The Mating Game: The Omega Auction Chronicles, #3

By Kian Rhodes

Kenny

In this place, the Omega Auction House, I was nothing but a commodity. A far cry from when I had just turned eighteen and after intense vetting and negotiations, my father had proudly announced that he'd placed me with the Whiskey River pack. No one could dispute that it had been a good placement, as I'd spent the next four years being spoiled and cosseted by my Alpha. Four years of sharing his life, whimpering under his touch, and raising the pups that we had created together only to find myself here. Pregnant and alone, abandoned by the Alpha who'd sworn to make me his own.

 

Drey

Hell and damnation! My opportunity to make a good first impression on my new Omega and damned if my grand entrance hadn't gone unnoticed. Both Omegas present were intently focused on the dragon in the room. Not only that, but the bastard had a firm grip on the neck of the sweet little redhead I had just purchased. I wasn't one to cling to the old adage that wolves and dragons had to be enemies, but seriously. Damn dragon.

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: NomdePlum
• Release date: Nov 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9780997793765

Book preview

Prologue

Kenny

Omega?

I forced my eyes from the cracked linoleum floor to find not one but two commanding Alphas studying me curiously. A matched pair of broad shoulders, cleft chins, and kind eyes; they were clearly twins, and from their scent, werewolves. A shiver ran down my spine.

Yes, Alpha.

Do you have a name? the one on the right asked.

I did. Of course, I did. But it was one that he had given me. Just one more thing to salt the open wound of my heart as I knelt on the pre-auction stage. Better that I start my new life with a new name.

No, Alpha.

I saw his eyebrow twitch as though he doubted my answer.

Do you know why you were sent to auction while breeding?

Yes, Alpha, I forced the words out, hoping that my voice wouldn't crack. My pack Alpha took a contract mate after he bred me and she demanded that he kill the pup. I was sent to auction instead.

Thank you, Omega.

I nodded, refocusing my eyes on the ugly green floor.

There was more to the story, to my story, of course, but there was no real point in telling the details to an Alpha who was already reading the next placard over, his disinterest tangible. He wasn’t here to buy an Omega who was already bred. Not many of the Alphas would be.

In this place, the Omega Auction House, I was nothing but a commodity. A far cry from when I had just turned eighteen and after intense vetting and negotiations, my father had proudly announced that he’d placed me with the Whiskey River pack. No one could dispute that it had been a good placement, as I’d spent the next four years being spoiled and cosseted by my Alpha. Four years of sharing his life, whimpering under his touch, and raising the pups that we had created together only to find myself here. Pregnant and alone, abandoned by the Alpha who'd sworn to make me his own.

Thinking about my babies tore my heart open further. Kent, Sophie, and Keran were four, three, and two, respectively. What had they been told about my absence? Shifter children matured at approximately twice the rate of human children, so I could hope, at least, that they were adjusting, but what about Ben and Beth? The twins that I had birthed after my last heat had barely finished being weaned when I was ripped from their lives. Was their new step-mother lovingly caring for them, or had she simply shoved them off on their Beta nannies to raise? Or, gods save me, had the bitch had them killed as she had threatened to do with the pup still snuggled in my womb?

I swallowed my tears and forced my thoughts away from such horror. Instead, my mind wandered through my memories until it settled on the day that everything had changed: ironically, the day that my Alpha had assured me that, despite the addition of a female Alpha to the pack, nothing was going to change. And I had believed him. What an idiot I’d been!

It had been a beautiful evening. I was weeding the small garden patch where I grew the herbs for the special spice tea that Colin, my Alpha, enjoyed. He had asked me to walk with him, intertwining our fingers as he led me to the small outdoor seating area that overlooked the valley below.

Ye know I love ye. Colin had pulled me close to his side as we leaned back in the love seat. Right?

I nodded, confused. Colin was a very demonstrative Alpha. He was affectionate, protective, and possessive. There was no member of the pack who doubted his feelings for me. Why would he ask such a thing?

And ye know that my da has been trying to broker a peace agreement with a rival pack for many years? Colin went on.

I nodded again. It was the reason that he hadn’t claimed me; as the only son of the current Alpha in his familial pack in Scotland, he would be expected to breed the daughter of the warring pack if a treaty was finally reached. As wolves are monogamous, that wouldn’t be possible if he had claimed a mate. He had explained this to me. I understood, and so we always spoke of our potential claiming as an event that would take place after he had done his duty. It wasn’t ideal, but we made it work.

‘Tis done. Colin’s voice was sad. Althea will arrive in the next few days.

I stiffened against him in spite of myself, and Colin kissed me softly.

It changes naught, Kenny. He stroked the sensitive skin on my wrist, making my pulse jump. It’s a contract mating - in name only. My Alpha pulled me into his lap, groaning as my butt slid over his trapped member. I’ll have to breed her once, but then we’ll go our separate ways and I will finally be able ta claim ye. He nipped lightly at the tender flesh where I would eventually wear the scar of his bite, marking me as his claimed mate. Understand?

Yes, I said softly into his ear, letting my breath tickle his responsive flesh. He groaned and thrust up against me.

I need ye, luv. Colin's large, warm hands slid reverently over my ripe stomach before flattening to glide beneath the elastic of my maternity pants, easing down my hips and gripping my rapidly filling length, stroking it as he nibbled on the spot behind my ear that he knew would make me quiver. Aye?

I nodded, the motion jerky as my body began to prepare for his welcome invasion. Always. My voice was barely there, but I knew my Alpha heard it.

Ye want me? He teased me gently, his fingers sliding back to stroke my wet, twitching hole. Ye want me here?

Yes, please, I whimpered, grinding against the steel-hard length pressing up against me. Colin was far from a cruel man, but he loved to hear me beg almost as much as I enjoyed being made to do it. Need you, too!

My Alpha’s only response was a growl deep in his throat as he pushed his pants aside and filled me in one deep, gentle stroke. I gasped as his cock stretched me, rubbing against my sweet spot as he guided me toward our ultimate pleasure with controlled passion.

Oh gods, Alpha, I gasped as he held me still, keeping me from grinding against him. Fuck me!

I rarely swore. Truthfully, it was usually only when I wanted to incite his passion by talking dirty but on this day, he was having none of it. He continued to hold me in his powerful grasp as he slowly sawed against the bundle of nerves that made me beg and then swear until I came, spraying my hot cream out onto the ground in front of us as my Alpha, my lover, filled my tight canal, rocking into me as he spurted again and again. He filled me so full of his seed that it began to leak out around the knot that was swelling against my rim, locking him in my hungry hole.

Oh gods. I collapsed back against his chest, reveling in his arms holding me tightly around the waist. I love you so much.

I love ye too, Kenny, he growled into my ear, his knot throbbing inside me. Always, luv.

A week later, she arrived and everything that wasn’t going to change, did.

Chapter One

Her name was Althea . She was tall and thin, angular, even. All sharp edges and severe expressions, with flat brown eyes and her black hair pulled into a severe bun. There was no softness about her. As I studied her, I wondered how Colin felt about that. Even before my pregnancies, I had been, according to Colin, pleasingly plump. Not fat, mind you, but not muscular, and definitely not slender. My Alpha was vocal in his appreciation of my bubble butt and thick thighs. He celebrated the slight additional padding that each pregnancy had left on my hips for his fingers to grip as he thrust into me.

If her physical features weren’t off-putting enough, Althea’s personality wasn’t exactly welcoming, and there was no doubt that she and I were not destined to be friends. She had dismissed not just our introduction but my entire existence with a sniff of her narrow nose as she stared past me. Colin had shrugged apologetically as she snubbed me, and I nodded. He had his hands full, so I returned to my personal quarters and the bed that I had never slept in. From my first day with the pack, heat or not, my nights had been spent in the Alpha’s arms, but now that wasn’t possible.

That was the one and only time that I saw Althea. Three days passed before her brother, a Beta appropriately named Judas, approached me as I soaked up the mid-day rays on my private outdoor patio. I should have been fast asleep, but with my Alpha missing from my bed, I wasn’t able to sleep much at all.

Ken, he greeted me cautiously, waiting to approach until I opened my eyes. Are you well?

I am. I shoved my pregnant self to a seated position. You?

Fine, he said shortly, rubbing his hand over his face. I have alarming news.

Oh?

Yes. He nodded. I’m afraid that my sister is quite mad.

I waited, assuming he would clarify whether he meant she was angry or crazy. It wasn’t always a simple thing to interpret his English.

Crazy, he went on, almost as if he’d been privy to my thoughts. She’s ordered her mate to terminate your pregnancy, or treaty or no, she won’t allow him to breed her.

I know I gasped. But why? I shook my head. It’s a contract - it has nothing to do with us. My hand automatically fell to the bulge of my stomach. That would only throw me into heat again, anyway. I stared at him beseechingly. What does she hope to accomplish?

Judas shook his head. I’m not sure, but the Alpha wants me to get you both out of here. I flinched as he continued. Even if you do fall into heat again, Althea will refuse to allow Colin to breed you as long as she remains here. He sighed deeply. It’s written into the contract that she has this control.

I stared at him. But losing the baby combined with an unresolved heat could kill me.

He nodded. That’s why Colin instructed me to take you to auction: to save you and the babe.

No. I backed away and shook my head. He wouldn’t!

I watched as Judas pulled a stack of papers from the satchel at his side and laid them in front of me. Pedigree, breeding history, affidavit of pedigree for the new babe, health records. He pointed to each page in turn. He told me to show you this if you doubted me. He sighed heavily and pulled something from his pocket. He also asked me to give you this and to bid you keep it secret.

The earth seemed to shift beneath my feet as I recognized the titanium charm that Colin always wore on a braided leather band around his neck; the charm matched the one resting against my collarbones, naming us as two parts of a single soul. Reaching out, I snatched it from Judas’ fingers as I fought back tears.

What am I to do? I asked.

Judas shook his head. They won’t allow you any property at the auction house, so you should hide that if you wish to keep it.

I nodded, devastated. "I need to

Reviews for The Mating Game

[viragoreads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The stories and packs continue to intertwine within this series.The omega auction is a hot mess and I can't understand why it hasn't been shut down, but the we'd have no shifter drama! In this we have Kenny who had spent the last four years being adored and spoiled by his alpha. They have several children and another on the way when suddenly Kenny's alpha arranges for him to be sent to the auction, pregnancy be damned.Of course this wasn't actually the case. There was backstabbing, betrayals, lies and a bitter jealous contracted bond mate behind it all. It takes some convincing from Collin, his alpha, to convince Kenny that he is loved and wanted. But if he does return home, it will leave Drey, the alpha who purchased him at auction, without an omega. Fortunately for the couple, Drey ships itThere is so much going on in these stories, I applaud the author for keeping it all straight, weaving it between all the different story lines, and not losing the actual story. I have been listening to these audio novellas on my commute to/from work and on breaks and I have been enjoying them. Looking forward to the next twist in the story.