Page 8 of Unsubmissive Omega
In silence we made our way to the car and soon were heading towards our meeting with my future mate.
With the engine humming, and the car bouncing its way over the uneven asphalt, Uncle Maxim was full of instructions on how I was to behave, and what I could and couldn’t say. I scarcely listened to him, just nodding as I stared out the car window at the landscape passing by. I wondered what my new life would look like. I was just exchanging one prison for another, but would my new one be better or worse than the old one?
I was curious about my new alpha. I knew nothing about him other than he was a Pack Alpha, and urgently needed a mate for some reason. If he was one of Uncle Maxim’s associates, then chances were he was going to be just as controlling. He’d probably be old too. I had no idea what he looked like. Clearly, I wasn’t important enough for him to send a photo of himself so I’d at least know who I was to be mated to. That more than anything drove home to me how little say I had in all of this. Iwas just someone’s toy, a chess piece to be moved around and used for the benefit of others.
And ugh, I was going to have to give my body to him.Thatthought made the bile rise in my throat. I swallowed.
I’d endure it because I had to. I was tough and I was smart, I could do this. And if I played my part well enough, maybe my mate could be convinced to give me an allowance or something. I’d find a way to quietly squirrel away some money and when I had enough, I’d find a way to escape.
It was a long way to the alpha’s territory. Buildings whizzed past outside as I sat with my thoughts, until we left the confines of the city, and the car sped up on the open highway. Rolling green hills replaced the brick-and-mortar buildings, seemingly endless, until they began to be dotted with more and more tall gum trees and eventually there were only the tall straggly gums on either side of the road, their silvery grey leaves contrasting with the dark trunks, marred by ragged strips of bark hanging from the boughs. Here and there, in the shadier parts, a massive fern dared to rear its fronds.
I’d never been out of the city, never been anywhere, so I was fascinated. But eventually fascination faded into boredom, as mile after mile of trees flew past, the road itself becoming long and boring as we navigated the forest. Even worry over what was to come couldn’t stop me from feeling drowsy. After a while I closed my eyes and it wasn’t long before the hum of the tires on the asphalt combined with my exhaustion from the constant tension, and I nodded off.
The change in pitch of the engine as we slowed woke me. Gravel crunched under the tires as we turned off the highway. I sat up,head fuzzy with sleep, my stomach clenching with nerves as I saw we were making our way along a private driveway.
The driveway was lined by tall trees on both sides, and it wasn’t until we reached the end, that a building came into view. The packhouse was a long single-story building, with a patio extending across the front of it. A tall man was waiting at the top of the steps leading up to the front door. The car crunched to a stop and I tried to calm the trembling of my hands, as the stranger descended the steps and approached the driver’s side of the car.
I observed him curiously. This had to be my prospective mate, right?
He wasn’t as old as I’d expected, probably somewhere late-20’s to mid-30’s, though it was hard to tell as he had a thick beard. He was broad-shouldered and solidly built. I strained to get a glimpse of his face as he spoke to my uncle who had already exited the car, but I couldn’t see anything beyond the fact he wasn’t clean-shaven.
After a moment, he stepped away, and my uncle motioned to me to get out of the car. Taking a deep breath, I eased the door open, slowly swinging my legs down until I felt the solid earth beneath them. I stood on my shaky legs, unsure what to do next.
The other man walked around the car to where I was standing awkwardly and held out his hand.
“Welcome. I’m Zendius, second alpha of the pack. Darius asked me to meet you.”
“I’m Xander,” I said, grasping his hand a little too firmly. Then heat flooded my cheeks. Of course, he knew who I was, if he’d been sent to meet me.Idiot,I chastised myself.
“Good to meet you Xander. Come with me and I’ll introduce you to your mate.”
I looked towards my uncle, but he just nodded at me, irritation on his face. Obviously, I was justwaytoo much trouble, I wasn't going to find any encouragement there. I followed the alpha towards the packhouse, my uncle following close behind.
I was nervous and anxious and to try and convince myself that I wasn’t, I thought angry thoughts all the way across the lawn and up the three wooden steps to the porch.He can’t even be bothered greeting me himself!He’s sent someone to do it for him!
I’d managed to work myself up into a state by the time we entered the packhouse, and I was fucking livid.
Zendius ushered us into the building and then led the way down a corridor. The long walk did nothing to abate my bad mood before we reached a glass door, which he opened without knocking.
“This is Alpha’s office,” he announced as he invited us in. “Make yourselves comfortable while I try to find him.”
My uncle looked pointedly at his watch. He didn’t need to do that, because there was a rather large and obvious clock on the wall, but I guess he was making a point.
Zendius nodded regretfully. “Yes, yes, I’m sorry. I did tell him your appointment was at 10.30, but…” his voice trailed off, obviously embarrassed by the disrespect implied by his alpha’s tardiness.
“I thought you said he wanted to go ahead with this?” It wasn’t even a complaint really. It wasn’t as if my uncle cared whether the alpha was interested in me or not, as long as he took me offhis hands. He was just pissed at having to wait around. Such a big fucking waste of his precious time.
“Oh, I assure you, he does. I don’t know what’s keeping him. Something must have come up.” The alpha’s tone was placating.
“If he has higher priorities, I suppose we could come back tomorrow. We’re staying in a hotel in town,” my uncle grumbled.
“I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” Zendius told him. “He needs to get this wrapped up as quickly as possible. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”
They were talking about my future as if I wasn’t in the room. As if I wasn’t the person most affected by this arrangement. Like I was just another piece of business that had to be taken care of. And a not very important piece of business either, apparently, with an alpha who wasn’t terribly interested in meeting me.
The whole affair was dehumanizing, and I wanted to tell them I wasn’t going to go through with it, that I was calling the whole misguided thing off, that I had better things to do with my time than wait around at the whim of… who exactly? I didn’t even know his name.
Of course, I didn’t do any of this. Maybe my uncle had anticipated some trouble and maybe he hadn’t, but he’d known how to keep me in line. There was no way I was going to do anything that risked being locked up in his evil home dungeon.
