14. Graeme
Graeme
I t was difficult for us to leave the club because Wade was torn.
He heard Avery when he assured him the omegas weren’t being hurt, and he heard me when I reiterated the same sentiment, but believing it was another story.
He needed to be guided outside, not quite forcefully but nearly so.
I understood. His oath to serve and protect was at war with what he’d just witnessed.
He felt as though he was leaving the scene of a crime, and I appreciated, as he paced in front of me, his need to grasp the entire picture.
“So if you’re an omega, and you have sex with an alpha, and he doesn’t mark you, then wham , heat.”
“Normally, yes,” I replied, prepared to work everything through with him.
“How long does a true heat last?”
“No more than twenty-four hours, sometimes less, and then it abates,” I answered irritably, realizing I needed to get to the heart of the matter. “What’s your concern?”
“It’s barbaric,” Wade declared adamantly.
“Not the heat, correct?” I needed to clarify. “The practice of alphas putting omegas into heat and not marking them, that’s what you find offensive.”
“Yes—I, of course. The heat is natural and organic, it’s that spectacle that’s horrific.”
“It’s antiquated,” I corrected him, “but culturally accepted, as so many rituals and laws that pertain specifically to omegas are. And that’s why I’m working with others, albeit slowly, to change legislation where omegas are concerned.”
“You are?” Avery asked, looking up from his phone, texting with Peck, who, along with his partner, Ness, was at Bridget’s home, after midnight on a very early Sunday, to look at and acquire, if needed, the surveillance tape from Friday night.
“I am, but it’s going to take time, as many of the people speaking out against changing laws for omegas are omegas themselves. Many of them don’t want the same rights as alphas and betas and gammas, because then so much more will be required of them and remove them from their traditional roles.”
“That’s all well and good,” Wade told me, “but right this second, how can those omegas be safe in there?”
“It’s the omega’s choice to be put into heat and then exhibit themselves,” I declared, well beyond tired of discussing it and turning toward Avery, wanting, needing to be closer.
I understood it was shocking and appalling to Wade, but he wasn’t a wolf, so it was unreasonable of me to expect it to make sense to him.
“Wait,” he barked, moving to face me, blocking me from stepping closer to Avery.
Instantly, because the drive was primal, I went still.
“Shit,” he gasped, backpedaling, staring at me. “What the hell?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Avery soothed him, moving between us and into my space, hands slipping under my trench coat and my suit jacket to my sides, sliding over my ribs as he bumped his head on my chest. “Just take one more step back, Wade.”
He was wary, his gaze flicking from my face to Avery’s and back before returning to me. “What happened? Your eyes did a weird thing, like when a cat’s eyes glow in the dark.”
“That’s eyeshine, lupines call it wolf eyes,” Avery replied gently. “It’s just a reflective layer behind the pupil of our eyes. No big deal.”
“Yeah, but why?” Wade addressed his question to my mate.
“Our mating is brand new,” he informed his partner, still using a soothing, calming tone, soft, gentle, like he was talking to a wild animal.
“Graeme and I haven’t spent any prolonged time together, and because of that, as my alpha, he’s very protective of me and my space, and of his position in relation to mine. ”
“I don’t under––”
“You walked between us,” Avery apprised him. “That’s Wolf 101 at the academy.”
Wade stared at him for a long moment, and then a look of both resignation and annoyance crossed his handsome features.
“Shit,” he groaned, upset with himself for making such a rookie mistake.
He took another step back and gestured at me.
“Graeme, I know better than that, and we’re just getting to know each other, and… man, I’m so sorry. Forgive me.”
I was stunned. I’d never had a human apologize for missing the social cues of being a wolf.
There were things one observed in the areas of business and law enforcement across cultures, and the list for lupines was as accessible as any other, but more often than not, simple things—like don’t wear heavy perfume to a deposition with your lupine attorney—were ignored.
But Wade made immediate amends once his misstep was pointed out. “Of course,” I replied sincerely.
His smile was tentative. “My TO, when I was a rookie, told me that you never step between an alpha and their mate. She said it’s not only rude, but if the lupines in question are newly mated, it’s extremely fuckin’ dangerous.”
It was. Even potentially lethal.
“I swear I’ll be more careful in the future. I’m usually the guy that’s on top of this kinda stuff. I wouldn’t want you stepping between me and my wife someday, so yeah, I get it. And look, I know you’re sick of answering questions about the omegas, but that whole scene is really eating at me.”
“Right now you’re worried the omegas have no choice in their current state.”
“Yes.”
“To an extent, you’re right, but only insofar as, once they begin, they can’t stop until the heat is over.”
“But what if something goes wrong and nobody helps them or––”
“Oh, I see,” I rushed out, as annoyed at myself as he’d been moments ago, because I had missed something too. “I understand the source of your concern now. You’re worried that scene might devolve into something––”
“Like rape, or a gang rape,” Wade croaked out. “I’m thinking about, what if the omegas want to stop and no one will listen, and I don’t see how I can leave, knowing I could prevent something like that from happening.”
“I apologize for the disconnect,” I apprised him. “I was attempting to explain to you what will happen based on pheromones, et cetera, and your concern is with their physical safety.”
“Yes.” His shoulders relaxed, and he exhaled in obvious relief that we’d finally got to the heart of his concerns.
“Then let me ease your mind and tell you that by lupine law, the alpha who agreed to throw the sampling party is personally responsible for the safety of every single one of those omegas. He may take on the fun of putting them into heat, but he’ll pay with his life if anything nonconsensual were to occur. ”
Wade’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as he stared at me. “Really?”
“I give you my word. As I’m sure Avery explained to you, if an alpha has sex with an omega without benefit of a contract, that’s considered theft.
The alpha in this case has had sex, or allowed another to have sex by proxy, with all the omegas in that club.
That was done without benefit of a bonding, and that’s irrefutable, as they’re all clearly in heat.
One can only conclude that if ruining one omega can have you sanctioned and reported to the Maion council, then more than one… you forfeit your life.”
“And the alpha is aware of that?”
“It’s what he agrees to when he accepts the request to throw the sampling party.”
“Then why would anyone ever agree to do that? As a cyne , you could just walk in there and bust them, and that would be it for that alpha, right?”
“But it’s understood that it’s what the omegas want.”
“That seems shady,” Wade replied. “An alpha who’s with an omega, one on one, things get outta control and they end up having sex; if that alpha says it was just for fun, he’s screwed. He has to make an offer for that omega or he’s sanctioned.”
“Yes.”
“But the alpha who throws a sampling party, he gets to have sex with all the omegas and he just skates by?” Wade was squinting at me. “Explain the logic to me in that.”
“In your example, the alpha chose the omega he wanted to spend time with, and then, when they were alone, he and the omega had sex. The difference with these sampling parties is that the alpha doesn’t choose.
A number of omegas come to him, mostly those who made their debut years ago, and ask him to host the function.
Typically, the alpha has had no previous contact with any of the omegas, and so there’s no issue that, beyond being approached, the alpha has done anything wrong. ”
“That’s really thin,” Wade assured me. “There’s no way that stands up in court.”
“These parties have been happening for centuries,” I explained to him. “Mistresses were chosen this way, pleasure slaves, all so the omega would not be left to die in the street.”
“Well, tell me this; is the alpha who sponsored the party in there somewhere, or does he just leave when the festivities start?”
“As I told you, he’s responsible for the health and life of every omega at the party. Wouldn’t you stay if your life was on the line?”
“Hell yeah I would,” Wade admitted.
“So the omegas choose to be there, no one forces them—outside of familial duty, and that’s a discussion for another day—but in many respects, they are physically safer at a sampling party than in a variety of other circumstances.”
“Okay, point taken,” he replied, squinting, still concerned I could tell. “And what if a female omega gets pregnant?”
“As lupine females enter a cycle of fertility only once a year, much like their wolf counterparts in the wild, avoiding an unwanted pregnancy is a simple matter of forethought and planning.”
“Yeah but––”
“Also, to be allowed to participate, female omegas must sign a contract stating they’re not in their breeding cycle.”
“I see,” Wade said, exhaling a deep breath.
“Now then,” I stated gently, “beyond your own personal distaste, over which I have no control, I believe that covers it.”
“It does, yes.” He gave me a hint of a smile. “Thank you for your patience with me.”
“Your concern for others is an admirable trait.”
He grunted. “Avery and I get in trouble for worrying so much about people, victims, when we’re supposed to have moved on.”