Oath of the Alpha - Eva Dresden Page 0,67
her ability to sap his power when he needed it most. Yet his hand dropped to his side, empty palm slapping hard against his thigh as the other reached back to keep Aida close. Her racing heart was strong and loud against his back, rushing him toward a decision he was sure to regret.
“I-I told her it was not vengeance but revenge.” Aida took a shuddery breath, forcing her voice to reach beyond Er’it. “That revenge leads nowhere, except to more hurt and pain.”
“How would you know, you sniveling bitch?” Endi hissed, surging to her feet in a cloud of dust. No magic encased her shaking fists as they hung by her side, but the promise of it gleamed in her eyes.
“I said enough!” Er’it’s spine stretched, pulling him to his full height so he towered over them all. Amber gaze sweeping over the tight knot of people gathered around them, he found Tor’en’s dark gaze. The bright spark of hope and the darkness of pain twisted through the old mage’s eyes as he gave Er’it a small nod.
Er’it knew what Tor’en wanted, and for once, Er’it agreed with him. Using Endi’s blood and pain had felt foreign, foul, as the taste of his power lingered on the back of his tongue. A flavor he’d long since grown used to now seemed distant and abhorrent. The icy touch of spring and snow haunting his senses alongside his own musk and cedar scent sought to bury the taste of ash and death.
“Ath’asho,” Er’it barked, bringing his general ahead of the crush of people. “You will have three men escort Endi back to Denath. There, she will await my ruling on her insolent acts and whether I deem them to be treason against my crown.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” With a nod to the other soldiers, Ath’asho closed in on Endi to grip her upper arm. Hauling her behind him while the declared three followed close on his heels, Ath’asho’s purposeful strides carried him beyond their sight amid shocked silence from the rest of the camp.
Amber gaze sweeping over the remaining company, Er’it collected Aida to him and stalked toward their tent. Shouldering his way through the torn canvas door, he carried her to the scattered cushions of their bed to arrange her among their softness. Stroking her hair and face, wiping away the tracks of her tears though she continued to cry, Er’it found a purr rumbling through his chest. Calming his little Omega, he settled alongside her to cradle Aida against him.
“You are a foolish, naïve girl, kou’va,” he whispered against her hair before feathering light kisses over her forehead.
“Why?”
“You do not understand the world and the pain it brings.”
“I understand plenty of pain.”
The vehemence of her quiet, growling tone tugged Er’it’s lips down. Eyebrows drawn tight, he gripped Aida’s chin to force her to look at him. He gave her a warning when she refused to meet his searching gaze, though the reprimand crawled down his throat to suffocate him by degrees when she turned the watery blackness of her eyes to him.
So miserable he felt the ache of it wringing through his chest, he held Aida tighter. Uncaring if he bruised her delicate skin as he sought to remove the very thought of space between them, he purred loud and long to force that look from her gaze. When she failed to respond to his comfort, Er’it shuffled her clothing to bare her shoulder. The scabbed ring of where his teeth had left their imprint on her called to him, a pulsing energy that drew his attention like a compass. He didn’t need to see it to lay a soft kiss there. He licked at the reddened flesh surrounding it to soothe the sting before giving her a soft nip. Still, the sight of her bare skin never ceased to amaze him.
It also never failed to arouse him.
Giving a quiet call, Er’it reached for the hem of her tunic. He ignored her batting hands and low whines as he tugged the garment up to reveal the pale gold of her belly to his hungry gaze. Feasting on the glimpses of her flesh as he struggled to keep her close and undress her, Er’it paid attention to little else. Drunk on her scent as her body reacted no matter her writhing, he ducked his head to lick a long line from the waist of the trousers to the gentle swell of her breasts. Voicing his irritation, he tugged at the knotted