Page 6 of The Alpha’s Forced Omega (Alaska Alpha Wolves #1)

Riding the wave of the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I can’t bear to see Elias resting as if nothing had happened. Now that I’m standing before him, it’s nearly impossible to ignore how fragrant he is, inhaling his potent scent in.

The cocktail of sweetness and citrusy tartness is exquisite on my tongue, fueling the venom that escapes when I speak my mind.

Just because he’s the main alpha of the Snehvolk Pack didn’t give him the right to come between me and what would have been the height of my existence.

I could have fought the demon. With the way I’m feeling now, stronger and fearless than ever, I’m certain I would have found a way to immobilize it.

Sure, I had a moment of weakness in the initial presence of the alpha, but my fight or flight instincts would have surely kicked in just in time to save my life.

Perhaps I’m running on fumes right now, the remnants of being a match against the demon when the Alpha could barely touch the spirit, but it must count for something.

“You do realize that you wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for me?” he taunts with a haughty chuckle, leaning back against the sofa with one brow raised skeptically.

“You distracted me!” I accuse, hands planted on my hips as I scold him. I have no idea where this boldness comes from, except that it feels right to finally be brave enough to speak my mind and stand up against the alpha.

It feels like I can finally get justice for how badly he hurt me in the past, even if I refuse to acknowledge what happened back then.

Even now, my heart does a tiny flip when my eyes rake over him, how he’s casually splayed out over the sofa, the veins coursing beneath the richest, creamiest honey-golden skin of his arms, pulsing with his natural heat.

Absentmindedly letting the tip of my tongue skim my bottom lip, I catch myself before falling victim to the alpha’s inherent charms.

So what if his hazel eyes are speckled with gold glow as if he’s sizing me up?

So what if those dexterous fingers promise a plethora of pleasure that I will never get to experience?

So what if I was once in love with him because of what I wrongfully thought was his kindness?

There isn’t an ounce of that kindness evident in those eyes that I once thought were warm.

“I distracted you?” he scoffs. “I’m the one who saved you when you were clearly about to give up.”

“Yeah! Only because you were there! You distracted me when I was about to take that thing down!”

“This is stupid, Aurora. Go to bed,” he says flatly, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes.

With the way I’m feeling right now, I can’t stand idly by and accept defeat. I’ve been called many hurtful, belittling names in my life, and “stupid” is one of them. Triggered by his words and his lack of interest in what I have to say, I take a bold step forward and grunt to get his attention.

“It is not stupid, Elias!” I bleat. “I was on the verge of discovering—aah!” I wail when a smarting pain rips through my lower belly and spreads out through every fiber in my core.

Oh no…

It’s happening again…

Biting on my inner lip to get a semblance of control over the nagging ache between my thighs, it must appear as if I’m pursing my lips, refusing to say the words hanging on the tip of my tongue.

Elias becomes curious, a frown tugging his brows as he leans forward.

“On the verge of what, Aurora?”

I whimper and mewl, my cheeks heating with embarrassment when I have to clamp my thighs shut to stop a puddle of heat from slipping into my panties. It’s happening again, but this time, my mind turns foggy, and the only air I’m breathing is full of his scent.

It’s intoxicating, and I’m on the verge of losing my mind as I lose control of my bodily functions, my limbs quivering with a desperate need for something to burst out of me.

The sensations rolling over my body are alarming, forcing me to shake my head in disbelief as Elias cocks his head speculatively.

“Aurora…?” he asks sternly, but I continue shaking my head—a head that feels like it’s going to float off into the void any second now.

With what’s left of my sanity, even as it hangs by a thread, I spin on my heel and bolt for the first door I can find, knowing that behind it, I’ll find a safety net. Much like the cave, the bedroom is a sanctuary that houses my vessel as it succumbs to a nagging ache between my thighs.

Keeling over as my arms hug my waist, I kick off my shoes somewhere along my journey to the bed, sighing with relief when my knees hit the mattress.

“This will pass,” I chant to myself, repeating the mantra as I shut my eyelids and fall forward on the bed. The only compensation for Elias finding me in the woods is the comfort of a bed instead of cold, moist rocks.

I lug in deep breaths through puckered lips, clutching my belly while the covered spot between my thighs tingles with need even more intense than I’d experienced in the forest. Shutting my eyes in an attempt to see the silhouette of the man who brought with him a mild sense of soothing to the pain, I struggle to find him.

“Where are you…?” I whimper despondently, tipping over on my left side as I curl my knees toward my chest when the shadowy figure doesn’t appear to quell my pain. Sweat beads my forehead and drips down onto the pillow, joining the tears of anguish that slip out from my eyes.

“Aurora…? What’s going on?”

Elias’s gentler voice startles me, and I throw my eyes open to find him towering over me beside the bed, blocking out the light, his tall, muscled form appearing like the silhouette of the stranger behind my eyelids during my first bout of heat.

Shrieking in surprise, I quickly scamper backward, scrambling toward the pillows on the bed for safety.

I must look as messy as I’m feeling, because Elias drags his eyes over me and frowns when his gaze returns to my face.

It isn’t an angry frown, but one that appears almost concerned.

“Aurora…?”

I shake my head ardently, determined not to reveal what is happening right now. But remaining silent gives me a moment to gauge his reaction as he moves in closer and leans over as if he’s about to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

Is that…is that the kindness I once suspected in the alpha? Has that kindness emerged now in the face of the excruciating adversity of my heat?

I can’t accept it when I’m hauled back to the memory of his blunt rejection when I hastily admitted that I was in love with him. The pain I felt back then was worse than the infliction of this heat, and I refuse to accept this facade.

“Go away!” I yell out, hot sensations clawing my insides, and screaming when he takes a seat. I gather my knees to my chest and hug them for protection despite the wave of comfort washing over me when he’s closer.

“I’m not going away, Aurora,” he says in a measured tone. “Were you hurt tonight? Did the demon hurt you? Is that why you’re in pain?”

Disarmed by the sweetness in his voice, I stare at him through confused eyes, blinking in disbelief as my jaw drops slightly. The pain I’d been grappling with subsides enough to leave only a dull, tingling sensation between my thighs.

Weakened by the alpha’s sudden care, I have to actively remind myself that tonight was no accident. I encountered the demon because of Elias.

I wouldn’t have fled Girdwood if it weren’t for his rejection in the past.

And I would have been able to fully immerse myself in my mystic abilities against the demon if it weren’t for the distraction.

Nothing Elias says or does can work in his favor, and I will never open my heart to trusting him again, even if he appears to be a doting alpha who’s concerned about a pack member under his leadership.

It’s all a ruse, even if my body betrays me when the tingles rolling through my nerves pulse as if amplified by his presence. An intangible force stirs from within my being as if drawn toward him, my eyes flicking to the hand he has propped on the blanket.

My mind wanders to heinous thoughts of having his hands all over me—touching, caressing, groping my plump curves and administering pleasure.

No!

“Talk to me, Aurora,” he persists, his voice remaining low and considerate.

I shake my head profusely, wrestling with the reignition of the pain low in my belly.

“No!” I snap, both at him and at my body that refuses to comply with my need to be still. “I don’t wanna talk to you, Elias! Go away!”

Elias sighs irritably, taking a deep breath for composure as he remains unwilling to leave.

He swoops in closer, the light gust of air carrying with it another intoxicating string of his masculine essence.

I’m about to lose my mind, angry that he won’t leave me alone while fighting the desire to be closer.

“I am your alpha, Aurora,” he declares, sovereignly as he leans in. “I demand—”

He stops abruptly, his brows knitting as he meets my eyes with an accusing stare.

His nose scrunches when he sniffs the air, a bestial rumble puffing out his chest. In the silence that follows, the feral sound erupts from deep within him, escaping his parted lips as his hazel eyes twinkle with recognition.

“You’re in heat…” he murmurs, his voice dropping a crucial octave lower to sound brute.

A shiver courses down my spine, my cheeks heating with more embarrassment. I want to crawl underneath something and hide away forever.

I can’t believe he figured this out, but it must be because my heat is too strong in his presence.

Tearing my gaze from his, I turn my face and shield it with a curtain of my gold tresses of hair.

“Go away…” I whimper this time, my voice squeamish as I plead with him.

“No,” he says firmly, and then does the unthinkable.

He touches my knee, and I’m struck by a lightning bolt of awareness that snaps my head back to him with a ruthless glare. With just one touch, he reignites the flames of my anger, adrenaline surging through me as I snap at him. “Elias!”

“Aurora!” he bites back, suddenly closing the gap between us and snatching my nape with a forceful hand.

My breath hitches when I have nowhere to hide from his penetrating eyes, darker now as they stare into the depths of my being. My heart is pounding, my mouth is going dry as I forget how to breathe. I’m mesmerized by his closeness, his touch, his mere breath as the heat fans my face.

My undoing is flicking my eyes to his succulent lips, because when I meet his burning stare again, I witness him matching my curiosity as those brooding eyes fall on my mouth. When he lifts them, they're vibrantly dark, and a sigh escapes my parted lips with consent.

He pulls me in harshly as he crushes his lips to mine. A wave of relief washes over me, startling me as the torment of my heat subsides.

This is exactly what I wanted—to feel his lips on mine—even before I experienced a heat cycle. I wanted this years ago, and now that it’s here, and I get to taste the rich, inebriating essence of his mouth, there’s only one problem that sticks out like a sore thumb.

He breaks the kiss, and the short breaths I’m able to grab allow me to admit, “I’ve never done this before…”