Prologue #2
I’ve never been told an exact number, but all of us know the amount has to be eye-watering. So much so that only the richest Alphas can afford it. If an Enclave Omega somehow found a job after graduation, she could work her whole life and still not make enough to pay back that debt.
I will make this work because I have no other choice.
My hands clench in my lap, fingernails biting into the skin hard enough to leave marks. “You’re right. My apologies, Prince Logan.”
They all laugh at that. I inwardly cringe, resisting the urge to curl in on myself in shame. The intensity of their attention isn’t something I had prepared for. I feel like a specimen under a microscope, just waiting to have its insides dissected and examined.
Logan lowers his eyes, gaze skirting over my body and lingering on the swell of my hips. “So, you do have a little fire in you. I would have thought the Enclave had stomped out all of that. Never once met an Omega from there with any personality.”
My lip quirks at that, thinking about the girls I know. “We clearly haven’t met the same Omegas.”
A flash of amusement lightens his eyes to a luminescent amber, unlike any other color I’ve ever seen. Genuine humor brightens his face, bringing life to the carved stone of his features. For a moment, he seems very human.
But the amusement vanishes as quickly as it came. His expression turning hard as granite as he surveys me.
“I’ve met plenty. Simpering simpletons with no passion outside of compelled urges.” Cool fingers stroke my cheek, the touch so gentle that I barely feel it. He grips my chin and brings his mouth so close to mine that I taste clove as he exhales. His whisper ghosts across my lips, making me shiver in unwilling response. “The real question is if you’re any different.”
I swallow past the painful lump in my throat. “I don’t understand.”
“My apologies for you using my voice. You’re right about that being inappropriate. But I want to know what you’ll do when no one is forcing you into it.” Logan smiles, but the expression doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’m looking for something very…specific in a potential mate. So we’re going to conduct a small trial to see if you’re up for the job.”
Anxiety curdles in my gut like rotten milk. I feel like I might vomit if I stay kneeling on this floor for even one more second.
But I won’t run from this. Not when the alternative is returning to the Enclave in disgrace. No other Alpha worth the name will want me if they find out Prince Logan has rejected me.
I have to see this through.
“It’s my contention that Omegas are all the same. Submission comes too naturally for them. They might do what I want them to do, but only because they have no choice.” Logan’s tone is conversational, even as his stroking fingers continue their path down my cheek to my neck, lingering in the sensitive hollow just above my pulse. “But I’ll give you a chance to prove me wrong, if you like.”
Quick as a striking cobra, his hand wraps around my throat. Not exactly squeezing, but with enough pressure that the shock of it robs of me of my next breath.
Ares’s disembodied voice floats from my periphery. “Her nipples are so hard they’re about to poke holes in that fancy dress.”
The others have shifted to new positions in the room, most likely for a better vantage point. I want to keep track of their movements, but don’t dare look away from the Alpha who has his hand wrapped around my throat.
You never take your eyes off the predator that has you caught in a trap.
Poe emerges from the shadows just over Logan’s shoulder. His expression is empty, entirely detached, as if he is studying a boring piece of art on the wall. “Makes sense. Everyone knows all Omegas are whores.”
Anger momentarily overwhelms my fear. I open my mouth to make some retort, but the hand around my throat tightens. But only for a moment. A warning.
I swallow back the protest and Logan’s grip eases. His thumb gently traces my jugular, which jumps in response .
“Easy there,” Logan croons. “You don’t want to push too hard with him.”
“Let her try me,” Poe responds. “I haven’t hurt anyone in hours.”
“We’re avoiding violence, at least for today.” Logan’s hand slips away, though the weight of his gaze never leaves my face. “Show us.”
I swallow past the hard lump in my throat. “Show you what?”
He lounges on the upholstered chair, looking every inch the indolent prince as he smirks down at me.“Let’s start with those pretty titties.”
Frozen on my knees, I feel like anything but a properly submissive Omega. Even if I have mimicked the pose perfectly. Logan’s words ricochet through my head.
Show us.
Show us.
Show us.
Everyone knows that Alphas travel in packs. They’re biologically compelled to seek each other out and prove whichever one of them is dominant. Once the dust settles, they have a tendency to stick together and the packs they form then compete against each other, if just to increase their collective chances of attracting an Omega.
I’d known that Logan’s pack would eventually become a part of our bond, but I wasn’t expecting any group action this soon.
Before a mating contract has even been signed.
“Remember, you can walk out that door whenever you like,” Logan reminds me with a mocking smile. “No one is going to compel you to do anything. ”
Nausea barrel rolls in my belly. The thought of it makes me want to dig a hole in the floor and crawl into it to die of shame.
“Poor Omega, so confused,” Logan’s tone is mocking, as if I’m responding exactly like he thought I would, but there is no trace of command in his voice. “What is she going to do?”
Poe snorts derisively, but his stare practically bores into me. “She won’t perform until you offer her something. Jewelry, maybe. Omegas don’t submit for free unless you force them.”
“Let’s give her a chance,” Ares drawls. When I risk a glance at him, he meets my gaze with a lecherous smile. “It will take weeks for the Enclave to get us another one. You have any idea how long it’s been since I had pussy that could take a knot?”
“Personally, I prefer a desperate beta any day of the week. When they try to manipulate you, at least you see it coming.” Logan pushes his chair back with an ear-piercing shriek against the hardwood floor. The expression of boredom on his face is cringe-inducing as he waves toward the door. “I think we’re done here.”
My hands rise of their own volition, fingers catching on the seed pearls that I had done up so painstakingly only hours ago. This dress is handmade and custom-fitted, perfect for the future mate of a royal prince. The Enclave has already added its value to the balance of my debt.
Silence descends as I undo the buttons one-by-one. I don’t exactly mean for it to be a striptease, but going faster might tear the delicate threads connecting each pearl to the peach silk bodice.
I refuse to meet their gazes as the fabric pools around my waist. Chilled air washes over my skin, making me shiver. Even without looking down, I know my nipples are harder than chips of diamond.
My attention stays trained on the gilded portrait hanging above Logan’s head for an entire minute. The eyes of some royal Alpha ancestor glares down at me in judgment until I finally force myself to look at the very real Alphas in front of me.
Logan takes a single breath and lets it out on a long exhale.
Poe shifts from one foot to another but says nothing.
Cillian pointedly looks away, bright color high on his cheeks.
Ares is the one who finally breaks the silence by releasing a low whistle of appreciation.
“Shit, those might be the most perfect tits that I’ve ever seen.” He sidles closer, moving silently despite his massive size. A glance at Logan and he stops just out of arm’s reach. “How many other Alphas have you let see these before, baby girl?”
Even though he isn’t touching me, Ares is close enough that the heat of his body feels like an inferno at my back, alleviating some of the chill in my skin. I squeeze my eyes shut in an effort not to lean closer.
“He asked you a question,” Logan prompts. His gaze flicks to Ares, as if in some unspoken agreement. “We expect an answer.”
“None,” I force out.“No other Alphas.”
A dark chuckle fans the tiny hairs at the side of my head as Ares shifts closer. “That means no one has ever done this either, right?”
Rough fingers stroke along the curve of my breast. His fingers capture one nipple and pinch hard. Ares laughs when I let out an involuntary moan at the pain.
Logan tilts his head to the side, studying my reactions as Ares continues to tease my oversensitive flesh. He addresses Ares without looking away from my chest. “They look like dollops of cream on a piece of pie.”
“Piece of ass is more like it,” Poe mutters. He leans against a marble pillar and shadows obscure most of his face. “A piece of Omega ass, no different from any other.”
“We’re about to find out,” Logan responds agreeably. He leans back in his chair, every inch the spoiled royal. “Omega, crawl to me.”
Ares releases me so abruptly that I almost pitch forward. When he moves away, goosebumps prickle across every bit of my exposed skin.
Poe comes to stand behind Logan’s chair, as if even he can’t resist the urge to involve himself. “You can run away at any time, Omega. Tuck that tail back between your legs before something else ends up there.”
I could just walk out that door. Not run, obviously. Alpha instincts aren’t worth testing that much. But I do actually believe that they won’t stop me if I fasten up my dress and march out of here. Charlotte must be pacing right outside the door, waiting for me to emerge triumphant with a mating contract in hand. I can practically see the look of excitement on her face as she demands all the details.
Until I tell her I refused one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Melilla because he asked me to crawl on the floor like a toddler and I didn’t want to do it. I can already hear her response in my head.
What did you think he’d want from you after you’re mated?
Then I’ll have to deal with her disappointment. Judgment. Familiar speeches about how hard it’s been to create a better life for herself because of her designation. I’ve been handed a genetic lottery ticket and here I am throwing it away.
My sweaty palms squeak against the tile as I slowly crawl towards the prince, my gaze trained on his polished shoes. Shame laps at my senses like an ocean wave, with an undertow that threatens to pull me out to sea.
They watch me silently until I kneel up between Logan’s spread thighs. I can’t bring myself to meet his gaze. The portrait still glares down at me. I wonder how many other women Prince Logan has forced to their knees in front of his ancestors.
“I see that pride burning in your eyes, how you choke it back.” Logan grips my chin, forcing our gazes to meet. He strokes a finger down my cheek, the gesture almost gentle. “I wonder how good you’ll be at swallowing down something else.”
I say the words, even though they taste like bile on my tongue. “What do want of me, Alpha?”
Logan unbuckles his belt with his free hand and slides it free before tossing it to the floor. With the twist of one hand, he opens the front of his pants and releases the largest cock that I’ve ever seen.
Practically hard enough to stand up on its own. Tip angry-pink and already leaking fluid.Almost as long as my forearm.
“Show us just how good of an Omega you can be by sucking me off.”
They showed us instructional videos at the Enclave. Every Omega graduate is supposed to know how to please an Alpha properly, without unnecessary prompting. But clinical and sanitized interactions shot on hazy film with boring voiceovers don’t exactly prepare you for the real thing.
A barely acknowledged part of me wonders if he tastes as good as he smells.
The scent of bitter clove and Alpha aggression tinge the air.
I make an involuntary movement backward. Away from him and the unwilling urges suddenly glowing like stars in the dark recesses of my mind.
My back collides with a solid mass of flesh. Ares wraps an arm around my waist as he settles behind me, bent knees framing my hips until the mass of his body encases mine.
“What are you doing?” I ask, voice shaking.
“Helping. Wouldn’t want you running away. Not now, when you’re so close to the finish line.” Ares rubs his cheek against mine,scenting like a cat. His arm tightens around my waist when I cringe away. “But I’ll let you go if you ask me nicely.”
I say nothing. The only question is whether I’m unwilling or unable to insist he let me go.
Ares’s dark chuckle reverberates against my back. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
His free hand grabs mine where it rests in my lap, his grip strong but not painful. He wraps my fingers around the base of Logan’s cock and makes me squeeze hard enough that the prince lets out a low groan.
Logan’s flesh is scorching hot under my palm, a molten core wrapped in sleek satin. His shaft is thick enough that my fingers don’t quite meet as Ares’s fist forces my grip tighter than should be pleasurable for him. But he throws his head back in the chair, a low growl building from his chest and jangling my senses.
I’m too overwhelmed to make sense of this. I don’t know how I should respond to such a basely carnal display.When I received an invitation to the palace, I hadn’t exactly expected to be kneeling half-naked between the tea tables and jerking off the prince with the help of his bodyguard.
“Faster,” Logan commands. “Fuck, just like that.”
Ares hasn’t taken his hand off of mine, but now he lets me do all the work. I increase the speed of our movements as Logan makes responsive sounds of pleasure. There is already the slightest swelling at the base of him, the beginnings of a knot.
Testing him, I pulse my fist with the next downstroke and then clench at the base as hard as I can. His answering groan gratifies me way more than it should.
There is a heady power in this that I hadn’t expected to feel, in this ability to make the prince feel so much pleasure with such a simple act. Charlotte always maintains that Omegas are really the ones with the most influence among all the dynamics.I still don’t believe that’s true, but I understand better what she might have been getting at.
If I were an assassin, it would be all too easy to pull out a knife hidden in my skirt and cut that artery in the prince’s neck. The one that pulses with the wild rhythm of his heartbeat every time he throws his head back on another groan.
Logan’s breaths come faster, his hips rising to match the thrusting pace of my hand.
“Such a good girl,” Ares breathes into my ear. “Do you know what you’re doing to us?”
He grinds his hips against the curve of my backside until I feel his erection nestled in the seam of my ass.
“We believe sharing is caring, at least with each other.” Ares nips hard at my earlobe, making me jump. One hand slides up my belly, teasing at each jut of my ribs before circling my nipple with a single finger. “You see Poe over there? Moments like this, you can always bet on finding him lurking in the shadows. He loves to watch.”
Against my best judgment, I let him turn my head in Poe’s direction.
Pitch-black eyes practically shine in the dark as I find Poe watching me. Seconds pass and he doesn’t so much as blink. His arm shifts as he reaches into his own pants, fists his cock and strokes it in a steady rhythm.
Ares chuckles. “Whom I kidding, though? We all like to watch.”
Heat blooms on my cheeks as I tear my gaze away.
My skin is flushed, hot like a fever. Shame is a burning sensation in my gut, eclipsed only by a rising tide of desire. It’s only a matter of time before I spontaneously combust.
Logan’s next words sound like they come from a hundred miles away. “I want her mouth.”
Ares is already shifting me closer before I can decide if I actually want to go through with this.
“I don’t?—”
Thick fingers slip into my mouth. The taste of bitter clove bursts on my tongue. My eyes involuntarily slip closed as that flavor explodes across my senses. I want to hate it. I want to spit out his invasive digits and insist that the Enclave didn’t send me here to be treated like their whore before I demand they let me leave.
But I just can’t do it.
Ares’s hand grips the hair on the back of my head. I don’t resist as he guides my head into Logan’s lap.
When he is only inches from my lips, I risk a glance at Logan’s face.
His eyes darken as he stares down at me. The gold of his irises is a barely visible ring around dilated pupils. Soulless pits that I could fall into and never hit the bottom.
Falling forever.
Logan takes advantage of my distraction. His hips lift enough that the tip of him slides past my lips to butt against my teeth. My mouth instinctively parts wider because I worry he’ll mistake my hesitation for an intent to bite him.
Ares uses his grip on my head to press my face closer to Logan’s groin, chuckling darkly. “Be careful of the biting, sweetheart. He likes it too much. We want this to last longer than two minutes.”
Logan deliberately lifts his hips so his cock slides roughly against my bottom teeth. Then forward again, so I know the action is deliberate.
I guess he really doesn’t have a problem with biting.
“Squeeze your hands at the base,” Ares instructs. He places one of my hands in position and then the other, demonstrating the right amount of pressure. “You don’t have to worry about being too rough. He likes it that way.”
It’s easy to comply with his instructions. Too easy. A second nature that I’ve been told my whole life not to resist.
The hand in my hair tightens, drawing an unwitting gasp.
“But he isn’t the only one, is he, princess?” Ares leans forward, pressing himself harder against me. His whisper tickles the delicate shell of my ear. “I can smell the slick pooling between those creamy thighs. I bet there’s enough to leave a puddle on the tile. Should I tell them how much you like this?”
His voice is low enough not to carry, whispered words meant only for my ears. That doesn’t stop the hot lick of shame from curling in the pit of my belly.
Except the feeling isn’t only shame and Ares knows it.
“Such a good, responsive girl. She doesn’t need an Alpha command to drop to her knees and slick up her panties.”
I feel a wash of pleasure at the praise, even though I don’t miss the note of mockery.
“I wish I could watch your face when I make you come. I suppose we have to save something for next time.”
Next time.
Sharing is caring.
The thought of it cramps my belly and another gush of slick coats my thighs. My hands tighten on Logan’s burgeoning knot, an involuntary reaction to the direction of my thoughts. He thrusts deeper, making me choke.
My eyes water as he hits the back of my throat.
Logan leans forward and cradles my cheeks with both hands, but gently, as if the bones of my face will shatter if he uses too much force.
His hold on me stays gentle, even as he forces himself deeper down my throat. Smile growing wider as I fight not to gag on him.
“Show me those pretty tears, Omega. I want your eyes on me until I come down your throat.”
Supreme gentleness counterbalanced by total filth.His words wrap around my brain like cotton, making it impossible to think about anything aside from just how much I want to please him in this moment.
It’s easy to ignore the soreness in my throat as he hits the spot that triggers my gag reflex. I deliberately relax my jaw to take him deeper. His groan is like music to my ears. He pulls almost all the way out before thrusting back in with a harsh stroke. I feel the challenge in each movement. He wants me to pull away so he can establish dominance by forcing me back.
But Alphas aren’t the only ones capable of control.
My tongue swirls around the tip of him. He growls low in his throat and thrusts hard. At his next retreat, I press the edges of my teeth into him with a teasing nip.
“Fuck!” Logan shouts, bucking his hips.
“Naughty girl.” His growl rumbles against my back as Ares shifts his hold on my head. “I told you not to bite.”
He snakes a hand into the satin fabric pooled around my waist. I instinctively shift away and his other hand wraps around the back of my neck, holding me in place.
“Relax, I know what naughty Omegas need.” Teasing fingers trace the curve of my belly before pushing under the band of my panties. “You’re the guest of honor, after all. Don’t you think you should get to come when our prince does?”
Ares already knows what he’ll find. That doesn’t stop him from releasing a gratified groan against my neck as his fingers sink into my wetness.
“I can’t wait until we all get a chance at this hungry little pussy. No wonder they keep you Omegas locked away. Can’t have any big, bad Alphas taking what doesn’t belong to them.”
The hand between my legs is gentle despite his iron grip on my neck. He doesn’t bother with more teasing as two fingers push inside me and his thumb circles my clit.
I gasp at the spike of unwanted pleasure. When I try to shift away, Logan grabs both of my hands and wraps them around his knot.
“Don’t you fucking dare, girl. Finish what you started.”
I’m trapped between them, unable to do more than desperately shift my hips. Ares still grips my neck, and the arm he has around my waist might as well be a steel bar. Logan continues to drive his cock down my throat, choking off any protest.
The rhythm of Ares’s fingers is steady and inescapable as I teeter on the precipice of a compelled release. Logan’s growing knot throbs in my hand, pulsing with the same beat as his heart.
“Not gonna last much longer,” Logan growls.
Ares yanks my waist back against his chest and grinds himself against my backside. His fingers increase speed on my clit as he leans forward to growl in my ear.
“Come now, Omega!”
Oblivion hits me hard enough that my vision darkens at the edges. I release a sob just as my mouth fills with Logan’s release. The amount is copious. Obscene. It dribbles down my chin, mixing with tears and snot, as I struggle to swallow and breathe at the same time.
Logan reclines back in his chair, not bothering to do up his pants. Despite producing enough cum to drown me, his cock is still hard with a nearly full knot. He seems entirely unbothered by the display.
His expression turns contemplative as the pleasure high fades. Darkness creeps into his gaze.
“That might be the best blowjob I’ve gotten in weeks,” he says, idly stroking himself with a lazy smile. “Do they teach all of you how to do that at the Enclave? Maybe I should schedule a few more interviews.”
His words are like being doused in cold water.
Even Ares seems surprised, letting out a low “damn, man”.
I push to my feet and yank up my dress, trying to get it back on as quickly as possible without ripping the fabric. “Teach us to do what? Be degraded?”
“Degraded?” Logan repeats the word with a dry chuckle. He hasn’t bothered to put himself away, legs spread so his still half-hard erection rests on his thigh. “Is that why that pretty dress is soaked in slick right now? Because you didn’t want this?”
“I didn’t come here to be treated like a toy.” I cross my arms over my chest, knowing the gesture looks defensive. That’s because it is. I have to defend myself against this. Against him. “I can be an Omega and a person at the same time.”
This whole thing was a test. I innately understand that. Just like I know I passed it. I’ve proven that I’m not whatever stereotype of a simpering Omega he had conjured in his head.
But he still gets to be the one who decides what winning means.
At my words, Logan’s gaze flashes to away for the briefest moment before returning to me. The others seem to lean infinitesimally closer, as if they’re also curious what his reaction will be.
Some unidentifiable emotion flashes in his eyes. For a moment, I almost convince myself that I see a softening in him. But it disappears almost immediately. There and gone again so quickly that it might as well never have existed.
His expression hardens into the more familiar mask, the look of a courtier who has spent a lifetime perfecting political maneuvers while giving absolutely nothing of himself away.
“There is no bargaining here, Omega,” Logan says, finally. “It’s this, or it’s nothing.”
I swipe the back of my hand across my mouth, which is totally inadequate to clean up the mess he made of me. He had my head held down while he fucked my throat as his pack watched. The taste of him is still on my lips.
His scent soaks so deeply into my skin that even an hour spent scrubbing with soap and water won’t wash it away completely, I think bitterly.
More bitter than the taste of his cum. More bitter than the salt of my own tears.
But it’s the look in his eyes at this moment that makes something break inside me .
Bitter clove. I should have known better from the very beginning.
“We would be good to you, baby girl,” Ares wheedles.
“Or any other omega that happens to be available,” I challenge.
He shrugs that off, but has the grace to look somewhat abashed. “Pleasure is pleasure. Might as well enjoy it while you can.”
Poe’s expression is entirely pitiless. “Fly away, little bird. Run, run, run away before something really bad happens to you.”
Cillian just stares at me, but I sense a curious relief in his gaze when I take a stumbling step back.
I gather up my long skirts and what little dignity I have left.
None of them follow me.
Obviously, I’m not worth the effort of a chase.