Omega Hunted by Linsey Moon

7

Savannah letherself be pulled away towards the dance floor, where a live orchestra was playing and couples swept the floor with practiced grace.

She was briefly curious what Demyan meant about the main event, but she was distracted by seeing the dancers. For the kind of people invited to a party like this, childhood dance lessons were almost a given. Savannah was suddenly very aware of the fact that the only dancing she'd ever done had been alone in her bedroom.

"I don't know the steps," she told Nick, worried.

"Don't worry, it's not difficult," he assured her. "I'll show you. Rest your hand lightly on mine, like that, and the other here on my shoulder. You'll want to look at your feet but you must resist the urge or you'll never stop."

He put his other hand on her waist, holding her close. Savannah was surprised by the warmth of him, and his scent, finally close enough to be identifiable through the tangle of other scents. It was a rich, intoxicating scent that pulled her in immediately—the rich sent of wood, moss, and tall grass in the sun. A sense of safety followed it that made Savannah almost forget where she was and how she'd come to be there. Was this how everyone felt around alphas? No wonder everyone loved them.

"Now I'll step forward," he said, voice soft and low near her ear. "And you step back on your left foot. Then you step to the left. Then I step back, and you follow. And then it repeats. That's all it is. Easy. The rest is just following where I lead you."

He demonstrated as he spoke and Savannah followed along, picking it up quickly with his gentle instruction. Soon they were moving in an easy circle.

"Now," he said with a smile that dazzled her. "We turn."

He turned as he stepped, leading her along with him, and they began to spin across the floor slowly, drifting to the sweet music playing from the orchestra.

"There," he said. "You're doing beautifully. A natural."

"Whatever you do, don't speed up," Savannah said, fighting the urge to look at her feet. "I have no idea how I haven't stepped on you yet."

"I'm fairly certain I could forgive a few bruised toes," he said lightly. "So. She reads Tolstoy, builds beehives, and dances like an angel. Is there anything she can't do?"

"I'm a terrible cook," Savannah confessed. "And I can't carry a tune in a bucket."

He laughed, pulling her closer, and she was lost again for a moment in that rich and wonderful scent.

"I'm afraid such flaws are just unforgivable," he said. "I only date Michelin starred sopranos."

"Oh, well then I suppose this is goodbye," Savannah replied. "I shouldn't keep you if this is already doomed."

"Let's just keep going till the end of this song," he said, and she could see his eyes, bright behind his mask. "Just to be polite."

"Alright," Savannah said, closing her eyes and sinking into that scent. "Just this one song."

They spun into the crowd of other dancers, gliding across the floor like a leaf in a current. Savannah lost track of herself entirely. In her mind, they were waltzing in a clearing somewhere in a deep forest, watching the wind move the tall golden grass, breathing in the scent of moss and sunlight on the greenery. The world and all its terrible cruelty melted away.

Then the song ended, and Savannah was surprised by how disappointed she was when he let her go.

"Thank you for the dance," he said, kissing her hand. "That alone made coming here tonight worth it. But I think if I kept you to myself for another song, the other alphas would have me strung up."

He winked, gesturing to another alpha behind them clearly waiting for the chance to ask Savannah for a dance. Before she could say anything else he'd slipped away. She accepted the other alpha's offer to dance, and the one that came after him, if only because she didn't know what else to do. Their scents didn't enthrall her the way Nick's had. She kept catching herself scanning the crowd, trying to find him again.

She was so distracted that she lost track of her steps and backed into someone, nearly falling. The person she'd backed into caught her reflexively, setting her back on her feet. He was tall and she was pressed nearly to his chest. She was immediately caught up in his scent. The sweetness of sandalwood and the unexpected sharpness of cinnamon. Like earthy incense or an exotic dessert. The same feeling she'd had with Nick and the man in the tiger mask came over her all at once. Startled, she looked up into the golden lion mask of the person the Lady had identified as a prince.

She went hot with embarrassment immediately, trying to gather herself and pull away.

"I'm so sorry," she said immediately, looking away. "I should have been paying more attention, I …”

"Please, relax," the man said with a good humored laugh. "Did you think you hurt me? Do I seem so fragile?"

Savannah calmed immediately, smiling with relief, and she saw him tilt his head slightly as though he was taking her in and making a quick assessment of her. He still had an arm around her and didn't seem in a hurry to let go.

"What is your name, gorgeous?" he asked, leaning closer. "Your scent is… fascinating. Even through this ridiculous mask."

Savannah, flustered by his directness, stammered her name, feeling strangely paralyzed by the intensity of his stare.

"Your Highness?" said a voice suddenly, reminding her there were other people in the room. Savannah looked over and saw Lyanna, who she knew had been staying close to the prince all night so far. She looked more than a little miffed to see him with his arm around Savannah. "You promised to dance with me for the next song."

He didn't even look at her, still focused on Savannah.

"You're the one I'm going to pursue tonight," he said, and Savannah flinched, startled.

"But we haven't even …”

"I've already decided," he said. "You were meant to be mine."

He said it with such a fierce sincerity that Savannah felt her breath catch, an odd weightlessness overtaking her. She reached for him without thinking, a strange certainty overcoming her. A sense out of nowhere, some nebulous instinct, that he was right.

"Oh my god," Lyanna said, a hand over her nose and a scandalized look on her face. "Are you perfuming?"

Savannah inhaled and, horrified, realized Lyanna was right. Her scent had more than doubled in intensity, surrounding her like a cloud of perfume, fragrant and undeniable. Perfuming was a sign of an omega’s… receptiveness. A signal to their mate that they were willing and ready. The omega equivalent of a very visible erection. Savannah realized, with growing humiliation, that she suddenly had the rapt attention of every alpha in the room. She could feel their eyes on her, some of them actively moving closer, interest and open hunger in their eyes.

"I didn't realize this was that kind of party."

She heard a familiar laugh, turning to see Tengfei standing nearby. He beckoned her, grinning.

"If you can't hold it till the end of the night, I'm happy to give you what you need."

Prince Kasim pulled her closer protectively.

"I'm afraid she already has all the company she needs tonight, friend."

Savannah wanted to die. She wanted to melt into the earth and never be seen again. Lyanna was looking at her like Savannah had personally murdered her family. Everyone else was looking at her like she was a Wagyu steak. She wanted to run and hide, but the prince still had a grip on her arm.

"Hey, you don't get to just call dibs," Tengfei said with a snarl, and several other men murmured agreement. "You have to win her like everyone else."

"There's more than one way to win things," Kasim replied. "If I must pay extra to secure her ahead of tonight's activities she is more than worth the price. I wasn't terribly interested in that part of the proceedings anyway."

"I'm afraid Mr. Tengfei is right," said a man Savannah remembered the Lady introducing as Lord Atwater. "They don't allow open bidding. The guests come here for a fair hunt, not an auction. There are other places you can go if you simply want to buy an omega."

"Yeah, like the man said," Tengfei said, stepping closer to goad Kasim. "You want to stake your claim, you gotta do it the old fashioned way. And if someone else beats you to her, you'll just have to deal with it."

"This is unsportsmanlike on both of your parts," Atwater said, also stepping closer. "There's no sense in laying claim before the game is even begun, but equally none in attempting to eat veal before you've even shot the doe, as it were."

"I don't believe your input was requested, friend," Kasim said with deliberate lightness, turning to Atwater.

"And I'll eat whatever I please," Tengfei added, and reached past Kasim to grab Savannah's wrist, dragging her close to him. "I think I'd like a bite or two of this to start with."

Savannah yelped in surprise as she was pulled against the man's body, enveloped in his scent, which was unpleasantly sharp as a nose full of black pepper, but she'd barely had time to process what had happened before she'd been pulled away again, so swiftly and gently she hardly saw the motion.

The man in the tiger mask stood in front of her, holding Tengfei with his arm twisted behind his back. He looked back at her briefly, and nodded just once.

"Gentlemen! Please, save your energy for the end of the night!" the Lady called out, pushing through the crowd to where Tengfei was swearing and trying to start a full on brawl. Savannah backed away, and then felt someone take her hand. She looked back to see Demyan, who gave her cover as she slipped back out of the crowd towards the edges of the room.

"Whichever alpha wins you will have an interesting life ahead of him," Demyan said with a chuckle. "Are you always this skilled at causing a stir?"

"I don't know," Savannah admitted, groaning, hands over her face. "This is the first party I've been to since middle school."

Demyan laughed again, then very carefully let go of her hand and stepped away, clearing his throat. "You had better make yourself scarce for a little while, solnyshkuh. Until your scent is a bit less… enticing."

Savannah felt ready to die of embarrassment all over again. She still smelled like a perfume department. She was lucky Demyan clearly had better self-control than some of those other alphas.

"Sorry," she said, and backed away. "Thank you."

Demyan just waved to her and watched her go. Savannah headed for the nearest door out of the ballroom, gathering herself. She was embarrassed and overwhelmed, yes, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to take advantage of this opportunity while she had it. While the Lady and security were busy breaking up the fight she had a chance to maybe find a way out of here.