Page 87 of The Omega Lesson

Jack

Three months later – The Winter Ball

“I can’t believe it. Anomega. I mean, I always suspected. You were such a pretty, sensitive boy…”

Tonight is the annual Winter Ball, when newly presented omegas are invited to mingle with the city’s elite, and potentially find their perfect pack. I hadn’t planned to go until Lexi pointed out that it was an opportunity to tell my story my way. And I did, presenting a young male omega with the inaugural Lyall-Cliff Academic Endeavour Award. It will provide him with a free ride to university, and all the mentoring support he needs as he ventures into his career of choice.

It’s something I started in London, when I got tired of hearing that omegas weren’t designed for the rigours of academic excellence. And it gave me no small satisfaction to announce to tonight’s crowd that as well as being an omega, I hold a doctorate from one of the best universities in the world, and also head up a research company that made the Forbes most innovative list two years in a row.

Of course, most of the old biddies just want to pinch my cheeks and tell me how they always knew I was an omega because I smell like chocolate toffees.

The truth is, my omega status – once the biggest secret of the Lyall family - has been general knowledge in certain circles for a couple of months. But other than a few snide remarks from alphas I haven’t seen since the school playground, most people have been accepting of my true nature.

Which might have something to do with the three men at my back, all dressed in sleek black tuxedos despite the fact the dress code for the Winter Ball is white. Noah snorted when a clueless guest asked if we’d missed the memo. “Please, our pack only dresses like cum stains when we’re on the Love Boat.”

That’s his name for the North Star, a fifty-metre mono hull adventure cruise ship that’s one of the charter vessels in Ben and Mattie’s tourism empire. Last month we had it all to ourselves for ten days – along with fifteen crew – while we cruised through the rainforests, gorges, and mangroves of the far north.

A glance over my shoulder reveals the same impenetrable stares my alphas have given anyone who’s come within a metre of me tonight. It’s pretty clear that even though my official duties for the night are over, my dance card is full. And if you want to trash-talk me about coming out a decade after the rest of the omegas in the room, you should definitely do it somewhere else.

“You doing okay, sweetheart?” Ben asks as he eases up along my spine, his lips skimming the bonding mark on my throat. I shiver in pleasure, arching my neck in invitation.

“I am now,” I reply huskily as my cock starts to plump against my zipper. “And if you keep nibbling on me like this, I’ll be coming out in more ways than one.”

That gets a snort from Noah and a groan from Travis, but then their heads both snap in the direction of the dance floor. I don’t have to open my hooded eyes to know what they’re looking at, but I don’t want to miss the view any more than they do.

Because our other mates are beauty personified, returning from their bathroom break a little rumpled around the edges from what was probably a steaming hot make-out session. Even in a ballroom full of perfuming omegas and prancing alphas, Mattie and Lexi only have eyes for each other. He looks like sex poured into a tux, his hair a dirty blond crown under the gleaming lights, and Lexi is a splash of bright pink in a sea of white, her long black dress hugging every curve. They might not be the reason two hundred of the city’s elite are gathered here tonight, but I doubt there’s an omega in the building who’s getting the same attention as our alpha teacher and her beta student.

While my coming out might be news, their story is the hot topic of the night. Despite the school’s attempts to squash it, everyone is talking about the teacher-student couple who almost toppled the oldest academic institution in the state. With pressure from our pack and a number of other families, the board decided to enact a complete overhaul of the school’s administration. Headmaster Miller retired in disgrace almost immediately and Patrick Drummond was jailed for a string of child abuse and endangerment charges. The board then asked Dr. Sarah Finchley to consult on the designation and dynamic aspects of the academy, and early reports suggest there’s already been significant progress with creating a more inclusive, nurturing culture. Time will tell, I suppose, but I’m certain the school couldn’t be in better hands.

I watch as another couple twirls across the dance floor, stopping close to our mates. The guys tense up behind me until they recognise Robyn, one of Lexi’s teacher friends, and her alpha, who owns the restaurant we dined at last weekend. The two women exchange a few quick words, and then Lexi frowns, leaning back into Mattie’s arms. He loses his easy smile and I feel a faint tremble through our bond that makes me hiss. I’m moving before I stop to think about it, three grim-faced alphas backing me up as we cross the dance floor en masse.

“What is it?” I ask as soon as we’re in earshot. “What’s wrong?”

Lexi’s face softens as she turns to me, and despite the many eyes on us, we come together like magnets. Doesn’t matter where we are – on a crowded dance floor, or walking along a deserted beach – we’re always hungry for skin-to-skin contact. I don’t know if it’s a switch thing, a side-effect of our bond, or that she’s my soulmate like Sarah suggested, but I swear I can feel something click into place every time Lexi steps into my arms.

“Nothing,” she murmurs against my throat, her hands sliding under my jacket. “Robyn just said she saw Richard and Moira coming in the door.”

The warm pulsing feeling in my chest suddenly turns acid hot. “What are they doing here? They have no business at a Winter Ball.”

Robyn and her mate raise matching eyebrows at the alpha-like growl that just rattled out of me, but Lexi rubs my back soothingly. “They’re here with Anton. Seems his pack is courting an omega who just came out.”

I don’t try to hide my distaste. Anton Novak might be part of one of the hottest packs in the city, but in my opinion, he doesn’t deserve to court a cockroach after the way he’s treated Lexi. I’m tempted to go warn whichever poor omega he has in his sights, but Mattie steps up, cocking a head at Robyn. “Can you point them out to me, Ms. Lorde?”

His former teacher smirks, but nods at a small redhead with cute dimples who’s dancing in a circle of other omegas. None of them look a day over seventeen, and I shudder to imagine any of them on the receiving end of Anton’s brand of affection.

“Back in a sec, babe,” Mattie says with a firm kiss on Lexi’s lips. Robyn shoots her a sly smile, but Lexi doesn’t look away as Mattie cuts through the throng like a young sun god in his dark tux. We all watch as he slips effortlessly into the circle of omegas, his megawatt smile on display. And even though a few give him a quick sniff test – clearly working out he’s not an alpha – their faces light up like young sun-worshippers as he draws them effortlessly under his spell.

“Resistance is futile, Miss Novak,” Robyn teases as she kisses Lexi’s cheek and leads her mate towards the open bar.

Once we’re alone, we all close ranks around Lexi. I expect her glow to have dimmed at the mention of her brother and ex being in the crowd, but instead, she’s as bright as moonlight as she gazes up at me. “I think tonight should be the night,” she murmurs in my ear as her hips move sensuously against mine. “Mattie’s more than ready. And I can feel your alpha under your skin. You want him, and he wants you.” She brushes a hand over her own throat, the Star of the North glinting on her finger as she circles my bonding mark with a hot pink nail. “Aren’t you hungry for our beautiful boy, alpha?”

There’s a volcano of heat in her eyes as she licks her lips, but I go up in flames when Mattie suddenly presses at my back. I’m literally in heaven right now, with Lexi’s curves pressed to my front and Mattie’s teeth skimming over my neck. “One sweet young omega saved from the clutches of a dastardly alpha,” he croons as his hands land on my hips, moving all three of us to the music.

Somehow, Lexi manages to stay coherent enough to ask, “What did you say to her?”

Mattie hums in my ear. “Just that the reason lawyers make such crap mates is because they like to court you, but then they bail when you need them most.”

Lexi makes a low sound that’s a mixture of amusement and old pain, since Mattie just described her brother perfectly. But before she can respond, I glance over my shoulder into Mattie’s fire-and-whiskey stare. “And what about agronomists? Do we make good mates?”

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