The prince rose and stalked towards the line of omegas. The omegas straightened their backs, proudly held their chins high and awaited the prince’s decision.
The crowd fell silent. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. That’s when Scout realized his mistake.
He should have been up there already.
He had waited too long. His hands trembled as they gripped his knees in panic, almost hard enough to bruise. He couldn’t just jump out there now — he would cause an enormous scene.
Fuck!
He knew he should have snuck up there while the prince was still sitting. Biting his lip, he watched intently as the prince surveyed the first omega in line. The omega had excellent posture and held his shoulders back, but his head was lowered in submission to the alpha prince. He was clothed in an extravagant outfit and dripped with semi-precious stones. The collar of his shirt was cut low and bared his pale neck, almost as if a view of his skin was an offering to the prince.
Scout watched the prince’s gaze flit over the first omega’s neck. His skin prickled.What if the prince chooses him before I even work up the nerve to get up there?
“Does this one suit you, my son?” the king asked, his loud voice echoing through the arena.
The crowd picked up, murmuring and talking amongst themselves. Scout’s muscles tensed. He knew he had to go —now.
“I’m still thinking,” the prince said.
His response caused the crowd to mutter even louder in excitement. Would he choose the first omega? Did he like him at all, or was he not pleased with him?
Scout swallowed hard. He slipped out of his seat. With all the commotion, nobody seemed to notice him.
Thanks for being smart enough to sit near the stage, past Scout. You did one thing right.
Slowly, with great care, he moved closer to the back of the stage.
In the time Scout was moving, the prince had moved on to judge the other omegas in the lineup. The first one was trying not to look offended that the prince hadn’t chosen him right away. The others stood and waited patiently as the prince looked them over, judging them as if it were a conformation dog show.
Scout scrambled to his feet, dusted himself off and snuck out of the shadows with his head held high. Every muscle in his body was flooded with adrenaline and poised to run — but he knew it was too late. He’d already made his decision, and he had to stick with it to the end. Good or bad.
This was his only hope. He couldn’t live like this — poor, alone, with no hope for the future. He had to dosomething.
Suddenly Scout was hyperaware of how much he stood out from the rest of the omegas. In comparison to their vivid clothing and jewels, his appearance was shabby and dull. The omega next to Scout shot him a look of horror, while the next one down the line glared daggers at him. The king was apparently too busy fussing with the third omega — a son of high-society omegas with a talent in archery, he was explaining — to notice that Scout had snuck into the lineup.
Scout tried to stand up straighter, pushing his shoulders back but keeping his chin low in submission as the other omegas had.
The crowd was muttering. Scout knew instantly it was about him. Everyone’s eyes were on him like a spotlight, but nobody was brave enough to say anything to interrupt the king, who had been explaining to the prince non-stop about each omega’s qualities.
Scout tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t. His face turned hot from embarrassment. The omega standing next to him shuffled away, as if Scout had some contagious disease.
Except stupidity isn’t contagious, he thought.
He shut his eyes. Maybe this was just a ridiculous dream. But when he opened them again to the dizzyingly large crowd, he knew it was real — and he felt like he was going to be sick.
“Excuse me.”
Scout nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden cool voice. In his daze, he hadn’t noticed the prince in front of him.
Scout blinked and looked back and forth between the rest of the omegas in the lineup and the prince’s expectant expression. The other omegas’ jaws were dropped in shock and horror. The king looked inexplicably confused.
“Excuse me,” the prince repeated. Scout went white.
The prince was talkingto him.
“Yes, your highness,” Scout said, his voice all but a whisper.
“What is your name?” the prince asked.
