And now I’d presented as an omega...and sex came with the territory of my designation. There was no such thing as a celibate omega—not when her heat hit.

I bit my lip, my pussy clenching under my thong as I ground back against the guy, safe in my confidence that he couldn’t smell me. Would it be the worst thing in the world to get some more experience before packs courted me? I had one month to register myself with the state shifter database now that I’d presented, and from there, I could be petitioned by any packwith the legal standing to claim an omega. Not every pack met the requirements, but there were enough that I would be far from short on choice.

I was almost positive that I didn’t want myveryfirst time to be with a pack I had only just met, and that was petitioning to claim me like I was the biggest prize at the county fair.

The man’s hands flexed on my hips, pulling me out of my musings, and I whimpered a little at the restrained power and strength I could feel. One of my hands rose, reaching back and gently gripping one of his shoulders, and the firmness of his muscle under my hand was enough to make me whine softly—too softly for him to hear.

He could tell that he was affecting me, though. The music had changed while I was lost in my head, and the new song that was playing was deeper, darker, and more sensual.

It was music that you would fuck to if you were so inclined, and I felt the energy of it buzzing under my skin, pulling at my wolf as I swayed against my new dance partner.

I wanted to shift. I wanted to run. I wanted toplay.

We moved together smoothly, my hips working against his in a grind that, as the minutes passed, made me more and more aware of the increasingly hard length that was rubbing up against my lower back. My hand slid upwards, from his shoulder to the back of his neck, and the feeling of soft curls under my fingers as I wrapped my hand there made me bite my lip.

His head dipped, and then his lips pressed against my ear.

“Why is a pretty little thing like you all alone tonight, baby girl?”

His voice was deep, a little growly, and sensual, the warmth of his breath over my ear making me shiver. His hands flexed on my hips again, and all thoughts of what might happen if he moved his head just a little lower, if he pressed his nose up against my neck and got a taste of the sweetness of my scent that was growing by the hour, flew out the window.

I whimpered a little, then turned. His hands loosened so that I could face him, and when I looked up at him from underneath my eyelashes, my breath caught.

He was almost painfully handsome, the alpha—because it was clear that was what he was. The breadth of his shoulders and the cut of his muscles all contributed to the buzz of power I’d only been able to vaguely sense when I had been facing away from him. Now that I was looking at him properly my entire being strained with longing to get closer to him—to feel the whole length of his body pressed against mine, all that power reined in for me, for him to give me anything and everything that I asked for while I stretched my neck out in submission...

His dark and curly hair hung down over his forehead. He wore a pair of square glasses—very Clark Kent, I thought hazily—and his eyes flashed bright green in the strobe lights that occasionally lit the floor. He looked down at me with a small smirk playing on his full lips, a dimple popping to life on one cheek, making me want to stand up on my tiptoes and brush my lips against the divot.

The pulse oflongingI felt for the man was overwhelming, and for a moment, I almost pulled away. Fear trickled through me, and I knew I was in far more danger in this man’s arms than Ihad been from the random shifters in the crowd whomightend up being a threat to me while I was out with Eddie.

Still, I didn’t pull away. No, instead, I leaned in closer. I stood up on my tiptoes, drawn to the alpha with his arms around me for some inexplicable reason. The crowd around the two of us melted away, and I couldn’t look away from his hooded eyes, which looked at me intensely as I leaned closer, closer,closer.

His eyes darted across my face, his lips parting, and for a moment, I thought of diving in and pressing our mouths together. I hadn’t thought I was that bold, that I was the type to take what I wanted and ask for forgiveness later, but apparently, when given the proper incentive, that was exactly the kind of wolf—the kind ofomega—that I was.

But I didn’t do that. Instead, I leaned close, brushed my lips along his jawline, and buried my nose in his neck to get a clean, untainted breath of his scent. I don’t know why that was my first impulse, but Ineededto know.

His scent made me crumple in his arms, my knees immediately giving out, and if it weren’t for his arms around me, I would have collapsed to the floor right then and there.

Pine. Cinnamon. A hint of petrichor.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

The power of my possessiveness was enough to make me stumble back and away from the man—if only I could get my feet underneath me. If only I could find the strength to pull away instead of curling my fingers in the alpha’s shirt and pulling him closer, refusing to pull my face away from his neck.

A soft vibration rumbled through his chest, and he followed my lead. He buried his nose in my neck, pressing it firmly against the spot where my pulse thrummed like a hummingbird, and I felt the exact moment my scent hit him. His entire body stiffened, and his arms around my waist tightened until I was crushed against him. His fingers flexed against my hips where he held me, and he slowly, slowly pulled away, looking me in the eye.

His pupils were blown, the color flashing alpha gold. He was flushed, his lips were parted, and the hunger in his eyes should have terrified me—it shouldnothave thrilled me and made my pussy clench like a greedy little slut.

“Omega,” he mouthed.

I swallowed. The hunger in his eyes burned brighter, and I nodded slowly.

2

Lilah

I blinked, and we went from the middle of the dance floor to a quiet, more secluded hallway in the dark that led to the bathrooms. The alpha slammed me up against the wall, though one of his hands cupped the back of my head, protecting me from cracking my head against the hard surface.

And then his mouth was on mine, and every thought I’d had about de-escalating—about trying to extract myself from him and get my head screwed back on straight again—disappeared.