The male omega

"Alpha."

The word hung in the hot, heavy air of the room, heavy and completely damning. I couldn't believe I had said it. My brain screamed in horror, but my body didn't care. My inner Omega, starved and beaten down into the dark for nineteen years, clawed its way to the surface, demanding I give in to the massive, terrifying predator holding me.

Cillian's fangs scraped against the super-sensitive skin of my neck, right over my scent spot.

A choked, sad sob tore out of my throat as my fingers dug into his broad shoulders. The heat rolling off his skin kept the burning pain of my sickness at bay. The dark, heavy smell of pine and rain worked like a drug, pushing back the fire in my blood. My hips jerked without meaning to, trying to press closer to him. I was completely, totally at his mercy.

If he wanted to take me right there on the rug, to tear through my clothes and claim me while the fever burned my mind away, I couldn't stop him. God help me, I wouldn't want to stop him.

A deep, rumbling purr started in Cillian's chest. It shook right into my bruised ribs. His big hand slid down my spine, his claws lightly catching my skin, pulling my waist tight against his. He opened his mouth, his hot breath hitting my neck, ready to sink his teeth in and mark me forever.

Crack. A burning log in the massive fireplace broke apart, sending a shower of bright orange sparks against the iron grate.

The sharp noise hit like a gunshot.

Cillian froze. His whole body went completely stiff, like lightning had struck him.

The purr died in his chest. The Lycan beast crashed hard against the cold, ruthless King inside him.

"No," Cillian gasped, the word tearing out of him.

He shoved himself violently backward, ripping his body away from mine.

The sudden loss of his heat, his smell, and his touch drove a blade into my stomach. I cried out, falling sideways onto the thick fur rug, curling into a tight, shaking ball. The cold air of the room hit my bare chest, and the awful pain of my fever crashed back down on me ten times harder than before.

"I am not a beast," Cillian snarled, trying to convince himself. He scrambled to his feet, backing away until his shoulders hit the heavy stone wall above the fireplace.

I forced my eyes open, my vision blurry with fever tears.

Cillian looked terrified. His chest heaved, his hands gripping the stone so hard his knuckles turned white. The melted gold in his eyes flickered, flashing back and forth between his Lycan's gold and his human silver. He fought a real war inside his own head.

"You're a male," Cillian gritted out, his voice shaking with a scary mix of rage and desperate denial. "You are a Silvermoon. The lowest, dirtiest pack in the land. I killed your Alpha. I burned your home. You should be trying to cut my throat."

"I... I can't," I whimpered, hating myself. I wrapped my arms around my freezing body, trying to hide the jagged scars and the ugly brand burned over my heart. "Make it stop. Please. It burns."

Cillian squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away from me. He couldn't look at my body. He couldn't look at the proof of nineteen years of pain. "The pills. Your body is trying to push out years of poison all at once while also going into heat too early. If I touch you again, I won't be able to stop."

"Then don't stop!" I cried, the Omega inside me completely taking over my pride. I reached a shaking hand out toward him. "Please, Alpha."

"Stop calling me that!" he roared, punching the stone wall.