tight, little pussy, and slowly pushed in.

“Oh god!” Her breathy moan set a tightness in my balls.

“It’s obscene the way you have to stretch to take my dick. I can’t decide what I want to watch more, your face as I fuck you, or your pretty pink pussy being abused by my fat cock.”

“Oh god, you’re so big!”

I suppressed the urge to growl, she would flush, but I was never going to last if she kept talking like that. I fucked her slowly up against the window, feeling her hot pussy clenching around my cock. Her head was thrown back, caramel-blonde hair falling over her shoulders and her pretty clothes all screwed up.

Seeing her lips part, I ran my thumb over them, feeling my balls tighten when her tongue poked out to lick it. I wanted to growl, to snarl in her ear, and to take her rougher. I’d been close to losing control earlier. I was in that same danger zone again.

Her plump lips closed over the tip of my thumb.

I nearly lost it. I pulled my dick out. For a painful microsecond, I still thought I’d come. I’d been the one putting my thumb next to her mouth, I shouldn’t be feeling hard-done-by because she’d sucked on it.

There was nothing rational about how I felt. “I’m going to choke you on my fucking cock.”

CHAPTER SIX

I HAD NO idea what I’d done to provoke Ethan’s wrath, but his anger blazed, nonetheless.

One minute I’d been pinned against the glass with the welcome stretch of his cock working in and out, and the next I was on the floor at his feet.

My clothing was a mess, skirt bunched around my waist, and bra tugged aside with one breast exposed. My hair was a wild cloud around my face. My pussy throbbed and all I could think about was the glistening cock jerking like a giant beckoning finger.

“Take my cock, Princess. I want you to suck it nice and deep. Choke yourself on it or I will,” he said softly. “I promise you, me doing it will be worse.”

God help me, I did not know what to make of his statement, nor could I work out why such a command would cause a flood of slick to gather between my legs.

I sat up, closing my fingers around it, feeling it jerk within my hand. I glanced up, and the moment I did, I realized my mistake. That look, I could drown in that look. It was a million words, a slow death, and a revelation. That look rendered his soul naked, and his soul was as dark as night.

I wanted him and his dark soul. And all of it, all of him—was mine for the taking.

My mouth closed over the tip of his cock. He growled, a low sound that stirred the tiny hairs at my nape. I wanted him to growl again. To make me flush. Yes, I wanted him to bite me.

Tongue lapping gently, I took his cock into my mouth. I was going to make him growl. I would make him so crazy he couldn’t help himself, and then I would win, and he would give me what I wanted.

I didn’t want to be his revenge, or war-prize. I wanted to mean something more to him. I was getting scraps, and I wanted the main event.

I pressed deeper, swirling my tongue over the tip, enjoying the taste of his pre-cum. His fists tightened at his side as the head of his cock neared the back of my throat. I stilled there, my mouth stretched so wide it burned.

Ethan growled in warning when I eased back. My eyes locked with his, and this time, I took his cock deeper, steeling myself for the shock when it found the back of my throat.

I gagged, pulling out immediately.

The growl deepened, and I pushed back again.

His eyes were lit with hunger, and they sparked an echo in me. I sucked deeper, feeling the faint beginning of the flush.

I saw the moment he recognized what I was doing. If I had learned nothing else about control, I knew with absolute certainty they did not like you manipulating situations.

He stepped back, and the thick flesh slipped from my lips before he tucked himself away. He couldn’t get the button closed, and were I not so frustrated, it might have made me smile.

The flush wasn’t deep enough for my satisfaction, no more than a faint prickling heat and a gentle thud at the base of my skull that might dissipate on its own. For once, I needed this to be on my terms.

But it would never be on my terms because that wasn’t the way control worked.

With a sigh, I began to straighten my disheveled clothes.

I squealed as he fisted a handful of my hair. “Did I tell you to touch your fucking clothes?”

“No!”

“Hands and knees. Now!”

Disorientated and confused by the bite of his fingers, the sharp tone nevertheless drove me to obey. He came down with me, kneeling beside me, still gripping my hair and forcing my forehead to the floor. The polished wooden surface was hard under my knees and forehead. I was trembling uncontrollably. Where had this new savagery come from? He had been a little rough earlier and yesterday—I had definitely liked it when he had taken me down over the bed after he’d spanked me.

This was different, it felt different.

Ryker, coaxed, cajoled, and played mind-games to gain my compliance. I had begun to think that that was the way control worked.

A dark tendril of anticipation coiled about my throat. This was absolute domination.

And I liked it.

Fighting him was not an option. Obeying him was a compulsion, and I knew—instinctively—any attempt to resist would arouse greater fury.

“I’m going to spank you now. It’s going to be hard. Much harder than the little tap you got earlier.” He dragged my skirt up, exposing my bottom. Then ripped my panties away in a series of sharp tugs until they were stretched around my knees. “If you move an inch, I’m going to get my belt. You won’t like my belt.”

His rough hand stroked over my bottom.

A hot flush was followed by a cold flush, sweeping over the length of my body and whiting out my mind. My stomach turned over and slick pooled out. The belt, I knew I never wanted to experience the belt, and yet Ryker had conditioned me with that threat for the better part of two weeks. The mere mention of it, or Ethan, brought fear and arousal in equal parts.

The belt threat always precluded some form of torment.

It represented another chink in my carefully constructed comfort zone.

It was the path that led me to a destination filled with pleasure.

Ethan’s hand stilled.

“You like the sound of my belt, Princess?”

I couldn’t speak; the words were locked behind a sudden tightness in my throat. At the base of my skull was the gentle thud signifying the start of a flush.

His grip on my hair was making my scalp ache. No one had ever treated me like this. Out of this blanket desire to submit, rose a tendril of aggression. I had bitten him yesterday, sunk my teeth into his chest while he’d been fucking me because he wasn’t fucking me hard enough.

Every breath poked at my urge to fight. I wanted to test Ethan and how well he might control me. If I didn’t, how would I know he was worthy?

A revelation unfurled, an absolute certainty that I didn’t want any Alpha. I wanted the biggest and the strongest because only such a man could keep me safe. It wasn’t rational. It was animal to the core.

“You’re not ready for my belt…yet.” The hand continued to pet my bottom. I shivered. “I’m not sure if you ever will be. It might break a delicate little princess.”

The hand withdrew, then reconnected with a thunderous slap. Pain exploded over my skin a split second later. My body twitched, I couldn’t help it, but I bit down on my lip, determined not to make a sound.

Chuckling softly, he rubbed a big hand over the stinging flesh. “Is that defiance I see?” He squeezed hard over the soreness before administering another stinging slap. I jerked but kept my lips pressed tightly together. I wasn’t giving the brute the satisfaction of knowing how much it hurt.

“Ah, baby,” he said, and his unexpected endearment brought a flutter in my chest. Ryker was prolific with his endearments; when Ethan said such words, it felt like a special treat. “You think you can win this?” He made a gentle tutting sound before slapping my ass three times in quick succession. Each blow landed harder until a strangled cry was wrenched from my throat. “If you had any idea what your defiance does to me, you’d behave yourself.”

He smacked me again, and I swallowed down a squeal.

“Makes me want to force you into a heat.”

Another smack, even harder, awoke an echo of pain in every nerve of my body. “You can’t do that,” I hissed.

His barked laugh sent a shiver down my spine.

He smacked once more, and this time the squeal burst past my tightly sealed lips. Tears leaked from the corner of my eyes.

“Such an innocent little doctor. It happens all the time. You think Omegas are going to tell you something like that in an interview, when they know you’re not the same as them, not controlled?”

The next smack drew a heavy sob from my chest, and he paused to pet the abused flesh. I was shaking uncontrollably, my legs struggling to bear my weight.

“They beg you to do it. They know they won’t catch when it’s forced. Of course, sometimes, the situation can slide. If you bite, even during a forced heat, it can trigger the real thing.”

He smacked again. It caught the sensitive area where my bottom met my thighs.

“I don’t believe you!” I screamed—pain pulsed like a living fire under my skin. My mental capability was shot, and yet his words held the ring of truth. “You can’t force an Omega into heat!”

“You sure about that?”

No, I wasn’t sure anymore, and my thoughts scattered and surged. I couldn’t take more punishment. If Ethan smacked me one more time, I would break.

“You have to start slowly, build up, and not stop.” He patted and pinched my ass while I sobbed quietly. “And pain. You need a good measure of pain. You can’t get away with it when you’re in transit. Everyone will know if you disappear for a few days.”

I whimpered.

“You like the sound of me forcing you into heat?”

My mind spiraled through the implications. There was a twisted interest in experiencing a heat with him, even as I feared it.

He has done this with other women.

This realization triggered a plethora of unhealthy emotions—at the forefront was jealousy, and it burned hotter than my abused bottom.

I growled. It wasn’t much of a growl, more an involuntary little rumble.

He hauled me off the floor with the same dizzying speed he had taken me down there. My breath left my lungs in a rush as I was slammed against his chest.

“Don’t like the sound of that, Princess? You know I’m telling the truth. Dozens of sweet little Omegas presenting their hot cunts to me to use any way I wanted. They begged for it before I fucked them. They prayed for it after.”

I growled again and tried to wrest my hair from his grasp. It was impossible, and my struggle only succeeded in mashing my face closer against his warm chest where his heady scent was strong.

He chuckled, one big hand holding my body flush against him, the other still gripping my hair. “They didn’t like the thought of sharing either. Omegas can prove quite a handful at times. Stopping them putting their mark on you is harder than you might think.”

The rage gripping me was impressively close to madness, and I thrashed about, perversely delighted when I found his hold unbreakable.

“I never had a problem controlling myself or them. And I didn’t care who fucked them after.”

His words struck a raw nerve. I was incensed by the mere thought of him being with anyone else. But I wasn’t like them. I was better than them, and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of begging.

His hand skittered down my back, and his big palm cupped my sore ass. “So, it came as quite a surprise how pissed I was when it came time to hand you over to Ryker. I nearly ripped his fucking throat out when you were standing between us back on Tolis. Felt the same urge as strongly yesterday on the concourse. The thought of him sticking his pierced junk in you makes me want to fuck him up so bad. If he had any sense, he would back away. He’s not normal though, so I’m expecting the bastard to come back. Although he might not be so pretty when I’m done with him.”

“No!”

His hands tightened painfully around me.

“You worried about him, Princess? Best do a better job of hiding your feelings, or it’ll encourage me to hurt him worse.”

The throbbing at the base of my skull bloomed into a full flush at the promise of violence in his words and the thought of either of them being hurt.

His grip on my hair loosened and he tipped my head. “Blown to fuck again. Is that for him or me?”

“Both,” I said honestly, although I knew this wasn’t the answer he desired.

His lips twisted in a cruel smile. “Better hope we resolve this before you come into heat.”

Lashes lowering, I tried to jerk away.

His arms became immoveable bands. “Have you been suppressing it?”

I battled with myself. Confessing would lead to punishment. Not confessing might result in the same.

“Think carefully before you answer.”

I was trapped. There was no way out of this, and it infuriated me. It had been three years since I revealed. Either I was dysfunctional, or I’d been suppressing it. “I took drugs,” I whispered. I had never told anyone, had created the drugs myself. Not a perfect solution, and a dangerous undertaking, but what choice did I have? I wasn’t part of an Omega community undergoing training to be deployed. I had no place to go and no one to turn to. I had no excuse for suppressing it. I had done it anyway.

“Good girl for telling the truth.”

My stomach turned over, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

“How long until your next heat is due?”

“I don’t know,” I said. I had lost track of time. “A month, maybe six weeks.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

During the first round of clinical tests, we selected ten Beta dynamics as test subjects. Vlogs were recorded daily by myself and the blood recipients.

My first mental connection to a test subject, administered with my blood, was a shared dream.

Some people build their sense of self on the belief that they are ethical.

But there are times when a sense of self-preservation overwrites every other belief.

I deleted an entire week of my vlogs…it is perhaps the greatest understatement of my life when I say this was not an easy undertaking. The consequence should my tampering have been discovered was extreme and tantamount to treason against the Empire.

It was a reflection of my state of mind that I took such a risk.

Doctor Lillian Brach

AFTER THE UNEASY conversation about my suppressed heat, two weeks passed, and my life fell into an awkward routine. I wasn’t sure what Ethan did during the day, but I was mostly left alone to continue with the program work, other than a daily two-hour session for Erison’s pet project, which he attended without fail.

Much to my surprise, and a generous amount of suspicion, Erison Tsing did not do any further invasive tests involving a flush. Perhaps he was waiting for Ethan’s period of control to end. There was a certain smugness to Erison’s demeanor during these sessions, while Ethan’s blank expression conveyed a deep sense of threat.

I was glad Ethan was there and irritated with myself for being glad. There had even been a steering committee meeting a few days ago, and I was sure Ethan’s looming presence had been responsible for them reinstating my personal project. He could be demanding and unwavering in his control, but he did not belittle me as Erison did. I remembered the expression on Ethan’s face when Erison had rebuffed my suggestion at that first meeting after we arrived here at Chimera. Ethan hadn’t needed to say a word.

And Erison had sensed the change, too. His power was slipping.

I didn’t want to thank Ethan for helping me to take back what I felt should be mine. Yet, it wasn’t Ethan who had taken my position on the program away.

There had been no further discussion about what would happen next, but from Ethan’s remark about the heat, I got the strong impression he intended to be around when it happened. Having checked the dates, I had four weeks to decide what to do.

I still worried about where Ryker was, if he was safe or in danger. I had enquired once, and Ethan had fucked me insensible after. I elected to never ask again.

My new lab partners ignored the elephant in the room—my being an Omega. I got on with my work.

I worried a lot though, about what was behind Doctor Tsing’s smug expression, about Ethan’s brooding, about whether Ryker was alive or dead, and about my impending heat.

What I didn’t worry about was my mother, which was why it came as a complete surprise when her arrival on Chimera was announced.

“Your mother is here,” Ethan said, checking his wrist plate. It took me a few moments to wrap my head around this for several reasons, but the most prominent was the fact that it was Ethan who first received this news.

My head snapped up. We were in bed, and I was sprawled out on top of him, sniffing his chest surreptitiously to draw his wonderful, wild, earthy essence deep inside my lungs. It was early evening, and a few lights twinkled in the city visible through the window. “Why wasn’t I told?”

“I’m telling you now.” He gave my ass a smack, sharp enough to elicit a yelp of pain. “We’re going out. Go and get cleaned up and dress in something I will enjoy fucking you in later.”

“Why did you know first?” I demanded, trying not to think about his systematic approach to destroying all of my most beautiful clothes.

He rolled, taking me under him and grabbed a handful of my ass. “I thought your ass might still be sore after yesterday, but that sounded a lot like you asking me to spank you again.”

It was still sore; he knew it was still sore. I’d been fidgeting in my seat all day because it was so sore. “It’s not an unreasonable question,” I said with bite.

“All your communications come through me. I pass on what I choose. Now, I don’t like your haughty fucking tone, and I’m going to need to spank you. I’ve told you about that before, Princess.”

I was twenty-eight years old. I’ve lived an entitled life. I wasn’t naturally rude, in fact, I prided myself on my poise, but I also wasn’t used to holding my temper back when someone took my basic rights away, and a white-hot rage consumed me. He had no reason to filter my personal communications. I couldn’t think of a single valid reason why he would feel the need to do so.

He stared down at me through disapproving slits. “And attitude, I’ve told you before about giving me attitude. You must need this spanking badly.”

Lowering my lashes, I tried to think humble thoughts. “Please don’t spank me right before I see my mother. This is going to be hard enough as it is. She’s going to pump me with questions, and even more so if I can’t sit still for thirty seconds. My bottom is really sore. You know it’s sore. I’ve been distracted by how sore it is all day. That and being tired. I’m exhausted because you keep waking me up!” My lips might have trembled toward the end because I was exhausted. I didn’t even have the energy to hold onto my temper.

He tapped my chin, and I steeled myself to behave as I reluctantly met his eyes.

He was smiling—it wasn’t what I’d expected. “Ryker said your nervous rambling was cute. I was beginning to think the bastard had invented it to mess with me.”

Chagrin suffused me. If Ethan noticed, he ignored it, and his lips lowered over mine. It was a hungry kiss, he didn’t seem to know any other kind, and my body reacted like the well-trained Omega I was becoming.

As I became convinced he meant to fuck me again, or spank me and then fuck me, he released me. “You get a reprieve,” he said. “I’ll spank you when we get back.”

I nodded, grateful to receive this small concession.

And how far had I sunk to feel grateful for scraps?

Too far, I realized.

I paused at the door to the en-suite and looked my fill of the man sprawled out on my bed. His hair was rumpled where my hands had raked through it, his big body lay in a relaxed pose, with the bedding a stark white contrast against the tan of his skin. He was uncovered—and still semi-hard.

His hand closed around the thick length of his cock, and I stared mesmerized as he gave it a slow pump before leaving it to jerk in happy anticipation of attention.

“If you keep staring at my cock, I’m going to think you need an appetizer before we head out.” My cheeks flamed, and my eyes shot to his face to find a wicked grin. He could be surprisingly playful at times.

Ryker was playful all the time.

Ethan let out a long sigh. “What is it, Princess?”

I wished he wouldn’t call me that. I was a long way from a damn princess. He could make it sound intimate…and like an insult. It was an extremely versatile word.

“He let me ask about you,” I said softly. “Even checked with Command for me.” My question was a calculated risk given I knew my mother would be waiting. I hoped there would be limits to Ethan’s methods of discipline under the circumstance. I thought it might be the one and only concession I would receive against his wrath.

But I could be wrong.

As the silence stretched, I convinced myself I had made a grave mistake, and he was about to punish me severely, possibly prevent me from seeing my mother.

“He’s fine,” he said, and when I risked a glance, his expression wasn’t as stony as I expected. “Don’t worry, I don’t want the bastard to die either. That pleasure is all mine.”

“That sounded like Ryker’s jokes about killing people,” I said.

He smiled again. “Baby, Ryker doesn’t joke about killing people. If he says he’s going to kill someone, he’s probably going to kill them.”

“Exactly,” I replied.

He surprised me by laughing and waved me to go and get ready.

Usually, my mother would have visited me at my apartment, but I presumed Ethan had vetoed that. Instead, we were meeting at Raffles, arguably the finest seafood restaurant in Chimera.

As I entered the restaurant, there was an awareness of time passing. I was sure my mother had selected the location because she knew it was one of my favorites. It offered stunning views across the harbor where cruisers and yachts nestled. And the last time we came here had been for my twenty-fifth birthday. A week later, I had revealed, and a few months after, they transferred my research division to Tolis.

I had fond memories of that night. Life had seemed simpler back then, and little did I know of the changes about to unfold.

My mother had once been a ballerina of some renown, and she now taught private lessons to the Empire’s elite. She still moved in those circles and was a regular guest at Chimera’s dance academy. “Darling!” she swept me into her arms the moment we arrived, and I was entombed in a familiar cloud of perfume and a warm embrace that instilled a notion that everything would be okay. She was taller than me, lean and graceful with a dancer’s build. “I was so terrified, my precious.”

She leaned me back so she could inspect me. “You look tired, darling.” Her warm hand cupped my cheek before her critical gaze passed over Ethan—who I had to admit, had quite a presence in any environment. “Your tyrant father insisted I couldn’t contact you until you were settled with a Controller. Is this the beast your father selected? Is he treating you well? I have friends who can help, darling, if Daddy’s choice doesn’t work out.”

“Maybe I could introduce your friends to my friends,” Ethan said, not missing a beat.

My mother’s lips twitched, and she patted his arm affectionately. “Darling, I think I like him,” she said to me.

The meal turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. My mother wanted to know the details of my capture and subsequent escape. She might put on an air of frivolity, but I could see fresh lines of worry on her face.

When it was time to leave, she asked for a few words with Ethan. I humored her and took myself off to the restroom. When I returned, my mother was her usual bright self, and Ethan’s face was neutral.

As we took the skycar back to our apartment, I asked Ethan what my mother had said.

“She thanked me for saving you,” he said, his lips curving in a smile. “Then she threatened to castrate me if I allowed it to happen again.”

Seeing my doubtlessly shocked expression, Ethan hauled me onto his lap like this was perfectly normal. Perhaps it was. I was becoming desensitized to being handled, which worried me because it felt a lot like I was losing my sense of self.

Pinching my face between his strong fingers, Ethan inspected me. “Ryker will be here tomorrow,” he said. My shocked gasp was swallowed as he covered my lips with his. The kiss was harsh, almost cruel, and filled with his domination. I wanted to ask him if he was leaving, but I was frightened I might break down if he said that he was.

When we returned to the apartment, I embraced everything he needed from me. Took my punishment like it was a gift, and relished each deep stroke of his cock like it might be the last. His mood reflected mine, intense and raw, and heated with the same hunger that gripped me.

I welcomed the spanking because it gave me an excuse to cry.

I felt cold after, like there was ice buried inside my heart. I was sure he would leave tomorrow. Could feel it in the wildness of our coupling.

I had to leave. I understood this. If I stayed, I would completely lose myself. I was already falling for him, his control, and for the security it represented.

And while Ryker presented a different kind of challenge, I was halfway in love with him too, and I did not think my heart had the emotional capacity to endure more.

Ethan had saved me from the enemy; plucked me from the cage on the ship and taken me to safety.

Ryker had protected me from Erison, threatened to snap his neck when he’d found me on the medical bed where my former research partner had been playing his sick games.

There would be no safety in drugs this heat, and one of them would likely claim me.

And if they didn’t, if they left me to someone else, another Alpha who would rut me through the heat. I couldn’t think of a worse fate.

I couldn’t have both of them, and so I must choose neither. And if I couldn’t have both of them, then I wanted no one.

Erison was waiting and planning, I had known him too long to think he would cease his torment for good. Even if I left the program, which would be a different kind of sorrow, Erison would find ways to ensure I was available for testing.

And I couldn’t live such a life—didn’t want to.

Over the last three years, there had been so much change, and none of it had been for the better.

Once more, change was upon me, but this time I would not be a passenger, I would be the one to decide. I should have taken action sooner, I could see this now. I would not make the same mistake twice.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE NEXT MORNING continued with the usual routine, and Ethan made no further mention of Ryker. He escorted me to the research center, and hung around for Erison’s session, before disappearing again.

When he arrived later, Ryker was with him.

A hot tide swept over my body as I cataloged the damage, the bruising around his jaw and eyes, the split, swollen skin, and his stiff posture.

His right eye was bloodshot, but the other was whole—a familiar hazel with obscenely long lashes. A sob escaped my lips. His grin was impish. “It looks worse than it is, babe.”

Despite his somewhat dubious treatment of me, and his questionable emotional manipulation, I wanted to cry as much as I wanted to throw myself at him.

Ethan caught me around the waist before I could take more than a step. “Don’t even think about it, Princess. If you touch him, I’m going to have to beat the shit out of him again.”

Noticing the bruises on the back of Ethan’s hands where his arm circled me, cold bloomed in my chest.

My eyes lifted to meet Ryker’s as Ethan’s hand closed over the front of my throat.

Grinning, Ryker rolled his eyes. “And they call me a psycho,” he said cheerfully.

We took the skycar to my apartment. I sat on Ethan’s lap. Ryker sat opposite. I kept my eyes averted because looking at him made Ethan growl.

What would happen next? Was Ethan leaving tomorrow? Was he staying?

When we arrived at my apartment, Ethan took me straight to bed, stripped me, and fucked me with barely suppressed aggression. He growled and snarled as he fucked me, and I fell into a perpetual state of flush.

The flush wasn’t for him, but he drunk generously anyway, while Ryker sat back against the couch and watched.

He had been rough with me in the past; this time was rougher. He paid Ryker no heed, but I was sure we were both aware of his presence. I wanted to comfort Ryker—and let him take my blood.

I shouldn’t have enjoyed what Ethan was doing, but I’d be lying to myself if I said this wasn’t turning me on.

I came harder than I could remember, frequently, noisily, screaming and begging him for more, and barely recognizing myself.

It was dark beyond the window, and subtle lighting filled the room when Ethan, after wresting another violent orgasm from me, dragged me from the bed.

Disorientated, I found myself put on the floor at Ryker’s feet.

Ryker had been slouched back, relaxed, but he jerked upright at my arrival. My gaze dropped to the bulge between his legs where his pants tented. It jerked vigorously under my watch.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” Ethan snapped, still looming behind me.

Their combined scents swirled about me—rich and spicy, wild and earthy. Alone they were delicious, but together they sent me a little high.

Ryker jerked his hands back to his sides. He huffed out a deep breath. “Are you trying to fucking kill me? Asshole!”

“Maybe,” Ethan said, but I detected a tendril of amusement in his tone. “Take his cock out and suck him off.”

Ryker’s eyes were hooded and lustful. He hissed as I closed my hands over his belt and slipped the buckle free.

He cursed when I eased his pants down, exposing his swollen cock. It was thick and blueish-red, and pre-cum trickled in a thick stream from the tip. I glanced back to where Ethan still stood. A spectator. His dark eyes found mine. “Better make it good for him. This is all he’s getting tonight.”

My head snapped back to where Ryker watched, waiting, tension radiating from every line of his body.

Gripping the thick, hot length in one hand, I lowered my mouth and licked.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” He jerked like an electric current had passed through his body. His fingers bit into the couch at his side as I took the tip into my mouth. “Fuck!”

I was determined then, to make this the absolute best blowjob of his life. I swirled my tongue around the piercing, and then sucked it right back into my throat.

“Fuck, babe, you’re going to hurt yourself!”

I gagged, swallowed and eased off before plunging straight back down.

His back bowed, his hands reached as if to grab me off before they clutched once more to the material so fiercely it was a wonder the sofa did not tear. “Jesus. Fuck!”

I hummed around his cock and slowed my pace after my little tease woke him up. Ryker groaned. Ethan growled.

I worshiped him. Drawing his wonderful spicy scent into my lungs as I demonstrated how much I had missed him. Licking, sucking, running my tongue over every inch, maintaining eye contact as I did. Working my hand up and down the parts I couldn’t reach with my mouth, while gently cupping his balls.

The couch groaned under his fierce grip. “I’m going to come, baby.”

And he did, like an explosion, a river of cum flooding my mouth and shooting deep down my throat. I choked on it there was so much, but I was determined, and I swallowed and licked up every last drop.

When I glanced up, Ryker’s chest was rising and falling on gusty breaths, and he had a broad grin on his face. “I want to touch you, babe, but Sasquatch doesn’t know how to share, so we’ll have to work up to that.” His cock hadn’t completely softened, but he tucked it back into his pants. He winked as he grabbed a cushion, shoved it behind his head, and lay down. “Thanks, gonna sleep like a baby now.”

The soft growl from behind was all the warning I got before Ethan gripped my arm and hauled me over to the bed. He fucked me noisily. Then he draped his heavy arm and leg over me, and I fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning I woke up flushed…and suffocating under the hot weight of Ethan’s arm. His legs were tangled with mine, and his body curved around me. One big hand cupped my breast. As he shifted, his fingers plucked absently at my nipple. I sucked in a sharp breath as the touch ignited the sensitive flesh.

It was too much to hope for my reaction to escape his notice. Covers were ripped aside as he hauled me onto my back, and his lips closed over the abused flesh of my nipple. A breathy moan escaped me when the first pull was as painful as it was arousing. My legs parted, and his fingers probed the slippery petals, pinching and rubbing gently over my swollen clit. I was sensitive everywhere, the stimulation too intense, but when he demanded I come for him, I tipped straight over the edge.

“Are you going to spank her now?” My bleary eyes opened to find Ryker standing at the bottom of the bed, eyeing the apex of my splayed legs where Ethan’s fingers played. He had removed his shirt to display those arresting tattoos that spanned over perfectly sculptured muscle.

Where Ethan was savage; Ryker was raw, masculine beauty.

Ethan growled as he pumped two thick fingers in and out of my dripping pussy.

“Yes.”

“Can I watch?”

My pussy clamped around the fingers buried deep inside. Ryker smirked when my eyes flashed to meet his.

Mortified that he caught my blatant perusal, my lashes lowered. I fought to steady my breathing, feeling the weight of two Alpha men studying me intently. I was confident nothing in the Omega program could prepare me for this.

“Yes,” Ethan said, his tone the implacable one that brought goosebumps to my skin. “You can hold her while I do it.”

My pussy clenched again, and a flood gushed out.

“Fuck, I can smell her,” Ryker said. “I used to tell her you would take your belt to her if she was naughty, that you would make me hold her while you spanked her with it. Have you used the belt on her yet?”

“No,” Ethan said, and the implied threat hung between us until he confirmed it by saying, “Not yet.”

The thick fingers withdrew, and I was flipped over.

My mind was floating, I was frightened and aroused, and desperate to find a mental shelter to cling to. There was no opportunity to retreat, no place to hide.

“Tell me what to do,” Ryker said.

“Over the side of the bed,” Ethan said. “Hold her hands above her head and the center of her back. She knows better than to try and kick.”

It was the first time Ryker had touched me since he had been back, my lips around his cock, notwithstanding. Ethan growled softly in warning as Ryker gathered my hands.

“We should get some restraints,” Ryker said without a hint of inflection. “A nice spanking bench.”

“Maybe,” Ethan said. There was a pause. “I like seeing you hold her.”

“Yeah? What about when she was sucking my cock?”

“I wanted to rip your heart from your chest,” Ethan said seriously.

Ryker chuckled like that wasn’t a deadly threat. “Thanks for not sharing that thought with me last night.”

CHAPTER NINE

WHEN I ARRIVED at the therapist, there were two hulking Deltas already waiting in the sunny reception area, smartly dressed in black pants and shirts. They looked out of place against the hot-pink walls and awkward on the sky-blue reclining seats. You can tell when another man has combat training, and these two had that look. Private security forces maybe, not military anyway. And I knew they were Deltas because they had an Alpha build but without any scent.

The psychedelic setting wasn’t Abby’s regular office. Her regular office was going through an extensive refurb, and this temporary one used to be the consulting rooms for a gynecologist of all things—go figure.

I sprawled in the chair opposite, which was more comfortable than appearance might suggest. Beside me, a luminous orange lamp emitted weak lighting and clashed with—everything as far as I was concerned.

The two Deltas gave me an eyeballing. Blondie on the left was a bit older, with a short beard and hair down to his shoulders. I know people called me a psycho, but he looked like one, with those cold, gray eyes. Dark-haired side-kick was fresh-faced and built like a fucking tank.

I smirked back because I couldn’t give a fuck what their problem was in my present mood. I still couldn’t open my right eye more than a crack after Ethan had beaten the shit out of me under the guise of a ‘training session’ yesterday.

Then I’d had to suffer hours of listening to him fucking Lilly, and her screaming as she came all over his cock.

Repeatedly.

I rubbed restlessly at the stubble on my jaw. The blowjob had been fucking amazing, but the naughty little Omega had known her gift had only made me feel worse. There were beautiful women, and then there were goddesses. Lilly on her knees with my cock sliding in and out of her mouth was like experiencing a revelation.

I’d faked going to sleep afterward to mess with Ethan. Then this morning I’d had to watch him spank her and that had put me in a volatile mood. “Don’t fucking spank her!” That was the message I’d gotten from Ethan while I was waiting to board the ship from Tolis to Chimera with her. “Or I will end you and everyone you’ve ever loved.”

And they said I had no people skills! I didn’t love anyone so it was a bit of a mute threat in that respect, but I wasn’t keen on dying myself so I’d done as I was told. My palm had been itching to discipline her ass during the ten long days of transit, and then this morning, he had me hold her while he spanked her twice as hard as I ever would.

Listening to him fucking her all night was bad enough, but watching her perfect-peach ass turn red under his palm was a torment of the highest order. I would never have been that rough with her, but fuck it—it was game on now.

My thoughts must have been projecting because the younger, dark-haired Delta on the right growled at me.

What the fuck was his problem?

Ah…Grinning as I put two and two together, I winked at the fucker.

I thought he might have been about to jump up and kick my ass—well try it—when the inner door opened and my therapist, Abby, stepped out.

Short, pixie-cropped brown hair, huge blue eyes, and a little heart-shaped face…and the most disgustingly shapeless dress I’d ever seen. Fuck only knew where she got her dress sense from, but I’d never seen her wear anything else.

Both Deltas leaped to their feet.

Deltas did everything in twos, which always brought fucking to mind, but it seemed therapy was also part of the equation. And the little therapist was a Gamma, and Deltas had a weakness for a Gamma.

“Ryker is next,” Abby said, a small frown on her pretty face as it swung between me and the two Deltas. She pushed her glasses up her nose. No one wore glasses unless it was for eye protection, but she had a genetic defect and couldn’t see without them. She had been my therapist for the last three years, and questioning her was a great way to get out of talking about myself, so I knew a lot about her.

The two Deltas glared at me. Darker, tank-man looked like he was ready to storm over and strangle me. Serious, blond-guy gave his side-kick a warning glare.

“No prize for guessing who’s on top,” I said cheerfully.

They both growled.

“Ryker!” Abby snapped—she could be very assertive for a Gamma.

I chuckled, because poking at a territorial dynamic was both dangerous and fun, and I couldn’t help myself. “No need to get all growly guys, I’m actually here for the therapy.”

That took them aback, which gave me enough time to hustle Abby into the room and shut the door.

I had been seeing a therapist ever since my childhood testing revealed an…anomaly. I preferred anomaly over the other word. There were degrees to my anomaly, and the fact that they let me loose on the general population should be evidence of the gray, fuzzy nature of those degrees.

“Ryker, we’ve spoken about this before,” she said, sashaying her smock-covered ass over to her seat where she picked up her data tablet and began to tap away. There was a desk, but she had gone for the relaxed seating arrangement that consisted of two poppy-red sofas facing a central coffee table, positioned before a fake-window-viewer wall. The viewer showed Chimera’s cityscape and was a breath of normality in the lime-green room. She pointed at the sofa opposite when I didn’t immediately sit—then did a double-take.

“What…happened to you?” she asked, pushing her glasses up her nose again.

There was a heavy-assed gynecological examination chair in the corner. Someone had put a cover over it, but I knew it was a gynecologist’s chair because I had lifted it up for a peek last time I was here.

“I’m disappointed in you not noticing Ethan’s welcome home gift sooner,” I said. “I guess the Deltas weren’t the only ones distracted.” I imagined the two Deltas would have a good idea of what that was under the plastic sheeting in the corner, even if they weren’t bold enough to go over and check. I bet there was going to be a world of kinky fantasies heating up this room while they all tried not to make eye contact with it.

Her lips tightened, and her knuckles turned white around the data tablet. After three years, she was on to all my tricks, so I was impressed with myself for getting a rise. Must really have a thing for those Deltas! “Would you like to issue a complaint?” she asked.

“Complaint?” Her suggestion threw me a bit. “Against Ethan? Fuck no, I don’t want to issue a complaint. I had the best blowjob of my life because of these injuries. I should be thanking him!”

“Fine then, tell me about your last operation,” she said.

I swear the woman didn’t even blink.

“You know they want to fuck you, right?” I asked because I only had a thirty-minute slot and I thought I could fill a good portion of it on the fallout from the hulking Deltas who had clearly turned up early. “Both of them, because Deltas do everything in twos.”

“Was that you requesting to talk about your mother, Ryker?” she said sweetly, tapping away on her tablet with enough anger it was a wonder the screen hadn’t cracked.

“Nope, don’t think I was,” I said reasonably, before stabbing my thumb in the direction of the door. “Do you want me to give them a bit of a thumping for you? See how serious they are about this pursuit?”

“No, thank you, Ryker.”

She was so polite, even under stress. I couldn’t imagine how much my father must be paying her to put up with my shit.

Her eyes narrowed on the data tablet. “You have an unauthorized weapon use infringement listed against you during the Tolis operation. A—” she paused to squint at her data tablet. “Rocket-propelled grenade-launcher was fired eight times without the relevant ticket.”

“I had the ticket,” I said.

“No,” she shook her head, indicating her tablet. “Your license ticket was revoked after a prior operation where—” she paused again to read. “A food service tent was accidentally destroyed.”

I winced. “Accident? You’re my therapist Abby, so I know I can be candid and it won’t go any further.” I pointed at the tablet. “That’s just Command covering up my antics because it can get very exhausting dealing with them, and I’m useful the rest of the time. But, I definitely meant to destroy it. Got a cheer for my effort from the troops based there. If you’d eaten the food they were serving, you’d have cheered me on, too.”

“I very much doubt it,” she said using the frosty tone she called on when I was in one of my ‘testing’ moods.

To be fair on myself, I’d had a rough night, and I would rather have been plotting my revenge against Ethan than talking through my non-existent feelings.

“Your allocation to this Omega appears to have made quite an impression.”

That question threw me as well. Frosty had been doing her homework.

“I think I’m addicted,” I said before I could stop myself.

Abby’s fingers flew over the data tablet. “Doctor Brach has had a challenging time. I’m not convinced you are the best choice,” she said frowning. “You are remembering to follow all my instructions on Omega care?” she asked, pausing her tapping and pinning me with a glare.

“Yes,” I said, worrying now that she might hold some level of sway. I liked fucking Lilly, and I would go on a rampage it anyone tried to separate me from her before I’d gotten my fill.

I understood that Omegas needed to be cared for, even loved, but I didn’t know what that meant.

Fucking, I understood. I could give an Omega the best damn fucking they’d ever had. Some of them confused fucking with love, which was baffling…I mean seriously how did you confuse that?

Fucking was rabid and raw. Love was soft and fluffy. You’d struggle to find two activities more diverse, in my opinion. It was essential to keep a clear line between the two.

I was all about the line.

Although the Alpha rumble did seem dangerously close to displaying affection, now that I stopped to consider it. But Lilly had been barely conscious after I’d finished fucking her while on the ship. On the other occasions, I’d used my soothing rumble when she’d been in acute stress.

“I make the sounds,” I said at length.

Abby blinked a couple of times. “Ryker, I’ve been your therapist for three years now, and I know I’m not supposed to, but I do worry about you…I wish I could stay to guide you through what will undoubtedly be a difficult period.”

Stay? “Where are you going?” Therapists were not supposed to leave clients. Clients left therapists when they were better. Or if they didn’t get on. The dozen or so that I’d seen before Abby had been annoying as fuck, but I liked the little Gamma. Her little frosty looks were fun and teasing her even more so. She reminded me a bit of an Omega, but without the sexual tension.

If Lilly were the one offering me the therapy I could see it getting kinky real quick, but with Abby, it never crossed my mind. Yeah, and that monstrous smock-dress might have had something to do with it.

“I’ve taken a position…on an orbital station,” she said in a cagy, I’m-not-ready-to-tell-you-where-I’m-going kind of way.

“If you’re trying to escape their pursuit, it’s won’t work,” I said gesturing at her and then over my shoulder toward the door. “Dark and brooding was ready to rip my head off, and all I did was sit down. Deltas are like sharks locked in on a blood trail once they set on a Gamma.”

“Ryker! The line!”

“Sorry,” I rubbed the back of my head. The little Gamma was clearly in denial. “You know you’re going to miss me. Can we do the therapy via transmitter? I might go AWOL if you’re not here to remind me about the line.”

Her lips twitched. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

It was harder to get a smile from Abby than it was from my father, so I felt inordinately pleased with myself.

I cracked my knuckles as I exited her office, and called out, “Might need to get those restraint straps repaired before your next client.”

CHAPTER TEN

IT WAS A relief to get to the research center. An opportunity to be normal and pretend I hadn’t been fucked all night. To pretend my bottom wasn’t aching where a big hand had spanked and pinched.

As I entered the elevator, my stomach tumbled over remembering Ryker holding my hands while Ethan spanked me. And after I had showered, he had held me again while Ethan had applied copious amounts of the soothing cream.

The cream had helped, but I was so damn sensitive I couldn’t bear my panties against my burning flesh. I was going to remove them at the first opportunity. Ethan never bothered me during the day unless I had a meeting with Erison, and I had no such meetings today.

I was still distracted by a quandary of my own making, about whether I should try to leave. I’d done some planning, but Ryker’s return had somehow made the decision even harder.

The elevator stopped at my floor, and I took the corridor to my office at a brisk pace, turning a corner, and passing the laboratories until I finally arrived at my office.

When I entered the reception room, Merry, frizzy blue hair and all, bestowed me a dazzling smile.

“You look better, Lilly!” She beamed. “Better than I have seen you in a long time.” She winked. “I heard Ryker was back.”

I laughed in spite of my outrage at her assumption. “It’s not that. Well…not only that.” It had been good to see Ryker again, I’d have been lying to myself to admit anything else. My face heated as I experienced a flashback from last night…and this morning.

She smiled. “I’m glad you’re doing better. I was worried about you for a while. And long before the incident at the drop door.”

“I know,” I replied honestly. “I was worried about me, too.”

“There’s a new report for you on the latest trials,” she said, getting back to business. “They wanted your input ready for tomorrow. I’ve combined all the data sets and provided some preliminary analysis. I blocked out some time in your calendar. And the program quarterly figures are available. I’ve loaded those ready for you to review as well.”

She was an absolute whiz with data. I’d be lost if she ever decided to move on. And if I did leave, there would be a veritable queue of requestors waiting to snap her up. “Thanks, Merry, I’ll review the quarterly figures now. Then I’ll get onto the report.”

My office here was compact, but it had a pleasant view of the landscaped gardens of the research campus. A small lake held center stage where the fountain cast a fine spray into the air. I lingered on the view briefly before opening the data table Merry had sent through and promptly lost myself in the quarterly program report.

It wasn’t strictly part of my role anymore to concern myself with such things. But I liked to keep abreast of how it was tracking, even if I had little say.

It wasn’t long until I noticed an anomaly. I dropped a message through to Tsing’s assistant, and was surprised when Tsing responded himself with a terse message explaining that an upstream project handled the logistics, covered under a separate NDA. He enclosed a high-level analysis report, for my information, which satisfied my earlier concerns.

But I could read between the lines, and his efficient wording made his feelings on my questioning him abundantly clear.

Fine, he didn’t want me interfering, and I got on with the rest of my reports.

My conflict kept trying to intrude on my thoughts. To stay or to leave; neither option was perfect. I tried to imagine a life on the run. My father still hadn’t been to visit, consumed as he was with his duties, and I was grateful for this small reprieve from his dominating presence. He would try to find me if I left, would put considerable effort into my recovery, and the resulting fallout might be far worse than my current situation. Then there was Ethan and Ryker, and they would both see this as a personal slight on their ability as Controllers.

Leaving would be hard enough. Staying would be harder.

The data wasn’t going to analyze itself, and I forced myself to read.

Finally, after nearly two hours, I’d broke the back of the task, and worked through adding notes.

I was only half paying attention when my door opened. I was expecting Merry, and I did a double-take when I found Ethan standing there. His hair trimmed, but it still curled around his nape in dark waves. He was dressed in civilian clothes that did not disguise the raw man underneath.

“What are you doing here?” I asked frowning.

Leaving the interconnecting door open, he approached my desk.

“You look flushed.”

I wasn’t flushed, he knew I wasn’t flushed, but my hand still lifted instinctively to my throat. “I’m not flushed.”

“Are you sure?” He rounded the desk while I was trying to work out what the hell he was doing here. He caught my chin between his fingers and thumb and turned my face to his. “Does she look flushed to you, Merry?” he called out.

“Yes!” Merry piped up from the other room.

“She can’t even see me!” I pulled out of his hold. Was he teasing me? I wasn’t sure what to make of the playful version of Ethan. I wasn’t sure what to make of any version of Ethan, but I definitely wasn’t ready for this so soon after the wild events of last night.

Then I remembered I had taken my panties off, and my face flushed with guilty heat.

“I’m not flushed,” I stated. I needed to get Ethan out of my office before this escalated.

“Ah, mentioning it can sometimes act as a trigger,” Merry offered from the doorway. There was a huge grin on her face. “I’m popping out! They need some help with an analysis cube over in reporting. I’ll be back later!”

The door rattled as she shut it. Then another thud came as she closed the outer office door.

I was still staring at the door when my chair was swiveled around, and he placed his hands on the arms, effectively pinning me in place. “I need to fuck you,” he said. I looked everywhere except at him, but it was like a giant magnet was working on me, and my wandering focus slid straight back. And there I got lost in the heat of his dark gaze. “We need to work it into your schedule,” he added like we were discussing a coffee break or something similarly mundane. Taking my lips in a drugging kiss, he cupped my breast, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the nipple and bringing it to instant attention. Dragging his lips from mine, he sucked a trail of kisses against the side of my throat. “Take your panties off, get on the desk, and open your legs so I can fuck you.”

I shivered.

There wasn’t an opt-out clause with this, I had been subject to control for long enough to understand the parameters of play. He had told me to get on the desk, one way or another, I was going to be spread out on the desk.

Only I wasn’t wearing any panties, and I thought this discovery would not go well for me.

His lips stilled, ceasing to torment my throat. “You confused about the request, Princess?”

“No, I’m not confused.” I still wasn’t moving, though, and rational thought escaped me.

“Good.” His lips were close to my ear, his words a soft, growly threat. “Ease your dress up and your panties down. Then you can get on the desk.”

He leaned back a little, both hands planted against the chair arms, ready to watch.

A thick lump formed in my throat. I swallowed. “I’m not…wearing any. I took them off…and my bra. I was sore…I couldn’t stand them against my skin.”

His nostrils flared, the chair arms creaked under his fingers. “Show me,” he said.

Caught in the dark, sinful spell, I did exactly as he asked. Slowly easing the hem of my dress higher, inch by inch, until my naked pussy was revealed.

“What a naughty little Omega,” he said. “Spread your legs.”

With a single finger, he traced the length of my slit, making me gasp and fidget when he caught my swollen clit. “Don’t move,” he warned as he petted the little nub.

I tried valiantly to be still, to accept this, but my arousal was rising, and my body had needs.

The contents of my desk were swiped aside, and I was sprawled over the hard surface. The faint chink of a belt unlocking had a predictable effect, and my body rushed straight to heated anticipation.

He pinned me there with a hand around my throat, and I loved the feel of his control.

We both groaned as the thick length breached my entrance. My legs wrapped around his waist as I pulled his face to mine so I could suck and bite on his lips.

“So eager for my cock,” he growled. His mouth opened over mine to plunder as his cock pounded into my pussy. He had always fucked me with barely tempered aggression, but something had changed over the last few days. He was rougher with me, fingers bruising where they gripped.

A sensation of loss assaulted me at the thought of never having this again, never feeling him inside me, never seeing his face. My climax ripped through me without warning. My scream of pleasure loud enough to make me grateful Merry wasn’t in the adjoining room.

It seemed as if Ethan was caught in the same madness, and he threw his head back and roared as he filled me with his cum.

Breathing heavy as we came down, we gazed at each other.

Something was happening that I couldn’t quite explain.

I thought Ethan might have sensed it too, but then he frowned at his wrist device. Straightening both of us out, he pressed a soft kiss to my lips and left.

As the door clicked shut on his retreating figure, I suffered the loss like I was already removed from this world. I did not know myself anymore, and yet I was still a doctor, and I was determined to find that part of me again.

Could I be both? Could I be an Omega and a rational doctor?

I thought I could. And as begrudging as I was for these circumstances first Ryker, and now Ethan were driving Erison and the committee to restore greater and greater rights to me, within the program. My excitement rose at the thought of once more, playing an active role.

How far have I fallen to be excited by scraps?

And yet small steps led to bigger ones.

Only yesterday before we left to see my mother, I had been ecstatic as I told Ethan my tests had yielded favorable results.

He had kissed me and told me I was beautiful.

It was the first time in my life I had felt seen.

My father, for all his love, had been waiting for me to reveal. And my work here was an indulgence he allowed me before I settled with an Alpha. I knew he expected me to find a permanent bond and live happily producing heirs.

I was twenty-five when I revealed, and I hadn’t expected to have children at all. I had forced my mind to reject it because I had presumed it would never happen. It was proving harder than I expected to undo my own self-imposed conditioning.

Yet, the thought of a child with Ryker’s eyes or Ethan’s beautiful smile filled me with an unexpected longing.

I took a deep breath.

One tiny step at the time.

Their expectations were unknown to me. I had assumed they were allocated to me as a temporary arrangement driven from the hospital fiasco, and I would eventually be released to find a more suitable partner.

That thought made me feel sick.

I didn’t want anyone else and yet I couldn’t keep both of them. My current Controllers had other roles to fulfill that did not include babysitting me.

I had let myself fall.

For both of them.

I sat there staring at the closed office door where Ethan had left a moment ago, my mind struggling with this revelation.

Now I had no idea what to do next.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

After the shared-dream incident, I took a far greater interest in the nature of the tests. I had been invested before, but now, I was relentless. I recommended we use different test subjects…in the interests of providing a larger sample.

And I performed private research, which I did not record in our database. Instead, I kept a brief summary of the details in my personal diary when in the privacy of my home.

There were indications of other benefits, such as heightened mental acumen, and changes to the nervous system that I have yet to fully understand.

Tsing thought the changes were temporary…but I believe this might not be the case.

I believe the changes might ‘lock-in’ after a number of iterations, although I didn’t know how many it might take.

And I didn’t yet know what the changes to the nervous system might do…but I thought they were related to the shared-dream psychic connection…and I thought they might lock-in, too.

Doctor Lillian Brach

MY LAB WAS a short walk from my office. Finishing with the report, I made my way over, determined to bury myself, once again, in work. It was quiet when I entered; a couple of Betas, busy with samples from the latest batch of potential candidates for the Omega program. I headed into the back, through the door, and on to the secure laboratory where the viral samples were kept.

A state-of-the-art analysis machine was housed in the lab. It could be used to work with samples directly, but could also provide theoretical analysis, and the operator could choose to record or erase the data at the end of the session.

It felt like forever since I had taken time for my private research. We were all settling in to the new location still, and it took me time to get my personal project reinstated. My personal project was the cover I needed to work independently, and more importantly, in private.

I was highly cognizant that Ethan had been taking my blood for an extended period that would bring him perilously close to the danger zone of a psychic connection. There had been a gap while I was in transit with Ryker.

I was taking a calculated risk in reviewing the old data.

Tolis and the testing with Beta candidates were many weeks ago. It was over a year, since the early tests using repeated test subjects had resulted in the first shared dream. I had thought the results to be emblazoned on my mind, but as I brought up the data cubes into the analysis software, some glaring facts presented themselves.

A typical flush could produce about a pint of excess blood. Extraction was slow and painful, and rarely did Tsing manage to extract the full amount.

During trials, this had been distributed between ten test subjects.

I was presently flushing with far more proliferation. The presence of an Alpha, their growls, and the methods they employed to control me resulted in so much excess blood that they were taking this much individually, perhaps more.

What I didn’t know was whether it was the iterative interaction with my blood, or the quantity of my blood, which resulted in the connection forming. Both Ethan and Ryker had already ingested the quantities of my blood that would have taken several months for the test subjects to accumulate.

There were far too many possibilities and permutations, but however I sliced this cake, I was sure I was close to the danger zone. They were both Alphas, while the test subjects had been Betas, and I thought that might also have some influence on the chance of connectivity. It wasn’t unusual for an Alpha and Omega to experience a psychic connection of sorts once bonded. This was more of an awareness of mood—most bonded pairs, particularly during pregnancy, did not like to be apart.

Dream sharing was unheard of.

I had no idea what this meant, but I needed to learn more, and fast. The virus was changing, evolving and taking the once human hosts with it. I represented the next stage of that evolution. My father was an Alpha and my mother a Mu, I was doomed to be a dynamic at birth because the virus was part of every dynamic’s DNA.

They still infected children of non-dynamic pairings in an attempt to further permeate dynamic presence throughout the Empire.

If I was part of a new evolution, what would my blood be doing to Ethan and Ryker?

My ‘loaded’ blood could boost cell regeneration at levels similar to a Healer. Additionally, the recipient received a temporary increase of stamina, energy, strength, and reduced sensitivity to pain. The effects were lingering longer, Ethan had said so himself. But what about the less obvious changes—the ones that impacted the brain?

I was surprised, and glad that I had already planned a way to replace the data quickly, when I noticed Tsing approaching.

I wasn’t supposed to meet him unless Ethan was with me. Was he merely passing through the lab when he spotted me or was this a purposeful crossing of our paths? We hadn’t been alone for more than moments since the charity ball.

I didn’t know him anymore.

And I didn’t want him snooping around what I was doing. Was this anything to do with my questions about the Omega workstream? I didn’t have a say in the program anymore. He had made this abundantly clear earlier. No need for him to emphasize the point.

He had been my friend once, my research partner. When had bitterness replaced the once easy companionship? Was it when I was given the Program Directorship? No, I thought it might have been earlier.

He took the high stool beside me, his fine-blond hair was swept back from his face, and regarded me through dark, almond-shaped eyes looking out from a brilliant mind. “I know you are thinking about running,” he said.

My eyes widened. Had I been better prepared, I would have covered that tell.

His smile was wry, and it reminded me of the old Erison Tsing, the man who had once been my friend. I had to shake myself and remember this wasn’t the case anymore. “This isn’t for you, Lillian.” He gestured at me. “A life under the domination of a brute.” His lips curled. “It is a slow death for you.”

My heart beat an elevated tattoo in my chest. “I’m adjusting,” I said.

His raised brow said he wasn’t buying my lie. I’d never been good at masking my feelings from anyone, and despite our more recent distance, Erison knew me well.

“We have not been close of late,” he said, mirroring my thoughts. “It saddens me, as I know it saddens you.” He shrugged. “You know excessive ambition was, and ever will be my greatest challenge. When you first revealed, I thought only of how it would impact me.” His earnest eyes held mine. “You always kept me in line. I miss you.”

Somewhere between confusion and hope was a meeting place, and his words found me there. “I thought you were coming over to have words about me daring to question your figures.”

He chuckled. “I don’t mind you questioning my figures. That’s all part of the Lilly that I miss…Besides, there is nothing you can question that the auditors haven’t already dissected to the nth degree,” he added dryly. “Our program appears to warrant excessive attention.”

It warmed me that he referred to it as ‘our program’. It had been so long since he had spoken to me with more than clinical detachment. Erison was an intelligent man, and I admired him. In our early days, we had been each other’s balance. His driven genius could sometimes produce ethically questionable decisions, and I had tempered that. He had teased me about it once, said I kept him on the right path on the occasions when he was tempted to stray. He’d even admitted I was the best person for the job of Program Director.

His hand covered mine where it rested on the laboratory table. “You changed when you became an Omega. You can’t help that, and I understand how hard those changes were.”

I nodded. He was right, about all of it.

“I can’t run,” I said. His hand withdrew. “Where would I go? You’re right, this isn’t for me. But I don’t know what else to do.”

“I haven’t handled this well,” he said earnestly. “When you revealed, it changed our partnership. I felt like you had abandoned me.”

His smile was cynical. “It was selfish of me, I know. I’m trying—could try harder.” He chuckled and rolled his eyes in a manner that reminded me of the old Erison.

I softened toward him, then. He wasn’t perfect, no one was. I had taken questionable actions myself. I’d attempted to subvert the program for goodness sake. I knew how much was at stake when it came to the war, had now experienced it firsthand. Perhaps my failures were equal or worse.

“I wanted to honor you with the new program here. I had a speech prepared, explaining how your work had inspired the new direction.” His lips twisted, and shadows entered his expression. “And then I stood there watching that beast paw you, and I couldn’t think, let alone deliver the speech.”

A little piece of my soul broke. Strangely, I thought he might love me—an emotional quagmire I was reluctant to explore.

“Thank you,” I said simply. Terrible guilt assuaged me. I had been so angry when I heard his opening speech—had assumed the worst. “I was angry for a long time after I revealed. It was hard to watch the program I’d worked on, go to you. Many of the changes were hard, but that one was the hardest.”

“I petitioned the steering committee privately to reinstate your project,” he said.

I swallowed past a painful lump. I’d assumed it had been Ethan’s influence, but it appeared I had another person in my corner. What was happening to me? Had my misery blinded me to the world around me? Had I misinterpreted everything as a threat?

“I thought it might help,” he continued. “I wasn’t expecting the other one to turn up.” He sneered in open disgust. “It can’t be easy for you. I will miss you. Whatever happens, I will miss you.”

His words brought a tightness to my chest. I’d been trying to ignore what was happening, but his acknowledgment drove it home.

“If you want me to help you leave, I will. I have contacts who can find you a place far from here, and enough official suppressants to last you a lifetime. Drugs that can reduce the scent, too. You’ll never pass for a non-dynamic, but you could live as a Beta, and no one would know otherwise.”

My eyes widened, and he smiled. “Yes, I know you were making your own. I was terrified when I found out. You must know how dangerous that was?”

“Yes,” I said. At the time, I hadn’t a clue what else to do.

“I’m going to lose you anyway. We both know you’ll be expected to leave the program once you’re breeding. I doubt you’ll get through the next heat without catching. No Alpha will allow his Omega to continue to work, and you’ll be expected to conform.”

“I don’t exactly look like a Beta,” I said, but I was exploring his suggested option with burgeoning hope.

“People see what they want to,” he said. “No one expected you to become an Omega so late. Assumptions are made all the time.”

“This is a lot to take in,” I said. Then, the arrival of Ethan and Ryker had thrown more confusion into the mix. Had Erison given me this proposal a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated. Why was I hesitating now? “What about the flushing?”

“If you lead a simple life, it should never be a problem. But you could take the equipment with you as a backup.” His lips twitched. “I know you thought I was hard on you while we were on the ship. Once I learned you had been allocated a Controller, I was driven—in my usual excessive way—to find a way to suppress the flushing. I failed. And I don’t know what else to try. In the end, I couldn’t face hurting you even to help you.”

“Thank you for trying.” My heart ached with his confession. I had read him wrong. He had been trying to help me all along, and I had hated him for it. I was drowning in a river of my own shame.

“My offer stands if you wish it. It won’t be a life to rival what you have known, but you will be comfortable. And if you change your mind later on, you can always return. This way, you have some time to reach decisions for yourself without pressure.”

No one had ever done this for me. I was overwhelmed—completely.

As he rose from the chair, his hand pressed lightly to my shoulder and squeezed. “Say the word, and it will happen.”

I needed time to process Erison’s offer. It was almost too good to be true.

I didn’t want to flee the world forever, but the thought of having time to myself, a reprieve where I could decide without other influences, was a gift beyond compare.

I had done Erison wrong and misjudged him—badly.

Finishing with the samples, I headed back to my office. My steps felt lighter like an enormous weight had been lifted from my shoulder.

It felt good to have a choice. Now I needed to make a decision.

CHAPTER TWELVE

SHE WAS STANDING at the window when I walked in. There was no reaction for a split second…then her head whipped around. “What are you doing here? Where is Ethan?”

“He’s busy.”

“Busy?” She backed up, coming to an abrupt halt when she hit the window. She was skittish, and her eyes darted to the door like she was expecting it to burst open and Ethan to storm in.

I glanced back at the closed door. “Merry is taking a break,” I said, returning my attention to the sweet, little Omega prey trembling and trapped. “Ethan’s been called to a meeting. No one is going to interrupt us.” Or save you. I’d been plotting how to get her alone the moment I arrived. I knew Ethan was a possessive prick—he exceeded my lofty expectations. I’d play the good little second to his face, but I fully intended to fuck the little beauty I thought of as mine the moment he turned his back.

I could be inventive when I needed to be. Ethan was going to find himself tied up in all kinds of inconvenient ways over the foreseeable future if he didn’t learn how to share.

I cupped her cheek, eased in nice and close and breathed in her scent. I could smell Ethan on her, which pissed me off. But I could also smell her, and I would tolerate anything for that. “Hush,” I said, gathering her close. I was acting like a dick; she was terrified Ethan would arrive and kill me—but all I cared about was getting my cock between her legs.

Her lips trembled, and my body drew taut as her first tear fell. She was worried for me, genuinely so. The beating dead lump in my chest could only wonder.

“Please, he’s going to hurt you—kill you—if he finds you touching me. He was here earlier! He could come back.”

I kissed her tears away because they were destroying me and unhinging me all at the same time. I wasn’t a man who wasted time on sentimentality. I loved fucking, and I loved killing, and I loved the life that allowed me to do both. But Lilly’s tears did something awful to me, made me want to destroy the source of her angst, and then fuck her in a pool of her tormenter’s blood.

I couldn’t kill Ethan; not in a fair fight anyway. I would have resorted to using underhanded means, but I could see she cared for him, and killing him might not have desirable results.

More likely it would fuck things up beyond recovery, which was doubtless the only reason Ethan had shown a modicum of restraint. Not that he hadn’t given beating me into a pulp a damn good go yesterday.

“Come here.” Sitting back on the edge of her desk, I coaxed her to stand between my legs, pulling her in nice and tight so I could kiss and suck on her plump lips to distract her. “Good girl, open for me and let me feed you my tongue.” When I cupped her face in my hands, her lips parted for me. I teased her with the tip of my tongue, feeling a surge of blood rush straight to my dick when she tried to suck it in deeper.

I’d forgotten what a naughty little thing she was.

I dragged my mouth from hers and set to sucking kisses along the column of her throat strong enough to risk leaving a mark. If I thought Ethan would be pissed about me fucking her, he was going to be really pissed if I marked her up. He was going to be pissed anyway.

“No!”

Her little fingers tightened on my hair like it was going to make me stop.

“Please, he’ll know! Oh!”

Growling, I sucked harder, tasting blood. I wasn’t near the membrane; I’d just sucked blood clear through normal skin. She stopped trying to pull me off and gripped to pull me closer. Knowing this was definitely leaving a mark set my cock challenging to bust through the zipper of my pants.

I growled deeper, the long feral, vicious one I knew would make her flush. Next time Ethan tried to fuck me up under the pretext of a ‘training session’ I wanted to be on equal footing.

I dragged my lips off and paused to inspect my work.

She was breathing heavy, making the V of her dress stretch tight over her plump tits. I wanted to rip the fucking dress open and feast. “I can’t believe he put you in these fucking clothes. I can’t get to anything without completely stripping you.” I sighed and eased the zipper down at her back.

“Ryker! Please don’t do this. He’s going to kill you!”

I chuckled. “I don’t give a fuck,” I said, still grinning like a madman.

I knew this reaction to a genuine death threat wasn’t an appropriate one, and that my therapist would be disappointed in me; I couldn’t help myself. I got a hold of my amusement with an effort and put a hand under her chin so I could see her eyes. I’d gotten enough of the zipper down to put her dress in a battle against gravity, but I steeled myself against the distraction until we’d gotten this discussion out the way.

“Babe, if he wanted to kill me, I’d be dead. He’s a big bastard in case you hadn’t noticed. Much as I have a certain amount of pride in my skills, I’m not going to win. Not without a bit of luck…or cheating. I’m not above cheating, but I have a feeling it might not be the best road to—” Fucking you on a regular basis. “Happiness.”

Her mouth hung open on a shocked gasp.

“He doesn’t want to kill me either for the same reason. So don’t worry about it. He just wants to fuck me up a bit. He’s going to do it whether or not I fuck you. I figure if I’m going to be in pain later, I may as well make it for a good reason.”

I tapped her chin gently, and her mouth snapped shut.

“Are you flushing, Lilly?”

Her lashes slammed down, and she gave her head a little shake, trying to turn around. “I’m fine.”

I knew she was flushing. Her pupils were dilated. I felt her telltale shudder, and the heat flaming her cheeks. Naughty little Omega, mistaking me for a soft touch after her time with Ethan. I needed to nip that in the bud.

“Fine? Your cheeks are pink.” I run my thumb over the hot skin, enjoying the softness. “Ethan is going to be very disappointed if he finds out you lied to me, especially about a flush. You probably think I won’t tell him about your naughtiness, that I might want to keep it a secret because I’m here when I shouldn’t be. But he’s going to find out anyway.” Sighing heavily, I allowed a moment for the full magnitude of her predicament to settle in. “He’ll probably take his belt to you when he learns about this. That’s how serious this is.”

Her whole body tensed, and I pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head to hide my smile. I was a sick fuck, I knew this. Yet, manipulating her into giving me what I wanted was…irresistible.

I cupped her ass, giving it a gentle warning squeeze. “Are you flushing Lilly?”

She nodded.

I gave her ass a gentle, soothing pat. “Good girl. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I felt all the tension leave her. “Of course, I’ll still need to tell Ethan about it when we get home tonight. I know he’s been waiting for an excuse to take his belt to you. He’ll make me hold you while he does it.”

She tried to rip away. I gripped tighter, making sure she couldn’t so much as twitch. I let the silence stretch for a good long while, let her have plenty of time to reflect on her terrible fate that I hadn’t exaggerated. “Maybe if you could take a punishment now, I might be willing to let the matter go. If you could bend over the table and let me spank you like the naughty little Omega you are, I won’t need to tell Ethan about it.”

Ethan had forbidden me from spanking her while we’d been in transit. She hadn’t known about this restriction, and I’d used the threat a time or two. But, all bets were off after I’d watched him turn her pretty ass pink this morning.

“Which is it going to be, Lilly? My hand or Ethan’s belt?” I thought providing her with a direct and unequivocal comparison added a nice touch.

More weighty silence followed. I let her have all the time she needed. Time was my friend in this.

“Your hand,” she whispered against my chest, and my dick jerked in approval.

“Good girl,” I said, giving her another encouraging squeeze. “Let’s get you out of these clothes. I want you naked when I spank you so I can easily get to your pussy after.”

If she thought I was going to make this quick, she would be in for an unpleasant surprise. No, I was going to drag out each and every stage, and when she eventually came around my cock, they would hear her on the other side of the building.

First, the dress, which was barely hanging on.

“This is going to hurt me more than you,” I said, and I genuinely meant it because my cock was thudding behind my zipper so violently I thought it might be doing some permanent damage.

She began to fret as the zipper hit the bottom, but I wasn’t letting anything divert me from the path.

“You need to let go, baby.” She was clutching the material to her chest so tightly her knuckles had turned white. “You should know how punishment works by now, Lilly. But in case you don’t, I’ll explain. Every time you disobey me, your punishment gets worse. You’re already getting ten smacks. If you don’t let go, it’ll be fifteen.”

Teeth worrying on her bottom lip, she let the dress go.

“Fuck. What happened to your underwear?”

I caught her hands behind her back because I didn’t trust her not to interfere, and cupped her plump tit in my other hand.

“Did Ethan take them off?”

She shook her head. “No, I was sore.”

I pinched her nipple, enjoying her sharp gasp. “That was very naughty of you.” I pinched harder and gave it a little twist.

She squealed, and I bit back a smile seeing her tears had dried up. I moved on to her other side, cupping her tit roughly, and rolling the nipple between my finger and thumb while she gasped and moaned and bucked in my arm. “Did Ethan make you come?”

“What?”

I pinched harder.

“Oh. Yes!”

“You’re very needy for someone who has recently come.” Both her nipples were bright pink and distended, and I paused to admire my work. “How did he fuck you?”

I reached around to smack her ass when she didn’t answer quickly enough.

“On the desk! He fucked me on the desk.”

I smacked her ass again. “Mind your language, babe.” I swear if I hadn’t gotten a good hold on her, she would have maimed me. “Face up or face down.”

“He fucked me face up, asshole!”

I full out laughed. “Not much for self-preservation, are you?” I had her face down on the desk in a flash and landed five good smacks on each cheek of her bottom before she could build up a head of steam.

Then she did—the little doctor was turning out to be quite a surprise. “You know defiance is not a healthy attitude for an Omega,” I said between smacks. Her little body writhed with indignant anger, and the air turned blue with her cursing. “Do you even know what that word means?”

I had completely lost count, and her bottom was a brilliant shade of red before I heard the first sob.

I made myself give her another five because she’d been very fucking defiant.

“Please. I’m too flushed.”

That snapped me out of my appreciation of her glowing ass. “Hush, I’m going to make it better now.” Adrenaline spiked my system, and the anticipation of getting my cock in her tight sheath was near debilitating me. Ripping my buckle open with shaking hands, I surged balls deep into her wet pussy as I bit her throat.

Her first scream wasn’t from pleasure, but the wild, breathy moan that followed, was. Pumping deeper, I sucked great mouthfuls of her blood. I had forgotten the way it set a fire in my stomach that soon spread through my veins. Forgotten the cold shiver that swept over my skin, and the clumsy surge of strength.

I growled, closed my lips tighter over the gushing vein, and gulped down more.

As the blood flow eased, I began to fuck her slow and deep, pulling almost out before slamming back in. Her pussy fluttered, and she chanted garbled nonsense, begging for it harder and deeper. “You’ll get what you’re fucking given.”

Naughty Omega was using her pussy to clench down on my cock. I ripped my dick out and smacked her flaming ass.

“Oh god. Don’t stop!”

I was pretty sure it wasn’t the spanking she wanted more of, but I popped her ass again to make absolutely sure…and because I’m fucked up. It amused me when she squealed.

I teased her clit with the tip of my cock. “I should probably stop,” I said seriously. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.”

“I’m going to die if I don’t come!”

I liked the sound of that. Liked the desperation in her voice, and the way she wriggled under my hold trying to tempt me to drive inside. And I did want to fuck her, desperately, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Beg me,” I demanded.

“Please Ryker, please. I need to come. I need you to bite me again.”

“Beg!”

And she did, sobbing, and doing and saying anything she thought might entice me to give her my cock and the release she so badly needed.

My fingers trembled, but my mind became stone-cold, feeling power and domination spread through me. I was as high on the control as I was on her blood. I teased her clit with my fingers and cock enough to keep her on the edge, taking her to the brink and pulling back so many times she became an insensible, writhing mess.

Only once she was sitting on a cusp perilously close to breaking, did I give her the fucking she needed. I barely got my cock inside before she was coming. I had buried myself deep into the control, and it took me a long time to come. She kept coming through my savage pounding, waves of tight muscles milking my cock until a faint tingling kicked off at the base, and I knew I had to bring this to a stop.

I bit her then, snarling and growling over her like a beast. We tipped over together. Once I started, I couldn’t stop fucking coming. My heart was beating so manically in my chest, I thought it might explode.

A semblance of sanity returned enough for me to lift my weight off her.

“You okay, babe?”

“No,” she said, but it didn’t have the bite of a genuine complaint.

I chuckled and pulled out. I had made a mess—I took pride in making a mess. I’d smelled Ethan when I arrived; now the fucker would be able to smell me. I left to find something to clean her with. Merry still wasn’t back, thank fuck. Then with great reluctance, I helped her back into her dress.

Taking a seat before the windowed wall, I drew her onto my lap.

“That wasn’t very nice,” she said. “I don’t know why I thought I missed you.”

I chuckled as I played with her soft hair. “Ah, babe, I missed you too.”

“I said I thought I missed you,” she muttered.

“You missed me. And you enjoyed it. Or maybe it was someone else screaming and choking my cock with their pussy.”

“That shows how misguided I am,” she said. “And you didn’t miss me. You missed fucking me. That’s not the same thing.”

I tightened my fingers on her hair until I got a little yelp, and tipped her head so I could see her eyes. “You swear one more time, and I am going to tell Ethan. And I’m not fucking joking this time. And as for missing you, you don’t have a fucking clue.”

Her stormy gaze met mine. Her cheeks were still a little flushed from our fucking and her tears. I felt a moment of white-hot panic at the thought of anyone hurting her. I tried to unpick my feelings and work out if it was merely a selfish need to protect a possession I enjoyed.

She had said she had left her comfort zone at the drop door of the ravaged hospital. I think I left mine the night I picked her up. “I don’t like the way you make me feel,” I said, and turning away, I scrubbed my hand down my face. “Therapy did not prepare me for this.”

She surprised me by pressing a kiss against my cheek. My words had been cruel, I knew enough to recognize this, but her kiss lacked judgment.

The kiss unsettled me. I wasn’t used to being unsettled, and I didn’t like it one bit.

“I must have a magic dick or something,” I said.

“Or something,” she replied.

And damn it, if that didn’t unsettle me even more.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AFTER THE THIRD mysteriously canceled meeting with Military Command, the last of which had taken me clear over to the other side of the city, I was starting to become suspicious.

Was this Tsing’s doing? I had acquired enough information over the last couple of weeks to have cause for concern. But, I was hoping my contact would have information that might shed some further light.

Peppermint Moon was one of Chimera’s premier clubs. It was part of a chain and its owner, Lucian, was a fellow Lyus conscript who had left the military five years earlier under a mutual agreement…of sorts.

I had built my past life on collecting favors. I still collected them, and I had acquired a great variety over the last ten year since leaving Lyus. And I still held a few from before the conscription. The business empire Lucian owned had once belonged to someone else. I’d helped him remove the ‘someone else’.

Lucian owed me, and I was about to collect.

It was mid-afternoon, but the club never closed. Music thumped, subtle lighting illuminated, and barely clothed waitstaff mingled with patrons to ensure their every need was met.

A black-suited floor manager escorted me through the heaving mass where I disentangled myself from clinging arms on the way to Lucian’s first-floor office.

Inside, a windowed wall provided a view of the club, and if not for that scene, I might have imagined myself in the domain of the high-flying, corporate elite.

Lucian greeted me with a broad smile.

I’d been told on plenty of occasions that I bore an uncivilized facade of barely suppressed violence. If I was night, Lucian was day. The epitome of a wealthy businessman. With neatly trimmed, dark-blond hair, brilliant green eyes, and a suit that probably cost more than Chimera’s average annual income.

“What is it this time? You only call me when you’re calling in a damn favor,” he said by way of greeting.

“I could say the same,” I replied.

He chuckled. “Yeah, guilty.”

We sat down at the low seating arrangement facing the club. Two thick-necked Alphas braced the door, and a female Beta, wearing next to nothing, brought over drinks.

She made a point of placing Lucian’s drink down as if terrified to get too close.

I frowned, women weren’t usually so wary. Most couldn’t keep their hands off of him.

“You were right,” Lucian said, distracting me from this odd behavior. “There is a black market drug that originated with the program. And it’s lucrative.”

“What does it do?”

“Turns non-dynamics into Omegas…so long as you pick the right candidates.” He adjusted the collar of his shirt as though—uncomfortable?

“You’ve used it,” I said. That drug was from the project Lilly had been working on, and it appeared Tsing was farming it out. If it originated with the program, there was no doubt in my mind he was behind it.

Lucian shrugged. “I had to know if it worked…and I happened to have the right kind of candidate.”

I raised an eyebrow, still thrown a little by his cagy reaction. “Must be hard to hide a gifted?”

“They’re not gifted. But they are Omega in every other way.” A grimace crossed Lucian’s face. “There is a downside to the drug.”

“Beside them not being gifted? What sort of downside?” I asked. “Does it wear off?”

“No, it doesn’t wear off. Not that I’m aware of…Wearing off would be great,” he said, and sighing met my eyes. “They imprint on the first Alpha they come in contact with.”

I laughed so hard, I nearly spat my drink out.

Lucian shook his head and held up a hand in warning. “Don’t fucking go there. Bonding is inconvenient in my line of business, let me tell you.”

“You’ve bonded?”

“No…not yet. And no, it’s not fucking funny. Bitch nearly castrated me when I returned home smelling of a Beta. I hadn’t even fucked the damn Beta! I have to shower and change my fucking clothes before I can go back to my own fucking home!”

I roared with laughter. It took me several minutes to get my amusement under control. “Where did you find this delight?”

“She worked at the coffee vendor below. I used to have her bring me a coffee here—through the club—because it made her uncomfortable.” He grimaced. “Yeah, I know I’m a dick, but she always looked like a fucking Omega. Tiny little redhead with a body made for sin. She thought I was a dick before I drugged her!” He raked his hand through his hair, snatched up his drink—then put it back down.

This was getting better and better. I wished my own problems were a little less all-consuming so I could enjoy the moment fully.

“Can we connect this back to Tsing?” The research program would provide the perfect cover, but I needed it tied back to the source. Several work-streams were secret, and the personnel on NDA’s. Only the Program Director had the full picture. It would be easy enough to hide the distribution of trial drugs.

I had been a criminal once, an effective one, and I knew how criminal minds worked.

“No, nothing to connect it to Tsing yet. Why don’t you off him?”

“I want to destroy him first…And I did consider killing the bastard, but he’s hard to get close to. If he is dabbling in the underworld, it would explain the protection he has in place.”

“I’ve been digging. And my contacts tell me there’s a shipment of the drug coming through later in the week.”

“If you hear, I want to know,” I said.

He gave me a speculative look. “Don’t suppose you could get me the formula for the drug.”

I gave my head a slow shake. “Not if I want an easy life. And my life is far from fucking easy without adding that to the mix. Your new little Omega going to be okay with you churning out a few more fuck buddies?”

He sent a scowl my way. “Hey, I’m a businessman. I see a business opportunity. I wasn’t thinking about building a personal fucking harem. One is more than enough.”

The poor bastard had it bad. Setting my empty glass on the table, I stood. He joined me. “I’ll pile some pressure on. Someone will squeal if I squeeze hard enough.”

“Good,” I said. “Does he have contacts in the military?”

“Tsing? Nothing suggests he has. Why?”

“I’ve been getting the run around today. Meeting requests that suddenly got canceled.”

“Yeah?” He nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression on his face. “That’s curious. Isn’t Ryker back?” he asked casually.

“Fuck,” I said, heading for the door. His laughter followed me out.

I barely made it back in time to meet Ryker outside the research center where Lilly worked. Seeing Ryker’s smug face confirmed he was responsible for my time-wasting activities. The bastard was pleased with himself. “You’ve fucked her,” I growled softly.

He shrugged, and chuckling about-faced and headed into the building foyer before I had an opportunity to thump him. Following him into the elevator, I had to give the bastard credit. Not many men could assume that level of genuine nonchalance, knowing I was about to fuck them up.

Still, this was Ryker, and the man was a psychopath, so standard rules didn’t apply.

“I was more interested in spanking her. The fucking part was a nice bonus…and she might have flushed…more than once. So, that was a bonus, too.”

I cut him a side scowl and wondered at my restraint in not smacking his smug head into the wall of the elevator, other occupants of the compact cube be damned.

“They’ll taser us and lock both of us up if you do,” he said cheerfully. “Lot of monitoring in this building.”

“Later then,” I said, giving him a cold smile.

The elevator stopped on the first floor, and more people forced their way into the crowded space.

“It was great, by the way,” he continued. The man didn’t know when to fucking quit. “I swear the woman has a magic pussy. And she can scream. I’m surprised you didn’t hear her on the other side of the city.”

The collective elevator patrons made uneasy attempts to edge away, and found avid interest anywhere but the two of us.

“Magic pussy,” he mused loudly, stretching out a phantom crick in his neck.

I laughed. I have no idea what the fuck was wrong with me encouraging his bullshit, but once I started, I couldn’t fucking stop.

He cracked a smile and waggled his eyebrows.

“Don’t,” I warned, getting my amusement under control enough to give him a warning glare. “I’m still going to fuck you up worse than last time after you had me traipsing across the fucking city. Who did you threaten to make that happen?”

“I have friends,” he said, doing an impressive job of faking being affronted.

“No, you’re confused,” I said. “The word you are looking for is victims.”

He chuckled. The elevator door opened on our floor, and we stepped out.

“What’s the deal with the mad Doctor Tsing? Any more news,” Ryker asked.

“Nothing yet,” I replied as we rounded the corner, passing the banks of laboratories. “But Lucian believes he may be selling a viral strain on the black market. He’s a Theta—intelligence off the charts, but ruthless enough to make you look like a saint.”

“Thanks! That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me.”

Only Ryker would take that as a compliment. “I’m poking into his dictatorship, but he’s still a threat to Lilly. The research council gave her funding for her a project last week. My source said Tsing was pissed about it.”

“I thought he was a fucktard the first time I met him. I wish I’d gone ahead and snapped his neck when I found him tormenting her on the ship. I reckon I’d have gotten away with it,” Ryker said seriously.

I shook my head. How had he lived this long without being locked up? “You wouldn’t have gotten away with it.” I wasn’t sure why I was discouraging him, I’d wanted to rip Tsing’s head off myself during the opening conference, and all he did was upset her.

“If he tries hurting her I’ll kill him, consequence be damned,” Ryker continued.

“If he tries hurting her, you’re going to have to get in the fucking queue,” I said, pushing open the door to her office.

Merry, complete with frizzy blue hair and overly bright smile, greeted us when we entered. “Oh, both of you!”

“You fucked her here,” I stated. It was a rhetorical question, and this time, I did smack his head against the wall. More of a tap, but he still grunted from the impact, and it rattled the picture hanging on the wall. “Must have been like a revolving fucking door!”

The door to Lilly’s office was flung open. Her wide-eyed gaze darted from me to Ryker, who had suddenly developed acting skills worthy of an award, and was rubbing the back of his head dramatically. I smacked him again so he’d have a reason to fucking rub.

The picture crashed to the floor this time.

“Ethan!”

“I barely touched him.” I glared at Ryker. “I should have put your fucking head through the wall, dickhead. Quit making like you’re hurt.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE SKYCAR RIDE back to my apartment was an exercise in awkward. I sat on Ethan’s lap where he gripped me so tightly I was sure there would be fresh bruises. He was more pissed about the marks Ryker had made on my throat than the fucking. He inspected them, then growled as he sucked down over them violently enough to make their original marking seem playful.

Ryker sat opposite us, his face a mass of angry cuts and bruises. He watched us with open, lustful interest for the most part until Ethan set about destroying all the marks. Ryker didn’t like this, and he growled with the same vicious intent as Ethan.

I felt like a prized bone caught between two rabid dogs.

My mind had no idea what to make of this.

My body pitched into a state of aroused anticipation, which should not have been possible given the burgeoning threat of violence…and how much attention I had received lately.

No sooner had we arrived at my apartment than Ethan picked me up and dumped me onto the kitchen island, which happened to be higher than the rest of the units…and the perfect height for Ethan’s crotch. He tugged me to the edge of it, dragging my dress up, and closed his big hands over my panties.

“Please don’t rip them.” My smaller hand closed over his. Why had I put them back on? Why would I do that? He had already destroyed numerous pairs, and at this rate, I would soon have none left.

Maybe that was his aim.

Dark eyes studied me. “I’ll buy you some more.”

A derisive snort escaped me. “Do you have any idea how much they cost.” I was about to be fucked on the kitchen counter, and yet it was my diminishing underwear supply that set me in a temper.

Ethan smirked. “Do you need another spanking?”

“I hate being spanked.” I’d received more than a justifiable spanking quota today…What the hell was wrong with me? Justifiable?!

This morning was bad enough, but Ryker had spanked me twice as hard. I’d convinced myself I was about to die at one point when the stinging blows kept coming. I was still sore.

Ethan leaned down, putting his mouth close to my ear, and his words were a deep rumble that sent a shiver skittering over my body. “I know, baby, that’s why we do it.” When he called me baby, it delivered intimacy. If the glint in his eyes was any indication, he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

Then he growled, the vicious one steeped in possession—and ripped through my panties.

Heat rolled over me, starting in my stomach and radiating out to my fingers and toes, and right to the follicles of my hair. My empty pussy spasmed, and slick flooded out.

A heavy thud kicked off at the base of my skull, the dizziness and rushing blood indicating the imminence of a flush. The faint chink of his buckle dragged a moan from my lips. His hands skittered over my body, tearing my dress open so he could close his mouth over the stiff peak of my nipple while shoving the hem higher.

He sucked harder on my breast, bringing an arch to my back as he plunged two thick fingers into my wet pussy.

Another wave of heat rushed through me, and I felt half-delirious by the speed with which the pleasure consumed me. It was like I was permanently simmering, and one of them only had to glance at me, and my body was ready to boil.

Something far thicker replaced his fingers, sliding back and forth through the slick folds until the tip caught at my entrance. His lips broke from my breast to suck kisses up my throat. As his mouth covered the thin membrane on the right side, he bit down and thrust deep.

A strangled scream left my lips. He closed one hand over my throat, another over my hip and fucked into me, slow and deep.

The sound of the facility cooler opening snapped my drugged eyes open. I had thought Ryker had left. He hadn’t. He sat at a tall chair right beside us, took a deep slug of a beer, and leaned back to watch the show.

I screwed my eyes shut, trying to erase the image of his dark interest out. One of them was bad enough, two of them was more than I could possibly handle.

Ethan stilled while buried deep and growled again. It was the low possessive growl he reserved for Ryker, and my eyes popped open.

Ryker was leaning close, one arm outstretched toward me. “I promise you’ll like it,” Ryker said to Ethan, his hazel eyes glinting with a cold, dead light.

Ethan’s hand tightened around my throat, and my pussy clenched in a combination of arousal and fear as I cut a glance between them. Ethan had told me he tolerated Ryker, and his every action backed this statement up. I wasn’t sure why Ryker was pushing his luck so soon after his return. I was surprised there hadn’t been worse repercussions given what had happened in my office.

Ethan growled again, but softer, and Ryker leaned over to cup my cheek, turning my face to his. “Keep your eyes on me, babe. Ethan’s going to fuck you hard now, and you’re going to look at me while he does.”

I sucked in a deep breath as my stomach turned over. I couldn’t do this. One of them was bad enough, but two focusing on me was off the charts. This thought alone was enough to take me to the edge.

Ethan rolled his hips, pulling out and then slowly fucking back into me. My head snapped around.

“Ah-ah.” Ryker tapped my chin until I turned back toward him. My pussy clenched, Ethan growled. A breathtaking grin broke out on Ryker’s face. “I think she likes it.”

I did like it—too much.

With one hand gripping my hip, and the other holding my throat, Ethan fulfilled Ryker’s promise and began to fuck me with hard, savage thrusts. Ryker leaned back into his seat and took another slug of his beer while I battled to keep my eyes open.

I was close to climaxing. My stomach went into perpetual free-fall, and my pussy fluttered on the brink.

“I love watching your face while he fucks you.” Ryker’s gaze raked over my body, and I knew he was watching Ethan’s cock as it thrusted in and out. A hooded, openly lustful inspection. “Love watching him split you open on his cock.” My pussy began fluttering wildly. Ryker’s eyes returned to meet mine. “And I love it when he’s rough with you.” As if in silent agreement, Ethan’s grip tightened and he stroked his cock in deep, brutal thrusts.

Ryker took another sip of his beer before placing it on the counter beside him. He leaned forward; Ethan gave another warning growl. “Trust me, you’re going to like this, too.”

It was too much; my senses were overloaded. I was going to come, I was so close. A slow rumble emanated from Ethan, as Ryker slowly cupped my face. His thumb brushed back and forth over my lips. “Such a good girl,” he said. “Letting Ethan fuck you how he wants. Now, open for me and suck.” When my lips parted, he thrust his thumb inside my mouth. I sucked down instinctively, my pussy convulsed, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

Ethan’s growl was long and feral as he came, too, making my pussy grip tighter on the thick flesh between my legs.

His cum flooded, and heat filled me up. He growled again, and Ryker’s thumb eased out of my mouth.

I had no chance to recover from that shattering climax, before Ethan snatched me off the counter, still buried inside me, and took me over to the couch. He sat, positioning my limp body over his lap, pressed my face into his chest, and offered up the comforting rumble. I rubbed my nose against him and sucked his wild, earthy scent into my lungs. A few moments later, the sofa jostled as Ryker sat beside us.

“I need to fuck her, too,” Ryker said.

Ethan growled another warning, before resuming the deep rumble. I had hardly slept last night, and exhaustion settled over me like a soft, comforting blanket.

“Fine then. I’ll wait a bit,” Ryker said. “It’s not like my dick is going to drop off or anything…just feels like it.”

Ethan surprised me by chuckling. The movement jostled me. I sent a scowl his way. He petted my hair again and offered more of the sweet, comforting sound. “Give me a minute.”

“What about her ass? Have you had her ass yet?”

I glanced up. Ryker had been semi-obsessed with playing with my ass. I was sure because it made me uncomfortable on a multitude of levels.

“No,” Ethan said curtly.

“Why not?”

The gentle rumble ceased. “Because I don’t want to fucking kill her.”

“Can I have it, then?”

“Nope,” he growled. “And don’t fucking ask again.”

I hoped this was a permanent sort of no, not a temporary sort of no. I thought about checking, but the tension between them had become palpable again. And besides, wallowing in the favorable option was nice, even if it later proved to be false.

As the soothing rumble resumed, I relaxed a fraction.

I didn’t want Ethan to be cross at Ryker, or me. I had no idea how long they would both be here, or when one, or both of them would leave, but I didn’t want to waste any of this precious time.

When had my mindset changed? When had I accepted this?

Ethan tucked me closer to his body, and I thought I might be here for longer than Ethan’s suggested minute. I wanted to ask what was next, but I was terrified of the answer. It wasn’t natural that there were two of them. I couldn’t imagine what lunacy had brought us to this point.

“How did my father agree to this?” I sighed, feeling content and sleepy, and clearly not at my mental best to voice such a question.

“He didn’t,” Ryker said.

I opened one eye a crack to peek at him.

“The military took over your extraction, and he rescinded all rights related to your control,” Ryker said. “The operation came with risks, and due to the nature of your singularity, they needed a backup. I was the backup. If one of us didn’t make it, they needed a Controller ready who could deal with your flush.”

A sickly weight settled in the center of my chest. I clung tighter to Ethan, even as my hand reached for Ryker.

Ryker looked down, closing his hand over mine where it had pressed to his thigh. “It really fucked shit up, one of us not dying. Very inconvenient. Although Ethan gave sorting that problem out a good go yesterday.”

“You obviously like sleeping on the couch,” Ethan said.

“Is this your way of saying me sleeping in her bed is on the table? Because I can totally drop the fact you tried to beat my head through the wall of the sparring room. There’s barely any concussion. Still, I never used to have a sense of humor. Maybe you knocked a few new synaptic connections into place.”

“Synaptic connections? Don’t make like you know what the fuck you’re talking about. And you still don’t have a sense of fucking humor. If you had enough functioning brain cells left, you’d find your way to the other bedroom.”

“Lilly’s not in the other bedroom,” Ryker said earnestly. “And I’d rather spend all night on the couch watching you fuck her than try and sleep thinking about it in another room. It’s a bit of a lose-lose. If I’m going to torment myself, may as well do it with the real thing.”

“I’m trying,” Ethan said softly. His big hand rested against my lower back, pushing me deeper onto his thick shaft buried between my legs. Then he surprised me by easing out.

I whimpered, feeling empty. My heart raced too fast in my chest. So many conflicted emotions were roiling around, and I thought I might be sick.

“I’m going out for a bit. So, for fuck sake, feed her before you take any more of her blood…or fuck her.” I was dumped unceremoniously onto Ryker’s lap.

“I’m not a complete dick,” Ryker grumbled.

Ethan tucked his still hard cock away with a grimace and not a bit of shame.

“Where are you going?” I asked. There was a panicky notion that he might be leaving for good. He certainly hadn’t given me more than the briefest warning Ryker was coming back, and I doubted he would give me any notice if he were about to leave.

“I have a couple of meetings—I’ll be back later.” To Ryker, he said, “Feed her or I’ll stop trying to break your neck.”

With that threat hanging, he left.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A NIGHT OF chasing down leads had brought me absolutely nothing. The whole time, all I could think about was Ryker at home with Lilly, where he was doubtless fucking her insensible. I’d sent him three messages to make sure he was feeding her and letting her get some rest.

He replied to the first one saying she had eaten.

Told me to “fuck off,” after the second.

The third time, he didn’t reply but instead sent me a video clip of Lilly sucking his cock.

Incensed, I’d smashed my fucking field-viewer.

It was too late, the image was emblazoned on my mind. Lilly on her hands and knees—it looked like they were in bed—with her pretty lips stretched around his cock and his fist buried in her hair as he guided her up and down.

The accompanying caption read: New, best blowjob of my life!

She had her eyes closed, so I doubted she realized he was recording her, but I was going to beat him to a bloody pulp anyway.

Done for the night, and none the wiser as to anything pertaining to Tsing, I sent Ryker a fourth message telling him to meet me at the base.

Ryker knew what that meant. He had just dropped Lilly off at the research center, and it was time for another sparring session because he clearly didn’t understand who was on fucking top and needed a reminder.

The war had seen military bases distributed all over the Empire, even here in the heart of our civilization, and far from the terrors of war, there were several administrative and support centers. Chimera was Ryker’s homeworld, and it was his local base we used for our last sparring session.

Ryker, renowned for his antics, inspired a wide variety of strong emotions, both positive and negative. News that we were incoming spread, and there was a crowd already waiting to peer into the practice pit when I arrived.

The practice pit consisted of rows of square pits with high walls and a viewing balcony around each. They used it for training so that recruits could watch each other and learn, and could stop by to see the more experienced off-duty soldiers who were keeping their skills sharp between deployments.

Ryker was already waiting in the adjoining locker room, stripped down, other than a pair of black sparing pants. His hair was sticking up all over the place, which given what I knew he’d been doing all night, only stoked my temper.

I growled at him as I stalked over to the bench where he had placed my bag with my training gear.

He grinned back…because he was a psycho and the prospect of me beating the shit out of him for the second time in as many days did not bother him one bit. I stripped out of my clothes in record time and dragged on my sparring pants. It had been a shitty night—other than me fucking Lilly on the kitchen counter—and I still didn’t know where the fuck this was going between the three of us.

I was feeling possessive in a way that went far beyond any ordinary control. She was addictive, we both recognized the fact, and neither of us was prepared to back down. But if I was doing this, it was going to be on my fucking terms. If I had the beat him unconscious every fucking day to get him to conform, that was what I was going to do.

“Let’s go,” I said, stalking past him through the door and into the pit.

A great cheer went up.

“What the fuck,” I muttered. I turned a complete circle, staring up at the surrounding balcony with a scowl. There had been a crowd when I stalked into the lockerroom ten minutes ago, this was closer to a rabble.

The buzzer sounded signifying the door locking us in. Sessions were timed and other than an emergency, there was no out once you were in until it was officially time up.

I turned back toward Ryker—and copped his fist in my face.

A great roar went up.

I staggered back, righted myself, and slugged him back.

Our snarls soon overrode the watching, feral crowd. I’d learned how to bloody an opponent back on Lyus and long before I even knew the Empire existed. Cage fighting was a quick way to make money—for me anyway.

I took perverse pleasure in every blow. Ryker had ignored my fucking orders and taunted me. Rage fell over me like a noxious blanket.

Distantly, I knew I was so caught up in my need to subjugate him that I had lost sight of why, and that this ‘missing why’ was important.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, chest heaving, and right eye once more completely shut.

The pit’s walls and floor, which would rarely see blood, were splattered generously.

Not all of it belonged to Ryker.

The wild crowd still screamed for more. I was amazed we hadn’t been shut down, this was so far beyond a sparring session as to be bordering on obscene.

He must have sensed my question because he shrugged and grinning said, “I have friends.”

And there he was, the version of Ryker that I might one day come to like.

Tolerate—I needed to build up to like.

He held up a hand up in the universal sign of surrender.

I swayed a little on my feet, but I was doing better than Ryker was. He coughed and spat out another gob of blood.

If I beat his face anymore, there was a good chance I would do some permanent damage. “If you keep challenging me, I’m going to fucking kill you,” I said. Only it didn’t ring true, because I wanted Lilly and killing Ryker would destroy that.

He nodded, but I wasn’t delusional enough to believe it was settled between us.

The buzzer sounded, and the door lock disengaged.

We both took unsteady steps for the exit.

Why had I even suggested this? I should have just gone and collected Lilly, kicked Ryker out, and fucked Lilly instead.

There was a message waiting when I checked my communicator.

“What is it?” Ryker asked, seeing I had stilled.

“Lucian. He’s had a tip-off. There’s a handover tonight. From the viral program direct to Salvation.”

Ryker frowned a bloody towel in his hand where he’d just wiped his face. “Salvation, as in the insurgent group with ties to the Uncorrupted?”

I nodded. “The very same. I don’t have time for your bullshit.” I stripped out of my sparring pants and began throwing on my clothes. “I need to take Tsing down, and this is my best lead.”

“I’m coming with you,” he said scowling, and tossing his towel aside, he dressed with similar haste. “I hate that twisted Theta fucker more than you! I want in.”

Chimera’s central cargo docks were a vast, sprawling complex. The main cargo processing area was automated and closed off to humans, but the annex handled the smaller, ad-hoc shipments and this was thrumming with bots and human workers crisscrossing in a heaving mass.

Food courts, bars, seedy entertainment, and betting venues had popped up over the years. Flights in and out of Chimera were constant, and the throughput for both parts of the dock was extreme.

Dynamics of every kind could be found mingling here and dressed in Lucian’s private security brigade, no one paid us any heed. Well, no more than usual, people always gave me a wide birth.

“Are you sure that’s the place?” Ryker asked. He was sporting a black eye where Kade, a member of Lucian’s security team, had punched him seconds after we were introduced.

I didn’t ask what Ryker had done.

Neither did Ryker, so I assumed it was justified and left the matter well alone.

After, the two of them had made like they were new best friends and had spent the entire shuttle ride with their heads together as they got down to the serious business of discussing weapons. This discussion had gained ever-increasing enthusiasm as they explored their shared love of killing people, the pros and cons of the various firearms, and their personal favorites.

Jordan, the blond, more serious of the Delta duo, had rolled his stone-gray eyes and muttered, “Kids and their toys!”

He couldn’t have been more than five years older than the dark-haired Kade, but I got the impression he was in charge in ways that went beyond simple years.

Deltas were an enigma, and rare; I had only ever met a few in my life.

Not as rare as the Gamma, which had led to an unusual dynamic sharing situation.

“Just up ahead,” Jordan confirmed. “We’ve got a tag on the shipment handler, and he’s in Reapers Revenge.”

Lucian had been tipped off about another black market viral shipment. Jordan, Kade, Ryker and myself, were on our way to intercept the shipment handler. There were two other teams inside the docks keeping tabs on the shipment, which sat in a container bay awaiting clearance.

The handler, Jordan had referred to, was a Beta named Mikal Sanders. He worked for the transport company shipping legal supplies for the viral program under Tsing. According to Lucian’s sources, he was also transporting an additional package of the viral strain that created Omega dynamics.

I wanted Sanders.

Lucian wanted the package.

I also wanted the package, but I was prepared to compromise to get the source. Especially if that source would lead me back to Tsing. My unease had been growing steadily the more I learned about the man, and I wanted that bastard taken down before he had any more sick fun with Lilly.

Dock security had been ramped up after an incident two years prior and was now at an insane level of tight with no weapons allowed inside. Even my government clearance couldn’t help since it was an independent company who managed the docks. At least it created a level playing field. Given Kade appeared to have a Ryker-like fixation with fast-death technology, this wasn’t a bad thing.

We came to a collective stop at the entrance. I shared a look with Jordan—the big Delta shrugged.

Ryker grinned, and quipped, “Fuck yeah!” Before pushing open the door, and stalking in.

Reapers Revenge turned out to be a dive bar. I’d been in my share of dive bars; I wasn’t bothered about entering one, but this place was a dump and would have blended in perfectly on my old home world, Lyus. Cobbled together scraps of paneling, loose wires, blinking neon lights, and a miss-match of battered tables and chairs. The air hung heavy with the vapor of enough drugs to send me a little high. Scruffy dock workers butted up against loud-mouthed shipment personnel—it was a squeeze to get in.

“How the fuck did he find somewhere with this much of a security nightmare?” I asked, shoving a drunk asshole aside with more enthusiasm than was required. He turned around about to launch into a complaint.

As his eyes rose up and up to meet mine, the complaint died, and he went back to his drink.

“This is where it’s supposed to happen,” Jordan said. “He hands over the security tag. Salvation’s contact picks up the viral shipment from the holding pen, and returns the tag to Mikal who goes on about his business like it never happened.”

“We’re not the only eyes in here,” Kade said as we pressed through the crowd and went through the motions of getting a drink at the bar. Mikal was in a corner booth with another man and a woman wearing his shipping company uniform. He was a short, scruffy Beta and blended perfectly with the bar clientele.

“They’re on to us,” Ryker said, casually putting his drink down and creating some space.

“Fuck, I think you’re right,” Jordan said.

Three Alphas had entered at the front door, cutting us off. The one on the right held a disabler stick—and he wasn’t dock security.

“How the fuck did they get a disabler through security?” Kade asked.

A disabler could deliver a shock. The security used it to control trouble. Whatever the stick made contact with would go numb. Depending on what they hit with it, you could lose all ability to function.

“We’re busted,” I said. “Get a hold of Sanders.”

My head turned just in time to see a chair swinging for me. I blocked it with my forearm, grabbed it, and shoved it into the face of the thug who had been holding it.

He screamed, blood splattered in a high arc…And the bar degenerated into chaos as the poorly configured exits, partially blocked with the battered furnishing, created an instant bottleneck of fleeing patrons.

Jordan had one of the men in a headlock, Kade wrestled another to the ground, while Ryker made a dive for Sanders before he could reach the exit. The tackle took down another three people, and they fell into an ungainly heap of flailing limbs.

Two of Sanders' crew piled on top of Ryker. Another man was approaching from behind me, and I swung my chair-weapon down, sending him reeling into the bar.

Something heavy landed on my back.

What the fuck?

A scrawny Beta female hung off my back, and I winced as she set about beating me with a drinks tray. It was metal and had sharp fucking edges, and the skinny bitch got three good blows in before I could rip her off. I growled as I sent her bowling into the terror-fueled stampede at the front exit.

Screams, shouts, growls, and snarls competed for attention with the fast-approaching wail of sirens.

Ryker was getting a pummeling on the floor by the two thugs on top of him, but he had a hold of Sanders, and he wasn’t letting go.

One thing I’d learned about Ryker over the last two days is that he could take a punch. This discovery was both impressive and depressing since there had been times when I wanted him to stay the fuck down. He was useful for building my stamina if nothing else.

Two strides and I kicked the nearest of his assailants in the head. There was a satisfying crack, and blood splattered from his shattered jaw. I ripped the last one away with Kade’s help, and finally free of the impediment, Ryker wrestled with Sanders for the security tag.

The great bear of an Alpha who’d been pinning Ryker was a thick-necked bastard, and it took us a few punches before we could take him down.

The sirens were getting closer, the wail now drowning out the patrons’ screams…because most of them still hadn’t made it out amid the fucking fray.

“We need to fucking leave,” Jordan called from the back of the bar as he smacked a bottle into another of Sanders’ supporters.

The frenzied crowd, who were probably all dubious in nature, were as eager to leave as we were. They surged forward with renewed enthusiasm, ripping Sanders with them…as the dock security arrived.

Events got hazy at that point. I caught a disabler blast in my arm trying to get Ryker off the floor, and with Jordan’s help, we escaped out the back just in time as another dozen more security turned up. It was a bit weird that they all came in the front entrance, thus leaving us a clear rear exit, but I wasn’t going to complain.

“That has to be the worst fucking operation I’ve ever been on,” I growled at Jordan. “Who the fuck was watching the place?”

Jordan wasn’t listening to me, he was on his communicator ranting to someone about sick asshole games, and threatening to, break your geek-assed neck!

“Lucian had a super-secret computer whiz guy,” Kade explained grinning. “No one has ever seen him, but he and Jordan don’t get on very well. I told Jordan not to provoke the fucker, but he doesn’t listen to me.”

I had no idea what the fuck to make of this, but I supposed we had made it out.

Ryker’s hair was sticking up all over the pace, his right cheek and nose were bleeding, while his already blackened eye had swollen to an impressive egg. He wiped his fingers under his nose and grinned. The bloodstained teeth made for a grisly sight.

“Fuck knows how you stay so pretty,” I muttered shaking my head. “Please tell me you got the security tag?”

Ryker, smug as ever, turned over his palm to reveal the tag.

“Thank fuck,” I said, shaking out my numb arm. “Let’s go and check if all this pain was for nothing.”

It wasn’t for nothing. The viral strain was in the cold compartment as we’d been tipped off, and a quick check with the kit Jordan had on him confirmed this.

We got the shipment, but not Sanders. I still needed a connection.

“Tell Lucian to put a watch on Sanders,” I said to Jordan. “If he pokes his head up somewhere I can get to him, I want to know.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A WEEK HAD passed since Ryker’s return, and an uneasy truce of sorts had followed. The bruises had faded on his face, so I presumed they hadn’t fought again. Except for the one day when they returned looking like they had been through a war. I didn’t sense animosity between them on this occasion. Ryker had been playful! Ethan wore his usual frown and muttered about, feeling old.

They tolerated each other and one of them, usually Ryker, would take and collect me from the research center.

I wasn’t sure how much longer this pseudo peace would last given Ryker was up to his manipulation games again. Ethan was rarely around, which provided Ryker far too much opportunity.

It had been exhausting on the ship. It was worse here, and yet I had gotten myself so deep down the hole, and I did not know how to extract myself from this misery of my own making.

On top of the Ryker-Ethan angst, my father was due to return to Chimera tomorrow and had said he would pop by the research center to see me…like he could casually pop by anywhere. My building would turn into a circus the moment he arrived, and everyone would gawk.

Then an hour after receiving news of my father’s imminent arrival, a laboratory assistant had cross-contaminated a batch of samples. Two weeks’ worth of work was lost, and I was in a foul mood when Ryker arrived to collect me. He was his usual amiable self until we got home when he sat on the sofa, placed a tube of lube on the coffee table, and patted his lap.

“Ethan’s not going to be back until tomorrow, so we’re going to have a little playtime.”

I stared at the lubricant, trying to decide if he was messing with me. Ethan had told Ryker he couldn’t have my ass, and I had presumed this also meant touching.

I froze where I stood and swallowed. All I wanted was to have a nice hot bath, and to pretend I was having a good day for an hour.

“Take your clothes off, Lilly,” Ryker said, and my eyes snapped back to meet his.

I shook my head. No, this wasn’t happening. I remembered the last time he had done this when we were on the ship, and I really hadn’t liked it.

Okay, I was lying to myself. I had liked it, especially when he had put his thumb in my mouth like he had done when Ethan was fucking me on the kitchen island. I hated that he’d made me enjoy it. I couldn’t let him do that again without imagining them both taking me together. They hadn’t fucked me together—yet. On occasion, one or the other might watch, but never together.

That innocuous tube seemed to represent a forbidden step.

It also represented a fear that Ethan would return and find Ryker doing this, and might actually kill him this time.

The mere thought of violence brought a dull thud to the back of my neck.

Ryker sighed, it was his heavy, significant sigh, and it made my blood thud even quicker. I knew that damn sigh.

“I’ll need to talk to Ethan about this.”

Red rage consumed me. I’d had the mother of all shitty days. I was not letting him set conflict back into the tentative calm. “Tell him then!”

Those three little words seemed to bounce off the walls and echo in my mind as Ryker’s face morphed from his playful coaxing mode to the empty expression that genuinely made me nervous. I wasn’t sure which of us was more shocked by my statement. I wanted to snatch it back the moment the words left my mouth, but it was too late. And we both recognized it.

He stood, and I took a shaky step back, but he merely grinned as he passed me on the way to the front door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To tell Ethan, of course. He’s ah—busy, so I dare say he won’t be happy about the interruption. But he’ll make an exception for you.” He winked.

I stared blankly long after the door had closed. It was done, for better or worse it was done.

On the one hand, I was relieved, a deep to the core level of relief that he could not hold this threat over me anymore.

On the other hand, I was terrified. Ryker had built Ethan and his abominable belt up to monstrous proportions in my mind, and I sank into a cycle of escalating angst imagining what was about to come.

I found myself at the door before I could fully assimilate my intentions. But if he thought I was going to wait around for this terrible fate, he had another thing coming.

It took me several confused minutes to realize he had locked me in the suite. I didn’t know such a thing was possible, and although I considered myself reasonably tech-savvy, escape defeated all my attempts.

Fleeing the room wouldn’t help me, but there wasn’t a great deal of rational decision making going on. It was probably for the best I couldn’t get out—my flight would make things worse.

I paced while I waited, working myself up and knowing a flush was imminent. I wasn’t sure there was any happy path for an Omega, but I thought my singularity to be one of the worst. That and the fact my darling Daddy, in his distressed state after the hospital fiasco, had made decisions leading to me having two Controllers.

I wasn’t one for bad language. My father’s position meant I had lived my life under the kind of spotlight where such expressions were frowned upon, and I had conditioned myself accordingly. But as I sat on the edge of my bed, my mind struggling to process this calamity of my own making, the only words that once more came to mind were, “What the fuck have I done?”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

HAVING LOCKED LILLY in the suite, I headed off to track Ethan down. He’d been busy delving into Tsing’s activity, and it was turning into a significant undertaking. I could have called him, but I’m a sick fuck, and I thought making Lilly wait and worry alone for the punishment would add a nice touch.

Ethan was at Peppermint Moon for a meeting with the infamous Lucian, who made less effort than Ethan to mask his dubious side.

I was shown into his office by a thick-necked Alpha mongrel in a black suit. Seriously, where the fuck did Lucian find these men?

I’d never been in his office before, but it was all polished metal and black like I imagined a business mogul’s den. I supposed he was a business mogul of sorts. Outside the windowed wall, strobe lighting and a mass of gyrating bodies confused the look.

Heads turned my way, Ethan with a scowl; Lucian with a raised eyebrow.

I plastered on a grin and plonked myself down next to Ethan.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Ethan demanded. “Who the fuck is watching Lilly?”

“I’ve locked her in.” I was distracted by the tiny redhead beauty kneeling demurely at Lucian’s feet. She was wearing a pink babydoll outfit, and there was a diamond-studded collar at her throat. The end of her leash rested in Lucian’s hand. I gestured at the woman. “What’s with the pet?”

Lucian growled. The pet shivered.

I held up both hands. What the fuck? “Fine, don’t tell me. I’m not fucking interested. I’ve got enough trouble in my life with a fucking high-maintenance doctor. You’ve normally got two or three Betas crawling over you…I didn’t know you were into single digits…or pets.”

The pet growled.

I chuckled. Possessive little thing. It was a cute growl.

Ethan thumped my arm. It wasn’t a playful thump.

I ignored the thump. “Does she have a name?”

“Pet,” Lucian said through gritted teeth, flashing me a scowl.

Turning to his bristling pet, he stroked a hand over her hair and asked, “Would you like to get on my lap, Pet?”

She nodded, climbed up, and settled.

“Ryker, what the fuck are you doing here?” Ethan asked again.

“Oh, yes. Almost forgot, I was thrown in a loop by Lucian’s pussy-whipped transformation.” I thought Ethan and Lucian were both on the verge of committing a felony if I didn’t get to the point—and both of them were more than capable of covering it up. “Lilly was asking for your belt.”

Ethan scowled at me. “I seriously doubt it.”

“She’s been lying and disobedient…and very fucking defiant.”

Ethan surprised me by smirking. “I like her defiance—it gives me an excuse to spank her. Did you have any influence on her other two failings?”

“I might have,” I admitted. “She’ll pretty much do anything under the threat of your punishment with a belt.”

Lucian started chuckling, the fucker.

“How long has this been going on?” Ethan asked. He had an impressive ability to appear calm when he was pissed.

I shrugged, trying to think of a way out of this. “I’m not sure how many days,” I hedged. I wasn’t actually looking to be offed.

“How about you tell me when it started.”

Yeah, he was really pissed.

I scratched my head. There wasn’t much chance of a reprieve. Lilly wouldn’t hesitate to divulge the details under the threat of Ethan’s belt. “Ah… Tolis…When I picked her up…While I was in the vehicle, actually. I couldn’t help myself. Seriously, she folds with even a vague insinuation I might report her behavior to you. It’s way more fun than forcing her to do it some other way. I’m amazed she lasted this long before she called my bluff. Must be really scared of your belt.”

With hindsight, I should have made this confession in stages. One minute Ethan was sitting beside me semi-rational, and the next the sofa was knocked over, I was on my back with Ethan’s heavy-ass weight on top of me, and his hands around my throat. I dimly registered a feminine scream. I got a couple of punches in, but the bastard had a grip like an anaconda, and the world started fading to black.

A pained grunt preceded the vice-like grip and his heavy weight disappearing.

“You’re not suitable,” Ethan growled. “I thought I could deal with your bullshit, but I don’t know if I can. If you were capable of feeling anything, you would walk the fuck away. This is all some fucked up game to you, isn’t it?”

Wheezing, I blinked reality back.

I had no answer for him because it had started as a game, except it wasn’t, not anymore. Now I didn’t know what the fuck it was.

Three of the thick-necked freaks were holding Ethan. I rubbed my throat as I sat up, ready to defend myself because I thought he might be able to throw the freaks off if he set his mind to it.

“I’m done,” Ethan said.

The freaks looked to Lucian for approval. He was standing several paces away, lips tight and pissed as fuck. His little Omega was tucked behind him for safety. He nodded. I’d been hoping he wouldn’t because I was confident Ethan wasn’t close to being done.

I staggered to my feet as the freak-brigade released Ethan and stepped back a pace. They didn’t leave, so I was guessing they didn’t trust Ethan either.

The only warning I got was a feral grin before the bastard punched me.

I rolled over slowly. I figured I would have less distance to fall if he punched me again. A loud thump signified the paid thugs righting the sofa. By the time I staggered to my feet for the second time, everyone else was sitting down. Lucian had the little Omega back in his arms. This time she straddled his lap with her face pressed into the crook of his neck, and her tiny body was trembling.

“Ah, sorry,” I said gesturing in her general direction. I supposed Ethan had landed the first blow, but I had driven him to do it. My therapist would be disappointed by my recent behavioral choices. It wasn’t entirely my fault though, Lilly and everything about her had made it difficult for me to think objectively.

I once again sat beside Ethan. His right eye was swelling shut, which made me inordinately pleased. “Oh, and Lilly’s father is visiting tomorrow,” I said. Distraction was my go-to trick when I’d pissed someone off.

Ethan sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “We have enough shit going on. Don’t think this is going to stop me from disciplining her for allowing you to manipulate her, or beating the shit out of you after I’m done with her. Tsing and his deviant activities are turning into a fucking minefield. Do you ever take anything fucking serious?”

“What’s happened with the mad Doctor Tsing?” I said, feeling unusually serious. “I thought you said you were closing in?”

“His connections to Salvation go deeper than I suspected.” Ethan snatched up his discarded drink, which had somehow survived the fray, and knocked the contents back with a wince. I’d done a number on his eye; it was going to be a shiner.

“The insurgent group with ties to the Uncorrupted?”

“The very same,” Lucian said. “They’ve taken over much of Lyus. I still have contacts there. They moved in after the forced conscription took all the Alphas out. They’ve been steadily increasing their presence over recent years. They have taken control of several key gangs. It wasn’t pretty when we left, but there was order, of sorts. Now it’s chaos.”

Lucian’s little Omega began to fret. “Hush, Pet.” He stood with her still wrapped in his arms. “I need to settle her, then I’ll be back.”

“Why the fuck would Tsing be working with them?” I asked as Lucian left via an elevator, I presumed to his private suite.

“Because they pay good money for research information related to dynamics, but particularly Omegas,” Ethan said as the elevator door closed. “There are rumors they’re experimenting with the virus. And if the rumors are true, they have only produced Alphas.”

“Does the government know?”

Ethan nodded. “I warned them a year ago the Uncorrupted’s dynamic program had gone AWOL, specifically that they were creating Alphas. They dismissed it. Said it was too small scale to worry about. If Tsing is connected to this, he won’t want Lilly interfering in the program.”

“We need to get her the fuck out of there.” I stood and did some mindless hair gripping while staring around the room before I realized how ridiculous I was being.

Ethan smirked at me. “Maybe you will crack. I’m betting on it being spectacular when you do.”

Huh? “I’m not going to fucking crack, fucktard. We need to get her out.”

“She’ll be going into heat soon. If I breed her, it will sort the problem out.”

I cut him a glare. He was baiting me, and I hated to spill blood again so soon after I had apologized to Lucian. “That won’t make her quit, at least not immediately. And didn’t you help to get her project reinstated? Why the fuck would you do that if you wanted her off the program?”

“Because it made her fucking happy,” Ethan snapped, eyes blazing with a fury that took me by surprise.

“I make her happy in other ways,” I said, trying to work out the logic in his action. There was no logic.

Ethan gave a disdainful snort. “Happy? Do you think your bullshit manipulation makes her happy? It doesn’t make her happy.”

I frowned. No, clearly my bullshit manipulation didn’t make her happy. “She said she missed me?”

“I’m going to strangle you for real if you don’t shut the fuck up. If you had any idea how often I fantasize about ending you, you wouldn’t keep pushing me.”

“I can’t help myself,” I said.

“Of course you can. That’s you giving yourself excuses to be a dick.”

That threw me. I was still trying to wrap my head around his statement when the elevator door opened and Lucian returned.

Ethan stood.

“You off?” Lucian asked.

“Yes,” Ethan said. “I’ll need to deal with this.” He gestured at me. “And we need more information before we can act. See if your contacts on Lyus have any details. I think I might need to take a trip there, after all.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I LOST TRACK of time sitting on the foot of the bed, staring out the window at the twinkling city lights awakening as the sun slowly set.

There appeared to be something about Ryker that brought out my stupid side. He was always going to keep baiting me until he found something I would balk at.

Fear and anger battled with common sense; Ethan, while unquestionably violent, wasn’t about to leave permanent damage…which left a lot of scope for pain.

I wasn’t lying to Ryker when I told him I’d missed him. I might be the one in need of counseling.

The door opened, and I jumped off the bed. I turned about on the spot and realizing how ridiculous this was, managed to still my feet as they both entered the room.

The war god and the movie star—with a personality disorder. They made other Controllers look like amateurs. Ethan was his usual implacable self, despite a black eye, which hadn’t been there when I last saw him.

Ryker was thrumming with edgy energy. He looked ready to pounce.

I eyed them both as they came deeper into the room, two huge dominating presences that filled my senses to capacity and beyond.

Ethan stepped up before me and tapped my chin to gain my eyes. “You have anything to say?”

I puffed out a frustrated breath. “Will anything help?”

He shook his head. “Nope. But you might want to tell me your side of things.”

I cut a glance to Ryker. His face was the empty one, but his eyes, they watched with interest. I shivered.

“You know he’s a psycho, right?” Ethan said, and I dragged a sharp breath in. Somehow his acknowledgment of this fact drove my predicament home. “You can’t straighten out the level of deviant going on in his corrupted brain. But he’s a functional psycho—mostly—and lack of emotion can be a useful trait in a soldier.”

“You’re not exactly warm and fuzzy,” I said, and before I could help myself, added, “More like a savage.”

Dimples flashed in Ethan’s face as he grinned. He already looked like a beautiful, avenging angel; he did not need dimples.

“I can’t remember all the specifics,” I said. “He would make some perceived failing up and threaten to tell you…if I didn’t do what he asked.”

“I’m only going to say this once,” Ethan stated coldly. “Don’t let him manipulate you again. Am I making myself clear?”

I nodded.

Ethan glanced over his shoulder at Ryker, who returned a playful smirk. “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him later. He can do whatever he wants anyway, and he would have done. You should have known better.”

He began unbuckling his belt.

My entire body ceased to function with that act. “I…was scared after you rescued me. I was half out of my mind. He took advantage of it. That’s where it all began—This isn’t fair.” My hands clasped together as I watched him unraveled his belt slowly.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ethan said, folding the thick strip of leather over in his hands. “I’m doing this because I choose to.”

“Do you need me to hold her?” Ryker asked. His hazel eyes had darkened with excitement.

Ethan’s thick fingers adjusted over the belt. “You know I’m going to beat the shit out of you once I’m done with her?”

Ryker shrugged and grinned. “I want to hold her down.”

Ethan puffed out a breath and turned back to me. “She can strip herself and get into position over the bottom of the bed. If she doesn’t, then you can do it and hold her.”

I took a step back, shaking my head. “Please don’t let him.”

“It’s your choice, Lilly. This is going to happen, but it’s your choice if Ryker gets to enjoy holding you while I do it. I don’t think he deserves the privilege. But you get a say.”

I wrung my hands. Fear making me impotent.

“Now. If you take your clothes off and lie still for me, Ryker only gets to watch your ass turn red under my belt.”

“You know I can’t be still! How can you do this? You know he’s been using this threat for weeks.” I sent a furious scowl at Ryker, who grinned back.

“Lilly, you have two Controllers. As we’ve already established, one of us is a savage, and the other one is a psychopath who likes to play manipulation games. I’m doing this because I want to, and so that you remember not to let him manipulate you again. You’ve let him hold this over you for far too long. I know how Ryker’s brain works. He can’t help being an asshole. You suffer no such condition, you’re sweet, empathetic, and trusting. Now, I need you to trust in me, completely, and give me your submission, and trust that I’ll keep Ryker in line.”

Tears pooled in my eyes, but I had reached an unhealthy level of fury. “A belt! Really a fucking belt!” Ryker’s smirk got broader. Ethan’s face had taken on a deadly air of calm. Warning bells were ringing, but I was too far gone.

I was also getting wet.

And that frightened me more.

Ryker had done this to me, trained me to react to the threat of Ethan’s belt. Confessing the real reason for my emotional outburst would not serve me well.

Ethan watched my tantrum unfold with detached, predatory interest, like he could see the myriad of emotions passing over me like clouds in the wake of a storm, and could read each and every one. “Are you done now?” he asked.

My chest was heaving, tears were streaming down my face, but overwriting everything was an acute ache of arousal deep in the pit of my stomach. God help me, I thought I might be about to come.

“Yes!”

Ryker wasn’t smirking anymore, he was staring at the apex of my thighs, and his face was the empty one.

He knew; they both knew exactly what I was feeling.

Ethan’s dark eyes took on a sadistic gleam. “Are you ready for my belt now?” he asked.

Resigned, I nodded and reached for the fastening on my clothes.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SHE DID TRY to take off her clothes, but her fingers were shaking so badly she didn’t stand a chance. I left her to it for a few minutes, letting Ryker sweat it out. The bastard didn’t deserve to put his hands on her, but I’d said he would do it if she didn’t, and I was a man of my word.

“Do you need Ryker to help you?” I asked.

She sent a baleful look Ryker’s way, dropped her fingers, and nodded.

Ryker fell into his default gentle, coaxing mode.

I toed off my boots, ripped off my shirt, and popped the top button on my pants before they strangled my cock. Belt still looped in my hand, I lounged back against the long bedroom couch and enjoyed the show.

He ate up her tears as he teased the clothes from her, sucking on her plump lips while his fingers played in her pussy. Ryker loved tears, and Lilly’s were flowing fast.

I was still pissed at his manipulation, even though I knew the kind of games he played. Still, I hadn’t expected him to start it in the fucking vehicle while he was supposed to be getting her to safety. That tipped me right over the edge; I’d badly wanted to keep squeezing when I had my hands around his throat.

As soon as her tits were free, he cupped them in his hands, pinching her nipples while swallowing her shocked cries. Her tear-filled eyes shot to me like she was expecting me to save her. I wasn’t going to save her…not from this anyway.

“I enjoy seeing his hands on you, Lilly,” I said. Seeing him touch her was a warped kind of torture. The possessive side of me hated Ryker’s hands on her, but there was also a dark eroticism. She looked so tiny and helpless in his arms. Watching them together was like watching an extension of myself.

They were both under my control, which brought a new facet to the addiction. Ryker was an Alpha, and now I was controlling him too. I felt god-like then, a master instructing the pieces on his board, moving them however he chose, giving pleasure or pain.

They would receive both generously. I was a magnanimous god.

Had Ryker not taken the initiative, I would have told him to do this. I wanted her hanging off the cliff of a denied release before I took my belt to her, and the higher, the better. Once I’d raised welts on her ass, I would make her come. Then I was going to fill her belly with cum while Ryker watched.

When I was done, I might let her suck him off. Or I might make him wait and deny the bastard access to her hot little mouth for a week. I was undecided about that part.

Either way, I was going to be beating his pretty face to a pulp.

Her amber eyes might be flashing murder at me, but her face, neck, and tits had flushed bright pink, and her nipples were engorged. His big hand tugged the dress farther down while he rolled her left nipple between his fingers and his thumb. Exposing half her ass, he grabbed a handful and squeezed, swallowing up her sweet mewling sounds.

Moving from her tits, he cupped her ass while kissing her pretty, damp cheeks. “Good girl, let me help you out,” he murmured and sucked her plump lower lip between his teeth.

His fingers slid between the cheeks of her butt, his other hand tugging at the dress at her hip to drag it down another inch. She made a little squeal and jerked in his hold so I guessed he’d finally gotten his fingers in her pussy. “Hold still for me, babe. Let me help you get these little panties down.”

I swallowed. Ryker was a showman.

“That’s it, Lilly, turn around. That way, I can get your panties all the way off.” He pulled her back flush against his chest and turned her, so she was facing me. Her dress was hanging off her hips, but her little pink panties were still clinging to her pussy.

Her head was thrown back, and her eyes screwed shut. Ryker had wrapped his arms around her, holding her pussy lips open while he fingered the fuck out of her.

“If she comes you’re not getting your dick in her for a week,” I said in warning.

The little nonsense words poured out again.

“Hush,” he said, cupping his big hand around her throat and spreading the fingers of his other hand over her lower abdomen. “I might need to lay you on the bed while I get the last of the clothes off. Your little pussy is so wet, your panties are stuck.”

She whimpered. I bit back a groan.

He got her over the bed and didn’t even try to pretend he was undressing her anymore. He stripped the last of her clothes in seconds and buried his face between her legs. Her lips popped open on a breathy sigh and her back arched off the bed.

“Enough!”

Thank fuck he stopped, or I might have killed him with my bare hands. His glazed eyes shifted to me, and he grinned. “Sorry. Got carried away.”

Rising, I jerked my thumb at him. He got off his knees.

Splayed out over the bottom half of the bed, her whole body was flushed, and her open pussy lips were glistening. Lips trembling and chest rising and falling unsteadily, her amber eyes implored me not to do this.

“Turn her over and hold her down.”

Ryker’s face did that emptying thing it sometimes did. It was like curtains had closed on a human, leaving a raw animal inside. There was no more soft coaxing, he turned her over. Impervious to her protests, he got her ass into position over the side of the bed, turned her face to the side and gathered both her hands. She wriggled—he gripped tighter. “We still haven’t gotten any restraints,” he said.

“We don’t need them,” I replied.

Silent tears trickled down her cheeks. But this needed to happen.

At the first lick of the belt, she screamed, and her back arched like a bow. The second was closer to a howl. She thrashed, crying, kicking and straining against Ryker’s hold. By the time the tenth blow had landed, she was a writhing, tormented mess of broken tears, ratty hair and snot.

Dropping the belt, I sat on the edge of the bed and gathered her up. Nudging my head at Ryker to get a cloth. She fought against me briefly, then fell forward, sobbing as I let the soothing rumble emanate from my chest. Taking the cloth from Ryker, I wiped her face, tossing it to the floor when I was done.

I held her close and told her it was over. She clung to me, fidgeting, and sniffling, while Ryker stood watching from a few feet away, clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was a picture of cold, predatory intensity that could only belong to a psychopath. He was probably upset because I had taken his favorite toy away.

He became agitated seeing her press urgent little kisses against my chest and throat. I stared at him, he stared at me. Lilly kissed and clung with greater desperation when I didn’t react—she always got needy after I spanked her, but this was off the charts. And I might have been enjoying the way it was pissing Ryker off.

“I need to taste her,” he said. “I did this. Let me show her that I’m sorry.”

She turned into me, clearly unhappy about his suggestion.

His eyes glistened, but they were not wholly dead. In his own way, I thought he might even be sorry. I nodded and lifting her, laid her down over the bottom of the bed. He knelt in front of her.

She jumped when his hand touched her knees. “Hush. Let me show you how sorry I am.” He coaxed her legs open.

Brushing her hair from her face, I lowered my mouth to her ear, and said, “Good girl.”

Her breath hitched as I plucked gently on her nipple.

His hands skimmed up her thighs until they reached the apex. “Fuck she’s dripping.”

My dick was thudding behind my zipper. The smell of her arousal was as heady as Ryker’s verbal acknowledgment. She was aroused, confused, in pain—and flushed.

A shiver wracked her body as his head bent, and he took the first lick. Rolling her nipple between my finger and thumb, I kept my lips close to her ear, whispering how beautiful she was spread open for us, how pleased I was with her, and how she was forgiven.

Between her legs, Ryker feasted greedily, licking and growling as I detailed all the wicked things I would do to her as soon as she came.

She splintered; turning rigid before a beautiful cry of pleasure spilled from her lips.

Ryker continued to lap noisily while my lips brushed feather-light kisses along her throat until I reached the delicate patch of skin.

“Please,” she whispered.

I bit down, and hot blood poured out, hitting my stomach like molten adrenaline juice.

She screamed, unraveling again. Gasping and convulsing in my arms.

Ryker growled, a primitive sound of conquest.

Lifting my head, I growled in warning when Ryker appeared intent upon another round.

He rocked back, eyes dark and intent.

I took her into my arms, turning her until she was straddling me.

Her mouth found mine, and her fingers tugged at my hair. She was wild and uncontrollable. Her tiny body pressed in tight, soft, and eager—until I gripped a handful of her ass.

Her squeal spiked my arousal. I could feel the heat through the palm of my hand, and I fisted a handful of her hair and swallowed her cries while grinding her wet pussy against the straining ridge of my cock.

Her mouth opened for me, and other than the initial shock of my hand on her welted bottom, she submitted sweetly to my touch. I became high on her blood and her submission. Couldn’t get enough of the breathy sounds and those tiny hands petting and tugging impatiently. I liked this about her, the way her passion rose as high as mine, no matter what I did. The moment was sublime; she offered the quintessence of balance between Alpha and Omega. Her fire was perfect, heady, and I wanted all of it, wanted to devour her soul.

How could something so fragile be so strong?

Dragging her close, I lowered my mouth over the tip of her breast, taking the nipple and half the plump globe, and sucking deeply while palming her ass.

Her body writhed against mine, encouraging, and seeking more. My tongue swirled circles around her nipple before I nibbled and sucked on the plump flesh of her tit. Then I scraped my coarse stubble back and forth until she whimpered and begged for more.

I indulged her every wish. Playing with her nipples using my fingers, mouth, and teeth until I could feel her pussy juice trickling over my abs.

I didn’t spare a glance for Ryker still kneeling on the floor as I turned and tossed her into the center of the bed. Ripping my pants off, I fisted my swollen cock, pumping it in my hand as I crawled over her.

“Stay there,” I said when she made to grab my dick. “If I want you to do something, I’ll let you know.”

She growled at me, the little minx.

“Keep pushing, Princess, and you’re going to bite off more than you can chew. Now, turn the fuck over. I want to admire the welts on your well-disciplined ass while I fuck you.”

She turned over instantly, head low, back arched to present her ass in the perfect Omega submission pose. Her thighs glistened with her slick, and the scent permeated the air. I cupped her ass, and she hissed as my thumbs stroked gently over the blooming bruises. Her whimpers were a sweet kind of encouragement. Pre-cum leaked from the tip of my cock, and I gripped the root and wiped it over her abused ass, enjoying the way she trembled as she tried to hold herself still. “I like seeing my marks on you.”

The growl from behind reminded me Ryker was present. He might have enjoyed watching me take the belt to her, but not the reminder that they were my marks.

“This is going to get rough. She might need something to…fill her mouth while I fuck her.”

Her head whipped around to face me, pupils blown to fuck. I’d never seen Ryker move so fast, ripping his clothes off while I locked gazes with Lilly.

His breath was a harsh saw as he sat on the bed with his back against the headboard. He didn’t try and touch her, and his fists were clenched at his sides. I could see the restraint was costing him.

I smirked. Ryker caught me smirking and leveled a glare my way.

I gave her ass a little tap to encourage her to get into position, and she crawled over the bed until her mouth hovered over his cock.

“Let me hold her hair. I need to see,” Ryker said gruffly.

I nodded, and he gently gathered her long hair back from her face.

“Take his cock. I want to see your head bobbing as you take him nice and deep into your throat.”

“Jesus!” Ryker muttered as she grasped hold of his shaft and plugged her mouth.

As I watched her head bob slowly up and down, I stroked my fingers through her wet folds. She twitched as I caught her clit, rolling it between my fingers, gripping her hip with my other hand to keep her still.

“Ah, fuck! What the fuck are you doing to her?” Ryker’s fingers grasped her hair like he was on the verge of ripping her off his cock.

I plunged my fingers into her wet pussy. She gagged as it shoved her onto Ryker’s dick. He growled his approval.

My head was buzzing as I worked my fingers in and out, stretching her too tight hole, pulling out and wiping the slick over her clit, then repeating again. Once my fingers were thoroughly coated in her slick, I forced two of them into her ass.

I drove her forward as I did, and her scream was muffled by a mouthful of cock.

“Fuck! Some warning would be nice.”

I didn’t acknowledge Ryker’s words, I was deep into the control. Her garbled squeals and groans as I reamed her tight asshole was a special kind of music. I’d been avoiding this little puckered entrance because once I started it would be hard to stop. I was going to get my dick in here eventually…but not today.

I didn’t have the restraint to wait any longer. I eased my fingers from her ass, gripped her hips to still her, and thrust my cock deep into tight pussy heaven.

“I’m going to fuck you now.”

Each powerful thrust drove Ryker’s cock deeper down her throat. The air was filled with the sweet scent of pheromones and slick, and a beautiful cacophony of sexual gratification: growls, snarls, groans, wet slaps, and squelching as I hammered her pussy, accompanied by her garbled choking as she fought for breath around Ryker’s cock.

I was the director. And they were the stars of my personal show.

My balls tightened, and I felt a deep imperative need to fill her with my cum. Reaching around, I strummed her swollen clit.

Her juice flooded over my cock, and rhythmic waves sucked the cum straight from my balls. Growling, my hips jerked erratically. Distantly I heard the gasping growls as Ryker’s cum filled her mouth. The tight convulsions of her pussy milked more and more of my cum from me until dots swam before my eyes and I thought I might pass out.

I ripped my cock from her tight sheath and held her still while I pumped the last hot splashes over her ass and lower back. I kept fucking coming, every time I thought I was spent another wave emerged.

When we all came down, I kicked Ryker out—properly out, not even the semi-privilege of the couch, and fucked her again.

It had been a long night, and although my mind still worried over Tsing’s games, the soft body draped over mine set the world to temporary right.

She wasn’t sleeping, either. I thought about ordering her to sleep, but I liked the way her fingers trailed over my chest.

“What happened to your eye?” she asked.

“Ryker,” I replied.

“Oh,” she said. It had the tone of someone confused. “I don’t understand why he would hit you. I thought you might be the angry one.”

“I was. I had my hands wrapped around his throat at the time.” She didn’t need to know how pleasant the thought of squeezing the life out of him had been.

Her fingers stilled. “I don’t want you to fight.”

I cupped her ass, enjoying her little hiss of displeasure. “Don’t worry about it. Neither of us is used to sharing. We’ll work it out.”

Her head popped up, and through the gloom, I could feel her study. “Is that what this is? Sharing?”

“You have a problem with that?” If she said she didn’t want both of us, or worse, neither of us, the fallout would be—unpleasant. I’d be fine if she said she didn’t want Ryker—I wasn’t going to be so lucky.

Her head rested back against my chest, and her gentle fingers resumed their pattern. “No. But I keep expecting one of you to leave.”

Her statement left an uncomfortable weight in my gut. None of us had discussed what would happen next. There had been so much bullshit on my mind with Tsing that I hadn’t thought to discuss it. It took considerable restraint not to grip her tighter. We’d put her through a lot tonight; she needed to sleep. Yet, I could not help myself from poking to see what she would say—even though none of this was her fucking decision. “Do you want one of us to leave?” If she gave the wrong answer here, I would be perilously close to taking my belt to her again. A sharp unwholesome image sprang to my mind of Ryker trying to drag me off as I forced her into heat.

“No,” she said softly. Her fingers stilled, and she settled against me, wriggling until she was pressed a tiny bit closer.

The beast in me was partially appeased. Petting her hair, I offered the comforting rumble as a reward. “Then, we’ll work it out,” I said.

CHAPTER TWENTY

MY OFFICE WAS the same as it ever was. But I could not shake off the notion something was different.

I stood at the window, staring down at the landscaped garden. I was standing because sitting was…a challenge.

My father and his circus were about to arrive.

And I had no idea what we were going to talk about since I was sure every topic would turn into a minefield.

Merry poked her head around my door. “He’s here,” she said.

I nodded, sucked a deep breath in, and headed for the conference room where we would meet.

The corridor was empty when I made my way to meet him. The security would have already been through, ensuring this route was clear.

What was he going to say? Would he still be cross at me for shooting that poor soldier? And what about Ethan and Ryker? How the hell did I find myself in such a mess?

I thought I would have a good ten minutes to wait for him, so it came as a complete shock when I passed the two security men outside the door and found my father standing there.

I halted inside the door. Victor Brach was facing the window with hands in his pockets. His head whipped around at my entrance, and he covered the few steps between us in long strides before wrapping me in a giant hug.

Squeezing my eyes tightly shut, I enjoyed the simple pleasure of the embrace. “Ah, Lilly. You’ve been trying to kill your poor father with your antics.” His arms were gentle around me—he had always been gentle for such a huge man. “There, it’s over now.” He drew me away so he could inspect me. Then he tucked me in against his side and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“You’ve got too much of your damn mother in you,” he said.

That brought a smile to my face. Complaining I was like my mother was his go-to grouch. He couldn’t be too angry if he were offering up light-hearted complaints.

“I thought you would be angrier,” I said.

He puffed out a breath and gave me a gentle squeeze. “At you? Never. I was angry at myself.”

He didn’t say anymore, and I was grateful for that. I didn’t want to hear him tell me that I should have been settled with an Alpha years ago, that I should have resigned from my position on the program the moment I revealed, or how my mother’s poor character had influenced my rebellious behavior.

We had had all those conversations before.

I couldn’t change his mind, and he couldn’t change mine.

“You’ve had a difficult transition,” he said. “I’m sorry about that.”

“I might have brought some of it on myself,” I admitted.

He chuckled. “Do I need to mention your mother again?”

I shook my head. “No.” But I was smiling, too.

It was there again, a bubbling awareness of change once more upon me. This time, the changes were not so bad. I didn’t know how that was possible given I had welts on my bottom.

It wasn’t the belt or the marks it had left. It was the conversation this morning with Ethan as we lay, tangled together, and his determination that this would work out—with them.

Both of them.

I felt greedy and selfish, and yet, they seemed to want this, too. Both Ethan and Ryker had been physically changed so they could be with me…and they had conditioned me to want to be with them. It no longer felt like a terrible sort of control…it felt a lot like love…and like I might look back in twenty years and see a relationship like the one my father shared with Celeste.

“You’ve settled with them,” he said, his voice a little gruff. “He called me after he collected you from the ship. Told me he was keeping you. Threatened to destroy the bloody Empire single-handedly if I interfered.” He puffed out a breath while I tried to process that. Was he talking about Ethan? “On reflection, the conscription wasn’t handled well. He had a troubled introduction to the Empire. I’m good at reading between the lines, Lilly. My ability to read people has helped me retain my position on the ruling council. I’m sure his interest in keeping you started out as revenge…or at least, he convinced himself of it. Might still do. But I have the greatest faith he’ll come around to his new situation, given time.”

He smiled.

Yes, he was talking about Ethan.

I tried telling myself that a man threatening to destroy things to make your father take him seriously wasn’t the healthiest approach to a problem, but a sensation close to giddiness consumed me regardless.

“I have a strong suspicion the other one is going to start the same games after my last conversation with the general.”

My father chuckled.

My brain was doing a poor job of playing catch-up.

“They haven’t killed each other yet, so I’m assuming you have a plan for when you come into heat.”

My face flamed. This conversation was heading in a direction I wasn’t comfortable taking. I expected he had long harbored suspicions I had been tampering with nature.

“Yes,” I said, although the details were fuzzy. And I certainly wasn’t going to start a ménage conversation with my father.

A knock sounded on the door.

At my father’s call, they entered.

“Five minutes, Sir,” the man said.

My father nodded, and as the door shut, he kissed the top of my head once more. We spoke for those last five minutes about the rest of the family, an easy conversation that returned a sense of normality.

I couldn’t leave my family, any more than I could leave Ethan or Ryker.

It was time to start making new plans.

“So, do I need to start making plans for a new job?” Merry asked, teasing. Her hair was a subtle lilac today. It was one of my favorite shades, and set off the bright blue of her eyes.

Taking a short break, we had found a bench beside the feature lake to sit and eat our lunch. Such downtime was a rare treat, but it was a pleasant location, and the warm sun felt good.

I smiled. “Not yet. They seem okay with me to continue working for now.

“That could change if you catch. There’s a fifty-fifty chance with the first heat. Much higher the next time…and there are two of them.”

There was a definite gleam in her eyes.

I gave her a mock-warning shake of my head. “You’re evil,” I said.

She laughed. “So, are you going to—pick one—when the time comes?”

“I’ve no idea,” I said because I didn’t. We hadn’t discussed it. My bottom was still suffering from the welts Ethan had meted out. Between my sore bottom, and the other kinds of attention they lavished on me every moment of spare time, there had not been a great deal of talking on the subject of what was going to happen next. “I’m going to broach it tonight.”

“Oh,” she said. Her hand squeezed gently over mine. “It’ll work out Lilly, I know it will. Even a blind person could see they are as smitten with you are you are with them. If people care, they work it out.”

“Smitten might be stretching it a bit,” I said dryly.

“But you do care about them, don’t you?” She pressed.

“Yes,” I admitted. “I do.”

“I saw you have a meeting tomorrow morning with Doctor Tsing?” she said, changing the subject. “You two seem to be getting on better lately, too?”

“Yes,” I replied. “We had a talk a few weeks ago. Aired a few things. I felt a lot better after. He said he was trying to help me find a way to chemically manage the flushing. So I wouldn’t need a—” I gestured inadequately.

“A Controller,” she offered.

I nodded. “If only he’d explained this to me at the time, I might not have been so upset with him. He’s not so bad. In his own way, I think he cares.”

She rolled her eyes. “Obsessed, I would call it. You don’t see the way he looks at you. When I found out Ryker had threatened to snap Doctor’s Tsing’s neck, I might have hugged him if he wasn’t so freaking scary. Tsing took the testing too far. He always does. And don’t delude yourself into thinking he’s doing anything for you. He’s selfish that man. If he’s helping you, it will be part of some bigger scheme to help himself.”

“Maybe,” I said. I wasn’t quite ready to give up on Erison yet. The offer he had made was financially generous, and he was taking a huge reputational risk if his involvement was ever discovered. I was glad I’d made my decision, and that I wouldn’t need to accept his offer.

Tomorrow, I would explain to him I was choosing to stay here. For better or worse, this was my new life. Merry was right, I cared for Ethan and Ryker, and while aspects of our lives still drove me to despair at times, the thought of never seeing them again was worse.

“You’re too trusting,” Merry said.

“I am an Omega.” My smile was rueful. It felt strange to admit as much without feeling the usual cloying depression.

“So you are,” she said, lips pursed in thought before her pretty face bloomed into a smile. “So you are.”

It was Ryker who collected me from my office, and it took all of a glance to see Ethan had followed through on his threat.

A sigh escaped my lips as I took in the damage. I was perilously close to tears and could sense the imminent onset of a flush.

He gathered me up in his arms like I was the one who had been hurt. “It looks worse than it is, babe.”

“You said that last time,” I said. “And I didn’t believe you then.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m lying—hurts like a motherfucker. But at least I got some good punches in this time. And I’ve noticed I heal a lot quicker since I’ve been taking your blood.”

My thoughts surged and then collapsed; the changes from my blood were dangerously close to locking in. Perhaps they already had?

He set me away from him, putting a finger under my chin and checking my pupils. “Are you flushing?”

Resisting the urge to say I was fine, I nodded. “I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“Come on. Grumpy has promised to quit his extracurricular activities early so we can begin preparations.”

Merry had left for the day, and the reception room was empty when we walked through. “Preparations for what?”

“Ethan thinks you’ve been worried about it.”

I sent him a questioning look as we made our way along the corridor to the elevators.

“Heat,” Ryker elaborated, which nearly had me face planting. He grinned and caught my arm to steady me. “Well, you’ve been suppressing it for three years, babe. No one does that unless they’re trying to hide their dynamic…or are scared about going into heat.”

The elevator arrived. Only three other people were present within the confined space, but Ryker stood attentively close.

I sought to create some distance. Preparations sounded ominous, and it wasn’t helping with my flush. He shook his head and tutted, drawing me into his chest and petting my hair.

“Behave yourself,” he said. “Or I’ll have to treat these nice elevator patrons to a public disciplining.” He said this loudly enough for everyone in the damn elevator to hear. My face heated, and my flush pounded heavier. “Be a good girl, and I won’t need to tell Ethan about your naughtiness.”

My little huff set him chuckling, but I didn’t try and pull away. Pick your battles and all that.

When we arrived at the apartment, Ethan was already there. And as Ryker had indicated, his face showed evidence of their altercation, although he wasn’t close to being as bad as Ryker.

He gathered me in close the moment I entered. Lifting me into his arms where I wrapped my legs around his waist as his lips captured mine in a searing kiss that stole my breath away. Pulling back, he studied me briefly before his focus slid to the side, to something over my shoulder. His hands lowered to cup under my bottom as Ryker pressed into me from behind.

I sucked a sharp breath in, dragging their combined scents deep into my lungs—rich and spicy, wild and earthy.

I loved the scent, the ‘both of them’ scent. I could drown in that scent.

And I felt like I was drowning, like I was being drawn into unfamiliar territory, and despite my earlier bravado in thinking I was ready for this, I realized that I wasn’t.

I searched Ethan’s face for some signs of weakening. I tried to take shallow breaths, but their essence was inside me. “I can’t. It’s too much.”

His fingers tightened on my ass as Ryker pressed flush against my back. Their heat enveloped me, in front and behind. My heart rate surged, beating an erratic tattoo in my chest.

Ethan smiled—the wicked one. “You confused about how this works—again, Princess? I wasn’t asking for your opinion.” Then he lowered his lips over mine.

I gripped him tighter. Trying to find something to hang onto, because I knew whatever they had planned was going to destroy me a little more.

Ryker’s hands settled on my waist, and a good kind of tension enveloped me. He squeezed gently, edging a tiny bit closer, bumping me into Ethan. Then ground the thick length of his cock against my ass.

I couldn’t suck in enough air while Ethan was kissing me, his lips angling over mine, sucking my bottom lip into his mouth before his tongue tangled with mine.

A hand stroked through my hair, pulling it back into a loose ponytail, and I was confused until I realized this was Ryker. His lips trailed along my throat, and I shivered as they settled over the thin membrane.

I groaned, lost to the overwhelming sensations, surrounded, and utterly controlled and loving everything about it.

I whimpered when his teeth teased over the skin, threatening me with the possibility that he might bite. Soft teasing kisses and little nips that set me fidgeting within Ethan’s hold. I wanted him to bite me.

I ripped my mouth from Ethan’s. “Please. I’m flushed. Please.”

Ryker’s head lifted. His fingers caressed the back of my throat before tangling once more in my hair. Ethan stared down at me, his heated gaze sliding from mine to the juncture of my shoulder and neck on the right. The side belonging to him. Gripping tighter on my hips, he drew me closer, joggling me between them.

They both lowered their heads, and I sank into a fuzzy sort of mania as their lips skimmed over the delicate membrane. Blood thudded through my veins, and I tensed in anticipation of the first pop. They were hurt and injured, and although it wasn’t due to an external threat, my body still wanted to give—desperately.

I was anxious. It lurked on my periphery, but the steady drugging sensation of their lips, brushing and sucking gently over my throat close to the thin patch of skin would not allow the fear to take full hold.

Teeth nipped against the left side. “Relax babe, we’re in control,” Ryker growled close to my ear. He nipped again. “Trust me, we worked out all our aggression earlier. Well, Ethan did. I’m much better at sharing and benefited less from the session.”

Ethan growled against my throat, and it stoked my burgeoning arousal higher.

I began chanting. A little prayer offered up from my lips, begging them to take.

They bit as one, and a strangled cry tore from my lips that soon turned into a breathy groan. The maddening pressure eased with the first pull.

Their strong bodies crowded around me, entombing me in euphoria, and my mind filled with white noise. It was like stepping out of time, and the only sounds that penetrated were the drum of blood through my veins and our ragged breaths.

I felt arousal like a thousand fingers fluttering over my skin. Mine, theirs, all of ours.

They drank generously; it would heal them.

When they lifted their heads, I felt blood trickle down my throat briefly before the membranes reformed. Once upon a time, the sensation had distressed me, but I had become desensitized to such things.

My eyes met Ethan’s as blood rushed through me like a raging sea. Did he feel it?

His nostrils flared.

“Well,” he said, hooded eyes lowering to my lips. “That was quite a surprise.”

Were we bonded? Was this what bonded felt like? I had already taken Ethan’s blood, bitten him more than once. And he had taken my blood many times, they both had.

“I need to fuck her,” Ryker said, snapping me out of my daze.

Ethan’s response was to carry me into the bedroom and drop me onto the bed. I bounced as I hit the soft mattress, hair flying over my eyes. By the time I had brushed it aside, they were both on me. Ethan ripped my top over my head, while Ryker removed my skirt and panties. Their hands tugged as they stripped me with a systematic efficiency that flooded my body with a cocktail of chemicals and set my libido rocketing. Once I was naked, they crowded me back on the bed, laying to either side of me.

I made an impatient tug at their clothes—they were both still fully dressed, and even in my befuddled state, I knew this wasn’t what I wanted.

My protests were swallowed up as Ethan took my face in his hand and closed his mouth over mine, plunging his tongue inside. I sucked on it, my little nonsense sounds lost under the assault. It took all my focus…until another hot mouth enclosed the tip of my breast.

I groaned, losing myself in their heated kisses. We had done this before, been together in this way last night after my punishment. And there were other occasions when we had hinted at this, too.

All had been spontaneous. This time felt different, more…calculated—premeditated. It was unnerving me, and exciting me. Yes, it was really exciting me.

They were so beautiful to me, both of them. The way they were, and the loving kind of control they offered me.

I wanted it to go on forever.

A long, breathless moan rose up from my soul.

Ethan swallowed that up as well.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I WAS HIGH, really fucking high, but her blood did that to me every time.

This time was different. This time I could feel her too.

Her scent was ripe and sweet, and it clogged my lungs, adding to the hazy mix. Distantly, I was aware of Ryker on her other side, and that the sweet sounds I was swallowing up were partly due to him.

Her heat was imminent, days, at most a week, and I couldn’t wait for it to happen.

I dragged my lips from hers, and her tiny hand fisted my hair as if to pull me back. She had a fierce fucking grip, and I had to squeeze her wrist until she released. Then I noticed what Ryker was doing and a warning growl vibrated deep in my chest.

He didn’t acknowledge me, just continued sucking bites over her plump tit that his hand was cupping, marking it up.

Marking what was mine.

And she was loving it.

Her lips searched against my throat, distracting me, licking and sucking against the skin while her body writhed against the bed, and dragging me down into the carnal underworld. Through half-lidded eyes, I saw her legs rub together, slick coating the tops of her thighs. Ryker’s hand skittered down, passing over her flat stomach to coax her legs apart.

I watched my hand follow the same path like it belonged to someone else. She wriggled against me, nipping my throat with another breathy moan as Ryker’s hand cupped over her slick folds. And I was right behind, my fingers brushing against his until they found the hot entrance and I plunged inside. Gasping, her lips left my throat for a moment before they returned, teeth tugging gently, tongue licking again.

“Fuck,” Ryker muttered. His head lifted, and I knew he was staring at what I was doing—we both were doing.

I got my second finger inside, thrusting deep enough to bring an arch to her back and scissoring them inside.

His fingers slid through the slick folds next to mine before he pushed in beside me, stretching her to take another thick finger. She moaned, burying her face into the side of my neck again, her fingers gripping my shirt like she needed something to ground her.

It was so fucking erotic. I became an animal, reading with perfect clarity her every shuddered breath, the rise and fall of her chest, and the warm slick pooling around our fingers as we thrust erratically around each other.

Ryker gave an approving growl as his finger slipped out and instead found the puckered entrance at the back. The three of us were connected, our fates locked in the same dark plane, and I felt him thrust in like I was the one doing it. She squealed against my throat, and her pussy got tight and crowded as Ryker plunged a second finger into her ass.

Her sharp little teeth bit against my skin, snapping me back from the brink.

I still had one hand half tangled in her hair, and I ripped her off, seeing the blood shining on her lips and feeling it trickle down my throat. I licked that blood away, teasing her with half-kisses that she tried to chase. I loved her aggression, the impatient growls she made and the way she tried to nip at my lips. She was going to get a rough throat fucking if she kept that up. Willful Omegas who used their teeth needed to be taught a lesson.

We were still fingering the fuck out of her.

And then Ryker’s other hand was on her chin, turning her head and pulling her lips from mine. His mouth opened over hers, and his tongue slid in.

I wanted to fucking punch him for taking her away from me, but that would mean leaving her tight cunt, and I needed that more than I needed to breathe so the punch would have to wait.

He stopped as quickly as he started, turning her back to me, and I forgot about everything else as I resumed my plunder of her mouth.

He passed her back and forth, teasing all of us with a taste until I thought I was going to lose my mind. Her pussy became so slick our fingers made wet squelching noises as they slipped in and out.

She gripped both of us like she might drown if she lets go.

Maybe she would.

Maybe we all would.

I pushed my third finger inside her, and it became a tight squeeze. When I swiped my thumb over her clit, she came hard, back bowed, mouth wrenching from Ryker’s as he took his turn so she could open her mouth for a long moan that set my dick thudding.

Her legs clamped together, forcing our fingers to be still.

“Open your legs,” I growled. I wasn’t close to being done yet.

At the shake of her head, I saw red. Wrenching my hand from her pussy, I smacked her upper thigh hard. She pressed them closer together. I pulled her leg aside and slapped her welted ass. “Open your fucking legs.”

She moaned in a way that said she enjoyed me waking her bruises up and her legs popped open.

Someone was out to test her Controllers.

Ryker’s eyes locked with mine before a smirk bloomed on his face. “You’re playing a dangerous game, babe,” he said.

She pouted and skittered her hands down her body like she was running the fucking show.

We had each grabbed a wrist before she could reach her pussy.

Ryker’s face had emptied. “How do you want to do this?” he asked me.

I kept my own face empty, too, and the silence stretched as her expression dropped from playful to panic. “What are you going to do?” she asked, her eyes darting between us. She tried to snatch her hands back, emitting a little aroused gasp when she realized she was held tight.

I leaned up, her wrist still caught in one hand as I pressed my fingers to my throat where she had bitten me—A faint smear of blood. “I was going to stretch her,” I said thoughtfully. “She does need to be stretched, but she bit me, and biters need to be force-fed cock until they don’t have the energy for biting.”

“No need to limit ourselves,” Ryker said softly. “No reason we can’t do both.”

“None at all,” I agreed.

“What are you going to do?” she asked again in a whisper.

I pressed my lips close to her ear. “Whatever we want to, Princess.”

We had already decided on a plan. She had never been knotted before, and while her body would be naturally limber during heat, the act still came with dangers.

And she had the tightest fucking pussy I’d ever been inside. At times I wondered how she took my dick. The knot at the base of my cock would make it twice as wide.

We might both be experienced Controllers, but the blood coursing through her veins added a wildness to regular fucking. I had no clue how we would respond to it during heat, and that added a layer of complexity to an already volatile time.

“We need to prepare you for knotting,” I said. My throat stung where she had sunk her teeth in. I liked the sting, liked her aggression, and I couldn’t wait for her to bite me while in heat.

Her pretty face lost its color. “Prepare me?”

“We don’t want to hurt you, baby,” Ryker said softly. He had dropped into playing a part again. There was nothing gentle or coaxing in Ryker’s nature. He was cold, emotionally detached, and violent. But he was the master at faking anything if it suited his purpose. I’d known him for five years. If you needed someone to extract answers, Ryker was your man. He’d do it with a smile on his face, then sleep like a baby after. I liked to think of myself as mentally tough. Anyone who survived Lyus had their compassion scoured away, or they died clinging onto it. But I still felt, and I still cared—I had killed to give my family food, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

Sometimes when I saw Ryker with Lilly, I thought he might be close to cracking, that he might care in his own twisted way. Her blood might pack a punch, but I didn’t believe it could rewire a brain.

We were linked now, all of us, and whatever was or wasn’t going on with Ryker, he was part of it. He was fiercely protective toward her, and he enjoyed fucking her enough to compensate for other deficiencies. And while it pissed me the fuck off, I knew she cared for him. She might come from privilege and have an unhealthy level of defiance, but she was still an Omega—and still, sweet and trusting. I’d seen her looking at Ryker with an expression akin to hope.

She wasn’t looking at Ryker with hope today, her wide, fearful eyes darted between us.

I was still pissed about Ryker’s manipulation games, but we all needed to put them aside. So, it was with a measure of reluctance I had conceded Ryker was the best man for this particular job.

Ryker had big hands, but they were not as big as mine.

Maybe we were taking this too fast. Maybe she needed to get used to us both together before we progressed to fisting her tight cunt?

Life didn’t always present the perfect scenario. And this one was fucked beyond recognition with all the shit going on with Tsing. The deeper I dug, the worse it got. I didn’t know how much time I would get with her before she succumbed to her heat, and we couldn’t afford to waste any of it. Once it began, we would tip right after her into a rut. As much as I liked to think I could control myself—to take it slow the first time—there was no point in taking unnecessary risks.

Besides, I was going to enjoy watching Ryker work his fist into her pussy. And I wasn’t inclined to deny myself this pleasure.

“But, not yet?” She pleaded with me because she knew I was the one who made the decisions here.

“This needs to happen,” I said, no point in allowing her to cling to false hopes.

Her eyes still implored me, the same as they had last night when I took my belt to her. It didn’t help her then, and it wouldn’t help her now.

I could smell the slick gathering between her legs. She had enjoyed last night more than I’d anticipated, and she was going to enjoy this, too.

“You’re going to come so fucking hard.” I didn’t give her the chance to come to terms with what I had said because no amount of mental preparation was going to help. I rose from the bed, leaving Ryker with her so I could undress. He whispered encouragement into her ear while she openly fretted, getting his fingers back into her pussy and distracting her from what was about to come.

Undoing the top two buttons, I ripped my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. I made quick work of the rest because it was a special kind of torture watching Ryker touch her while I wasn’t involved.

It gave me renewed respect for what I had put him through since he’d joined us here at Chimera.

It had barely taken me more than two minutes to strip, but by the time I returned my focus to the bed, Ryker had her legs splayed wide and his head buried between them.

I liked eating pussy—I liked many things. Ryker loved eating pussy. He had her tiny wrists captured in his big hands on either side of her thighs. Her head was thrown back, and her lips parted as he tongued her hot, little pussy folds.

No doubt he was about to coax her into asking for his fist…or drive her so mindless she didn’t know what the fuck was going on. Ryker preferred to encourage her submission. I wasn’t an encouraging sort of man.

Yes, it was better for Ryker to be the one leading this.

“Good girl, come for me,” he said, lifting his head. “I need you nice and wet so I can get all up inside you.”

My dick twitched as I stood beside the bed like a voyeur watching his favorite kind of kink.

Her neck arched as a scream of pleasure tore from her throat.

He kept at her until she became too sensitive and tried to wriggle from his grip. He lifted his head with a grin. Releasing her, he scooted back. I got on the bed behind her, drawing her limp body into mine with her back against my chest while Ryker made fast work of stripping off. My cock was hard and throbbing against her back as I settled her. “Open your legs,” I said, pulling her knees up and spreading her nice and wide as Ryker crawled up the bed and got straight down to fingering her wet pussy.

Her chest rose and fell unsteadily, arousal, and a little fear. As I closed my fingers over the front of her throat, she quieted. “Don’t move,” I growled next to her ear.

Ryker shot me a smirk—I was guessing she liked my instruction. “Let me just get my third finger in you,” he said.

He did exactly that.

I tightened my hold on her neck when she tried to wriggle. “Don’t move,” I repeated while plucking on her stiff nipple.

I watched Ryker fuck her with his fingers as I toyed with her nipple, and the little mewling nonsense was soon spilling from her lips. It wasn’t a comfortable situation for her, and I could see she was fighting between the urge to pull away and the pleasure she was feeling.

“Oh god! I can’t. I’m not ready.”

I pinched her nipple hard, rolling it between my finger and thumb and tightening my fingers on her throat enough to challenge the air flow. “Keep your legs nice and wide, and don’t fucking move.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

RYKER CHOSE THAT moment to push the fourth finger inside me. My breathing turned choppy, and I tried to scoot up the bed. They had both had their fingers inside me before—I was still reeling from the experience. But this was different because I knew their intent.

“Don’t move,” Ethan growled against my ear.

Like I had a choice in this? I couldn’t be still if my life depended on it, and yet I couldn’t fidget either because they had me pinned. This was far beyond standard Alpha control. They shouldn’t need to do this. It felt wrong.

It felt…deviant.

Ryker had stilled, fingers buried deep. “Good girl,” he said, rubbing feather-light circles over my upper thigh with his other hand. “Stay nice and relaxed for me.” He resumed the slow, pumping movement in and out. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

The implied threat hung between us. He was going to do this whether it hurt me or not. It was up to me to ‘relax’ so it wouldn’t.

As if I could relax knowing this.

I couldn’t see Ethan’s face, but I could feel his huge, hard body pressed against the back of mine. One hand cupping my throat, while the fingers of his other hand tugged rhythmically on my nipple. His lips pressed a soft kiss against my temple, while his chest offered a comforting rumble that contrasted with Ryker’s dirty, little growls.

Ethan’s sounds made me feel safe and cherished—Ryker’s made me wet.

“That’s it, babe. You’re taking this so well,” Ryker said. He growled again, and his fingers fucking into me deeply made wet, slapping sounds.

Ethan tightened his grip on my throat, arching it up with his thumb against my jawline so he could press kisses to the sensitive spot below my ear.

I shivered. I was under their complete control.

Ryker’s fingers stretched me beyond comfort, beyond discomfort, and into a corrupted pleasure. Each relentless thrust and twist brought a fresh wave of sharp, cramping torment, followed by a fierce shot of intense arousal. My stomach went into perpetual free-fall.

There was too much stimulation; I was going to come again. Like a distant train approaching a station, each determined thrust into my pussy, each pluck of my tight nipple, and each ragged breath I took, drew me closer to that destination. My eyes couldn’t stay open, and yet they were reluctant to close out the dark, erotic sight.

“That’s it. Let it happen,” Ryker said, rubbing his rough thumb over my abused clit.

I climaxed in a heated rush, muscles clutching at the thick penetration in a way that was as much pain as pleasure. A strangled cry was ripped from my parted lips. I bucked, seeking to close my legs and finding the task impossible while Ryker’s body was wedged between them.

Ethan’s cock throbbed against my back. He was whispering in my ear. Telling me how well I was doing. How pleased he was with me. And how well he was going to fuck me once they were done. The air was so thick with our combined pheromones it felt like I was breathing through water.

“God! Please stop.”

They ignored me.

My body did not know how to handle the overstimulation, torn between blinding tension and the blissful relaxation that should accompany such a powerful orgasm, and fluctuating between the two extremes so wildly I thought I might expire from the pressure.

“Stop gripping me, babe,” Ryker admonished as his fingers picked up the pace. “Such a naughty little thing trying to coax your Controller to finger you rougher.”

“I wasn’t!” I pleaded—he knew I wasn’t.

“I’m going to have to spank you if you can’t relax,” he said sternly. “And then we’ll have to start all over again, and your pussy is going to be sore long before I get my whole fist in.” He signed loudly while I had a minor mental breakdown. He had confirmed all my fears—my exhausted pussy found a hidden reserve and put his fingers in a death grip.

“But I don’t want to hurt you when you go into heat. And I have a feeling you will be twice as naughty then. Will beg both of us to knot you whether you’re ready or not.” He worked my clit mercilessly, even as he increased the depth and speed of his thrusting fingers, countering my attempt to push him out.

They seemed to have synchronized their attack, because Ethan closed his mouth over my ear at the exact same time, his tongue circling the shell. Goosebumps sprang up across my skin. Ethan’s breath was loud in my ear, bringing an otherworldly quality to the moment.

I couldn’t take any more.

As this realization took root, my exhausted inner muscles gave a fraction, and more of Ryker’s fingers slipped inside.

I tried to steady myself. I was a rational doctor, I knew my body could take this, and more. That despite Ryker’s flippant words, they were trying to ensure I didn’t tear when I came into heat. A part of me might have applauded their dedication to my wellbeing.

It was one thing to understand the theory and another to find yourself subject to a practical demonstration.

The non-rational part, the woman and the Omega, was terrified, would have preferred to leave such an acute sexual experience for when I was deep into the throes of heat, and where the haze would block full cognizance. This wasn’t all about me, though. I had seen their hunger when Ethan first mentioned preparing me. They wanted to do this while I was still fully aware.

Sweat bathed my body, my rushing heart rate would not settle. Another shattering climax rippled through me, taking my whole body on the ride. I gasped and writhed, panting like an animal.

“God! Please.” Just when I thought I might cease to exist, Ryker let off on my clit and settled his big hand over my tummy. I sucked air into my lungs and fought to find myself under their smothering, carnal blanket.

His fingers were still buried deep inside me. I thought he might have lodged them further in. He pressed a kiss against my upper thigh. “Almost there, baby.” He settled his hand over the center of my stomach. “Take a deep breath in and let it out for me.”

I shook my head.

Ethan growled close to my ear, and a gush of slick tried to push out around Ryker’s fingers. Ethan’s thumb rubbed up and down the column of my throat. “We’re not going to stop, Princess, but if you do as you’re told, it will help.”

I sucked a deep breath in, and let it all the way out.

They both growled; the long, low one that sent a thousand little nerves fluttering to life. More slick flooded out, and Ryker’s fingers and thumb penetrated deep inside. My back arched up off Ethan, but he clamped a hand over my waist, trapping my arms underneath an immovable band. At the same time, his other hand turned my head to the side, and his mouth covered mine.

My guttural cry was swallowed as Ethan’s tongue plundered, and the hand buried inside me closed into a fist.

My body awoke, and my mind spiraled. I shuddered. My pussy tried to clench, seeking to push the invasion out. He pushed deeper, and it lodged behind my pelvic bone.

“Good girl,” Ryker said, his hand over my stomach planting me against the bed.

“Oh god.” My fingers clutched Ethan’s where they cupped my throat and Ryker’s where they rested over my lower stomach.

Time froze. My eyes were locked with Ryker’s heated ones, and I could feel Ethan’s chest rising and falling rapidly behind me. I was so open, stretched obscenely, and yet I was so intensely aroused I was sure if either of them offered a hint of further stimulation, I would unravel again.

Ethan brushed a kiss against my temple. “You okay, baby?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I think I’m going to come again.” The sensation of fullness was far beyond anything I had experienced before.

“I can’t wait to knot you,” Ethan said. “Imagine how it’s going to feel—stuffed full of cock and knot while I hold your sweet little body pinned inside and out. You’re going to be so well-fucked. Both of us are going to fuck you raw, and you’re going to love every minute of it.”

I didn’t doubt him. I loved everything they did, craved it—even this.

“In case you’re still confused, I’m keeping you, we both are. Our perfect little Omega to fuck, and to breed. You’re going to be dripping with my cum. And if my seed doesn’t take this time, I’m going to fuck you twice as hard during your next heat to make absolutely sure.”

I whimpered, emotionally overwhelmed by the experience and perilously close to breaking down. I could feel my blood pounding in my throat under Ethan’s fingers, and in my pussy around Ryker’s fist.

“Look at Ryker, Princess. Can you feel that? Even I can feel that. You’re open and completely vulnerable, but you know he’s going to take perfect care of you.”

Ryker began tiny in and out movements I felt with every nerve of my body from the tips of my toes to the follicles of my hair. And in my chest, like a root had taken hold in the center of my emotional core. His other hand skimmed slowly over my stomach until he found my swollen bud where he rubbed back and forth over the little bundle of nerves.

I came apart, shattering into pieces, gasping, and screaming with the intensity of the release. My pussy spasmed, gripping his hand in tight rhythmic contractions. Amid this frenzy, he slipped from within me, and a fresh, darker wave of pleasure ripped me apart.

I lost all command of my body in the wake of that physical and emotional tsunami. Tears poured down my cheeks, and I was distantly aware of being turned and jostled, and of warm bodies and strong arms wrapping me up on all sides.

I breathed. Breathing was all I could do, it consumed all my energy.

Safe.

That word rattled around in the emptiness of my mind. I was safe.

They let me settle, pressing gentle kisses, stroking my hair and flesh, and keeping me so perfectly protected between them that I didn’t ever want it to end. In my mind and in my chest, was a tingling awareness—their presence.

“I know you’re worried about going into heat, but I don’t want you to worry about it anymore. Yes, we become creatures of instinct. But it is an instinct centered entirely upon you, our Omega,” Ethan said. “Your every want and need will be obvious, your body’s reactions will trigger ours. Your scent, arousal, and desires will be apparent at the minutest level. It’s not instant. It builds slowly, and as it does, you will want different things from us. We will give you everything you want and need.”

“I’m so proud of you. If I were to hurt you during heat, it would destroy me. Do you feel it now? Do you understand now? We might push you beyond what is comfortable, but never beyond what you can take.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and I felt cherished. “Will you give us your trust?”

“Yes,” I said. And I did trust them, completely. My hands searched for both of them. Ethan to my front and Ryker to my back. They pressed a tiny bit closer as if sensing I needed more. “I trust you.”

“Good girl,” Ryker said, his lips against my shoulder. “An Omega in heat can be aggressive. I have a feeling you’ll be very demanding.” He trailed kisses up my throat and nipped gently at my jaw. “I can’t fucking wait.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I WOKE UP before them—squished in the best kind of way between their big, warm bodies.

Deep, lush and green, a forest had filled my dreams—it represented safety. Sunlight glinting through tall trees, and the faint drum of rushing water indicating a stream flowing just beyond my sight. The distant yak-yak or forest birds, and warm air filled with the scent of eucalyptus.

The forest was familiar to me, it was part of the shared dream.

I smiled to myself; I couldn’t wait to tell them about it later. I had trusted them with my life, and my body. Now, for the first time, I had two people whom I could trust with my biggest secret and the true nature of my singularity.

They looked so peaceful asleep that I stared in wonder at them for the longest time after I wriggled out. Relaxed, younger…and dead to the world. I was impressed with myself for getting up ahead of them…it had been a very busy night.

And I had loved every moment of it. When they were both with me, fucking me, surrounding me, touching me, holding me, and inside me, I was safe.

In a week’s time, everything would change again, but for once, I felt good about it.

Energized.

So many obstacles had been overcome, and it was time to cross the last one.

Slipping my robe on, I entered the lounge, and here I looked out across the city.

I loved Chimera, the bustle and vibrancy, cultural diversity, and the rushing, intent people. It was funny how I hadn’t missed it until I returned.

Tolis and that fateful night when I shot that poor soldier seemed long ago. I had been on a wild rollercoaster ever since full of highs, lows, and thrills.

It had not worked out so badly, I reflected.

Only yesterday, I had discussed the project’s progress in Erison’s office, with Ryker a shadow watching from the corner of the room. Subtle differences had been made to the room. A bold art collage on the wall to the left of his desk, and the tall-backed gray chair he had sat on. But otherwise, the spacious corner office with a small conference table on one side, and a great desk from which you could view the research center gardens, was unchanged.

It used to be my office, and while this loss had once filled me with ill-use, yesterday it instilled a notion that all was well in the world. For better or worse, I was an Omega. I was a week from going into heat. There was a real possibility I might be pregnant after, and that thought no longer instilled terror.

The heat itself terrified me; it always had. But last night had gone a long way to settle me.

My fears seemed foolish on reflection, as fears of the mind often were.

Thousands of Omegas went into heat every day; they bonded, had children, and watched those children grow.

I wanted that—wanted all of it—with Ethan and with Ryker.

And it was here, waiting within my reach.

It was time for me to take it.

Glossary

CONTROLLER: THE EMPIRE uses Alpha soldiers to train and control Omega Dynamics when they are needed to join the war.

Copper virus: DNA altering virus. The virus may enhance characteristics already present in an infected individual.

Dynamic: If the Copper virus hosts, it changes the individual into a dynamic. There are twelve viral induced dynamics, Alpha through to Mu, and Omega. Each dynamic offers different physical and physiological benefits: intelligence, strength, memory, natural leaders or followers, or heightened skills such as mathematics or art.

Healer: Healers are a common Omega type who are able to heal physical and mental trauma through physical or psychic contact.

Singular: Singulars are rare Omegas with unique traits known as singularities. Predominantly psychic abilities, although other physical or physiological changes may occur.

Theta: Thetas are hyper-intelligent dynamics who are often driven toward the accumulation of wealth, prestige, or both.

Gamma: Gammas share many psychological characteristics with an Omega, but they do not experience heat, and are unaffected by pheromones.

Alphas: Alphas are aggressive and territorial. They experience a rut and can knot when in the presence of an Omega in heat. Many, but not all, retain a permanent knot after bonding.

Delta: Deltas are aggressive and territorial, like Alphas, but differ in certain physical and physiological characteristics. The most notable difference being that they have a hook instead of a knot. Unaffected by Omega heat, the hook is always present.

Empire: Governing council of the United Planet System

Non-dynamic: If the Copper virus does not host, the individual remains unaltered, also known as a non-dynamic.

Uncorrupted: A faction formed by those who fled the Empire during the first mass viral awakening. Many non-dynamics follow their cause and flee the Empire.

I love a happily ever after, although sometimes the journey to get there can be rough on my poor characters.

An unashamed fan of the alpha, the antihero, and the throwback in all his guises and wherever he may lurk.

I’m a new author, learning as I go and appreciate feedback of all kinds.

Drop me a message and let me know what you think.

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Deviant Betrayal: An Alpha and Omega dark science fiction romance

(The Controllers Book Five)

Lilly had experienced one perfect moment of acceptance.

A future with her two Alphas that did not fill her with dread.

Now a week away from her first non-medicated heat, she is no longer terrified of that, either.

So with a measure of mischief and independence that she went to meet Tsing alone without telling her Controllers.

Erison Tsing doesn’t want Lilly to stay. And he doesn’t want to help her to run.

He’s not her friend, and nor does he harbor latent regrets about their past moment of intimacy.

Tsing has an agenda, and Lilly is the collateral damage between him and his aims.

Taking Control: An Alpha and Omega dark science fiction romance

(The Controllers Book One)

There is a war, and people with skills are deployed when and where it suits the cause. Even Omegas.

Where necessary, they are allocated protection.

A Controller.

And they are told to submit fully to the Controller. That it is recommended.

But the war brings many changes. Omegas must be protected at all costs and what was once a recommendation might soon become a mandate.

Eloise is an Omega, and with her first deployment imminent, she has already decided that she won’t submit to full control—not while the law still protects her.

But they haven’t allocated her to an ordinary Controller, they’ve let the best of them fight for the right. And nothing is going to stop the one who comes out on top from claiming his prize.

Complete Control: An Alpha and Omega dark science fiction romance

(The Controllers Book Two)

There is a war, cities are falling, and prisoners are being taken.

With her city in ruins, Anna is on the run. Enemy comb the streets and she knows what awaits her if they find her—death if she is lucky, imprisonment if she is not.

Cornered, and out of hope, she is rescued…by an Alpha.

She has just been revealed as an Omega.

Law changes are coming.

And her new fate might be worse.

Deviant Control: An Alpha and Omega dark science fiction romance

(The Controllers Book Three: Part One)

With her father on the ruling council, Doctor Lillian Brach had lived a coveted life. Rising to Director of the viral research program, she had carved a place for herself within the Empire.

But her life plans changed the day she revealed as an Omega.

Her former research partner, Erison Tsing, has assumed control of the program. Her singularity—unique Omega gift—brings more challenges than benefits. And Tsing’s methods of testing her gift stamp over moral and ethical boundaries.

Secretly suppressing her heat, and clinging to a measure of independence unheard of for an Omega, her life is precarious enough.

But when the viral research center comes under attack, she makes some questionable decisions.

Her escort soldier has been shot...by her hand…she was trying to save his life.

Now she is trapped outside the safe zone, and enemy soldiers are closing in.

Her father promised she would never be allocated a Controller. But that’s about to change.