Page 12 of Alpha Hunger

Arkin leans in and whispers, “Lock her in there. Do it.”

I round my desk and laugh. “You have many homes to visit today.”

“And an Omega to collect, I hear.” Arkin stands.

“If you mean her sister, I don’t believe she has one.”

“Bummer. Sewer problem?”

“Leave it for Sotay when he returns.” Sotay and his Guardians guard the gate, so it’s their problem.

We walk toward the closet. “It’s a security breach,” he says. “We should—”

“Let them come to me.”

“Just when I thought you’d gotten comfortable in your human world, you surprise me.”

Anna’s hung the garment bag, unzipped it, and now she stands looking confused. I lean on the doorjamb. “Yes, Omega?” I watch her carefully. Not a blink at my calling her Omega. She’s gonna put up a fight. I can tell.

“Do you wear suits?” she asks.

Arkin laughs.

“Quiet, you,” I tell him. “No, I do not.”

She holds up the garment bag with a man’s white suit.

Arkin rattles, and I join him, tapping my com unit for Christy. “What the fuck is this?”

“I know, boss, I know. It’s a gift from the mayor, and before you lock me up, know that I tried to dissuade her from gifting this particular item, but she insisted. So fuck her, I sent it.”

“Well done.”

“Thank you, boss.”

The com clicks off. I look at Arkin’s profile and know everything. The day that the Alpha Collector gapes at a suit instead of a beautiful Omega who may or may not be registered, everything must change. The mayor of San Diego sent me a man’s suit. “You are right, cousin. It seems my agreeability has been regarded as a weakness.”

“Do you hate it? Um, it’s the latest trend,” Anna says, confusion displaying on her pretty face.

I pierce her with a stare. “It is never just a suit. It is a message, an offense to the Regha crown.”

Anna nods. “Absolutely, we should chew up the mayor.”

“Agreed.”

“I’ll call her. No problem, boss.”

“You will do no such thing. Burn the suit, Anna.”

“I’m on it, boss.” She zips the bag and approaches, but since we’re standing in her way, she stops and looks up. Those big brown eyes trap me, and I can’t look away. I lift a hand and stroke her cheek. Soft. Human Omegas have the softest, most defenseless skin in the universe. It makes me want to violate her.

“Anna,” I say. “The mayor took freedoms she should not have taken.”

Arkin rattles. “I’d kill her if she sent me that.”

“I will burn the suit,” Anna says. “Make a big ol’ bonfire. Clearly, it is an offense. But I’d love to point out that it’s possible she doesn’t understand it is offensive.”

“Naiveté has no place in human politics.” I stroke the back of her neck, run my fingers into her hair, and release the binding. Brown hair spills over her shoulders and back. My cock pulses with need.

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