by Maia Star
We discussed my love for books, and genres that I read. He even suggested a few more that I might like.
But throughout the conversation, I made sure to steer clear of the subject of me having children, or my fertility.
A few months prior, I had had a miscarriage. The doctor had then told me that I wouldn’t be able to bear another child ever again.
As an Omega, this was very concerning. It meant I was practically useless to my clan, or any clan who might want me.
I had been keeping it a secret and intended to continue doing so. I probably wouldn’t tell anyone until I had escaped and was far from where any dragon shifter might do me harm for it.
If the subject did come up ever, I intended just to lie about it. But I feared that Kyle was too good at telling when I was lying, so I would rather it not come up at all.
We finished talking at around midnight when Kyle finally pulled out his phone and realized what time it was.
“Well, it got late very quickly,” he said.
“What time is it?”
“Past midnight, which means both of us should be getting to bed. It’s far too late to stay up anymore. Especially since I have work tomorrow morning.”
I didn’t know why, but my heart sank a little at the thought of Kyle having to go into work tomorrow. I would be all alone in the house.
Normally, this would have been a blessing. But for the moment, I was enjoying his company and the conversation that we had.
“Sorry for keeping you up so late. Here, I’ll walk you to your room,” Kyle said, standing. I followed, watching as he walked over to me. Gently, he placed a hand on my lower back and began guiding me to my room.
The touch was unexpected but nice. It was rather comforting to feel his hand through the fabric of my dress. It was a warmth, and one I enjoyed.
“Here we are,” Kyle said as we stood outside the entry to my bedroom. “I would kiss you goodnight, but I fear that would be overstepping a boundary.”
I didn’t correct him. I didn’t know whether or not I wanted him to kiss me, so I preferred to leave it at not. That way, I wouldn’t regret anything.
“Goodnight,” he said. “Sleep well. I’ll make you some breakfast tomorrow morning.”
I nodded. “Okay, goodnight.”
Then he turned and left, vanishing down the hallway.
I lingered on the threshold of my room for a second, then sighed and entered. It was no use overthinking things. They would work themselves out in time. I just had to trust my gut and prepare for an eventual escape.
Chapter Six
Kyle
I was hesitant about leaving Catarina alone to go to work. I didn’t know what she was going to do by herself all day.
She hadn’t been assigned a new job yet inside of the clan, and it wasn’t like there was much to do in the apartment other than watch TV and read books. At least if I was there, we could have gone out and gotten some shopping done.
But that would have to wait for later.
That next morning, I got up a little earlier than usual so that I could make a larger breakfast. I wanted to make sure that Catarina was fed well. She deserved that much at least.
As I was cooking the eggs, Catarina emerged, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that she managed to make look smoking hot and nothing else that I could see. I wasn’t surprised that I was turned on by the idea of her wearing just panties underneath that shirt, or maybe nothing at all.
“Good morning,” I said, trying not to let my mind wander anymore. I had to go to work, and I didn’t have time to get distracted before that. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine,” she replied. I could tell from the tone of her voice that it wasn’t something she wanted to talk about anymore.
“All right. You okay with eggs?”
“Yeah. They smell yummy.”
She took a seat on one of the stools opposite me at the kitchen counter, and I smiled at her. She smiled back, but it was a weak smile. She clearly wasn’t fully recovered from last night. I would have to see if she needed anything later.
I served her up a plate and then finished making mine, watching as she ate very slowly.
“I have to go into work today,” I said. “I don’t really want to leave you alone, but unfortunately, there’s no way around it.”
“I’ll be okay,” she said.
“You sure?”
She nodded. “I brought some books with me. Don’t worry, I’ll keep myself occupied.”
“Okay, that’s good. I promise we’ll work on finding you something else to do soon. But just bear with it for the moment, okay?”
She let out a little laugh. “Bear with it? I would love to just read books all day all the time; are you kidding?”
I smiled. “Well, I don’t know if Alpha James will allow it, but I’ll pass the message along. In the meantime, make sure to enjoy your free time. I’ll be back a little earlier today, and then we can head out.”
“What for?”
“We need to get you some new clothes, remember? We can also pick up anything else you need that you don’t have yet.”
She looked a little downcast at the mention of new clothes. “Okay.”
I sighed. “I just don’t want you wearing that cheap stuff from your old clan anymore.” And I really wanted to see her in more of the things that I would pick out for her. I had no doubt that she would turn on anyone who saw her.
She was so beautiful, and I wanted her to be able to show that off in a way that was chic and expensive, if still befitting of an Omega.
“Do we really have to get new stuff?” she asked, her gaze turned to the floor.
“What do you think?” I asked, my voice stern.
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
It was strange; for a second there she had been speaking up against me. Or, well, almost. It was certainly something that I wouldn’t expect an Omega to say. Maybe I had been too soft on her yesterday if she thought she could question me like that.
Yes, I wanted her to be comfortable and I wanted to treat her with respect, but I still had to follow the natural order of things when it came to my clan, and dragon shifters in general.
I finished up my eggs and came around the counter to sit next to her.
“So, what are your plans for when I’m gone then?” I asked, nudging her gently with my shoulder.
To my surprise, she stiffened a little. That was certainly something to take note of. If she was reacting like that to my touch, then her old clan had definitely done some awful things. Bastards.
“I’ll probably just be reading,” she said, taking another bite of her eggs. “I brought books with me, and I have some on my phone too.”
“Well, I hope that goes well for you,” I said, then turned my attention to my eggs.
“What do you do for work?” she asked after I had finished a few bites.
“Ahh, that’s a fun one. I actually work as an attorney at a firm that specifically caters to dragon-shifters. We get all kinds of interesting cases.”
It was also why I had the money to get a nice apartment like this in the middle of San Francisco. The cost of living in the city was expensive, but my job paid well, and I was grateful for it. Plus, Alpha James was paying for Catarina’s expenses.
“That does sound pretty cool,” she said, taking another bite. “Anything good right now?”
I shook my head. “Nah, just the regular cases. Some divorce settlements. Property arguments. Clan disagreements. The like.”
“Ahhh, I see. Maybe you could tell me about some of your more interesting cases at some point?” she said.
The expression on her face was so pure, so interested. I just wanted to capture that moment and hold onto it forever.
I reached out and ruffled her hair. “Of course, little Omega. At some point. For now, I have to leave.”
“Okay.”
I finished up the rest of my eggs, took my plate over to the sink, and then tur
ned back to look at Catarina. “Would you mind cleaning up from breakfast?”
She shook her head. “No, not at all.”
“Good girl.” I set my plate down and then straightened up the suit I was wearing before doing one last check to make sure I had everything I needed before heading out the door and to work.
The building I worked at was only a fifteen-minute drive away with the early morning traffic, and I made good time.
It was one of the reasons I liked living where I did in the city. There wasn’t too much need to get up early or rush to get ready in the morning.
I parked in the company lot and then headed inside and up to my office.
As I had told Catarina, we didn’t have any interesting cases at the moment. I was just prepping a few statements and looking over paperwork. So it was a fairly slow day.
I couldn’t help but let my mind wander to her, to what we had done the night before. I wanted so badly for her to be in my bed again. And this time, I would make sure she was extra comfortable.
Or was that wrong of me to worry about? She was the Omega of our clan, after all. I wasn’t supposed to worry about her feelings or if she was comfortable.
I just couldn’t help it, though. She was so beautiful, so delicate, so kind. I wanted her to trust me.
Around lunchtime, my phone began to ring. I picked it up, looking at the name on the screen to see that it was James.
“Hello?” I said, picking it up.
“Kyle, good to hear your voice.”
“Good to hear yours, too,” I responded, wondering what it was that he wanted from me.
“I’ll get right to the point. You were right, the Omega is absolutely stunning. It’s a shame that you were the first one to have your fun with her, but I’ll definitely be making up for that.”
Oh, so that was what this was about.
“She was so pretty at that party, and in that little mini dress. I’m going to be honest with you, Kyle. I bought her because I need an heir produced, and I want one soon. I would like to begin breeding her as soon as possible, to ensure that we will have an heir to the clan. It’s important, you understand, yes?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Good. Does she have anything appropriate to wear yet?”
“Not yet, but I can make sure she gets some things.”
“I want her over here tonight. Will you be able to get her ready in time for that?”
“Yes, Alpha, I will do my best. I’ll take her shopping as soon as I get back to the apartment.”
“Good. And oh, Kyle?”
“Yes, Alpha?”
“Just to make sure that the next pup she has is mine, don’t breed with her for the moment. Or let anyone else do it for that matter. You understand.”
“I do, Alpha.”
“Good. I’ll see you tonight then.”
He hung up, and I was left staring at the phone in my hands. Of course, it made sense that he wouldn’t want anyone else breeding with her. Of course, it made sense that he wanted to have her as soon as possible. Of course, it made sense.
But that didn’t mean I liked it.
I was going to follow orders because I was a Beta and that was my job, but I definitely wasn't going to like one second of it. I was going to spend every waking moment dreaming of Catarina’s luscious little body all laid out in my bed.
This jealousy could definitely become something of a problem. I was going to have to work on containing it. I couldn’t let it endanger my position in the clan.
I spent the rest of the day thinking about it, no matter how much I didn’t want to, and so I had a hard time concentrating on the things I actually had to do.
Finally, I gave up. I was just going to have to go home; there was no way I was going to get any more work done like this.
Instead, I packed up my things and headed home, deciding that I would try to work on things there. Maybe later, I would actually be able to concentrate.
Or not.
Chapter Seven
Catarina
I had the whole day to myself, and it was a lovely affair if I had anything to say on the matter.
After Kyle left for his work, I cleaned up in the kitchen as best I could, washing the dishes and trying my best to put them away in their proper places.
Then I grabbed myself a glass of water (I didn’t know yet if I was allowed to drink the orange juice) and headed back to my room. There, I put on some music and finished unpacking before curling up on my bed with a book.
I decided to pull out one of my favorite paperbacks—a romance about a woman who time-traveled back to medieval Scotland and met dashing dragon-shifter princes there.
At the beginning of the book, she did everything she could just to travel back to her own time. But, as the two princes battled for her heart, she began to fall more and more in love with the time, the place, and the people.
She ended up choosing one of the princes to be with and finding a way to travel back and forth so that she could still visit her family every so often.
It was the perfect book to escape into, a most lovely story. I just wished that I could find a romance like that, someone who would sweep me off my feet and promise to protect me from all the dangers of the world.
Maybe, eventually...
I certainly hoped so. Omega’s weren’t allowed to have mates. They were considered the property of the whole clan and could never belong to just one member. For a dragon-shifter to claim an Omega as his mate would be incredibly taboo and would most likely get them both killed.
My hopes lay in finding a nice human man after I escaped who did not know that I was an Omega, and who I would never tell.
If I did manage to find a love like that, it would be a secret that I would take with me to my grave. No way was I ruining a chance at freedom or love to be so painfully honest like that. I couldn’t afford the possibility of it backfiring and being forced to serve another clan again.
No, never again. If I had already escaped, then I imagined that I would die before I let that happen.
I was surprised when, around three in the afternoon, there was the faint sound of the front door opening.
If it was Kyle, he was certainly back a lot earlier than I had expected.
And if it wasn’t?
I tried not to think of that possibility.
Cautiously, I headed out of my room and out to the entrance to see that it was, in fact, Kyle, home early from his work, and I breathed a sigh of relief at this.
“You’re back early,” I said.
He smiled and came over to me, squeezing my shoulder. “Yeah, I couldn’t concentrate. Let’s go out now. I want to get this done.”
“Right now?”
I was still in my t-shirt from earlier, having not even thought about changing into something else.
“Yes. Now go get changed.” He released my shoulder, and I headed back to my bedroom to pick out something else to wear.
I didn’t really have much that I was comfortable with wearing out at the moment, but I managed to grab another t-shirt and a pair of tight jeans. I knew it probably wasn’t the most practical for clothes shopping, but I cared more about not being embarrassed than my ability to get in and out of things easily.
When I emerged, Kyle was seated on the couch. He looked up at me from his phone and smiled.
“Well, not exactly what I was expecting, but you still look lovely.”
“Thank you.”
I knew he had probably wanted me to wear something sexier, but I wasn’t about to do that when I could make a choice on what I was wearing.
“Shall we go?” he asked and stood.
I nodded and followed him out of the door and downstairs to his car.
As he started the car, he turned to look at me. “I hope you understand I will be the one picking out things for you today. You’re welcome to tell me if there is anything in particular that you like, but I will have to approve it first.”
“I understand,” I sai
d. I hadn’t expected any different, but it was nice of him to be clear about things.
“Well, let us go then,” he said and drove out of the parking lot.
We ended up driving to a little mall. It had some outlet stores for larger brands, as well as stores like Macy’s and Nordstrom that carried nicer clothes.
To my surprise, we went to Nordstrom's first.
I hadn’t ever shopped there before, but I had heard that it was expensive. The idea of someone spending that much money on me (especially considering it sounded like Kyle was planning on getting me a whole new wardrobe) was frightening.
What would he expect of me in return?
The answer was obvious. What any clan would expect of their Omega. That didn’t mean that it was a pleasant thought, though.
“All right, I’m gonna get you some cute basics first,” Kyle said, dragging me to the women’s section. We browsed their selection of tight jeans and little tank tops till he had picked out a selection that he was satisfied with.
Then we grabbed a couple of sweaters, and some little mini dresses and skirts.
Finally, we headed over to their higher-end area, and Kyle picked out a few more revealing dresses for me. It was getting to be a bit overwhelming, and it got to be even more so when he dragged me over to look at shoes and picked out some designer heels.
My head was reeling just thinking about what the price tag on this massive transaction would be.
“We don’t have to get all of this,” I said, trying to persuade Kyle to put some things back.
He shook his head. “Nonsense. We want to make sure that you can dress appropriately for future events. Besides, we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.” He winked.
“But this is so much, I can’t imagine how expensive it is.”
“Oh, darling little Omega, who do you think is paying for all of this? Not me. It’s Alpha James, and if he says he wants you to be dressed well, then you will be dressed well, and that's the end of that.”