Page 24 of Unsubmissive Omega
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Darius said it was his.”
“Well, he would.” Zendius lips pursed in a grimace. Then he sighed heavily. He was a giant of a man, but he diminished considerably as his shoulders sagged. “The Alpha gets the credit, and the minions do the work. Ah well, it strengthens his position in the pack if it looks like he’s coming up with good ideas, so I suppose that’s as it should be.”
“Credit should go where it’s due,” I insisted, angrily, annoyed that my new mate had been lying to me. Had he actually said itwas his idea, or had he just implied it? I couldn’t be sure now. Not sure that the distinction even mattered.
“Come on, I’ll take you back to your rooms now. Lunch won’t be too long away. As Alpha Mate you’ll be expected to make an appearance in the food hall.”
"Oh, okay.” I lifted my chin. I wasn’t sure about attending a pack lunch when I hadn’t even found my feet here yet, and with all the uncomfortable emotions of the previous evening still circulating through me, and Darius being… not what he portrayed. It was unsettling, and I needed to be on top of my game to navigate my situation here. Besides, I wasn’t staying, I didn’t need to care what the pack thought of me.
We retraced our steps down the corridors. Although they all looked pretty much the same, I recognized when we reached the offices and most specifically Darius’ office. I couldn’t fail to notice that. His alpha scent was dominant here, making my nose twitch and… ugh, no…that was embarrassing, stupid omega. I shook my head, trying to ignore my stupid omega body, so I nearly missed the scent of another omega as we approached the doorway. Without thinking, I sped up. And stopped as the room came into view.
Darius was sitting with his back to me, shoulders pressing up against the omega sitting beside him. There was an easy intimacy between them that sent cold shivers down my spine. Even from behind, I recognized the omega. It was the female who seemed to lead the omega house, the one who’d introduced me to the other omegas. She’d been friendly and welcoming, but maybe that had been because she was secure in her position… she was obviously very comfortable with Darius.
Zendius’ rough skin grazed my elbow as he gripped it and hurriedly pulled me past the open door and down the corridor. Distracted by what I'd just seen, I barely registered his touch, beyond a slight feeling of revulsion.
When we’d gone a few yards down the hall, he said in a gruff voice, “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
I couldn’t look at him. I quickly blinked away the moisture pooling in my eyes. I reminded myself I hadn’t expected a real relationship, I’d even suspected my mate would take other omegas, based on Zendius’ original comments to me about how this being an arrangement of convenience, but I had not anticipated his dallying would occur so close to home. Or so soon after our mating. It was humiliating.
I stuck my chin out, lifted my head. “I really don’t care what Darius does,” I told the alpha beside me.
“Just try not to let it bother you, but he does spend a lot of time with her. Dayla’s the top omega here. She makes all the decisions for the omegas, and Darius just rubber stamps them."
"They’re very close,” he added.
I kept my face neutral, not betraying the slightest emotion, though my nostrils flared, and my chest expanded as I dragged in a steadying breath. Low in my chest, my wolf whined.
“The Alpha Mate is just a figurehead position in this pack,” Zendius went on, seemingly oblivious to my inner turmoil. “Dayla is the true omega leader. You’ll have to get used to her spending a lot of time with Darius, he’s very fond of her.”
As if I hadn’t caught the implication the first time. It didn’t matter, I told myself, as the little green monster dug its pointy knife into my heart.
‘Fuck him,’ I thought angrily. ‘If he thinks I’m gonna tolerate being treated like that, he’s gonna have a big surprise.’
Chapter 11
DARIUS
“It’s time for the pack lunch.” Zendius spoke from the doorway.
I turned from where I was sitting with my sister, working on some adjustments to the vacation houses. They’d been in operation for a few months now, and the first omegas to use them had given us feedback of improvements they wanted. I didn’t see why Zendius had said this was so urgent, but Dayla did confirm there were a couple of omegas expecting to come into heat soon, which did add a certain urgency to it, but not so much that I had to leave my mate like that.
I frowned. My mate was not to be disrespected.
“Let’s wrap this up,” I told Dayla, turning back to her without responding to Zendius. “I'd like you to talk to Xander beforeyou go ahead and make those changes - he may have some thoughts on it. If you need any help getting them done before the omegas need the houses, let me know.”
“Okay. I don’t think it’ll be a problem, but it’s good to know we have your support.”
“You always have it, you know that.”
“I know. And the other omegas know it too. They’re very glad to have you as their Alpha. We hear some awful stories from some of the other packs.”
“Change is slow,” I agreed, nodding ruefully. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
“Is Xander going to eat with us?” Dayla asked. “All the omegas love him.”
“He has to come. This is the first pack lunch where we have an Alpha Mate. The pack will expect him there,” Zendius inserted his opinion from the doorway.
“It’s up to him,” I told them. “It’s a lot to ask when he’s only just got here. A day ago, he had no idea any of this was happening – Zendius, we need to talk about this later, but he was not prepared for any of this – it’s got to be incredibly overwhelming. I’ll talk to him, but if he doesn’t feel up to it, I’m not going to insist, and I’ll stay and have lunch with him. The pack will understand.”
