Chapter Three
Alix
I felt her eyes on me for some time, watching my every movement. My hearing became more acute and I could hear her breath pull in when she scented me.
I was beginning to grow hot.
She scrutinized me for what felt like forever. Her gaze was intense, and I was beginning to feel the effects of it. I could see her reluctance playing out over her features whenever I glanced toward her, the way her fingers clenched and unclenched on her thighs and the stiffness in her shoulders, the hard line of her mouth. She wasn’t prepared for what was to come, and to be honest, neither was I.
We’d both done the math. We knew time was quickly running out, and before too long, the suppressant would wear off and the two of us would be forced to give in to our more animalistic tendencies. Forced to rut each other in a desperate attempt to breed. Urges that were far too strong to fight or even attempt to deny.
It was inevitable. As an alpha, I was born to claim an omega. It was written deep into the intricacies of my DNA. And now, against all odds, I had found a rare omega female who was ripe to go into heat very soon.
Who would have thought that fate would have brought Raven and me together like this?
I’d always thought she was a beautiful woman. Long, shiny black hair hung down to her waist, elegant and full and unequivocally flawless. Generous, thick eyelashes lined her ice blue eyes. High cheekbones and a soft narrow chin framed her face, forming a delicate picture of feminine beauty. Pretty pink lips that begged to be kissed right now. She was small, maybe just above five foot tall, but to me she was the absolute picture of perfection.
She was highly intelligent, and I’d always seen her as a strong female. She looked at scientific problems with fresh eyes and I respected that. I tried to remember that now, tried to focus on it so that I may stall my urges for as long as I could, before I threw her to the ground and took her whether she liked it or not.
I’d always had a feeling she was different though. She hadn’t confirmed it, but I had suspected that she was an omega for a very long time. I understood why she hid her lineage, why she kept it secret from even me. It would have ruined her.
The city punished omegas that weren’t careful enough to hide their identities, just because it was their birthright. Fearful government officials had developed omega sanctuaries, which actually functioned as a sham of a prison. Once an omega was identified, she was forced to live there. Omegas weren’t allowed to hold positions of power and they were certainly treated differently than the rest of the general population. It went unsaid, but the discrimination against omegas was a very real problem in Tharia. She would have never risen in the ranks at Genwell if anyone had found out about her omega nature.
Despite all our advancements as a civilization, we were still so behind in our genetic beliefs. It saddened me, but there was little that I could do to alleviate it.
Raven showed all the signs of her omega lineage. She was small and thin, but her curves were well defined, sinful even. Her breasts weren’t overly large, but they matched the proportions of her hips. From our study of human genetics, she showcased all the attributes of an omega, but that was only circumstantial evidence at best. Beta females had been known to have the same characteristics as well, but that wasn’t very common. Even still, there were other signs she exhibited that had made me suspect she was an omega for some time.
The suppressant drug worked to quell our basest urges, but it didn’t work enough to hide everything. Certain traits still emerged, such as small behavioral clues. As an alpha male, I couldn’t hide everything, especially when it came to her.
I felt highly protective of the woman, more so than I had around anyone else. Even just being around her made me want to keep her safe from all the dangers of the world and here in the wilds, the feeling was stronger than ever. But that wasn’t the only thing. She’d always responded to my alpha nature, even if she didn’t realize it. Usually, she deferred to my opinion above all others, especially in the lab. Out here, if I told her to do something, she’d obeyed without question. Sitting down when I told her to. Preparing camp even though she knew what was to come. She was made to submit to my word, and she responded to it even under the last dregs of the suppressant.
With the campfire crackling, there wasn’t much more to be done except to prepare a healthy, good-sized meal for the two of us to eat. I doubted that once her heat took hold that either one of us would stop to make dinner.
She had to eat now. My eyes turned to her once more to find her watching me again, but I stood up and ignored her for a moment.
There were a few additional crates outside the evergreen tree. I walked over to them and opened them with my knife, finding fresh meats and cheeses packed with dry ice and sealed shut. I took out two containers and then searched the wreckage of the airship, finding a metal grate to use as a makeshift grill.
Raven watched me with trepidation.
“I’m not hungry,” she said despondently, guessing what I was up to already.
“It doesn’t matter. You need to eat and drink your fill tonight, before it all begins,” I warned. She glared at me, but that didn’t change anything. She needed the sustenance and I’d force feed her if I had to. I’d make sure that she would be able to make it through what was about to happen.
She opened her mouth and then closed it. She wanted to argue with me, to be strong and independent despite the fact it went against her nature. She wanted to fight me, but she knew I was right.
My eyes narrowed slightly toward her in challenge.
Normally I’d let her do her thing but as the medication was wearing off, I was beginning to feel the true effects of what it meant to be an alpha. Her shoulders caved just a bit under my ire, and I knew then in that moment that I had won.
Finally, she sighed and gathered some vegetables to go along with the meat. In a small pot, she poured some water from a small bottle and set it on top of the grate to boil. When it did, she got up, grabbed a small bag of rice, and got to work slicing up some vegetables while I continued to grill the red meat.
I rather enjoyed watching her cook. I’d have to allow her the privilege more often.
I took a few moments to fully appreciate the curves of her body. She was simply dressed in a dark pair of jeans and a dark gray button-up shirt, but it did little to hide the gentle curves of her lithe form. Thick hips. Perky, full breasts and flat toned torso spoke volumes about how hard she worked to maintain her strong, small frame. Her ass was round and especially curvaceous, and I suddenly ached to hold it in the palms of my hands.
She was so small compared to me, but I didn’t care.
She was fucking perfect.