Luca
The next time I was alone with her caretaker, I needed to make sure to thank her for allowing this to happen.
I wasn’t out of the asteroid field yet, regarding borrowing my brother’s identity. But, once I had my mark on her neck, and we were away from the station, I’d come clean to everyone. What I was doing may be illegal, but it wasn’t a complete lie. I was one of the co-owners of Coco Pharmaceuticals. Just not the one that they had listed.
When the time came, I would pay my fine and repay my brother’s tithe, but now, I had more important things to deal with—like my omega in my arms.
As soon as I stepped inside the waiting room, my three betas became alert and stumbled to their feet to welcome us. Their faces contained a mix of shock and awe as they peered at the gorgeous blonde in my arms.
Feeling her hands playing with my tie as she nestled her head against my chest not only filled me with pride but a fierce protectiveness. There was something about the closeness of my betas that was starting to raise the hairs in the back of my neck. Deep down, I knew they weren’t here to steal her away from me, but there was something about their presence that annoyed me.
Perhaps it was because they hadn’t been supportive about the whole situation. Or that I had sensed hesitation in wanting an omega within our ranks. Now that I had her in my arms was proof that what I said was true—that I would enter The Den as my older brother because her caretaker said so, only to be chosen by the omega in question.
Even though I knew they would be here to welcome us, I didn’t foresee the feelings that I had when I returned with her. I wanted my three betas here not only for their roles in the crew, but I had hoped having all of my betas currently not engaged in a relationship would help Elara form a pack without any other mate drama.
Ultimately, it was her choice. I would be her alpha. Whoever she picked to surround her would be up to her once I had my mark on her.
Her needy scent flared, tickling my nose. It was a wordless demand to please her—to sedate her desires. If only I could tell my hardened cock that this wasn’t the time or place for such things. Even though we were in the protection of my crew, we weren’t in the shelter of our ship, where I could rest easy, knowing someone else wouldn’t try to take Elara from me.
“It’s okay,” Elara whispered, pressing her hand against my chest as she pulled her head away and tilted it enough to lock her green-jeweled eyes on mine. “I don’t feel faint anymore, now that we are out of that arena. I believe I am stable enough to stand on my own two feet. You can hold my waist if you need to touch me.”
I shot a glance at my hovering betas and sighed, knowing she could sense my possessiveness. My alpha instincts were going rampant and telling me not to share. It was too soon for her attention to go toward someone else even though those surrounding us were within our clan.
Growling, I nodded and gently placed her onto the floor. I cursed myself for what I’d become, my instincts chanting that she was mine in the back of my head as her flowery-creme scent wrapped itself around me.
Was this how all alphas felt once they’d been chosen?
How could they deal with the possibility that they’d gotten so close to having an omega but not being able to secure her? Normally, I would have been walking out of the arena with any other potential alphas that had caught her eye. We would’ve been escorted by her caretaker to the waiting room to establish the boundaries of the courting phase. But instead, we skipped all that—with her insisting we didn’t need such a phase, believing that I was the only one for her.
We had just exited the arena, and my instincts were already screaming not to let her go. Don’t let her get out of my sight. My only wish was that this drive to have her attached to my hip would soften once my mark was on her neck.
I wanted her. Yes. But I also wanted each of us to have the freedom to be our own person. Biting my tongue, I gripped her hip and steered her in front of me, cursing the station’s ventilation system for failing me now. I could almost taste her sweetness in the air, inhaling her divine aroma as I pressed her against me. From the instant injection of her scent flooding the room and how she wiggled her voluptuous ass purposely into my hard cock, they were clear signs of how she loved my hands on her.
We may not know each other, but I could already tell our partnership would be a success—as long as I could get my sudden possessiveness under control.
