"We understand. Talia and I will get it sorted out." Rina hesitates before saying, "Our first account of missing Straforians was twelve cycles ago."
"I see."
I share a glance with Lyra and squeeze her hand tightly, offering her a soft smile that she tries to return. There's a buzz of commotion happening around us as loved ones reconnect with the other captives, bodies are dragged for burning or burial, and rescue teams are formed in an effort to search the rest of the ship for hostiles and prisoners. All the hustle is making my head pound, and as happy as I am that these efforts are happening, I just really want to go home. It's too much, and I'm ready for my nest and my mates.
Wen squeezes me gently, says his goodbyes to Talia and Rina, and starts to march us home at last.
Chapter 20
Lyra
Thejourneyhomeisa quick one, and Wen carries Olo the entire time, despite the omega's initial protests. One swift growl quieted any objection Olo had, and Wen then barked an order for me to hold onto his tattered pants. Yet despite my grip on the fabric, Wen looked back at me every few steps as if to reassure himself I was still there.
The moment we get home, Olo and I are ushered to the bath and scrubbed down. Anytime either of us tries to say something to Wen, he growls and nips our napes, silencing us instantly. After the first few times, I remain silent and just enjoy the care and attention our alpha is lavishing on us.
No matter the growls and nips, he's ever gentle.
He tends to Olo's wounds and brings us food ,and before I know it, we're naked and in the nest with an irritated alpha towering over us with his arms crossed. I swallow thickly and try not to drool over his hardened length staring me in the face.
"You two are in a world of trouble," he rumbles low, giving us his best glower that has me wanting to shrink beneath the furs. "Running off like that after I had specifically ordered you to remain behind the crate."
I swallow thickly. "Olo was just following me," I whisper, riddled with guilt. "It was my fault."
My fault Olo got hurt.
When Wen frowns at me, my chest tightens uncomfortably. "You disobeyed me, Lyra. You could have gotten seriously hurt—both of you. You could have been killed, and that would have destroyed me."
"I'm sorry." I hang my head in shame.
"When I came back to the spot I'd left you and found you both gone, my heart stopped. Fenn told me you two ran off, and I panicked." Wen drops into a crouch, elbows resting on his knees as he levels me and Olo with a raw look that nearly tears me in two. "When I saw you both on the ground, I thought the worst. If that bastard wasn't already dead, I'd have gleefully torn him to pieces." He shakes his head. "Why? Why did you both disobey me? What was so important that you were willing to risk your lives, and the life of our child?"
I flinch like I've been slapped. Hell, I'd rather have been slapped; it probably would have hurt less.
"There's no explanation that would make up for my recklessness." A tear falls down my face, one Wen tracks with sorrow. "I wasn't thinking straight. I just didn't want him to get away. He needed to pay, and to die so he didn't do anything horrible again. I'm sorry. I really am."
Wen pulls us into a fierce hug, holding tight for a long while, and I breathe him in, my mate, my alpha, my protector.
"Lyra," Wen drawls, gently pulling back so I can see his face, "you need to be punished for disobeying me."
"Okay," I sniffle, but firm up my shoulders, determined to take his punishment with grace.
The sight of Olo's smile throws me, and my confusion only grows when I see Wen's lip twitching like he too is trying not to smile. My eyes narrow in suspicion.
Suddenly I'm upside-down with my ass in the air, hanging over Wen's knee. I squeal, but it's belated, and no matter how much I flail and squirm, I can't break out of his hold.
Thankfully the alpha is careful of my belly and the baby growing inside, but I still squeak, "Wait! No, wait, I'm sorry, Wen. Don't!"
A loud slap registers before the pain does.
Wen rubs his hand over the rising welt on my ass and says, "One."
I kick and squirm, but it doesn't do any good, because not even a breath later, his hand cracks down on my other ass cheek.
"Two."
He rubs the spot, and to my utter mortification, I feel my pussy clench and liquid seep.
Crack!