Page 4 of Unsubmissive Omega
Five minutes. I was beginning to feel edgy. The study was a long way from the rest of the house, but I could hear voices now and if anyone happened to glance up the corridor, they’d see me.
Seven minutes. My heart was racing; my palms had grown sweaty.
Eight. My skin prickled with awareness.
Nine. Uncertainty and apprehension. Should I knock again?
Ten. The door creaked open.Bastard. He’d made me wait twice the time I’d madehimwait.
My uncle stood on the threshold. He was tall, broad-shouldered and imposing, with a broad aquiline nose giving him the appearance of a predator. Dark hair, dark bushy eyebrows over piercing blue eyes, and thin, severe lips; there was nothing comforting about his appearance. He scowled at me.
“You’re late,” he snarled.
“I knocked ten minutes ago!” I retorted, then cringed inwardly, realizing I’d admitted I’d been hanging around waiting for him.
“Mind your manners, boy!” he slapped me across the face, knocking me backwards. I staggered but stayed on my feet, the sharp sting in my cheek fading into heat, and I bit down on my reply. Despite my brief moment of rebellion, I knew it was safer to say nothing, take the abuse rather than provoke more. But one day… one day, I’d get my revenge.
“Close the door behind you,” he told me, turning away and stalking aggressively to his desk, not even bothering to make sure I followed his instructions. My traitorous brain considered defying him, but self-preservation was a strong instinct. I closed the door and approached the desk. I didn’t bother sitting in one of the two leather chairs in front of the old-fashioned bureau. If I sat, he’d tell me to stand. If I remained standing, he’d either tell me to sit or leave me on my feet. This way, it was a win for me, albeit a small one.
For several minutes there was only the sound of my ragged breathing, the ticking of an old-fashioned clock on the mantel behind him, as his cold blue eyes observed me. I refused to cower under his gaze. I waited, trying to keep my expression as bland and disinterested as possible, and slow the panicked fluttering of my pulse.
Those cruel, calculating eyes bored into me, assessing. What was he looking for? Or was he just trying to intimidate me?
“You… have an opportunity,” he said at last. “To restore some honor to this family.”
Silence. Did I care about this family or their honor? No, not at all. They hadn’t cared about me, so no. And I didn’t like the subtle inference that I was somehow responsible for tarnishing the family honor.
“The honor which your omega status has damaged.”
Okay, not just a subtle inference then.
After pausing to impress on me the gravitas of the crime of being an omega, my uncle continued, “Therefore it falls to you to do what needs be done to correct that.”
I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of inquiring what it was that would achieve this remarkable outcome.
When I continued to stand there in silence, a sly smirk twisted the corner of Uncle Maxim’s mouth as he added, “You are to be given as mate to an Alpha of our choice, in order to meet the pack requirements set by the Council.”
That broke me.
“The fuck?” I swore, spluttering. “You can’t just give me away as someone’s fuck toy!”
Uncle Maxim turned his icy blue eyes on me. “Oh, I can,” he said, “and I will. Quite frankly, it will get you off our hands. You should be grateful; you’ll be given to a Pack Alpha, so you’ll hold the position of Alpha Mate.”
He looked down his nose at me. “Not that you’re worthy of it, but that is not our concern, you should be quite useful to us in that position.”
Like I’d do anything to help this wretched family, but the possibility of escaping it was appealing. Maybe I could pretend to go along with this and skip out on my new ‘mate’ before the actual pairing was consummated?
“Huh,” I scoffed, “what Alpha is going to accept an unknown omega being foisted on him as his mate?” I made no attempt to hide the skepticism in my voice. I was always willing to push right up to the point that my uncle wouldn’t take any more. It hadn’t always worked out for me, to be honest, as a few scars on my thighs attested.
“One that doesn’t have any better options,” he sneered, letting me know what a poor choice he considered me.
“No-one’s going to accept a reluctant mate. Pack Alphas are too proud for that!” Why was he so confident this mating would go ahead?
“You won’t be a reluctant mate,” he glowered at me, fixing me with those piercing eyes that felt like they were boring into me. “After all, it’s your best choice. If you don’t accept the offer, you’ll be out on the streets. You have no education, and no possibility of a job. Unless you want to work in the brothels. You’d be forced to sell your heats on the street…”
A cold finger of fear ran down my spine. Everyone knew what happened to omegas that had to stoop that low. They generally didn’t last very long. And a male omega… I couldn’t suppress the shudder that ran through me. Male omegas were rare… and rarer yet, selling themselves on the street. I’d have every sleazy, debauched male trying to get his filthy hands on me and hisdisgusting dick inside me. Disease wasn’t a concern for shifters, but most omegas in this situation eventually killed themselves rather than continue to drown in their own self-disgust. Being used in untold ways by innumerable strangers, often drugged and unable to resist… yeah, being mated to a Pack Alpha wasn’t looking quite so bad, now.
My chest ached with the frantic pounding of my heart. I tried to calm it. I was not going to panic. I was not going down that path to oblivion. My hands shook.
