Chapter 9
“Two more meetings to go, sir,” Wook informed him when he stepped out of the conference room.
They were at Shimmer Cosmetics, a company that was trying to do a collaboration with them, and needed to rush to the other side of town to make their next appointment with a different company.
Levi had spent the entire week catching up on important tasks he’d put off whilst tending to the synthetic omega, had only just arrived back in the city that morning.
He’d showered in a hotel room at the airport, and was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed later tonight.
It infuriated him that things could get this far out of hand all because of one person, one irritating omega who was far too ethereal for Levi’s own good.
He’d spent every night this week dreaming about that damn omega.
Visions of how he’d looked, rocking his hips up into empty air while locked in that cell, haunting Levi.
And more times than he would have liked, he’d found himself absently reaching down to pet the omega’s head, only to recall he was no longer there.
Three and a half weeks was all it’d taken for Levi to develop bad habits and fall behind with work.
The synthetic omega was proving to be more trouble than he was worth, and according to Fiora’s reports, they weren’t any closer to stabilization.
Perhaps he should cut his losses. Destroy the synthetic before he could inadvertently worm his way deeper into Levi’s psyche. He was starting to doubt Fiora’s claims that distance would do the trick.
Though, he did suppose—aside from the dreams and the occasional lapse in judgment where he pet his own thigh instead of silky omega hair—things were mildly better.
He’d readjusted to the scent of other omegas, for instance.
They still smelled as unappetizing as always, but he no longer felt the need to throw up on them, so that was something.
He also hadn’t woken with a hard-on in days, even when he dreamed of the synthetic naked and dripping.
So, fine. It was too soon to say Fiora was wrong. That didn’t mean he was any less annoyed by having his thoughts stolen and overrun by an omega not of his choosing.
His multi-slate rang just as they made it out of the building, and he answered as he slid into the back seat of the sleek black hovercar. “What?”
“He still isn’t eating,” if he wasn’t mistaken, Fiora sounded…concerned.
Levi almost rolled his eyes. “Administer an IV.”
“I can’t,” she said. “He won’t even let me in the room anymore.”
A low rumble slipped past his lips, and he pinched his brow as Wook pulled the car onto the road. “I don’t have time for this, Butcher. Do your job properly.”
“Dominus, I told you he needed regular exposure to alpha pheromones.”
“You also said that any alpha should do,” he reminded. “That’s why you’re there.”
“I was wrong.” She paused, and then continued, “Come see him. If he’s left like this much longer, he’ll go feral, and I’m not convinced he’ll come out of it this time.”
If they lost the synthetic omega, they’d be forced to waste one of the doses of Rebirth they had to create another test subject. Starting from scratch would severely set them back, not to mention, there was no way of knowing if the subject took to the drug in the same ways Elm had.
Or at all.
Reading through the notes created by the Wardrobe, it’d come to Levi’s attention that more than a third of those who’d been administered the drug had died. They did not have enough doses to risk wasting one on a person who most likely wouldn’t even make it.
“Look, I know you don’t like it, but I can get Koah back in here. He’s at least a bit stronger than I am, and—” she stopped abruptly, muffled words from the other end spoken but too far for Levi to make out.
Then she hung up on him.
On him.
Levi blinked at the screen of his device for a long moment, completely shocked.
“Sir, we’ll make it downtown in—” Wook began, only for Levi to bark out new orders.
“The estate. Now.”
Something serious better have happened there, otherwise Levi was going to be in the market for a new Butcher.
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, he stepped into chaos.
The smell hit him first, the heavy scent of omega.
There were zips of aggression, brushes that felt like pure fire licking at his skin, but mixed in it were just regular pheromone leakage, the kind that didn’t encourage or force a response, but just were.
As though the omega was trying to let someone know where he was.
Levi followed it, but it became apparent pretty quickly he didn’t need it to locate the omega.
The trail of bodies was more than enough to lead the way.
It started just past the foyer, in the sitting room.
He’d opened the estate up as usual once the synthetic had come out of his coma, meaning there were cleaning staff meant to be roaming about, as well as the three dozen or so guards there to patrol the premises.
No one was allowed even near the basement aside from Fiora, but it was clear that hadn’t kept any of them safe.
Hulking, muscular men, some in tactical gear, others in suits, twitched and drooled on the carpet, some even blindly reaching for Levi as he passed.
They weren’t dead, but they probably wished they were, the pain bad enough to cause them to convulse every few seconds as though electricity was connected straight to their veins.
His cleaning and cooking staff was made entirely of recessive omegas and alphas, those who produced very little smell and struggled sensing pheromones. It was the closest a Syn could come to being a beta on their planet, but even they hadn’t been safe.
They weren’t in as much pain, but they’d tucked themselves into corners, hidden behind furniture, curled up, with their faces pressed against their knees.
Not a single one of them dared lift their heads when Levi roamed through the rooms, passing one by one on his search for the source of this madness.
There were abandoned cleaning supplies here and there, a discarded set of handcuffs some idiot had tried to use, and stains.
Piss stains.
Sweat stains.
Potentially the remnants of a cup of coffee.
Every time Levi’s gaze landed on another thing out of place, his carefully crafted veneer cracked.
He was tugging his tie free from around his neck when he finally made it to his bedroom, shoving the door open with enough force it clattered against the wall.
That’s where he found the omega.
Rolling around his bed.
In a pile that had to contain every piece of clothing he owned.
Levi resisted the urge to check the walk-in closet, already knowing whatever he found there would send him off the deep end.
Instead, he took a single step into the room, and then unleashed his pheromones in a way he never had before.
He didn’t target them into anything, merely unlatched the invisible well within himself and let it all loose.
The result was instantaneous.
The omega’s head popped up out of the pile, almost comically, and then he scrambled off the bed, tripping and landing heavily on his knees. It didn’t deter him however, he was up and shooting forward again in a matter of seconds.
Even watching, Levi was unprepared for how the younger man launched himself at him.
He slammed into his chest hard enough they both stumbled, Levi’s back hitting the wall in the hallway.
Strong arms banded around his waist, clinging to him, and then the omega’s nose was everywhere, sniffing his chest, the hollow of his throat, hell, even his armpits.
“Enough.” Levi struggled to shove him off, growling when his verbal command wasn’t enough.
The omega whimpered and pulled back a little, but didn’t release him.
Levi captured his head in both hands, noted the blown pupils, and confirmed he was partially feral. Not all the way though, because if he had been, he most likely would have killed everyone downstairs instead of just hurt them enough they left him alone.
Under his scrutiny, the omega grew bold again, moving closer to rub against him, like a cat. It wasn’t sexual, he wasn’t in heat, which only helped make the message clearer.
“Are you pleased to see me, omega?” Levi grinned wickedly, showing teeth, unable to contain the anger he was feeling.
“I’m not pleased to see you. Where you don’t belong.
Do you know how disorderly you’ve made everything?
” He motioned over the omega’s shoulder, to the room.
“Put all of that back where you found it.”
The omega hissed at him.
Levi’s fury roared, and he spun them, slamming the omega against the wall, hand around his throat. He growled and squeezed, but instead of being frightened and cowed like he should have in the face of a furious dominant alpha, the omega only grew more ferocious himself.
The soft look he’d held for Levi only seconds before vanished, his pheromones turned aggressive, and he lashed out at Levi both with them and his claws.
A reminder that ice often worked better than fire.
A different approach then.
Levi switched to soothing pheromones, urging the omega to calm once more.
His fingers loosened, and he pressed in close, using his body to keep him pinned instead of his hand.
He purred, not something he often did, the low rumble vibrating up his chest, a function meant to appease and comfort a mate.
It did the trick. The omega went lax. The corners of his mouth even twitched upward in a dopy, ridiculous smile.
“The nest can stay,” Levi announced, waiting for the omega to meet his gaze, certain that he was back to having his full attention. “But you’re coming with me. No more tantrums, or I will make you behave, is that understood?”
The omega proved he wasn’t too far gone to formulate thought and understand words when he nodded.
“Good.” Levi stepped back, holding out his hand when the omega whined at the lack of contact.
As soon as he’d taken it, he led them away from the bedroom, back to the stairs, and down to the main level.
As they moved, he used his own pheromones to quell the omega’s.
The mixture of two dominants wouldn’t be much better, but it would help with the pain everyone else was feeling at least.
“Out,” he ordered people as they passed, not bothering to wait and see them scramble desperately to their feet and make a wobbly attempt at a run for the exits.
They poured out of the main house, spotted dashing across the lawn from some windows, until the only ones left in the whole place were Levi and the synthetic.
He brought them to the kitchen, pulled out one of the chairs and shoved the omega into it. “Stay.”
The omega didn’t listen, rising the moment Levi took a step toward the fridge, settling back down only when Levi gave a warning glare and bathed him in soothing pheromones.
It appeared as though the cooking staff had been in the middle of preparing lunch when the chaos had erupted, so Levi was left with a bowl of fruit. He grabbed it, carrying it over to the table before setting it down in front of the omega.
Frost grapes tasted more like candy than anything, with a crunchy exterior and a soft, fleshy interior.
There wasn’t a ton of nutritional value, but it would help hydrate at least. Levi plucked the biggest berry from the stem and then brought it to the omega’s lips, glaring at him again when the omega didn’t immediately accept it.
The omega opened his mouth, allowing the fruit to be deposited on his tongue, and then chewed. He brightened some, spine straightening, eyes alighting.
“Like it?” Levi selected another round berry and repeated the process.
“They don’t have this on Glyph. You probably haven’t tasted it before.
” He gave him a third. “I don’t know what types of food you prefer.
Salty? Sweet? Spicy? I’ll make you a deal.
You can tell me and I’ll provide it. But no more refusing to eat, omega. Agreed?”
He nodded eagerly, then opened his mouth wide, asking for another.
“You’ll remember it this time,” Levi chuckled, giving him what he wanted, watching him chew and swallow and ask for more.
“Remember how you ate from my hand like an obedient little thing. I bet you’ll hate it, won’t you?
” An idea formulated. Twisted and dark. “Should I give you something to really be mad about?”
Levi was still seething.
But frostbite could hurt more than a burn.
He caught the omega by the chin and tipped his head back, then leaned in and sealed their mouths together.
A burst of fruit flavor hit his tongue the second he drove it into the omega’s mouth. He kept it steady, using his other hand to grab a fistful of the omega’s hair and force him in place when he tried to take control and speed things up.
It’d been a while since he’d last done this, but Levi fell into it with ease, stroking his tongue against the roof of the omega’s mouth, sucking lightly when the omega’s entered his.
He licked at his bottom lip and pressed in closer, relishing in the duality of the softness of skin against skin and the edge whenever the omega nipped at him.
It was meant to be a taunt, a way to pass on the outrage and insult Levi was currently feeling, but he found himself enjoying it, deepening it, until the hand at the back of the omega’s skull was no longer holding him steady, but cradling him.
The second the kiss altered was signaled by the omega’s sultry moan. Pheromones shifted around them, going from plain and soothing to enticing, one calling to the other, urging them higher and higher until Levi felt himself swell uncomfortably in his dress pants.
With a growl, he tore his mouth free and retreated, blasting the omega with aggressive pheromones when the younger man tried to follow.
It worked in forcing him back down, but then that familiar defiance entered the omega’s eyes.
“No,” Levi stated firmly, pointing to the remaining fruit. “Eat.”
The omega hesitated, then seemed to realize pleasing him was the smartest move. He didn’t seem happy about it, but he ripped off a piece of fruit and shoved it into his mouth, practically sulking now.
Levi watched him closely as he ate, letting the silence blanket over them so all the omega had to focus on was soothing his body’s need for food and alpha pheromones.
He’d finally settled when the sound of pounding feet echoed from down the hall.
Fiora burst into the room, catching herself on the doorframe the second she spotted them and pulling herself to a halt. She was out of breath, eyes wide in a rare show of panic.
The omega hissed at her and went to stand, but Levi slammed a hand over his shoulder and pushed him back into the chair, keeping contact there so he could flood soothing pheromones directly into him.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Levi promised Fiora darkly, pointing at her and then motioning back at the hallway. “Go.”
Unlike the willful omega, she did not need to be told twice.