Page 9 of Alpha's Magic

I stepped up beside Lex, feeling compelled to comfort this omega, whoever it was. “We’re not coming in unless you say it’s all right. We’re going to start a fire out here and try to warm up the cave. Maybe make some hot food. We’ll bring you some and leave it for you if you like. Are you hungry?”

A little sob was the answer, and it twisted my heart. I could see that it affected Lex too.

“Give us a few minutes, and we’ll bring you something. Don’t worry—I won’t come in there. I’ll just leave it in the passage. Please don’t be scared of us. My name is Lord Asher of Morovia and this is the noble King’s Regent of Igella, Lord Lexington. You’re going to have to trust us.”

Chapter Four

Leo

When I was a child, I sometimes heard strange noises at night. I think deep down I knew it was just my amal rolling over on her squeaky bed in the room next door to mine, or one of my dogs bumping my bedroom door to get in. Nothing scary. Nothing that could hurt me really, but I would lie there in the dark, my head under the covers and pretend it was a monster or an ogre or a giant who wanted to eat me. The game I played was to be perfectly still and out of sight, in the hope that they wouldn’t see me and would go away and leave me alone.

Of course, when the real monster came, that didn’t work at all. I learned that the hard way, and I knew it probably wouldn’t work this time either.

I heard the intruders shuffling back down the passage and then lay listening to them speak to each other in soft, low voices as they built a fire and brought in water and firewood from the storerooms. Both of them had deep, resonant voices, even a little growly at times, but the one who’d spoken last—who’d said his name was Asher—had caused my heart to beat harder in my chest. I fancied that I could still smell him, and his scent made my mouth water. The thing that worried me was that they both had strong Morovian accents.

Once a long time ago, my amal had brought me a treat she called “brownies.” They were like little squares of chewy, fudgy cake with soft, lovely walnuts inside, and they were the most wonderful things I’d ever eaten. She said she bought them at the market from a Crillian trader. He’d told her the name of them and said they were popular where he came from. I’d never had anything else like them, before or since, but I’d never forgotten them either. Asher smelled like those “brownies,” only darker and richer and more delicious.

I had wanted to climb him like a tree. I’d never had such feelings before and my skin felt itchy and prickly when he’d come closer, and I could barely take in a breath until he’d backed away. I knew it must be because I was just coming off my heat, but I didn’t seem to care. He could be an omega slave trader, for all I knew about him. A murderer or a thief or worse, but it didn’t matter.

I knew that when an omega was in heat, they had what Grimora called a “biological imperative” to mate with the nearest Alpha. He said that I was a “poor innocent” and had no idea what I really wanted. He said I would be an all too willing target for any Alpha who came along, and that Alpha would use me until he used me right up. He said I’d have to be careful, because not only would I welcome the Alpha’s attentions, but I’d probably chase him down when he left me. I’d beg him to mount me again and fill me with his knot—along with any other Alphas I might encounter who might be willing to pile on too.

An omega with no Alpha to help them would be in constant, unrelenting pain, so I’d feel as if I had little choice. But I had to resist it. Because they would eventually fuck me to death. Now Grimora was gone, and I had those feelings, and I didn’t know what to do. I was almost out of heat by this time, but my scent was still strong since I hadn’t been able to bathe.

Besides that, everything inside me told me to go out, jump on top of that Alpha and make love to both him and the other one if he wanted to until we all dropped from exhaustion. Heat or no heat, it didn’t seem to matter. I had no idea why that was. Thank the gods they had arrived now, after my heat was pretty much over, instead of when I first started. I wouldn’t have been able to have stopped myself then.

But there was a little voice inside me that still urged caution. It was telling me to stay quiet and hidden. It was telling me I should find a way to get out of there and run away. It told me not to trust that Alpha when he said he wouldn’t hurt me. That little voice talked a lot, it seemed. I hoped it was giving me good advice.

Directly above my head was a hole that led up and out of the cave. Grimora had urged me to explore it years ago, when I was smaller, but I thought I could still fit inside it, especially now in my human form. He’d called it my escape plan, if anyone came to the cave looking for me. Once I’d managed to hoist myself up into the opening, the passage leveled out to a small ledge. That ledge opened into a passage that led up and I’d eventually be able to crawl out, coming out on top of the cave. Grimora had plugged the hole years ago, from both the top and bottom, but it wouldn’t be difficult to clear it out and leave that way. I hated to abandon my home and refuge, but too many people knew about this cave. I had been lucky that these Alphas hadn’t charged into my hiding place and dragged me out. But how long would my luck hold? I had to think about escaping. And I thought I might be running out of time.

I heard noises from the main room of the cave and crept closer to listen. By leaning forward, I could just barely peek inside to see what they were up to. I saw right away that they had made a fire to warm things up, and I heard it popping and crackling as it began to blaze. They must both be full of magic to make a fire so hot so quickly.

As the sun set, it had gotten darker and darker in the main room, so they had lit the lamps they’d found on the shelves and there was the slightest warm glow filtering down the passage, even though the temperature outside must have been dropping steadily. I shivered and took a step backward out of the lamp light, in case they glanced over in my direction.

They began to talk about being hungry, and the tallest one, the one with the honey-colored hair said he was starving. “It’s been a long time since we ate this morning.”

“Yes,” the other, darker-haired one rumbled in his deep voice. “Then only a little hardtack and dried meat. Look for something, because I’m not going back out in that wind and rain to forage for anything. I’ll go take care of the horses while you look.”

I stayed quiet, fascinated by them and scared to death of them at the same time. And not just because they were Alphas. They practically shone with magic. It covered and reflected off them like the light from the fireplace.

I heard the one that was left inside, the one I was already thinking of as my Alpha, rummaging around in the cupboards and the shelves, searching for food. But we’d been almost out of anything we ate on a regular basis when Grimora had left to go to the market, and I hadn’t noticed if he’d brought anything back with him when I found him on the trail. I’d been far too upset to notice or care.

“Damn it, nothing here to eat,” I heard the handsome, golden haired one mutter out loud. He was talking to himself and still rummaging through the shelves and cupboards looking for things.

The other one came back and said, “Have you found anything yet?”

“Nothing,” the first one replied with a quick shake of his head.

A thought popped into my head and I sent the message to him. There are oats soaking in the pot over the fire. Grimora always kept some there for a quick meal. A few apples are left in the larder too.

Almost as soon as the words flew through my mind, I heard the blond one say, “There are oats in the pot. Grimora kept them soaking for his breakfast in the morning. And apples in the larder.”

There was a sharp little silence as the words registered on both of them.

“How the hell do you know that?”

“I-I don’t know. I have no idea. It just… popped into my head out of the blue.”

“Odd,” the first one said, and I peeked out to see him make a sign with his fingers. It was a magic sign against evil that I’d seen Grimora use a hundred times. His fingers were nimble and quick as he made the sign, leaving a faint trail of blue sparks in the air as he moved. Magic, again—he practically oozed it from the pores of his skin. I ducked back into the shadows as they both turned in a circle looking around, their hands on their daggers.

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