Page 20 of Thief

She kneels before me and puts her gentle hand on top of mine. “The Horde raided the merchant’s house because they heard of an Omega trade. I presume that, when they found no Omega in the house, they searched the perimeter. Eron is the strongest Alpha by far and wide. Naturally, they came to arrest him first.”

She seems proud of this.

I’m cramping again, sweat breaking out on my forehead. I need him back right now. I don’t want to live on the boat or the compound or anywhere. I didn’t know what I had until it was gone. Eron is gone.

“We stay,” I tell her. “We stay, and we wait for him.”

Gently, she places a hand on my knee. “We should get on the boat. I don't like the conversations unfolding downstairs.”

Damn, her hearing is amazing.

“I don’t hear a thing.” I tilt my head and listen. Voices reach me, but I can’t make sense of what they’re saying.

“The heat, child. Omega heat will drive Betas to do things they wouldn't normally do. They won’t be able to suppress their urges to mount you. Trouble is, no Beta is an Alpha. No Beta is enough for an Omega in heat. They will not ease your pain, only make it worse. They will fight for you and will injure you and themselves. I can’t risk your life.” She purses her lips. “We go to the boat. But don’t worry, I’ve suffered many heats alone. There are remedies.”

"I'm not leaving."

Eron's mother purses her lips. "You're hardheaded for an Omega. Very well, then." She stands and speaks at the wall. “Nolis, are you still there?”

“Yes, Veme. I will guard the door.”

"Don’t you have better things to do?” Veme giggles. It’s musical.

“Not at this time.”

“Would you have Kenn fetch joelo tea, food, and Horley?”

Footsteps leave the door, then ragged breaths and claws clicking on the floors approach. Horley, the hound, makes it to the bedroom first. He enters, and the moment he enters the door closes, the bedroom shrinks. He’s bulky and appears irritated. Sniffs the bedroom, then outside on the roof-patio, then back in the bedroom, where he sits in front of me and locks his fierce gaze with mine. The black dragon-dog lowers his scales, and I want to freak out when he sniffs my leg. I whimper and pull my knees closer to my body. When he smells my arm, I shut my eyes. He licks me, and I jerk away. Try to get the chair to swallow me.

He growls.

I freeze.

“Horley won’t hurt you,” Veme says.

I say nothing but listen to the clicking of his claws as he walks away. I open my eyes, to see the hound sniff around the bed and whine.

“It’s okay,” Veme says. “He’ll be back.”

“Will he?” I ask. A cramp hits my lower belly, and I curl up and lay my cheek on the armrest. Eron's masculine scent both comforts me and makes me horny.

Veme lifts her face and wiggles her nose. She gathers up the blankets from the floor and covers me with them. “I see you have changed the nest from the corner to the chair, where I presume Eron sat.”

I don't want to talk about us with his mother.

“I will order phalluses for you.”

Oh my God.

The hound climbs on the bed. He growls and flips onto his back, head hanging off the mattress, tongue out and flopped over his sharp teeth. Is he smiling at me?

Veme chuckles and sits next to him. Pets his soft belly. “This is the only part of his body you should pet.”

“I’m not gonna pet him.”

She smiles. “Hounds and Alphas are the same in many ways. Fierce, bold males, who take control of situations and make us feel comforted. Without either, I feel very much alone.” She clears her throat. A tear slides down her cheek.

“I’m sure Eron will be fine.” I’m not sure of anything.

---