Chapter 9
My phone flashes with another text.
I blow out a breath as I ease into the parking space and turn off the car before reaching for it, though I have a pretty good idea of what I’ll find. Is it dangerous to be asking Huntley about Jasper’s date? Absolutely. She’s his best friend, and she sees through me with the same ease the Concertmaster does. The difference? She doesn’t hold it over my head the way Ben does.
But desperate times and all that.
His name is Dominic. Why?
And then a second text, just a picture. I drop the phone, not trusting myself to respond.
Dominic. The fucking guy he went on a date with is Dominic.
I try not to be melodramatic, but that has got to be some of the most ironic bullshit of my entire fucking life. The man I’m caught up with and completely twisted up over is dating my best friend. It doesn’t help that I can still feel the warmth of Jasper’s lips on my skin and hear the small noise he’d tried to keep in his throat when I grabbed his hips.
And he’s dating fucking Dominic.
Dominic, who refuses to register as a pack, would rather throw himself into the ocean than match with an Omega, who has been on a low-dose rut suppressor since I met him in the mandatory designation instruction courses provided by the Council nearly a decade ago.
Tapping the steering wheel, I count back from ten. When I’m nearly certain I won’t put my fist into the windshield, I grab the small bag I keep prepped in the back seat and start toward the nondescript building. Alphas are required to use the side entrance, and they don’t bother with any kind of aesthethic—simple sliding doors, simple brown awning, a small, tactful sign off to the side marking the entrance. The lobby is the same, sterile tile and white walls broken up by occasional pieces of art.
The pretty stuff is left for the Omegas. They’re sensitive to colors, lights, scents. And especially when in heat. Alphas? We don’t really give a shit.
A lone desk sits about ten feet into the moderately-sized room. Beyond it, two sets of locked double doors lead deeper into the facility. There’s a small waiting area to my left, though no one currently sits there.
A middle-aged man looks up from the book he has perched on the desk, his eyebrow rising as he sets it aside and pulls up something on his computer.
“Are you scheduled, sir?” he asks.
I shake my head as I pull out my Council ID and packet of information. “Not for another few weekends. Wanted to list as available through Monday.”
He scans in my information before glancing back at me. “I’ll need you to fill out both forms,” he says as he grabs a tablet and taps a couple times on it before handing it to me. I work on filling out the information as he gives the standard speech. I tune him out. I shouldn’t, but I’ve done this enough that the speech is memorized.
Don’t bond. Don’t do anything without the Omega’s consent. Pay attention to what the Omega has listed as their preferences. Condoms required if the Omega isn’t using birth control regardless of preference.
As soon as I’m finished, he takes the tablet and enters more information into the computer.
“Do you have a preference today?” he asks after a minute.
I shake my head. A minute later, he hands me a packet of information, the paper still warm from the printer, and instructs me to wait for one of the escorts. I flip through the Omega’s preference sheet as I settle into a chair, making sure I know the basics before being led to her nest.
The moment I smell her heat, I’ll be fucked for common sense and rational thought. My skin already itches with the depth of the Alpha instincts simmering. The key to keeping your fucking wits about you? Make sure you don’t let your instincts become so ignored that they become overwhelming. Too bad that’s all I’ve been doing for the last several months while pining after Jasper.
“Ready, sir?” A man about my age stands just behind the chair, his hands tucked into his pockets.
As I stand, I fish my phone out of my pocket and send two quick texts letting Owen and Mark know I’ll be unavailable for the next few days. Owen responds within a heartbeat with a thumbs up and polite reminder of Tuesday’s rehearsal change. Mark is, unsurprisingly, radio silent. There aren’t any gigs scheduled for recording this weekend, so I’m not too worried. I shut my phone off and stash it in the bag before slinging it over my shoulder.
“Yep. Ready.”
With a nod, he turns around and leads me across the lobby, pulling a badge from his pocket to unlock the set of doors closest to us. He guides me down several hallways, each becoming more attractive, the cool tile giving way to plush carpet and warm paint. By the time he stops in front of one of the rooms, it feels like we’re in a luxury hotel, sconces every few feet lighting the hallway and tasteful decor filling up the empty wall space.
“All needed linens should be in there. If you don’t wish to sleep in the nest, there is a key for a separate bedroom just inside the door. She’s been asleep for a few hours. This is her first time using the facility.”
All information already laid out in the information packet still clutched in my hand. Suppose it’s good they double check everything, though. Omegas are especially delicate during their heats. It wouldn’t take much for an asshole of an Alpha to really fuck someone up.
I’m an asshole, but never to an Omega.
I stretch my neck and shake my head before rolling back my shoulders.
The moment I open the door, the smell of honeysuckle overwhelms me. The need to rut slams into me, and I grit my teeth to keep it together. I ease into the room and make sure the door latches behind me before grabbing the lone key and heading straight for the spare bedroom. Intent on taking a shower and getting the smells of the bar off of me before it can upset the nest the Omega—Violet—has made, I drop my bag onto the small dresser and strip out of my clothes. The water is quick to heat, and I waste no time getting my skin and hair cleaned with the scent-free options provided by the facility.
I’m towel drying my hair, a set of provided sweats hung low on my hips, when the sounds change in the other room. There’s a whine followed by a hard thud.
“Alpha?” Her voice is tired but strong, and it has a flash of heat racing down my spine.
I focus on the feeling, letting it spread through me, allowing those instincts I keep under a tight leash out to play. Dropping the towel, I cross the extra sleeping room, closing its door quietly behind me as I step into the nest. To keep the need pulsing just behind my sternum and hanging like a haze over my mind from becoming all consuming too soon, I force myself to take in the furnishings she’s chosen. Everything has been covered in soft pink and gray linens, pillows in both colors spread across the floor. The nightstand sits at an odd angle, the hard hit I heard from the other room clearly caused by it being pushed over onto its side and hitting the wall.
The Omega’s sitting up in the bed, more pink and gray pillows all around her, the plush gray blanket falling and revealing her ample figure and large breasts, her brown nipples tight with arousal. The moment her eyes focus on me, a whine builds in her throat, growing louder with each second. She crawls across the bed, her movements growing more desperate with each second that she’s awake and I’m not touching her. Her scent doubles in the room, becoming even more overwhelming, and I let it feed the instinct, let it coax that part of me from where I do my best to keep it hidden without suppressing it. Bergamot blends with her own scent, though I try to ignore it.
“Alpha, please,” she begs, splaying her hands on my belly. Her black hair is a mess, falling to her shoulders, her bangs covering her eyes for a moment before she shakes her head.
The need to knot her is strong, the haze fully overtaking me with each lungful of her scent I breathe. I twist my hand into her hair, and she makes a content noise in the back of her throat even as I urge her back onto the bed. She grabs my waist, closing the gap between us. She pants under me, her fingers spasming as she feels my erection press into her soft belly before I adjust our bodies, covering her with my body and settling my hips into the cradle of hers even as she forces my sweats lower. Her fingers shake with the force of her heat despite the information saying she’s already been here a full day. Her soft whines build until I push into her, culminating in a sudden moan, her nails scratching my back.
I drop my head into her shoulder and surrender to everything raging through me.