Konnor and His Omega Mate (Love Slaves of the Alphas 3)

Konnor grinned at him. “I want you to ride with me, Blondie. It’s so much fun. Nikolai and Jagger are coming too, so we can race. ”

The idea of sitting on the back of a huge half-bird, half lizard while it soared over the treetops didn’t seem exciting to Ethan. Terrifying, maybe…

“I…uh…I think I’m afraid of heights. ”

Konnor looked at him in amazement. “What? That’s just silly. I’ll be with you the whole time,” he said with supreme confidence. “You’ll love it. ”

Ethan was pretty sure he wouldn’t love it, but he kept quiet and stared straight ahead. They were getting closer to the stables where the vetamis were being kept, and he could see a tall, muscular figure already there, standing next to a smaller, more elegant man with a long curtain of dark hair.

“There’s Nikolai now with his little prince,” Konnor said. “It’s about time you got acquainted more with my family and their mates. ”

Ethan nodded. “I’d like to meet them. Did you say Jagger is a prince?”

“Yes, from Jayron. And he’s something. Beautiful, as you can see, but also very imperious and demanding and hard to please. I understand all of that changes when they close the door to their bedroom. ” Konnor turned to him with a twinkle in his eye.

“Really? Ethan’s raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

“Oh, yes,” he said with a laugh. They parked the jeep, and Konnor jumped out to catch his cousin in a big hug. They started joking and wrestling with each other while Jagger came forward with his hand outstretched.

“Hello, Ethan. I’m Jagger. This is probably going to take a while, so I decided to go ahead and introduce myself, since my mate can’t be bothered. ”

The mate in question was currently on his back on the ground, holding Konnor in a headlock. Ethan shook his hand and smiled at him. “I’m very glad to meet you, too, Jagger. Konnor said you were from Jayron. ”

Jagger brightened immediately. “Yes, do you know it? It’s a small planet, and kind of old- fashioned. Not much technology. We actually held Niki prisoner there for a while. Long story I’ll have to tell you sometime. ” He glanced down at Nikolai fondly, shaking his head. “Maybe I should have kept his leash. It might have come in handy. ”

Ethan’s eyes grew wide. “His leash? You put an alpha on a leash? I can’t even imagine. ”

Jagger laughed gaily. He was exotic looking, small, with long, silky navy blue hair and slanted eyes of a color that perfectly matched his hair. He really was quite beautiful, especially when he laughed. “Of course, it was all a sham on his part, but he fooled me for a while. ” He took one slender booted foot and dug into his mate’s side. “Are you quite finished rolling around in the dirt, Niki? I want to ride. ”

Nikolai got to his feet, pushing Konnor off him with a parting cuff to his ear that would have probably knocked Ethan flat. Konnor seemed unfazed by it and dusted himself off as he came toward Ethan and put a proprietary arm around Ethan’s waist. “Nikolai, Jagger, this is my…uh…this is Ethan. ”

Nikolai grabbed him in a big hug, slanting a smirking look over at Konnor, who pulled Ethan back possessively and shoved Nikolai away. “Maul Jagger, why don’t you? Leave Ethan alone,” Konnor said, but his tone was good natured, and it w

as obvious the two were very close.

Ethan glanced over to see Jagger regarding him closely. Jagger was so elegant in his black, silk tunic and leggings that Ethan felt like a big, overgrown ox next to him. But Jagger put him at ease right away by putting a warm hand on his arm and fingering his sweater. “This is lovely. Did it come from the local shops?”

Ethan looked down at himself. He was wearing new dark pants and a rich red sweater that was soft and probably expensive, though Konnorwouldn’t tell him how much it had cost. He’d gone out a few days before with Ethan in tow, and bought him an entire wardrobe of clothing and shoes and coats, paying no attention to his protests about the cost.

“Yes,” Ethan said. “The one on the corner by our house. The shopkeeper said it was Meruvian wool. ”

Jagger raised his eyebrows. “Ooh, nice. I think this color would look very goodon me, don’t you, Niki?”

Niki put an arm around his mate. “Anything looks good on you, princeling. ” He dropped a kiss on the top of Jagger’s head, and Jagger punched him in the arm.

“Watch the hair,” he rolled his eyes at Ethan. “It’s like living with a giant, badly behaved puppy. ”

Nikolai grabbed him and bent him back across his arm, kissing him thoroughly, and completely ignoring his attempts to kick his way out of the embrace by wrapping a leg around Jagger’s to keep him still. When Jagger finally gave in and stopped struggling, he let him up for air, but kept an arm around his shoulders. “Fortunately,” he said with a smirk. “Jagger loves puppies. ”

“Idiot,” Jagger murmured, but Ethan saw his lips twist up a bit at the corners. “Why don’t you lie on your back, and I’ll rub your tummy. ”

“You first,” Nikolai said with a leer and kissed his mate again.

Konnor began pulling Ethan toward the stables. “C’mon, Nikolai, you can play with your mate later. Let’s go get our vetamis so I can beat your ass in a race. ”

“Yeah, you wish,” Nikolai said, tugging Jagger along by the hand as he followed.

As they entered the stable, Ethan noticed a strong, gamey smell coming off the beasts. They were behind large metal wire doors in their big stalls, and Jagger pulled Ethan up to a door on the end. “Hello, Jaxx, I’ve come to show you who’s boss again. ” The big creature ignored them completely.