CHAPTER THREE

Razor

There's a small, curvy omega in my bathroom.

A nosy little omega who's spent the last few hours reading documents most humans would die just for touching...

I got an alert on my phone the moment she walked into the room, but stuck on my jet and bored out of my mind, I just kept watching her clean up Malcon's mess. My ex-assistant acted like an unruly pup after getting fired and took advantage of me being out of the country to trash the office, naively thinking I'd let it slide.

I won't.

Malcon mistook tolerance for weakness. A common mistake among humans, who always think they're better and smarter than my people: the monsters, as they like to call us.

The little cleaning girl, though, wasn't taking advantage of any apparent security lapse.

I watched through the cameras as she gathered the trash and sorted the documents Malcon had torn up on purpose. Then she started organizing them in a way my ex-assistant never once managed.

The redheaded woman, with generous curves nearly spilling out of her black uniform, was careful reading each page and sorting them, making sure the confidential material didn't get mixed up. But since I didn't sense a single trace of malice coming off her in the last three hours, I didn't order the guards to come drag her out.

I just watched, almost enchanted, as she hummed along to her music and muttered random things to herself every time she realized she'd put something in the wrong stack.

And when I walked into the room and caught that strangely familiar scent, everything clicked into place.

Omega.

Of course she's an omega...

That's the only explanation for why I couldn't tear my eyes off her graceful movements, and I was dying to find her.

But I never expected it would be like this...

“Why would you freak out?” I ask about the last thing she said, admiring the vivid orange of her hair, pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head.

I wonder if it's as soft as it looks.

My gaze drops without permission to another apparently soft part of her, and seeing her parted lips, pink as flower petals, gets me so hard I'm one step from growling and losing my mind completely.

This omega is dangerous...

They all tend to be, since they're an Alpha's only weakness, but this one is tempting me in a way none other ever has. Even with the bitter scent surrounding her, nearly crushing the sweetness of her dynamic.

“Oh my God.” Her whisper is pure horror, and I nearly laugh watching her scramble to fix her skirt, without even putting her plain white panties back on.

Good. I like the idea of her having nothing on under that tight fabric.

My father always told me omegas shouldn't wear clothes around their Alphas. It only irritates them, especially during heat, and wastes time that could be better spent fucking.

And that's exactly what I want to do with the nosy little cleaning girl.

Fuck her.

Hard.

Deep.

Until those pretty brown eyes close from the force of the orgasms I'll give her.

“I-I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!” She stammers, her face completely red with shame, talking so fast she trips over her own words. “T-there wasn't a bathroom in the other room, and I really had to go! I swear I was about to leave! This will never h-happen again. I p-promise!”

She closes the toilet lid, and her body shakes so hard my arousal fades, replaced by the fear that something's wrong.

How is it possible for someone to look pale and flushed at the same time?

“Breathe, female.” I order in a low tone, not wanting to scare her further. “It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you.”

The redhead doesn't seem to hear me at all. Or if she does, she doesn't believe it, because her eyes go glassy, and her rosy skin starts turning a grayish green, making it clear something is very wrong.

Instinctively, I release a small amount of calming pheromones into the air, wanting her to settle down the same way she was before, when I was watching her on the cameras.

It turns out the effect is the exact opposite of what it should be.

The female named Isabel chokes.

Clutches her chest.

Stumbles.

And then falls, hitting her back against the wall hard enough that I hear her fragile bones creak.

“Fuck!” I lunge to catch her, and the moment our skin touches, she lets out a scream full of fear and pain, which only deepens my confusion.

The female shouldn't be in pain.

Her body is designed to love being near mine.

There's no safer, more perfect shelter for an omega than an Alpha's arms!

“What's happening?” I ask, ignoring her weak attempts to pull away from me. “Do you need a doctor?”

“No!” Her shout nearly startles me, and the scent of terror is now so strong my head starts spinning. “I-I'm fine. I'm a beta! I just need water. Air!”

Did she just say beta?

The absurd lie ties a knot in my brain, and I'm so stunned I don't say anything as she starts crying again, fighting to get away from me.

“P-please don't hurt me!” She begs, staring up at me, her face soaked in tears.

I've seen plenty of people cry before.

Men.

Women.

Children.

Adults.

Betas.

Omegas.

Even a few Alphas.

None of them ever left my chest this tight before...

“I won't.” I promise, setting her down on the closed toilet lid before stepping back and raising my hands in a gesture of surrender I've never made before. I don't even know why I'm making it now.

My more animalistic side growls inside me, unhappy that we've pulled away. It wants answers. Wants control. Wants her. But I know this isn't the moment for that.

Isabel is too shaken up. Pushing now will only break her, and that's not what I want.

No omega should suffer.

They're precious and should be treated as such.

Cherished.

It's the supreme law of the Lykaris!

“I won't call anyone if you breathe with me, alright?” I crouch between her shapely legs, careful not to touch her.

I give her a small, encouraging smile when she nods, then I inhale slowly, exaggeratedly, setting a clear rhythm for the cleaning girl to copy.

Fuck, she's beautiful!

Which is exactly why I can't understand how I never found her before.

I've memorized the omega registries from rereading them so many times, searching for the female I would claim, but I don't recall ever seeing Isabel's photo among them.

She said she's a beta... Could they have gotten her classification wrong?

I dismiss the ridiculous idea the moment I breathe in again.

The sweet scent coming off Isabel is impossible not to recognize as that of an omega.

Even a Lykaris pup would identify her!

“Your color is coming back.” I notice, satisfied that she's still following the breathing rhythm I set. “Feeling better?”

Isabel blinks a few times, and I wait patiently while she gathers the courage to lift her head and look at me.

“A-a little.” She finally answers, her voice still weak, but less shaky. “My head stopped spinning.”

Good.

“Stay seated.” I instruct calmly, watching every micro-reaction of her body. “I'll get you some water.”

“Y-you don't have to, Your Majesty!” The redhead tries to stand, but since her body isn't steady enough to hold her own weight, she ends up falling right against me.

The impact is immediate, and it's impossible not to notice how perfectly her generous curves fit against me.

It wouldn't be so bad to feel this sweet scent against my snout every single day...

“Your fur is... soft.” Isabel's eyes go wide the instant she realizes the thought slipped out through her pink lips, and this time, I don't hold back the low laugh that's been threatening to break free since I watched her scramble to fix her skirt, desperate to reclaim a shred of dignity. “O-oh, m-my God... I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty!”

Her cheeks flush a vivid red again from embarrassment, and it's exactly at this moment that I accept the inevitable.

There's no way around it.

I need to see this little omega again!

“It's late...” I murmur, fighting the urge to keep her with me. “You should go home and rest.”

“B-but I still haven't finished cleaning the office.”

“Someone else will take care of it.” My voice comes out firm, leaving no room for argument. “You're no longer part of the cleaning staff.”

Panic takes over her face, and the scent of the emotion is so strong it's almost a blow to the stomach.

“M-my lord, I... I didn't mean to...” She shakes her head, unable to even finish the sentence, she's so rattled.

“You're going to be my secretary now, Isabel.” I say slowly, so the words can sink into her confused brain and calm her. “You organized in one night what no one else managed in months. You read, sorted, and identified documents my former assistant never even bothered to look at!”

Her plush mouth falls open in shock, and for a second I have to fight the nearly uncontrollable urge to touch her chin with the tip of my claw, forcing those pretty lips shut... or give in to the urge to feel them against my own mouth.

“Besides, you already know too much now to go back to scrubbing hallways and pretending you never came in here, little one.”

I know too much.

I know her scent.

How soft her skin is.

How beautiful she looks with her face flushed red.

And soon, I'll uncover far more intimate, far more interesting things about the omega who's gotten under my skin like no other ever has...