How To Train Your Alphas

MARVEL'S POV

"Say my name." The hand on my chest tightened, fingers digging into my nipple as the man to my left breathed against my ear. His breath was hot and smelled of stale coffee.

"No, say mine." The man on my right wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.

I couldn't move. Not with the third man settled between my legs, his mouth working my length, slow and easy.

My eyes dropped to my stomach.

It was round and tight under my hands. I traced the stretch marks with my fingers.

I swallowed hard.

Three men.

One bed.

And me, heavily pregnant between them.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember how I'd ended up here. The answer was two years in the making.

Two years earlier...

The serum bubbled inside the glass beaker, shifting from pale blue to violet as I watched.

Come on. Just a little longer.

I leaned closer, my gloved fingers gripping the edge of the counter as the liquid kept boiling, my heart pounding harder with every second.

Then, without warning, the violet darkened. Purple, then brown, then black. The bubbling stopped.

I stared at it.

"No. Not again!"

I grabbed the beaker and hurled it against the wall.

CRASH!

Glass exploded across the floor. My assistants jumped back with startled shrieks.

"Doc!"

"Watch your feet!"

"I'm fine," I snapped.

"You're not." Jade's voice was calm. 

I glared at him. He only smiled.

"We're close, Doc. Just calm down."

Jade pushed his safety goggles higher onto his forehead. His freckled face was annoyingly serene for someone who'd just watched me destroy another failed experiment. He'd been with me longer than any of the others, probably immune to my moods by now.

I wasn't immune to mine.

I ripped off my gloves and threw them onto the counter.

"Close?" I repeated bitterly. "We were close twelve attempts ago."

"This was attempt fifteen."

"Thank you for counting."

"You're welcome."

I shot him another look before turning away. Fifteen failures. Months of calculating formulas, adjusting concentrations, replacing compounds, running simulations, practically living inside this laboratory. I was still nowhere near my goal.

I shoved open the door to my private office.

"Doc," Jade called behind me.

"Leave me alone."

The door slammed shut. I locked it. For once, I wanted silence. No assistants, no researchers, no investors asking when the next breakthrough would be ready. No alphas.

I stripped off my lab coat and hung it on the rack before walking into the adjoining bathroom. My hands were trembling as I washed the chemical residue from my fingers.

When I finally looked up, my reflection stared back. Hollow eyes. Dark circles. Pale skin. I looked like I hadn't slept in weeks.

Maybe I hadn't.

My gaze dropped to my stomach. The reason behind all of this. The reason I'd spent years searching for something no omega should have needed to search for: a way to stop my own body from betraying me.

I hated the thought of being pregnant. Hated the weakness, the pain, the way every alpha who looked at me saw a breeding vessel before they saw a person.

I'd even tried removing my womb once. It grew back. Being a pure omega meant my body didn't just heal; it corrected, rebuilt, strengthened whatever had been taken from it. The doctors called it a miracle. I called it a curse.

My hands curled into fists. I didn't hate being an omega. I hated alphas. Prime predators wrapped in human skin. Every omega knew what they were capable of. I'd spent my life making sure none of them would ever control mine.

That was why I needed this serum. Not for money, not for fame, not even for my company. I wanted my body to finally belong to me. The fear of being trapped by an alpha to end.

I dried my hands and stepped back into the office.

A muffled shout came from outside. I froze. Another voice followed.

Jade.

"What are you doing? You can't just come in here!"

Something heavy struck the wall.

My head snapped toward the door. I rushed forward and yanked it open.

Jade stumbled inside. Behind him came six men in black military uniforms.

Royal guards.

My stomach tightened. Jade scrambled back to his feet.

"You don't have the right to be here!" he shouted, stepping between them and me despite the size difference. "This is a private scientific facility!"

One of the guards reached for him. I stepped forward.

"Enough."

The guard stopped. I pulled Jade behind me.

"What is going on here?"

None of them answered right away. Their expressions were rigid, official, and dangerous.

"What business does the royal force have inside my science facility?"

The tallest guard stepped forward. "By decree of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Alaric Meransol Navia, you have been summoned to the palace."

I frowned. "Summoned?"

"Yes."

"I have no business with the palace."

"You do now."

My jaw tightened. "I have experiments running. I'm not leaving my laboratory because someone in the palace suddenly decided they wanted me."

The guard's expression didn't change.

"You misunderstand, Dr. Hayes." A voice came from behind him. Deep. Calm. Powerful enough to silence the entire room. "You don't have a choice."

My breath caught. The guards stepped aside.

Then he walked in.

Crown Prince Alaric Meransol Navia. The national treasure. The most photographed alpha in Navia. The future king. The man whose face appeared on every news channel, magazine cover, and government broadcast in the country.

I'd seen him a thousand times through screens. Never this close.

He wore a black military coat embroidered with gold, the royal insignia pinned over his chest. His dark blonde hair was swept back, every strand in place. His blue eyes were colder than the photographs suggested, and the photographs had never looked warm.

Everyone in the room bowed. 

I lowered my head. "Your Highness."

"Dr. Hayes."

His voice was closer now. I raised my head. He was staring straight at me.

Then I smelled him, and my whole body went still.

Powerful alpha pheromones slammed into the laboratory. Jade coughed. Another assistant followed. Then another. My own lungs tightened.

I'd spent years despising alpha pheromones. Even mild ones made my skin crawl.

His didn't.

That was the problem. They smelled good. Warm. Clean. Something dark and intoxicating underneath.

My stomach fluttered. I hated that. I hated every second of it. My body leaned toward him before my mind could stop it.

I stared into those controlled blue eyes and, for one humiliating second, forgot why he was standing in my laboratory.

"Doc?"

Jade's coughing snapped me back. I turned toward him.

"Your Highness, control your pheromones."

Alaric's expression shifted, like he was annoyed.

"You're releasing them around omegas," I continued, moving closer to Jade and shielding him with my body as if I was some alpha fighting off pheromones. "He can't breathe properly."

Silence. Then Alaric's eyes dropped to my arm around Jade, and something dark crossed his face.

Before I could react, his hand closed around my wrist and pulled me forward. My chest collided with his.

"What are you doing?"

His grip tightened. "I don't appreciate my mate hugging another man in my presence."

My heart stopped. I stared at him. "What?"

He looked almost amused. "You heard me."

"I am not your mate."

His jaw tightened. For the first time, that perfect royal composure cracked. A bitter laugh escaped him.

"How dare you pretend not to know?"

I tried to yank my wrist free. "Let me go, you arrogant—"

His eyes narrowed. His scent shifted. The entire room changed with it.

Every instinct in my body screamed one word.

Mate.

I staggered back, my hands shaking.

No. Not him. Not anyone.

Fuck.