Chapter 13
AGELIUS
I’d been saved from any more of Zarbius’ obnoxious conversation by the arrival of the meal.
The shed door had opened and as the omegas brought in the food, a most delicious aroma filled the air.
But it wasn’t the food that had my attention.
I looked around me to see if anyone else had noticed.
The betas were sniffing the air madly, nostrils flaring, mouths hanging open revealing chipped and crooked teeth, but their attention was focused solely on the dishes of hot food heading towards them.
I fully expected to see drool dripping from their mouths.
They didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.
Omegas entered the shed carrying large platters of hot food – shanks of lamb, roasted potatoes, hocks of bacon, and slabs of bloody steak. As they approached the table, the omegas split up to deliver the platters along the length of the table. Plates were placed in front of everyone.
The last omega to enter, hiding behind the others, was slim to the point of scrawny, with straight dirty blond hair.
An omega who I knew wasn’t a natural blond, because I’d seen all his other hair, and it was dark.
I knew it was him even before I saw him because of the amazing scent wafting through the air, causing my cock to take notice. I stirred uncomfortably on my seat.
My omega.
I could barely take my eyes off him as he walked in behind the others, carrying a platter that looked way too heavy for his slender frame.
I wanted to get up and help him with it, but that was a ridiculous notion, and I shook my head to clear it.
It would have given me away, for the love of the Goddess, I had to get my head in order!
All the omegas kept their eyes down, either not wanting to make eye contact or because it wasn’t allowed, I wasn’t sure. The dynamics in this pack were very strange, but they were definitely not in favor of the omegas.
“Finally!” exploded Zarbius, as a steaming platter was placed in front of him.
The omega leaning across to place it there flinched and backed away, hurriedly scurrying to join the other two who, having deposited their offerings further along the table, were pulling things from a small cabinet along the wall, which I hadn’t previously noticed.
The groan of sliding drawers was accompanied by the chink of crockery and the rattle of cutlery, before the omegas hurried back to the table.
An overwhelming wave of mouth-watering scent washed over me, and a thin arm appeared from beside me, placing a plate on the table in front of me with a hand that was visibly shaking.
I lifted my head slightly and looked up into the clearest, most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen.
Familiar eyes. Confused eyes. Peering at me from under bushy eyebrows, half hidden beneath the veil of straight blonde hair that formed his fringe.
His fringe was parted to frame his narrow face and was the same length all around his head, the lower sections shaved bare.
The hairstyle suited him, showing off the curve of his neck and his slender throat, and framing his beautiful face.
I let the corner of my mouth curl up in the faintest hint of a smile and softened my eyes.
He blinked and bit his lip. Then he was gone.
The exchange was over in seconds, and no-one seemed to have noticed.
Moments later the omegas escaped the crushingly oppressive atmosphere of the food hall and we were left to consume our meal.
I missed him. It felt like my heart was walking around outside the shed, alone and unprotected.
*****
After the meal, Zarbius and I sat around with the betas, as the beer supplies rapidly dwindled. Everyone except me was chugging down the stuff. I kept a bottle in my hand but it was always the same one, just there for appearances. They didn’t seem to notice I wasn’t keeping up with them.
I watched as the betas and Zarbius descended into loud obnoxious behavior. Which shouldn’t have been possible, since alcohol didn’t affect shifters ordinarily. But I’d noticed early on in the evening that the ‘beer’ did seem to be having an effect on them, which was why I was taking it slow.
Zarbius noticed me frowning at the betas, chucked his head towards the half-full bottle clutched in his hand.
“Home brew,” he said, confidentially, bringing his head uncomfortably close to mine, the stench of rotten teeth and alcohol making my nose prickle. “Special ingredients,” he added, giving me a conspiratorial wink.
I nodded and smiled back at him. “Powerful stuff.”
“Sure is,” he guffawed, lifting his bottle to his lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and a stream of liquid cascaded from his lips. “Fucker,” he glared at the offending bottle.
Finally, Zarbius lurched up from the table.
“C’mon,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. “Let’s go get ourselves some omega ass.”
Swallowing the bile that rose in my throat at his disgusting comment, I rose to accompany him. Zarbius swayed on his feet as he turned and pointed at the betas. “Boys, give us ten minutes, then you can take your pick.”
I looked over the group. They disgusted me, but if I was honest, I didn’t think the omegas had anything much to worry about this evening. They’d had much too much of their spruced-up beer to be able to get it up tonight.
Zarbius was a different matter. He’d drunk as much as the others but with his alpha constitution he was handling it a lot better. As soon as we got outside in the fresh air, he shook off his dazed look.
“Right,” his chest expanded and his gaze sharpened as his head came up. “Let’s go get some ass.”
He strode off towards the omega-house, not waiting to see if I followed or not, and I hurried to catch up.
As we approached the omega’s building, the chatter of soft voices drifted gently through the night.
A warm yellow light fell from the window half-covered by a tattered gauze curtain.
Zarbius walked right in without knocking.
A hush fell across the room. The omegas froze in a range of positions, as though suddenly turned to stone.
Eight of them were gathered around a board game on the floor, one of them with their hand motionless above a plastic token, four huddled in a corner, three others were on the lounge, phones still in their hands, and one was sitting at the table with a book.
Sixteen pairs of soft brown eyes watched us with expressions varying from fearful to resigned.
Nobody moved.
Zarbius pointed to me and growled, “This is Agelius. He’s my new second-in-command. Be respectful!” he glowered at the silent omegas. Eyes shifted to me, then back to him again. A few heads dropped, shoulders shrunk in on themselves. I heard someone swallow hard.
Zarbius surveyed them, then strode forward pointing at a female omega who was sitting next to the board game, eyes wide, trembling softly,
“You!” he said, indicating she should go outside and wait for him. She got up and shuffled out, sending a tearful glance to her companions.
Zarbius waved his arm over the remaining assembled omegas.
“Take your pick,” he said magnanimously, as if he owned them all.
I looked them over. None of them would do, not at all. And yet… I could scent the familiar notes of orange and smokey butterscotch somewhere… just maybe not in this room.
“How many omegas did you say you have?” I asked the Alpha.
“About twenty, give or take,” he said.
“Well, if I’m going to choose one that I’m going to stick with, I want to have a look at them all first. There’s only fifteen here, sixteen counting the one outside.”
Zarbius shrugged and I had the impression the omegas were all the same to him. “Whatever. The others will be around the house somewhere. Try two or three if you like.”
“Mmm, I might do that,” I replied, noncommittally. There was an uneasy shuffling around the room.
“Well, I’m outta here. You don’t need me to help you decide.
When you’ve got one you’ve settled on, tell me who and I’ll tell the rest of the pack they’re off limits.
Or you can try one every night until you find one you like.
” He shook his head as if he couldn’t quite fathom it. “I like variety myself.”
Zarbius strode out of the house, leaving me there with a lot of anxious-looking omegas.
I didn’t say anything to reassure them, though I would have liked to. But with shifters’ exceptional hearing, I couldn’t risk Zarbius overhearing anything that might incriminate me.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
There was more shuffling, and averted eyes, but nobody answered. I dropped my voice to my growly alpha tone and pointed at one of them.
“Show me where they are!” I demanded.
When the omega stood up and I saw his legs shaking, I felt like an asshole for frightening him, but my wolf was getting very impatient to find our omega and was out of patience for anyone getting in the way of that.
“The bedrooms are down here,” murmured the omega in a soft wobbly voice, leading me towards the hallway, and gesturing towards the end where the light didn’t quite penetrate.
I nodded and walked past him. I heard his soft footsteps disappearing behind me. It was still very silent back in the living room. I guessed they were waiting to see which unfortunate omega would be required to accompany me for the night and uncertain if they were off the hook yet or not.
Ignoring the uncomfortable silence behind me, I prowled forward, the scent of butterscotch teasing me, growing stronger with every step.
There were three doors to choose from, all closed.
I sniffed the first door, but it gave me nothing, so I kept walking.
The unmistakable smell of orange became more noticeable drifting though the butterscotch, so I knew I was on the right track, and by the time I reached the end of the corridor, the scent was so strong outside the door on my right, that there was no question of where he was.