The afternoon sun sat high over the war camp when the trouble started.
Cassian walked at Vane’s side through the central path between the tents, wrists unbound but the claim clear in the way the General kept one hand low on the small of his back.
Soldiers stepped aside.
Most kept their eyes down.
One did not.
A broad Beta lieutenant, face still marked from the siege, reached out as they passed and caught Cassian’s elbow.
His fingers dug in, proprietary and testing.
“General,” the man said, voice too loud, “the men are talking.
Pretty Omega like this one, rare blood, soft scent.
Share him out once you’re done with the healing.
Morale could use it.” Cassian stiffened.
Before he could pull free, Vane moved.
The General’s hand closed around the lieutenant’s wrist and twisted.
Bone creaked.
The man dropped to one knee with a sharp cry.
Vane’s pheromones exploded outward in a dark, crushing wave that made every Alpha in earshot go still and every Omega within fifty paces flinch.
“You put your hand on what is mine,” Vane said, voice flat and lethal.
“Explain yourself before I take the arm.” The lieutenant’s face drained of color.
“I only meant—” “You meant to test the claim.” Vane’s golden eyes burned.
He dragged the man up by the same wrist and shoved him back hard enough that he stumbled into the dirt.
Then Vane turned, caught Cassian by the nape, and hauled him in until their bodies pressed flush in the middle of the open path.
Soldiers watched from every side.
“Look at them,” Vane ordered, mouth against Cassian’s ear.
“All of them.
They need a clear lesson.” Cassian’s pulse hammered.
“Vane—” “Quiet.” The General’s free hand shoved under Cassian’s tunic, palm sliding up his bare stomach, fingers finding a nipple and pinching hard enough to draw a startled sound.
“You belong to me.
Your scent.
Your body.
Your gift.
No one else touches.
No one else even looks with intent.” Vane’s mouth dropped to the side of Cassian’s throat and bit down over the scent gland, not breaking skin but hard enough that Cassian’s knees buckled.
A fresh flood of Omega perfume poured into the air, sweet and unmistakable.
Vane growled against the mark and ground his thick cock against Cassian’s ass in full view of the camp.
“Feel that?” Vane’s voice carried.
“That is the only cock this Omega takes.
The only scent he matches.
Anyone else who reaches for him loses the hand that tried.” Cassian’s cock strained against his trousers, already hard from the sudden flood of Alpha dominance.
Slick gathered fast between his thighs.
He hated how quickly his body answered, but the public claim only made the heat worse.
Vane’s hand dropped lower, cupped him through the cloth, and squeezed once, deliberate and open.
A few soldiers shifted.
One looked away.
Most stared.
Vane released the pressure on Cassian’s throat only to spin him around and push him back against the nearest tent pole.
The General’s body caged him in.
One thigh shoved between Cassian’s legs, forcing them wide.
Vane’s mouth claimed his in a deep, possessive kiss that tasted of smoke and power.
When he pulled back, Cassian’s lips were swollen and wet.
“Tell them,” Vane ordered.
“Out loud.
Who do you belong to?” Cassian’s voice came out rough.
“You.” “Louder.” “You.
Only you.” Vane’s smile was sharp.
He turned his head just enough to address the watching men while his hand stayed cupped over Cassian’s cock.
“Anyone else want to discuss sharing arrangements?” Silence.
The lieutenant stayed on the ground, eyes fixed on the dirt.
Vane nodded once.
“Good.
Return to your posts.
The next man who tests this lesson will not walk away.” The crowd broke apart in a hurry.
Vane did not wait.
He steered Cassian straight into the nearest empty supply tent, shoved the flap closed, and pushed him face-first against a stack of crates.
The General’s hands tore at the ties of Cassian’s trousers, yanking them down to mid-thigh.
Cool air hit wet skin.
Slick already painted the insides of Cassian’s legs.
“You liked that,” Vane growled against the back of his neck.
“Your cock was hard the second I put my mouth on your gland in front of them.
Your scent went thick and sweet the moment I claimed you out loud.” Cassian braced his hands on the wood.
“You made a spectacle.” “I made a boundary.” Vane’s fingers slid between Cassian’s cheeks, two of them pushing straight into the slick heat without warning.
Cassian’s back arched.
A broken sound tore from his throat.
“And now I reinforce it.
Open for me.” The fingers worked him open fast and rough, the wet sounds loud in the small tent.
Vane’s other hand reached around and stroked Cassian’s cock in the same rhythm, spreading the precum that leaked steadily from the tip.
Cassian’s hips rocked between the two points of contact, chasing more.
“Tell me you felt it,” Vane said, voice low and dark.
“The way every Alpha out there wanted what I have.
The way your body only answered me.” “I felt it.” Cassian’s words came out shaky.
“Gods, I felt it.” Vane pulled his fingers free, freed his own cock, and lined up.
The thick head pressed against Cassian’s entrance and pushed in with one steady thrust.
Cassian cried out, the stretch sharp and perfect.
Vane bottomed out and stayed there, buried deep, one arm locked around Cassian’s waist so every soldier still within earshot would hear the claim.
“Mine,” Vane snarled against his ear, and started to move.
Hard, possessive strokes that rocked Cassian forward against the crates.
The wet slap of skin on skin filled the tent.
Cassian’s cock bounced with every thrust, neglected and dripping.
Vane’s hand wrapped around it again, stroking in time.
“You take me so well when the claim is fresh,” Vane said.
“Your hole is greedy for it.
Your scent is pouring out of you like you want the whole camp to know exactly who is fucking you.” Cassian could only moan.
The overload of public ownership and private invasion stripped every scrap of resistance.
The healing energy stirred again, bright and responsive, feeding into the dark lines under Vane’s skin through every deep thrust.
Vane felt it and growled louder, hips snapping harder.
“Come on my cock,” the General ordered.
“Now.
Let them hear you.” Cassian shattered.
His orgasm hit in hard pulses, spilling over Vane’s fist and the side of the crate.
His body clamped down around the thick length inside him.
Vane followed with a guttural sound, burying himself to the hilt and flooding Cassian with heat.
The transfer flared strong between them, scent and energy locking tighter.
They stayed locked together for long breaths.
Vane’s mouth pressed to the mark he had left on Cassian’s throat, not quite a mating bite, but close enough that Cassian shivered.
“Next time someone looks at you too long,” Vane murmured, still buried deep, “I will not stop at words.
I will take you right there in the dirt and make certain every man in this camp understands the lesson in full.” Cassian’s voice was wrecked.
“You’re a possessive bastard.” “I am an Alpha who found something rare and has no intention of sharing.” Vane finally pulled out, slow, watching his own release slip down Cassian’s thighs.
He turned the Omega around, kissed him once more, deep and claiming, then fixed both their clothes with efficient hands.
“Come.
We return to my tent.
The energy is still active.
I want you on your back for the rest of the afternoon so the transfer can finish properly.” Cassian’s legs felt unsteady.
His body still pulsed with the aftershocks of the public claim and the private fucking.
He followed Vane out of the supply tent and back into the open camp, the General’s hand once again low on his back, open and unmistakable.
No one met their eyes.