Jace

It was like a shot of electricity went through her. Wrenching my mouth away, I cupped the back of her head, pressing her nose against my chest as I tugged roughly on her sensitive nipple. “Breathe deep, omega,” I rumbled against her temple. “That’s it, baby. I’m going to make you feel so fucking good. Going to work my fat cock in just how you need it and fill you all up. Then once you’re taking that like my good girl, I’m going to work my knot in as well.”

Fuck, I’d never given anyone my knot before, but now… My heart smashed in my chest, the beast inside clawing at me. He was coming out, and the only thing I could control was how soon. Mark, breed, claim.

Nails scored my throat, and she shifted, trying to climb me. Her other hand was at my belt buckle, tugging on it with an impatient sob. I gave her a little shake and a growl, and her attention was once more on my face.

I thought about letting her lead this. She was so deep down the hole already, I could spread her out on the low table and rut her and she wouldn’t give a fuck. I was right there with her, but there were other alphas here, and her scent was enough to send even the most stoic alpha bastard right over the edge.

“Tell me to take care of you,” I said. “Tell me to rut you, and I will give you everything you need.”

“Please,” she said without the slightest hesitation. “I need you, Jace.”

My reservations imploded. My omega, she needed me.

Was I taking advantage of her? No, but I was toeing it close to the line.

Was that going to stop me? Fuck no. She’d picked me and asked me to take care of her.

She’d been mine the moment she walked in the gate, I realised, wearing that prim little dress more suited to a job interview than a nightclub and a haughty expression like the entire zone was beneath her contempt. The thought of taming her, breaking down the ice queen inside her, and letting the greedy little girl out had drawn me to her, but now? Her designation shouldn’t matter, yet it changed everything.

Omegas needed alphas, but us? Looking at her, I realised I fucking needed her just as much. Whether it was for tonight only or… I didn’t let myself think too far down that road. I couldn’t, wouldn’t.

Gathering her up in my arms, comforter and all, I strode for the elevator. The beta standing beside it punched the button for my floor.

“Make sure her companions don’t get into any trouble and the alphas with them treat them right. Any trouble, get Ryder on it.”

He nodded. The elevator opened, and we rode up to my penthouse.

3

Sloane

This was wrong, so fucking wrong.

So why did it feel so right?

At least I thought that was what it was. I shook my head, trying to clear it, some weird little whine escaping my lips, and that wasn’t all.

I need you?

What the hell was that and where had that come from? I wondered about that, but my body had a ready answer. A wetness I’d never experienced soaked my dress, coating my thighs—something I’d only heard about in sex ed at school, in disgusted tones, with other beta women.

Slick.

My body was readying itself to take an alpha’s knot in the way only my kind could, just in case I needed further proof that I was an omega. I hissed as I staggered out of the elevator, Jace in no hurry to follow. There was no need now, not when he had me right where he wanted me. I dimly saw the open plan living space with a big screen TV, a couple of couches, and the darkened doorway of a bedroom. He smiled when I turned back to face him, a slow, feline thing.

That was what he seemed like, one of those big cats that paced back and forth in their cages in the zoo, but this one had been let out. No, he had never experienced bars that stopped him from what he was doing, made evident when those massive arms reached up, grabbing the top of the elevator door frame, and surely he knew what that did. Every muscle was on display, outlined by the mood lighting in the suite, making flesh the terrible power he carried. He snorted when he watched me freeze like prey before a predator, dropping his arms and prowling closer.

“What… Why am I here?” I asked, which was bloody stupid in hindsight.

“You know,” he replied, strolling on up. I could run, try to get away, get around him, but I didn’t.

Because he was right—I did know. I’d asked for this, begged for this. My feet were rooted to the floor and sliding outwards, slick was ru

Me.

My brain fought this idea and the absolute certainty in his eyes as he moved closer, his sheer bloody size becoming more and more apparent the nearer he got. He threw a shadow over me as he came to a stop, so tall, so broad, so powerful that even the lights couldn’t get to me, just him. His hand raised and he smiled as I watched its every move, but I didn’t run screaming, did I? When I was a teenager, us girls had talked about what we’d do if approached by an alpha, their brutal ways often discussed in the media, shackled men being led into the courthouse often shown on the news. We’d all assured each other we’d run, scream, call the police, fight him off with our beta ingenuity, but there was a little stun gun in my bag waiting there for me to use and I didn’t reach for it.

I reached for him.

“Mm…” A little purr of pleasure came from him as my hand splayed across one pec, my palm looking even smaller now, but this was quickly covered with his, lest I think about pulling it away. But I couldn’t, could I? That rigid flesh, flexing slightly under my hand, then it all started to move. He squeezed my hand for a second, then pulled away, jerking the tight singlet that hid nothing over his head and tossing it to the ground. A low groan escaped my lips as acres of brown skin were revealed. Both hands reached for him now, for a body I’d only ever seen on thirst traps on social media. A body of sheer perfection.

Hard muscles, ropey sinews, veins that throbbed under the skin. I got closer and closer as I mapped each one, my breath coming in faster, which dragged his scent deeper into my lungs, making my head spin lazily. For some reason, the waitress on the floor below and the hungry way she’d looked at my alpha sprung to mind, my fingers turning to claws now, raking across his flesh.

“Mine…” I ground out.

“Damn fucking straight, baby,” he rumbled, the time for inspection now over as his hands, then arms, wrapped around me.

I was tugged up close, so I could feel every bloody inch of this hard body and how damn ready it was for me, causing another whimper to fall from my lips. Everything was going so fast, so hot, my mind struggled to get my head around it, but he had the answer to that. A big hand went to the back of my head, pushing my head into the crook of his neck, where there was only him—his scent, his taste, my tongue flicking out to lick his skin, his low purr.

“Now I want to see you, the little omega who’s going to tell me what she needs.”

Tell him? Could I really tell this powerful alpha what I needed? Could I tell him that I was imagining myself sinking to my knees, looking up at him, and begging sweetly for him to feed me his cock?

A part of my mind, the lone remnant of my former beta nature, rebelled at that, stiffening, but he wasn’t having that. His fingers tightened and kept me exactly where I was, forced to breathe his scent in, practically choking on it, which was only a foreshadowing of what was to come. I struggled more earnestly now, but was I pushing him away or pulling him closer? He paid me no mind, drawing down the zipper of my dress in a quick movement before he jerked away, letting the material, and my last shield from him, fall away