“Are you, uh, ready to go, little brother?”
or understand it. Larssen
“More t han ready. ” Konnor turned toward Ethan. “Ethan, the determinations have been made. You’ll be going with me. ”
The boy cocked his head. “With you? But I don’t understand…am I going into an apprenticeship w-with you, sir?”
“Um, in a manner of speaking, yes. We’ll talk more about it when I get you to my ship. You’ll be traveling with us to Lycanus 3. ”
“Yes sir,” he said, nodding slowly. Before he lowered his gaze again, Konnor caught a flash of some strong emotion. Konnor dreaded the coming confrontation on his ship when he would explain to Ethan exactly what was going on. He just hoped Ethanwouldn’t be too distraught. He motioned for Ethan to precede him, watching the sway of his hips as he walked slowly toward the dressing room for his suitcases.
Chapter Three
Inside the small dressing area was a scene of chaos. Ethan had always hated a noisy crowd of people, and he was still feeling confused by what was happening. He had almost no memory of what happened in the ring, and he hoped he had acquitted himself well. He must not have done too badly if Konnor wanted to apprentice him. He hugged his excitement to him and turned to look at the big alpha. He and his brother were easily the largest, most handsome men in the room, and exuded power and confidence.
The nine other young Lycans inside were laughing and talking excitedly, putting on their clothes and gathering their things. Most of them looked up and stopped talking as Ethan and the two alphas, Konnor and Larssen, entered the room. A few of the bolder ones, looked as if they wanted to say something to him, but their glances shied away again at the forbidding look on Konnor’s face. He seemed almost angry, like he was daring them to say something. But what? Why was everyone looking at him like he had suddenly sprouted wings or something? One of the boys actually seemed contemptuous of him, flaring his nostrils as he sneaked a glance. Uneasy, he wondered again just what had happened in that ring.
The room was already clearing, and their presence seemed to be the catalyst for everyone else to take off. Ethan walked over to get his bag and looked up at the alpha trustingly, thinking perhaps he would explain why no one seemed to be able to speak to him or meet his gaze, but he didn’t. Instead he seemed to be anxious about something. Unusual for alphas, who were arrogant enough to always act as if they had no need for anxiety about anything. Balenescu, though, actually shuffled from foot to foot in seeming unease for a moment, as Larssen looked up at the ceiling or down at his communicator, anywhere but directly at Ethan.
“They’ve sent a message that the paperwork is ready,” Larssen said. “I’ll go get it and be right back. ” Konnor nodded and rested a hip against a table in the room. Once Larssen closed the door behind him, his eyes flickered up at Ethan. “He’ll be back in a half hour or so, Ethan. You can rest here until then. ”
Sighing, Ethan nodded and sat down on a bench to wait. He wanted to question his alpha about what was happening, but he didn’t quite have the nerve. The other boys had told him Balenescu was
a bounty hunter. Surely the council didn’t think such an apprenticeship would be a good fit for Ethan. Or was there some other reason he’d been assigned to the Balenescus? To teach him piloting skills maybe? He wouldn’t mind that job. He’d always hungered to travel around the galaxy and see new worlds. Perhaps they thought that Konnor could show him the confidence he would need as an adult on his own? Konnor and his brother certainly had an abundance of that.
Actually, a part of him didn’t really care. He was secretly thrilled to be here with the man he considered to be his alpha. It seemed like a dream come true, and he wondered with a little thrill if he’d be allowed to service him again sexually. He’d never done anything like it before, but the time he’d spent with Konnor in the judging chamber had been beyond wonderful. He knew Lycan males didn’t normally like to have sex with other Lycans, but maybe his alpha would make an exception. Ethan realized he had a huge crush on the alpha and that it probably wasn’t reciprocated, but he didn’t care. Just the opportunity to be around Konnor and be trained by him for the next few months was exhilarating.
He realized with a little start that he was still wearing only Konnor’s shirt, and got up quickly to dress himself again, carefully folding up his alpha’s shirt and offering it back to him. He took it and shrugged it on carelessly, his eyes never leaving Ethan’s face. His gaze was so intent, it was making Ethan really uncomfortable.
He felt an overpowering urge to drop down to his knees, but instead he lowered his eyes and sat quietly, hoping his alpha would speak to him and answer some of his questions. In surprise, he heard the door close and the lock snick into place. Balenescu had gotten up to lock the door. He came and sat back down beside Ethan on the bench, and Ethan glanced over at him nervously.
“I can see you have a lot of questions. Is there something you’d like to ask me, Blondie? ” Ethan blushed at the strange nickname the alpha was calling him. He’d never had any kind of nickname before, and wasn’t totally sure he liked this one. It didn’t sound very manly.
“I…uh…will you train me to be a bounty hunter, sir?”
Konnor looked surprised. “A bounty hunter? No, Ethan. ” He ran a big hand over his face and took a deep breath. “I need to explain some things to you, and I need you to listen carefully. I was going to wait until I got you on the ship, but I don’t like to see you looking so lost and worried. You need to listen to what I have to tell you and not get excited. Can you do that for me? ”
Ethan nodded and then remembered his alpha liked him to answer him out loud. “Yes, sir, I can do that. ”
“Good. Blondie, do you know what it means to be…omega?”
Ethan glanced up at him sharply. “Omega? You mean a defective?”
His alpha shook his head firmly. “No, they’re not defective. They’re simply submissive. It’s unusual for a Lycan, but they do exist. ” He reached for Ethan’s hand and held it firmly in his. “With what happened in the ring today, and from my examination…Ethan, you’ve been found to be omega. ”
Shocked, Ethan’s first impulse was to pull his hand away sharply, but Balenescu refused to release him, pulling him back down beside him.
“No!” Ethan yelled, surprised at the sudden feelings of outrage and shame that washed over him. “I’m not omega!” He tried again to pull away, frantic to escape this room, escape what the alpha was saying.
Omegas were weak and unintelligent. They were useless for anything except the most menial work. Some of them, the better looking ones, were taken as love slaves, doomed to a life of sexual subjugation. He looked around wildly for someplace to run from this. To hide from what the alpha was saying. He was pulled down to the bench instead and the alpha held to his biceps, forcing him to sit still. “Settle down. You can’t run away from this. You’re omega, and you have to deal with it. ”
Ethan’s eyes filled with scalding tears that spilled down his face. “But that means you all think I’m stupid! That I’m a mental defective. I’m not! I’m not!” He tried desperately to break hisalpha’s grip, misery flooding his body. “Gods, I’ll be sold as a slave! I couldn’t stand that. I’ll kill myself first!” He made a grab for the gun the alpha wore strapped to his thigh, getting a hand on it before Balenescu knocked it away and gripped bothof Ethan’s wrists in his hands.
“If you don’t want to be thought mentally defective, stop acting like it! Do you really think you can get this gun away from me? That I’d let you hurt yourself? Settle down, now, or I’ll put you down myself. ”
Ethan’s adrenalin was churning through him and making him ill. He sagged in despair. He raised his gaze to his alpha, who was almost nose to nose with him. “Please,” he whispered frantically, not sure what he was begging for. To be told it was all a mistake? To be put out of his misery?
“There’s nothing to be so upset about,” the big Lycan said gently. “I’ll be taking over your training, and nothing at all will happen for at least a few months. After that, we’ll have to come back here for an auction, but Idon’t want you to worry about it. Leave it all to me. I’m taking care of things. ”