Chapter 4

Reed

I came to the tavern on an undercover mission to spy for the werewolf council. Even though I’m a man about to be married, the council insisted on having me come here as a customer to see if the rumors are true about rogue Giovanni’s illegal Omega brothel: that he kidnaps them off the street and has them perform for customers for money. 

I expected the rumors to be true, but what I didn’t expect was to find my fated mate among the Omegas. 

“Mate!” my wolf roars inside my head, not caring about her ranking in the slightest. 

I, however, couldn’t be more horrified. 

My mate is an Omega: someone who can’t give me an heir. The werewolf council would never bless our mating and my pack wouldn’t accept an Omega as my Luna since she can’t bear pups. This whole situation is a mess. 

“Please don’t hurt me,” the Omega in question whispers, her strange, black eyes wide with fear. 

Seeing her so afraid of me makes my stone heart melt. I’ve never cared much for women or love. Yet here I am, wanting to tell this pitiful woman that she will be fine. That she is with me now and that I will take care of her.

But I know accepting her as my mate would mean losing everything. No Alpha has picked a weak Omega as their mate and lived to tell the tale.

Still, I can’t leave her here. 

“I’m taking this one with me,” I tell Giovanni before picking up my mate. 

She is injured, and even though she will heal quickly, I want to make sure she recovers somewhere safe. I plan on taking her to a nearby hotel to let her rest. Giovanni can’t say no; I paid for a night with her already. 

“Y-you can’t do that!” Giovanni stammers over the loud music, looking every bit like the pathetic man he is. 

Ignoring him, I lift my mate off the floor, her little body shivering—out of fear or cold, I can’t tell. But it pokes at the possessive wolf inside me, rousing the primal instinct to protect what’s mine. 

I stride towards the door and to my dismay, Giovanni is following me like a shadow. 

“You have to return her later,” he sounds stressed and is rushing out the words. “I…I was planning on having her pleasure me later. She is very pretty and—”

I stop in my tracks, causing the smaller man to shriek and look up into my burning eyes. My wolf is growling at me to put down my mate and end this man, but the werewolf council wouldn’t be happy with me then. No, I have to set this guy straight with words. 

“This Omega is MINE,” I declare, my voice thunderous even though distasteful music is vibrating all around us. Every fiber of my being screams with a primal protectiveness that leaves no room for argument. “You will not touch her again, or you will wish you were never born.” 

Giovanni steps back, fear shimmering in his gaze. He knows he’s outmatched. “But the rules,” he starts to say, his voice quaking with fear.

“The rules? This place shouldn’t even exist,” I interrupt him fiercely. “Consider yourself lucky that the council hasn’t shut this whole operation down already.”

He gulps visibly, stumbling over his words as he tries to respond, but I’m not sticking around. 

“Let’s get out of here,” I tell my mate as I secure my grip on her. She isn’t meeting my eyes, and I curse under my breath when his scent of lavender hits my senses. 

Out of all the places to get hard, my traitorous cock chooses to betray me this time and place. But it isn’t my fault and has nothing to do with this woman being my mate. It’s all because of her being in heat!

As I leave the building, the little thing looks up at me. “Wh-where are you taking me?”

“To a hotel.”

Fear washes over her face. “To kill me?”

I am sickened by her question. 

This woman, this small creature who is lighter than a feather, thinks I will harm her? 

I growl at the mere idea, and my mate cringes back against my chest as if expecting a blow. Rage fills me because this is not a normal response.

Someone has hurt her in the past.

I look down at her. Her skin is flawless around her face, except if you look down at her throat. There is some bruising there, some new, some older. It’s all the evidence I need. 

“Who did that to you?” I ask, my eyes glued to her neck.

She swallows before responding. “Giovanni’s men…” 

“You’ve been his prisoner for a long time?”

“N-no…” she grimaces. “I…I guess there are other mean people out there, too.”

I’m not surprised. My mate is an Omega, and they aren’t treated very kindly. 

I head over to my car and open the passenger door, setting her gently onto the seat. She is still shivering, so I lean back to take off my suit. I notice her eyes on my biceps and can’t help but smirk. 

Her gaze is curious, and I can tell that despite her fear, she is intrigued by me. I shrug off my suit and drape it over her small form, hoping the thick material will bring her some comfort. 

“Thank you,” she whispers softly.

I grumble in response while my wolf, ever the traitor, is pleased with the note of gratitude in her voice—one small sign of trust in an ocean of fear. Starting up the engine, I drive through the city streets towards the hotel I have chosen.

Everything is peaceful until my mate suddenly gasps. She tenses up as if in pain, but it isn’t the scent of blood hitting my senses—it’s her heat. 

My cock immediately hardens in response, the scent of her arousal making me dizzy. I’ve never been this aroused in my entire life. Not even my future Luna gets me going like this. 

Shit, if I fall for her scent, am I really that different from the monsters paying for Omega sex at the tavern? 

I grit my teeth, focusing on the road and forcing down the beastly urges boiling inside me.

But my mate is making it hard to focus.

“No,” she murmurs, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She kicks off her shoes and pushes her naked against the car’s glove compartment. “I can’t… Not now…” Her voice trails off into a whimper, and my heart clenches. She is in pain.

“Just hold on,” I say, pushing the car to its limit. “I will get you to the hotel and—”

“No,” she interrupts me while squirming in her seat. Her whole body is shaking, and she is already drenched in a cold sweat, looking as if she might die at any given moment. “I need you to stop the car and fuck me right now. Please!”