Scout had expected himself to shy away from the contact, but it was just the opposite. He wanted more —cravedmore. His breathing shallowed as he took in the feeling of Killian’s half-hard cock brushing against his own.
Almost too soon, Killian pulled away. He winked playfully. “Come on, my sweet omega. We have plenty of time to play later. Right now, we have royal bullshit to deal with.”
Scout exhaled. “Right. Royal… bullshit.”
Killian held out a hand, took Scout’s, and whisked him away to the front hall. Scout knew he would never get over the huge marble pillars and beautiful spotless tile floor, the dozens of guards and maids bowing as they walked by. But most of all, Scout would never get over the fact thathewas the one chosen —hewas the omega lucky enough to be handpicked by the alpha prince.
The front door towered before them and the guards bowed quickly before pushing the door open. Scout swallowed hard.
Their adoring crowd awaited.
* * *
Beingthe prince’s omega was one thing. Being the prince’s omega who crashed a royal ceremony by sneaking into the omega lineup on live television was another.
Scout had never had so many eyes on him at once before — at least not in the flesh. He couldn’t imagine how many of his pack mates had watched the scene play out during the broadcast.
Once Killian had led him down the main steps and out into the highest ring, the crowds started to gather. All of them were high-class members of the pack and dressed in their finest clothes and jewels to see the newly paired alpha and omega. For them, it was both a chance to witness a part of history, and show off their assets to everyone else. Scout wondered if any of them even cared about he and Killian’s new relationship.
From the sidelines, other high-society omegas cheered and called out, which was something Scout hadn’t been expecting.
“Prince Killian!”
“We love you, Prince Killian!”
“Please, I just want a photo with the prince —”
An omega who’d gotten too close to the pair for comfort was escorted away by a royal bodyguard. Scout hadn’t even realized there were bodyguards following them until he watched the omega be pushed back to a safe distance.
“I didn’t know this was such a big event,” Scout mumbled. Killian held his hand tighter.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
“Sort of,” Scout said. “Mostly just overwhelmed.”
Killian smiled. “Ah, I forgot you’re not used to this sort of thing. Don’t worry. This only happens once, so just bear with it for now.”
“Okay.”
As they toured the higher ring of the city, Scout was shocked at the number of pack members on their heels, cheering and excited just to catch a glimpse of them. Didn’t these people have day jobs or anything better to do than watch rich, do-nothing celebrities walk around?
Then Scout thought of Killian, the crown prince, and how kind and gentle he was. Maybe Scout was just being bitter. He’d never had interest in the royal family until now. As a low-ranking omega, it used to be hard enough for him just to get by, day to day. All the luxury and attention was baffling and alien to him.
“It’s time we moved on to the middle ring, sir,” one of the guards muttered in Killian’s ear. He nodded.
“The middle ring?” Scout echoed. “We’re not just going around the upper ring?”
“No. It’s customary that we visit every ring in the pack territory,” he explained. “We start from the top and go down, and once we’re finished we return to the manor.”
It was a bigger event than Scout had anticipated. He blinked in surprise.
“I didn’t know that,” he admitted. “I mean, I’ve seen old broadcasts from the past princes, but they never really showed anything but the upper ring.”
Killian’s face tightened. He was still smiling to the crowd, but Scout saw the tension in his jaw. “That would be my father’s work,” he said bitterly. “He likes to pretend anything except the upper ring doesn’t exist.”
Hearing Killian admit that was a surprise. Scout didn’t expect any of the pack’s royalty to care about the struggling lower classes — not even Killian. Protecting one omega from violence, even someone like Scout, was understandable. Alphas were like that — protective — but he’d never seen that protectiveness extend from the rich to the poor.
Whitewood pack territory was built like an ascending cone, with the royal manor at the very top and all the caste rings descending around it. The middle ring was easily the largest, and most of the pack made up the middle-class caste.
