Page 60 of Ruled By The Alpha

Imagine being bonded to a man that resents you for taking advantage just because he’s strong and kind. No. You have to leave before he does anything noble, like promising to take care of you.

“Syra? Be careful out there!”

His voice echoed after her as she hurried from his camp and scrambled up the hill, full of concern that made her feel even worse. But Syra couldn’t stop. Not now.

She cursed as she fled through the clearing toward the rocky field of debris beneath the trees, and away from the one man who made her feel safe.

Chapter 5

Riden bristled as he scanned the hillside above camp. Massive, jagged sections of rock had broken away from the mountain as centuries weathered the stone, littering the hill with a treacherous field of debris that remained even after the trees had grown up through it all. He avoided the area on principle. There weren’t many animals there, not much vegetation between those towering, ancient trees. It wasn’t worth twisting an ankle struggling through the mess. He’d had even more reason to avoid it since Syra arrived, as he was fairly certain that’s where she’d been hiding her camp.

It was prime real estate for an Omega, really. The rock field offered an abundance of nooks and crannies a small woman like her could get through that a man of his size couldn’t follow. Wanting her to feel safe, Riden pretended he hadn’t noticed she almost always came from that direction, or that her scent was present here more than anywhere else in his territory.

But that summery scent of hers had changed. Her pheromones broadcasted her location now, and no matter where she was hiding, she’d be as easy to track as a bleeding rabbit in the snow. Syra was in heat.

He’d suspected as much last night, but she was so twitchy he’d been afraid to mention it for fear she’d panic and flee. In the end, she’d fled anyway. Today, with the scent of at least two Alphas tainting the air marked with her sweetness, he wished he had. He could have made her stay. Could have kept her safe.

Could have helped eased the ache if she’d let him.

Riden snarled, unsheathing his hunting knife as he stalked through the clearing. His territory was clearly marked. He’dmade doubly certain since her arrival to walk the area, always keeping his scent fresh and present. They’d ignored it, even pissing at the edge of the clearing above his camp as they passed through. Out here, the rules of a once polite society didn’t exist anymore. Even if he and Syra had been bonded, it wouldn’t stop a determined Alpha from trying to kill him for a chance at her. That she wasn’t only heightened the risk.

For the lowland scum and the gangs of degenerates that had banded together beyond the walls, an Omega symbolized many things. You had to be cunning to find one, strong to keep one. Syra would make an Alpha the envy of every beady eyed bastard that caught sight of her if the pricks could find her and dig her out.

Riden wouldn’t let that happen. Syra might not be his, but he swore to himself he’d protect her. The idea of an Alpha thinking he had a right because of something a woman couldn’t help made him see red.

There was a clear path up the hillside where they’d passed through: broken twigs, disturbed slides between the rocks where they’d knocked the gravel and dirt loose. A low growl built in Riden’s chest as he followed their trail, his growing rage stoked by the continued disrespect. As if it wasn’t bad enough they’d dared to enter his territory, pissed in it to spite him, they were making it obvious they didn’t care if he knew they were here.

It wasn’t their first mistake, but it would be their last.

His nose told him they were young. Younger than him, at least. Their scents were still spiced with an aggressive overabundance of testosterone, which told him they were likely in their twenties. Alphas struggled with hormone fluctuations once they reached maturity, often until they neared their prime during their thirties and forties. These two acted with the arrogance of men that hadn’t been taught just how badly their elders could beat their asses into the dirt. It was a blessing anda curse. They’d be spry and heavy with muscle, but unlikely to think any action through in the heat of the moment.

Even if they hadn’t left such a sloppy trail, he’d have been able to find them. Syra’s scent was thick in the air, dripping over him like some decadent concoction of cinnamon and honey and hardening his cock as he struggled through the rock field. All he had to do was find her, and he’d find them. With how his dick throbbed and strained at his pants, he couldn’t be far away now.

A bark of laughter reverberating through the trees stopped Riden in his tracks. He held his breath and waited; his senses focused wholly on identifying the location of the sound. Syra’s scent was overwhelming here, and Riden pursed his lips as his head swam and his heart rate kicked up. It had been a long time since he was around an Omega in heat. To say it was a distraction from his current task was an understatement.

The sound of mocking, vulgar chants he’d never bring himself to repeat echoed over the crest of the hill in front of him. A sweat broke out across his brow despite the cool morning, and his muscles quivered with coiled tension as adrenaline flooded his system. Riden crouched low, easing over the uneven ground as he moved toward the voices. Grasping a large rock above his head, he pulled himself up and peered cautiously over the jagged stone.

The two offending Alphas came into view, some seven or eight yards down the opposite side of the slope. Young, just like he thought. They were a filthy, bedraggled lot, leaner than he expected. Lack of regular food, from the look of it. He could only see them from the shoulders up, but it was enough. They were half obscured by the rock outcropping they were standing in front of, and judging by their rapt attention and lecherous sneers, Syra’s hiding place was in those rocks.

There was no way Riden could get the drop on them, not when he’d have to slide down the open slope above their headsto reach them. He struggled to keep his focus as he weighed his options, but the scent of her sweetness overpowered the stink of the offending males, and it was a battle not to rage down the hill with metaphorical guns blazing.

Somehow, he kept it together.

Riden stifled a grunt as he hoisted himself over the rocks and stood. His grip on the knife tightened as he let loose the vicious growl that had been brewing in his chest since he first caught their scents.

Both heads snapped up as he blanketed the hillside with audible evidence of his anger, but neither male had the good sense to fall back under the weight of the bone-rattling threat. Bodies stiffened, eyes narrowed, and one of the little bastards had the audacity to fold his arms.

“Fuck off, old man. This is our prize,” the rougher-looking of the two shouted, lifting his chin defiantly as he and his companion glared up at Riden.

“This ismyterritory.” Riden rumbled as he started a slow, calculating descent. He pointed the knife at them in emphasis of the threat they still hadn’t acknowledged. “Everything in it is mine. Get the fuck out, while I still feel like letting you.”

They exchanged a look and smiled with the arrogance of untried men as their attention shifted back to Riden. “How ‘bout you make us, Grandpa?”

Riden bared his teeth in a wicked grin as he neared the ledge of rock above them. The taunt had snapped the last thread of his control, and red clouded his vision as he coiled in preparation to strike. They hadn’t gotten to Syra yet, and he was going to make sure they never did.

Chapter 6

Syra groaned piteously and clutched at her abdomen as another wave of slick gushed out of her aching body. The Alphas had found her hiding place just before daybreak, and they’d been tormenting her ever since.