by L. C. Davis
There was no way a mate would be chosen that night, he reminded himself for the hundredth time. It was the first round of what had to be an exhaustive selection process. In all the years Duke had known Mitchell, he had never viewed the Alpha as the careless type. While his judgment in the matter of releasing Connor was questionable at best, Duke had faith in the fact that he would thoroughly vet any candidate who wanted authority in his own ranks after the scandal that had taken place seven years ago. He was counting on it.
The hushed murmurs that passed through the group of socialites gathered on Duke's right alerted him to the fact that the guest of honor had arrived. He bristled at the sight of a dark-haired alpha taking the omega onto the dance floor but relaxed when he realized it was only Hassan, the alpha who had mated Connor's brother. With his possessive instincts momentarily pacified, a far more troubling realization took over.
Connor was beautiful.
Scratch that. A sunset was beautiful, Connor was downright mesmerizing, like a cobra or the nightshade bloom, he was elegant and alluring yet ultimately fatal to touch. He wasn't even safe to look at, and the shift of pheromones in the unmated alphas gathered to stake their claim to power and the omega's neck made it clear that Duke wasn't the only one who thought so. The most twisted things in nature usually possessed their own kind of beauty. It just made it that much easier for them to draw their victims into a false sense of safety.
"Enjoying the view?" Mitchell's thick Australian accent was instantly recognizable. Duke turned around to find the Alpha watching him with a knowing half-smile. For a moment, those ice blue eyes seemed to search his so intently that Duke was worried the other alpha could somehow see past his facade and right to the secret that seemed to get harder to keep each day. At some point, something had to give because it had been damn near impossible from square one.
"He's a beautiful security risk, I'll give you that," he said, downing the rest of his glass. Wine wasn't Duke's usual drink of choice, but it was better than enduring that night completely sober.
"You disapprove of my decision?"
"Questioning your decision isn't my job," Duke replied. "Making sure innocent people aren't hurt in the fallout is."
The Alpha grew silent before letting out a gruff laugh. He passed Duke a glass of something harder and he took it happily. "I know Lana sent you to be her eyes and ears. No point in denying it, so let's cut the crap," Mitchell said, taking a long swig of his bourbon. "I know she already got her hands on the guest list before the invites were even sent out."
"Did she?"
Mitchell gave him a weary look. "I was the one who leaked the info, so yeah. She did."
"You can't blame us for keeping an eye on things, Mitchell."
"Connor is part of my pack. I'm well within my rights to choose his mate."
"And here I thought your pack didn't do that anymore," Duke said in a dry tone. "Omega liberation and all that. You're trendsetters."
Mitchell smirked. "Connor is different. We both know that."
"That's for damn sure."
"Lana takes issue with my selection, I assume?"
"If you'd chosen a Council alpha, that'd be one thing," said Duke. "There's no reason you needed to extend the search to Europe, unless you're looking to form an alliance outside of the Federation."
Mitchell's smile never wavered. Evidently, the Alpha saw no need for pretense. It was the thing Duke respected most about him, but also the thing that got under his skin the most. "I suppose that could work out to my advantage, couldn't it?"
"You're walking a thin line, Mitchell."
"Just because I've aligned myself with the Federation doesn't mean I think like a Federation wolf. I'm well aware that the moment this pack stops being an implicit threat is the moment I lose the ability to do things my way," he said calmly. "It just so happens, I like doing things my way."
"And you want to make sure your daughter has the freedom to do things her way when she takes over. Securing your legacy and all that."
"I see why Mel chose you as his replacement. You know how things work."
"Perfectly," Duke said through gritted teeth. "Always thinking two steps ahead, just like your father, but I wonder. Have you thought about what's going to happen if Connor uses this alliance to his advantage?"
"It has crossed my mind."
"He's enough of a threat in a prison cell. You seriously think a mate bond is going to tame him?" Duke challenged. "Even if it does, who's to say his intellect and abilities in the hands of an alpha crazy enough to mate him won't do even more damage? You're not marrying off an omega, you're putting a weapon in the hands of a fucking arms dealer."
"Know your place, Duke," Mitchell said coldly. "Lana isn't the only one with connections. I adhere to your laws because it serves me to do so, but don't think for one second that I've become the Federation's lap dog."
Duke felt the anger rising in his chest and the pheromones surrounding him weren't helping to reign in his alpha instincts. Especially not since Connor had switched to a dance partner he wasn't related to. "We're watching, Mitch," he said, straightening his spine as he forced the fire trailing up it to cool and lower. "No matter who you choose or how many high-society events you can get him to attend, no matter how many Council wolves he manages to con into thinking he's changed--and that goes for you and your mate--we'll always be watching. And when he inevitably shows himself for who he is, I will personally be the one who stops him."
Duke's gaze lowered to the alpha's necktie. "I wonder, who do you think they'll blame then? I might be the Federation's dog, but I'd prefer a collar to a noose around my neck."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say this was personal for you," said Mitchell, his mask of calm unwavering except for the spark of irritation in his gaze.
"I've lost men to Cutter's army of alphas, and I've seen what happens to the people who got drawn into his crime ring, so yeah, it's personal."
"Then I'm sure we'll be seeing each other around."
"Count on it," Duke sneered, watching as the Alpha disappeared into the crowd. One moment, he was the cold soldier Duke and every other wolf on the TTF had come to fear as much as respect and the next, he was an entirely different person in the presence of his mate. Angel seemed to glow with his Alpha's attention as Mitchell led him out onto the dance floor. Duke watched, shaking his head.
Mates were a distraction no matter which way you sliced it. Surely Mitchell would see that eventually if he didn't already. Angel and their family were a weakness and it was only a matter of time before the next Cutter saw fit to exploit that, if not Cutter himself. There was just no way an Alpha could maintain his power and a stable home life. You couldn't give everything to more than one pursuit. Eventually, something had to give.
At least, that was what he told himself while the friends he had grown up with were churning out litters with their life mates while he went home to an empty apartment at the end of each night.
Duke was far more somber than he'd been at the beginning of the night as he watched Connor dance with some soft-pawed Alpha from the north. The fact that the omega seemed to be enjoying himself about as much as Duke was should have been a consolation, but it wasn't. The primal need to swoop in and save his mate, even if it was only from boring small talk, eventually won out over duty and common sense. The other alpha seemed none too pleased about being interrupted, but the moment he saw who was cutting in on his dance, his ire turned to fear.
"You don't mind if I have a turn, do you, Fane?"
"N-no, not at all," the other alpha said with a nervous laugh. Duke had met him once before and if it hadn't been for Fane's scent, he would have been inclined to question whoever had declared him an alpha. His spine was made of plastic and it melted under the slightest bit of heat.
Fane scurried off and with his competition dispatched, Duke was left to come up with some explanation for his own actions without giving away his mission--or his secret. "You looked like you could use an excuse.
"
"I'm not in the business of sparing feelings and I can handle myself, thanks," Connor said in a tone as cold and clipped as Duke had expected. Despite that coldness, the omega's voice made warmth stir deep inside of him in the most inconvenient way. It occurred to him how little he had heard Connor speak over the years. Granted, most of his visits went unnoticed by the imprisoned omega. He got in, ascertained that Connor was both well and contained, and left with just enough non-contact to satisfy his wolf. The damn thing was acting like a pup with zero willpower straining to get to a treat it wanted on the top shelf, clawing and whining and scratching at the back of his mind. Things like honor and right and wrong meant little to a wolf in the face of the mate it had been denied for years. As far as his wolf knew, he was the twisted one, depriving it of the only thing in the world that should have mattered.
"I don't doubt that." He cleared his throat, realizing that if he didn't find a way to keep Connor out of the other alphas' arms, he was going to lose what little control he had over the beast. Control had always been certain, but now nothing was. "Do you have the patience for one last dance?"
Connor eyed his offered hand and arched an eyebrow. "With you? You weren't even in the file."
The omega's incredulity stung more than it should have. Duke set his jaw and grabbed Connor's arm, whisking him out onto the floor. "We need to talk." If he couldn't get through to Mitchell, at the very least, he could take the opportunity to let Connor know he was onto him. The fact that the omega felt like heaven in his arms was entirely beside the point.
Connor's eyes narrowed venomously, but he kept it in check as he grudgingly followed Duke's lead. He wasn't a half-bad dancer, even though he made it clear he was hating every minute of it. "Who are you?" It was a demand that came with all the indignant authority any alpha twice his size could muster and Duke couldn't help the stilted laugh that escaped him in response. Connor didn't seem to appreciate it.
"Duke Miller, head of the Tribunal Task Force."
Recognition flickered in the omega's dark eyes. They weren't dark in color so much as in the cloudy depths of thought that roiled beneath them. "You're the one my brother chose as his replacement."
"I've gotten to know Mel pretty well over the years," he admitted. "We've fought alongside each other more than once. A few times in pursuit of you."
The omega's lips tilted up on one side into a little smirk that was far more enticing than it had any right to be. God, that scent... Duke realized that all the pride he had taken in his restraint over the years would have come to null if he had dared to visit Connor in person rather than watching him through a security monitor. "Always happy to meet a fan, but if you wanted an autograph, all you had to do was ask."
"I wouldn't call myself a fan so much as the guy who's gonna make sure you don't hurt anyone else," he replied coolly, pulling the omega's body close to his. The warmth of Connor's hand in his was only half as distracting as the realization of how much smaller he was in person. Duke had seen the aftermath of Cutter's actions too often to underestimate the omega due to his size, but his logical brain and the instinct to shelter and protect his mate seemed destined to be at war as long as he stayed free.
Duke leaned closer and breathed in Connor's scent, his mind wandering to whether that dark hair tied back at the base of the omega's neck would feel as soft and lush under his fingertips as it looked. To see it splayed around his shoulders, near-black silk in contrast to the smooth white skin. His eye teeth itched at the thought of breaking that skin and placing the mark that had been two long years in coming... Then there really would be no escape. For either of them.
"I know you haven't changed and you never will," Duke said, hoping Connor would read the husk in his voice as disgust rather than need. The line between them had grown so thin he could almost see through it. The realization that the omega had stopped breathing, his eyes hooded with something not unlike desire, was both flattering and mystifying. Duke wasn't aware of when they had stopped dancing, but he was acutely aware of Connor's hands still resting on his shoulders, the omega's lithe form enveloped so completely in his grasp. The most confusing part wasn't his own reaction but the fact that Connor seemed no more inclined to break the contact than he was to allow it.
"Is that so?" Connor's breath whispered against his lips, teasing him with the promise of the kiss that had haunted him every night, both in his sweetest dreams and his worst nightmares. The line between them was equally blurred when it came to Connor.
"You can fool everyone else in this world," Duke murmured, his gaze lowering to the other man's full lips, his tongue burning for the taste of them and so much more. "Hell, you're good enough, maybe you can even fool yourself, but I know who you are. I know what you are, and the fact that you're an omega doesn't change shit."
Connors lips curved upwards again and the glimmer in his eyes sent a surge of need straight to Duke's cock. If this was part of the omega's legendary ability to control alphas, he could certainly see why it worked. And that he wasn't above succumbing to it. Except, the desire in Connor's gaze didn't seem like a trick. In fact, if Duke had been forced to pick out which one of the two of them had been entranced, it wouldn't have been him.
Something changed, a subtle shift at first. If all his senses hadn't been locked on the omega, an instinctive need to stay attuned to the way he looked and felt and sounded and smelled, he might not have noticed the faint change in Connor's pheromones. They were surrounded by alphas in full-on mating mode, but suddenly all Duke could think about was the way Connor's scent had gone from alluring to maddening in an instant. It was the unmistakable floral scent of an omega in heat. It was the earliest possible stage, so faint even most alphas probably wouldn't have noticed, but that was bound to change soon.
The fact that Connor could go into heat should have been obvious, but somehow it came as a shock. Duke stared at the omega, struggling to get a handle on his wolf as it strained for dominance with greater ferocity than ever before even as his own pheromones altered in response. Connor seemed to come to the realization a moment after he did and the omega quickly broke his hold, stepping back. The way his pale skin turned pink would have been arousing if it hadn't been for the look of horror that twisted his beautiful features.
"I --" Without any further attempt to speak, Connor turned and disappeared through the crowd.
Duke went after him, pushing through the other wolves. Even in the civilized Council lands, an omega in heat surrounded by alphas was a recipe for disaster and the only thing stronger than Duke's own response to the pheromones was his need to get Connor somewhere safe.
A thousand questions flitted through the alpha's mind as he followed his mate away from the crowd and down the path that led to the Mountain Ridge complex. He glanced around to make sure they hadn't been followed, but he knew the collar on Connor's neck would keep him from getting past the residential area. He seemed to have come to a stop well before that and as soon as Duke rounded the corner, he saw the door to the building Connor must have gone into. He flung it open and realized it was some sort of office that had been abandoned for the night.
Upon entering the building, Duke had been prepared for damn near anything. A chase, maybe even a struggle if he had to subdue Connor to keep him from fleeing the grounds entirely, but not to find the omega huddled on the floor with his back against the wall and his head buried in his hands. Duke froze in place, not quite sure of what to do. He had the strangest recollection of going backstage at a play with his brother when they were both young and dumb enough to think the monsters in costume were real. Seeing the dragon walking around without his head, sipping seltzer had been a disappointment back then, but this was just plain bizarre.
"Uh..." He cleared his throat and took a step forward. "You okay?"
Connor looked up, his eyes burning with rage and something else Duke could only assume was humiliation. "No, I'm not fucking okay," he seethed. The sharp tone in the omega's voice gave him pause, even know
ing who it was coming from. Omegas were known for their soothing tones, capable of calming and comforting with a single word. It seemed they were also capable of the opposite, if the way Connor's voice made his spine stiffen the same way nails dragging along a chalkboard might.
"You, uh, want me to get Mel?"
"No!" Connor's eyes widened. His voice turned smooth again, taking on an almost timid quality that matched his posture. Duke noticed the tears streaking his face and caught the scent of salt in the air. He would have sooner believed a statue could bleed than that Cutter was capable of crying. "No. Don't do that. Don't tell anyone about this." It came out as something between a warning and a plea.
Duke frowned. "Why is this such a big deal? I mean, going into heat that hard around a room full of unmated alphas is an issue, but it's not anything to be embarrassed over."
"I'm not embarrassed," Connor snapped. His eyes narrowed as he watched the alpha with growing suspicion. "Why aren't you acting like a caveman?"
Duke couldn't help but chuff. "I'm used to controlling my instincts."
Connor tilted his head curiously. Before he could ask any questions Duke didn't trust himself to come up with a decent enough lie for, he asked, "Aren't you on heat suppressants or something?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but I don't go into heat."
Duke blinked. "Ever?"
"I used to," he muttered. "Before I learned to control it."
"How is that even possible?" He wouldn't have believed it was at all, if anyone else had claimed to be capable of it.
"It's the most degrading aspect of being an omega," he replied, his tone dripping with disgust as he wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his chin on them. He looked small and entirely non-threatening. Duke might have been amused if he didn't feel bad for him, which was confusing enough. "To go from normal to being a beacon for every goddamn alpha in rut. Do you have any idea what it's like to want something you hate and have no control over it, no way to maintain your dignity?"