Chapter 1
1
L othian felt the first stirrings of his heat as the musicians struck up a saltarello.
A flush moved through him and his cheeks grew hot.
He set down the glass of sweet wine he’d been drinking.
“Damn it. Not now.”
Beside him, Dante’s painted lips pursed.
“Whatever is the matter?”
He fluttered his lashes at the other omega and shifted closer.
The second Dante scented him, his cheeks paled, leaving two bright spots of rouge.
“Here?” He glanced around the hall, which was full of alphas, and cringed.
Lothian gritted his teeth as need twisted his belly.
He covered his stomach with his hand, the satin of his gown warm against his palm.
Even that small sensation seemed to add to his arousal.
Tears stung his eyes.
“It’s early by a week!”
Dante patted his hand.
“It’s not ideal, true. But you are in a ballroom full of alpha vampires who would climb over each other to mate with such a lovely omega. Pick one and go enjoy yourself.”
“Damn it, Dante. I wanted to make a rational choice! Not a hasty, impassioned decision.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. Any of the males here would be suitable.” Dante waved his hand, gaze lingering on a tall russet-haired alpha in the corner.
Lothian didn’t agree.
He hadn’t found one to his interest yet.
Theoretically, he could simply retire and weather the heat on his own as he had for the past two.
He could wait until he was once again coherent and choose an alpha to be his companion then.
But enduring a heat without an alpha to satiate him was hellish, long, and painful.
And dangerous to his health.
Dante had convinced him to come to the Mates’ Ball for this very purpose.
They had each gone through a few heats alone and didn’t want to do it again.
But there were so many alphas and so few omegas that choosing a companion was difficult.
He knew it was wrong to complain about having an embarrassment of riches, but it was tiring fielding so many suitors.
It was Prince Richard who had come up with the idea for these soirees.
Any eligible alpha—that is, any alpha who had the means to care properly for a coveted omega—could attend and meet the best omegas in the kingdom.
Of course, it was ultimately up to the omega to decide who they would bond with.
According to the prince, this offered a safe way for alphas and omegas to meet and get to know one another before the rush of hormones took control.
Lothian had hoped to find a good, solid prospect and talk a bit, maybe dance.
Now, his body was going to force his hand.
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Dante said, raising his eyebrows.
“You are notoriously picky. Perhaps this is nature’s way of ensuring you make a choice.”
“Just because I refuse to be a slave to sensation doesn’t mean I’m picky . I just think I should make this choice with my head, not my hole.”
Dante snorted.
“And what about your heart?”
Lothian rolled his eyes.
“Oh please. No one believes those old stories about fated mates.”
His friend sighed.
“You’re so unromantic.”
Another wave of warmth rolled through Lothian and sweat popped out on his forehead.
“Dante, help me.” Any second now, the alphas would scent him and possibly go into rut.
It would be a complete disaster.
They would fight each other to the death over a fertile omega in heat.
Dante set aside his wine.
“All right, all right. Don’t panic. We’ll find you somewhere to hide while you wait it out. But you must make a decision before your next heat. This isn’t healthy!”
“I will. I swear. Just get me out of here.”
He supposed he could take the carriage back to their lodgings, but he wouldn’t be able to get there in time and the idea of experiencing a heat in a moving carriage alone sounded decidedly unpleasant.
Dante took his arm, and they hurried down the hall toward the retiring rooms.
The swish of their skirts drew some attention.
Several alphas called after them.
Lothian fought with his urge to turn back and grab one of them and let nature take its course.
He knew Dante would have, in his situation.
But Lothian wanted to be sure about his companion, not driven by blinding desire.
He glanced back and caught sight of two alphas who had decided to follow them.
“Double damn it. We have company.”
Dante cursed.
“If they get your scent . . . .”
“I know! Hurry.”
Pleasure began a slow trickle through Lothian’s blood.
The weight of his corset and the shifting of silks and satins against his skin only heightened the sensation.
He needed to get out of his clothes.
His skin itched to be naked and pressed against an alpha’s bigger, hairier body.
Lothian whined.
Dante yanked him through a doorway.
The empty room was a large bedchamber with an attached bathing room.
Lothian swept his gaze over the blue wallpapering and delicate wood furnishings.
It was a lovely space.
Not that it mattered so much, but if he had to be sequestered here he was glad of it.
There was a terrace looking out onto the courtyard and a big comfortable-looking bed.
Dante leaned back against the door.
“Now what?”
Lothian kicked off the silver heels.
“Help me get down to my shift.”
He felt no embarrassment as Dante undid the long line of buttons on the back of his bodice.
They had known each other since they were children.
When they were small, they had shared dreams of finding their fated mates and practiced kissing with each other.
Dante had seen him in every kind of mood.
Within a matter of moments, Lothian had stripped down to just his chemise.
His cock was already hard, pressing against the soft fabric.
His elaborate coiffure was wet with sweat.
He unwound the intricate hairstyle and let the length of his hair fall down his back.
Omegas kept their long hair bound in public, but he didn’t care.
No one was going to see him anyway.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Is everything all right, gentlemen?”
Shock zinged through the haze of need that was taking over.
Lothian cursed.
“Those damned alphas!” How inappropriate of them to attempt to follow omegas to a bedchamber!
Dante’s countenance grew paler.
“What should I do?”
Lothian chewed his lip, the sharp sting of pain helping clear his head a little.
“Send them away. Tell them I’m ill.”
“If I open that door, they’ll scent you.”
“I will retire to the bathing room for the moment. You have to go tell the prince what has occurred.”
“I can’t leave you alone!”
Lothian shook his head.
“You must. The prince needs to know. Perhaps he could spare a guard for the door?”
“Oh, that’s an idea. I shall make haste. But are you certain you’ll be all right here by yourself?”
As if in response to this, another flurry of knocking came.
“What’s going on in there?”
Lothian cursed again and scurried into the bathing room, shutting the door behind himself.
If these alphas scented his heat, things could turn dangerous quickly.
He listened as Dante crossed to the door and cracked it open.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen. My friend has taken ill.”
“Perhaps we may be of some service?”
“We could help hold his hair.” The second alpha chuckled.
They knew.
The bastards either scented or suspected he was going into heat and were trying to force a mating on him.
Damn them!
Thankfully, Dante remained calm in the face of their mirth.
“Thank you, but I can take care of him. If you really want to help, one of you can inform Prince Richard we’ll require the room for the night.”
“Shall we have refreshments sent as well?”
Dante cleared his throat.
“That’s not necessary.”
“Oh, I think it is. Let us in.”
A new voice joined the conversation just as a cramp of need gripped Lothian’s belly.
He felt the first wash of slick slide from him and muffled his whimper against his palm.
“What’s going on here, gentlemen?” The voice was deep and damn-it-all sexy.
Lothian’s knees actually buckled.
He caught himself on the door handle.
Who was this new arrival?
Dante seemed to know.
“Oh, Sir Ryland! Thank goodness! Perhaps you can be of some service? My friend has taken ill. I was just going to alert Prince Richard. If you would be so kind as to guard the door so no one bothers him?”
The first two alphas grumbled at this.
Sir Ryland was silent for a moment.
Lothian wondered what he looked like.
Not that it mattered, but he was curious if Sir Ryland would match his voice.
“Of course.” Sir Ryland’s voice was an even deeper rumble which caused Lothian to shiver.
“Gentlemen, you should be on your way.”
“See here, Ryland. We were here first.”
“I’m quite aware and shall be letting Prince Richard know as well.”
“Hey now, are you accusing us of something?”
“Yeah, we didn’t do nothing.”
Ryland chuckled this time and the sound did things to Lothian.
He pressed his hot body against the cool door.
This was only the beginning of his heat and he already felt on fire.
He’d never been so affected by a male who wasn’t even in the room with him.
This was going to be bad.
He whimpered then, and everyone went quiet.
They’d heard him.
“Get. Out.” That was Ryland, his voice a growl.
Lothian found himself turning the door handle and forced himself to stop.
He couldn’t go out there like this.
Not with three alphas present.
There was some more complaining, but the first two alphas seemed to be obeying Ryland.
Their voices faded, then were gone.
Dante sighed a breath of relief.
“Thank you, Sir Ryland.”
“Think nothing of it, but your friend shouldn’t be here.”
“His heat came early.”
Lothian was shocked to hear Dante talk so openly with an alpha about it.
“Dante!”
But his friend didn’t heed him.
“If you could alert the prince, I would be most appreciative.” Was he flirting with Ryland?
Lothian’s blood boiled.
“No offense meant, Dante, but I think I should stay and guard the door, as you suggested. Once the alphas in the ballroom hear what’s going on, you’re going to have a situation on your hands. I will be able to keep them out.”
Dante sighed.
“I know. But . . . .”
“I will be able to control myself.”
“Of course you will. I have faith in you.”
Lothian couldn’t remain quiet.
He threw the door to the bathing room open and stomped into the bedchamber.
Dante spun away from the door, mouth open.
“Lothian!”
On the other side of the threshold was a tall, dark haired alpha with sculpted features.
His thick eyebrows arched above golden eyes and his mouth looked devastating.
Lothian took a trembling step forward but caught himself.
He didn’t know anything about this male.
This was exactly the kind of decision he hadn’t wanted to make.
He glared at Dante.
“Will you please go ask the prince for a beta to guard the door?”
Golden eyes seemed to devour him from across the room.
Ryland bowed.
“I’d be happy to guard the door for you.”
Lothian licked his lips, body shaking.
“You’re an alpha.”
Ryland straightened and the look in his eyes buckled Lothian’s knees.
He caught himself on the bedpost.
Ryland’s lips tipped upward.
“As good as you smell, only an alpha will keep the alphas away.”
That was probably true.
Lothian huffed a breath, unable to determine if this was truly a good idea with the need pounding in his blood.
“Fine. Guard the door. Dante, go!”
Dante nodded and pushed past Ryland.
The alpha vampire stared at Lothian for a long moment.
Lothian’s heart pounded so hard he thought for sure the other male would hear it.
His whole body ached for touch, and here, he knew, was an alpha who could take care of him.
Ryland shut the door between them.
Lothian collapsed onto the bed, angry and thankful at the same time.
The counterpane was cool against his heated skin.
Another rush of slick wet his thighs.
The feeling he hated most, that sharp emptiness, began to grow.
He had known for years what being an omega meant.
His body was made to be filled, over and over again.
To breed a vampire child.
But the reality of it was something else.
And this time, he had no helpful toys on hand to take away some of the pain.
He would have to suffer through it.
Heat was a very literal term.
Lothian was burning up.
Sweat slicked his whole body, soaking into the thin chemise and making it cling to his skin.
Yet another sensation to add to the overwhelming mélange his body was experiencing.
His cock was hard, pulsing, but he didn’t touch it.
It was no use anyway.
He couldn’t reach orgasm without something inside him.
The waves of his heat would come and go over the next several hours.
He would merely have to endure.
The thought was excruciating.
He writhed on the bed, fingers hooked into claws as he attempted to control his body.
He cried out.
A faint thump echoed through the room from the door, but Lothian couldn’t think.
He could only feel.
Heat, pressure, emptiness.
A combination of pleasure and pain that made his brain mush.
He was just a body filled with need.
He only became aware he’d been yelling when his throat began to hurt, too.
Something pressed against his lips, and then his mouth was full of cool water.
He swallowed, wetting his parched throat.
“Please.”
“Shh.” He recognized that deep rumble through the haze.
With it came a name.
“Ryland . . . .”
A growl was the only response.
The water was back a moment later.
“Drink.”
He swallowed again and again.
His throat felt better, but his whole body ached.
“Please!”
“Gods damn it.” Ryland stepped away from him, which was the opposite of what Lothian craved.
“I’ll not do this, Lothian.”
Hearing his name on the other man’s tongue made him moan.
He twisted on the damp coverlet, rolling onto his stomach.
He couldn’t imagine why this kind man wasn’t helping him.
He spread his legs and looked up into those golden eyes.
“I need .”
“You’re not thinking straight. An hour ago you wanted me gone.”
An hour?
It had only been an hour?
To Lothian it felt like days had passed.
Part of him knew Ryland was only half right.
He hadn’t wanted Ryland gone then, either, but he’d known what a bad idea it was to have the attractive alpha so close during a heat.
Now, it seemed like the best idea ever.
Lothian arched his back, his hole aching to be stretched around a knot, but Ryland stepped farther away.
Lothian reached for him.
He wanted to say that he was thinking and had decided the pain wasn’t worth it.
They didn’t have to bond.
Ryland could just help.
All that came out was a pitiful mewl.
Ryland cursed and shoved a hand through his hair.
“You don’t want this.” His voice was gruff and there were lines around his mouth.
He looked pained.
And then, Lothian smelled him.
He hadn’t before now.
Ryland’s musk was rich and dark, like leather and rum.
He swept a glance along the tall male’s frame and gasped.
Ryland was in rut.
His body was shaking and his hard cock tented his trousers.
His hands were fists at his sides.
His handsome face was flushed and his golden eyes bore into Lothian.
Lothian crawled off the bed and crossed the distance between them, clinging to the muscular alpha like a frond.
He pressed his nose against the other male’s throat and breathed in deeply.
“Ryland, please! We don’t need to bond, we could just....” His hands stroked the breadth of Ryland’s shoulders.
Ryland didn’t move.
“You know we can’t. If we do, instinct will take over. I will claim you.”
Yes!
That sounded perfect to Lothian.
He wanted Ryland buried deep within him when he fed.
He shuddered at the thought.
“Maybe not.” He pressed a quick kiss against Ryland’s collarbone and felt his cock twitch between them.
His skin was salty and sweet.
“I am telling you, it will happen. I’m barely hanging on now, Lothian.”
Another wave of that deep scent washed over Lothian, and he breathed it in.
Truthfully, he was amazed that even with Lothian rubbing up against his hard cock, Ryland hadn’t laid a finger on him.
Lothian tried to wrangle his own desire and think clearly.
“I know nothing about you.” He didn’t let go of Ryland.
He licked a stripe across his throat instead.
Ryland shook in his arms.
“Lothian.”
But his subconscious had other opinions.
“Except I do. I know you offered to keep watch on me. You got me water. You’re good at caring for an omega. So? Care for me.”
“Damn it.” Ryland pushed Lothian away and strode out the door.
He closed it with a slam.
Lothian crumpled to the floor.
He had been so close to satisfaction!
To have it taken away was agony.
His body had responded to the obviously virile alpha in proximity, drenching him with hormones.
His skin felt as if it would burn off his body.
His very bones ached.
He crawled back into the bed, stifling his cries against the pillow.
Lothian didn’t know how much time passed in that haze of pain and need, but he slowly became aware of raised voices.
“Let me by!”
“Get out of here.”
“We’ve every right to be here. Listen to him. Someone has got to help him. If he continues like this, he’ll die .”
“Bartholomew isn’t wrong, Ryland.” That was Dante.
And no, Bartholomew, whoever that was, wasn’t wrong.
Lothian couldn’t imagine another minute of this pain, let alone another day.
He would never survive.
“You know what he said, Dante. He wanted a choice. There’s no choice in this. I don’t want to be the one who takes it away from him.”
“Then let someone else?—”
Ryland snarled at Bartholomew.
Everyone went quiet for a brief moment.
“Gods, you’re in rut . How are you fighting it, man?” There was awe in the other male’s voice.
Lothian understood it.
He’d never heard of an alpha being able to remain in control of himself once his rut was on him.
It was nearly miraculous.
“Go to him.” Dante again, the words soft and firm.
“He won’t blame you.”
“You don’t know that.” Ryland sounded anguished.
“He could hate me forever.”
“At least he’ll be alive .”
Ryland cursed.
The door slammed.
Lothian screamed when a hand stroked down his back, but it wasn’t pain that greeted the light caress.
It was pleasure.
Just that simple touch cooled some of the fire burning within him.
“More.” His voice was hoarse and his throat hurt again.
Had he been shouting?
That thick cloud of luscious scent washed over Lothian and he breathed a sigh of instant relief.
“Ryland.”
“I’m here. Shh.”
The water glass was at his lips again, and he drank greedily.
When it was taken away, he let out a long breath.
“I need you.”
Ryland ran a hand back over Lothian’s hair, brushing it out of his face.
Lothian looked into his golden gaze.
His brow was furrowed, mouth turned down.
“Please don’t hate me for this,” he said.
Then, he pressed his mouth against Lothian’s.
The kiss began soft but quickly deepened as Lothian opened his mouth to suck in the alpha’s tongue.
Ryland groaned, wrapped his arms around Lothian, and they were both lost.
He stripped the damp chemise from Lothian, baring his naked skin to the light.
Lothian wound his arms around Ryland’s neck.
He knew he should say something, soothe the alpha’s worries, but he could only focus on the friction of Ryland’s tunic against his chest.
His nipples pebbled and his stomach twitched.
He pressed closer.
A moment later the tunic was gone and they were skin to skin.
Sweat created a delicious glide as they continued to kiss.
Ryland pulled away and came back again and again, tasting deeply of Lothian’s mouth.
He buried his hand in Lothian’s long hair and held him still as he ravished his lips.
With his other hand, he caressed Lothian’s arms and chest, stoking the fire that was already raging out of control.
Lothian would have told him to skip the slow approach, but all he could do was whimper into another kiss as sensation crashed through him.
Ryland rained kisses across his face.
“Gods, you’re so beautiful.”
Lothian had been told so prior, but for some reason it meant more coming from Ryland just now.
He’d been warned that an alpha in rut usually didn’t have sweet words or gentle touches, and yet Ryland was giving him both.
His hand curled around Lothian’s aching cock and squeezed just right.
Lothian shuddered.
“Ryland!”
“I’ve got you.”
He had not expected this softness of his first time with an alpha in rut.
But he felt Ryland really did have him in hand, in more than just a physical way.
From what omegas were told while growing up, most alphas when in their rut would care for little but copulation.
Ryland wasn’t just taking him.
He was taking care of him.
Lothian’s heart swelled.
He arched into Ryland’s grip, chasing the pleasure of his moving hand.
Ryland kissed him again as he stroked.
It felt amazing.
And yet.
.
.
.
“I need.” He spread his legs, begging to be filled.
His thighs were wet with slick and his hole pulsed.
That emptiness stung.
“Ryland, please.”
“I know, love. I know.” He let go of Lothian’s cock and slid his hand between Lothian’s thighs.
His fingertips brushed Lothian’s aching hole.
He stroked around the inflamed flesh before sliding two fingers easily inside.
Lothian hummed in pleasure.
The stretch was so good but still lacking.
“More.”
“Yes.” Ryland slid fully onto the bed gloriously naked.
Lothian tried to take a moment to appreciate the thick fur of his chest hair, the sculpted muscles.
There was a scar on Rylan’s abdomen he wanted to ask about.
But all he could focus on was the alpha’s cock.
It was long and thick, the faint bulge at the base hinting at an enormous knot.
Lothian keened with happiness.
That.
That was what he needed.
He pushed Ryland back against the bed and quickly straddled his waist, tired of waiting.
“Lothian.” Ryland moaned his name, gripping his hips, but otherwise letting Lothian do as he wished.
Lothian clasped the base of Ryland’s cock and lowered himself onto it.
Pleasure exploded up his spine.
He had used toys, but none of them came close to feeling as good as Ryland’s hard flesh.
The stretch was almost too much.
Almost.
He let out a long breath and began to move, slowly at first but quickly speeding up.
He rocked his hips and clutched at Ryland’s chest as he felt his shaft grow even thicker.
“Oh yes!”
Ryland threw his head back on the pillow, the muscles on the sides of his neck standing out as he met each of Lothian’s thrusts with one of his own.
Lothian moaned.
It was perfect.
It was as if Rylan’s body and his had been made to fit together.
“I’m not going to last long, love,” Ryland said.
“You feel too good.”
“That’s okay.” Lothian panted as he moved.
“We can just do it again later.” He smiled.
Ryland breathed a chuckle, then arched with a cry.
His knot swelled, locking them together.
Lothian felt the heat of Ryland’s seed spreading within him and his own orgasm crested.
He came without touching himself, splattering cum across Ryland’s chest.
He shuddered with each wave of pleasure washing through him and collapsed forward.
Ryland caught him, wrapping him in his muscled arms.