Page 27 of The Sad Omega

“Okay.”

I thought for a bit. Then I moved, nudging Irian off my lap so I could get to my feet. I pulled my shirt off over my head, tossed it to the floor. Then, dragging back the bed covers, I scooped up the frail body in my arms and held Isca close against my chest. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I might have felt some slight movement, though his eyes remained closed. His soft exhale tickled the hair on my chest. It might have been the angle I was looking from, but I thought I saw a slight curve at the end of his lips.

Still with Isca in my arms, I climbed onto the bed. There was rustling behind me, and then Irian pushed gently on my shoulder. I leaned back against the soft pillows he'd propped against the bedhead. I settled the omega against my side, winding my arm around his shoulders to hold him close. He slumped half over me, head resting on my chest just below my shoulder, his nose buried in my chest hair.

Irian pulled the covers up until the omega’s head was almost completely covered, creating a little hot-house of alpha pheromones. As an alpha, my body scent should be reassuring to any omega. I placed a soft kiss on the top of Isca’s head. Irian clambered up on the other side of him and snuggled in close, and together we waited and hoped for the pheromones to do their work.

Chapter 11

ISCA

I wandered in the darkness for a long time, lost, sad, unclaimed, in pain.

Sometimes I heard voices, distant and muffled. I recognized the voices, some of them, though I couldn’t name them.

I thought I scented something familiar, a presence, strong and reassuring. Or another, a different one, softer, comforting, also familiar. They were fleeting presences, they drifted in and out of my darkness, sometimes together, sometimes alone, always nearby.

An unbearable sadness permeated my every cell, weighing me down. I wanted to let go, let myself drift away. I was tired. But I was curious about the voices. Who did they belong to? I would never find out if I let go. Did the voices and scents belong together? They seemed to.

But was my curiosity worth returning to my previous life? I couldn’t remember details, but my whole being rebelled against it, every cell begging no more, please let us go, enough is enough – it’s peaceful in the dark.

A warm, reassuring presence wrapped itself around me. A musky scent teased my nostrils. The wash of pheromones was unmistakeable. An Alpha. Reassurance eased into my everyfibre. Everything would be all right. I was safe. There was nothing to fear. I was warm. I was comfortable. I was protected. I was… loved? I could rest and I didn’t have to let go.

I slept, but I didn’t drift away.

???

TALIUS

Soft fur tickled my nose, the fine hairs brushing against my nostrils with each breath I took. I shivered and came fully awake.

It was dark in the room.

Something warm and soft and curvy warmed my side. And fur… there was a lot of fur and fine silver hairs nestling alongside my body.

I looked beside me, my wolf’s eyes seeing almost as clearly in the dark as during the day. Nestled in the curve of my arm, resting in the space between Irian’s body and my own, slept a beautiful silver-grey wolf.

It was Isca. I knew it from his scent.

Sometime in the night, he’d made his choice. And he’d trusted us enough to shift into his wolf form while his body completed its healing.

It was the most wonderful sight I’d ever seen.

Reaching across with my free hand, I stroked the beautiful creature, reveling in the softness of the fur and the heart-stopping gift of his trust.

I called to Irian through our mind-bond, not wanting to wake Isca while he was still healing, but knowing my mate would be overjoyed. He wouldn't want to miss this. Irian couldn’t have been sleeping deeply for he woke almost immediately. The most wondrous smile blazed across his face as he saw the wolf curled up between us and he looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

He smiled at me and I leaned across and kissed him. I felt my own eyes prickle and my vision went blurry.

A wet droplet fell onto the silvery fur below and I wiped it away, and as I stroked the pelt, Isca wriggled in his sleep, nestling closer into my side.

All was well, for now, and I slid further under the covers, and fell back into a deep and grateful sleep.

???

Mugales had said Isca’s injuries were almost completely healed, but Isca slept on, in wolf form, for another twenty-four hours. I could only assume the healing taking place over that time was to his mind, because the trauma he had endured must have been… substantial.

All three of us slept together in the guest bed again that next night, and when we woke the following morning, Isca was in human form. I was already awake when he opened his eyes, still glowing golden-brown from his wolf’s form.