The Alpha Assassin novel Chapter 41

Ezra was sullen when he returned to the library that afternoon. I left only for lunch, more to catch up on gossip. My nerves prevented any hunger, but I had to keep my strength up. The gossip was about Dominick, but it seemed that no one could confirm his death. The talk was almost immediately shushed by Amelia, even though I could tell she was dying to find out more.

Ezra sat on the chair next to me across from the fire. I put down my book about old pack treaties and laws and gave him my full attention.

“The next challenge is moved to tomorrow; it has to be changed completely,” he said.

“Is that more work for you?” I asked, trying to assess his cold mood.

“A bit, but I volunteered.” Half of his lips tugged up, and he leaned forward so the sharp yet beautiful planes of his face danced in the fireplace. “It’s the challenge they want,” his voice dropped.

“Now that they’re only two, they don’t want to skip to the dual. They’re doing a sort of race.”

“And that’s different from an obstacle course?” I asked.

Ezra raised a shoulder slightly. “More running, fewer challenges. But it's the prize that bothers me.” He looked wary and shifted so I could see his full face.

“What is it?” I leaned forward. I wanted to caress his face, to comfort him.

So do it - Aksala said.

And I did.

I got up from my seat and settled on his lap; he tensed for a second before he wrapped his arms around me and laid his chin on top of my head. I settled into his strong warmth. A rush of heat and butterflies danced through me. I never wanted to leave this perfect place.

He smelled of fresh dirt, of faint smoke. It reminded me of spring and autumn. Change you could always count on.

“What is it?” I forced myself to ask; my voice sounded thick and far away.

“The prize,” he murmured, his lips moving against my hair. “A virgin.”

Even as the words settled in, I didn’t fully feel their weight. Nothing else besides this moment felt real. Nothing else besides us mattered.

“I’m not sure if it's symbolic; I’m sure it is,” he went on. “But the looks on the Omega's faces.” He tensed and then relaxed again, rubbing small circles on my back.

“They don’t protect their Omegas here,” I explained. “I’m assuming it's not on a volunteer basis?”

“No.”

“Why is it always a virgin,” I muttered. “Why don’t you suggest that someone volunteers? There must be many willing pack members that would love the honor, even if it’s not real,” I suggested.

“They want a virgin,” Ezra repeated. “Hunter wants an Omega virgin.”

“How would they even know?” I asked.

He swallowed, and I gently untucked myself from his chest so I could look at his face. “Doctors, I’m unsure.”

“That’s so-”

“Archaic,” he cut me off, “Strange, power abusing.”

“All of those,” I muttered, letting some of the anger lap into my voice.

“It was just supposed to be like a dummy maiden. Apparently, this was done ages ago when the Alphas would fight to protect or save a maiden. It all sounded more chivalrous. It seemed easy enough, but Hunter was the one who suggested a real maiden. One of his choosing.”

My stomach curled, and I looked at Ezra’s face. We both knew what that meant. We knew he didn’t intend it as a symbol. I was unsure if it was a power play to show his dominance already over the pack, that his decisions meant more than Nolans did, but I knew deep down he was just a sadistic fuck.

“When are they to be…” The words were hard to get out even though this behavior was expected from them. I was happy to find there was a flicker of decency in me; maybe I borrowed it from Ezra. “When are they to be presented?” I asked.

“This evening. At dinner,” Ezra said, “I tried to change it. I tried to stop it.” His face crumbled a bit. “I hate feeling helpless.”

The embarrassment those girls would go through publicly, I added that anger to my well of it, and it joined the rest of it and swirled and lapped and begged to be let out. Aksala was growling in my mind.

“Tell me who is chosen,” I said. “She will not be hurt,” I promised.

“I know,” Ezra said.

I brushed my fingers over his eyebrow where a scar pierced through. I never asked about them. For us to be scarred, it would take a lot, and he had far more than I had seen anyone have combined.

I had never felt so taken by any sensation. My brain was muddled; nothing was real besides where his fingers touched me.

“Simone,” he breathed; it was a prayer.

A finger dipped under the fabric, and his touch on my bare self was electric. My breath hitched, and he smiled against my lips as he ran his finger tantalizingly slow up my opening. Every part of me focused on his fingers. The yearning, the pure pleasure that his soft touch elicited.

“Is this okay?” he asked, his voice raw and rumbling.

“Y-yes,” I said.

He slowly pushed a finger into me. I gasped at the new sensation. He pulled it out and pushed it back in further. I grasped his shoulders, moving my legs further apart for him.

It didn’t take much. I wasn’t sure if this was always how it was or if it was due to the building desire between us, but I felt myself coil and wind tighter with each thrust of his finger.

My erratic breathing turned into jumbled words. He kissed me against my garbled moans.

“Simone,” he grunted, and I peaked.

The coil unleashed at once, and pure, undiluted ecstasy that I had never known pulsed through me. I was overtaken by warmth and happiness, and it pulled me under.

I don’t know when or how I came back to myself, but Ezra pulled his finger gently out of me and had me pressed against his chest as my breath evened.

One of his hands lay on my lower back, and it grounded me to here and to him.

I had never felt anything like that, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it and the way that I felt so alight with something that wasn’t anger. I wanted to tell him, but I couldn’t. I was too satiated, too tired.

Our breathing slowed together. His heartbeat was strong and steady. I realized I was still grasping onto his shirt tightly. I uncoiled my hands and placed them on his steady, chiseled chest.

He lowered his mouth to my hair. “Simone,” he murmured into it. “Thank you.”

I pulled back to look at him; his mismatched eyes were ablaze with longing, and he gave me a languid smile. I was about to tell him that I was the one who should thank him when I heard determined footsteps near.