#liolet

Xaden

“Did you have to tell him my intentions for Violet?”

“I’ve kept plenty of your secrets, boy. I won’t lie to my mate when he asks a simple question about his rider.”

“Sgaeyl—”

“Tairn and Andarna knew the risks of bonding an omega when they chose the girl. They only waited this long to tear into you because they hadn’t sensed her presentation.”

“Will you kindly remind him that she’ll be in the worst of her heat long before they reach Navarrian soil regardless?"

“Why don’t you tell him yourself?” 

Xaden scowled. He wasn’t about to touch that mental bond with a ten foot pole. Turning back to Violet, his displeasure only deepened when he noticed the smug little smile she wore. She was completely convinced her rescue team had arrived and she’d only be a few hours behind her squad mates in returning home. He wondered how long it would take her to realize the next dose of the serum cutting off her signet and mental channels had been served in her food before the first could wear off.

“Liam, make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.” Like run through the Riorson House in nothing but his sweater. He doubted anything short of his mark on her neck would be a deterrent for the other alphas occupying the building. A day or two more and that would no longer be a problem.

“BRING THE GIRL!”

“Fuck,” he hissed. He’d never had another dragon in his head and Tairn was doing nothing to mask his fury.  “Nevermind. Just do me a favor and make sure people aren’t losing their minds out there.” Jaw clenched, he gathered the pants and underwear he’d stripped off of his omega just an hour ago. “You may see your dragons, but don’t think for a moment you’re getting on one of their backs.”

She swallowed, eyes widening slightly when he knelt to help her into her clothing. “Are you going to stare all night, or do you want to see your dragons before you’re glued to that bed for the next week?” Her nose crinkled at the reminder of her impending heat, but another deafening show of impatience from outside had her scrambling to dress. She didn’t even bother mouthing off about how he hadn’t brought her a suitable top, too concerned with reaching her dragons before all the noise turned into actual damage.

Keeping a firm hold on her arm, Xaden guided her back downstairs and out of the building where the two scaled beasts had announced themselves. It was Andarna who shot forward. Though the Scorpiontail was fully grown, her youth was shown all too clearly by her impulsive behavior. Xaden had never given any credit to the rumors a feathertail had bonded the youngest Sorrengail, but now he could see for himself it was a reality.

Tairn growled low, the sound more of a threat to him than a correction even as Andarna stopped short, a blast of hot breath breaking across his face. Protective of both females, then. “Release my rider. She will gather her armor and fly home tonight.”

Violet trembled beside him. It wasn’t out of fear. She knew and trusted these dragons, likely more than her own flesh and blood. The next time he drew a breath her soft scent was all he could gather—almost cloying in its new strength. 

“You’ll fly her home? How much time could you shave off of a seventeen hour flight, Tairn. Because I don’t think she’d make the trip and be in any form to choose an alpha you’d find more exemplary. I haven’t tried to pretend I deserve an omega, but the fact remains she was caught on Tyrrish soil. I have every right to claim her for making the mistake of crossing our borders without invitation.”

“I can make the trip just fine,” Violet spat.

Xaden ignored her protest, suppressing his smirk as she tugged the collar of his sweater away from her neck. “You made some gamble in choosing an omega as your rider. I won’t try to dig out an explanation for that. I honestly don’t care.”

“The first smart decision I’ve seen you make tonight.” 

“Tell me then, why you think this is the worst option for her? Staying in Aretia, being able to fly and fight for the right side of this war after she’s marked? Can you guarantee Navarrian leadership is going to overlook her dynamic to keep her signet active, or is she going to end up passed around to a bunch of assholes who want to knock the great Sorrengail line down a peg?”

He wasn’t about to mention he’d be sharing her with Liam. It was a better case than he’d painted with his little speech now, but it wasn’t going to help him by any means.

“You know the real war we’re fighting here, Tairn. Let her fight it too.”

“Flying will help.” Violet insisted, stubborn to the very end. “The cold air…” 

She made a soft little sound, stumbling towards Andarna when Xaden finally released her. The female coiled around her to preserve the body heat Violet was already struggling to regulate. Angry as they were with him, both dragons knew she had a better chance of gaining a purpose here than in Navarre.

Tairn growled again, eyes glowing brighter with the sunset long passed. “You will give her the antidote to whatever drug you’ve been using to block her signet and communication immediately. If you make any attempt to put her at a further disadvantage than she already is, you will learn very quickly that dismemberment doesn’t always end in loss of life. Is that clear?”

“Your terms are agreeable.”

Andarna glared as he took a cautious step closer. “Let me get her back to her nest, Andarna. It’s the best thing either of us can do for her at this stage. Please, let me prove to you that I can help her through this.” She relaxed, slowly uncoiling her tail to release Violet who thankfully only hesitated a moment to stagger back to him, despite having not heard half of the conversation. “Let’s get you inside, little one.”

~~~~~

Violet

Violet was less than pleased with her dragons’ recap of what had been said when their bond was silenced. Logically, it was the best course of action, but her instinct to run as far from this place as possible was still barely cutting through the mental fog of her looming heat.

“Did they truly release Rhi and Colin?”

“We crossed paths when they first took flight," Tairn told her. "They’ll be back at your assigned post by now.”

“Good.” 

She drifted towards the bed again, worrying her lip when she realized just how much of Xaden’s clothing she’d gathered in her nesting phase. “It’s natural, even if you hate the alpha arranged for you.”

Arranged. She didn’t think she’d ever heard her dragon speak so delicately. “Careful, Tairn. You almost sound concerned for my state of mind.”

He grumbled something in his own language that had Andarna tittering and Violet couldn’t help but smile. “I won’t bother requesting you maintain your shield through your heat. Ours will remain in place, but this will likely be an interesting experience for all of us.”

Violet groaned. “Just what I need. Two unwilling voyeurs.”

“In truth a human’s mating cycle is not so different from a dragon’s. Especially the younger generation. When—”

“And that’s enough of that. Thank you, Tairn.”

Even if one of her dragons was inclined to expand on that thought, Violet doubted she’d do well in listening. It was one change after the other. A volley of sensations that left her breathless and aching. Alongside the building fire under her skin there was a sharp cramping in her abdomen, slowly morphing into an incessant throbbing. A moment later her pants were soaked through.

“Fuck no.”

“Violet—”

“Get out of my head!” 

She could feel the sting of emotion from Andarna. Regretted yelling at her dearest friend the moment the words had been projected. But she’d meant it, too. Her careful control was being ripped from her in a matter of moments and the only solution was found in an alpha she wanted nothing to do with. It was all humiliating enough without being coddled through it.

She hadn’t realized she’d dropped to her knees until she was being lifted up and cradled against a warm chest, the now familiar scent of leather and mint washing over her. It was almost as soothing as the low purr Xaden offered so freely. “Into your nest, now.” She whined when her back hit the mattress and he pulled away. “I’m not going anywhere, Violet. Just gonna get you out of these pants again. You’ll be more comfortable.”

He groaned when he caught sight of the slick clinging to the fabric of her underwear. Long and low, the sound sent a shiver through her body. “Gods, Violet. By the end of this heat you won’t be able to sit straight in that damn saddle.”

Violet winced as the throbbing between her legs grew, desperate to find some sort of friction to temper it. The moment she aimed to press her thighs together, however, Xaden had his knee up between them. His chest was parallel to hers then as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You will not hide from me, Omega. If you need something, ask for it like a good girl.”

The fabric of his pants was rough against her skin as he applied a bit more pressure and let her roll her hips as best she could from her position on her back. “Ask me.” He reached under the sweater she wore, thumbing over her nipple. “You’re going to break for me one way or another. Why resist what you want and need, Violence?” 

She let out a frustrated growl, forcing herself to go still against his leg. “Don’t need an alpha.” Her hand was flying before she could think better of it, but her heat had already left her sluggish, and Xaden hadn’t lost his senses the same way she had. He saw the blow coming, pinning her wrists to the bed with one hand before she could think to do it again.

Then his teeth were at her neck.

He hadn’t bit her hard enough to leave a permanent mark, but the sudden pressure did what it was intended to do, reminding her of her place in all of this. Establishing his control of her in a way that couldn’t be misinterpreted. She went still beneath him, a whimper caught in her throat when his hand dropped between her legs, two fingers dragging through the hot slick there.

After a moment of teasing her that way the pressure lifted just enough for him to land three stinging swats directly over her clit. She wailed from the shock of it, still nearly frozen beneath him when he finally pulled his mouth from her neck. “Try again, Omega.” 

She swallowed. Pushed through the need, the craving that had every muscle and bone aching. The desire to feel him claim her completely. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t what she wanted when she was in control of her body and mind. “Don’t,” she rasped. Xaden leaned down to hear her better. “Don’t. Need. An. Alpha.”

He pushed off of her, leaving her to flounder in her attempt to master the desire and relief warring within her. “What are you doing?” she asked, watching wisps of shadow slither across her nest as he retreated, smoothing down his clothing. Her arms and legs were spread wide before he finished straightening his clothing. “I’ll be back in an hour. Maybe then you’ll have another answer for me.”

Her discomfort morphed all too quickly to panic. But Riorson was already out the door. She tried to breath through it, ignore the unforgiving bindings around her limbs and the smaller shadows licking across oversensitive flesh. He was likely still nearby if their security hadn’t dwindled. Might even be able to hear her through the door if he’d lingered or returned early.

It didn’t take long for Violet to realize she had no chance of winning this game. Of making it through this heat alone, even if he released her. She sobbed as a particularly brutal cramp set in, low and punishing. It felt like a consequence for her stubbornness. She hadn’t even realized she was begging until the anxiety clouding her senses was soothed by that same low purring from before. 

He’d been listening after all.

“Say it again,” he crooned, stripping his clothes and letting her add the soft cotton shirt to her nest. “Tell me what you need, Violence.” She hesitated. “Say it again, Omega.”

“I need you.” His hands ran up her legs, almost entirely wrapping around her trembling thighs. “Please, Alpha. Please.”

He shuddered, dipping his head to scrape his teeth across her scent gland. “Not so hard, was it?” Even when her bindings fell away he left the more delicate shadows to tend to her, teasing her breasts as he began to move down her body, stopping when he was level with her center and lifting her legs over his shoulders. The warmth of his breath shocked her, but he was quick to still her squirming, hands gripping her hips. “There’s a good girl. Such a sweet little mess for me.”

She wasn't sure why his words settled her so easily, but she didn't exactly have time to think on it, either. The heat of his mouth was all she knew after that. Every stroke of his tongue indulgent to himself even as they replaced that awful cramping with something softer, rapid in its growth. She reached down to card her fingers through his hair, her grip tightening when the rough pad of his thumb worked over her clit. Every muscle in her locked at the sensation. “Don’t try to hold it in,” he growled, “or it’s going to be a very difficult week for you. Come for me, Violence.”

Sobbing, she gave into the need. Shed her pride for the relief she knew she could find, no matter how she felt about Xaden Riorson as a person. There was no more talking after that, his verbal encouragement falling away to touch alone, every stroke of his fingers across her skin a bridge that let her first orgasm roll straight into a second.

“Good girl,” she heard faintly. 

“Need—” 

“I know, Violet.” 

He eased her legs down from his shoulders, stripping out of his pants before kissing a trail up her body until he could run his fingers through her hair. Twist the length of silver and brown around one fist and kiss her, the taste of her slick lingering on his tongue. Another shift and he was folding her legs to keep them spread open, dragging his length through her slit.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Easy.” He lined up, just teasing her with the tip for a moment. “Breathe for me, love.” Resuming the stimulation to her clit, Xaden pushed into her little by little, humming his encouragement when she tried to stop or slow his steady claiming. She was panting by the time he’d fully sheathed himself. 

“You take me so well, sweet girl. Look at you.” He was moving before she could say a word to stop him, hips rolling up against hers at a languid pace she didn’t know how to match, feeling so restless. “Stop,” he murmured when she attempted to reciprocate. A pillow was shoved under her a moment later, tilting her lower body at an angle easier for Xaden to work with. “Relax, sweetheart. Stop worrying. Just take what I give you.” 

“Xaden, I can’t—” 

His next thrust was sharper, deep enough to tease her with his knot. Her fingers dug into his biceps, hard enough to bruise, but whatever pain they left behind didn’t seem to serve as any sort of deterrent. He set a firm rhythm and it broke her down faster than she cared to admit, slick coating them both, her face pressed to his neck, breathing in short puffs against his skin. And gods spare her, his scent gland was right there, close enough to drive her to insanity. Close enough to bite. 

He grunted sharply, hips jerking from their rhythm when she dared to pull him closer, lick the salt from the column of his throat. “Violet, fuck.” Whether it was a reprimand or loss of control, she wasn’t sure, but his teeth sank into her neck for the second time that evening, the shock of his marking throwing her over the edge again. “So pretty when you come for your alpha,” he crooned, tongue flicking over the broken skin. “So pretty with my mark on your neck.”

It was right there, that niggle of dread she knew she would feel now that he’d staked his claim on her. The anger, simmering beneath the inferno of her need. All of it was right there, just out of her grasp. Because now—even after three mind-numbing orgasms—the only thing she could think about was taking his knot. 

“Please, please, please, please…” She groaned, back arching. “Xaden, please.”

He groaned again, hooking one hand under her knee to force it up to her chest. “Say it again, Violet. Say my name.”

“Xaden, Xaden, Xad—” A wail left her when he finally seated himself past the knot, holding her tight until the swelling locked them together at last. The only freedom she had was her hands, some deep seated instinct to mark him forcing itself to the surface. She clenched her jaw tight, denying it, and refocusing that energy to claw down the length of his back.

No mercy. No escape. His final claiming.

He spilled inside of her with a gruff shout, dropping her leg to fist the pillows behind her as if he was afraid to mark her that way. Part of her—that little part she hated—was struck by it. Part of her wanted to wear the bruises he could leave behind. But the other part of her was going to remember just how much she hated him when the heat broke. 

Violet let it win, muffling the whimper crawling up her throat. 

“Shh, I know, love.” She didn’t realize she’d started crying until Xaden flipped them so she could lay over his chest, his knot still locked inside her. She was so damn full like this. She loved it. Loathed it. Worst of all, needed it.

She clenched around him, gasping for breath. “I don’t… I don’t want this.”

“I know,” he repeated, running his finger up and down her spine in steady strokes that did nothing to ease the heat already building low in her belly. Gods, she already needed him again. “I know it’s not fair,” he continued, slowly wrapping her hair around his fist. “I know it’s not the romance you envisioned. I know you don’t want it. But you’re done fighting it. Do you understand me, Omega?”

Violet braced against his chest, shivering. Even as she sat astride him, it was crystal clear who held all of the control in their arrangement. If it could even be called that. Entrapment might be more accurate at this point. 

She ground her teeth. “You aren’t—” But he was her alpha. Whether she’d consented or not, the man had his teeth in her neck just minutes ago. She was marked. Claimed. His to torment or pleasure at his own discretion. There was no fight here she could pick and win. “I understand.”

“Very good.” She gasped, caught off guard when Xaden started to lift her off of him. “Easy, love,” he cooed, all but manhandling her to put her down on her belly. “I think we both know you’re in no state to ride my cock at the moment.” She winced. Despite the steady need taking hold of her senses, she didn’t think she could handle another round yet. “Relax. I’m going to get you cleaned up. Then you can get some rest.” He moved to the connected bath before she could respond, returning a moment later to part her legs long enough to clean her up before drawing up one of the fluffy blankets from the border of her nest to tuck her in. The juxtaposition from his attitude about her cooperation was startling, but she dismissed the thought, sinking down further into the pillows around her.

“Get some rest, sweetheart.”

~~~~~

“You’re sure you want this?”

“Liam.”

“No offense, Xaden, but you don’t exactly share well.” 

Violet sensed a hand running though her hair. Feather light, yet somehow close enough to possessive to send a rush of pleasure through her—another base instinct she had no chance of fighting. She was practically preening under her alpha’s touch. 

She really, truly hated Xaden Riorson. 

Of course his marking of her meant she also really, truly needed him now.

“Our infantry on the border received a missive. Tauri wants proof of life regarding his prized weapon.”

“We’ll worry about that when her heat’s broken. Right now my concern is seeing her through it. Are you going to be a part of that, or not?”

There was a pause, then, “She’s got a hell of a spirit. Considering how stubborn you are, I think you’ll tear each other to pieces without someone in the middle.” 

The mattress dipped behind her and her grip around Xaden’s waist tightened on instinct even as the warm pressure of a second body secured her from rolling back. “Good morning, little omega,” Xaden crooned. “Sleep well?”

As well as she could when her heat was wrecking her sleep pattern, the ache between her thighs a constant torment. Gods she’d never been so sore. Or so needy. She shut her eyes tight, trying to breathe through the next crest of her heat. Ignore the slick coating her thighs. “Oh, sweet girl.”

Xaden started to reach down between her legs, but she jerked away, straight back into the hard wall of muscle behind her. Liam. “Please. Can’t—can’t take a knot right now. Hurts.”

Both men seemed to soften at that. Even if Xaden had taken her choice in all of this away, part of him seemed to be a decent alpha. A caretaker. “Alright, love. Something a little different, then.”

She yelped, startled when Liam started working her open from behind, whispering instruction and praise against the soft skin of her neck just above her scent gland while two thick fingers stroked her slow and deep. She just about melted into the nest. “That’s it, honey. Just lie still. Let your beta make you feel good.”

She moaned, long and low. The heat was still building, and far more rapidly than when she was still shaking the fog of sleep. Liam had told her to lie still, but— 

“Easy. You’re alright. You’re alright, honey. Just gonna help you.” His fingers curled, pressing up against her slick gland. The touch was so unexpected it threw her over the edge before any of them expected, drawing out a sharp cry. “Perfect omega, so pretty when she comes.”

“The prettiest little thing,” Xaden agreed, pushing up until his back was against the headboard, legs spread enough he could stroke his hard length as he watched Liam take care of her. “Why don’t you come up here with me, sweet girl.”

Violet managed to push up to her hands and knees with a bit of guidance from Liam as she was still a bit off kilter from her first orgasm of the day. She crawled up the bed until she was between Xaden’s knees before pushing up to meet his eyes.

“You may think the worst of me at the moment, but I have no intention of hurting you when I can help it. That said, while I won’t make you take my knot—” He brushed his thumb across her lower lip. “—I do intend on filling you up one way or another.”

Just a handful of words and a single touch from her alpha and her belly was clenching tight, that pool of heat returning. She wasn’t going to survive the week, that much she was certain of. “Alpha?”

“Relax, little one,” he cooed, cupping the back of her head with one hand. “Alpha will help you. Just show me what that pretty mouth is good for, hm?”

She swallowed hard, but let him guide her down, appreciative that he was letting her set the pace in this. She started slow, little kitten licks meant to tease. It was a strange balance, wanting to please him as her alpha and punish him as her captor. But it was one she thought she’d enjoy immensely, especially as she watched his body begin to tighten, his hand twitching where he played with her hair as he fought the temptation to push her down.

“Violet,” Liam warned from behind her. “Keep playing games and you won’t get to come either.”

She shivered at the promise, but ended her teasing then and there, wrapping her lips around the head of Xaden’s cock. His hand tightened in her hair for a moment, but it was the only sign he gave that her mouth had any affect on him. “Go on, sweetheart.” She sank down another inch  before drawing back, setting a steady rhythm until the tip hit her gag reflex. 

A bit panicked, she tried to pull off of him only for Xaden to finally establish control, holding her just shy of the point she choked. He clicked his tongue, brushing a tear from her cheek with the hand that wasn’t currently fisted in her hair. “Going to have to train that out of you, aren’t we? Teach you to open up for your alpha.”

She’d never particularly enjoyed sucking a guy off. Most of her escapades before and in the quadrant had all been quick fucks, straight down to business. Her short time as an officer, well, she was more concerned with her assignments than men. To put it simply, deep throating was far from her specialty.

But again, there was that incessant part of her desperate to please her alpha. She took a breath, leaning forward the slightest bit. “That’s it. My good girl, eager to please, hm?”

She hadn’t realized Liam had left the bed until the the mattress dipped behind her and his fingers returned to her aching core.

More more more more. 

As if he heard that silent plea he removed his hand a moment later to drag his tip through her drenched slit. Gods.

He filled her from behind in an easy slide that stole the breath from her lungs, his path aided by the copious slick she’d secreted. Violet whined again, the sharpness of the stretch lingering without the full force of her next heat wave to soften it. 

She jerked against Xaden again, nails biting into his thigh until he released her. “Wait,” she breathed. “Just…”

Liam stilled behind her, thumb sweeping across her nape in steady, soothing strokes until she all but became one with her nest. “That’s it. Good girl. Alright now?” She nodded, mumbling something just coherent enough for him to chuckle against her shoulder. “We’ll take care of you, sweetheart.” 

He kissed across the black and gold of her relic, left a scorching trail down her spine with his hands moving parallel, all the way to her waist. “Fucking perfect,” he groaned, jerking her back by the bend of her hips and thighs to realign her with Xaden’s lap. “Every inch of you.” The next thrust of his hips had her gagging around her alpha once again, but this time she was determined to prove herself capable of pleasing him. Relaxing her throat, she timed herself to Liam’s steady pace behind her, delighted when Xaden finally began to break beneath her, his breathing shifting, hips tilting up ever so slightly. 

The next punch of Liam’s hips struck something particularly sensitive and she moaned low and deep. “Fuck, Violet,” Xaden hissed. “Keep that up…”

She wasn’t going to last much longer either. Not with the way they were handling her between them, mapping her body to find every sensitive point they could. She was a fucking mess, driving straight towards the brink of her next orgasm, barely able to focus on the one task Xaden had given her. He cursed again. “Almost there, love. Want you to take every bit of it.” His hand wrapped around her throat and she shattered, clenching around Liam and finally feeling him spill inside of her. 

Xaden was the last to come. Pushing as deep as he could go, he spilled down her throat, holding her until she stopped fighting the intrusion.

The surrender. She didn’t imagine giving that control could be so freeing. He finally pulled back, lifting her chin until he was certain she swallowed the last of his seed. “Our perfect girl.”

She blinked up at him slowly, a weightlessness setting in she didn’t quite understand.

“Feel… floaty.”

Both men chuckled, Liam helping her to settle back into the bed while Xaden left them just long enough to bring some water to drink and wet rags to clean up the worst of the mess. He was quick about cleaning her up, knowing she was sensitive even before Liam took her. The only protest she gave was a little whimper her alpha quickly soothed with a kiss to the forehead before settling in on the side Liam hadn’t occupied.

“How are you feeling, love?” She hesitated, looking down. “Violet?”

“It scares me.” He cocked his head, waiting. “I don’t trust you. Not in the slightest. But I want you. Want to please you.” She glanced over her shoulder to where Liam rested, playing with the ends of her hair. “Both of you.” 

Just your basic needy omega. Pathetic.

Xaden sighed. “It’s going to take time, longer than I’d like, for you to trust us, Violet. But I marked you last night. Claimed you as my omega. I’m afraid you’re stuck with us.”