Page 11 of Royal Omega

Scanning the rest of the room as I walk toward him, I realize I’m the first omega to enter... but that doesn’t stop me from smelling the alphas, who are apparently on the far side of the confessionals. My stomach turns to molten lava as I breath in a mix of peppermint, sandalwood, sage, pine, black pepper, bay, and cedar... anyway, those are the ones I can make out.

Thank God for Madame LaForge, who taught me how to control my urges. Even with the heat drugs still in my system, the alluring combination of scents is overwhelming.

Remembering Madame LaForge’s emphasis on the calming influence of pain, I focus on my feet, which already hurt from these heels. I let the pain radiate up my legs. I wore these shoes on purpose; the pinching agony will keep me steady. At least, I hope so. I imagine the blisters I’ll have tomorrow, imagine them bursting and raw, the way the straps against my toes will rub and break through the skin. It helps somewhat, though the smell of sandalwood continues to tease my nostrils.

I’m not looking forward to dealing with all these scents once my heat drugs wear off... and that’ll start to happen within a day.

There’s a little X on the floor to the left of the host — my mark. As I approach, Willard gestures to me like a ringmaster, welcoming me to the circus.

“Ah, Carissa Castle! We are so honored to have you,” he says. “I know all our packs are excited to make your acquaintance.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” I say, smiling broadly. The Vaseline on my teeth should keep my lipstick from marking them up, so I can show these pearly whites all night. My cheeks are already hurting, thinking about it.

“Now, before our next omega arrives, I wanted to ask you; what brings you toOmega Girls?”

I bat my eyes gently, reaching up to touch one of the ringlets in my hair as I reply, “Well the same thing that brings everyone else — the hunt for true love.”

“Well, yes, but you’ve had more opportunities than most of our omegas to find your pack, and you haven’t yet. In fact, your family is famously active in the Omega Ballroom scene. So I think that begs the question: what’s been holding you back, Carissa?” Willard tilts his head to the side, smiling with his lips closed, his eyes trained on me with a sympathetic, caring look.

I hum lightly, reflecting his expression back at him as I shake my head and say, “I think I’m just waiting for the perfect fit, you know, Willard?”

“Of course, of course.”

“Can I ask...?” I point at the confessional boxes, but Willard just chuckles.

“All in due time, all in due time. And with that, I think our next omega is coming to join us now.”

I turn to see a man in a smart suit strolling confidently toward us. Over dark, smooth skin, his brown eyes glisten with mischief. A curl of brown hair swoops down over his brow. He winks when he catches my eye. He looks familiar, but I can’t place him until Willard Peters announces, “Surprise! It’s Randy from last season, back to try his luck with a new set of packs. Randy, we’re so glad to have you here with us again.”

I don’t remember thinking that Randy was particularly interesting last season — except for his friendship with trouble-maker omega Beatrice — but in person, he has a magnetic sort of pull. He strolls up to me and stops, looking down at me expectantly, his eyes crinkling in amusement. I’m surprised when my heart skips a beat. His scent is almost overwhelmingly delicious — raspberries, tart and sweet.

“Cut,” a voice calls out. A woman with a short bob steps in front of the cameras, headset in her ear. “Carissa, when Randy gets close, can you move to the next mark? We want each person to get a minute with Willard.”

“Ok, sure,” I say, nodding awkwardly.

“Ok, reset,” she calls, stepping back behind the camera.

Randy gives me another wink before ambling back to the starting point in the doorway. He stays there a moment and then walks forward again, same smolder, same smile, like it didn’t just happen a moment ago.

As he gets close, I shuffle awkwardly to the next mark, and Randy takes my place easily. “Mr. Peters, a pleasure to see you,” he replies.

“Randy, you’re most welcome. What is it that brings you back toOmega Girlsthis season?”

“Well you asked me back, for one thing,” he chuckles richly. “But also, I didn’t feel like I was done with this place, Willard. Last time I was here, I kept getting distracted by drama. This time, I plan to stay focused on my goal: finding a pack of my own.” His gaze drops to me, and his eyes cool ever so slightly. “And I’m not going to let anyone get in my way.”

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