Omega Hunted by Linsey Moon
8
She madeher way through the house, checking the rooms she passed quickly for any sign of something useful—a phone, a computer, even just a good hiding place.
Much of the house appeared to be not in use and closed up. Some of the guests or staff must have been staying here temporarily, because one wing appeared to be set up as guest suites and showed enough signs of habitation that Savannah decided to avoid them. She'd come back if she didn’t find another option, but hiding here where it looked like people were staying seemed too risky to try first. Someone might decide to go back to their room at any minute.
She found her way up to the second floor, only once having to duck into an empty room to avoid patrolling security. Most of the guards seemed to be concentrated around the ballroom, and there didn't seem to be that many to start with. Presumably they didn't expect a gaggle of scared omegas to pose any kind of serious threat.
Finally, she tried a door and saw with relief some kind of office set up inside it. There was no sign of a computer or a phone, but there were papers and files arranged on a tidy desk in the center of the room, along with the usual accompaniment of office supplies. There were no other doors aside from one in the far wall which appeared to open onto a balcony, which stood open, the breeze rustling the papers slightly.
The room was dark and appeared to be empty, so Savannah slipped inside. Maybe something in those papers would be worth a look at. Maybe an address for this place, or some kind of blackmail material she could use as leverage to get out of here. She circled around the desk and bent over the papers, squinting in the faint light from the door she'd left open to the hall, trying to read. Then someone cleared their throat behind her.
She jumped, swiveling so fast she almost fell.
There stood a man, a guest judging by the suit, leaning against the frame of the door that led to the balcony, a cigarette in one hand, a fox mask in the other, expression one of puzzled amusement. She didn't recognize him until she saw the mask and realized it was Nick. He had a handsome, sly sort of face, with narrow features and a wide smile.
"What are you doing up here?" he asked, conversationally, not accusatory.
Savannah's heart rate gradually began to return to normal, just relieved he wasn't security, and didn't appear to be interested in getting her in trouble. At least not immediately. Also, she was fairly certain he wasn't supposed to be up here either.
"What are you doing up here?" she returned instead of an answer.
"Smoking," he said obviously, gesturing to the balcony. "Only room I could find with an unlocked balcony. Also, I asked you first."
"Got lost looking for the bathroom," Savannah replied, answering his obvious lie with her own.
"How interesting we both ended up in the same place," he said with smile. "Must be fate."
"Or something like that," Savannah agreed, beginning to edge around the desk again. "I should go."
"Suit yourself," Nick said with a casual shrug, turning back towards the balcony.
Savannah hesitated, looking at him standing in the doorway, cast in silver by the moonlight. Without the confusion of scents from downstairs, she could smell that moss and sunlight scent even from here. She remembered how it had felt to dance with him. How kind and charming he seemed, and tried to reconcile that with who he had to be in order to be in a place like this.
“Are you really okay with this?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Finding a mate this way?"
He looked back at her, considering her for a moment, then looked away again.
"It's more natural this way," he said. "At least there's some level of choice involved."
"Not for the omegas," Savannah said, frowning.
"I disagree," he replied, putting out his cigarette on the balcony railing. "They at least have a chance to meet and be courted by several alphas, rather than being assigned one by government lottery."
"But we don't have the choice to say no," Savannah pointed out. "We don't have the option to say we don't want to be courted at all. Believe me, I tried. At least government owned omegas have the right to refuse."
"If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you," Nick said with a dry laugh.
"And government owned omega's mates aren't always assigned," Savannah continued. "If they meet an alpha and fall in love they can choose to take a mate on their own.”
"No, they can apply to take a mate," Nick said, cutting her off and flicking away his cigarette butt. "Which then has to be approved. I'm sure you can guess how often that happens. The ruling party believes if omegas were left to their own devices they'd be too busy being constantly pregnant or in heat to be of any use to the government. And how many opportunities do you think those omegas even get to meet an alpha?"
He turned, moving closer to her, and Savannah suddenly became very aware of the desk between her and the door. And yet something in his languid stare kept her frozen in place.
"A government owned omega’s every move is controlled by her handlers," he continued, coming closer to her a slow step at a time. "Every minute is scheduled, every place she visits approved ahead of time. Do you think she can just go on dates? The only alphas she will ever meet will be through her work, and the only time she will be able to spend with them will be while working.
“You and I have gotten to know one another more intimately in the few hours we've spent together here tonight than any government owned omega and whatever alpha is allowed to have her will before they are legally allowed to mate. Allowed. As though it's not an alpha's right to take his mate once he's found them. As though it's not any person's right to love whoever loves them in return. The law is a denial of our most basic instincts and rights, and the free market as always has provided a solution."
"This is no solution," Savannah said, swallowing her nerves. "If anything it's just another part of the system reinforcing itself. The men here tonight are rich and powerful enough to change things if they wanted to. They choose not to, because it means they're the only ones with access to omegas and they can have their pick while we have no choice in the matter. It just turns having an omega into a status symbol, proof you have enough money to ignore the rules."
Nick moved even closer, and put his hands on the desk to either side of her, trapping her there, looking up at him, surrounded by a scent that made her feel at once more calm and more alert, acutely attuned to his every movement. Her body seemed to respond to him automatically, leaning into him without thinking about it, craving even the simplest touch. Part of her knew she should be running right now, but the rest of her simply didn't want to.
"What do you want then?" he asked softly, face inches from hers, close enough that she could feel his breath, the warmth of his body. "Do you want to be a slave all your life, forbidden from your natural desires? Or do you want to be taken by someone who chose you, who can give you everything you ever wanted? There are no other choices."
"I don't accept that," she whispered, breathless. "I can't."
For a moment, it was like a second mask dropped away from his face. The look he gave her then was so heavy with guilt and remorse that she almost forgot her body and the need that had suddenly gripped it entirely, her only thought how she could repair whatever had made him look at her that way.
"Then you had better run fast tonight," he said solemnly.
She frowned, not sure what he meant.
"There you are!"
Startled, they both looked up to see someone standing in the door of the office.
"Prince Kasim," Nick said calmly, all trace of that sadness hidden once more under his charming smile. "I'm afraid I'm a bit busy at the moment."
"You're spoiling your appetite before dinner," Kasim said with apparent good natured warmth, striding closer. "The Lady will be displeased."
"It's fine as long as I don't mark her," Nick replied casually. "There's nothing in the rules against taking her for a little test drive."
"In that case, how do you feel about sharing?" Kasim replied with perfect confidence. Savannah turned red all the way to her shoulders at the mere suggestion. "We haven't much time left before midnight. I'd hate to miss out."
The tension hanging between the two men was tangible and Savannah was smart enough to recognize Kasim's offer for the challenge it was, expecting Nick to back down in embarrassment. Instead, he put his hands on her hips possessively, smiling back at the other man.
"I'm into it if she is," he replied, calling Kasim's bluff, and Savannah stared at him in shock. In response, he picked her up suddenly, lifting her by the hips, and sat her on the edge of the desk, sweeping aside the papers. Kasim closed the distance between them to stand on the other side of the desk behind Savannah, his hands finding Savannah's waist.
"What do you think?" he said, breath warm against her ear. "Is there enough of you to go around?"
Savannah stammered wordlessly, trying to compose herself enough to speak when they were both so close to her. Nick was between her legs, his hands warm on her bare thighs. Her head was spinning. She had thought both their scents were intoxicating on their own. Together they harmonized into a song too sweet to resist. The forest she'd imagined with Nick was now in bloom, the undergrowth rich with flowers and herbs, the sweetness and spice of Kasim's scent winding through every branch.
"I won't touch you any further unless you say yes," Nick said, low, almost teasing. He could tell how much she wanted to be touched.
"You have but to say the word and we will return to the party," Kasim confirmed, catching her hand and bringing it to his lips beneath the golden lion mask.
She didn't have it in her to say no to this, not when every part of her was so desperate to sink into their mingled scent and lie there in bliss forever. But she also wasn't entirely sure she was capable of words. Too embarrassed to even look them in the eye, she nodded.
Nick caught her chin, forcing her gaze up to meet his. The answer hadn't been good enough, his eyes demanded more.
"Yes," she whispered, shocked at the desperate sound of her own voice.
Nick was kissing her almost before the word had left her lips. The crash of his mouth against hers felt like a wave of electricity running through her. His hands slid up her thighs to her hips, stroking the bare skin through the high slits of her dress.
Kasim pulled her back against his chest, forcing Nick to follow, his lips finding the back of her neck, his hands wandering higher over her sides. Nick's tongue traced her lips, dipped into her mouth, and he tasted even better than he smelled. Her hands, held awkwardly at her chest, reached out hesitantly to slide into his hair and pull him closer.
She gasped into Nick's mouth as Kasim's hands found her breasts, the touch frustratingly impeded by the fabric of her dress. Not to be outdone, Nick began to kiss his way down her throat to her chest, and Kasim all too happily occupied her mouth. His kiss was gentle but intense, stealing her breath and making her lightheaded.
Nick's trail of kisses had led him between her breasts, taking advantage of the dress's deep neckline. One of his hands traced her inner thigh, high enough she tried to press her legs together in embarrassment, only succeeding in wrapping her legs tighter around Nick's hips.
Kasim kissed her deeply, one hand at the back of her neck, fingers grazing her throat, keeping her head tilted up towards him. The other stroked her breast through the fabric of her dress, then pulled the neckline of the dress aside, the strap slipping off her shoulder, baring her to Nick's waiting mouth.
She gasped, squirming in overwhelmed ecstasy as his tongue rolled over her nipple. The hand that had been stroking her thigh roamed higher again and she broke the kiss with Kasim to make a sound of mixed alarm and desire as Nick's fingers grazed over the front of the skimpy underwear that were all she could wear with this dress.
Her hips rose into the contact instinctively, even as she shrank back against Kasim, a hand over her own face in sudden flustered shyness. Nick kissed her stomach through the thin fabric of the dress and worked his way further downward, looking up to meet Savannah's wide eyed stare with his own playful gaze as he moved the skirt of her dress aside.
Kasim's hands were on her breasts, his lips at her throat again, and Savannah had never felt so excited and so terrified at the same time. Every touch made her ache. She had an internet connection at home. She'd seen plenty of porn and wasted more than a few long lonely hours at home entertaining herself, but nothing could have prepared her for this. Nick bent between her thighs, leaning closer, until she could feel his breath through the fabric of her underwear.
"On my desk? Really, gentlemen!"
Savannah sat up so quickly she almost fell off the desk, and Nick popped up so abruptly he backed into the office chair and almost fell over, turning it into a slightly awkward sitting down motion at the last moment. Kasim shielded Savannah as she frantically tried to make herself decent.
The Lady of the House stood in the office doorway, looking extremely sour. The waves of alpha dominance coming off of her had even Kasim and Nick paying attention.
"This part of the house is off limits to guests," the Lady said sharply. "Including you, Miss Allen."
"Forgive us, your ladyship," Kasim said diplomatically. "We became turned around on our way back to my room and grew… impatient.
"Yes, these things happen," the Lady said wearily, some of the anger diminishing in the face of Kasim's genuflection. "There's at least one every time we do this. One of the staff will help you find your way back to your room. You should hurry and get changed. It's nearly midnight. We're gathering on the lawn as we speak."
"Of course, madam," Kasim said with a small bow. He helped Savannah off the desk and he and Nick shared an unmistakable glare of challenge as they fixed their clothing and Nick collected his mask. The three of them shuffled awkwardly towards the door. But as she made to follow to the two men, the Lady took Savannah by the arm and pulled her away.
"Not you," she said. "You're late. I'll take you to join the others myself, just in case you find yourself in yet another predicament."
Savannah flushed and cast one last glance back at Kasim and Nick as she was dragged away. They waved goodbye, clearly regretting the interruption but not willing to risk the Lady's ire.
"You seem determined to cause me trouble tonight," the Lady muttered as she pulled Savannah down the stairs and back through the ballroom, which was mostly empty. "Fortunately, with all the attention you've drawn to yourself I'm certain one of the alphas will have claimed you within the hour, and then you'll be rather too busy to create any more incidents. I assume that was the intention?"
She raised an eyebrow and Savannah just looked back at her, wide eyed. The Lady rolled her eyes.
"Well then your strategy needs some work," she said, and ushered Savannah through the glass doors at the end of the ballroom onto the decorated patio she'd seen earlier. Just beyond it, standing in a loose huddle on the wet grass, were the other omegas. They all looked as lost as Savannah felt, some of them shivering in the cool night air in their skimpy dresses. It was mid-autumn, the breeze biting against Savannah's bare skin. The moon was full and huge overhead, lighting up the yard like mid-day.
The Lady pushed Savannah over to join the others. She found Corinne in the group and gave her a questioning look but the other girl just shrugged.
The Lady went back inside, leaving them under the watchful eye of several security personnel. The omegas murmured to one another, wondering what was happening. Was the party ending? Savannah was suddenly reminded of the betta fish she had at home in a ten gallon tank in her room. Her mother had brought it home with her after attending a wedding where the live fish had been part of the centerpieces on the tables at the reception. The bride had simply planned to flush them at the end of the day. Perhaps similar logic was at work here.
Through the glass patio doors, they could see the Lady giving some kind of toast, a glass of champagne raised to sparkle in the light of the great crystal chandelier.
A few minutes later, the alphas began to emerge from the ballroom, gathering on the patio. They'd all changed out of their party clothes into close fitting athletic gear and traded out their elaborate masks for simple black domino masks. She recognized Nick despite this, and he winked at her, a hungry look in his eye. They all had that look. Like starving men before a feast. Like wolves gathered around a herd of does.
Savannah and Corinne exchanged a look, then both began taking off their high heels. Corrine kept one in each hand, stiletto heel brandished like a weapon. Savannah urged Katharine to take hers off as well and, bewildered, she obeyed.
The Lady of the House followed the alphas, carrying a small tablet like a book. She scanned it, seemed satisfied with what she saw, and snapped the cover closed like a book.
"A word of advice," the Lady of the House said to the assembled omegas as the last of the alphas gathered behind her. "This house is surrounded by a hundred miles of Alaskan wilderness in any direction. Beyond the fence that surrounds the property you will find nothing but a long slow death by exposure. I would suggest you stay in bounds. You'll have a ten minute head start, make the most of it."
The omegas stirred with alarm and confusion, raising their voices in urgent questions, ignored. An assistant approached, offering the Lady a starting pistol, which she raised to the sky.
"Good luck to you all," she said, and smiled with sharp teeth. "And happy hunting."