Page 43 of Desperate Omega

Markus thinks about it for a moment, then shakes his head.

I’m glad to see he is willing to listen to reason. He’s a hot-tempered young alpha, but at least he’s not a complete idiot.

The same cannot be said for my protege.

“See!” Brik says triumphantly. “The fact that he attacked me proves—”

“Shut up,” I snap at him. “Haven’t I taught you anything, Brik?” I grab his wrist and lift his hand. “Did I teach you to think with your fists?” I let go of his wrist and flick the tip of his erect cock hard enough to make him wince. “Did I teach you to think with your cock? No! I’ve taught you to think with your brain.” I punctuate that last statement by giving him a good stiff swat upside the head, just in case he’s forgotten where his brain resides.

Brik looks down at the floor, abashed.

“Sorry, Thorus,” he mumbles.

Maybe I’m being too hard on the kid. I was like him once too—young, dumb, and full of cum. A lot of alphas his age would be sharing an omega mate with their pack, and they’d already be working on making babies with her. I’ve avoided taking a mate for our pack because our job as rangers is so dangerous. Just a year ago, the third member of our pack got killed in the line of duty, and ever since we’ve been trying to track down the pack of Farlanders who killed him. Brik’s desire for revenge is perhaps even greater than my own.

But after we’ve avenged our fallen brother, then what? I can’t expect Brik to deny his urges forever. I thought I could deny my own, until I met Syra. Now I’m not so sure. That tough, defiant little omega has shaken me to my core. It’s not just her heat that’s having that effect on me. It’s not even just her beauty, although that is considerable. More than anything, it’s the sense that some force beyond our understanding has drawn us all together. Not just me and her, but Markus too.

I look at the strong, unpierced youth for a moment, then I turn my attention back to Brik.

“Markus is not a traitor,” I tell him, my voice gentler now. The time for chastising is over. Now I just want to inform him, so he can learn from his mistakes. “You made your accusation without having full possession of the facts. You see, Markus here gave me some extra information, which the omega failed to divulge. You wanted to know how Markus happened to show up right when Syra was getting attacked? Well, he told me. He’s been stalking her for the past four years.”

Brik looks at me, shocked.

“Stalking her? But that just proves what I suspected.”

“It doesn’t prove anything, Brik. There’s more. Markus and Syra’s relationship goes back even farther than that. They were childhood friends.”

Brik frowns. “Syra said nothing of this to me. How do we know Markus isn’t lying?”

Markus’s face darkens, and he prepares to speak, but I place a hand on his shoulder to quiet him.

“Markus isn’t lying,” I tell Brik. “I know this because I saw them together when they were kids.” I look at Markus. “The night they fell through the ceiling of the ritual chamber.”

The anger drains from Markus’s expression, and he looks at me in wonder.

“You know about that?”

“Yes. I was there. I’m the one who caught Syra.”

His eyes turn into two circles.

“That was you?”

“That was me. The pair of you caused quite a ruckus that night. I’m beginning to think it was the start of something that is only just now coming to fruition.”

Markus shakes his head in disbelief, and I can practically hear the thoughts swarming inside his head. I give him a reassuring clap on the shoulder.

“The Source works in mysterious ways, son.”

Markus nods slowly.

“Now listen to me,” I tell him. “I understand you feel jealous and possessive of Syra. That’s only natural, considering your history. And I also understand you thought you were helping her by doing what you did last night in the mausoleum—the sleeping potion and all that. But a single alpha cannot satisfy an omega in heat. Syra is going to need all three of us to help her get through this. So I want you and Brik to set aside your petty squabbles for the time being, and think about the omega.”

Markus looks at Brik reluctantly, but at last he gives in and nods.

“I’m willing to do that,” he says. “For Syra.”

“That’s good, but there’s more. Over the next few minutes, I’m going to need to do some things to Syra that you probably won’t like, but I want you to understand, all of it is for her own good. She’s a tough, strong-willed omega, and she’s going to require some breaking in.”