Reclaimed by Her Alphas: A Dark and Deadly Reverse Harem Romance

By Jayce Carter

FROM POPULAR ROMANCE AUTHOR JAYCE CARTER

Book ten in The Omega's Alphas series

A Dark and Deadly story

Halloween is the perfect time for these three alphas to give their omega a treat...

When Claire fell in love with Bryce, Joshua and Kaidan, she thought she'd found her happily ever after, but her life seems more trick than treat these days. A year after having their daughter, Claire barely recognizes her own mates. Between their new roles as parents, their exhaustion as they raise a child and Claire's fears about how her body has changed, they've become little more than roommates.

Hoping to give them all a break, Claire throws a Halloween Party for the alphas and omegas of their group. The tension between Claire, Bryce, Joshua and Kaidan is on display, and their friends are willing to intervene for the good of the foursome, even if that means risqué clothing, a bag of toys and more than a little manipulation.

Claire and her alphas finally get some time alone...but they'll have to risk taking off the masks they've been hiding behind if they hope to turn their scary story into a Halloween treat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
• Release date: Oct 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781839435522

Jayce Carter

Jayce Carter lives in Southern California with her husband and two spawns. She originally wanted to take over the world but realized that would require wearing pants. This led her to choosing writing, a completely pants-free occupation. She has a fear of heights yet rock climbs for fun and enjoys making up excuses for not going out and socializing.

Book preview

Totally Bound Publishing books by Jayce Carter

The Omega’s Alphas

Owned by the Alphas

Shared by the Alphas

Saved by the Alphas

Protected by Her Alphas

Caught by Her Alphas

Tamed by the Alphas

Claimed by the Alphas

Exposed by Her Alphas

Trained by the Alphas

Ready or Not

Fake It ‘til You Make It

Opposites Attract

Third Time Lucky

Enemies Closer

Grave Concerns

Grave Robbing and Other Hobbies

Hell Raising and Other Pastimes

Saving the World and Other Bad Ideas

Collections

Sun, Sea and Sinful Delights

Dark and Deadly

RECLAIMED BY HER ALPHAS

JAYCE CARTER

Reclaimed by Her Alphas

ISBN # 978-1-83943-552-2

©Copyright Jayce Carter 2021

Cover Art by Claire Siemaszkiewicz ©Copyright October 2021

Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

Totally Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2021 by Totally Bound Publishing, United Kingdom.

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Totally Bound Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

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Dark and Deadly

Book ten in

The Omega’s Alphas series

Halloween is the perfect time for these three alphas to give their omega a treat…

When Claire fell in love with Bryce, Joshua and Kaidan, she thought she’d found her happily ever after, but her life seems more trick than treat these days. A year after having their daughter, Claire barely recognizes her own mates. Between their new roles as parents, their exhaustion as they raise a child and Claire’s fears about how her body has changed, they’ve become little more than roommates.

Hoping to give them all a break, Claire throws a Halloween Party for the alphas and omegas of their group. The tension between Claire, Bryce, Joshua and Kaidan is on display, and their friends are willing to intervene for the good of the foursome, even if that means risqué clothing, a bag of toys and more than a little manipulation.

Claire and her alphas finally get some time alone…but they’ll have to risk taking off the masks they’ve been hiding behind if they hope to turn their scary story into a Halloween treat.

Dedication

To my mom, who never lets a Halloween go by without telling me the Hollow-weenie joke.

Chapter One

Claire picked up a piece of orange candy from one of the large open cauldrons and unwrapped it. She should have had more self-control, but who could blame her?

Setting up the party had taken hours—hell, weeks of planning—and she’d had nothing but copious amounts of coffee since the night before. It meant the Halloween candy posed more temptation than she could resist.

Besides, her diet could start on Monday.

Or, start again, as was the theme of Mondays. She sighed as she looked at it before popping it into her mouth.

It had been easier to lose weight when she had been in her twenties, before having a kid. She recalled her mother complaining about the same thing, when Claire had rolled her eyes because she hadn’t believed it. Karma had kicked her in the ass, because the stubborn weight refused to shed anymore, like an unwelcome squatter she just couldn’t get to leave. It meant she’d gone from wearing form-fitting clothes to loose shirts long enough to cover her ass.

Everything turned out perfect. Tiffany slid her arm through the crook of Claire’s, the younger omega dressed like a schoolgirl. She’d gone with a short plaid skirt, knee-high socks, and a shirt tied beneath her chest. She’d put her long blonde hair into pigtails, and Claire doubted Kieran would take to the outfit well.

Tiffany’s alphas were as possessive as any, but Kieran was by far the worst. Marshall would have laughed, and Kane would simply have castrated any man who looked at her, but Kieran? He’d take it up directly with the omega herself.

Claire moved past the costume—not my problem—and instead looked around the large house they’d leased for the get-together. The lights were turned low with plenty of horror decorations. The usual skulls and spiders adorned shelves and tables, and an assortment of colorful images were projected onto the large, flat walls. Graveyards, spooky forests—they had it all to set the mood. Yeah, it’s come together pretty well. Hopefully people actually show up.

"It’s a Halloween party. Why wouldn’t anyone show up?"

Because we’re all busy. Claire thought about her own daughter, Amy, and how life passed so quickly. The things that had seemed important just a year before had drifted out of reach. She didn’t see the other omegas as much as she wanted to.

Not that she blamed them.

Tiffany was trying to conceive, Tracy was busy with her daughter, Alison was pregnant with twins, Ashley worked for her mate’s company and Kara was…well, Kara. They all had busy lives and mates of their own to keep them occupied.

Claire hadn’t expected that when she’d gotten pregnant things would change so much, that she’d be so isolated. Maybe that was the big secret—no one realized just how much they’d lose when they had kids.

That’s exactly why we needed this, Tiffany said. Because no one slows down enough. We just keep saying we’ll get together, and before we know it, months have passed, and I haven’t even seen you.

Claire paused in front of one of the snack tables, taking a moment to straighten the plates. All the food was decorated on point for the theme—meatballs with pretzel legs for spiders, a skull-shaped bread bowl full of a spaghetti dip. None of it was appetizing for Claire, but it set the mood she’d wanted. If she were going to throw a Halloween party, it would damn well be festive.

Is Marshall coming? she asked to change the subject.

"He had to trade some shifts, but he got someone to cover him at the hospital. Kieran tried to get out of it, but Kane warned him he wouldn’t want to miss my costume, so I’m sure he’ll show."

Claire laughed softly. You know you’re going to be in trouble, right?

Pink colored Tiffany’s cheeks, the look of a woman who was aiming for that very thing. It forced Claire to remember that, despite Tiffany being younger, she wasn’t some child. She was an adult woman with mates. Oh, I’m counting on it.

Jealousy hit Claire hard, and she knew it was a damn ugly feeling and entirely unfair. She wanted Tiffany to have everything the girl wanted—she deserved that.

Seeing Tiffany happy with her mates, seeing them dote on her, thrilled Claire. How long had Claire worried about her friend? Had looked out for her and tried to protect her? Claire had risked everything to take care of Tiffany, to make sure she could be at this very spot—happy and safe.

Still, that other small part of her wanted it for herself.

Claire thought she’d found it, and yeah, she’d found love. There was no doubt she loved her alphas, that Bryce, Joshua and Kaidan had her heart, and that they felt the same about her.

Love was one thing—happily ever after was quite another, and as it turned out, it hadn’t seemed to last nearly as long as she’d expected it to.

It wasn’t that they fought or that things were bad—they just were different. The men worked, and Claire spent her time caring for Amy, their one-year-old daughter, and running her bookstore. When Amy had been born, Claire had crashed in the baby room for the nighttime feedings. What had started as a necessity had turned into normal, and now she always slept in Amy’s room rather than with any of her men.

Which didn’t give time or space for anything intimate. In fact, they hadn’t gone down that road since before Amy had been born…

It all meant life felt different. Not bad, but hard to swallow after how happy she’d been at first.

Tiffany bumped Claire. What’s wrong?

Claire painted a strained smile over her lips, not wanting to bring down the mood or put her problems on Tiffany. Nothing. Just tired, I think. It’s been a long day.

Tiffany narrowed her eyes, an expression that said she didn’t believe her. Even so, she shrugged. Okay. Why don’t you get upstairs and get dressed? I’ll keep an eye on things here and play hostess till you’re back.

Claire wasn’t looking forward to the idea of dressing up, but she couldn’t exactly tell everyone else to do it if she didn’t. Leaders lead by example, right? If that meant she put on a stupid hat, well, she’d done worse in the past.

Thanks, Claire said and left the party in Tiffany’s hands.

They still had a lot more guests to arrive. All the omegas and their alphas who Claire knew were slated to attend, the people who had become like family to her. In addition to that, they’d reached out to friends and acquaintances to invite any other alpha or omega who wished to come.

The importance of those connections couldn’t be understated, and Claire wanted to build that community for others. It had become a passion for her, a desire to give to the next generation something she hadn’t had.

Bryce hadn’t been on board with the idea at first, worried about the security risks of such a thing. Even with all the work Claire and the others had done, omegas were a target, and inviting multiple to a single event could prove tricky.

Still, he’d given in, as he often did, once she’d agreed to allow him to run security. He’d brought in his company, using betas he knew to handle the actual work. In fact, Claire was pretty sure the party was better protected than the White House at that particular moment.

Kaidan and Joshua had agreed, and no doubt helped with the plans, but Bryce was always the one to push the envelope when it came to actually keeping her safe. She almost smiled at the memory of him trying to talk her into a bracelet with a GPS tracker inside. He’d laid out the case so well, even buying a beautiful silver bracelet engraved with intricate lines that looked like the fanciest piece of jewelry she’d ever seen.

She’d said no of course—I’m not a dog to be tagged—but his annoyed huff at the end had warmed her.

That had been back when they’d worked off the disagreement in bed afterward, when she’d soothed his worries with her body and he’d spent hours reminding her of a few of the reasons why she loved him.

Claire sighed, the pain of loss sharp since that wasn’t who they were anymore, it seemed.

It was time to go put on her costume, to smile and act as if everything was okay.

Of course, if there were ever a night to pretend, Halloween seemed a good one.

* * * *

Bryce pulled at the collar of his shirt, reminded of the fact that he didn’t care for suits. How other men wore them daily, he’d never understand. Still, it was a party, and that required dressing up, or so Kaidan had claimed when he’d set out clothing for them all. Besides, he’d rather put on a suit with a mask than wear some complex costume.

At least no one handed me fake fangs.

The house was creepy, he had to admit. The front was lit up with purple and green projectors that had ghosts and bats flying on the walls. Machines blew fog across the lawn, making it eerie even to Bryce, who didn’t scare easily.

The large space in front of the house had plenty of room for parking, along with more on the sides of the long driveway. Much of it was already claimed by a myriad of cars, telling Bryce that, despite all Claire’s worrying, the party seemed to be a success.

Which Bryce wasn’t a fan of, really.

He didn’t mind the other omegas they knew, the alphas they’d become friends with, but he was, at his core, a homebody who preferred an evening in the comfort of his own house. A beer, a good meal and the warm body of his mate were all he