Hot shame washes over me, and I drop my gaze to the floor. My cheeks burn as excitement grows deep within me, slick starting to drip into my shorts.
I’m so disgusting.
“Okay, you two.” My father steps inside the room. “That’s enough for one evening,” his voice is casual. Like he just interrupted a business chat. “You’ll have plenty of time to get acquaintedafterthe mating ceremony.”
I shrink in on myself as the two alphas chat easily. Mr. Sterling talks about my “pleasing aroma" while my father guarantees that I’ll be “a good mate”.
Their laughter is a surreal soundtrack to my personal hell.
I need to get out of here before I embarrass my father.
“Come on, Bruce,” my father says, gesturing toward the hall. “Join me for a drink in the billiard room.”
“A drink sounds good.” Mr. Sterling’s hand flits, hooking under my chin. His grip is firm, forcing my head up until I have no choice but to meet his dark, predatory eyes. “I’m looking forward to our union, little omega,” he murmurs, a promise and a threat all in one.
I blink, not sure what to say to that.
“What do you say, Jude?” My father says with clear disappointment.
“I’m looking forward to it too, alpha,” I blurt out, hoping my father doesn’t yell at me later for being rude.
Mr. Sterling lets out a happy hum, then he leans down one last time, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. I flinch, trying to pull away, but his grip on my chin is like iron. “I can’t wait to see you again,” he whispers, his voice a low, intimate rumble.
The vibrations travel straight through my body, a seismic shock that makes me tremble uncontrollably. A fresh, humiliating wave of slick gushes from me, soaking my shorts and rolling down the inside of my thighs. I clench my ass cheeks, trying like hell to hold back the tide, but it’s a useless effort.
I can feel the dampness spreading, a shameful testament to my body’s complete betrayal.
Please don’t smell it. Please don’t smell it. Please don’t smell it,I chant inside my head.
“Do you still have that 60-year-old Macallan?” Mr. Sterling says as he finally releases me.
Father laughs as the pair makes their way into the hallway.
I hold my breath, not moving a muscle until the heavy office door clicks shut.
ThenI break.
I scramble back, desperate to put distance between myself and the spot where the alpha just stood. My shoes slip against the sleek hardwood, and I nearly lose my footing before my back slams into glass.
Exhausted, I press my palms against the glass, bracing myself against the floor-to-ceiling window. It stretches from polished floor to recessed ceiling, an uninterrupted wall of glass that makes up the entire outer side of the penthouse. The apartment sits at the very top of the high-rise, so high the rest of the city feels unreal beneath it.
Beyond me, the skyline burns as the sun sets. Skyscrapers glitter at eye level, their windows like constellations. Far below, the streets look like thin ribbons of gold and red. Cars crawl like insects. People are nothing but tiny specks drifting along the sidewalks, too distant to hear, too distant to matter.
From up here, the world feels small.
And I feel trapped.
Another wave of pain grips my belly without warning. It’s so sharp and deep I fold forward, one hand sliding down the glass as I double over, the other clutching my abdomen. A muffled cry tears from my throat before I can swallow it back.
My heat is definitely starting.
I can’t believe this.
I can’t go into heat with Mr. Sterling just a few doors down.
He’ll rip the door off its hinges and fuck me right here in this cold office. And my father will probably let him.
He’ll declare our union set, finalize whatever business deal he has tied to my body, then hand me over to Mr. Sterling with a smile on his face.
