2. The Problem Alpha
The Problem Alpha
Cassius
“No, no. It wasn’t a bad date, and there was nothing particularly wrong with her. We didn’t click. You get it right.”
Apollo’s head tilts to the side, and his ears flicker. He’s such a good listener, or he would be if his eyes weren’t trained on the treat in my hand.
“Fine, here.” I say with a sigh.
He gobbles the treat with more enthusiasm than normal, and it’s in that moment that I realise I’ve been talking to him about my dating problems for over an hour.
I really need to find someone to talk to who will actually respond.
I let myself fall back into the sad excuse for a nest I built when I started this never ending search for my scent match.
I am not an Omega. Which has never bothered me before.
I’m an Alpha, everything about me is an Alpha, my body and my mind.
But I want nothing more than to be wrapped around my Omega, buried in a nest surrounded by the scent of us.
Which is hard to achieve when you can’t make a nest. It’s hard where it should be soft, and something’s off about it.
Maybe it’s too uniform? Or maybe it was built by an overachieving control freak of an Alpha too eager for his mate.
Either way, it is not as calming as I want it to be.
A frustrated growl echoes around the room, and disappointment coats my tongue in a tart and sickly film.
Okay, maybe I’m being a little dramatic.
But I’ve been on almost a date a week for over a year now and nothing.
Not a single hint of attraction. The Omegas have been lovely, nice, sweet, everything I could possibly want in a mate, but every moment I spend with them makes my skin itch.
It feels wrong. At the end of the date, I’m left hollow and more alone than I was before. I’m the problem.
I could give up. But that feels worse than not trying at all.
The process of being accepted as a potential mate is long, tedious, and now harder than ever to pass.
Even with my Council connections. But I know this is what I want.
I’m ready, and if there’s one thing about me, it’s that I hate losing.
Being the youngest brother of two Alphas was not easy.
Even with a small age gap, Browen and Dain constantly tried to dominate me.
It was their way or nothing, and early on I learned if I wanted any control over my life I needed to fight for it.
And fuck did we fight, still do really, but with much less blood.
Browen seems easygoing, especially when compared to Dain, but he’s a judgmental bastard.
That’s why I hide a large proportion of my life away from them.
My head aches with an incessant buzzing, and I desire nothing more than to bury myself in this nest and rot away.
Apollo moves from his spot at the foot of the nest to guard the door, a low growl working its way from his lips.
“Don’t worry. Your favourite brother has arrived. You are lucky I have a key. I could have been left standing out there all night.”
Well, that explains the buzzing. Fucking Dain. I need to take that key back. Conveniently, every time I mention it, he doesn’t have it on him. I gave it to him three years ago to check on Apollo once. Fuck that, I’m changing my locks.
“Cassie? Where are you? I know you’re home.”
“What do you want?” I mumble.
The door creaks open, and a face so similar to mine pokes through. I’ve never realised what a punchable face I have. Smug bastard.
The door opens wider, but before he can step into the room, both me and Apollo are on alert. Our aggressive growls fill the room, burning my nose with the scent of leather and spice. I will not let my brother into the nest I made for my mate.
“Hey. I’m not coming in.” He lifts his hands into the air.
The gesture pleases me and pacifies Apollo enough for the bloodlust to leave my thoughts. It would have been a shame to get blood on the nest.
With the last inch of energy I have left, I heave myself off the nest. My hair flops in front of my eyes as I shuffle out of the room. I don’t bother moving it.
A sharp tug at the back of my head fills me with more energy and rage than I have had in months. With my canines exposed, I growl and snarl, lunging at my brother. My fist meets his hard stomach, but he wasn’t expecting the blow, and he folds over with a grunt.
“Fuck, Cas. I was going to say you need a haircut. You’re starting to look like Browen,” his breath wheezes.
Yeah, well, I certainly don’t look like him anymore. Not since he got all his tattoos, even his hair got darker. It’s only our faces that look the same now. The mirror of my ice-blue eyes stares into my soul.
“What’s going on?”
“What? It’s not like I’ve never hit you before.”
“Look—”
I growl. I know exactly where this is going. “No. Don’t.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“Yes, I do. It’s the same conversation we have had every time I see you. You don’t think I should be looking for my mate. You think I’m too young. I’m not ready. Try again later. No, I don’t want to hear it, and I won’t change my mind.”
“Well, look at you… you are too young, you’re not ready, and you should wait.” He gestures to my general state of disarray.
I’ll admit, it does kind of look like my life is falling apart. But the fuck if I’m going to admit that to him.
“You woke me from a nap. What did you expect, turning up here without warning and letting yourself in? And on that note. Give me my fucking key back.”
Without acknowledging the key in the slightest, he continues, “It’s not just this time. You look worse every time I see you. Just because Browen—”
“Don’t! It’s not about Browen.”
“I know you look up to him. But you don’t have to do everything he does.” He sighs.
I hate this. He looks at me and talks to me like a child. It makes me see red. I’m two years younger. I’m not a baby. I served in the military, and as far as he knows, I have a successful security company.
“If you think I want a mate and a family to be like Browen, you are out of your mind.”
“I can’t think of a single other reason why you would want to.”
My breathing rages, and I am seconds away from seeing just how punchable his face really is.
“Look, Browen got stuck with all that, but you don’t have to make the same mistakes—”
I refuse to let him finish that sentence. His nose crunches under my fist, and his blood spurts onto my knuckles. A sense of calm washes over me, and I smile.
* * *
The excitement is palpable. All around me, Alphas and Omegas meet each other for the first time. Their scents mingling so no one is indistinguishable from another. And yet my heart is still. Not calm or relaxed, but bored.
“I’m Alpha Cassius Atwood. You can look at me.”
Her head pops up excitedly, and I smile. Not because I want to, but because I know I should.
“I’m Omega—”
It might be rude, but I honestly stop listening.
There’s nothing here. She isn’t my scent match.
She won’t be my mate. What is the point of wasting more time learning about her?
If I could, I would leave right now, but that’s how you get kicked from the mating program.
If anything, it would be good practice for when I do meet my mate.
I gesture to the car waiting for us. “Shall we?”
Might as well get this over with.
Her scent fills the car, a mild floral smell that I can’t quite place.
It’s… underwhelming. I glance in her direction and catch a glimpse of her pinching her nose.
Another indicator that we are not meant to me, not that I needed another.
This is not the first time that has happened.
My scent has been described as rich, decadent, intense—all nice ways of saying a little too much for most people.
Similar to Browen and Dain, my scent is woodsy.
Unlike theirs, mine has a distinct aroma of smoke and fire.
My mother used to tell me after fighting with my brothers that I run hot, that my anger blazes inside me, and that one day I would need to learn to control it or it would control me.
She wasn’t wrong, though. I don’t think she would appreciate my methods.
“Where are we going?” Her shy voice breaks the silence in the car with a small cough.
Giving her a reprieve, I crack the window before turning to answer.
“A coffee shop. I thought somewhere casual would be best.” In this case, casual means quick. I sat through a few too many long dinners with Omegas that I knew I would never be seeing again before I realised this was a much better solution.
“Of course, Alpha.”
I catch the scent of soapy irritation before she quickly replaces it with a false sense of happiness. I guess coffee was not the kind of date she was expecting.
It’s a shame I don’t care.
My mind wanders to the case I’m working on.
My client has very specific requests. Not unusual in my line of work.
Typically, people pissed off enough to pay to off someone have been thinking about it for a while before they actually bite the bullet, and that comes with creativity.
I have the plan all worked out theoretically.
Now, all I need is to run some reconnaissance to see if it’s actually feasible.
I need to talk to Harry and see if she has the blueprints yet.
The drink placed in front of me pulls me back to reality. Not that the Omega noticed. No, she’s still talking about the other dates she has been on and how much effort they put in. I think she might be a little offended.
“I prefer first dates to be about getting to know one another. Fewer distractions, more personal.” I flash her my signature smile.
Soft enough to show care, but wide enough for her to catch a glimpse of my canines.
A show of dominance I can’t help. My skin itches when I go too long without commanding another, so I’ve learnt other ways to satisfy the urges.
She melts under my gaze, and I can’t help but feel a little repulsed with myself.
“That’s so true.” A blush works its way up her throat.
I guess I need to engage with her a little. I don’t think she is the type to let me get away with silence for the next thirty minutes.
“Do you enjoy school?”
She scoffs, “No, I mean who really enjoys learning—”
I do.
“—but I love being around my friends.”
“That’s nice.”
“I’m really popular. I’m friends with almost everyone in my year.”
I’m running out of ways to be impressed, so I nod politely and sip at my drink, which is definitely still too hot.
“It’s a shame the new laws forced us all to go to school.
I could have been mated years ago and working with my mother at her company by now.
She owns AO Events. You’ve probably heard of it.
She hosts Alpha Omega exclusive events. Once I’ve graduated, I’m joining as a lead event planner. I’m going to meet all the celebrities.”
Seems a little exclusionary to me, and those laws are enforced for the safety of everyone, but she doesn’t seem as if anything I say with change her mind.
An event isn’t a bad idea, though. If my target has any upcoming events, I can make the scene that my client wants, setting up for the private event later.
Her delicate sneeze startles me, sloshing my now cold drink over my hand. I grab a couple of tissues, passing a few to her before cleaning myself.
She sneezes again. “Sorry. I’m only like this around dogs.”
“Ah. Well, we might want to cut this date short then. I have a dog.”
She looks like she might protest, but another sneeze catches her off guard, and tears form in her eyes.
“Yes. That is probably best. Thank you for the date, Alpha Atwood.” She lowers her head, but I catch the beginning of a red rash working its way up her neck and take a step back.
As she walks away, I feel free. I let my fake smile drop, but the calm doesn’t remain. Once again, my heart plummets in my chest, swallowed by darkness.
I need to find my mate. Soon.