Rough (Alpha Brotherhood 3)

He shook his head, and for some insane reason, his refusal to accept me threw me off guard. I wasn’t ready to say I was upset by it, but it was unexpected all the same. I tried to rein in my emotions. It proved difficult.

“Let me tell you how it is going to be, Ariana. You will present yourself as a king’s omega is expected to. You will speak only when spoken to. You will kneel by my feet and serve me whenever I ask it of you. You will be safe at my side, but I will not touch you like an alpha touches an omega,” he said quietly, his voice just loud enough for me to hear.

“If you do not want me, why keep me?” I answered curtly.

“I cannot refuse a gift from the men that gave you to me. It would be disrespectful,” he whispered. His dark green eyes turned back toward me and I realized there were distinctive flecks of yellow in them. On further study, they were quite regal to behold.

A knock sounded on the door and he stiffened before it opened.

“Kneel, omega,” he demanded. He cocked his head to the side arrogantly and pointed cruelly at the floor. I reluctantly knelt down on the fur carpet and sat back on my heels, waiting for what would come next. It wouldn’t do any good to make a scene now.

Three men walked in the door. I studied them carefully. They were dressed in simple finery that spoke of their station. Light brown leather tunics covered their chests, embellished with fox fur mantles on their shoulders. Each one wore a necklace that signified their role. One wore a carved stone hand, an insignia that represented the hand of the king. The second wore one signifying that he was the master of coin and the third wore one signifying he was the reigning commander of Kingsworth’s forces. They were three men of a much larger group that gathered as the king’s council, a royal court that advised the king on matters of great political and financial importance.

They strode in with gleeful grins.

“It is time for your crowning, my king,” the hand of the king began. His brown eyes glanced from me to him knowingly and his smile grew even more salacious. “I’m very much looking forward to the festivities,” he added as he glanced up and down my body.

I forced myself to suppress a snarl of disgust at his obvious interest.

“Then let us join. Come, omega,” Magnar responded. He offered me an arm and I took it a bit tentatively. The advisors chuckled and turned to leave the room. Magnar took several steps and led me along to the door, before he leaned down and whispered a word of warning into my ear.

“It would be in your best interest to be obedient in the eyes of those watching, my pretty omega. I don’t know where you come from, but here in Kingsworth, a defiant omega is punished rather harshly. You would do well to remember that,” he said softly.

“Yes, Alpha,” I spat.

I didn’t need him to remind me. I already knew I was in danger just by being here. I would use this match of convenience to my own advantage.

The cruel, arrogant king wouldn’t stop me from achieving what I was sent here to do.

I would listen. I would learn and I would figure out how to destroy the Cult of the Blood Moon from the inside out.

Chapter 2

Magnar

She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Her blonde hair shone white in the sunlight, sparkling like the light of the moon so much that I yearned to touch it and run my fingers through it. Her icy blue eyes drew me in. She had the delicate features of an omega, a small frame, a thin waist that curved out to her hips, firm pert breasts that would fit in the palm of my hand. There was something else about her, a certain strength in her poise, in the way she looked back at me. She wasn’t afraid of me like everyone else.

She should be. She didn’t know what kind of monster she was looking back at in open challenge.

The arrival of the beautiful omega was quite unexpected and entirely unwanted. Her brilliant blue eyes had met mine without fear and with so much innocence that it tore at the blackness of my heart. I had never wanted a bride. I lived a far too dangerous life to take one, but when the leaders of the Cult of the Blood Moon gave a gift, I knew better than to refuse them.

It was through them that I had been granted the throne of Kingsworth, a role I’d worked long and hard to earn. I’d killed men. I’d usurped others and I’d taken their power for myself, not caring who or what I hurt in my climb up the ranks.

I’d been under the Cult’s wing for so long I almost wondered if I had become a

s evil as they were. I was deep undercover, placed here so long ago by a man who had led the Alpha Brotherhood. Sometimes I wondered where my loyalties lay and other times, I remembered the cruelty of the Cult I’d been sent to infiltrate.

I’d killed to get where I was. I’d slain whoever was necessary by following a code of my own. Along the way, I’d done whatever I could to avoid hurting any women or children. When ordered to kill them, I made them disappear into exile so that they would never be seen or heard of again. I lived by that vow and the appearance of this omega threatened that immensely. I didn’t know if the Cult was testing me, but one thing was for certain.

I couldn’t trust her, and I would never take her as my mate. I couldn’t risk it.

My cock disagreed. The scent of her at my side was torture, a soft fragrance of wildflowers, cherry blossoms, and raspberries all around her, but that all paled to the aroma of the slick dripping in between her thighs.

Her omega wanted my alpha. I wasn’t going to give that to her.

Carefully, I widened the distance between us. If she noticed, she said nothing at all, and I didn’t press the issue. If anything, she sighed with relief. When we reached the grand hall, it was already full of the royal court, all of my advisors, and whoever else was rich enough to secure a seat for the celebration of the new king. It was a grand showing of the Cult’s finances and power and I would be their crowning achievement this day.

If I hadn’t worked so hard to get here, it would sicken me. I didn’t let even a hint of that show as I walked into the room. I observed the attendees with indifference and walked up on the raised area where the king and his royal advisors were expected to sit. I tugged the reluctant omega at my side along with me. There was a chair at the center meant to mimic my throne, created from the bones of the men I’d slain on the battlefield and those of my enemies that had tried and failed to take me down along the way. I sat down and the crowd roared.