“There’s nothing more to say. Life there is self-sufficient. We make our own fuel, hunt, and grow our own food, drink our own liquor. There is no reliance upon the Capital or any other district. We supply the New South with electricity and fuel and ask only to be left alone in return, which has been the case for the most part since the end of the war. The place is largely forgotten.
“There are Alphas for the Omegas who want them, and life continues much the same way it did.” She paused at a shop, eyeing the clothes on the mannequin with a laugh. “You dressed me nothing like her,” she said, bringing her eyes up, then quickly dropping them.
What manner of Omega could challenge him so beautifully behind closed doors then act the part of prim Omega on the streets? His loins stirred again. He leaned down and breathed in her scent, catching the rawest hint of Omega slick coming from her. He groaned. “I dressed you like this because you are nothing like her. Men would not tear her apart in the streets fighting over her.”
“I thought it was civilized here.”
“This is civilized. In the North, Omegas are kept in boarding houses, and the men peruse them in a catalog, choosing the one he thinks he might want. If he doesn’t like her, he moves on. Very few of them are ever claimed.
“Out West, Omegas are taken and kept on ranches like cattle until their first estrous, then they are sold to the highest bidder while they writhe miserably onstage. The winning Alpha will rut her in front of the others until he can see through the red haze to move her a few yards to the side before he continues. At least those Omegas are mostly bonded. It’s quite horrific, though, from what I’ve seen.” Eve knew all that, that’s why she was here. Each country thought they were doing it right when, in reality, none of them were. She planned on changing the one country she could.
He eased her through the door of a darkened pub, walking right past the hostess to seat himself.
“And here?” she asked.
He shook his head at her like she was an overindulged child.
“And in the New South Omegas are contracted for at birth if it is suspected they are Omega. Otherwise, they are contracted for when testing reveals their dynamic. You know this,” he finished, placing her in the seat of the booth opposite him, before folding his mass into the bench himself. The table groaned until it slid in her direction, giving him more room.
“That’s not how it is done in the Seventh District.”
“Of course, it is, he said,” taking her hand in his.
The waiter arrived; the Alpha waved his menus away.
“Two orders of steak and grits, large portions, rare for the steak. Loaded potatoes and salads with the house dressing,” he ordered, Eve grinned down into her lap.
“Make that three orders, if you will.” The waiter snapped his head in her direction and backed away from the table.
The Alphas eyes narrowed on her. “Speaking in the presence of other males is forbidden.”
She threw her head back and laughed. Behind her, a glass dropped and shattered. “That’s ridiculous. If I can’t speak, how can I let you know that my last estrous nearly killed me, and if I don’t take in ample calories, the next one will?”
Half standing to drag her out of the restaurant, he stilled at her words. He sat.
“You are my Omega, when we are bound, I will know these things, and you will not need to speak in public,” he answered, squeezing the water glass in front of him until he thought it would break.
“I am not your Omega yet, Sir.” She raised her eyes to meet his. They flashed with defiance as they had in his office.
“You will be.”
“Only if you meet the terms of the contract,” she said, relaxing back into the cool vinyl of the booth. She took her water and drank it down, waiting for it to be refilled before drinking it again. “Thank you,” she said to the waiter as he filled it for the third time.
Across from her, the Alpha growled a warning to the smaller Beta that had him rushing to the safety of the kitchen. “This is why Omegas rarely eat out, even bonded ones. It makes an Alpha edgy.”
“That seems to suggest a lack of control on his part then, not hers.” She cocked her head sideways, awaiting an answer that didn’t come.
“If the Seventh District is so different, then why are you here?” he asked, sniffing the air again for that sweet, hot Omega scent.
“And there it is,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for it.”
“For what?”
“For that question. The answer is simple. War. War is why I left. Why hundreds of Omegas and a few Betas have fled the Seventh.” She watched the ripple of shock move over his face before he slipped on his mask of control. She drank her water, waiting for the fourth refill.
“You lie. There is no war in the New South. Why are you here?”
“I can’t lie to you. It’s in the contract. I give my word that it’s true. There is a raging war in West Virginia. It was no longer safe to be there.”
“Tell me about this supposed war none of our monitors have registered, and leadership on the ground has not reported.” He rubbed his thumb across the pad of her palm so hard it almost hurt. She could see the disbelief on his face. His firm touch was nothing but a threat of greater pain.
“You have no Four Stars there, barely a Brigadier. They certainly know about it; they are declining to pass along that information. Alpha leadership means little to those in the Seventh, only loyalty and family lines matter, Sir,” she said with more fire than she intended, meeting his eyes.
He squeezed her hand hard enough to break weaker bones, staring at her until she dropped her eyes.
“And how is this war that the Four-Star General Alpha of the New South does not know about being fought? Silently?” he said through gritted teeth. “I am the only Four Star in this country. This land is mine. I am the Alpha here,” he lowered his voice to no more than a dangerous whisper, his grip on her hand crushing.
“Of course, you are,” she placated with a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “This war is the same as all others in the Seventh District, caused by bloodlines and old grudges that will not die. It’s fought with knives, antique firearms, and fists. It’s being fought brother to brother, neighbor to neighbor, not squadron to squadron. It’s becoming bloody and widespread; the rules are changing, and it is not a place for me to be any longer.” She sat back in time for her plate to slide in front of her.
“Bring her the next one, Beta,” the Alpha said as he watched Eve shovel food into herself as quickly as she could. Her groans and purrs drifted through the restaurant, and the other patrons were forced to pretend they weren’t being made.
She ate like a wild thing, for all her educated conversation and progressive ideas, she was a beast over her first plate. Without thinking, the Alpha pushed his plate to her, watching her devour it with immense satisfaction. When the third plate came, and she drank her sixth water, she rubbed her belly and sat up, eating like she had manners.
“This is amazing. Absolutely amazing; thank you for bringing me here. I came across grits in the southern part of the Seventh, but they were nothing like these. I could eat the entire pot.” She leaned back, bringing the fork to her lips, finally noticing the three empty plates scattered around her like carcasses and the one empty plate before her dinner date that he had been forced to reorder. “I do apologize. I forgot where I was for a moment.” Her tummy was rounded to the point of obscenity. She rubbed it with half-lidded eyes.
“I should have offered you food earlier, I apologize. You’re starved, and I didn’t notice. That is a lapse on my part,” he said, watching as she sat so obviously satisfied. He felt terrible that he offered her nesting materials before food. This is why he never claimed a mate. He sucked at it. “What’s your name?” he asked, deflecting the seriousness of the question with a soft rub to her thumb.
“Eve. I told you that. What’s yours?”
“Alpha,” he answered.
“Your mother did not na
me you Alpha, Sir, what is your first name?” she laughed at him.
“The,” he chuckled back, rubbing lazy circles into her hand.
“The Alpha, naturally.” She shook her head, chuckling because she already knew his name was Lukas. Lukas Jennings, aka The Alpha. “Then, my name is Eve, the One and Only.”
“My mother calls me Lukas Jennings or Luke when she was yelling at me for dragging dirt across her floor,” he said before he could stop himself.
“Well, my mother called me Eve Hatfield when she was trying to get me off the mountain for dinner.” He watched her eyes drift shut and signaled for the check, marveling at how her pale skin glowed in the dim light of the place and how unusual was the little splash of freckles that played across her nose.
He scooped her up, despite her protests, and carried her the entire few short blocks back to the capitol. He could feel the bones of her back sliding under his hands. She hadn’t lied; her last estrous had indeed almost killed her. Omegas are meant to be little round things, all soft curves, and deep hips to support estrous and the babe that followed.
This one was so thin he could place his entire hand across her back and begin to curl it around her waist; her arms were bone covered with small corded muscles. She weighed less than a cat. It horrified him. He forgave her for ordering two plates and speaking in front of another male.
He had two months, three weeks, and less than four days to fatten her up so she could take his knot properly. He stopped, nearly dropping the girl in the middle of the street. What was he thinking? He wasn’t following her plan. She would follow his. He shook his head and barreled through the doors of the building and to the elevator beyond.
She squirmed from his arms and insisted on walking the last few steps to their rooms.
"I've had the kitchen stocked with food; the Comlink will contact the maid. Should you need anything beyond what is here, please ask for it," he said as he closed the doors to his room behind them, locking it.
"What time is dinner tomorrow night?" she asked, ignoring the implication that he didn't want her wandering around. "I've heard there is an amazing Italian place here. Italian is one of my favorites." She walked around his room, looking at the changes that had taken place since she broke out of his old quarters and into these.
Windows were open to the warm night, and the space had lost the vacant home smell. Items scattered across the bed and floor proved he had indeed followed her and moved his quarters here.
"I was hoping we could eat here tomorrow; I could have the staff bring us a meal," he growled in irritation. "They can make Italian. They can make anything."
"I'm sure they can, but I haven't seen much of Greenville yet. I'd like a tour as well," she stopped in front of him, tilting her head back to look up at him. Her eyes soaked up the dim light, making her pupils dilate.
His chest rattled, and his fingers clenched. "Dinner will be at seven, Omega. I will pick you up here. My day tomorrow is unavoidably full." It was even more full now that she had appeared on his doorstep. He intended to find out just what his Omega was up to.
"Would you care to give me dessert?" she asked, arching a red brow at him, her eyes twinkled in the half-light of the setting sun.
"Um," His brows knotted, but his face was otherwise slack.
"Put your hands in my hair, Lukas, and promise not to move them. Her smile slipped up to her eyes, making her look even more incredible to him.
He did as he was told. She knew Alphas could be taught, she thought to herself as she dropped to her knees and made quick work of his belt. His dress blues were around his feet and the hard length of his cock in her mouth in no time. He had been mostly well behaved all day. They would both get their reward.
Wrapping both hands around it, she took him into her throat: neat little Omega trick, that. His groan sounded like it came from his toes. He wrapped her long hair in his fists and pulled her mouth further down his length. She took it all. Using her tongue, she traced the grooves and the veins that already pulsed at the feel of her mouth. His groan turned into a growl, and she felt slick pool in her vaginal cup. She had put an extra layer of pine tar and flower tincture on it. She hoped it held.
She squeezed the base of his cock hard at precisely the place his knot would form and took him into her throat over and over until he fucked it viciously. She hummed and purred her approval at his pace, his size, and his skill, but when the first hint of pre-cum hit her tongue, she growled at him, demanding more. Too many estrous cycles without it had made her need it. It was addicting. To an Omega in estrous, it was sustaining, fattening even, but to a starved Omega who had never had the taste of it, it was life. It was a drug, and she wanted to get high.
Reaching around, she grabbed his ass cheeks and dug her nails in. With a roar, he emptied down her throat and into her stomach. She grabbed his knot and squeezed it mercilessly, forcing more and more of it to pulse out. His breath came in shudders, and his legs quivered and shook, arms tangled and went slack in her hair, but still, she squeezed until his balls hung empty between his legs.
She licked the last of it off him, finding a few drops she had missed before rising to her feet with a satisfied sigh, kissing him chastely on the lips. She left him, shutting the door to her room.
Chapter 5
He stood rooted for many minutes before stumbling back onto his bed. Never before had he been treated like that. Never. He was an Alpha. The Alpha. He took what he wanted, never the other way around. The way her happy sigh went through him was unnatural. His cock lay flaccid and empty against his thigh and he wondered what the fuck had just happened.
It took a long time for him to roll over and reach for his Comlink. He almost couldn't do it. He had never had head like that. Not ever. Any doubt that she was an Omega fell away. No Beta could suck a dick like that. Omegas had no gag reflex. A Beta or even an Alpha female could learn to overcome it, but Eve did it naturally. He was never letting her go despite what she thought. It was not happening.
He pulled up the view of her room from the camera he had placed there while they were out. He couldn't see the whole room, as it pointed at her nest and only covered a small area around it. She had worked the blue dress soaked in his cum into the bend around her pillows where her head would lay. He smiled to himself when he saw it, but the smile fell away when she emerged naked from the bathroom, her hair dripping water down her back.
He could count her ribs. All twenty-four of them. When she took a breath, it pulled the skin tight around them. Her vertebrae stood out like stairsteps as she bent over her nest. Kneeling, she rubbed the right side of her face along the edges of it over and over before flopping over onto her back and wriggling like a dog with an itch. She repeated the process with the left side of her face. It would have been cute except that her nakedness told the truth loose clothing hid about just how close to death she had come. She had not been lying about that. Maybe everything else but not that.
She was cachexic. Her breasts should have been full, her hip bones should not jut out, and her shoulder blades should not be so prominent. It stilled his heart. Yet her belly, as she wiggled herself deeper into her nest, was rounded. She put a hand over it and grinned before pulling a fur over herself and obscuring everything but the toes on one foot.
He watched until her breathing slowed with sleep, barely moving the fur at all. He rose on shaky legs and changed clothes. He would not wash the scent of her off his cock. As she had sucked him, it became stronger and stronger. He would wear it proudly.
He didn't hesitate, not for long anyway, as he placed a fingerprint scanner deadbolt on the outside of both their doors. He had thought to lock her into her rooms, but she needed to eat as much as she wanted, and his room had the only kitchen between them. She would have free reign over his new apartment but could not be allowed to roam Greenville freely. It wasn't safe. Not for either of them.
Sighing, he eased himself into his bed for the night wishing it was soft, deep, and round like her nest
. Tomorrow he would solve the riddle of Eve, but tonight he would sleep.
Chapter 6
When the first rays of hazy dawn cracked the horizon, Eve stretched and rolled. She hadn't slept this well in, well, ever. Not that she could remember anyway. She had been warned that Alpha cum would knock her out, and those warnings were correct. Her belly had never been so full or so satisfied. Humming to herself, she rolled out of her nest, landing in a crouch. She dressed in a loose shirt and soft robe she found in her closet then went to find food in the Alpha's kitchen.
His room was tidy, bed made, and clothes put away. Any hint of disarray that had been there the day before was gone. Opening the freezer, she grabbed a tub of ice cream and a spoon; from the pantry, she grabbed everything she could find before taking it all back to her nest and covering herself again. The soft fur from the blanket tickled her nose as she ate the entire quart tossing the shell of it from her nest. Then followed the dry cereal, then the chips, then the bag of salted meat. She slept for a bit longer before deciding she had been lazy enough.
She went to her door, momentarily annoyed when it didn't open. The Alpha had locked her in. Again. Sighing, she went to her pack and got her kit. It took three minutes to figure out what kind of lock he had placed this time and under a minute to break it. Closing the door behind her, she headed to find more ice cream and some clothes that didn't look like feed sacks.
In his office, the Alpha checked his Comlink for the fifteenth time. He saw the bones of her discarded breakfast tossed outside her nest and chuckled to himself. She was taking her captivity better than he expected. Locked away and not running the woods, she would gain enough weight to potentially take his seed during her next estrous and give him a child. He wished he could see her toes again, but she had them tucked away.
The Omega Rule (Omegas of the New South Book 1) Page 3