Dron had never wished for an everlasting life.

Sure, he bathed in the life nectar, as did everyone else who could afford it, but if he were to meet a sudden end, he didn’t think he would be disappointed.

That was before he had the chance to experience Tempest in even the smallest of ways.

Now he’d ride through the underworld naked and weaponless if it meant that he could spend all of existence in this position.

To have her under him, it wasn’t like anything he’d ever experienced with any of the other Omegas. He’d never been able to peer down at them, which he suspected was for the best. He was sure if he did have the chance to look down on them while they tested him, he’d see nothing but resentment and disgust. Maybe even a little shame.

But with Tempest, he didn’t see any of that. He only saw her desire. Her desire for him.

He continued to kiss her neck. Kissing.

It was a marvelous activity. He wondered what other parts of her body she would allow him to kiss. His mind drifted for a second as a clear image of her legs wrapped around his head filtered into his mind. His hips jerked forward on pure instinct. And he went a little deeper than he was supposed to. He steadied himself and slowly dragged back. There was something inside of her.

Something he didn’t think should be there. Was there a barrier inside of her? Something that kept her from having sex. Maybe that’s what she meant about protection.

"Dron! Stop!" Tempest squealed and tried to move from under him.

He’d pushed his luck too far. She’d given him clear instruction, only the tip of his member was supposed to enter her. Only the very tip.

Truly, he didn’t even get the tip inside, but it was all that she was comfortable with, and he pushed too far.

"I"m sorry. It was accidental. I won’t go any further." Dron murmured and tried to pull her attention back to what they were doing.

"No! Stop." Tempest pushed at him again. This wasn’t anger, at least it didn’t seem to be to Dron. This was fear.

He thought he could read her better than that. He was so sure that she was enjoying everything that he’d been doing to her. The way she moaned and wiggled under him seemed to be a clear indication that she was having a good time. She’d even marked him.

Maybe that was the problem. She was done and no longer had any use for him. Other Omegas had used him in such ways. He didn’t want to believe that Tempest was like that but it would make sense.

He closed his eyes and pulled up, ready to leave the blessing that is her body, "Forgive me, I should have left you on your own when you reached completion. I’ll—"

"No! Would you stop it with that?" Tempest reached up and grabbed his face so that he had to look into her eyes.

Dron didn’t want to see the disappointment there, so he was hesitant to open his eyes and look at her but when he finally did, he once again noticed the fear.

"There are people outside...they’re watching us." She whispered.

"People?" Dron repeated as if he truly couldn’t comprehend.

Her words echoed in his head.

People outside...watching us...

People...threats.

Dron roared, his alpha instincts completely overtaking him. He rushed, still completely nude, toward the window.

He didn’t wait for them to retract; he was going too fast. Dron didn’t care.

He barely felt the thin pane of glass shatter as he rushed through it. He rolled on the ground as something fast and thin came shooting in his direction. An anti-alpha suppression dart. It would be the only way he could be pulled from his instincts.

There was no way he’d get shot, not when it meant not being able to protect Tempest. It was one thing for someone to try to sneak up on him, even make him a spectacle, but they threatened Tempest. Whoever was on Dron’s property had just made the worst mistake of their lives.

He dodged to the side again as another dart came in his direction.

They were yelling at him. He couldn’t understand what they were saying. He didn’t care what they were saying. They could’ve been telling him the world was exploding. It didn’t matter, all that mattered was they had to die.

Dron locked onto the first intruder, he was on the right side of the property. He batted against his own chest, trying to gear himself up. He was an alpha, but Dron tasted the pheromones he’d already sprayed into the air. He was nowhere near strong enough. Dron raised his arm, and with one swift motion punched the man so hard he went flying through a tree.

Dron didn’t slow down. There were more of them.

Dron grabbed hold of a low-hanging branch and yanked himself upward, perching himself on a tree limb for a second before he propelled himself forward, tackling the next target.

He felt the man’s bones crunching with the force of the blow.

Dron used his forearm to smash against the man’s face, further incapacitating him. He wanted to pull the man’s head off, but there wasn’t enough time.

"You traitor!" Another alpha roared, Dron stood too quickly. At once he sensed the danger coming in from all three sides. And a smaller danger coming from behind.

They jumped him, and something sharp pierced right above his shoulder blade.

He’d been shot by a suppression dart. Still, it would take it some time to work. Dron got to work. He swung with all his might, taking out two of the men in front of him. They crumbled to the ground like blades of rotten grass.

The last one, the one who had screamed out that he was a traitor, stood in front of him, but he wasn’t charging forward. He knew, even coming down from his alpha instincts, Dron was too much for him to handle.

"You caused this. Laying with that abomination of a woman! You think the people of Thraqe want this? You’ll dilute our bloodline, make us all weaker. You’ll make us all like you—"

Dron didn’t give the man a chance to say anything else before he jumped on him like a wild animal. Dron’s hands wrapped around the intruding alpha’s head and he squeezed. Dron squeezed so hard he felt the sharp bones on the man’s horns crack and crumble beneath his palms.

The male screamed out in pain and tried to kick Dron off. Dron slammed the man’s head over and over into the ground until he stopped moving.

Dron stared down at the man for a second. Then another. He finally understood what the man was trying to say. They hadn’t just come here because they didn’t like him. They came here for Tempest. They didn’t want her mating with a Thraqen.

It was absolutely ridiculous. If all the academics and the scientists said that the human women were compatible, why would anyone else have a problem with it?

Dron’s head began to spin. The suppression dart was starting to take effect.

He leaned against the tree, trying to stay upright. He would have to get the guards over here to clean up this mess. He wasn’t sure if any of the alphas were dead, but if they were, that would be a problem. Dron wasn’t looking forward to a reprimand, but what could they expect? They walked onto his land while he was with his mate. Surely no one could blame him for reacting the way he had.

He had to get back to Tempest. Had to make sure that she was okay.

As he turned, he heard something moving in the trees. With the suppression tonic coursing through his blood, he couldn’t focus well enough to figure out where it was coming from.

"Show yourself!" Dron roared out.

"It seems I missed one hell of a party." The voice spoke out. Maznik stepped out of the shadows with a small box.

"Maznik? What are you doing here?" Dron was suspicious, though he truly didn’t want to be. Could Maznik be one of those who would go against him? The man was arguably his only friend.

"I come to deliver your package. It’s not like I could wait for you to come pick it up from the shop. If any of the guards had seen it, I’d be thrown in the stacks." Maznik raised the small box directly in front of his face as if he were trying to block his sight. "Boy, you’re naked...you realize that, right?"

The small box shook slightly. It held a gift for Tempest.

"I need to get back, come." Dron turned and took off in a light jog back to his house. Every step felt as if he were running through quicksand.

He didn’t know who he could trust. He didn’t know how many other Thraqen’s felt the same as the alphas he’d just gotten rid of.

All that mattered to him was that he got back inside to his greatest temptation.

Her safety was paramount, everything else he’d deal with later.