Page 5 of Stray Omega

CHAPTER 3: ARK

“Who are you?” Ark snarled.

A pulse of adrenaline surged through his body, jerking him from the depths of slumber into full alertness in the space of a single heartbeat. His senses heightened, taking in his surroundings—the odor of smoke and cinders, the song of the cicadas, and the soft touch of the cool night breeze on his skin. It was dark, but his pupils rapidly dilated, drinking in the moonlight until he could see more clearly.

The small figure caught in his grasp whimpered and tried to pull away, but Ark held fast.

“Who are you?” he repeated.

Orwen and Leros were growling themselves awake now.

The dogs were up and alert too, but they were whining. Not attacking. Very strange. Why had they not noticed the intruder’s presence sooner?

Ark’s nostrils flared, sucking in the air, and he suddenly realized that the extreme dilation of his pupils was not merely due to the darkness of the woods. Nor was the rigidity in his cock the usual morning stiffness that he experienced upon waking.

The thing caught in his grasp was an omega.

At first he had taken her for a boy, a Farlander adolescent. That would make sense in these parts. A lone omega wandering in these territories was an impossibility. Yet here she was, caught in Ark’s fingers. The curves of her breasts were limned in the moonlight, modest but unmistakable. The delicate cleft softly furred between her thighs. And that scent…

Source, she smelled good.

She was an omega all right, but she was not like any omega Ark had ever encountered before. She was wild, savage, fierce.

And quick.

Realizing she was no match for Ark’s alpha strength, the omega tried a different strategem—biting.

Before Ark had a chance to react, the snarling creature dipped her pretty face to his clutching fist and sank her sharp little teeth into his knuckles hard enough to break the skin.

“Source!”

Ark bellowed as pain shot through the tendons of his hand. His grip slackened just enough for his captive’s slender arm to jerk free. The omega tumbled backwards onto the dirt.

“Catch her!” Ark roared. “Catch the little imp. Don’t let her get away!”

Leros, young and spry, was already up and on his feet, his muscles tight and stark in the moonlight.

“Got her!” the kid shouted.

He dove for the omega, arms outspread to catch her in a rough tackle. But the sneaky little creature was agile. She ducked away in the blink of an eye, and Leros slammed into the ground, catching nothing but a mouthful of dirt and dead leaves.

Source, the little omega could move.

But dodging Leros’s tackle had thrown her off balance. She stumbled, and her naked body rolled through the remains of the fire, scattering hot coals and spewing orange sparks skyward.

The omega yowled in pain and jumped away from the sizzling coals with animal quickness.

Unfortunately for her, she landed right in Orwen’s waiting arms.

With an aggressive snarl, the dark and brutal alpha caught the omega’s blond hair in his fist, gripping her tightly at the back of her skull where she could not turn and bite him. At the same time, his other thickly muscled arm coiled around her neck. He stood, and the little omega’s feet left the ground, kicking and flailing wildly as she snarled and struggled in his grip like a rabid animal.

“Source!” Orwen swore.

In the dim light, Ark saw the tensing of his pack brother’s muscles, and he knew that the alpha was a heartbeat away from snapping the little omega’s neck.

“Orwen, hold on!” Ark shouted. “Don’t harm her!”

Orwen growled in disappointment. But as Ark’s second, he had no choice but to obey his pack leader’s command. He held the wild omega as she continued to hiss and flail like a hellcat.

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