Ana Dubkinsky grew up in Warsaw, Poland, representing her country in the 2002 winter Olympics. She was only seventeen and barely made it on the podium, taking home a bronze. She competed again in 2006, only to cede gold to a sixteen year old beta from Japan. She tried one more time in 2008, but an old injury flared up, and she had to forfeit. She wanted to skate, but her coach wouldn’t let her. That's tough on anyone, let alone an alpha.
She moved to America where, for the past twenty years, she’s been coaching figure skaters with dreams of Olympic gold. She hasn’t had a promising hopeful… until a year ago.
Kelly Baldwin is a twenty-one year old alpha from Cleveland. She’s been dominating the ice, out-scoring her peers consistently. In an article my buddy found inAlphaIce Housemagazine, Coach Ana lauds Kelly for her accomplishments, going so far as to predict the young alpha would bring home the gold.
A deeper look at her social media, though, is where the pieces start to fall into place. Ana Dubinsky is an alpha elitist. Her profile is locked down, but that’s never stopped Ryker before. Her timeline is full of memes, articles, and rhetoric that laments the fall of the so-called mighty alpha, voicing her desire for things to go back to the‘good old days,’whatever the fuck that means.
The clincher? With the new pilot program bringing in omegas to compete in this year’s Olympic games, Kelly didn’t make the cut.
It doesn’t take any more evidence to have me convinced Coach Ana is the one who fucked with Raven’s suppressants. Without proof, however, I can’t take her down.
Ry fakes a phone call, angrily barking down the line as he makes his way toward the side of the rink near where Ana is standing. “What do you mean she wants more? The salary we offered her is more than enough for that position. The others? Well they’re alphas, of course they get paid a higher fee. No. I’m not going to have some little bitch railroad us into shelling out more money than she deserves. I don’t give a fuck about this diversity campaign, find someone else!” He pretends to end his call abruptly, letting out a growl. “Stupid omegas,” he mutters under his breath loud enough for Ana to hear.
Pretending to just notice her standing beside him, he jerks his head up. “Shit, sorry.”
Ana smirks at him. “Omega giving you trouble at home?”
He shakes his head, “No, work. Greedy omega thinksshe can weasel more money out of my company because of some stupid equal hiring campaign the board is forcing on us.” He pinches his nose in exasperation, then looks at her again, holding a hand out. “Tim Dunham.”
Stupid fuckin’ alias, but whatever works. He’s a charmer, no matter what his name is.
“Ana Dubinsky,” she replies just as Harriett joins her beside the ice.
Shit. Ana’s not gonna talk with the publicist there. We purposefully waited until she was alone. Goddamnit.
Ryker smiles at Harriett, and I can tell from that grin that he’s not gonna abandon the mission just because of a new presence. God, I hope this works.
“Dubinsky… aren’t you one of the coaches who had to take on an omega competitor this year?” Ryker prompts.
A sneer pulls at Ana’s face and she confirms with an aggrieved, “Yes.”
“Ha! So you know what I’m dealing with here. Affirmative action or some shit. As if omegas don’t get spoiled enough as it is,” Ryker says. “Didn’t Rachel… Reina… fuck whatever her name is—didn’t she cause a mess?”
“Raven. Little bitch stole a spot one of my alpha skaters earned, then didn’t even medal. Fell on her ass during her routine.”
Harriett leans against the side of the rink. To my surprise, she makes no effort to stand up for Raven, though it’s not clear if she agrees with Ana or not. She glances down at her phone. That woman is always glued to a screen.
“I can’t believe the Olympic Committee even let omegas participate,” Ana continues, voice ramping up as she rants. “Never should have happened, if you ask me.Omegas aren’t cut out for the pressure. I tried to warn everyone. Hopefully, Raven’s failure will make them take a second look at this ridiculous initiative.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Harriett speaks up.
Ana and Rkyer both stare at her, waiting for her to go on, and my ears perk up. Why would she say that? What does she know?
“This will be the last time an omega competes in the Olympics, I made sure of it,” Harriett says casually, as if she’s just discussing the schedule for the day. She doesn’t even look up from her phone.
I hold my breath. C’mon, Ryker, dig. Get a confession.
“You made sure of it?” Ryker’s tone is conspiratory. He leans in, bumping his shoulder against Harriett’s and getting her to look up. He flashes her that smile people are always swooning over.
She blushes, looking around. Ana’s brow wrinkles, but there’s a touch of excitement in her eyes.
“Were you responsible for what happened at the gala?” Ana whispers.
“Oh, what happened at the gala?” Ryker rubs his hands together eagerly, acting like he doesn’t know exactly what went down.
Harriett’s pert little lips turn up in a devious smile. He’s got her now.
“I swapped out Raven’s suppressants for sugar pills.” Harriett shrugs like it’s no big deal, like she didn’t do something that put my omega at risk. It’s a good thing I’m back here, because I’m not sure I could be held accountable for my actions if I was closer to that woman right now. How did I not see it? Harriett was never particularly warm,but she was nice enough. Or seemed like it. Two-faced bitch.
