Jade picked up the cake box, balancing it on one hand while the other dropped something into our tip jar. She’d already paid for the cake, and gave a tip then, too.Was she trying to drive me crazy?“Nice to see you, Daph.”
“I told you not to call…” Biting my tongue, my eyes darted to the other customer examining a bag of coffee. I plastered on a smile in Jade’s direction, conveying all the hatred I felt for her through my seething grin. “Thank you, ma’am. Please come back soon!”
Not.
Rolling my eyes, I waited for Jade to leave, but she lingered by the counter, holding the cake box close to her chest.
“You look warm. You okay?”
Theaudacity. I didn’t need her concern. I needed nothing from her. I bent closer, my voice low so no one else would hear. “Stop. You’re not my girlfriend. Go away.”
She left without another word, taking her stupid cake to her stupid party. I swear to god, she came here just to torment me with her stupid pretty face.
Grumbling under my breath, I returned to the back area and helped Abby put the sheets of cupcakes into the oven. She noticed my tense stance as I whipped up some icing and helped me prep the piping bags.
“It was Jade, wasn’t it?”
“Pff. Yes.” I shoved a spatula full of icing into the bag, imagining it was her face. “Hate her so much.”
“Mmhmm,” Abby said quietly. I couldn’t tell if that was agreement, or if she was holding back a remark. “Oh. Speaking of Alphas.”
“We’re not talking about Alphas.”
Ignoring me, she whipped her phone out and pulled up an email. “There’s this new app, it’s called Alpha Net. Their testweekend is coming soon and they’re looking for people to sign-up. My aunt told me about it.”
“Is that a new crappy dating app?”
“No,” she argued, whapping me on the shoulder with her phone. “It’s not for dating. It’s for hooking up with Alphas when you’re in heat. They vet everyone and make sure it’s safe for omegas to find a partner.”
An app to find a heat partner? That beat the alternative, either waiting it out in agony, or finding a stranger at a bar who may or may not be someone you should take home. Still, just because it claimed to be a sure thing didn’t mean that was true.
“Let me see,” I said, holding my hand out for her phone. The email looked fine. Their website was professional. It seemed okay, but that’s how scams always looked. And who better to scam than omegas looking for a safe partner to spend their heat with?
“I’m not sure about this, Abs.”
“Oh, come on. Winter Blackwell created it. It’s gotta be legit.”
I was still skeptical, but she was right. The Blackwells had a thriving reputation, and I doubted they would put their name on something if it was a scam. “Still,” I said, handing her the phone back. “You said they’re accepting sign-ups? Send me one. I’ll check it out for you.”
Chapter Two
Alpha Net wasted no time in sending me a confirmation email that I had been accepted into their test pool.
“Welcome to Alpha Net, your premium AO matchmaking service powered by AI. Our Alphas are pleasure-trained professionals guaranteed to make your heats an experience you won’t forget.”
The app test was coming up soon, and part of the contract I signed was agreeing to use it at least once during the weekend. The best part was it all lined up with my trip to Las Vegas for the Baking Expo. My heat was due on the tail end of their testing days, so I could go there, buy some fancy new gadgets for the bakery, maybe pick up a new technique, and hook up with an Alpha that I never had to see again.
A perfect plan.
I packed my bags, took an extra inhibitor just in case, and headed to the airport. I couldn’t wait to leave just for a few days and forget about everything else. The Baking Expo was the highlight of my year. Not to mention, I might just get some hot sex out of the arrangement too. Hopefully that would makeme stop thinking about the one Alpha who had no business lingering in my thoughts.
After a lengthy check-in process at the airport, I boarded early and got comfortable in my business class seat.So cozy. As I sipped champagne and waited for take-off, I pulled out my phone to check if Abby had texted me. There was an email from Alpha Net, giving me instructions on how to download the app and create an account.
I had to fill out a profile, naturally, of my basic details. Age: 24. Height: 5’5”. Hair color: strawberry blonde. Secondary gender: omega female. And then it was onto my partner preferences. Alpha female. What height did I like? Taller than me. Around my age, but I was willing to bend a few years in either direction. Once that was all filled out, the next section popped up.
Kinks.
Oh. Well. I mean, that was to be expected, of course. It was optional to fill out, but I didn’t want to match up with someone who liked ball gags and spankings. The kink list was so long, I was tinged pink all over my face by the time I checked NO on almost everything. Sounding? Cock warming? Snowballing?
