Page 6 of Unsubmissive Omega
Zendius rummaged around in his jacket pocket and pulled out a crumpled bit of paper. He hesitated before flipping it around and laying it face up on the desk. It was a photo.
“This is the nephew of a guy I know. My friend took him in when his parents died, but he’s twenty-four now and it’s time to find an alpha for him.”
I stretched across the desk to get a good look at the picture. Holy Goddess! My breath caught in my throat. The guy was gorgeous.
“Wow! He’s… stunning,” I murmured. I slid the photo across the desk. I couldn’t draw my eyes away from that face, the intelligent green eyes that stared out with attitude from beneath thick feathery brows, his fine-boned elfin face with its faint smattering of dark stubble, and the messy dark brown hair artfully draped across his head and curling around his ears. Oh, my goddess, this was one hot bastard, and I could just tell he had attitude in spades.
And sex appeal.
And… “I’ll meet him,” I blurted out.
“Um,” Zendius blinked, eyebrows shooting up. But Zendius was rarely off balance for long, and he recovered quickly.
“You don’t know anything about him yet,” he cautioned me, but I was scarcely listening. This omega had my attention.Yes, I could tell he was going to be trouble, but when had I ever been interested in meek, lay-down-submissive guys? Never. Maybe this was why I’d always struggled to make a connection with any omegas I’d met. They were mostly very submissive and I wanted someone who would challenge me, make me feel alive.
And this guy? Well, I hadn’t met him yet, but he’d already made my pulse kick up, and my dick was letting me know I should pay attention too. Fuck me, could this be my mate?
“I want to meet him. Tell me more about him.”
“I don’t know that much,” admitted Zendius. “His parents died when he was fourteen and that was when he went to live with my friend. He hasn’t been educated – the entire family are alphas and they’re traditionalists, so educating an omega wasn’t going to happen. He can read though.”
Huh. Poor guy. Just because he was an omega didn’t mean he didn’t have a brain. And denying him an education restricted his employment options, rendering him dependent on the very alphas that had denied him education in the first place. It was a great way to keep an entire demographic under control.
I huffed, annoyed on behalf of this unknown omega who was already getting under my skin.
“And he’d be okay with this arrangement? He’s willing to be mated to an alpha he’s never met?” With a guy this attractive, it hardly seemed possible.
“From what I understand, he’s keen. He has limited options where he is and you’re a good match. And I also believe he can’t wait to get away from his cousins.”
“As long as he doesn’t see this as a ticket to freedom, and then pisses off once he’s set up. He’ll have responsibilities as Alpha Mate after all.”
There was a risk that he’d accept the mating because of the financial security it would provide him, but neglect his duties, or even leave the pack. If he’d led a sequestered life, which was likely if the family was traditionalist, someone bristling with attitude might well decide he wanted to leave the obligations and ties of the pack and strike out on his own.
It was a risk I had to take. It was a risk Iwantedto take.
“What’s his name?” I asked. “And how soon can we set up a meeting?”
“His name is Xander. I’ll let his uncle know you’re interested. I imagine he’ll want it all finalized as soon as possible.”
Xander. I rolled the name around in my head. I could get used to that. I smiled to myself.
“We need to meet first, and make sure he’s onboard with this. When they give us a time and date, I’ll book a table somewhere so we can get to know each other a bit.”
Zendius wrinkled his nose. “Don’t make it all romantic and shit. You don’t want to give him the wrong idea. It’s a transactional arrangement. It’s not love.”
I looked again at the green eyes scowling at me from under bushy brows.
With time, it could be.
Chapter 04
XANDER
I looked at myself in the mirror.
My uncle had insisted I wear a suit ‘to impress the Alpha’.Why I should bother when he clearly must be incredibly desperate to accept an unknown omega as his mate, I couldn’t fathom. But I didn’t dare defy my uncle, and when the suit appeared on my bed, along with a neatly pressed elegant white shirt, I grudgingly put it on. To be fair, it didn’t look too bad on me, but I resented having to wear it. I hadn’t been given any choice in all of this, and I was damned if I was going to enjoy anything about it.
While I had to wear the suit because my uncle wanted me conforming to some archaic dress standard that he took as normal, there was still one way I could subtly express myself.
