6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Liam
Today would go down as the ultimate turning point for our pack. We’d finally scored a win against Harringday Industries, an absolutely diabolical organization, and their even more diabolical CEO, Celeste Harringday. It had been an absolute miracle that we’d gotten the tip about Tedena. This bit of information was small compared to what Harringday was really up to, though. Releasing it would only cause Celeste and her company to close ranks and take care of any leaks they had. No, we weren’t going to release the story about Tedena and Harringday’s part in it. We had much bigger plans in place.
Celeste was an absolute monster. She and her company needed to be put in their place. And now, we finally had the opportunity to come out ahead. Ever since the Darlington Ball, our lives had unraveled. Our reputations and our business were dragged through the mud. Celeste hadn’t had proof that we were behind the kidnapping of the omega who ended up in her room that night. But she didn’t need proof. All it took was one press conference, and she pointed the world’s outrage at us.
The fallout was catastrophic.
As one of the most prominent figures in the country, she was a force to be reckoned with. A famous heiress with a captivating story and commanding presence, she was already a media darling. Add to it that she was insanely gorgeous and a rare omega in charge of one of the biggest companies in the world, and you have a once-in-a-generation star. She was all over social media and the tabloids, with everyone wanting to know more about her every move. When she broke the story of the kidnapping, it captured the attention of the entire nation. And when she pointed the finger at us, we became poisonous.
Our reputation was so bad that no omega would have anything to do with us. We were blacklisted from every omega matching organization. The media tore us apart, putting a microscope on our lives and our business, releasing hit pieces tearing us apart in the public eye. Our social life, which had been packed with events and invitations before, was now barren. No omega wanted to be associated with us. Even other packs didn’t want to be seen with us publicly to avoid dampening their reputations as well. Celeste’s network included some of the most important people in the world, and this was starting to affect our business relationships. It was a nightmare. We spent months doing PR, but being damned by Celeste was a curse.
Even worse, it all came at a time when we were actively looking for an omega. Our success with Manticore Tech was secured, even though Harringday Industries had tried to thwart us at every turn. We had money, a home, and a nesting room ready. The only thing we were missing was an omega.
Now, our nesting room sat empty, and we wondered if we would be an omega-less pack forever. It pained us more than anyone wanted to admit. The three of us were already a small pack, and we’d struggled to make our way to success in a place where being ethical was a handicap. I could feel the ache of a missing piece - an omega - throughout our bond, even though none of us spoke about it too much.
Despite scraping our way up in this world, each of us had a soft spot for the idea of true love. We decided as a pack that we didn’t want an omega to just be an accessory or use her for her heats like so many other packs. We wanted true love. Someone who would be our true match, our soulmate, someone who we could all love and cherish. We had hopes and dreams about her, desperately wishing to find someone who shared our goal of making the Eastern Province a safe place where people could work hard and make a good living. We wanted someone who we could have a family with, who believed the place we lived could someday be safe for our kids no matter their designation. Naively, we thought we could find her somewhere out there, even though we ran in circles where most people were not playing fair and only bonded for status and power.
Now, we couldn’t find anyone. No omega would want to be with a pack with our reputation. Until now.
We’d found the perfect way to get back at Celeste and fix our image at the same time. We came here to her family’s compound with a proposal and a time limit, and she’d agreed. I halfway thought she’d say no to spite us, but we’d planned this carefully. The image of her company was paramount to her and to her continued business contracts in the Western Province. She couldn’t afford to have any reports of unethical business dealings right now. And after today, she’d begin the process of clearing our names. Not only that, but the fake courtship would make us one of the most in-demand packs in the world. After all, only a handful of packs had ever publicly courted Celeste. Anyone associated with her would be skyrocketed into the upper echelon of society.
As we waited in the room for them to finalize the paperwork, I looked at my packmates. Dante and Vigo had dedicated their entire lives to getting where we were today, and we weren’t going to give up now. With Celeste on our compound, we were sure we’d get to the real thing we wanted - proof of what her company was secretly doing. Proof to take her, and Harringday Industries, down for good.
I looked out over the rolling green hills of the vast estate. People like her had generations of wealth that they used to stay on top of everyone else. She had everything - so why was she so ungrateful? I shook my head. A vapid socialite like her was a waste. She could have done so much good in her position, but instead, she ran her business just like any other crime lord, spent her personal time partying too much, and generally made a fool of herself in the tabloids.
My thoughts were interrupted by the doors to the hall opening. We turned to face them, and my breath caught in my throat. My eyes were immediately drawn to her - her face was sullen, but her eyes were defiant. And as she glared at us, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that, in person, she was even more devastatingly beautiful. As we continued negotiations, I wondered if it would be difficult for any of us to have her around the house. The contract stipulated she’d be on suppressants and descenter the entire time, which was paramount for the safety of everyone involved. Having an omega on the premises would be a first for us, but one as despicable as her should theoretically be easy to ignore, if her very presence wasn’t already a damn distraction.
I tried to shake the thought of having her living in our guesthouse out of my head. We would go on the fake dates, have the publicity run, and keep our end of the bargain while we searched for proof of what her company was doing. And at this moment, I finally had confidence that we would succeed. Even now, looking at her before us, I already felt like we had won. She was defeated and she knew it. All the pain and turmoil we’d dealt with for years made seeing her like this worth it. Her delicate features held no warmth, only barely concealed hatred as she waited for the contract binding handshake. I shook her uncle’s hand, releasing it quickly. I had no respect for him either, but he wasn’t the real prize of today’s victory. Celeste was.
I turned toward her, looking at her with satisfaction as she reached out to take my hand. Despite every rational part of me screaming about what a terrible person she was, something about her pulled at me in ways I hated to admit. It was infuriating - a flaw in my nature. I was a sucker for anyone who my alpha side deemed in need of protection, and my biology couldn’t tell the difference that my mind could.
She looked so small, so defeated despite the fire in her eyes. I smirked as I took her hand, the closest I’d ever been to her. Her skin was warm and surprisingly soft, a stark contrast to the icy image she projected. She looked up at me, and her eyes changed, conveying an expression I couldn't interpret. Suddenly, her knees buckled, and I quickly reached out to steady her. For a moment, my thoughts went out the window and all I wanted was to scoop her up, hold her to me and make sure she was okay. My alpha instincts surged at her apparent distress, overriding every logical reason I had to despise her.
For just a heartbeat, I found myself wishing things had unfolded differently - that in some other life, she could have been just another omega, and I could have known her without all the chaos and venom between us.
“Awe, it’s not that bad princess. I promise we won’t bite.” Dante’s words cut through my alpha day-dreaming and I straightened my back. She was the enemy, and her being an omega didn’t change that. No matter how much she affected me, it was all a ruse. We already knew who she really was deep down.
Celeste shot him a look of disgust. “A bite? You wish. I’d never let a single one of you get the absolute privilege to bite me, or get close to me in any other circumstance other than this forced hell of a situation. And I’d never, ever want any of you to touch me. You disgust me, you pathetic excuse for a pack of alphas!” Her words rang out in the massive room, and the three of us stood there stunned. As much as I was expecting her to react in this way, it still gave me a visceral sting of pain that she rejected us. I struggled to push the feeling away. Why would I care that she rejected us? We hated her!
“Pack your bags. We expect you at our residence by nightfall.” Vigo’s merciless tone caused Celeste’s uncle to sneer, but he was a mere beta. No matter how much money or power he had, he was in a room with three alphas. He knew better than to challenge us outright. Celeste quickly pulled her hand away from mine, and I watched her retreat with the men flanked on either side of her. Finally, I turned to my pack.
“We’ve done it.” I said, almost giddy at the power move we had pulled off.
“Don’t get too comfortable yet. This is just the beginning.” Dante replied, running a hand through his dark locks. He, more than anyone, considered this not just business but personal.
*****
We were eventually ushered out by one of the staff, and headed toward our SUV where Elijah, one of our closest confidants, awaited. Once inside, we collectively let out a breath.
“It worked.” was all Vigo said, and Elijah turned to us, grinning. We had him to thank for all this. Not only had he procured for us this miracle of secret documents, but he’d also helped us hatch an absolutely genius idea - we could leverage this piece of information to clear our names.
“I knew it! See, everything will start to work out from here.” Elijah said as he started the engine, driving us down the long, winding path to get off of Celeste’s family’s estate.
Vigo sat back in his seat, his hands behind his head as he relaxed. The past few weeks had been tense as we prepared for this plan.
“We’re doing it. We finally have a chance to take her down.” He said with relief, appearing like he might finally relax for once.
We’d been living in absolute hell the past year, ever since Celeste had burned every bridge we had to be with an omega. I could sense the pack grow ever more distraught as we struggled with the fallout. “And once this is over with, I can finally get some damn release.” Vigo muttered as he clenched and released his fists with a sigh.
One of the worst parts of the fallout was that we hadn’t had the chance to get any sexual attention at all. We weren’t even allowed to be on the alpha surrogate program, much less meet with any omegas after we’d been blacklisted. So we’d spent the last year dealing with our hormonal frustrations as well. Alphas weren’t meant to go this long without sex, and we’d all been overly agitated. Some packs would get through this by servicing each other, but we didn’t play with each other like that. We were strictly interested in omegas. But the only way we’d ever get one to touch us again was if we were able to fix our reputations. In our province, there were also black market omegas for sale, but we’d never consider such a thing. So we were stuck, at least up until now.
“Uh guys, about that…” I started, thinking about how affected I was just being in the same room as Celeste. “Do you foresee any issues with her being around the house? I mean, we all have the biggest case of blue balls in the entire Eastern Province.” I said with a mutter as I thought about how hard it would be with Celeste strutting around our home, looking how she did.
“Absolutely no problem here.” Dante said with a dark look in his eyes. “I’d rather stick my dick in a cheese grater than anywhere near her. She’s utterly repulsive.” He said as he looked out the window.
“I have a feeling she’ll stay in her own wing for the majority of the time. She feels the same way about us. And anyway, with her on suppressants the only thing we’ll smell is that rotted stench of her nasty perfume.” Vigo said with a grin.
I smirked, but inside I had a small thread of worry starting to unravel. Many times after the Darlington Ball, we’d discussed the perfume she wore - it was a specialty product, an artificial fragrance made to replicate her real perfume but without any pheromones to set off the reactions a real perfume would. She was famous for wearing it and giving everyone a hint of what it would be like to smell her in arousal. It was scandalous, but as soon as she started doing it, the chemist behind the specialty product was in such high demand that there was a several year wait list for a personal non-hormonal perfume.
We’d talk about how rank it was when we’d gotten a whiff of it at the ball. Spent hours talking about how awful it was, how we all hated it, how we were surprised that anyone could stand being in that room after her nasty scent wafted in. But deep down, I craved the opportunity to smell it again. And I had a feeling my pack did too.
“Once the deal’s complete, we’ll be done with her and we can get all kinds of omegas to want us again.” Dante said, confident that we’d be back in good social graces soon.
Elijah snorted in amusement. “I do feel bad for the next omega you guys help through a heat. She’ll get a year’s worth of pent up sex to contend with. She’ll probably wear out before all of you do!” He mused as he turned the corner to our area of town. I shook off my worries and focused on the fact that we finally had a win.
I’d spent years fighting alongside my pack to get Manticore Tech off the ground. As a lean startup, we had speed, innovation, and a mission to bring ethical, affordable technology to the masses. But competing with a corporate giant like Harringday was like scaling a mountain with our bare hands. They had the market cornered - cheaper raw materials, legacy deals, and a web of bribes and favors that kept them on top. Still, we didn’t back down. We met face-to-face with partners, hustled with organic marketing, and stuck to our values, even when it cost us. Slowly, our hard work paid off. People noticed us. We started landing contracts, and for the first time, it felt like we were building real momentum.
But it was always a struggle. Every time we gained ground, something knocked us back. Verbal agreements would vanish overnight. Shipments would get held up by officials for no reason, but Harringday always received priority. We asked around, but the answer was always ‘don’t mess with Harringday’. It was sabotage - plain and simple.
Then came the biggest blow. We were about to unveil a game-changing new phone made with a lightweight, ultra-durable material. Our entire launch centered on it. The night before our announcement, Celeste posted a cryptic warning about a “new, untested material” rumored to cause hormonal disruptions in specialty designations. She didn’t name names, but everyone made the connection. Her post went viral. Our launch imploded. We scrambled to delay the release, verify the material’s safety, and run damage control, but the damage was done. Sales tanked, and our credibility took a hit.
We never figured out how she knew about the launch. We suspected someone leaked word of our shipment, but it didn’t matter. She always seemed a step ahead. Still, we weren’t about to give up. We knew the truth about how Harringday Industries really operated, and once we had the proof tying Celeste to the corruption, we could take her down for good.
“Home sweet home.” Vigo said as we pulled up to our complex. I took one last look at my pack before we went inside. It was like the calm before the storm. In a few hours, we’d have Celeste here and the real work would start. But for now, I reveled in the possibility that maybe, just maybe, we’d get the justice we always dreamed of.