“Take a breath for me,” Caius says, his palm slipping to my nape as he guides me from my side to my back on the bed. “Inhale, Clove.”
The demand in his voice wraps around me, compelling me to obey. My wolf doesn’t want to defy him. She wants to submit. And my mind is too cluttered with questions to fight the urge.
“Keep breathing for me and I’ll try to help you understand,” he says. “I assume you don’t know much about Carnage Wolves other than we’re supposedly savage and cruel, yeah?”
I confirm with a slight nod. “Nantahala Wolves fear your kind,” I admit softly.
“Our kind,” he corrects with a hint of chastisement in his tone.
“Yes.” It’s just weird to consider as some of this still doesn’t feel real. And a week ago, I was a Nantahala Wolf who very much feared Carnage Wolves.
“We’ll come back to that,” he says. “I’ll give you a little dynamics lesson first.”
Dynamics? I repeat, my gaze slipping downward to where his hips rest against mine.
His lips quirk. “Oh we’ll get to that dynamic in a few minutes, gorgeous. I’ll even provide a hands-on demonstration.”
I shiver, liking the sound of that. “Nantahala Wolves don’t have a, umm, that.”
“Large cocks?” he asks.
“A knot,” I whisper, my cheeks heating.
The sparkle in his gaze tells me he already knew what I meant and wanted to tease me. “It’s only Carnage Alphas that have them. And only Carnage Omegas can accept them.”
“Accept them?” I repeat.
“When we fuck normal wolves or humans, our knots stay at the base,” he explains. “But when we take an Omega, the knot connects to her, creating a bliss unlike any other. Or that’s what I’ve heard and now observed, anyway. I’ve not yet experienced it for myself.”
His gaze heats with the words, his focus falling to my mouth before slowly returning his gaze to mine.
“You’ve never had sex with an Omega?” It comes out as a question, but I already know the answer because that’s what he said. I just don’t know what else to say and I want him to keep talking, to explain all this to me.
“Omegas are exceptionally rare. Most Carnage Wolf packs only have five or six, compared to maybe fifty Alphas and a hundred Betas. It’s why we develop clans within the packs.”
My brow furrows. “Clans?”
“Compatible mate groupings based on power and strength,” he defines. “Tieran and Volt are my clan. We share power and protect each other.”
“Like a mate-circle,” I translate, awed by this concept. “Nantahala males often have harems to satiate their hunger, but only one mate.”
Which is the purpose of the trials in my pack. Only the most eligible females win a mate. And the ones entirely rejected from the harem and mate process go to the Reject Islands.
Caius snorts. “The Nantahala Alpha has created a society that favors men and enslaves women. The male wolves have harems because they like to fuck, not because of some animalistic need to sate themselves. They don’t understand pack dynamics the way we do.”
The contempt in his tone sends a chill down my spine. He very clearly dislikes my former pack. Given everything I’ve been through, I’m inclined to agree.
“They purposely suppressed my wolf,” I tell him, my eyes narrowing. “I thought it was to keep myself pure, to be the perfect mate. But I feel the wrongness of it now. My wolf never wants to be caged again.”
“Carnage Wolves don’t suppress our animals,” he replies. “We embrace them. And we embrace our needs, too. That’s the purpose of our clans—Alphas need Omegas to procreate and to feel alive. But there are so few of them available. That’s why we form a circle, it’s not just about protection, it’s to share our chosen mate as well.”
My eyes widen. “Your clans only take one female mate?”
He nods.
“And also a harem?” I assume out loud since male wolves have needs, and to only be able to take one female mate per clan would mean they need more females on the side to sate their hunger.
“You’re thinking like a Nantahala Wolf, not a Carnage Wolf, so I’m going to forgive that insult,” he replies, making me frown. “Carnage Omegas are the center of our clans, Clove. They’re the jewel we all crave and desire. No other being could ever compare. So no, we do not take other women. Once we have our Omega, she’s all we desire. She’s everything.” His gaze turns intense again. “You will be our everything.”