Page 23 of Rathgar

“Mama?” Iris says, looking up at me with wide, innocent eyes. Her smile breaks through some of the pain and confusion.

“Want to go for a walk, Iris?” I crouch down so we’re eye level. “We can go see the mushrooms at the lake. Would you like that?”

I guess I said the magic word, because she pushes herself out of her seat and starts toddling toward the door.

“All right, all right. I’m coming.” With a hopeful wave at Soren and Lara, Iris takes my hand and we step out into the warm breezy day.

Soren’s house connects to a nature trail, leading to a crystal-clear lake and some of the most amazing flora I’ve seen in my life. Iris’s favorite part is the mushrooms. But these aren’t just any mushrooms. Apparently on Aesirheim, they’re more like trees. They grow that large, too!

Walking underneath their wide, colorful caps always makes me think about huddling under a hundred umbrellas. I take the opportunity to teach Iris about colors, pointing to each of the mushrooms in turn and repeating the color back to her.

We reach the lake and sit down on the soft moss, watching as the many-winged birds flock by above us. Iris has her shoes off, dipping her toes in the water. I’m staring out across the placid surface, trying to figure out what to do with my life.

The breeze changes direction and as it rustles through the mushroom forest, I catch a familiar scent. The sharp tang of copper mixed with a homier, cozier scent like a crackling fireplace. I know it’s familiar, but from where?

That’s when I hear footsteps. Large, heavy footsteps.

I pull Iris in, holding her close and listening. I don’t know what I’m afraid of — this area is extremely safe, and no one would dare attack so close to Soren’s home. But a raw, primal fear grips me and won’t let go.

I feel like cornered prey. Like a deer in the headlights, too shocked to move. My breaths shudder out one by one as the steps grow closer. Even Iris must realize something’s up, because she grows quiet for the first time in what seems like forever.

Fight or flight. The words echo in my mind, over and over. Why am I like this? I’m not in any danger. So why do I feel like a terrified rabbit, about to run for cover?

The smell intensifies, and when I hear his voice my reaction makes sense:

“So, this is where my omega’s run off to.”

RAHRAH

RATHGAR

The entire time I was away, Janie always stayed at the forefront of my mind. I hadn’t planned to be gone for so long, especially when she was so early in her pregnancy, but what choice did I have?

I made a promise to Soren and to Aesirheim long ago. I pledged to always serve the planet and its people, no matter the consequences.

And I’d done that. At long last, we’d finally caught the man we’d been hunting for years. But at what cost?

I thought I would see her when I arrived home. I thought she would be there. That was part of the mating process. I made sure that she would have everything she needed when I was away. It was my duty as a man and as an alpha.

But she’d refused it all. She hadn’t even visited the house I prepared for her. Not once.

Was she unhappy with our mating? Or did she distrust me that much?

Confusion, fear, and anger bubble up inside of me, alpha instincts pressing to the fore. Everything was as I’d left it. All clean and tidy and polished for her arrival. But she never arrived.

For a split second, panic squeezes at my heart. What if something had happened to her? To the baby?

But one step outside and one sniff tells me everything I need to know. She’s here, all right. And close. So why has she rejected me like this?

Janie is from another world. I know that. She isn’t expected to know all of our customs. But she has Lara and Soren, not to mention the ISA. Surely they would have briefed her.

My hands ball into fists and I growl, deep in my chest. Rejecting my offer is akin to rejecting my status as alpha. And I can’t stand for that.

Reason flies out the window and rationality takes a backseat. I start stomping toward the source of her scent, ready to give her a piece of my mind. Why must she defy me at every turn? Why must she test my patience so?

And then I remember how the flush of her cheeks matched the flush of her other cheeks the last time I punished her. The combination of fear and arousal in her eyes. The way she got off on me manhandling her, talking dirty and taking what I wanted.

Was she planning this?

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