Page 21 of Stolen Omega

She nods slowly. “And what would that entail, exactly?”

“It would mean looking after your needs without claiming you. Giving you whatever you need until you’re free and ready to be claimed and marked.” I take her hand in mine and kiss her knuckles.

“How long did you say I had left on that contract?”

“Three months and two days.” An agonizingly long time to hold off on a mating claim when we’re both ready, but I can think of worse things than waiting a few months to claim my stunning mate.

“Damn,” she murmurs. “That’s a lot of days to keep holding on to my V-Card.”

“It’ll be worth it,” I promise, leaning in to kiss her again.

“I know it will,” she murmurs before she kisses back.

Chapter Eight

Zelena

I’m glad Russ has some kind of plan to fit around my crazy world and its insane rules, but I can’t help the spark of anger that ignites in me over how much control my parents have of my life.

I shouldn’t have to think about my mother’s wishes when it comes to the most important decision I’ll ever make, but I was so used to obeying her orders that when she gave me that contract, I signed it without reading a damned word.

When I found out she’d added clauses to the contract, I’d assumed she’d done that to protect me. I was barely eighteen when I signed with the record label. Any thought of mates and heats were the furthest things from my mind.

I knew Mom wanted to keep me safe from predatory Alphas. She always did everything she could to keep me away from the idea of Omega academies. Always told me she supported my right to be whatever I wanted to be without the shadow of an Alpha hanging over me. She sent me to a high school for Betas only after she made sure there were no Alphas in attendance.

I only started to realize it was more than a need to protect me when I actually read the contract and discovered everything she’d put in there. The clauses that were added about my heat were so horrifying that I missed two days of studio time with a feigned illness while I tried to wrap my head around what they meant.

My mom’s often cold demeanor always felt like a protective mask she wore until the day I figured out she cares more about money than her own daughter. I called her to ask about the clause once I was over the initial shock. She brushed off my concerns and asked if I was showing any signs of going into my first heat, insinuating the emotional response might be making me irrational.

That’s when I knew the ice inside her wasn’t just a surface response.

She doesn’t love me. I don’t think she knows how to love another person.

All she can think about is protecting her investments, and she tried to cover all her bases.

She thought keeping me away from Alphas would keep me from being distracted by everything that comes with finding a mate. Like a real life, with a marriage and a family.

Clearly, she didn’t consider the idea that I might eventually fall for a Beta. If she had, I never would have gotten the faintest glimpse of this shot at a real relationship.

The fear I felt when my perfume initially came in is gone.

It dissolved under the warmth of his kiss.

I trust Russ with my heart.

I know he won’t betray me like she did.

We’re true mates. We were always fated to meet and be a part of each other’s lives.

That’s not something I’m willing to let go of.

Holding on tight and trusting my instincts, I move in closer and straddle him, bumping up against the front of his pants and feeling my slick soak through the front of my sweats. I let out a desperate whine as I break our kiss, feeling so close to the edge that I can barely stand it.

He looks me in the eyes and keeps his voice soft as he tells me, “You’re okay, Zey. I’ve got you. I’ll take care of you.”

“I need …” I murmur, not able to finish.

He wraps an arm around me and uses the other to push up from the couch.

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