Claimed for their Pleasure by L.V. Lane

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Gage

BRANDON IS STILL snarling on the floor, but at least he is partially hidden within the trees.

The tiny waif doesn’t struggle once I snag her waist. Thank fuck because I am holding myself by a thread.

Jessa couldn’t keep her eyes off me earlier when she was putting on a show. Not only her. Brandon was also posturing, not that I can blame the mutt for claiming her before me, claiming her for his pleasure. I knew what they were about but elected to let it play out. Her sweet innocence had shone through when I met her by the river. Now I barely recognize this lusty lass who has turned our lives upside down.

The three of us are connected, a deep connection that will bind us irrevocably for the rest of our lives. The mutt doesn’t have a hope of satisfying our sweet little mate alone. She needs more than he could possibly give.

I need to talk to her. To reason with her, if that is possible. Reluctantly, I ease my hold on her waist.

She turns, gazing up at me like she has never seen me before. Her scent is shocking in its potency. With a hand under her chin, I tip her to face me.

“Jessa, look at me,” I say, waiting until her glazed eyes settle upon me. “Do you understand what is happening?”

“I… I feel funny. Urgent. Everything smells divine.”

“You have revealed, lass.”

Naked, as she is before me, it pleases me that she shows no shame or fear. Slick smears the tops of her thighs. His cum is there, but it pisses me off less than it ought to.

“We need to leave. If you stay, Jack will have no choice but to insist you accept an Alpha. You understand this, Jessa. A Beta is not enough and cannot give an Omega what she needs. Even so, you are valuable. You will draw others to try and snatch or claim you should they allow you to stay with Brandon.”

“You are frightening her, asshole!” Brandon snarls.

The bastard has a point, given tears begin spilling down her pretty cheeks.

“Do you want me, Jessa? Do you want me in the same way that I want you? I cannot bear to leave you like this with all this uncertainty and pain, but I will if you tell me to. But if I take you, Jessa, make no mistake, I will claim you as my mate.”

“I cannot be apart from Brandon,” she says.

The mutt offers a low growl.

“I am not asking you to. Brandon is part of your bond. Even a fool can see it is so. If I take you, then you will be a mate to us both.”

A shiver ripples through her, although I do not think it is from the cool night air.

“I want that,” she says. “I have wanted that from the start. Since the changes first began in me, and even before. I desire you both.” She looks to where Brandon has thrashed about so he can see Jessa. “I think the Goddess always intended this to happen. I think… I don’t know what to think. I only know that I must be with you both. And I need to be somewhere safe. Somewhere that I cannot be found by anyone except you.”

Nest. She is talking about a nest. As a newly awakened Omega, her first rutting by an Alpha will likely take her straight into heat. My control snaps. There is no more time for discussion. She has said she wants me—that she wants us both. The need to find her a safe place where I can rut her is an imperative that cannot be ignored.

Taking her chin in hand again, I demand her attention. “We are leaving now. I will need to carry Brandon until we reach my horse. You will stay close to me and obey me at all times. Understood?”

“Yes,” she says.

I have her trust. Brandon is another matter.

I use the remainder of Jessa’s pretty vow dress to gag Brandon before hauling the heavy bastard over my shoulder. A Beta shifter is small compared to an Alpha, but it is all fucking muscle. Also, he is fighting and thrashing, which makes carrying him a challenge. I contemplate choking the mutt out. Only the sure knowledge that his dead weight would be harder to carry stays my hand.

Thanking the Goddess that everyone is either home or too busy rutting to notice, we skirt the forest border, working our way to where my horse is stabled. Jessa stays close to me. She is in shock, docile now… and naked. I have a cloak on my horse, which will cover the temptation. It won’t help with her lush scent. Nor will it erase memories of her on her hands and knees taking Brandon’s cock. But it will help temper my urge to throw her to the ground and rut her into heat.

Once inside the stable, I lower Brandon to the ground and use a rope I find to bind his ankles. Then I tie that to his bound wrists so he can’t kick the horse. I tug the rope a few times to be sure. Two horses would be better. There is no way mine can carry all three of us. But we will need to manage. Taking another horse would raise an alarm. Brandon and Jessa are unlikely to be noticed for a good while. Most likely, they will be assumed to be sleeping off the festivities of the night.

I drag Brandon up. “Give me any trouble, and I will knock you out,” I tell him. His eyes spit fire. He has not calmed down any.

I put him over the horse, bracing in case he does ought to harm it. A grunt is all I get.

Taking the cloak from my bag, I cover Jessa before lifting her into the saddle.

We exit the village by the least conspicuous route.

My heart is pounding within my chest. Brandon struggles but is bound tight and stays where I have laid him.

Leading the horse, I don’t breathe easy until we are clear of the village. Then I set a brisk walk that takes us clear of the houses and into the forest.

Once we are about a mile away, I stop and drag Brandon from the saddle. I do not take much care, and Brandon hits the ground with a thud.

“What are you doing?” Jessa asks.

“We need to travel fast, lass,” I say. “And the horse cannot carry all three of us.”

“Why are you putting Brandon on the ground? You said you would not take me from him.” There is anxiety in her voice, and the mutt begins thrashing in earnest again as her words stoke his anger.

“We cannot linger here,” I repeat. “You are on the cusp of your heat. I need to get you to safety. I have a place where we can go, but it will take the night and then some to reach, even if we travel swiftly. If you go into heat this close to the village… I don’t like to dwell on what might happen. But they may take you away from Brandon and me. They may have another Alpha tend to you. You will be insensible and will not even care by that point. While I’m not knowledgeable about Omegas, happen I know more than most. My mother was an Omega, and she told me things about them. I think in the hope that I would be a better man than my father.”

I point to Brandon. “When I cut the ropes, he will follow in wolf form, and he will catch up.”

She looks doubtful. I am leaving gaps in this story.

“Won’t he attack the horse?”

“Not if we have a head start.”

She looks like she wants to argue. But I don’t give her any chance. Taking the blade from my belt, I flip it handle outward, and rap Brandon over the back of the head. Finally, the bastard goes still.

“Oh! What have you done?”

“What I needed to do,” I say.

I cut his bindings swiftly from his wrists and ankles. Shifters are fucking hardy, and I expect he will rouse faster than I would prefer.

Tucking the blade back in its sheath, I mount behind Jessa, wrapping the cloak tightly around her.

“I do not like to leave him,” she says.

“He will follow us, I promise.”

Sooner than I would probably like. With a nudge to the horse’s flanks, we take off at a fast canter.

We ride throughout the night. As we near the outskirts of the Lyon clan, I hear the distant howl that tells me Brandon is closing in.

An old outpost we use as a lookout for Blighten during the winter months is situated to the north of the clan. It is kept stocked with wood and has fresh water via a well. But we will need more things if we are to get through Jessa’s heat. Stopping is a risk. I don’t want Brandon to confront me in the village, not while Jessa is close to her heat. I trust Pete and a few others I consider higher ranking, but certainly not all the Alphas within my clan. I cannot protect her from the weaker Alphas and fight Brandon at the same time. If I linger in the village, it will trigger the same carnage that would have unfolded at Ralston.

Omegas also prefer a quiet place where they can feel safe to nest when they go into heat. The old lookout will be perfect, nestled as it is among the trees far from man. When the leaves drop with the turn to winter, it offers views all the way to the distant mountain passes, thus allowing us early warning when the Orc trains are sighted.

As I come to a thundering stop in the village square, Pete is the first to greet me.

“I need supplies gathered swiftly,” I say. “Get a couple of younger Beta lads on fast horses to ride ahead to the lookout lodge with them. Enough food to last a week. Pelts and furs from the stores. If there are any of the softer blankets, take those as well.”

Pete’s eyes shift to Jessa. He takes a step back before returning his attention to me.

“Omega?”

“Aye.”

Jessa wraps the cloak tightly around her, and I feel the tension enter her small body.

“I will see to it,” Pete says. He doesn’t ask more. I have an Omega, and he will know what that means. Lads are sent scurrying, and horses are brought out. Seamlessly, Alphas are positioned around the square to keep the area around us clear.

As the lads hasten to load horses with supplies, Pete returns to me.

“There will be a shifter coming through shortly,” I say. “Tell the villagers to keep out of his way. He wants Jessa. He will follow after us as long as no one tries to stop him.”

Pete raises a brow. “Is that advisable? Shifters can be ferocious when their mate is taken. You might be injured.”

“Advisable? Big word there, Pete. Since when have I done anything advisable?” Now it is my turn to raise a fucking brow.

Pete’s smile is wry.

“I will handle the damn mutt.” If I kill the bastard, Jessa will be pissed, and a pissed mate is not congenial toward rutting. I will handle him, and then I will handle her. And then I will handle them fucking both. “Tell the villagers to keep out of his fucking way.”

“I will,” Pete says with a nod. “You are going to give him the run around while the lads prepare the lodge?”

“Aye,” I say. I hear the unmistakable howl of a wolf. He is no longer far away. “Tell them to be quick about it. I do not want to be caught before I can get Jessa settled there.”

Pete tips his head. “We shall get it done.”

Gathering the reins in hand, we ride on for the lookout.