Chapter 4
Chapter Four
MAYA
C onsidering it has only been a year since I last saw him, it shouldn’t surprise me that Prince Logan looks exactly as I remember him. But I hoped that a faulty memory influenced the intimidating image in my head.
Until this very moment, I had myself convinced that the perfection of his features was something I created to torture myself. Reality couldn’t possibly match up to that terrible recollection.
So wrong.
If anything, the angle of his jaw is more sharply cut than I remember. The curve of his lips lush even as they twist into a cruel smirk.
I hate that a face so beautiful can hide so much cruelty.
Prince Logan is a predator laying a trap so he can hide in plain sight. The lure of a brightly colored Venus fly trap awaiting the perfect moment to snap its jaws tight around me.
I hate him so much.
Logan hasn’t even bothered to look up from the tablet in his hand. As if he has all the time in the world to make what he thinks is a desperate Omega wait for some acknowledgement of her existence. His jaw flexes in apparent annoyance as he glares down at the screen.
Makes me wonder what he would do if I broke that tablet with his head.
My attention shifts to the two Alphas standing at the prince’s back, allowing me time for a shameless assessment of them.
At this point, I have nothing left to lose.
Both are also exactly as I recall. Poe stares at me, cat-slanted eyes narrowing in suspicion and annoyance as recognition slowly grows in his expression. Black tattoos twine up his neck like encroaching shadows, more of them than he had before. I assume his entire upper body is covered in them, judging by the tattooed black whirls and vines visible where his shirt cuffs meet his wrists. His dark hair is longer, hanging in an artful shag over his forehead and casting his pale face in perpetual shadow.
He is practically the darkness, personified.
Ares’s grin widens when my gaze shifts to meet his. Manic energy lights up his eyes. His cinnamon brown curls and deep blue eyes might be cherubic, but they’re matched with a demon’s smirk. His smile does nothing to soften his features. If anything, I find it just as frightening as Poe’s glare. Nostrils flare wide. He makes no secret of how he scents the air, licking his lips in obvious pleasure. I can practically see him rubbing his hands together in anticipation, even though his arms stay crossed over his burly chest. Built like a brick wall, the man is almost a head taller than the other Alphas .
I already know that they can’t be trusted to rein in the prince’s darker urges.
More like fuel to the raging fire.
The blonde guard remains in the room, slamming the door shut with enough force that I’m shocked into looking back at him. It’s only then than I realize that I also recognize him. The platinum blonde beta guard that had stood over Logan’s shoulder when he forced me to my knees.
Icy eyes regard me with a bored expression, similar to the one he wore when the prince shoved his dick down my throat. “Your next interview is here, Prince Logan.”
Logan finally deigns to look up as I turn back to face him. His gaze lands first on my hair, lips twisting into a mocking smirk. “Better luck next time, baby. I’ve already seen more than enough bad dye jobs for one day…”
He cuts himself off as his gaze drifts to my face. The mockery remains, but his expression hardens, casting his features into something that could be carved from stone. A true courtier, Logan’s face is entirely devoid of emotion as he stares me down.
His prolonged silence and continued stare are the only evidence of whatever dark thoughts swirl behind those golden eyes.
His pack mates recover from their shock more quickly.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Poe spits, not bothering to hide his disgust.
Ares gives me a malicious grin, leaning enough of his weight on the desk that the wood groans in protest. His gaze remains fixed on the swell of my chest in the too tight dress. “Providing some much-needed entertainment.”
Ignoring them, I keep my attention on the prince. Logan is the one who will decide if this gamble pays off, and anticipating his moods is more difficult than walking a tightrope. I can’t afford any distractions, even dangerous ones.
With so little time to prepare, I didn’t come here with a game plan. If anything, the energy that carried me to this moment was nothing more than a heady combination of adrenaline and desperation.
But I remember my last encounter with the prince well enough to know that he appreciates sparks of aggression, as long as they’re easy for him to conquer. The predator might ultimately want to catch its prey, but they still want to chase it first.
“Not a dye job.” I flip the long fall of my hair back over my shoulder, noting how his gaze briefly follows the movement. “Though I have been told before that it’s my best feature.”
Logan blinks. Once. Then a devastating smile spreads slowly across his face, devoid of any trace of actual humor.
The tension in the room noticeably shifts. Heat spreads across my chest as it settles over me just what I’ve done by stepping foot inside this room.
Even Logan’s body language changes, muscles uncoiling as he settles into a chair far too reminiscent of a throne. He lounges. Indolent.
“I’m sure you’ve been told lots of things over the past year by whatever bottom-feeding Alpha you ended up with.” He gives my body a lazy perusal, nostrils flaring as he takes a breath deep enough to swell his chest. “But this interview is for unbonded Omegas. Not fickle sluts who’ve decided they want a crown.”
I don’t wince at the word slut , even if it creates a falling sensation in my stomach. He intended it as an insult and hit his target, though not for the reason he likely thinks.
Without breaking eye contact, I push up the loose sleeves of my dress so my wrists and the inner bend of my arms are bare. The hot gazes of three volatile Alphas follow the movement as I yank down my neckline low enough to reveal my shoulders and the creamy expanse of my chest, just above the curve of my breasts.
“No claiming marks,” I state. “And I had to submit a recent medical exam to your security team before they would even allow me to pass through the gates. No one has bonded me.”
Poe makes a sound of disgust. “She’s lying. That’s all Omegas do.”
Ares licks his lips in an exaggerated display that doesn’t match the shrewd assessment in his eyes. “Only one way to find out.”
The prince’s voice is little more than a deep growl. “Is that what you really want, Maya? To be bonded — to me?”
My teeth would clack together in fear if I had even slightly less control of my body right now. Logan doesn’t give me so much as a hint of what he might be thinking. For all I know, his plan is to string me along for a few more minutes out of sheer entertainment before kicking me out of the room. But I keep my head held high and force myself to meet his dispassionate gaze.
Modesty does not come naturally to me, but I give it my best try. “If you’ll have me.”
“If I’ll have you,” Logan mocks, not hiding his derision. “You’re the one who ran out of here like your hair was on fire the last year. You honestly expect me to think that much has changed?”
I bite my tongue so hard that I taste blood. “I would never presume to tell you what to think, Prince Logan.”
“What a perfect Omega response,” he practically purrs.
Eyes still downcast, I don’t realize he has come around the desk to stand within inches of me until I feel the heat of his body.
He stands close enough that his breath stirs the tiny hairs on my forehead as he speaks. “And I don’t believe a fucking word of it.”
I’m still in the room, I remind myself. The last girl ran out crying and had to be comforted. He hasn’t yet told me to get out. This could certainly be going worse.
But maneuvering himself within arm’s reach…every alarm bell in my head is blaring for me to run.
Keeping my gaze focused on his polished shoes, I answer him. “What can I say to convince you?”
“Say? Nothing. I can’t trust anything that comes out your mouth, pretty as it might be.”
“Why are you wasting time with this?” Poe spits out.
It’s impossible to know if his hatred of me is personal or just a reflection of his loyalty to Logan, but it’s problematic all the same.
“Playing with your food isn’t a waste of time,” Ares says, amusement in his voice. “You do it because it’s fun.”
The leather of his sword holsters creaks as Poe shifts from one foot to the other, an obvious sign of his agitation. “Like I said, a waste of damn time.”
Fingers firmly grip my chin, not quite hard enough to hurt, but he forces my head back until I meet eyes like polished amber.
Logan studies me, focusing impassively on each feature like he is cataloguing some new species of wildlife under a microscope. His attention lingers for an extra second on my hair, the moment so brief that I almost miss it. “I gave you a taste of what it would be like as my Omega and it scared you so much that you practically fell off the face of the planet. Embarrassing me before the entire court. What could have possibly changed so much in a year that you would come crawling back now?”
“Choose me and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
The nightmare of this past year isn’t something I will share with anyone, but he doesn’t need to know that. I’ll say anything he wants to hear if it gets me through this moment.
He has to choose me. I’m out of other options.
“You would crawl? Beg? Serve? Anything I asked of you?”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Yes.”
Logan angles my chin so that I can see the two Alphas standing behind him, both watching me with rapt attention. Ares is all eagerness, giving me a lascivious wink when our eyes meet. Poe’s stance — legs spread and arms crossed over his chest hard enough to make every muscle in his upper body bulge — is pure aggression. But I don’t miss the thread of anticipation strumming through him. He might hate all Omegas, but that won’t stop him from fucking one into the ground if he gets the chance.
Logan leans closer, his breath warm on my cheek. He invades. Until personal space is a foreign concept. “Would you let me share you?”
My breath hitches, but I can manage a single word. “Y-yes.”
“I want to hear you say it,” he purrs, voice practically a caress.
This is a test. Just like every other word out of his mouth since I walked through the door. His questions only have wrong answers.
But it’s too late for me to back out now.
“I will let you share me.”
He wrenches my head back, forcing me to look at him. Light from the single window slices across his face, setting gold eyes on fire with enough heat to make me combust on the spot.
His tongue dips just out of his lips, as if he relishes the taste of my fear in the air. I know that my stoic exterior won’t actually fool him, but I need him curious enough to take the risk.
“And what if I don’t want you willing?”
I force myself to meet his gaze without flinching, even as my next words taste like ash on my tongue.
“Then I’ll fight.”
Logan takes a slight step back. The abrupt loss of his body heat sends an icy chill running through me.
He tilts his head to the side, frankly assessing me. His gaze moves over my body in open appraisal. This time he makes no secret of the assessment as he picks up a strand of my hair and twines through his fingers.
“Purple is the color of royalty,” he murmurs. Dilated eyes stare me down, black slowly encroaching on the gold like an eclipsing sun. “But I never got a chance to see if the carpet matches the drapes. Take off your dress and show me.”
When I hesitate, triumph twists his lips into a smirk.
“Or you can walk away now,” he drawls. “If you run, no one will chase you. We’ve already got more Omega pussy around here than we know what to do with.”
My trembling hands move to the seed pearl buttons on my chest. The front closure is old-fashioned, which makes removing the dress more time-consuming.
No one speaks as I undo the buttons. I keep my gaze trained downward so I can’t see the expressions on their faces.
Heavy fabric falls to my waist, revealing my shameful lack of undergarments. Their absence isn’t some play at seduction. I had no reason to think the prince would insist I strip for him in the middle of our interview.
This dress was the best of my limited options and I don’t have a bra that wouldn’t show through the plunging neckline.
Logan lets his gaze drop to my bare chest. He gives a low whistle of appreciation.
“At least one thing hasn’t changed,” he says to his pack. “She still has amazing tits.”
Poe crosses his arms over his chest and leans back against the wall, gaze mocking. “I’ve seen better.”
His words are cutting, but I don’t miss the bulge in his pants that he tries to hide by shifting his position.
Ares makes no secret of his interest. “I think they might actually be bigger than last time. Maybe she spent the last year whelping a pup for whatever Alpha had her. ”
I don’t bother pointing out that unbonded Omegas rarely conceive. It is practically a statistical impossibility.
Ares shifts around the desk, hesitating only when Logan’s lips curls in a silent growl. He stops at the edge, shamelessly ogling my bared chest.
Logan regards me impassively until my attention returns to him.
“It would serve you right if I let him at you. Lucky for you, I’m not in the mood for that game today.” Smiling at my reaction to that implied threat, he gestures at the fabric still pooled around my waist. “I didn’t tell you to stop. Keep going.”
My hands push at the dress where it catches around my hips, shimmying a bit to dislodge it. The move is more artless than seductive, but all three of them pay close attention.
Logan’s gaze shifts to the juncture of my thighs as the fabric slips down to my feet. The sharp scent of bitter clove fills the air, enough that I can taste it.
There is a twisted sort of power in this, I remind myself. They may hate me for running away, think that I’m lower than a bug squashed under their shoe, and want to see me punished in the most humiliating way possible.
But none of them can take their eyes off me.
The fine hairs covering my mound are nearly an exact match for the hair on my head, perhaps a shade darker. One of the many rumors floating around about Omegas is that we’re all hairless from the waist down, but that’s a ridiculous lie. Too many Omegas practically wax a layer of skin off their bodies to keep up the male fantasy. Personal grooming hasn’t been high on my list of priorities recently. I won’t lie, the thought occurred to me, but spa services don’t exactly come cheap and I’d spent what little money I had available for this dress.
Judging from the look of renewed interest in Logan’s eyes, I’d made the right choice.
Despite the pink flush heating my skin, I refuse to give them any more signs of my growing embarrassment. Letting the dress fall completely to my feet, I plant my hands on my hips and strike a defiant pose.
Logan’s hand rises slowly, his fingers gliding so close to my belly that it raises the tiny hairs on my skin.
I angle away from him. “No touching. If you want the milk, you’re going to have to buy the cow.”
Ares is the only who laughs. “Told you she was preggers.”
“I’m a royal prince.” Logan’s eyes narrow as he gives me a menacing look. “I can touch whatever I want.”
I take a stumbling half-step back, almost tripping on the dress still tangled around my ankles.
Cool hands come up to grip my shoulders, startling me. I’d forgotten that the blue-eyed beta was still standing behind me. He had been so quiet that my mind had edited him out of existence.
That makes him so incredibly dangerous.
A cultured voice washes over me, soft enough that his words are clearly only meant for me to hear.
“They will chase if you run now. Better to just get this over with.”
Okay, so a naked escape attempt at this point would be a bad idea.
I glare back at the prince, gambling on defiance over submission. “You can touch as much as you want, after you choose me as your Omega.”
“You can’t be the only unbonded Omega with big tits and a purple cunt,” he drawls, eyes raking derisively over my naked body even as the heat in his gaze gives him away. “What makes you think you’re so damn special?”
Taking the biggest risk that I have since entering the room, I shove him away. It’s obviously more from surprise than my strength, but he takes a step back from me.
I yank my dress off the floor and pull it on, missing buttons as I hastily do up the front.
“You have a few dozen Omegas out there to choose from them, all of them unbonded.” I glare at the entire room, taking in the Alphas who think they can commit any sin with impunity and their beta enabler. My anger is genuine and I don’t bother holding back on it. “But how many of them are also untouched?”
Dilated eyes meet mine, encroaching black, destroying any hint of color as Logan glares back at me. “You lie.”
Sexual chemistry might be the most important part of a potential bond. And since Omegas can only be bonded during a heat cycle, sexual activity prior to signing a mating contract is common. Most of the time, sex is a necessary part of the interview process with prospective Alphas.
A year ago, Logan hadn’t overstepped by wanting me to prove our sexual compatibility.
He messed up by treating his potential mate like his whore.
“I’ve been saving myself for a worthy Alpha, one that can offer more than a quick knot and a mess to clean up.”
That might put too fine a point on it, but they don’t need to know that. The thought of giving some random Alpha a trial run never sat right to me.
And yet, here I am offering myself to the worst Alpha I’ve ever encountered.
Logan seems almost lost for words as he silently stares at me. I swear I hear the creaking as wheels turn inside his head.
I flip my hair over my shoulders, knowing that the varying shades of lavender and violet will catch attractively in the light. It isn’t vanity to acknowledge that my hair really is my best feature.
I’ll take whatever power here that I can get.
“If you decide that a purple virgin cunt is special enough, then you know where to find me.”