Page 15

Fight

Ozyn

P anic and shame had overtaken my senses. I could hear myself repeating apologies to Deke, yet I could not hear his soothing words, only the tone. He held fast to me, rocking me in the corner, hiding Chase from my sight.

I’d hurt someone, scared them. For what? How had that feral part of me escaped? I knew Chase didn’t want his cousin! Firstly, because they were related, and second, because Chase was something called asexual and aromantic. Deke had explained Chase rarely felt sexual desire and had no want for a romantic relationship. He had only been teasing us playfully!

My reaction was completely unwarranted!

“Hey,” Deke soothed. “He scared you. It was an accident. He gets it, don’t you, Chase?”

“Right.” Chase nodded his head empathetically. “I dunno what I was thinking, just coming in like that.” He winced. “Teasing Deke is good, but you don’t know me very well. We’re not in that place and with all the shit you’ve been through. It was wrong of me. I’m sorry.”

That shocked me back to myself. I created some distance between me and Deke to look at Chase properly.

“Why are you apologizing? I’m the one who attacked you.”

“It was dangerous to get between an unmated alpha and omega who’d just been… intimate.” Chase was the color of a tomato. “I mean, I’ve seen him naked and you’re not wearing very much…”

Without me controlling it, a growl slipped free.

“Sorry!” Chase cried, though there was laughter in his eyes. “See! This is me being a brat and provoking you. I should take half the blame for what happened here.”

“Chase—“ Deke began, tightening his hold on me.

“Maybe, but I should have done better to control my temper. I ruled—“

“Ozyn,” Deke stopped my words. “You’re not a king right now. You’re an omega who’s gone through unimaginable things. No one expects you to act like a king after all that. Not me, not Chase. You’ve got to give your mind time to heal, too.”

“Deke’s right. Maybe you should speak to Georgia,” Chase said, adding to my confusion. Then he straightened, apparently brushing the entire incident off. “I better give you a minute. Meet you at the training room. Best not be late. Blake is in a mood. Kade’s not feeling great.”

He left without explaining who Georgia was. This was one of the times Chase most reminded me of my brother Valethar.

“You know, he’s right. Georgia would be good for you. She’s the one who used to run the omega section of the compound.”

My mate had explained that the compound had an area purely for omegas. Both the single ones and those with their bonded mates. No unmated alphas were allowed in there, except for Blake, before he bonded with Kade. The young Alpha was the exception because he had a close relationship with the omegas there.

“What does she do now?” The way Deke spoke about this Georgia was fond. Still it did not provoke jealousy within me.

“She’s training to be a therapist. Even without the certification, she’s seen some shit in her life. I think she’d be really good for you to speak to. Omega to omega.”

“If you think that’s for the best, then I will.”

“No.” Deke was firm on this. “We’re not doing that. You get to decide. We’re a partnership, okay? If you want to speak to her, then I’d be happy, but I’m not going to order you to do anything with your body or feelings, alright?”

He left me feeling so confused. I needed his guidance in this.

“I don’t understand. Alphas run the home. Even as a king, I would defer to you in matters of our bond and household. Only in our flight would I overrule you.”

“Ozzy, babe, we’re not in a flight,” he told me with patience. “I’m a big bad wolf shifter, and I say you get equal rights in our home. Which means you decide if you want to speak to our trainee therapist.” He grinned, letting me know he wasn’t angry.

I gave it a few moments’ thought. It wouldn’t harm me to speak to someone, particularly another omega, would it? If I didn’t like it, I could stop going to see her.

“Alright. Later, I would like to speak to her.”

Deke kissed my forehead and stood with me still in his arms. My mate was very strong. He liked to carry me often. It kept me close to him, so I allowed it.

“Good. Now we better go before we end up late.” He left his office at an easy pace.

People were watching us.

“Put me down then. We will be faster if I run alongside you.” Though I said the words, I didn’t really want him to. All I wanted was to stick close to him. My hands wrapped around his neck.

“Can’t. My wolf is too on edge after seeing you so upset. Let me have this.”

Deke nuzzled my throat as he walked through the mansion to a set of stairs heading down, sending shivers down my spine. Even after what we had done in his office, I wanted him again. This lack of proper bond was playing havoc with my libido.

“At least put me down before you walk into a wall or fall down!”

His laugh into my hair settled me more than anything else had.

The training room must have covered most of the floor-plan of the mansion, barring a sectioned off area. The well-appointed room had numerous machines and mats covering much of the floor. There were some lockers along a wall and an open shower. Shifters did not care about nudity, much like dragons. I just did not care for my mate’s body to be on show. He was mine.

Assembled in the room were many of the guards I had grown used to seeing, along with both of Blake’s brothers. Axel was very similar in appearance to Blake. He stood holding a baby, with his mate, the elf, Teárlach, next to him.

The Alpha Mate and his assistant, Roan, were missing. I assumed since Kade was feeling unwell, Blake had charged Roan with looking after him. Blake’s assistant, Dakota, was there with a grin on his face.

Even the healer was there with his mate, James. I liked them both and hoped that neither had a bad opinion of me after my attack on Chase.

Aldrin ran his healing light over Chase quickly, then pronounced, “maybe you’ll learn some patience and wait before walking into a room.”

I was surprised he was so easily on my side.

“Unlikely,” Chase teased. “No harm done.”

“I beg to differ,” our Alpha said with a somber expression. He met my eyes, only speaking to me, not everyone watching the exchange.

“We’re here to explain something to our newest member of the pack. Here in Sweetwater, we do not tolerate anyone attacking anyone else. Alpha on alpha, beta on alpha, omega on beta.” Blake raised an eyebrow at me. “We are all equals here. When there’s an issue, there’s a process.”

“Is this where you say ‘use your words’ like Mama did?” Chase questioned with a smirk.

“Yes, it is.” Blake moved to address his brother before turning back to me. “We have a chain of command for a reason. Ozyn, I completely understand why you reacted like you did. When Chase interrupted you, you were in a vulnerable position. However, that doesn’t give you an excuse for pinning him like you did.”

“I’d have paid money to see that,” an enforcer remarked.

“Same,” another added. “An omega his size taking on Chase? Awesome!”

Blake didn’t even raise his voice, just continued speaking. “What you should have done was tell Chase to leave, then brought the matter to me since he is my Second. I don’t expect you to defer to your mate on things. Ever. Because what he will tolerate is different from what you can cope with.”

I glanced at Deke, who still held me. He shrugged. “Put me down, please.” He complied, yet held my hand.

“Alpha Blake,” I began tentatively. “I’m sorry about my actions. How I behaved is out of character for me. There is no excuse.”

“Ozyn, you’ve been through a lot. Chase said you were told about Georgia?”

“Yes. I plan on seeking her out soon.”

“Good. There’s something else I wanted to do here today. Not just remind everyone how to handle an inter-pack conflict.”

Blake’s gaze roamed the room, meeting the eyes of many of his pack mates. “We’ve been dealing with a lot recently. Attacks on us have increased since the news broadcast. Mainly Northarbor, but some independent shifters have gotten involved.”

Spending time with Deke in his office, I’d witnessed the fallout from those attacks. He’d been called to fight twice, making my heart rise into my throat until he’d sent someone else. Even though he hated it, he obeyed Aldrin’s decree. Mostly, it was the wing guard who handled the aviary attacks. The birds of the Sweetwater pack were kept busy defending the vulnerable members.

“We are a pack at war for our right to exist. Every day we have to protect the pack from people wishing us harm.”

Those gathered shifted uncomfortably. I got the impression this was out of character for the alpha to talk so openly.

“There’s been a lot of talk in the pack, rumors, gossiping,” he continued. “I want to put them to bed. Most of them are clearly not true. Just because we have relied on allies does not mean the pack is weak. Our fighters are some of the best out there, but even they can be overcome by sneak attacks, people using magic which we can’t fight against, or just be overwhelmed by numbers.”

Blake began unbuttoning his shirt sleeves and rolling them up.

“Word has spread that I’ve gotten soft since I found my mate. They say I’m always ready to hide behind my omega mate and omega brother rather than fight.” His eyes practically glowed with his wolf. “So, if you think you can beat me, give it a try.”

Everyone stood still. No one moved a muscle.

Our Alpha grinned wolfishly. “Come on, now. I thought someone would like to spar with me. Test if I’ve gotten weak.” He dropped into an easy fighting stance.

“To be fair, Alpha, I’ve fought with you before. I don’t recommend it.” That was Larken. I caught him grinning, his arms crossed over his wide chest.

“I’d try, but I’m not allowed to do any high-impact sports for a while,” Deke said from beside me. With his free hand, he tapped his head. “Concussion.”

“There goes your love life!” someone called.

My head whipped around to find the source. I didn’t recognize the guard. He rocked back at my glare.

Taking my hand from Deke’s, I stepped forward. “I’d like to try.”

Blake’s grin widened. “Never fought a dragon before.”

“I’ve never fought a wolf.”

“Careful,” Deke urged. “Blake has his tricks.”

We circled each other for a moment before Dakota called us to fight. I saw how Blake watched my movements and tried not to telegraph where I was going before I sprung.

I darted forward, trying to land a punch. Blocked. Another attempt, only to be stopped once more. Deke was right, each time Blake anticipated how and where I was going to hit him.

I took a strike to my thigh as I tried to center myself, allowing my dragon senses to expand. Blake got another hit in to the same spot, leaving a bruise, before I struck back.

Closing my eyes, I just let the feeling of air moving over me, like it would my wings, tell me where my opponent was. Deke hadn’t given me a fair warning. Blake was much harder to pin down than I thought.

Even with what little dragon magic I had, I still couldn’t get a return strike in. It took all my concentration to just block more hits.

“That’s enough!” Deke called. He got between the two of us, barely missing my fist.

Blake stood, panting. “Damn, that was a workout! I’ve never tested my ability that hard. If you’d be up for it, I’d like to try that again one day.”

It had been freeing to use my magic that way. Stretching muscles I forgot I had felt good too. “I’d like that.”

“How do we even know he can fight?” the same guard who’d made the comment about Deke’s love life asked.

“You fight him, Will, if he’s up for it,” Blake suggested. “See if it’s as easy as it looks.”

Will’s friends hooted and cheered, encouraging him to take the ring.

“Do you want to fight him?” Deke asked, a hand on my shoulder.

I looked up into those pretty silver-blue eyes, grateful for such a caring mate. “I want to.”

“Alright. I’ll be over here watching you knock the stuffing out of him. Leave Will in one piece for Aldrin, would you?”

Blake’s grin was almost as feral as I’d felt when I first got free. I’d never underestimate my Alpha again. If I ever needed him, I knew he’d be able to protect me.

“And, go!” Chase called, signaling the start of the fight.

Will immediately went on the offensive, trying to strike out at me with a combination of punches and kicks. I was too quick for him, dancing away lightly, laughter bubbling up.

His fury was his undoing. He hated seeing me laugh and miss his punches. Will charged forward, aiming straight for me.

I ducked and came up swinging. My attacks all found their mark. His cheek, his jaw, under his chin. Lights out.

He was unconscious before he hit the mat.

“Less than sixty seconds for a complete knockout!” Chase came to me, raising my arm. “Ozyn wins!”

Cheering rang around the room until it was filled with a different sound. Blake went to a locker and picked up his phone.

“Shit! Kade’s in heat!”