Page 13 of Unsubmissive Omega
Reality was a bitch. Of course, this was a business transaction, nothing more. I didn’t know what my uncle was getting out of it, but there must have been something more than just one less mouth to feed and put a roof over. He could easily have had me educated so I could leave and support myself, but he hadn’t. That he was pushing me out the door now could only mean he served to gain from this in some way, though I couldn’t imagine how. Maybe he was being paid for this. Omegas weren’t supposed to be treated like commodities anymore, but that didn’t stop a lot of the more traditional families from doing so.
Zendius gave me an understanding look, his mouth grimacing sympathetically. “I’m sorry,” he said, as if he’d read my thoughts, “but I thought you should know. No point getting your heart broken.”
“No, no, of course not. Thanks for the heads up,” I recovered enough to reply, though my throat had all but closed up and nausea roiled in my stomach. Fuck! And I’d nearly let him take me there in the office, like some cheap piece of ass.
Zendius must have seen my thoughts were running away with me, because he patted me on the shoulder and smiled.
“If it gets too much, remember you’ve got a friend, okay?” his fingers tapped his chest. “You can talk to me anytime.”
“Thanks,” I said again. My eyes followed him as he walked away. At least there was someone on my side. I closed the door and threw myself onto the bed to wait for my mate to return.
Chapter 07
DARIUS
Xander was quiet for the entire journey as I drove us to the little restaurant I favored on the outskirts of town. It wasn’t a fancy place, but the food was excellent and the atmosphere cozy. If I only got one night to date my omega before we mated, this was where I wanted to bring him.
A change had come over him in the time I’d been sorting out the mess down at the omega-house. Anytime there was a problem there, the omegas called for me to fix it. In reality, Zendius would have been more than capable of sorting out that particular issue, but for some reason the omegas insisted on me helping them. They seemed to place more trust in me than any of the other alphas or betas. It didn’t hurt that my sister was an omega, strong-willed, and a champion for omega rights; she was much loved by the other omegas, and since she trusted me, they in turn showed me the same confidence.
That didn’t change the fact that something had happened after I’d left him in our room. He’d barely looked at me when at last I came back, even though I’d hurried as much as possible. He’dshowered and dressed silently and waited quietly for me to get ready.
Had I misread things in the office earlier? Had I pressured him into something he wasn’t ready for, and had it actually been a relief for him when Zendius interrupted us?
Or was he nervous about the night ahead?
Or the role he was about to take on?
Being the Alpha Mate was an important role in a shifter pack, and it brought with it a lot of responsibilities, many of which were intangible. While the Pack Alpha might have the burden of maintaining discipline and setting the moral standards of the pack, the Alpha Mate was inevitably responsible for the emotional wellbeing of the pack, particularly the omegas. It was a role that relied on emotional intelligence, compassion and good old common sense, not that the latter was terribly common anymore, based on what was happening in some of the neighboring packs. We’d been doing fine as my sister had largely been filling the role until now, but I knew she was impatient to hand it over and start living her own life.
So maybe this was the cause of Xander’s sudden withdrawal. I planned to get to the bottom of it, and I hoped that the ambience of the restaurant and the opportunity to spend some quiet time getting to know each other would loosen him up.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I pulled into a parking and jumped out of the car, intending to open his door, but Xander was already out before I could get there. Disappointed, I offered him my hand, but he ignored it, feet crunching on the gravel as he walked past me towards the restaurant. I stared after him in dismay – the evening was already not going how I’d intended – though I did get momentarily distracted as I admired the way hisfine ass filled out his jeans. Which could only be described as… impressive.
When I didn’t immediately follow, he turned and raised one of those expressive eyebrows at me. There was a level of challenge in his stare that I didn’t understand. Still, I could appreciate that none of this was the way things were normally done, and although I had half fallen for him on seeing his photo, the same was probably not the case for Xander. It was understandable that he might have reservations, but hehadagreed to this mating, so a little less prickliness would have been nice. It did occur to me then, that I knew nothing about what had motivated him to accept this offer. Maybe that was something I needed to find out.
Ignoring Xander’s bristly attitude, I strode past him, my long legs easily carrying me to the restaurant door before him. He narrowed his eyes and glared at me as I held the door open but he didn’t say anything, the soft fabric of his shirt brushing against my fingers as he pushed past me. I was definitely going to have my hands full with him. Which, to be fair, I didn’t mind. I liked to be challenged, didn’t want a totally submissive partner. But I did hope he allowed us to develop a proper relationship and bond as mates.
“Darius! So good to welcome you here again.” The auburn-haired lady at the front desk cut across my thoughts, recognizing me even though it had been many months since I’d been here.
“Good evening, Corinne. It’s a pleasure to see you too. It’s been a while,” I returned her warm greeting.
“It has indeed. It’s good to see you out and about again.”
I stifled a grimace. I didn’t need reminding that the last time I’d been here, I’d been with an omega who had been cheating on mebecause I wasn’t spending enough time with them. They were right, but well, that was my life. That was why I had no mate and was obliged to take this drastic step now. It was also in the past. After meeting Xander, I was a lot more motivated this time.
Corinne eyed Xander up and down. Turning to me with a not-so-subtle smile, she asked, “And who is this delightful gentleman?”
“I’m Xander,” Xander jumped in, making sure he didn’t allow me to answer for him.
“My future mate,” I added, staking my claim.
Corinne whistled approvingly. If she noticed any tension between us, she didn’t let on.
“Congratulations!” she said. “I’m honored you’ve brought him to my restaurant.”
Then turning to face Xander directly, she added, “I’m very pleased to meet you. I hope you treat him well. Darius is one of the good ones. He does a lot for us omegas.”
Surprise flittered across Xander’s face and was gone just as fast.
