Page 59 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
I pointed to my stomach. “Would you like to touch your grandson?”
Before his transformation, Nate was an Alpha among the Earthlings. The closest thing they had to Soturi although an Alpha man impregnated my father. I heard their sex wasn’t free with their feelings but the Volardi transformation and twenty years of subservience made him an Omega.
His lips mashed together hard and his hand hovered over my stomach. I then pulled up my tank top and his fingertips softly pressed into my flesh. Separated by less than a few inches a grandfather and grandchild stood in the alley. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he nodded faster. He didn’t so much speak as croak the words out. “Let’s get you safe.”
***
Chapter Thirty-Two
CAAN
Having a hand-sized duplicate comes in handy although there are a few ‘Tiny’ disadvantages so to speak. I sneaked into their home easily. Once there, the slender brown-haired Dara screamed, while the hulking red-headed Soturi nearly sliced Tiny in half with a ceremonial sword. The Volardi are a race of warriors, so every blade is lethal and cut into the stone floor with every swing. It took another five minutes for me to convince them to let us in and to explain what’s going on.
The bigger one – Kleh – folded his arms and stared hard at me. I heard Volardi didn’t treat their third sex well in the past, but I don’t think that was it. His lip quivered while his nose flared out. “What is that foul smell?”
I explained how I used it to throw off Nate’s scent. He was bigger than a Femeni – as was I. It was another way to ensure Soturi didn’t get a closer look. A strange Soturi around a marked pregnant Omega or Femeni wasrude.
His lips pressed together before he spoke while his hands balled into fists. “With the… the amount you are producing, you’re begging to fight with another Soturi.” His cheeks puffed out before he continued. “You are an Omega, and there is that desire to protect our third sex – even one not our own. Both sides within me are fighting so nullify it now!” The Dara with slicked-back brown hair got up and raced out of the room. A few seconds later, I heard the high pitched ‘whirr’ from the ventilation system.
“Tiny,” I whispered. “Can you counteract my scent?”
The big man closed his eyes for a full minute as he held his breath. It wasn’t time we should waste yet we didn’t have a choice otherwise. He spoke slowly as if he was trying to keep his temper. “I requested for you to remove the scent, not turn it into an Omega in heat. Anger and sex are not a good combination.”
Tiny looked up from my stomach, and he shook his head. “I didn’t change it. Caan’s pregnant, so it can’t be him.”
Kleh growled. “Then where is it coming–”
Nate always had a tan, but now his face flushed red. He said nothing while he stared – yet knew we looked at him. “It’s me,” he whispered.
Kleh spoke. “I am not like those of Old, but your men should not allow you to be out during your time.”
“I don’t have a Soturi,” said Nate, “or Dara.”
His forehead furrowed. “That makes no sense. Death?”
I explained the situation as best I could without telling them about Peter’s attack, but I had to touch that they banished him to the Badlands. The Soturi’s expression was unreadable, but at least he wasn’t as confused.
“Caan,” he said once I asked for his help, “we are Augo citizens, and we have a duty to the king.”
“No matter which king?” I asked. “I saw your faces when you saw Graden.” The slimmer man came in while I spoke. “Are you telling me you aren’t concerned about Balo?”
Yil was the quieter of the two, and it reflected in his soft voice. “It’s not up to us to decide who rules. There are good kings, bad ones, and emperors of allabilityand yet Augo survives.”
“It won’t be if we separate,” I said.
“Separation isn’t an issue for us, we are not royalty.” His eyes flickered to Nate before they resumed on me. “We have a duty, and we must notify the authorities we saw you.”
A momentary thought on how I couldmaybeoverpower them flickered in my mind, the only way that would happen would be via Tiny. My little sim gave me the physical ability, but not mental. I couldn’t fight two men because they obeyed the law. That was against everything I stood for as a bounty hunter. Mercs and pirates would do it, but I wasn’t them.
Kleh spoke with a growl. “Excuse us for a moment. We must confer in private.”
I felt as if I should dosomethingbut I remembered Graden’s words. Sometimes doing nothing was doing something. We came to them for help, and I couldn’t force it. They either would, or wouldn’t, and I’d adapt like I always did.
Both men looked at each other in the far corner of the room. They didn’t have the stance and feel of longtime mates. I couldn’t judge, it took Graden and me long enough. I suppose that’s why they had to ‘talk.’ Once finished they returned.
“We must contact the authorities,” said Yil softly.
“Once we’resureof who we saw,” said Kleh. “I suspect it will be at the end of the midday meal before we’re sure. Our leaders are busy, and we cannot waste their time with inaccurate information.” He folded his wide arms as if to solidify his decision.
