It was extremely unusual to catch an omega deserter, because there were hardly any. Most died in childbirth. A considerable number of alphas evaded conscription, specifically criminals and mobsters who ruled the city underworlds. Due to there being many more alphas than omegas, Arca often turned theother cheek for alpha deserters. That was not the case for omegas. Arca coveted them, knowing full well their value.
Omegas did not give birth to betas, only other omegas, alphas, and even the occasional shifter. Command incentivized pack units to track and recover omegas by offering a reward. Any unit who recovered an omega got to keep, mate, and breed her. I knew a few packs with omegas, but I never really envisioned having one in ours.
Cade’s father had tried to mate us with several “breedable” omegas from the Training Center, but he always turned daddy dearest down. I guess the idea of having General Green collecting favors from our unit was enough to flat-out reject his offer.
Talon had stepped away to call Cade and fill him in on our current situation. He made me promise to stay put outside of the bar until they were done. I obviously would not do that, mainly because he was not my boss, and because he liked to tell me what to do. He had even laced the command with his alpha bark, as if that was going to keep me put.
I slipped inside the bar, sinking into the shadows and finding a table tucked behind the corner. I still had a clear view of the stage, but the shadows and distance hid me from Rowan’s view. Her band was performing on stage, and she was front and center, singing into a microphone.
She was fucking irresistible.
Pretty little Rowan, all soft, porcelain skin and curves that begged to be touched. Her hair had been curled in soft waves, and they moved like a strawberry blonde ocean, the strands flowing around her as she danced. The timid girl, who squirmed under my gaze, was nowhere to be found. In her place stood acool, confident, and radiant godess. Every beta soldier in the bar was eating her up with their eyes and tracking the sway of her hips like moths to a flame.
I briefly considered ripping out the eyes of every man in the bar, so no one could look at her but me. One thing was certain; she would never wear that tank top in public again. It was too low-cut, slightly transparent, and I could just barely see the outline of her bra. Every time she swayed to the beat, her soft round breasts jiggled, and a mental image of me sliding my dick between them popped into my head. I was definitely planning on doing that to her soon.
“Down, Boy,” I told my star player.
I clenched my fists, battling the urge to drag Rowan off that stage and keep her all to myself. I wanted her hidden from the hungry stares of every damn soldier who looked at her like she was theirs to devour.
She wasn’t.
She was mine, even if she didn’t know it yet.
Rowan had me feeling unusually territorial, which wasn’t like me. I didn’t normally mind sharing, especially with Talon. I wasn’t possessive like Cade or Killian, thriving instead on the thrill of tag-teaming women with my pack. What can I say? I’m a team player. I could only imagine how selfish the big fucker was going to be with Rowan once he got his hands on her, if even I was feeling this way. Killian did not like sharing one bit.
As she swayed confidently on stage, I realized that the submission she had shown earlier had been an act. The defiant brief expression that fleetingly passed over her features told the actual story of who Rowan was, and I couldn’t wait for the challenge. I wanted to make her submit on her knees, beggingme to knot her. I wanted to praise her for being so greedy for my coc??k in her.
The dirty mental images started. Pretty soft Rowan on her knees or back, legs spread, pink pussy weeping.
Suddenly, Talon quietly took a seat next to me, pulling me from my happy place with a pissed-off glare. He wasn’t pleased that I hadn’t listened to him. I looked around, hoping his entry wouldn’t alert Rowan to our presence, but he was careful not to draw attention to us.
When he wanted to, Talon moved like a shadow, silent and unseen in the dark. It was one of his shifter abilities. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, a telltale sign he was fighting to stay in control. I could feel his wolf clawing at the edges, restless beneath his skin, as he ran a hand through his silver undercut.
Normally, he styled his longer hair on top perfectly parted down the middle, falling in smooth waves framing his forehead. Always sharp, polished, in command. But tonight, his tousled hair flopped messily to one side. His yellow eyes gleamed bright and wild, glassy with barely restrained energy. He couldn’t stop moving, skin buzzing with tension. The beast inside him was desperate to break free.
“I told you to wait for me, Ryker,” he growled.
It was dangerous to poke Talon when he was this close to a shift.
“It was a wonderful suggestion, Tally, but I did whatever the fuck I wanted instead.”
I smiled at him and blew a kiss. It might have been dangerous to mess with him when he was like this, but it sure was fun! Heglared at me as he removed some black tactical gloves from his pocket.
“Cade gave me the go-ahead. He’s gonna meet with his dad to get a seizure warrant. We’re gonna take the girl. Where is she? I can smell her already, and that horrible lotion. It’s disgusting.”
I pointed to Rowan. She had her back leaned against the guitarist as she belted into the mic and he strummed away on his guitar. Why the fuck did she keep touching that guy? If it were her boyfriend, I would just kill him. Problem solved. Arca wouldn’t have an issue with his death considering he was harboring an omega deserter.
Talon’s gaze followed my pointer, and when he locked eyes on Rowan, I knew he was instantly just as obsessed as I was. I glanced down at his lap to see he was also sporting a substantial bulge. His hand made a fist, digging nails into his palms, trying to maintain his frayed composure. He ran his ornate, tattooed fingers through his hair, attempting to style it back to usual, but ultimately just let it fall to the side again.
As he slipped the tactical gloves on, we discussed our plan for getting Kitten into the truck without a fuss.
Chapter 8: Rowan
The night really turned around. Billy showed up towards the beginning of the set with the other soldier, but their supervisor was nowhere in sight, thankfully. At first I was so nervous that he would turn up any minute, but as we neared the end of our set, I felt more and more confident that Alex had been right and he wasn’t actually going to show.
I felt relief, mixed with another emotion that I refused to even acknowledge. Was I disappointed?No way.I absolutely did not want to see him again. That's what I told myself at least.
But somewhere deep inside, I knew that wasn’t entirely true.
