Page 6 of Taming The Omega

The gamma smiled. “Good boy. I knew you could do it.” The praise eased Seth some, although he also resented how his nature made him so needy. “I’m going to take a look at your wounds now and do what I can to treat them. First, though, I have something to help with the pain.”

The gamma moved with surprising grace given his bulk. He opened the big pack he’d pulled in with him and took out a few things. Seth kept his gaze and his concentration on the activity and tried to ignore the more compelling parts of his would-be healer. It was hard, though. The gamma was naked, his pale skin stretched tight over bulging muscles. A long, thick cock hung between massive thighs. It swung slowly with each movement the gamma made. At least it was flaccid. Seth wouldn’t have been surprised to see the powerful shifter rampant with need, ready to take payment from Seth in the usual way of the higher-ranked members of their species. As hurt as he was, Seth doubted he could bear to service the gamma in any way. There was no sense worrying about it. He had no control over this situation regardless. He was completely at the gamma’s mercy.

If the guy had any.

“This should help.” The gamma held up a cup into which he’d poured some water from a bottle and added a few drops of something from another. When he reached for Seth’s head, he flinched automatically. “Easy now. I’m not going to hurt you.”

That large hand cradled the back of Seth’s neck with surprising gentleness and helped him lift his head up to drink. There was no way to truly know what was in the cup, yet it hardly mattered. He couldn’t fight the gamma over taking it. The concoction tasted almost sweet and far more tepid than the frigid stream water Seth was used to drinking. Just as well given how queasy the pain made his stomach. He hadn’t even finished before a languid warmth spread through him. His head felt heavy, and he would have dropped it down like a stone if the gamma hadn’t been there to give it a gentler landing.

“There. I can see it’s making you feel better already.” The gamma put aside the cup and brushed tangled strands of hair away from Seth’s face. “This wants a good combing, I’d say.” He grimaced. “I didn’t think of bringing anything like that. First things first, anyway. Let’s see what Haldon’s goons did to you.”

Seth could only assume the guy referred to the alpha of a neighboring pack. That was the only thing that made sense. In running from this shifter, he’d entered another’s territory and right into the waiting arms of gammas intent on harming, not helping. That cruel reaction hadn’t surprised him, of course. He was used to it. It was the kindness being visited upon him right now that mystified him. There could be only one reason for it.

Eyeing that large dick, so much closer now, he understood even with his foggy brain. There would be a price to pay for all of this. He knew that currency well. And, he would pay it. His life might not be worth much, yet he hadn’t reached the point where he was willing to give it up.

The gamma methodically laid out medical supplies on the earthen floor before turning back to Seth and giving him a tight smile. “I’m no healer, but I do have some experience patching other gammas up, as well as myself. Please trust that I know what I’m doing. More or less,” he added in a mutter and dropping his gaze briefly.

“My name is Caleb, by the way. If we’re going to be spending time together, we should at least get beyond gamma and omega.” He raised his eyebrows with a pointed look.

“Seth.” The sound of his own voice, rusty from disuse, made him wince.

The gamma—Caleb—smiled again. “Pleased to meet you, Seth, although I’m sorry for the circumstances. Now, I need to clean your wounds, get rid of this blood so I can see how bad the punctures are. This is going to sting.” He held up a bottle as he knelt down on one knee by Seth’s stomach.

Beyond words, Seth nodded to show he understood what was going on. He closed his eyes and clenched his fingers into tight fists. A touch on his left hand caused him to look at Caleb through narrowed lids.

“Go ahead and hold onto my leg.” Caleb unfurled Seth’s fingers and moved them over to the corded calf of his upright leg. “Dig in as hard as you need to.”

Seth folded his fingers around the warm flesh. It was like gripping a slightly softer version of a rock, almost no give, yet smooth enough not to hurt. He hadn’t intended to actually squeeze until a fiery trail blazed along the site of his injured shoulder. Slamming his eyes completely shut, he buried his face into the scratchy pallet. A mewl of pain escaped his lips before he could hold it back, and his fingers dug into the gamma’s skin.

He knew untold minutes of burning pain that layered on top of the floaty feeling the drink had given him. They warred with each other, neither gaining control, until he lay panting in an exhausted, muddled state. The one comforting constant was the feel of Caleb’s strong muscle and bone that anchored him while he existed in the confusing realm of semi-consciousness. Finally the gamma’s painful ministrations stopped. Fingers carded through his hair, now slick with sweat.

“There now, all done with that.” The gamma had a surprisingly soothing voice for his type of shifter. “It’s not too bad. I think they were just toying with you. You got away before they dug in too deep to touch organs or bone. I’m going to put a plaster and bandages on to seal the wounds up while they heal. Okay?”

Seth didn’t bother to even nod. He knew the gamma wasn’t really asking for his permission to proceed. Instead, he let his body go slack, even letting go of his hold on Caleb’s leg. As soon as he pulled his hand away, he kind of missed the contact. Silly. Like there was any comfort to be had in touching a more powerful shifter who only helped him so that he could make use of his body later on.

“Hey.” Caleb’s thumb caressed Seth’s cheek. “I need to know you’re fine with what I’m doing.”

Huh? Surprise and confusion had Seth opening his eyes and staring up at the gamma. Surely the “okay” had been a rhetorical question. It was odd enough that the shifter bothered to even speak to Seth about what he was doing, let alone actually soliciting his input.

Caleb stroked Seth’s face some more, sweeping along his jaw line and across his lips briefly before jerking his hand back. “Sorry.” It wasn’t immediately clear what the apology was for.

The gamma’s expression turned into a grimace. “I’m a little out of my element here.” He huffed a breath that ended on a sharp bark of laughter. “Make that a lot. I know it’s hard for you to talk given the pain you’re probably still in and the fact that I bet it’s been a while since you’ve used your human vocal chords. But, this is your body, so you have the final say in what I do with it. To it.”

Yeah, that wasn’t entirely true, even though the gamma seemed sincere. If it had been up to Seth, he would have stayed in wolf form and would be literally licking his wounds by himself. Except he couldn’t reach them for the most part and they were far worse than the scratches he was used to dealing with. He was also tired and scared. And, lonely. The strange gamma frightened him like just about every shifter did, but at least Seth wasn’t alone for the first time in longer than he could keep track. Someone else higher up in the shifter hierarchy was making decisions so he didn’t have to. Omegas weren’t designed to take care of themselves. Seth was no different. Caleb taking charge was a blessed relief in many ways.

He licked his lips and worked his throat to speak. “Please do what you think best, Gamma. I trust you,” he added with a shudder and less conviction than he felt. Then he closed his eyes because he couldn’t keep them open any longer.

A large palm descended onto the top of his head. “I’ll take good care of you. I promise.”

That was the last he heard before the physical and emotional stress combined with the drink Caleb had given him won the war and sent him down into sleep.

Chapter Four

Caleb could sleep anywhere, and had done so throughout his life. So, bedding down for the night on the dirt floor of the cave didn’t bother him. After finishing treating and binding the omega’s wounds as best he could, he’d covered the restless boy with the survival blanket and tucked him in much like he expected Will did for Annie.

Seth, he reminded himself. The omega’s name was Seth. So beautiful and delicate in his human state that it made Caleb’s heart ache to look at him. His coloring proclaimed a heritage from an ancient line of First Nation shifter packs, or Native American as they’d be called in the United States. Like humans, shifters had come in waves of migration to the American continent. And, like humans, they’d often fought over territory. Knowing that much about him didn’t explain how he’d come to be out on his own.

Caleb had a ridiculous urge to sit down by the boy’s side and watch him sleep for the rest of the night. The lack of activity allowed his fatigue to set in, however. Lying by Seth, near enough to be of aide if necessary, would have to do. He had a fleeting idea to pull on the jeans Andrea had thoughtfully packed for him. Then decided it would be pointless. The small cave was warm with their combined body heat, at least for a healthy gamma. Besides, Seth had already seen him completely naked. What was there left to be modest about?

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