Page 22 of Unsubmissive Omega
“Hey,” I said, my voice loud in the crowded space. My fingers fidgeted in my pockets and I stilled them.
“Hmm.” The mage glided to his feet, a pale face appearing beneath the cowl like a disembodied spirit as he approached. Two sharp eyes scrutinized me for what seemed an interminably long time.
There was a moment when I thought he was going to dismiss me without further thought.
“Can you shift?” he asked, suddenly, cocking his head. Both the question and the voice startled me. His voice, because it was unlike what I might have expected – it was grave, yes, serious, yes, but it had a light timbre and sounded youthful – and the question… well, that was decidedly odd. I was in a pack of shifters. The Pack Alpha had just announced me as his mate, hence the Alpha Mate. Obviously, I was a shifter. Of course, I could fucking shift.
“Of course,” I snapped, perhaps more abruptly than I should have with an unknown mage.
“Hmm,” the mage nodded, slowly, more to himself than to me. “I see.”
He inclined his head. “Welcome, Alpha Mate.”
“Thanks.”
Then turning to Darius, he said, “Congratulations, Alpha.”
I couldn’tseehis face, but from the tone of his voice, I felt sure a smirk was hidden beneath that cowl. “I’ll be seeing less of you for a while, then. You’ll have your hands full, I imagine.”
Did he snort? Goddess, I think he snorted! Fuckhim!
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” I snarked, “I won’t be taking up any of his time at all.”
The cowled head turned my way, and a pair of luminous eyes fell on me. I scowled, expecting a reprimand, but the eyes studied me for a moment, then turned back to Darius who was standing there looking, if I cared to be honest, a little hurt.
“Unsubmissive omega,” he murmured. “How very interesting. Youwillhave your hands full.”
I wasn’t going to stand there being dissected like an insect. I spun on my heel. I was at the door when I heard Xeres say in a low voice, “He’ll be a challenge…”
I didn’t wait. I pushed the door and it swung open in the opposite direction to before. “But a good choice, Alpha,” the words followed me out the door.
*****
I stormed away from the mage’s room, scuffing my feet hard on the floor as I went. Yes, I know, very mature. The truth was, I wasn’t as mad as I was acting, but I felt I should be. After all, I’d had no real choice about this whole mating deal. I hadn’t asked to come here, hadn’t wanted to be an Alpha Mate, nor to be scrutinized and somehow found ‘difficult’ by the pack’s mage.
And I didn’t want to be attracted to this man who’d basically taken control of my life in very much the same way my uncle had. True, he didn’t actually mistreat me – yet – and he didseem to be a good pack leader. But I wasn’t important to him, other than as a commodity. His trusted second-in-command had made that very clear, and I needed to remember that. No matter that my body quivered in his presence and responded to him despite my reluctance. I couldn’t give in to my hormones, and I certainly didn’t want to admit to desiring him. He was undoubtably attractive, apparently my ‘type’ - though with my cloistered life, I hadn’t realized I had one - but if I gave in to that, well, that was the way heartache lay, and I wasn’t goingthere. Better to harden my heart now, than encourage any false hope or illusions within myself.
The only way I would find happiness was by striking out on my own. That I had been mated might be a problem, since that was something that couldn’t be undone. But maybe I’d find someone who wouldn’t care about that. And if not, well, I was fine on my own. I’d been emotionally on my own for at least the last 10 years.
“Hey!” I jumped as a calloused hand landed on my forearm and Darius appeared beside me, puffing slightly. “Don’t be upset by Xeres, he behaves a bit mysteriously, I suppose, being a mage, but he’s a good mage and we’re lucky to have him. He likes you, by the way,” he added, a twinkle in his eye.
“Sure.”
“True,” he said. “You just have to get used to his ways. He’s a good guy. Come on, I want to show you the classrooms.”
“Classrooms?” I asked, eyebrows shooting up.
“Yeah,” Darius grinned. “It’s another one of our innovations. We run a trade school here. Anyone from the pack can get the certification by studying here. It’s a really popular program.”
“Where do you get the instructors?”
“A few of our older betas and alphas are highly skilled in their trades, and they’re more than happy to pass on their skills. In fact, the program serves a double purpose. A lot of these guys are too old to be out in workshops in town or trying to do hard labor anymore, but teaching gives them a new interest and a purpose. And it’s hard to find really skilled tradespeople these days, so our young ones are learning from the best.”
“What trades can they learn?” I couldn’t help but be interested, even though, as I kept reminding myself, I wouldn’t be staying.
“Motor mechanics, landscaping, construction, electrical and plumbing.”
“Wow! All of that,” I blurted. “That’s a lot for one pack!”
