Page 24 of Royal Omega

I force myself to turn my head to face the pack before me. To my right, a sandy-haired producer is chewing some kind of stinky cigarette-quitting gum on the other side of the camera, leaning forward as if everything we’re doing is incredibly interesting. I think he said his name was Joe, but I’m not completely sure.

“Carissa? Are you with us?” someone asks, pulling me back to the collection of alphas around me. I slap a smile on my face and shake my head. “Of course, I’m sorry. The lake is just so beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is,” says the female alpha. She smells like pine trees, and the smell wafts over me as she uncrosses her arms and shifts in her seat. It’s a pleasant smell, though it doesn’t stir my blood like Conrad’s... and Henry’s... and their tattooed packmate, as well. For fuck’s sake, what’s wrong with me lately? Is it possible for my heat drugs to have worn off this fast?

“Did you hear what I asked you, omega?” the female asks coolly.

I feel my cheeks redden. “I’m sorry, I didn’t.”

“I asked why you chose to be on the show.”

“Oh. Well. Um.” I swallow, my eyes sliding over to the camera lens for a moment. Joe stiffens, shaking his head frantically to remind me not to look, and I turn my head away as fast as I can. I press my lips together; I already have an answer prepared for this. It shouldn’t be this hard to stay focused. Why did I come here? Because my parents manipulated my boss. Because I thought I might be able to get a good story out of it. Because I didn’t have a good reason to say no.

With a sigh, I say, “It was... an impulse, really. I’ve been on the omega ballroom scene for a while.”

“Yes, I know,” the female alpha — I wish I could remember her name — says, sliding back in her seat and watching me. “I’ve heard your name. You’re considered quite a catch.”

“Well that’s a nice thing to say.”

The female shrugs. “It’s not nice, it’s true. We’d be lucky to get to know you better. Would you be interested in that?”

I open my mouth and close it again. Unbidden, I turn my gaze out to the lake once more, noticing that Henry and his fellow alpha are watching me with hungry expressions. Conrad has his back turned my way, though his muscles seem stiff.

I swallow hard. “Yes,” I say finally. “I would be interested in that.”

“Excellent,” says a growly male alpha sitting beside the female. “Next time, though, we’ll have to get you inside, where you can focus your attention on us, little omega.”

I laugh despite myself, looking at him more closely. He’s handsome, broad and brawny, with laugh-lines around his dark brown eyes. He grins at me and winks. “You want to go somewhere right now, omega?”

“My name is Carissa,” I say.

“Oh I know,” he replies smoothly. He smells like bay leaves and pepper. “But I figured since you never asked our names, we should try to stay on an even playing field.”

The other male alpha snickers.

“I’m sorry,” I say, touching my hands to my heating cheeks. “All of this... it’s overwhelming, you know?”

“We understand,” says the other male, his gaze flickering up and down over me. Unlike his packmates, I donotget a good vibe from him. Something about the way he looks at me makes me nervous. His smell is dark and a little earthy, like the inside of a cave. I smile through it, though, because what choice do I have?

***

AFTER ABOUT AN HOURof the slowest, most boring conversation imaginable — for all of us, I’m sure — Joe leads us over to a makeshift volleyball course, and announces that this is our scheduled activity.

So now I’m going to have to play sports in front of cameras, while wearing a flowy dress designed for descending staircases. How fun.

As awkward as it is, I’m actually grateful for something to do— the activity gives me some respite from the shock and dismay rolling through my stomach every time I remember that Conrad is here. At least I can focus on something else. And the course isn’t visible from the lake, so I can’t see Pack Five anymore. Maybe I can actually focus on the pack in front of me now.

I slip off my sandals and set into the sand, which is cool and clammy. I’m guessing it’s sandbox sand, bought at a store, brought here, and dumped earlier in the day by some poor intern.

The alphas don’t seem to have a problem with it, though. They quickly agree on teams: me and the female alpha (Samantha) versus her packmates (whose names, I finally learn, are Walter — he’s the bay and pepper — and Ansel, who smells like cave damp).

I’m actually pretty good at volleyball once we get going, considering I’ve never played before. Joe the producer stops us several times, asking me to do multiple serves so they can get it from various angles.

Samantha wraps her arms around me, teaching me how to hit the ball, and although I’m not aroused by it, there is something calming about her presence. I melt back into her embrace, letting her hold me, letting her breath warm my neck as she moves my arms into the right position. Maybe I could get used to this.

Damn, it’s like I never took those heat drugs at all. My body is all pliable, driven by omega hormones and nothing else. It’s like I have no control over myself whatsoever.

We play for at least an hour before finally, body aching and soul tired, the date is at an end. Samantha asks if they can see me again, and I say yes, tamping down the feeling of guilt that rises in my chest when Walter’s pepper-and-bay scent rolls over me with his purr of approval. There’s no chance I could offer this pack a red rose; not only because Ansel makes me uncomfortable, but because I can’t get my mind off Conrad and his packmates.

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