To Seduce an Omega (4 page)

When she struggled and kicked at his shins, she almost overbalanced. Only his hold on her wrist kept her from falling as he backed her toward the flimsy wall. His grin turned feral, and when he growled, his fangs dropped.

She struggled harder, slapping out with her free hand and trying to thrust her knee into his balls. His primal beast cried out for him to tame her and make her his. Instead, he gathered both her wrists in his huge hand and forced her arms over her head. Using his superior height and weight, he pinned her against the wall.

The fight went out of her. Her head dropped, and her shoulders drooped. Tears shone in the corners of her eyes. Then her spine stiffened, and her head shot up as she refused to give his beasts the submission they craved.

She looked vulnerable but acted so ridiculously brave that he needed to kiss her. When he touched his lips to hers, his kiss turned demanding and dominant, a punishment for every pack member she’d overcharged or neglected.

At first, she stayed unresponsive. Gradually, she relaxed as he forced his tongue between her lips. Her animalistic whimper drove his inner beasts wild. His free hand stroked her breasts and gently pinched each of her nipples in turn. The way she thrust her shoulders back and pushed her perfectly formed breasts into his hand soothed the anger in his soul.

For the first time since Jilly had rejected him, he felt whole. When Viola moaned and rubbed her chest against him, he slid his hand down to her cunt and fingered her through the thin fabric of her skirt. A possessive growl—more a delighted purr than a threat—rumbled through his chest.

He breathed deeper, pulling her rose-and-lavender essence into his lungs. Intoxicated by her, he swiped his tongue across her lips, then invaded her mouth. Her soft sigh overflowed with longing. When she kissed him back, her mouth tasted of sweet herbs and summer days. Kissing her was a taste of the paradise his mate had denied him. He chuckled against her lips, then trapped her between his thighs as he yanked up her skirt. That was when she bit down on his tongue. He made an inarticulate howl as her teeth pierced his tongue and his blood filled his mouth.

His inner wolves chuffed in amusement, baying and telling him to slow down and woo her. And damn, his tongue throbbed as she clamped her teeth down on it. He dropped her wrists and dug his fingers between her ribs.

When she squealed, her jaw dropped open, and he shoved her away. She slid sideways, toppled to the floor, and lay sprawled at his feet.
What sort of man am I to beat up on harmless women?
He should be used to feeling guilty by now, but hurting the hedgewitch didn’t sit right.

He hadn’t meant to send her sprawling in the dirt. Mistreating a woman sucked, even one with a mercenary streak so wide he could play football on it. This woman drove him crazy, and if he stayed longer, he’d betray everything Jilly had meant to him. He hauled Viola back to her feet, walked around her, and stalked out the door.

The neat rows of vegetables and herbs outside showed she cared more for her garden than her patients. At the far end of the herb bed, she’d painted a target on a tree trunk. Judging by the number of arrows scattered around it, the healer’s archery needed as much work as her attitude.

As he doubled back down the road, he collected his oversize kitbag before setting out for Prowlerville. Once he took over as alpha, his first task would be to bring in a new healer. One without mysterious blue eyes and a body that made his natural wolf want to lick every inch of her flesh. While he added securing the Rock Prowlers a new healer to his mental to-do list, his conscience wondered what would happen to Viola if he displaced her. Still, pack mattered more than a lone she-wolf, no matter how much thinking about her made his balls ache.

He heaved his bag over his shoulder and strode on toward the town. The way wildflowers and weeds choked the life out of crops appalled him. The nearer he got to Prowlerville, the worse the neglect seemed.

Since Lykae couldn’t flash somewhere they hadn’t been, King Caleb had offered to flash him directly to Prowlerville, but Titus had preferred to make his own way. As he strolled down the road, he swore at every neglected field or untended garden. Before long, he realized the local Lykae had lost their connection with the land.

Wolves needed forests and game, but their human side enjoyed eating and drinking. While game seemed plentiful, other foodstuffs would be in short supply soon. If the Rock Prowler pack weren’t natural farmers, they should hire someone in to tend their land. Once he took up over as alpha, he’d start a roster and see that every Lykae, whatever their status, took on their share of the chores.

He tried to concentrate on anything but the healer’s curves. The way she’d sighed and responded to his kiss had felt like a glimpse of paradise. His primal beast roared inside him and demanded he turn back and claim her. His human side told him to keep walking. She didn’t want him, but he shouldn’t have turned on her the way he had. Whatever his form, he knew better than to attack a woman—however greedy or heart-stoppingly sexy she seemed.

The few outlying properties he passed had loose shutters or missing shingles. Ahead, a substantial bridge crossed the river, and alongside it sat a burned-out mill. Blackened fragments of walls pointed at the sky like angry fingers. A millrace channeled the river to where a waterwheel must have stood. He wondered where the pack milled their flour now. Maybe if he decided to stick around, he’d build his home here.

Each step toward the town saw his anger build. No respectable pack would let this neglect go on. King Caleb had been right to send Titus here, and even without meeting the pack, he knew they needed a better alpha—someone who could remind them of their Lykae heritage—but he hadn’t decided whether to stay or move on. That depended on Fleur. The Lykae king had left that decision to him.

Titus had a few questions to ask the current alpha, but he’d most likely up sticks after he’d put some backbone into the Rock Prowler pack. Deep down, he was too angry to be alpha.

Chapter Four

The Rock Prowler land called to Titus as nothing had since Jilly waltzed out of his life. Well, maybe Viola did, but he was practically engaged to Fleur—a woman he hadn’t met yet. Sometimes he wondered what had gone on in Jilly’s head. He deserved better than the cold shoulder she’d shown him. Hell, a farewell note would have been good after everything he’d given up to protect her. The occasional smile in his direction would have been better, though.

Once she’d left him, nothing had mattered. Hard as he’d tried to move on, anger and guilt boiled inside him. The only time he’d felt whole was when he’d kissed Viola, but even that brief pleasure left him racked with guilt. After the Fates bound him to Jilly, he shouldn’t lust after any other woman. He’d never been fickle before.

In return for his new wife handing him the Rock Prowler Pack on a plate, he’d give her position and power, but not his heart. That had shattered when Jilly left.

Once Titus sobered up from his year-and-a-half-long binge, King Caleb offered him a chance of a new life. Titus just needed to swallow what little pride Jilly had left him and wed the alpha’s daughter. As long as she could stand to be in the same room as him, it wouldn’t be that bad—but he’d have to get that selfish healer out of his head first.

A cart ambled down the track toward him, then pulled up at his side. The driver tipped back his hat. “Are you the wolf that found my Tansy?”

Titus wondered why the driver hadn’t flashed straight to her side. If it had been Titus’s mate lying in the hedgewitch’s hut, nothing would have kept him away, but this wolf arrived by horse and cart. Poor Tansy deserved better.

Titus bottled his anger and nodded. “I found her huddled in a murder thorn, half-conscious and whimpering in pain. I took her to your pack’s healer.”

The driver leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I’m glad she had enough sense to take refuge there. After today, I won’t let her out of my sight again in a hurry.”

Titus scowled. “Someone shot an arrow into her leg and left her to bleed out. Have you made any enemies lately?”

After an anxious glance over his shoulder, the driver gave Titus an appraising look. “I’m saying nothing, but you should watch your back while you’re on Rock Prowler territory. A wise man would hurry on to wherever he was headed and avoid the town.”

The driver’s fear hung around him in a sour-smelling miasma. Something was seriously wrong with this pack. After seeing the neglected buildings and badly farmed land, Titus knew this was somewhere he could make a difference, and he was glad King Caleb had sent him.

Much as Titus wanted to question the driver further, the man clammed up, eager to travel on to his true-mate. Titus tramped off toward Prowlerville. “I’ll think on your words. I paid the healer. Don’t let that grasping hedgewitch charge you again.”

* * * *

Viola trembled as she lay on the hut’s mud floor. She’d almost drowned in Titus’s kiss. Then she’d panicked when she realized her lips were locked with the sort of man who beat up on others just because he could. But even when he’d shoved her away, she’d known he never meant to hurt her.

The touch of his lips had sent sensual heat shooting straight to her nipples. In a desperate need to get his attention, they’d chafed beneath her bra. When he’d cupped her breasts, she’d wriggled in closer and moaned for more.

For one wild moment, she’d wanted him to screw her right there on the hut’s mud floor. She’d wanted his cock buried inside her while he dominated her with more of his soul-stealing kisses. Thankfully, she’d remembered he was the enemy before she opened her legs wide and wrapped them around his waist.

Before his arrival, her sex drive had been an annoying itch she needed to scratch. Now lust boiled through her blood. She needed his hands on her breasts and his cock in her pussy.
Why is coming into season so hard?

Except his allegiance to Zebadiah, everything about Titus delighted her. From now on, her dreams would be full of raunchy images. Later, when she relaxed in her bed, she’d masturbate until she climaxed and satisfy her sexual urges.

She wondered if his cock would taste as sharp on her tongue as his attitude had been on her senses—like meat marinated in a sweet-and-sour sauce. That had been her favorite meal back when she’d been welcome at her father’s table. Or maybe if she flicked her tongue over his cock, he’d taste as tart as unsweetened grapefruit or apples that hadn’t ripened in the sun. He’d certainly behaved as if his innards were sour.

She didn’t know if she should regret her moment of sanity or be grateful she’d shoved him away. Her body thrummed for a man who used his kisses to punish her. As if she hadn’t been hurt enough to last a lifetime. At least biting his tongue had kept her pride intact, but pride didn’t make her nipples tingle or her pussy damp.

The way he’d strode off without a backward glance crushed the brief flare of hope that had fired up in her heart. She’d never expected him to stay, and at least he hadn’t hit her when she sank her teeth into his tongue. Zebadiah’s usual bruisers would have rubbed her nose in her weakness and taunted her for her inability to turn primal. Once they’d finished beating on her, of course.

Thanks to the built-up shoe Elspeth had persuaded the clog maker to make for Viola, her limp was barely discernable. Her beating—a twelfth-birthday present from her father—had left her body broken, but inner beasts had risen up, eager to fight off Zebadiah’s thugs. They’d not been strong enough to survive the sustained attack, and they’d died at the hands of her father’s private army.

As she’d healed she’d told Elspeth she felt lucky to have survived. Much as her words had been heartfelt, she always mourned the part of her that died. Tears had trickled down her cheeks as she’d watched Titus walk away, but she wiped them away on the back of her hand. He’d woken her dormant emotions, then left her angry, frustrated and…eager for more.

Daniel would be here soon, not that Viola thought of him in a sensual way. Before he met Tansy, he’d sniffed around Viola, but they’d only ever been friends. In an effort to look civilized, Viola ran a comb through her hair, straightened her gown, and limped to the doorway. As she leaned on the door frame, she watched a flatbed wagon make its slow approach.

Her thoughts drifted back to Titus. She’d always pictured her first kiss as being wonderful and pure. Instead, he’d slammed his lips against hers, heated her blood, and sent her spirit soaring skyward. With hindsight, she wanted to wash her mouth with mint tea. That or yell for him to come back and bed her.

It had taken guts to carve his way into the heart of a murder thorn to rescue a stranger. He could have kept moving and said nothing or sent a rescue party from town. Instead, he’d risked his own safety to save Tansy.

No matter what Viola’s common sense said, her body cried out for Titus to kiss her again. Her lips felt dry and far too naked without his mouth pressed against them, and her cunt overheated when she imagined his cock pumping in her pussy. Zebadiah would send his bullies to take the throat of any wolf she took to her bed, but Titus embodied everything she wanted in a lover, except for his allegiance to the alpha. He’d left her aching and needy when he’d walked away.

“Forget him,” she told herself. It wouldn’t be easy, but she needed to concentrate on her day-to-day survival She kept her wares hidden in a canvas bag beneath the vegetables in her root cellar. Once she’d unearthed it, she sat with her back against the wall and tried to calm her out-of-control emotions. She’d need her wits about her to bargain with her best and only customer. At least his coming to collect Tansy would save Viola a long, painful walk into Prowlerville.

Daniel dropped the reins and hurried to his unconscious mate’s side. “How is she? I’d have flashed here, but since King Caleb’s put a death sentence on anyone flashing without their alpha’s permission, I didn’t dare. I’ve already stepped out of line too often. I should have kept my head down and my mouth shut rather than speak up against the alpha, and now my mate suffers for it. I won’t make things worse, not when so many of the pack’s she-wolves have vanished over the years.”