Page 6 of Alpha's Magic

I got to my feet, but as I did, I felt a sharp and terrible pain in the back of my neck. It felt like a massive blow from an unseen hand, and I fell stunned to my knees, crying out. I was aware of collapsing onto the floor of the cave, but I don’t know how long it took me to come back to myself. When I did, I was weak and disoriented. When I finally regained consciousness, I put a hand to my head and started shaking, because it was a human hand at the end of my arm, and for the first time in ten years, it wasn’t tipped with claws and covered in hair.

I jumped to my feet, looked down at myself and saw human legs. They weren’t misshapen or covered in wiry brown fur—they looked perfectly normal, though maybe none too clean. I kept patting my arms and torso—all human. I almost passed out again from the shock, but I needed to find a mirror to look at my face and make sure it was a human face staring back at me or see that this was some kind of dream.

Grimora had a small mirror hanging in the cave—I’d avoided looking into it for years. But now I scrambled as fast as I could to find it. I ran over to the wall, and peered into the mirror, with the room mostly dark, but lit a little by the waning sunlight filtering into the entrance.

I saw a complete stranger staring back at me. A young man with dark hair and shocked, staring, haunted brown eyes.

Was I hallucinating? Had I become unhinged as I sat down by the fire? I kept looking at myself, fascinated by the image in the mirror. I looked like…like my mother, or the way I remembered her anyway. The same high cheekbones and dark hair curling wildly around my face, and those big eyes staring back at me in shock and disbelief.

I realized I was still naked—no need for a monster to wear clothing, after all, even if there had been anything in the cave that would have fit me. I went over to Grimora’s trunk and rummaged through to find something to cover myself. He had no further use for his things and would want me to make use of them if I could. I found some trousers that were too tight and too short, but still better than nothing. I pulled them on, along with an old shirt, and then feeling exhausted, I sank down to the floor of the cave near the fire and felt myself fading. I was so exhausted from emotion and excitement that I could barely keep my eyes open. I sent up one, last, brief entreaty to the gods as I shut my eyes, praying that this wasn’t some dream, and I wouldn’t wake up to find it had all been a hallucination and I would still be a monster. Then sleep overcame me, clutching the amulet in my hand, and I knew no more.

****

Asher

We made good time getting to Igella, due to our fast horses and the vastly improved new roads and bridges that Lex had built since he’d become Regent. He’d done a lot for Igella in the short time since he’d been Rory’s Regent, and he had plans to do even more.

In all the kingdoms of Narmada, the eldest child of the king inherited the throne, unless that child was an omega. Omegas couldn’t inherit, although there was a provision in the law for their Alpha mates to rule as Regent for them. The crown would then pass to their eldest child, and so forth and so on down the line, with Alpha mates still acting as Regents for any omegas who might come along or until the child came of age. As an omega, Rory couldn’t be king without Lex, though he didn’t seem to mind the old laws that kept him so constrained. It was a testament to the great love between them and to how well Lex treated his omega. Rory never wanted for anything it was in Lex’s power to give him and Lex consulted him on all major decisions. Not because he had to, but because he knew Rory had strong opinions and he respected him.

Their marriage made me a little jealous, to be honest. Not of Rory, though he was sweet and beautiful, but of the relationship they had together. Though their start had been rocky, they’d realized in the end how much they loved each other.

I’d never met an omega female or male that I wanted to be around for so long, and I wondered how it would feel to be compelled to be with another person that way. I wondered if I would ever feel that way about anybody. Frankly, it sounded awful.

To be with someone because you had to? Even if you had objections to them or to their character? That wasn’t my idea of a good time. I hoped deep down that it would never happen to me. I planned to marry someday. I knew eventually I’d want children, for one thing. So if I hadn’t met an omega that made me feel the way Rory made Lex feel, or the way Darcy did for Wyatt within the next few years, I might have to settle for one of the omegas my parents were always parading in front of me and just make the best of things. I suspected that was what Harrison had done with Rozamond, though she had certainly not been any kind of sweet little omega.

My parents wanted grandchildren and made sure I knew it every time I saw them. It was a status symbol of sorts to have your own omega, which was why Alphas went after the available omegas so hard, and I guess I was no exception. But I really didn’t think I’d ever fall as hard or as deeply as Lex and Wyatt and even Brandon had. Maybe I was just built differently.

On the one hand, I was jealous of my friends—all of them, even Brandon who had found the love of his life in his best friend Roxbury. But on the other hand, I just couldn’t imagine falling so desperately in love with someone that you had to be with them all the time. When Lexington met Rory, it had been so all consuming for him. He hadn’t wanted to feel the way he did for Rory. Aggressiveness and dominance poured off Lex in waves, and he sometimes got a little out of control, which made the rest of us a little crazy too. But from the first time he’d seen Rory, his pheromones went wild for the beautiful little omega. Hell, we’d all been affected by Rory’s heat, but this was even more. This omega had been Lex’s true mate, which just made everything a hundred times more intense. The last time I’d seen them together, it was still the same. I didn’t think they’d ever get tired of each other.

We arrived at the castle belonging to Lex and Rory around noon the following day, after spending one cold night camping on the road and sleeping by an open fire to stay warm. It was a little like old times, but I thought maybe I should consider the possibility that I was getting too old to be sleeping rough that way. I’d be glad for a bed inside the castle that night.

Rory ran out to meet Lex, throwing his arms around his neck and receiving Lex’s passionate response without only a small blush staining his cheeks. He got down from his arms after a moment and came running over to hug me and kiss me on the lips. I could see his sweet omega scent was just as potent as ever.

Nothing smelled as good to an Alpha as an omega, even if the omega wasn’t ours. It had taken me a while to learn to live with Darcy’s luscious scent, and Wyatt still locked him away in their bedroom “nest” when he was in heat. For all our safety.

Rory’s scent hit me hard, too, wicked and sultry and making my mouth water. I turned away from him as soon as he stepped back, clenching my fists and taking in a lungful of fresh air.

“It’s good to see you again, Asher,” he said with a big smile, and I nodded, still recovering a little. Lex swatted him and pulled him over close and away from me, tipping up his chin to speak to him.

“You know not to hug and kiss other Alphas like that. You’re lucky this is my pack mate and good friend, or I may have had to defend your honor. Now settle down and I’ll take care of you later.”

It may have sounded condescending and patriarchal, and it was. But I understood what he meant. Alphas had fought to the death over much less, and omegas had been stolen and taken away from their families too. It was a dangerous thing for an omega to be so open and free with their affections. It was a purely biological reaction from Alphas, and most of us hated it and fought against it, but it was still a fact of our lives.

Lex slung his arm around Rory’s neck, and we all walked inside. I’d noticed when we were there last that the castle interior had undergone some major changes, and workmen were inside making even more. It looked as if one of the reception halls was undergoing a complete renovation. The old castle was looking good, and I was happy for Rory’s sake to see it return to its glory days.

At dinner that night, Lex and Rory filled me in on the story Brandon had told them about the wizard Grimora and the person he lived with in Banshira’s Cave. Brandon had been grieving what he’d mistakenly thought was Roxbury’s death when they’d arrived back in the Igellan palace, but after a few days, he mentioned Banshira to Lex, hoping that he could help the man. He had insisted that this person, though the local villagers called him a “monster,” was only a poor afflicted young man with a strange disease.

Lex had been sympathetic, but events like Roxbury’s miraculous return and the death of the king of Sudfarma shortly afterward at the castle had gotten in the way of him addressing the problem. Now with this latest attack on a small village near the cave, with people in the village being killed and survivors talking about seeing the “monster and his horde of demons,” everything was a thousand times worse. The rumors were probably just wild exaggerations, but he still had to take action.

“I think we need to go up there and see exactly what’s happened—not wait on any ministers to report back to me. Between the two of us, we should be more than able to sort out any dark magic at work.”

“Agreed,” I said, taking a last sip of wine before standing up. “We’ll need an early start, and I know you’ve been away from home for a few days. I imagine you and Rory have things to discuss.” I arched an eyebrow at him, and he laughed.

“Indeed, we do. See you at first light then and we’ll get an early start.”

I took my leave and made my way to the guest chambers. As I left the room, I could already hear Rory’s soft laughter as Lex pulled him over into his lap. Rory had told me earlier that he’d put me in the same room as the last time I’d stayed there. I felt the same excitement I always did at the start of a new adventure, but this time there was anticipation as well. As if I was going toward something important, and I couldn’t wait to get there and find out what it was. It was odd and challenging at the same time. I lay awake for a long time, wondering what was coming.

Chapter Three

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