Monsters claim, p.1
Monster's Claim, page 1
Monster's Claim
Monsters in the Mountains Book 5
Leann Ryans
Copyright © 2023 Leann Ryans
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Cover design by: Get Covers
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
Do you want more?
Chapter One
Arleth
The lace along the high neck of my dress chaffed every time I turned my head, making me want to rip the maddening stuff off. The only thing stopping me was how long it had taken to produce a length my mother approved of, and I wasn’t going to waste all that work by destroying it in a fit of irritation. Instead, I kept my head up and stared at a fixed point on the rug beneath the table separating us from the alphas. The governor prided himself on his refined sophistication, which meant we had to meet his standards if my mother’s plan was going to work.
I could barely breathe with the tight bindings flattening my breasts beneath the stiff fabric of the dress, but this was the current fashion. Clearly designed by betas, since they didn’t have the same curves to worry about crushing to fit into the uncomfortable things.
Shifting my knees, I tried to relieve the pressure at the base of my spine, the tension spreading around my middle and making it feel like something had ahold of my belly button and was trying to rip it wide open. We’d been waiting in the room for a while before the governor and his son had arrived, and with the addition of alpha pheromones to the stifling room, I was growing dizzy.
“Her sewing is neat and precise, she knows her place, and she has a lovely singing voice. The headmistress of your school said she was the perfect example of an omega.”
I held back a snort, barely managing to keep my features blank as I listened to my mother. The governor’s school had been built shortly after he’d arrived, and every child under the age of fourteen was required to attend. The lucky few like me who were from affluent families got the dubious honor of continuing their education another four years, while most of the other children were needed to help with their family’s businesses. Whether it was farming, tanning, construction, or simply helping with siblings, they were released to learn useful skills while I sat in bland rooms learning four different ways to make lace, and the proper temperature to serve tea.
No wonder the people laughed at us.
It hadn’t always been this way. I was old enough to remember how things were before the invaders came and put the governor in place to guide us, and that was part of the reason I was four years older than any other student at the school. Since my education had started late, I had been placed with the youngest children, kept separate from my peers.
What did it matter, since I was an omega and wouldn’t be ready for my duties until I reached the proper age anyway?
Because the only duties the governor believed omegas were fit for were breeding and raising babies, which couldn’t happen until our first heat.
A shiver rolled through me when the door opened, wafting the scent of the alphas across from me directly into my face. As much as I’d give for a nice breeze, if it smelled like them, I’d rather sweat.
“That’s good to hear, though she won’t have any need to sew unless she simply enjoys it. The maids do that when it’s necessary. Your family has a good history, though it’s disappointing her father isn’t here to make these arrangements.”
My mother hid her reaction well, by I felt her stiffen beside me on the little brocade couch. I knew her secret, though she’d made sure none other did. My father hadn’t drowned aboard a ship lost at sea, he was somewhere on the other side of the mountains, unaware I even existed.
Sometimes I wondered if he still searched for the omega he’d found in the forests. The one he’d helped through her heat, and somehow kept himself from marking so she could make a choice when she wasn’t influenced by her biology.
Did he regret that decision?
Apparently his family hadn’t been good enough for mother to bind herself to. Or perhaps he hadn’t been wealthy enough. Wealth was the reason for this ridiculous meeting where she was essentially trying to sell me to the richest available alpha in town.
I eyed the governor, saying a silent thanks that he already had a bonded omega. My mother wouldn’t have batted an eye at giving me to him, no matter that he was older than her. Our chests were empty, as were the cupboards, and my bonding price was her only hope of keeping up appearances.
“It’s been hard, not having my mate here to guide me all these years. I’m so thankful for your school, teaching the children the proper way of things.”
I wasn’t sure if the nausea rolling in my stomach was from her acting, or the fact that I hadn’t eaten since the previous night. A tray of delicate tarts sat on the table in front of us, but the thought of putting one in my mouth had bile rising up my throat, the sweet confections not what I needed.
I looked around the room, forgetting I was trying not to move because of the itchy lace. The absolute waste around me staggering, especially when there were people not just on the other side of the mountains, but here in our own town, who had so little.
Mother called the clans across the mountains barbaric for living in simple cabins and wearing fur and living off the land, but I’d always thought it sounded like a better life than all the pomp and ridiculous displays we went through. Our town had been like that once, but we were in a strategic position where a large river met the ocean, and it had been coveted by others who were more advanced. It hadn’t taken much for them to take over and place the governor here to assure everything stayed the way they wanted it to.
A trickle of sweat rolled down my spine and I twitched again, my mother shooting me a look from the corner of her eye. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand sitting in the room with them. My belly was starting to cramp, my skin crawling with the need to get out of the dress and burrow into the soft blankets of my bed.
I missed the next exchange, focusing on taking slow breaths and not snarling with the irritation building inside me. I usually had no problems sitting through her inane teas and lunches, but something had me on edge, and just their voices were making me want to scream.
The next cramp pushed a bubble of wetness from my core, and I couldn’t withhold my startled gasp. Spine stiff, my eyes flew to my mother’s before turning to the two alphas facing us as I clenched my knees together, hoping the back of my gown wouldn’t show a wet spot.
I watched as their nostrils flared, the governor’s brow rising as his son, Beqhner, let out a low growl that had my belly clenching again. Beqhner’s slicked-back hair and smooth-shaved face did nothing for me, nor did his haughty attitude or obsession with gambling and tavern wenches, but my body didn’t care about any of that. He was an alpha, and I, an omega on the cusp of my first heat, and instincts didn’t care if the knot I needed was attached to a baby-face with wandering eyes.
“It looks like we will have to make our decision quickly. Beqhner has a few things to attend to, especially if he’s going to be indisposed seeing to his future bride for the next few days, but we should be able to get word to you by this evening.”
My mother rose, recognizing the dismissal, and I followed, relieved to be escaping, if only for a little while. I didn’t know Beqhner well, and what I did know of him I didn’t like, but I knew I didn’t have a choice in this. If the governor and his son decided I was acceptable, I’d be bound to him before my heat was through.
Chapter Two
Vir’doth
A growl escaped when I thought of how far I was from my home cave. I’d been traveling for almost a full moon, and while it wouldn’t take as long to get back if I headed straight there, it was still a daunting trip with a toe that throbbed with each step.
I snarled at the memory of the claw being ripped out, an echo of the pain making the fur along my spine rise as I shuddered. I’d take being bitten by the starving wolves I’d been facing over catching another claw in a crack and having it torn out as I tried to dodge. A healthy pack never would have attacked something my size, but it was clear from the missing fur, gaunt skulls, and visible ribs, that the wolves had fallen on hard times.
Desperation makes for foolish decisions.
Like traveling beyond all known territories in the hopes of finding an omega.
I couldn’t contain my sigh. I’d walked the length of the mountains, crossed to the other side, and all I’d found was an expanse of water so vast I couldn’t even scent land on the other side. All the wind coming off it carried was salt and the stench of fish.
Every omega I’d come across during my journey had either already been claimed, or was too well guarded to reach. Spring was now well underway. Birds already had chicks in the nest, and most mammals were round with young or
I could admit defeat, take the shortest route, and be home faster by crossing back to the other side of the mountains, or, I could keep traveling along this side, and at least return home with knowledge that might one day prove useful. If nothing else, perhaps I’d luck across a village with a young omega I could return for in the fall.
I sighed again, picking my way through the trees with one eye on the ground so I didn’t bump my toe on anything. The cursed thing throbbed, making me more irritable and impatient, but I’d noticed a human village from the cliffs where I’d overlooked the vast water, and I couldn’t help trying to get closer. It was different from others I’d seen, and different could be dangerous if we weren’t prepared.
The village had been massive, covering more land than two or three of the ones on the other side of the mountains combined, with more homes scattered further amidst the trees and fields around it. It was hard to imagine that many humans all together, and I knew it was dangerous to get so close, but I was curious.
My coat didn’t blend well with springtime, the paleness standing out amidst the green of new growth, so I was forced to creep along as I neared the outer buildings of the village proper. With no hope of getting closer, all I could do was crouch in the brush and watch from a distance.
The people were different from the ones on the other side of the mountains as well. They didn’t wear furs, only leather and fancier fabric than I’d ever seen. They seemed very stiff, many rushing about as if they had too much to do, while the truly fancy looking ones strolled by or rode in contraptions pulled by horses.
It was confusing, but didn’t seem threatening, so with the sun already past its zenith and starting its decent, I decided it was time to move on. There was no way for me to get close enough to scent for omegas, and no one appeared to be venturing away from the buildings into the forest to gather like they did in other villages, so staying was a waste of time.
I put a little more distance between myself and the structures before starting to circle around. There were a few wide paths leading away to homes buried in the trees, but it was easy to stay out of sight of the few humans on them, and eventually I found a stream that carried the spring melt down to join the river on the other side of the village. With the promise of numbing cold, I didn’t see any reason not to follow it back up toward the peaks marching along the horizon.
I should have known humans would have chosen it as a good place to claim for themselves. I didn’t make it far up the stream before a house came into view between the trees, larger than any I’d seen before coming to this place. There had been others like it amongst the buildings in the village, but it seemed to be the only large one squatting in the forest.
Once again my curiosity got the better of me despite knowing it would be safer to keep my distance. As large as the home was, there didn’t seem to be any people in it, though I could smell horse scat nearby. They wouldn’t keep animals here if there weren’t people as well, so I wasn’t foolish enough to leave the safety of the shadows, but I crept along the stream, taking in everything I could see.
There were flowers in containers all around the home, but they seemed shaggy and neglected. Smoke rose from stones piled atop the roof, and I spotted motion through one of the back windows once I’d passed the house. There were tables and chairs outside under a roof on sticks that looked like it hadn’t been completed, but otherwise I couldn’t see much.
As I turned away to keep following the stream, a scent rose to tickle my nose, making my groin tighten with immediate lust. I looked back at the house, but another deep breath had me swinging around to peer through the trees ahead, the soft sound of a splash reaching my pricked ears.
Turning around would have been the smart thing to do. Heading toward the sound was foolish when I didn’t know what was ahead, but the scent teased me, stirring my instincts, and made it impossible for me to do anything but move closer despite the risk.
Spotting a naked woman in a wide spot in the stream was the last thing I’d expected.
Kneeling so the water lapped around her smooth breasts, she had her eyes closed, head leaned back as she scooped handfuls up to run down her neck and chest. Her skin was milky, as if it was rarely exposed to the sun, but scattered with tiny brown dots. Hair the color of fall leaves was pulled back and tied in some kind of knot at the base of her skull, keeping it out of the water as she bathed, but there was no hair on the rest of her body that I could see.
And her scent…
A spring meadow after rain, fresh and growing, but with the deep sweetness of an omega.
Even more powerful, the rich scent of slick.
The gods the humans prayed to had to be real, because not only had I found what I’d been searching for, she ripe and ready to claim.
And I wasn’t going to miss my chance. Wooing the omega could come later, but first, I had to mark her as mine.
Chapter Three
Arleth
I’d returned home with Mother, her chattering the whole way about how perfect my timing was.
As if I had chosen to go into heat sitting in the governor’s house.
I blocked out most of what she said, focusing on trying to breathe. It had been bad enough in the house, but in the enclosed carriage the governor insisted we take back home, because “…we wouldn’t want anything to happen to her in her state…”, their scents were even more overpowering.
The bumps we hit along the way didn’t help either, knocking the air from my lungs even when the cramps eased enough to let me take a breath. I was half convinced the driver was aiming for every one he spotted just to torture me.
The fresh air when we climbed out in front of our home was glorious, and I sucked it in, trying to purge their smell from my nostrils. I wasn’t sure how I could learn to live with the musty, mildew stench they both seemed to emit, but it didn’t look like I’d have a choice.
Maybe it would be better once we had bonded? Would Beqhner’s wandering hands stay away from the wenches with a mate at home?
Mother strode off into the house as the carriage clattered away, already calling orders to our single remaining maid. With Beqhner likely to show up before nightfall, the poor thing was going to be scrambling to make the house presentable.
I was torn between going inside to my nest or staying outside in the soft breeze. I wanted to bathe, but there wouldn’t be time for the maid to carry up water for the tub, and I couldn’t do it in my state. Even walking up the stairs to my room felt daunting, and while the ride from the governor’s house had been uncomfortable, I was grateful I hadn’t had to walk across town again.
We still had a horse, but he was an old swayback used for chores, not riding. Mother had sold the carriage and matched geldings we’d had for it moons ago, and that was all that had gotten us through the winter.
I grimaced as another cramp squeezed my middle, viscous liquid running down my thighs. Between that and the sweat, I couldn’t stand the thought of climbing into my nest and defiling it with my filthiness, which left only one option.
Heading for the back of the house, I reached up and unbuttoned the neck of my dress, letting my fingers work their way down the ridiculous pearls. Mother probably could have sold them for just as much as the horses, but appearances were important to her, so she’d refused to part with any of our clothing. I preferred a simple smock, but I wasn’t allowed to be seen in it outside the house.
By the time I’d circled around and approached the stream that ran through the trees beside our home, I was already pushing the restricting fabric over my hips. I left it where it fell, stepping out of the dress as I moved on to my underskirt. I thrust it down as well, almost tripping in my haste to get to the water.
Kicking off my shoes beside the steam, I leaned down and pulled off my stockings before unpinning the binding around my breasts. I could already breathe easier without the stiff dress constricting me, but the call of the cold water was too much to resist, and I was too focused on washing away the grossness to care about being outdoors.
