Waking His Omega

By Crista Crown and Harper B. Cole

This is the end, Simon thought. Not if I can help it, I responded.

After thousands of years asleep in the ice, Ryeth the Sapphire Dragon is waking, and it's the touch of one man's mind that draws him from his dreams. But Ryeth's body is still trapped, leaving him powerless to address the issue of his brother, the Black Dragon, who has already threatened Simon's pack.

Simon didn't realize how alone he felt until Ryeth bonded with him, and now he doesn't know how to function without the dragon's voice in his head. But a yearning for more burns in his gut, and he doesn't know what to do about it.

As the threat of the Black Dragon looms ever greater, Simon must find a way to free Ryeth. It's not only his pack and family that is at stake, but the chance of a future with the dragon he has linked his soul to.

Waking His Omega is a 27k word novella featuring a wise-cracking wolf who is learning what responsibility means, the ancient dragon who lives half in his mind, and the rest of the pack as they face their greatest foe. It is the fifth book in the Outcast Chronicles, and it is recommended to read them in order for maximum enjoyment. This book contains mpreg, knotting, and a peeping tom dragon who can't keep his dirty thoughts out of Simon's head.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crista Crown
• Release date: Aug 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463625323

Crista Crown

Crista Crown grew up in the middle of the woods in a log cabin her father built. She's always found animals to be better company than humans, and finds that shifters combine the best of both worlds! She writes MM and mpreg romance and loves every minute of it.

Book preview

1

Simon

Cold. Hard. Ice. Silence.

The dream had become familiar, but for the first time, I realized I could see where he was. Smooth walls of blue-white ice swept high above me, high enough that I lost any sense of perspective. It could have been fifty feet, it could have been five hundred. The area was filled with a soft light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

The ground below me was mostly white, as if covered in snow, though ahead, I saw a glass-smooth spot. I took a few steps toward it, my feet slipping on the ice underneath the snow, and glimpsed something undulating in the shadows. 

I shivered and stepped back. Even if this was only a dream, I had no interest in looking for danger. Real life held quite enough of that right now, thank you very much.

Wake up, Simon.

The haunting voice echoed through the ice cavern. 

Who's there? I called.

I was lucid dreaming, wasn't I? I'd done that a few times before; awake enough to know this was a dream, asleep enough to stay so I could control it. I wasn't ready to leave the dream yet. I knew, in the way that dreams give you knowledge outside yourself, that this was the same dream I'd been having for months, though I'd been blind every other time. What was it about this place that was calling to me? I wasn't one of those hippie dippies who thought dreams had meaning, but if I kept having the same dream over and over, I was pretty sure there was something worrying me that just hadn't broken through to my conscious thoughts yet.

I shivered. I wasn't used to being cold. As a shifter, I ran hotter than humans, and if it was ever cold enough my body couldn't handle it, I could easily switch to my wolf form. I did so now, and it happened in an instant, not the slower transition of reality, but one minute I was a man, then next I was a wolf. 

My wolf's claw-tipped paws found better traction on the ice than my human feet. It didn't hurt that my weight was spread out over more legs, and that my center of gravity was lower.

Wake up. 

Was there something I was supposed to be doing? Something I was supposed to be awake for? The kids had been able to manage themselves fairly well. I had been terrified when Jesse told me they were moving some of the younger kids into the house, but the team structure they'd set up had kept me pretty well redundant. I wasn't great with kids, but teens weren't too bad. As long as I made sure there was enough food in the fridge and growled at them to clean up the living room once a day, we got along just fine. 

In fact, I hadn't even had to growl at them about cleaning up since they'd switched to teams. The only time the older kids bothered me was when they really needed help.

The cavern seemed even larger as I padded through it. There were other smooth spots, windows into whatever was below us, but I avoided them. Until I came to one section that looked as though something had exploded through it. Ice shards scattered everywhere around the blast site, and I padded my way over cautiously. I peered in, but it was just a large, empty pocket in the ice. What had caused the explosion?

The ground shook beneath me, and I pressed my stomach to the floor.

Wake UP!

Reality was tugging harder on my mind, but I was reluctant to let go of this dream land. I'd never dreamed anything half so detailed, and I wanted to know what it meant. But what if the voice was one of the kids needing my help? 

Reluctantly, I let the dream world dissolve as I turned my mind toward waking. It was a slow transition, and I was surprised to discover I was alone in my room. No one had been calling me. I flipped over to check the clock and groaned. It was way too early for this. I pulled my pillow over my head and snuggled back into my covers, still shivering from the memory of the ice cavern.

I woke with a start when Asher's hand touched my arm. I'd fallen back asleep, though only for a few minutes. 

Asher's face was grim.

The children are missing.

I became aware of the others in the hallway behind him as I flew to put some pants on and Asher filled me in on the situation. Shortly we were on our way, tracking the kids and Caspar, who was on their tail. I winced when Phoenix burned Dallas's leg to wake him, glad I hadn't been caught in whatever sleep spell had seemingly caught the others.

But why hadn't it caught me?

I remembered the voice yelling at me to wake up. Had my subconscious been aware of the spell, and done its best to pull me out?

I had to push that thought aside while we focused on tracking the children. Even in wolf form, the cold of the dream clung to me. I felt... unsteady. Part of my mind felt confused, as if I were still in the dream. I kept flashing between visions of ice blue walls and green forest.

At my brother's order, I circled left as we approached the children. Their scent was heavy with sleep.

When we surrounded them, they weren't the children we knew, but creepy kid zombies with crazy powers, defending the creepy little tyrant in the middle. 

I shivered again, whether from the wrongness of the scene before me or the bone deep cold I couldn't shake, I didn't know. Whatever it was, I was alert, on edge. I barely paid attention to Asher's words as he spoke calmly to the angry young woman controlling the other children like they were her own personal Death Star. His voice was soothing, and he kept the girl talking but didn't seem to be accomplishing much beyond that. His voice became softer and smoother, but I didn't realize he was falling asleep again until he collapsed. 

Shit! I checked my connection with Ryan. He was completely out as well. I could sense Caspar, awake, behind me.

Distract her, Caspar said. I will rescue Asher.

I nodded, but before I could move from the shadows, the girl had turned her back to me, shouting into the forest on the other side.

Come now, Phoenix. Your protectors are gone. Will you run? Will you follow me?

I slipped out of the woods, my limbs creaking with cold, but focused on stealth. I couldn't just dash across the small glade. If she heard me, we'd be done for. Keep her talking, I urged Phoenix, though I knew he couldn't hear me. His eyes and hands began to glow bright with fire.

The cold was so painful, it was all I could do to concentrate on moving forward. I felt as if I were actually turning to ice. Was it possible this was just another dream? It felt like it. I'd never felt this slow inability to move in real life before. Wake up! I told myself.

The cold receded suddenly and I could move again. I sped up, still moving slowly and silently, but with ease now. I stepped on a twig and it cracked. I froze as Della turned toward me, but Phoenix stepped forward and called her attention to him once again.

Not one more step, Phoenix! she shouted at him. 

I had no time to waste. The longer it took me, the more likely she would turn and ruin any chance I had of surprising her. The children were ringed tightly around her, but they didn't move as I fell to my belly and began to crawl through their legs. My hackles stood on end. This was beyond creepy. How had Asher gotten us caught up in this mess of supervillain kids and seers and monsters?

I had to shove a