Page 43 of Stray Omega

CHAPTER 17: LEROS

“What is that?“

Leros tensed up at the sound of that familiar female voice behind his shoulder. His attention had been so focused on Embla that he had not even noticed the omega named Jora creeping up behind him.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Leros turned to face her.

Jora was tall, with long dark hair, long tanned limbs, and icy blue eyes. There was no doubt that she was pretty. In fact, most of the young alphas who were close to Leros in age considered Jora to be the most desirable omega in the Zone.

The arrogant upward tilt of her face made it clear that Jora was well aware of her status.

She was the last person Leros wanted to see right now.

“What did you say?” the young alpha growled.

Jora answered him with phony sweetness in her voice. “I asked, what is that?”

Looking down her nose, she flicked her gaze back to Embla. Instinctively, Leros moved his body to block his new mate from Jora’s supercilious glare.

“I think you mean ‘who is that?’” Leros hissed under his breath.

“Oh, really?” Jora replied, unfazed by Leros’s obvious anger.

“Yes, really,” Leros almost snarled. Normally he found Jora’s attitude easy to ignore, but now that it was directed at Embla, his protective instincts were coming to the surface. “She is an omega, just like you, and you will give her due respect.”

Jora scoffed. “Just like me? I don’t know about that…“

She tilted her head to look past Leros’s shoulder and peer at Embla. Her cold blue eyes wandered over the wild omega’s body as if she were appraising a piece of meat.

“She’s a skinny little thing, her hair is matted and tangled, and she has no piercings. She must be a Farlander.”

“She’s not a Farlander,” Leros snapped.

“Indeed? Where did you find her, then?”

Leros felt his anger rising like a flame behind his sternum. Truthfully, he was still unsure whether Embla was a Farlander or not. Yes, they had found her in the Farlands. And yes, she lacked the piercings and the speech of one of the city omegas. But at the same time, Embla was not hideous or twisted or cruel the way that they inbred Farlanders were. A little rough around the edges when it came to her manners perhaps, but that was all.

In truth, it did not matter to Leros what Embla was. All he knew—all he needed to know—was that she was an omega—his omega—and he was totally enamored with her.

But he couldn’t say that. Not here. Not yet…

“We found her in the forest,” Leros answered. “She was…hungry.”

He decided it was probably best to omit further details about Embla’s “hunger” and how he and his pack brothers had sated her needs.

Jora’s shapely mouth turned downward into a fake frown, and she spoke in a tone of mock sympathy.

“Oh, the poor little creature. Well, it certainly was kind of you to see to her, um…needs.“

Leros thought he detected a hint of jealousy in Jora’s voice, and he knew the reason why. Before young alphas and omegas became bonded with their mates through the rituals of binding, they were free to explore their desires with other young unbonded youths. And Jora had been an enthusiastic explorer. There was hardly a young alpha amid the tribes of the Central Ruins with whom she had not enjoyed a night of pleasure.

Except for Leros, that is.

And it was not for a lack of interest on Jora’s part. She had given the young alpha more than a few barely veiled invitations, but Leros had never taken her up on those offers.

There were a few reasons for that. For one thing, Leros was dedicated to his pack. They spent a huge amount of time away from the Central Ruins, scouting the forests and the wilds of the Zone. Leros liked that lifestyle, and he didn’t care to have any attachments that would distract him.

More important, however, Leros could sense that Jora’s desire for him was not genuine. She just viewed him as another conquest, so to speak. But the fact that Leros spurned her advances only added fuel to Jora’s desire. It was very unhealthy.

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