Tobias, meanwhile, is utterly spent. I stand, and he stays limp against the floor, moaning lowly with every exhale.
I leave him behind and head for the shower, scrubbing my skin to get the scent of Tobias off of me. The beast is quiet, satisfied, but my cunt still aches.
That can happen sometimes—a physiological overflow, especially from the wariness that comes with being the dominant alpha. Now that Tobias’s stink is gone, I finally feel my arousal. It has a biological solution.
I drop a hand to my cunt, filling the space that Tobias’s cock would have left unsatisfied. It’s a pleasant sensation, but my frustration builds faster than my arousal. The beast is inconveniently quiet.
Just give me what I want, I snarl to nobody in particular.
But then suddenly I’m thinking of Jamie. And my arousal is building, and I’m remembering his scent, the closeness of him in that bed, how I wanted to pull him in and kiss him, to wrap him in my tenderness and—
Ohfuck, I’m cumming. Hard. Hard enough that I lose control, growl rumbling deep in my chest. My whole body convulses, squirt spraying my hands and draining down my legs, waves of true pleasure radiating from my core, making my limbs tingle, my head light.
I’m left shocked, panting in the shower, and I brace both hands against the cold marble wall to steady myself as the water runs down my back.
The beast remains smug, calm.
Is the beast fracturing? Influencing my neurology beyond my awareness? That’s the only thing that can explain this reaction to the omega, the intensity of it even while the beast—or the part of it that I’m aware of, at least—is calm.
I twist the water as cold as it will go and stand there shivering.
Because as much as I hate to admit it…
I’m scared.
#
JAMIE
I follow Morgan when she leaves with Tobias. I don’t think she sees me. When she gets into the back of a limo with him, I stand frozen in the lobby, on the brink of a silent panic attack.
Eileen finds me soon after, her warm presence cutting through the static that threatens to drown me. She invites me back to the hotel to hang out with her and a few other women from the event. I feel like I’m encroaching, but they welcome me right in, especially once Eileen broaches the topic of manicures. It’s a welcome distraction, but it can’t last forever. I finally makeit back to the room.
For as cramped as it felt with Morgan, it’s utterly empty without her. Her presence is just that large.
My phone buzzes with a message from Morgan, and I jump to answer it, heart fluttering. Maybe she’s headed back?
The driver will pick you up at 7. Don’t be late.
And that’s it. Must be Morgan’s version of ‘Don’t wait up.’
My heart sinks. But if I have the room to myself, I might as well make the best of it. I draw a bath in the ridiculous heart-shaped hot tub. There’s a fancy bath-bomb next to the spout, probably set out for whoever last-minute cancelled before us.
I slip on my new swim trunks just in case Morgan shows up, then slip into the hot water.
I’ve known the whole time that there’s a fundamental incompatibility between me and Morgan.
But it’s differentseeingit. She belongs with someone like Tobias who can match her strength for strength. The idea that alphas and omegas belong with each other is an old stereotype, one that Artemis is re-writing. The entire point of this campaign is mine and Morgan’s friendly disinterest.
It’s good that I’m getting a reality check, I tell myself. I was so close to ruining everything.
But a part of me protests. I don’t usually indulge in this kind of indignation, but I can’t help it—I’m pretty sure it’s not the omega in me that’s obsessed with Morgan. Well, notjustthe omega.
The omega doesn’t see another alpha as competition, not in the slightest. If anything, it welcomes another alpha, like those old-fashioned packs that keep to rural areas.
ButIdo. On a very human level. I’ve spent so much of my life resenting stereotypes and expectations that I… kind of don’t know what to do with myself when one seems to apply.
Isn’t trying to perfectly avoid a stereotype as much of atrap as getting pinned into one?
