Beta’s Surrender: Irresistible Omegas Book Three Read online

  Beta’s Surrender

  Irresistible Omegas Book Three

  Nora Phoenix

  Beta’s Surrender (Irresistible Omegas Book Three) by Nora Phoenix

  Copyright ©2018 Nora Phoenix

  Cover design: Vicki Brostenianc (Vic’s Pics)

  Edited by Jamie Anderson

  All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form by any means without the written permission of the copyright holder, except in case of brief quotations and embodied within critical reviews and articles.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The use of any real company and/or product names is for literary effect only. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

  This book contains sexually explicit material which is suitable only for mature readers.

  www.noraphoenix.com

  Contents

  Publisher’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Meet Nora Phoenix

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Nora Phoenix

  Publisher’s Note

  This novel depicts mature situations and themes that are not suitable for underage readers. Reader discretion is advised.

  Please note there’s a trigger warning for mentions of rape, sexual assault, miscarriages, and depression (all off-page). There’s a brief case of sexual violence on page, but with a positive outcome.

  1

  Grayson Whitefield let his eyes wander over the beta in front of him, who had his chin raised defiantly. Lars’s usually disheveled hair was an utter mess and his cheeks were flushed, as were his brother Sven’s. Sven wouldn’t meet Grayson’s eyes, the omega’s shoulders hunched as he stared at the floor of the gym room in the ranch. Shame was dripping off him tangibly.

  Grayson had no trouble concluding what had happened. These two had been messing around, maybe even fucking, and Enar had caught them. Grayson had caught sexual tension between the two brothers before. First, it had been long looks and little touches that had felt out of place, considering they were brothers. Then he’d caught some noises from their room, and he’d wondered about them…his fertile imagination having no issue providing alluring scenarios and projecting them in his mind, those limber, sweaty bodies. They’d look so pretty on their knees, and…

  Nope, he wasn’t going there. He had to focus on Lars, whose whole expression taunted Grayson to say something. He would—and Lars wasn’t going to like it.

  Enar’s face as he’d blindly stumbled out of the gym room had told Grayson everything he needed to know. The man had been wounded deeply—by his own brother, who undoubtedly had lashed out in anger. Again.

  Grayson had scolded Lars before about his disrespectful attitude—in that case toward Lidon, which was even worse considering he was pack alpha—but apparently, he hadn’t made enough of an impression. He’d have to do better, then.

  “We have a problem,” he said, keeping his voice level.

  “What, you object to me fucking my adopted brother?” Lars snapped.

  Ah. He’d been right, then, though the adopted part was new. “I do, actually, but that’s not your biggest problem.”

  Lars crossed his arms, lifting his chin even higher. His body language was the complete opposite of Sven’s, who now lowered himself on a sweaty bench—undoubtedly the one they’d just been fucking on. Stress and shame radiated from the omega in big waves, and combined with the pheromones he was throwing off, it put Grayson’s body on full alert.

  You’d think that at forty-three he’d be past that hormonal shit, but apparently, his alpha didn’t feel that way. Oh no, it wanted Sven something fierce. Fucking traitor.

  “Ask me what your biggest problem is, Lars,” Grayson said, his voice not betraying the anger that simmered inside.

  Lars shrugged. “Like I care.”

  Grayson’s eyes narrowed. “You should care, because it’s what’s gonna get you booted from the ranch.”

  For the first time, Grayson spotted something on the boy’s face other than anger and defiance. Fear. “Lidon promised we could stay. I took the fucking job he offered me, like you told me to.”

  Oh yes, that encounter had been unpleasant as well, Grayson impressing upon Lars in crystal clear terms that Lidon’s job offer was the best opportunity he would ever get. In the end, the beta had seen reason, or maybe Grayson had scared him into falling in line. It seemed they were back at square one, however.

  “That promise was contingent on you obeying his commands as pack alpha, if you recall. One of the pack laws is that you can’t have a sexual relationship with an omega without the alpha’s permission.”

  Lars’s eyes widened. “You suggested that rule! You fucking set me up,” he accused Grayson.

  “No, though I did suspect something was going on between you. The walls inside the main house aren’t that thick. You should know, because I overheard you complain to Sven about hearing the alpha fuck his men… If you can hear them, we can hear you too, you know.”

  “Why did you propose that rule?” Sven asked timidly. “If it wasn’t to spite Lars and me, I mean…”

  “Because you’re vulnerable, Sven, as are many omegas. Ask your brother sometime what heartbreaking stories he’s encountered with omegas who were taken advantage of.”

  “Enar is not his brother,” Lars snapped.

  Grayson took a step closer to him, raising himself to his full height, which meant he had a good three inches on the beta. “No, but he is yours. Moreover, he’s the alpha’s claimed mate, which makes him someone you should respect the hell out of, if only out of self-preservation.”

  “S-self-preservation?” Sven asked.

  “What did you say to him?” Grayson asked.

  Lars shrunk a little, his eyes dropping to the floor, but he didn’t answer.

  “What did you say to Enar, Lars? I won’t ask again.” He bit back on his alpha, who was getting impatient with the boy’s insolence.

  “Lars, you need to tell him,” Sven said. “He’ll compel it out of you, and it will be twice as bad.”

  At least one of them was using his brain.

  Lars shuffled his feet, still avoiding Grayson’s gaze. “I…I said he was an alpha who wanted to be treated like a beta…and that Lidon didn’t even choose him as his second-in-command.”

  Grayson closed his eyes for a second. No wonder Enar had looked like he’d been stabbed in his heart. He had been, figuratively speaking…by his own brother.

  “Even after witnessing how you’ve treated him ever since you arrived here, I still find myself disappointed you would sink that low. You deliberatel y hit him where you knew it’d hurt the most… You should be deeply ashamed of that, Lars.”

  His words hung heavy in the air, Lars’s shoulders dropping even lower.

  “He didn’t mean it like that,” Sven offered.

  Grayson forced himself to stay calm. “That’s not something you should decide for him, Sven. If he feels that way, he should have the guts to say so.”

  Lars raised his head, a spark of fire back in his eyes. “He left us with him,” he said, his voice thick. “He knew what a massive asshole he was, and he left us with him.”

  Grayson didn’t need to guess who the “he” was in both cases. The little he’d surmised about Enar’s father had made it clear the man lacked redeeming qualities.

  “Let’s assume for a second what you’re saying is true and that Enar did that willfully, does that justify your remarks to him?”

  Lars clenched his fists. “You don’t understand! I’ve had to watch my own father try and seduce Sven…and when that didn’t work, he tried to force himself on him. And you’re saying that I should be all brotherly warm toward the one guy who could’ve prevented it? Fuck you!”

  Grayson’s alpha had reached his limit. “On your knees!” he commanded, his voice booming through the gym.

  Both boys dropped to their knees immediately… and fuck if that wasn’t a satisfying sight. Grayson bit back the mix of anger and lust that thundered through his veins.

  “You two need to get through your thick skulls how things work around here. This is a pack, and that means you will damn well respect how things work around here. You do not tell someone to go fuck himself, do you hear me? Not me, not anyone. You show your fellow pack members some fucking respect. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, alpha.”

  Their responses were instantaneous, and sweet contentment at their submission filled Grayson. He’d never been one to insist on much etiquette as an alpha, but making Lars yield to him pleased him. Very much so, in fact.

  “Get up,” he told them. “Sit down on that bench and listen.”

  He waited till they were both seated, Lars sporting a look of begrudging respect.

  “We’ll continue this conversation at a later time, because don’t think for a minute that we’re done.”

  “Who made you our boss?” Lars said, and Grayson smiled.

  The boy still wouldn’t back down, would he? His stubbornness was as infuriating as it was arousing, Grayson’s cock still invested in what was happening.

  “I did, and I’m gonna love every second of it. You’d better pay attention, boy, because things will not end well if you don’t. All I have to do is tell Palani what you said to Enar… He’ll kick you out faster than you can pack up your shit.”

  Lars paled, shooting a nervous look sideways at Sven, who was on the verge of tears. “Sven’s heat is coming.”

  “I know, which is why we’ll allow him to stay. Besides, he’s not the one who verbally attacked the alpha’s mate…you were. This is your second warning, Lars, and it will be the last one. You may be pissed at your brother and you may even have reason to be, I don’t know, but you will treat him with the respect he deserves as the alpha’s mate. If you can’t bring yourself to do that, you have no place in this pack.”

  He waited till Lars met his eyes, satisfied when he saw his message had landed.

  “You’ll go out of your way to avoid Enar for now, until you’re convinced you can treat him with respect. Understood?”

  “Yes, alpha.”

  * * *

  Lars would never admit it, but Grayson’s little speech had scared the shit out of him. The idea of being kicked out of the ranch was frightening, but the thought of being separated from Sven was terrifying. Sven needed him, and if Lars was honest with himself, he needed him right back. He might be the stronger of the two of them, or so he’d always thought, but he’d be lost without his lover, his best friend… It had been the two of them against the world for a long time now, and he couldn’t fight that battle alone.

  So he’d done as Grayson had told him the last two days, and he’d stayed out of the way of not just Enar but his three mates as well. There was no way he was risking his position here at the ranch. Sven needed to ride out his heat here, though Lars still wasn’t sure how much of what Enar had told them was true. Would Sven’s heat really be that much different from that of other omegas, or had Enar merely tried to scare them?

  But Enar didn’t have a reason to scare them, though, did he? Lars had to be honest that he couldn’t think of a motive for his brother to fuck them over. He’d never cared about them, so why would he care either way now?

  Lars pondered it as he tilled the plot he was working on with a rototiller, preparing it so they could start sowing zucchini, melons, and pumpkins. It was heavy work, especially this time of day, when the sun was burning on his back. He had to wipe the sweat off his face with a bandana after every row of tilling. The music he was listening to with his earbuds did improve his mood somewhat, but he knew it would take him at least two hours to finish this—if he didn’t die from a heat stroke first.

  Still, it was the perfect time since the soil was dry and easier to move around than when it was saturated with rain. They were expecting rain in two days, so he would make sure the plot was ready by then and distribute fertilizer before the rain hit. That way, it could soak into the soil, priming it for these vegetables that needed fertile soil to grow.

  By the time he was done, he was drenched with sweat, his throat parched. He’d brought a large bottle of water but clearly, he should have brought more. He emptied it, taking out his earbuds.

  “I brought you some more water,” Grayson said behind him, making him spin around.

  A strong hand steadied Lars as he almost tripped over his own feet. “I didn’t see you,” he said. “Or hear you.”

  Grayson studied him with an amused look, holding out the jug of water. “Clearly.”

  Lars took it after a slight hesitation, then proceeded to gulp down almost half of it. “Thank you,” he said after finishing.

  Grayson surveyed the plot Lars had been working on. “What were you doing?”

  Why was he asking this? Was he checking up on him again, making sure he was staying busy or something? The man had popped up constantly the last two days. “Prepping this plot for planting,” he said. “It’s what Jawon and Vieno asked me to do,” he added.

  “I wasn’t attacking you,” Grayson said. “Merely curious. I don’t know much about gardening in general, let alone agriculture.”

  “Oh.” Lars debated with himself for a second, then said, “You can’t just sow veggies, especially the ones we want to plant here. They need fertile, loose soil if you want them to grow, so you need to prep beforehand. Like, loosening the soil, removing all big lumps and rocks, and then spreading and mixing in fertilizer.”

  “Huh,” Grayson said, studying the plot again. “That sounds like a lot of work. What made you choose this area to study?”

  Damn, what was up with the twenty questions today? Didn’t this guy have something better to do than play Spanish Inquisition with him? Still, he’d better answer and not show his feelings.

  “I like being outside, and I like working with my hands. This was something that seemed to fit my requirements and that was suitable for a beta career.”

  Grayson smiled at him unexpectedly. “You don’t like me asking all these questions, do you?”

  Apparently, he hadn’t been able to conceal his frustration. As usual. “Not really, no. Why the sudden interest in me?”

  Grayson took a step closer, and even though there was still a yard or so between them, Lars felt his presence. “I told you: I’ve made myself the boss of you. I volunteered to Palani to make sure you stay out of trouble. And in case you were wondering, I always take my promises seriously.”

  Just his luck, an alpha with time on his hands who got a kick out of riding his ass. “I’m sure Palani is grateful, but don’t you have something mor e useful to do? I told you I’ll keep my head down, okay? No need to babysit me.”

  His tone was a tad snappier than he’d intended it, and Grayson’s smile grew predatory. “And with that remark, you proved how much you need a babysitter, boy.”

  That last word got Lars’s back up, and at the same time it tickled him inside. “I’m not a boy. I’m twenty-two, an adult. Old enough to take care of myself and make my own decisions.”

  Grayson’s smile vanished, replaced by a much cooler expression. “Are you, now? You’re doing a piss-poor job of both. No, don’t bother responding, because we both know whatever you say will only get you deeper into trouble.”

  Lars’s shoulders dropped at the realization that his mouth had once again gotten the better of him. He forced himself to stay quiet, ashamed Grayson was right. He had zero self-preservation skills and had been about to piss off the man who had the power to get him kicked out. Again. He was such an idiot.

  A finger lifted his chin up, and Grayson forced him to make eye contact. Lars bit back a gasp at how close Grayson stood, crowding his personal space. The alpha’s eyes drilled into his.

  “I will keep babysitting you until I am assured you know how to behave. If you keep perpetuating this childish behavior you’ve demonstrated so far, you leave me no choice but to treat you like a child until you start acting with maturity. The sooner you get that, the sooner I’ll get off your ass.”

  Grayson didn’t release him until Lars nodded faintly, and then he abruptly turned around and left. Lars watched him walk away, his insides churning with emotions that were hard to pinpoint. Anger, for sure, mostly at himself for being stupid all over again. But there was also something that wasn’t so easy to label, something that felt a lot like regret for disappointing Grayson. Why the hell would he care what Grayson thought of him?