Chapter-42. Choices
[Raven]
Out of nihility, two sports bikes burst onto the road, racing behind us with an adrenaline-pumped intensity that echoed in the air with the roar of their engines. Within moments, they surged forward, effortlessly catching up with my bike. My eyes darted from Asher's sleek white bike on the left to Ezra's fiery red bike on my right.
As soon as Asher's scent dominated the air, I could feel the increase in Xanthea's heartbeats through our tightly pressed chests.
She wasn't trying to look around. She wasn't in a condition to look around, either. But I was too close to her body to not notice the effect Asher had on her.
Not when my three fingers were buried deep inside her pussy.
Like always, it was happening once again. As soon as Asher came into the picture, I felt myself dimming away. As childish as it may be, this bitter feeling never failed to create a grim tightness in my chest.
I gritted my teeth, plunging my fingers deeper inside her.
"Ah! Alpha!" she let out a shuddering yelp. Her grip on my shirt grew stronger, to the point I thought she might rip it off me.
She writhed against every thrust of my fingers. Fucking her rougher, the heel of my palm stimulated her sultry clitoris with an unyielding pressure, making her gasp and moan with broken breaths.
I'll consume your mind so fervently that you won't even think about anyone else, omega.
"Ah... Alpha... please... wait! Raven..." My cock throbbed at her weak moans. They were like a sensual music to my ears and when she called my name, forgetting to add 'Alpha' before it, something dangerous charged through me. Not just her mind, I wanted to consume every inch of her body.
Xanthea was useful to me and I thought that was why I wanted her. I thought that was why I kept her closer, monitored her every step. But now I understand my 'why' a little better.
I want you more because Asher wants you just as much. I don't know his reasons, but I want to steal you from him.
The fact that you matter to him makes me want to do things to you because I know it'll piss him off.
You might just be the insecurity of my life's biggest insecurity - Asher.
I had been compared to him all my life. Told how he was born to be the perfect Alpha. We look the same, but somehow in our parents' eyes, he always looked better.
I didn't want to look like him, so I grew my hair. I wasn't born perfect, gifted with true Alpha powers like him, so I changed my complete profession. I became the best in my field, yet somehow, I could never become better than him.
All my life, I had looked for Asher's weakness and a loophole in his perfection. So I have always desired things he possessed, and he always shared with his holier than thou attitude. From his toys to his position as the Alpha of Prime Infernal pack. He never once complained, hesitated or thought twice before sharing or giving his possessions.
He was even ready to share his luna candidate and anyone he was willing to share was of no use to me.
But Xanthea... something about the way he desires her is different. Yes, he shares her with us, but he also seeks to control and define the boundaries of that sharing.
Asher had always been a workaholic ever since he was a child. Even though he was always available for us and our family, his priority was always the pack and his work as the Alpha.
Nyssa believed that overworking had turned him into a stone - a distant, cold man who felt nothing and his indifference reflected in the decisions he made.
Yes, Ezra and I share the Alpha title with him now. We divided our Alpha duties as well. But it had happened recently, a few years ago.
If Ezra and I were to fall today, the pack would recover in no time, but if Asher fell, the pack would fall apart almost instantly.
And the importance he held didn't make me despise him any less.
The Asher before Xanthea and the Asher after Xanthea aren't the same people.
And that's what I wanted to find out.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.
What was different now? What changed?
Ezra's scent suffused around us right after Asher's.
'What is this, Raven?' Ezra spoke through the mind-link. 'Why did you call us? Didn't you say she couldn't get pregnant for a few weeks?'
'Why did you come? I merely shared my live location and a selfie with our omega bride. You didn't have to come if you didn't want to,' I replied.
I expected Asher to show up almost instantly, given how protective he had been of her from the very beginning.
But I wasn't so sure if Ezra would show up. I thought he would withdraw himself after the trigger like he always did, sulk for a few more weeks, wait for us to drag him for the sex night. Completely ignoring my counter, Ezra changed the subject.
'Who pissed Asher off?' Ezra asked, sensing the same heaviness I felt radiating from Asher. Asher was included in our mindlink, but he always preferred to stay silent and listen.
'I did,' I said in triumph.
'Why?'
'I had a solo with our bride,' I said.
'What!?' Ezra looked at Xanthea and then skimmed his eyes back to Asher who was looking straight ahead on the road, driving parallel to our bikes.
'You had solo sex with her. Are you out of your fucking mind?' Ezra snapped. "Why would you have solo with her?"
'Well, I didn't go so far, but now I feel like I should have.' I said this to piss Asher off even more.
Asher's aura became even more overpowering, falling on us heavier than the winds.
Even our little omega felt his rage knitting denser into the air. She arched her shivering body against mine.
'What are you trying to do, Raven? First, you take her on a date. You bring her to Glass palace unannounced. Then you kiss her there and then you fuck her on a moving bike.' Ezra asked. 'And then you share a selfie and call us here just to tell us you could have had a solo with her?'
Asher's aura turned neutral.
Withdrawing my fingers from her pussy, I unzipped my jacket Xanthea was wearing, and the winds did the rest of the job of removing the rest of the clothes from her tits.
She shivered as the chilly winds brushed against her skin. I ran my fingers down her throat and a film of her juices spread on her skin.
'Of course, I didn't just call you here to piss Asher off. No. No. I had something to discuss with you two about our bride and, of course, because I wanted to fuck her... solo,' I said, looking at Asher.
Asher overtook my bike and blocked the path. Applying the brake, I brought the bike to an abrupt halt.
"The things I do for you, little omega," I chuckled, taking off our helmets. "Look, they are here for you. Won't you show them how well you can ride on the bike? Undo my belt..."
She tensed her body and peered at me with a slight frown.
"H-here?"
"Yes."
I looked at Asher who dismounted his bike, but instead of interfering with us, he merely folded his arms across his chest. Leaning back on his bike, he watched us.
Ezra took off his helmet and looked at me and Asher alternatively.
Xanthea reached out and undid my belt. She hesitated. Redness flushed her pretty skin as she pulled down my fly.
She bit her lower lip, gulping nervously.
"Xanthea..." Asher called her in a calm tone. "Come to me."
And with just a few words and bare minimum efforts, he had hit exactly where I was hurting.
I glared at Asher and then at Xanthea who had instantly withdrawn her hands.
She turned her head and looked at Asher, and then looked back at me.
Ezra cracked up, observing us.
"What will you do now, little toy? Whose command will you follow? It's a loss-loss situation," Ezra commented.
I clenched and unclenched my jaws, glaring at Asher.
"Who will you choose?" I spoke through the surge of an ugly knot building in my chest. "Me or him?" I asked, holding her restless gaze.
"You cannot not choose," Ezra said. "That's not an option here. Come on."
Xanthea shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
I reached out to hold her back when she tried to get down from my bike, but I withdrew my hand.
Asher smirked and walked to us. He helped her get down from my bike.
I peered at them blankly before averting my darkening gaze to the woods.
Asher wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"I didn't want to complicate this more than it already was, but now I am really curious if you'd come to me if I called," Ezra asked in an impassive tone.
Xanthea distanced herself from Asher's touch and walked to Ezra.
I squinted my eyes with a slight frown, and so did Asher.
Ezra cocked a brow, as though he didn't expect her to choose him at all.
She looked at Ezra as though deciding what to say.
"I wouldn't come if you called," she said, breaking the silence. "In fact, I'd run as far away as I could from you..." she looked at Ezra and then at Asher "... from you..." and then she looked at me. I sensed her gaze softened. "... and from you." Her words came out as a whisper.
She chuckled, licking her lips as she lowered her head.
"Because I know... none of you will choose me..." she faced Ezra again. "Tell me, Alpha Ezra... would you choose me over your luna candidates? Would Alpha Asher and Alpha Raven choose me over their women?" Her words seized the winds as her smile held behind it a storm of emotions.
She glanced at us before continuing.
00000
"Honestly... if I were you, I wouldn't choose myself either. I'm not worth choosing. I'm not worth fighting for. I'm just... just an omega. I can't resist you. I can't deny you. So, I can't choose you either."
She tried to hold back her tears.
"Playing these games with me might not be a big deal for you, but..." Her nose flared as she bit her lip, and her chin quivered as tears finally betrayed her. She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. "But these games mean life and death for me. If I win, I lose. If I lose, I lose."
I got down from my bike and walked closer to her, but she stepped back.
"I am not worthy of being a factor in defining someone else's worth. Your worth is much more than my choices can define..." she said, holding my gaze.
Ezra towered behind her. Leaning closer to her neck, he whispered.
"Ok, let's give you another choice. All three of us or none of us?" he asked.
She blankly stared at the road.
"I'm saying this because I know it'll enrage you. But if I get to choose, I'll choose none of you," she said. "Now that I have made a choice, would that make any difference in what you want? Will you respect my choice? Would you free me now? Let me go..."
"Back to your lovely pack?" Ezra smirked with a scoff. "Never. You are our property now."
"I thought so," she said. Ezra just proved her point.
He grabbed her upper arms, yanking her against himself.
"What did you say?"
She looked back into his eyes and snapped.
"I said a toy, a doll, a property doesn't have the right to choose. These things are possessed and owned by their owners. A doll is lifeless, and a property is an inanimate object. Don't try to attribute characteristics of the living to lifeless objects because if they were to come to life, you wouldn't be able to handle it."
"You..." Ezra pushed her against his bike.
She didn't struggle; she shut her eyes, allowing her tears to stream down her face as Ezra stripped her off her clothes and made her sit sideways on the bike seat. Parting her legs, he lifted her skirt, raising her knees. Asher and I stopped him at the same time. Standing between her and Ezra, I pushed him away from her while Asher pulled Xanthea into his embrace.
She broke into sobs, clenching the front of his clothes.
"It's ok..." Asher whispered to her, caressing her nape.
"Calm down, Ezra!" I growled.
"You are telling me to calm down!? The way she talks-" he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "You know what? Fuck it! This was a bad idea! I shouldn't have cared to come all the way here."
"You are not going anywhere, Ezra," I said. "There was something I wanted to discuss with you and Asher about her privately, but I'll just come out and say this in front of her."
Now I knew the direction she would fly in if I gave her wings - away from me. Even so, I wanted to take the risk, try the chances - give her the wings she so desired.
I glanced at her and said.
"I want to enroll Xanthea in Helxton's fast course programme."