Page 1 of A Holiday Arrangement

Prologue

JETT

I cursed quietly as the muddy water from the puddle I accidentally stepped in soaked through my boot and socks. It began to make the slow creep from the hem of my pants all the way up, until my right leg was soaked up to my knee.

Great, that was exactly what I needed. If I kept this up, it would be a battle as to whether starvation or the cold took me first. At this point, I was close to giving up and walking straight into town for the authorities to take me. At least I’d be fed in an omega house, right?

The little voice in my head, the stupid one that convinced me to leave my alpha guardian’s manor and travel on my own as an unaccompanied omega through two districts, was begging me to keep going.

Just a little bit longer and you’ll be safe. I’d be excited, except that voice had been saying that for nearly a week now.

I was beginning to question why I left to begin with. So my aunt was going to sell my first heat to the highest bidder. Was that really worse than this? Omegas couldn’t travel districts without a chaperone or go most places alone, so I’d been staying in the shadows this whole time: sleeping in the baggage car of the train, eating discarded food from trash cans, and traveling on foot through the woods and in the questionable parts of the cities.

And for what? In hopes that my older alpha half-brother, who I’d never met and who just found out I existed, could possibly protect me? I had no way of knowing if he’d be willing to do it. There were only rumors indicating that he wasn’t like most alphas. What was really stopping him from taking me in and selling me just like my aunt? Nothing.

In hindsight, this might not have been the best plan, but the voice in my head had one thing right. I was too far now to turn back. It had taken way too long to get here because I kept getting lost, but finally, I had found my way to the woods in the back of the Strongfire property. Now, I just had to hope I found Orion, my supposed half-brother, and not my alpha father. Hopefully, he would listen to me and not shoot on sight, and he’d be willing to protect me and be my guardian until a mate was found. Yeah, I wasn’t asking too much, was I?

I kept plodding on, ignoring the gross, squishy feeling in my socks. I could see some light through the trees, but since it was the middle of the night, it must have been artificial. The way it bounced made me think it was a flashlight.

My heart was pounding in my chest and my throat was dry, but I forced myself to continue to walk toward the light. It could likely mean disaster, but at this point anything was better than being out here for another second.

I stepped out of the cover of trees and was immediately blinded by the light as it was shined directly into my face.

I blinked roughly, covering my eyes from the brightness.

“Stop right there! Don’t move, trespasser!” They weren’t using their bark, but there was enough command laced through their tone to make it clear this was an alpha who stopped me. Which I guessed made sense. It was rare for a beta to be given a job like this, and of course omegas were forbidden from working altogether. It still filled me with dread as I froze and awaited my fate.

“P-please,” I stuttered, though I wasn’t sure it if was due to fear or the cold. “I-I mean no harm. I’m looking for Orion Strongfire.”

The light was tilted down thankfully, and I got my first look at the man who was shining it. He was big, of course, but not the biggest alpha I’d ever seen, with close-cut dark-brown hair and sharp features. “What is your business with Mr. Strongfire, omega.” His voice was still strong, but he didn’t have the disdain most alphas had when they spoke to me. He might even be concerned.

“I think he’s my brother. I-I came requesting sanctuary.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around myself as the alpha came closer and sized me up. His gaze was intense, but it wasn’t making me uncomfortable. I just had this innate instinct that this alpha wouldn’t hurt me.

“Don’t move,” he reminded me again, but he still wasn’t using a true command. That was shocking on its own. He trusted me to just stay where I was told. I didn’t move.

The alpha dug into his pocket, and there was a moment of terror where I thought he was getting a weapon, but I breathed a little easier when he only pulled out a cell phone.

“What’s your name, omega?” the alpha asked as his phone lit up in his hand.

“Uh, Jett, sir. Jett Kincaide.”

Was there some kind of recognition in his eyes? Up till right now, I wasn’t entirely sure what would happen. For all I knew, he was going to send me right to an omega house. But if he really did recognize my name, that would mean he had some personal connection to Orion, right? It gave me just a tiny flicker of hope that things would be okay.

“Just stay right there. I’ll see what Mr. Strongfire wants to do with you.”

My stomach knotted, but I forced myself not to bolt. It was going to be okay. If even half the rumors were true, Orion wouldn’t turn me out. He wouldn’t hurt me . . . I hoped.

The alpha held his phone to his ear, but I had really strong hearing so I clearly made out when a gruff voice on the other end said, “Arden, what happened?” Was that Orion? Was that my brother?

“Sir, we have someone trying to sneak onto the property.”

Gods, couldn’t he lead into it a little differently? My fears were confirmed when the voice on the other end growled in a way only a very powerful alpha could manage.

“Who is it?”

“He’s an omega, sir. He says his name is Jett and that he’s your brother.”

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