His tongue toyed with the sharp tip of one of his fangs, his gaze still laser-focused on me. Finally, he sighed. “Your new home.”
My heart started feeling like it was about to fritz out again, and by the look of the rapidly increasing numbers on the monitor next to me, it just might. “Excuse me, did you say my ‘new home?’”
“Yes,” he replied, as matter-of-factly as if I’d asked him whether there was rain in the forecast today. “You’re my mate, so you’ll live here from now on. Anywhere else, especially that hovel I found you in, would be beneath me.”
I mean, sure, my apartment was a little small, and the appliances were a little out of date. But it was safe, affordable, clean, and my landlord was nice. It certainly wasn’t a slum.
I took a deep breath, trying to find my backbone while choosing my words carefully. “I appreciate you wanting to take care of me, sir…”
“Victor,” he snapped.
I winced at his chastisement, and he sighed, patting my hand. “I’m sorry, darling, I’m a little on edge. But please, just speak to me normally.”
“Victor,” I continued slowly, testing the water. Saying his name still felt strange. “I appreciate you wanting to take care of me, but I don’t need you to. I pay all my bills myself, and I like it,” I chuckled.
When even a hint of a smile didn’t show on his flawless face, I kept going. “So, if we’re mates—”
“No ‘if.’ We just are,” he interrupted, his frustration with me barely restrained. Dammit, I hated dealing with sensitive alphas, especially vampire alphas. They always took the slightest differing of opinion as some sort of offense, an insult to their ‘dominance.’
And so far, Victor was just confirming all my worst opinions about his designation and Magik.
“Right, um, well, since we are mates, you should know I enjoy my independence. I want to take my time to explore this thing between us. Maybe we could start with a few dates, and then go from there?”
After I canceled my date with Kaleb, that was. I liked the guy a lot, but I couldn’t put him at risk if an alpha like this had me on his radar.
Which… still didn’t make sense. I definitely felt something for him, but it wasn’t life changing. More like an echo, a whisper of attraction. Something that would make me pause, but certainly not stop.
I turned to look at the Premier to gauge his reaction, and was beginning to think the only emotion I’d ever see on his face was irritation. His silence was deafening, punctuated by each beep of the monitor.
“Sage,” he finally said, in the kind of patronizing tone one used with a child. “I don’t think you quite grasp the gravity of the situation. I’m the Premier of Noctis, like my father before me, and his mother before him. I’m the most powerful vampire in the city-state, one of the most powerful alphas in all of Lundaria. My mate can’t live in a run-down apartment in the non-citizens’ district. She can’t be a part-time waitress. She can’t ride her bike to Umbris University, take notes on her ten-year-old laptop, and eat leftovers from work for lunch.”
I flinched as he continued. He made my life sound so pedestrian and sad. I tried to pull my hand away, but he snatched it back, his grip tight.
“Not only do I have a reputation and an image to maintain, but you also have no idea the kind of target you now carry on your back. My enemies and rivals will know they can get to me through you. Do you understand now? Your life as you knew it is officially over.”
Whatever blood had been replaced after the Premier’s overindulgence now drained from my face, and he let out an exasperated groan, running his free hand through his hair. I had to imagine this was as frustrating for him as it was for me. That should have been a sign that maybe he was mistaken. What mates started their relationship arguing with each other?
“I mean in a good way! Yes, your freedom will be restricted, but you have a mate—me.You will never want for anything ever again, and you will never work another day of your life. I will provide you with whatever you could possibly want, so why are you looking at me like I just killed your puppy?”
I mean, he kind of did. I sat up in the bed and brought the covers up a little more, just noticing that between when I’d almost died in the car and now, I’d been dressed in a silky, sexy nightgown. It wasn’t mine. “It’s not that I’m not grateful for what you’re offering, it’s just…”
He growled as he let go, getting up to pace around the room again. “Damn you, witch! What kind of omega are you that you don’t want to be kept by your alpha?”
And this was another reason why I never dated alphas.
I wanted a partner, not a provider, and most alphas hated that. They wanted to take the lead, to order for me at restaurants, to tell me what I needed rather than ask or put in the work to actually get to know me beyond my designation.
Ever since I’d become old enough to date, I’d gravitated towards betas instead. I loved how easy-going they tended to be. How they listened when I talked, how they truly paid attention to my needs and anticipated them based onwhoI was, notwhatI was.
Case in point—the alpha-ex who had bought me a low-cut red dress for my birthday, even though I hated showing my scar and looked terrible in red, versus Kaleb, who had bought me a custom-made throw blanket of my favorite video game character because I’d mentioned the weather was getting chilly.
I was a full person, not just an omega to be shown off, kept, and rutted.
“I’m sorry you got saddled with such a defective mate,” I finally said, absently scratching at the tape holding the IV catheter in place. I hated when doctors used this brand, it always irritated my skin. “But I like accomplishing things on my own, and I have dreams that don’t just involve being someone’s pampered pet.”
He stalked back to the bed, sitting next to me while staring at my scar. His fingers reached out to touch it, but he stopped himself and raised his eyes to mine. “I didn’t mean to imply you were defective, darling. Perhaps it’s just due to the women that tend to gravitate towards me, but I’m… how can I put this…accustomedto a certain type of behavior.”
I snorted, then covered my mouth in horror. He arched a curious eyebrow. “Is that funny?” he asked
