Page 8 of Monster’s Redemption (Monsters in the Mountains #9)

Fin’hir

W hy was I torturing myself?

I stared across the cave at the sleeping omega, once again bundled in her furs. Her little whimpers and frowns tore at my chest, trying to pull me closer to soothe her, but I remained firmly atop my bedding. If I moved I knew I’d go to her again, tend the wound on her neck, and end up even deeper in this ridiculous pull between us.

I should send her home. She’d be better off with her own kind.

And yet I wasn’t sure that was true. Clearly at least some human alphas had little regard for omegas and thought they could take them against their will. Would my poor omega end up in the same situation again?

She’s not mine.

My growl echoed back at me before I could snuff it out, Blythe’s form going rigid before she curled into a ball with a whine. Cursing myself, I drew on the softer feelings she created and let out a purr, watching as her body slowly relaxed.

Relief swamped through me before my lips curled back. The tangle in my chest was going to rip me in half or drive me mad. The entire time I’d been out hunting I’d worried about her, caught myself turning back to check on her multiple times before forcing myself to keep going, and then once I was in her presence, all I wanted to do was run.

She’d be fine. Her village isn’t that far, and if she didn’t have me to take care of her, maybe she’d go home like she should.

Her words drifted through my head.

“I can’t trust them. I won’t be protected.”

I barely clenched my teeth around another snarl.

Clan was everything, an extended family where everyone contributed to the good of the whole, and omegas were the heart. They were the mothers, the caregivers, the reason to stay together. They were to be sheltered and protected. They shouldn’t want for anything.

And when the time came, they were claimed by the strongest alpha who would provide for them and keep them safe. It was usually a mutual claim, the omega knowing it was in their best interest, but in rare cases if they were unhappy with the match, they had been known to choose another. The right to claim them was fought over, but in the end, it was their choice if they claimed the alpha in return.

But that wasn’t how the humans did it. I’d heard the tales of Mel’cam and Mel’ar’s mates. Some villages claimed to let the omega choose, but that seemed to be a sham if their stories were true. Blythe said the male I killed had murdered the alpha she’d picked, and if that was allowed to happen, how did any omega really get a choice?

Blythe moved in her bedding, pulling my focus back to her. The bite on her neck looked redder in the firelight than it had when I’d returned earlier, and my mouth watered at the thought of tasting her again. Usually an alpha licked the bite for days after placing his mark, cleaning it and helping it heal faster without the pain such a wound would usually cause, but since I’d killed the male, it wasn’t getting that attention.

I was the cause of her pain.

I was crawling towards her before I realized I was moving. No matter how I fought it, the instincts drove me on.

She needed me.

Dropping my nose to her hair, I drew in the scent of her. Even without the slick and heat pheromones, it still stirred my ridges. I’d been almost constantly hard, to the point that my shaft and balls ached from the strain of it, and being this close only made it worse.

Her neck wasn’t in the same position as it had been the night before where I had easy access to the bite. I had to nudge her head to the side with my snout to have enough room to clean it. I was already salivating at the thought, and the first touch of my tongue to her flesh almost had me moaning in her ear.

Fuck .

She’d cleaned it at the stream earlier so the flavor of blood was gone, but I was still addicted to the taste of her. I kept licking long past when I’d done what was necessary, only pulling away when her breathing grew heavier and she rolled onto her back.

She was so tiny. Her legs were barely the thickness of my arms, and just my chest covered her from head to belly. I’d seen for myself that Mel’cam and Mel’ar had claimed humans, even scented pregnancy on one of their omegas before I left, but it was still hard to believe Blythe’s little body could take mine.

And what would grow in her womb?

The thought had me pulling back before I did what my body urged and covered her. The uncertainty of what would come of a union of our kinds was what had finally driven me from my home, my mind unwilling to accept the possibility that everything would be okay.

Surely Fate hadn’t meant for our kinds to cross in this way.

I moved to withdraw further but watched as she shivered even beneath the furs I’d given her. She’d kept her second layer of covering on since it had been a colder day than the previous, but it still seemed like she wasn’t warm enough. She’d collected more wood for the fire while I’d hunted, but I couldn’t make it any bigger without risking her safety since she already slept as close to it as she could.

If it had been one of my clansmen I wouldn’t have hesitated.

Her being human wasn’t even what kept me frozen in place.

It was the fear that once I had her in my arms, I wouldn’t want to let her go. That she’d wake to me holding her close for warmth and be frightened, and then decide to do what she should have, and go back to her people.

I didn’t want her to go. I wanted to endure the torture to see if this pull was more than a one-sided fluke.

My knee moved backwards, my mind set on returning to my bed, but a wet sniffle and her chin trembling had me going the direction I shouldn’t. I barely breathed as I climbed over her, settling my bulk between her and the wall of the cave.

I’d wake before her and move.

She’d never know.

My purr came unbidden as I carefully placed my arm over her smaller form, wrapping her as much as I was able while trying not to touch her. Sandwiched between me and the fire, the tension slowly drained from her body and her breathing slowed, deep sleep taking over where she’d been restless before.

I was just doing the right thing. What I’d do for anyone in need.