CHAPTER TWO
Ben just wanted to go home, but he would have to wait until the banquet was over before he was allowed to leave.
James wouldn't let him join the banquet no, he had to stand on the sidelines like some idiot.
He didn't even give him a function. He just said stand and watch us and then he laughed.
Ben, as quietly as possible, slipped away to use the washroom, hoping for a moment of peace, but that was not to be permitted.
He had no more than entered the room than James came in behind him with Caleb trailing behind him.
James locked the door, and without a thought or care for the fact that they were in a public venue at a very exclusive event, he told Caleb to drop to his knees and suck him off.
James kept his eyes on Ben, an evil grin gracing his nasty face.
"Take it all, baby." He crooned, and Caleb dutifully spread his saliva all over James' naked cock and then took it down his throat with enthusiasm. James put his hands on the back of Caleb’s head and held him as he shoved his cock deep into Caleb’s throat. It didn’t take long before James was shooting his stale-smelling cum into Caleb’s mouth and laughing as it dribbled down his chin.
"Clean me and then clean yourself." He barked, and Caleb immediately began licking the release from James' spent cock. He then cleaned himself at the sink while James tucked his softened cock back inside his expensive suit.
Caleb looked a little less put together, emotionally speaking, but he managed to paste on a smile for James' benefit.
James kissed him all tongue and sloppy, forcefully gorging on the omega's bruised lips.
When he pulled back, he glanced over at Ben.
"Caleb is the best at eating cock; have him teach you how to open your throat for me.
" He then unlocked the door, took Caleb by the arm, and they disappeared back into the banquet.
When Ben returned to the main room, he kept his eyes on the floor because he was tired of this room, this night, and he was tired of watching the people in this room while the vampire standing fifteen feet to his left was genuinely blowing his mind.
He looked at him, and he gave nothing away.
He had looked at him as if he were nothing more than a stranger, and he promptly forgot him, no doubt. He wanted to know this man.
Ben felt his heart racing and his body reacting to the scent that had permeated his mind and his heart.
He'd noticed him when he arrived with the Coven Second, Victor Raum, and his beloved Jaden.
The guard stayed at the back of the venue by the door, but he kept a close watch on the couple and the room.
Ben had been standing near the back entrance by the kitchens until a waiter decided he was in the way and ordered him to move.
The waiter was a gamma wolf and scented Ben as an omega and decided he could push his superiority on him.
Insecurity was rampant through the pack and tended to manifest through petty behaviors.
Ben had noticed the vampire guard almost immediately, which was strange since vampires were a species he avoided.
They had never harmed him in any way, but the stories told within the pack were enough to scare him.
Ben was not a man who ever went looking for trouble, but where this man was concerned, he was open to a little trouble.
Giving the man attention was a dangerous thing to do, but he couldn't stop stealing glances at him. He was tall and broad, even broader than their Alpha, and he was a very big man. Vampire guards were ominous creatures, and this one was capturing Ben’s attention in a way no one ever had.
James was physically attractive, but he did not exude the power and control that this man did with just a glance around the room.
James pretended to care for him but never in public, only in the shadows, and his time of caring had decayed into some twisted humiliation game.
He made him watch, and he made him come to these functions and stand back as he carried on with a series of young men. He wanted to leave so badly.
Now he looked at the vampire standing off to his left, so flawless and complete in that masculine way that makes your knees weak.
His heart had never acted like this for another.
His instincts began to tell him things inconvenient things that had the potential of tearing his stilted, uncomfortable world apart.
The vampire was ignoring him, or he never really noticed him to begin with. He wasn't feeling what Ben was feeling; his cold, flat expression showed nothing but a focus on the people he was there to protect. He wouldn't know the truth he would probably never know the truth.
Ben had used a scent blocker that morning so that he would be prepared to disappear into the woodwork this evening.
He couldn’t let his scent of despair and dejection circulate such a room.
James enjoyed those scents and often luxuriated in them it gave him a sense of control and authority over everything, even Ben's emotions. He hated James; he fucking hated him.
The companion, Caleb, was just the latest in James' harem he never tired of breaking in a fresh new omega.
He promised the moon and delivered nothing but time wasted.
He ventured another look over at the handsome vampire; he was solid and silent, with eyes straight ahead.
Ben was pushing down the heartbreak that was threatening to take him.
He could not show anything here he would cry later and lament the loss of his only escape.
He’d dreamed of his Fated mate finding him and being taken away, but that was now clearly an impossibility. The vampire, even if he did scent him, would not act on it. He would not accept a shifter as his Fated mate, a lowly omega who didn't even have the power to shift.
This magnificent man was from the Rose Coven, ruled by Master Conall Rose. That Coven controlled the city, and he doubted there was room for a defective omega wolf among their number. The thought brought a sad smile to his face, feeling absurd for even considering the possibility.
James and Caleb were making the final rounds before leaving, but he seemed to be drawing it out, taking much longer than necessary.
James didn't usually stay late at these functions, but he was probably enjoying Ben’s discomfort too much to leave any earlier.
Ben noticed that the people from the Rose Coven were already leaving, and as they headed toward the door, the vampire guard stepped forward and joined them.
Ben forced himself to not stare, but he desperately wanted to make eye contact with the vampire. It would do no good, so why torture himself? He felt them walk past, and then he felt the guard walk past. He kept his eyes on the man's highly polished shoes and held his breath.
The moment went by too quickly, and now he would never know the man’s name, and they would most likely never cross paths again. A coldness settled in his heart, and he leaned his back against the wall to steady himself. He couldn’t stop the sadness and grief that briefly touched his expression.
His mate had been within a few feet of him, and he could do nothing about it. His blockers would have prevented the vampire from recognizing him, but regardless, vampires and wolves do not bond. It didn't matter; nothing mattered, and still his heart sank in his chest, heavy and barren.
The loss was devastating, and yet he could not let anything show. If James got even a hint of what he was feeling, he would make Ben's life a nightmare. He looked out across the ballroom and focused on James and Caleb and schooled his features; he let nothing show.
***
Gabriel walked past Ben and looked over at him, but the omega was staring at the floor.
The man’s heartbeat began to race, and his breathing was ragged, although shallow, indicating that Gabriel's presence was affecting him.
Whether he knew Gabriel was his mate or not, he felt something, and Gabriel found that fact very pleasing.
He drove Victor and Jaden back to the coven house and then went up to his quarters to review the information IT had sent to him. He poured himself a whiskey first and just stood staring out the small window off his living room and processed the fact that he had found his beloved.
The banquet had been torture, having to ignore and separate his thoughts and feelings, keeping the wave of excitement tamped down in order to carry out his duty as personal guard to the Second and his beloved.
The excitement he had contained was now coursing through him, and the desire to track down the little omega and claim him was taking over.
He pulled up the information IT had sent him; it listed his name, Ben Dalton, and his pack affiliation, Garmr Pack, located in the Rochester subdivision. He is listed as an unbonded omega serving in the Alpha's house as support staff. They dug a little deeper, giving him some personal insight.
Ben was listed as belonging to James Fowl Pack Beta, but that classification was removed last year, and he was listed as simply unbonded. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, apart from being pleased that James had released him; otherwise, Gabriel would have had to kill the Garmr Pack Beta.
Ben belonged to him and no other, and soon everyone would be aware of that fact. It also made it even more strange that James had brought him to the banquet and left him standing all alone for the entire evening.
There was a sharp knock at his door, and then Daley entered, calling out to him.
"How was the banquet?" He then added. "The game ended early, sorry to say. There was a rowdy crowd, and the Blood Rose needed some added bouncers. They also needed people to patrol the waterfront; there was information that humans were planning a theft.”