Chapter Six
Silas
The rumble of Joseph’s car engine reaches my ears before I see it. The estate’s sprawling grounds and manicured gardens don’t do much to soften the sound as he pulls up the driveway.
I catch sight of the sleek black vehicle from my office window, and it sends a spark of irritation through my chest that is strong enough to be evident in the heavy sigh I heave.
Fuck. . Here we go. I rake a hand through my hair.
“She’s here,” I mutter to myself, and even I can hear the resignation in my voice.
There’s not a single shred of excitement within me right now, just an impatience that makes my jaw tighten. This whole arrangement is just a nuisance. A necessary evil to get my parents off my back.
The concept of a mate, a life partner, has always felt like an outdated fairy tale. I don’t need anyone, least of all some omega shipped here under the guise of an “ideal match.”
I push back from my desk and grab the crystal tumbler sitting nearby. A generous pour of whiskey sloshes into the glass. I down it in one go, welcoming the burn as it settles in my chest.
“Let’s get this over with,” I mutter, setting the glass down with a loud thud.
I hear the faint creak on the door a moment before it opens fully. Joseph steps inside, I take a deep breath, and she’s only a few short strides behind him.
She walks in, and it feels like all the air I dragged into my lungs a mere second ago completely evaporates.
What the fuck? She’s gorgeous?
In the file, she only had a headshot there. But now, I can see all of her. And wow.
For a moment, the air feels too thick, like it’s pressing against my chest. She’s tall for an outsider, probably almost 5’10. It’s not unusual here, but it’s certainly taller than any Omega I’ve ever met from outside Howls Peak.
Her red hair is a striking contrast to her pale skin and her green eyes damn, those eyes. They glimmer like emeralds, intense and bright, almost otherworldly.
But more than any of that, what is most jarring is the way I feel. I don’t know what I was expecting to feel at the sight of her, but I definitely didn’t think it would be this.
We stand there in silence, and I can’t work out the look on her face. It’s blank, almost as blank as her look in the picture from her file. Most Omegas would have that phony grin on them by now, but not her. This is different, and that fact, for some damn reason, is both annoying and incredibly attractive.
“What the hell is wrong with me? She’s just another omega.”
The moment stretches uncomfortably, and I finally decide to break it. “Good. You’re finally here. Well, at least you’re not a midget.” I say, ensuring my voice is as cold as possible. I need to set the record straight.
Her face immediately changes, a frown creasing her features.
“Excuse me?” she asks, her voice sharp and clear, cutting through the thick air like a blade.
For the briefest moment, a weird hint of guilt flares within me. Something about the way she speaks, the way her eyes narrow with that fierce spark, makes me almost want to be gentler?
What the hell is happening to me?!
I swallow a lump I feel in my throat and the disgusting desire to be nice along with it, banishing the thought.
“I said,” I repeat, “It’s a good thing you’re not a midget. Usually, girls from other parts of the world are miniature.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “That’s a hell of a line to open with.”
I feel the corner of my mouth twitch, but I smother it before it turns into a smirk. “Well, it’s the one you got. I need to make the details of our arrangement perfectly clear,” I say, pivoting to business. My voice is sharp, no room for misunderstanding. “I have no interest in marrying. I’m only taking a mate to get my parents off my back. If there are any delusions in your head of romance, I suggest you do away with them immediately.”
I let the words hang in the air, heavy and final.
“This will be an arranged marriage in every sense of the word. Don’t expect anything more.”
The silence that follows feels louder than my words. Why isn’t she saying anything? I’m sure she knows who I am. She should be saccharine sweet by now, either trying to change my mind or mindlessly agreeing to whatever I say. She just stands there, looking at me with that same expression that’s both infuriating and so fucking sexy.
Her silence feels like a challenge, and damn it, I hate how it makes me want to keep looking at her.
I turn to my desk, trying to regain some control. “I’ve even arranged a list of things in print,” I say, reaching for the document. “So you know what to expect and what not to. We won’t have time for fairytales-”
I’m still speaking when her voice cuts through the room, freezing me in motion.
“You sound insufferable.”
What?
I straighten slowly, turning back to face her. Even Joseph looks surprised, his eyebrows climbing on his forehead as he glances between us.
Her expression is calm, but there’s steel in her voice. “I’ve been here for barely five minutes, and you’ve already been rude to me. What do you think gives the right to speak to me that way? Because I’m here to be your mate? If it weren’t for my parents and the fact that I don’t want to dash their hopes of this working, I’d walk right out of this estate and never look back.”
I open my mouth to respond, but she keeps going, her words deliberate and pointed. “I heard you and your family care about perfection, excellence, and order. It would seem that only applies to your surroundings since your uncouth behavior is unbecoming of it all.”
I cannot believe what I’m hearing. No one, not an omega, not anyone, has ever spoken to me like this. Why in hell is excitement bubbling in my chest?
It’s so thrilling that I feel the faintest flicker of a smile tug at my lips, but I shove it down before she notices.
“That is a thinly veiled insult, Miss Walker. Do you mean to insult me in my own home?” I grate out.
Danae claps her hands together. “Ah, do forgive me. I forgot that since I am under your roof, I must tolerate your excesses. I have just arrived, and I am tired, so you must understand if my fuse is a bit short. If you don’t mind, please pretend that you know something of hospitality and show me where I am to rest before you begin your earlier tirade again.”
With that, she walks out on me.
I watch her leave, my heart pounding in my chest. My jaw tightens, and I force myself to look away, turning back to my desk.
“She’s rude,” I mutter, more to myself than anyone else.
Joseph clears his throat, and I glance back at him. He raises an eyebrow. “You expected her to just stand there and take it? After the way you spoke to her?”
I glare at him, but I don’t respond.
Instead, my mind flashes back to other omegas I’ve encountered, women who practically threw themselves at me, no matter how cold or dismissive I was.
Nothing was ever the same since my first rut. The memories come back to me unbidden, how naive and confused I had been.
“Master Silas,” her voice is different. It’s almost crazed, in a sultry tone I had never heard directed at me before. I’m only fifteen, yet her frame is already dwarfed by my own. Still, she moves with a confidence that borders on invasive.
Her eyes are eager, and her warm hands are clammy as she takes my arm. The drool on her lip makes my skin crawl.
“Please stop.” It’s the only time I have ever begged, my eyes wide in fear and uncertainty. I didn’t know what she wanted at the time, but I knew I didn’t want it. My head was swirling, and my pheromones only grew stronger, making her wilder and wilder.
“Stop!”
I press my eyes closed to force the memory away. After that awful incident, my parents sent me to the annex whenever I had my rut until I was old enough and controlled enough, not to turn the entire estate into a pit of animals acting on instinct due to my pheromones.
It was my rude awakening to the reason why girls fawned over me in class and why the omegas followed me around in galas.
“She’s just another omega,” I tell Joseph, more forcefully than necessary. “She’ll act just like they always do when she experiences my pheromones.”
Joseph doesn’t respond, his face annoyingly neutral.
I wave a hand toward the door. “Go after her. Show her where she’ll be staying.”
Joseph nods, leaving without another word.
As the door closes, I lean back in my chair, letting out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. My mind keeps replaying the way she looked at me, the way she stood her ground.
I don’t like how much of an effect she has on me, and I hate the fact that I can’t seem to stop thinking about her.
But, at the end of the day, she’s just another Omega.