Savage (Alpha Brotherhood 1)

Now that I was away from Aric, my inner omega had seemingly quieted down. My alpha was now rearing her head once more as I sat across from another alpha. There was nothing about him that made me want to submit to him. Thranar simply seemed to make my alpha angry and I did nothing to quell it. I let her rise unabated.

“I think we could be good friends, Freya, you and I. Perhaps our interests lie in the same vein,” he began, finally giving me a clue as to why he was here. Maybe he wanted an alliance or maybe he felt threatened by my recent conquests that had expanded the borders of Valgertha. Perhaps he wanted to make sure his city of Ravenrath wasn’t next on my agenda. I hadn’t planned on it, but the way this meeting was going, I might reconsider where I sent my armies going forward.

His eyes dropped to look at the swell of my breasts and his gaze lingered there for far too long. When his stare returned to my own, I could feel him boring into me, searching for answers that I wasn’t yet ready

to reveal. He looked at me slowly, ensuring that I saw him do it so that I could feel every chilling moment. My upper lip rolled just slightly, and I glared back at him, feeling my sense of unease grow with each passing moment. I wasn’t about to give him what he wanted though. Not a fucking chance.

He picked up a strawberry off the silver platter in front of him, biting it in a way that made my insides crawl with disgust.

“I think you and I could work well together,” he suggested. “Valgertha and Ravenrath together. We could be quite strong, you and I.”

“I’m quite strong all on my own, Thranar,” I replied, leaning forward and taking a piece of meat into my fingers. I gathered a slice of brie and pressed it against the lean sausage, before I took a bite of it myself. He watched me eat with a growing smirk, clearly catching the warning in my tone.

“That you are, Freya, but we could be stronger together. As one,” he continued.

“What exactly are you suggesting?”

“If you were my queen and I was your king, think of the land we could take if we brought our forces together. Think of the raw power we would have,” he said. He was seemingly careful to keep his tone light and free of any suggestion that it would be anything other than my choice, but I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it. I knew enough about his reputation to know that this wasn’t like him and I trusted my instincts enough to know that the slimy feeling in the pit of my belly was one that I needed to pay attention to.

“Thranar, you’ve taken a woman already for yourself. You have your very own omega, yes?” I pressed, cocking my head with interest. I’d heard rumors of him taking a mate. I’d also heard that it was very much against her will. He wasn’t the type of man to care.

“Luna? She’s expendable. You need not worry about her,” he said gruffly and that sickening sensation inside me grew even more intense.

Alphas and omegas mated for life. If a pair bond was ever severed, like an omega being cast aside, it would cause great pain to them both. Had he forced the bond on her? Had she completed it by marking him back?

Even now, I could feel the initial pangs of the bond between myself and Aric. It was only partially formed. When I returned the bite and chose him for myself, the bond would be fully forged and irreversible. If I decided to. When I decided to. Fuck.

I took a sip of wine to cover up my thoughts of the irresistible alpha upstairs waiting in my chambers and forced myself to focus on Thranar instead. His eyes studied me intensely, waiting to see what I said next.

“Unless you want to share her with me, Freya,” he said next, his grin growing exponentially. It made me feel unclean and not in a good way.

“I’m not interested in something like that, Thranar,” I scoffed.

“Then I will see to it that she is dealt with. It would bring me far more pleasure to have an alpha in my bed rather than a tiny omega,” he chided.

It was very bold of him to assume I’d be willing to bend for him that way. Very bold indeed.

“It is not in my nature to belong to an alpha,” I countered.

“That’s not the rumors I’ve heard your staff whispering when they didn’t think I was listening, Freya,” he responded brazenly. He stared at me and sniffed the air. “I can smell him on you, even as we sit here together.”

My neck burned, covered up by my long hair. Aric’s bite would be visible there, clear evidence that an alpha had claimed me for his own. I growled in warning.

“I am a queen. I can have whoever I want whenever I please,” I replied carefully.

“Is that something you regularly take part in then? Do you enjoy that royal alpha cunt leaking with alpha seed?” he asked, leaning forward and pressing his elbows on the table. I snarled even more loudly this time, warning him that I was increasingly becoming displeased. He didn’t seem to care.

I didn’t like where this was going. Not even in the slightest.

“So, let me make sure I’m understanding you. You’ve come all the way here to offer your cock and nothing else?” I asked, taking a sip of wine and ignoring the way he was intentionally pressing my buttons. He was trying to get a rise out of me, and I wouldn’t be goaded into acting irrationally. I would be better than that and better than him.

“I could give you the world, Freya. You need only take it,” he chuckled. “But you’d need to bounce up and down on top of my dick first.”

I simply chuckled, feigning my amusement, and his jaw ticked with restrained annoyance.

“If you have nothing else to offer, I suggest you enjoy the food and wine my people have prepared for you and leave in the morning,” I replied coldly, shaking my head. I moved to stand and leave.

“Wait, Freya. Perhaps I misread you,” he added. He was careful to keep the threat out of his voice this time and I slowly sat back down, watching him warily. Even though he tried to hide it, there was still an air of danger around him and I didn’t let my guard down, not even for a second.