Carnage Island (Reject Island)(40)

“So similar to the Alpha-Beta dynamic where the Beta takes over if the Alpha is away,” I translate.

“Similar, except our Alpha clans are even more closely knit. We can actually develop the ability to speak between our minds once we’ve found our Omega mate. She’s the heart and key to everything. That’s why you’re so important, Clove. You’re our heart, or you will be once you go into a proper heat cycle.”

I frown. “This wasn’t, umm, proper?”

He chuckles. “No, gorgeous. Estrus usually lasts at least five days, sometimes even up to eight or nine. You only touched the cusp of your potential. We think it was brought on by finally connecting to your wolf, but we’re not sure why it stopped. Once you fell asleep, it sort of… dissipated.”

“And that’s not normal,” I say, reading between the lines.

“No, it’s not. But your situation isn’t exactly normal, either.”

“Because I’m a half-breed.”

“A half-breed who suppressed her wolf for…” he trails off, his gaze sharpening. “How old are you, Clove?”

“Twenty.”

His eyebrows lift. “You suppressed your wolf for twenty years?”

I swallow, my chin attempting to move in the affirmative again, but his palm is still holding my cheek.

“Fuck,” he breathes. “I mean, technically it’s more like fifteen, I guess, but Jesus, Clove. That must have hurt a lot.”

“It’s what we’re taught to do.” I don’t say it defensively. It’s more sad as it comes out because I’ve realized how wrong it is over the last few days. How it’s used to control the Nantahala females, not help them prosper.

I suddenly feel thankful for my fate.

Which then elicits a guilty pang in my chest.

Because my fate is directly tied to my mother’s death.

“That explains your brief introduction to estrus,” Caius says, his thumb tracing the hollow beneath my eye. “You’ll likely go into a true heat soon. Maybe within the next few days.”

“Nantahala wolves don’t really go into multi-day heat cycles,” I say. “I mean, they have their fertility periods where they mate, but it’s not… it’s not for eight days. Maybe a full day or two, and once every few years.” So that’s probably why my estrus only lasted a few hours. That’s more typical of my kind.

Which makes me wonder how compatible I really am with these Alphas.

“I’m not an Omega,” I continue, voicing my thoughts out loud. “My pack considered me an Alpha candidate because of my trials.”

“Trials?” he repeats.

“They’re tests designed to determine the most eligible Nantahala females for mating,” I explain. “Like agility and strength exercises, as well as etiquette and the ability to teach. They groom us for motherhood, but also test our traits to find the ones they want to replicate via procreation.” It all sounds very clinical, and it is to an extent. “The purpose is to guarantee the best of the lines are continued.”

He grunts. “And I’m guessing beauty plays a part in it?”

“It does because they want the most alluring females for the mating process.”

“To appease the males,” he drawls.

I don’t comment because there’s not much I can say other than shrug. Attractiveness has always been key among my former pack. They praise it and embrace it. Part of what made me one of the most eligible females was my physical appeal. The Alphas liked that I was petite and curvy.

Canton especially so.

He praised my appearance frequently during the mating tests.

“Carnage Wolves favor power and prosperity over all else. We mate based on strength compatibility, which is why Tieran’s wolf likes your animal—you challenged him.” He grins. “It’s why we all like you.”

“I challenged him when I ran.” I vaguely remember that, my wolf having been in charge of the notion to flee. “My animal wanted to be chased.”

“That’s the Carnage Omega in you,” he says. “It’s overriding your Nantahala instincts, taking over your psyche and helping you become the wolf you were always meant to be.”

“Unless who I’m meant to be is a mixture of the two,” I say, frowning. “What if I can’t go into heat like an Omega?”

He considers me, a deep crease marring his brow. “You are an Omega, Clove. I can smell it on your skin, taste it on my tongue. You’ll go into heat like one. Today was just an appetizer to the meal to come.” He kisses me again, silencing whatever I would have said back to him.

But my mind is reeling.

While I want to believe him, I’m not sure I trust my own genetics to play out the way he says they will.

I’m a mixed breed.

And these Alphas want a proper Omega for their circle. They value them as jewels. However, how can I shine when I’m tainted with my Nantahala heritage?

“Do you want your hands-on demonstration now, angel?” he asks softly, his groin pressing into mine. “Or would you prefer to indulge in that intimate discussion after dinner?”





16





CAIUS





I can sense her hesitation. Her concern is a sour taste in the air, one that makes me want to distract her with my cock, to prove to her that she’s a Carnage Omega.