Niklaus Heinrich
‘Disgusting.’
That was the first thought to fill Niklaus's head as he passed Lucien's sister, whose desperate green eyes watched his frame as he returned to the car.
"Nik...Nikky!"
She called to him using his nickname, a nickname that he had only permitted Lucien to use, but he never used that name past when he was drunk.
Rather than respond to the cries that were growing louder, Nikalus turned his gaze forward to prevent the annoying screech from grazing his ears; as if sensing his dismissal, his security team surrounded him to block her view of him as they opened the doors to his car for him.
"Nik! It’s me! Maya! We were engaged!"
This scream seemed to attract the paparazzi's attention, but as if it meant nothing to him, he settled in the car, and the door slammed shut.
After the outside noise turned hushed, Niklaus closed his eyes to relax his tired body and let the delicious taste of blood and tangerines play at the tip of his tongue, flooding his senses.
**
Lucien Sinclair
"So, what do you think?"
Chief Owen asks as he watches me pack the belongings Maya brought for me from home.
"What do I think about what, the mission? I don't exactly have a choice, do I?"
I respond nonchalantly—I want to retire.
"You do, actually."
Chief Owen says as he settles on my bed.
"What do you mean?"
"I asked the hacking team what the software virus was supposed to do, and apparently, it scrambles data."
A frown creases my brows.
"What do you mean?"
The question slips from my lips as I stop packing and instead turn to face Chief Owen.
I was sure the virus would upload the data from the computer to our servers, but ‘scrambling’ means that that bastard of a deputy commissioner used me to wipe a trail.
"Exactly what you think I mean. There has to be a reason that the chauvinistic pig asked you ‘an omega’ when he hates omegas so much; you have the highest success rates in missions. You were his best bet."
"Is that a compliment? It doesn't feel like one; get better, chief."
"I told you, when we are alone, you can call me Owen.”
“Again with that? You write my checks; I want every opportunity to ask for a raise.”
I respond, and he chuckles.
"What if...we nail him, Luci?”
The chief asks in a low whisper just as I resume my packing, and when I say nothing, he continues.
“We both know there is no way he will let you retire in peace; let's nail him and his backer, clean up the force and-"
" I care even less for the force. My sympathy language is dollars and retirement promises.”
“I will let you retire after the mission, Luci, I promise.”
“And money?”
“I will add a seventy-five per cent bonus to the set pay now.”
"How kind."
I respond with a slow smile.
“You won't betray me, will you?”
“No. I’ll always help you, Luci, you know that.”
"Fine. I’ll see what I can dig up at Heinrich’s headquarters; one stone, two birds, should be easy enough if we can expose Heinrich, too. I’ll need a safe house, off the grid and preferably at a tropical place, I miss the beach.”
The chief nods at my words before standing and walking towards the door, but he doesn’t open it.
"So…you and director Heinrich-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
I cut him off as I zip up my duffle bag.
"I heard you were partners."
I let out a sigh at his insistence.
"He seems to like you."
"Hah! Like me? No way."
"He does, Luci.”
The way the chief calls my name causes me to soften the expression of disgust that laced my face.
"His pheromones-"
"I guarantee he hates me just as much as I hate him. No, I hate him more, so I guess that's not possible. Anyway, don't worry; my feelings won't interfere with the mission."
I say and lift my bag, only for the chief to take it off my shoulders.
"I can carry that-"
“Tell me that when you are out of bandages, I'll drop you at your sister's place."
He insists.
I want to say ‘it's my house too’, but instead, I simply nod; I am not in Ferndale long enough to claim it as my home.
**
"Take care, Luci; I'll contact you tomorrow before you get started. And..."
"And?"
I ask, leaning over the window to gaze at Chief Owen, who is drumming his fingers over the steering wheel, seemingly contemplating something.
"Fucking...shower. "
"What?"
"You reek."
Pressing my pits to my nose, I inhale loudly and frown at him.
"Hey, that's not fair-"
"Not body odour, that asshole's pheromones are all over you."
"Still? I showered before you arrived in my room, I swear."
“You can’t feel it? Get your chip checked; maybe something is wrong.”
"Right.”
I agree passively and slam the door to his car before taking a step back and watching chief Owen's large Prado speed away.
“Seriously, I can't smell anything. Am I turning back into a beta?"
I ask myself, barely able to contain the hope in my voice as I walk towards the house; maybe I should have gotten myself a hotel room or apartment; what if I'm intruding-
Before the thought can be fully formed in my mind, I notice a small body with light brown hair pressed to the door.
"Oh my God, Maya!"
My bag drops to the ground as I rush to cradle the small body.
"Maya…are you sleeping? God’s sake, Maya, why would you sleep outside? Are you crazy?"
"Lu- Luci?'
She calls as she squints her eyes, but as soon as she recognises me, her eyes turn desperate, and her fingernails dig into my shirt.
"Luci, I saw him, I-...why? Why do you smell like my alpha?"
Her words are hostile as if she doesn't recognise me as her brother.
"Maya.”
I call, holding her hands so she stops gripping my clothes, but that only causes her fingers to tighten against my garments.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don't act like you don't know. You met him, didn't you? I knew he was going to see you, but he didn't even turn to me when I called to him. Why did Nikky go to you?”
Nikky? Are you kidding me?
“I can't disclose the details. It's a work thing, come on, let's go inside; I'll make you some hot cocoa and-"
"Why do you smell like my alpha, Lucien?"
My heart thunders loudly in my chest, the beastly sound serenading my earnest exit.Skipping the elevator, I rush straight for the stairs, taking two at a time until I reach the back door.The bag I left is still there, so I switch out my dark hoodie for a light one in case it's identifiable. As soon as I make the switch, I turn to the door and grab the knob, but unlike the freedom that I envisioned, my hand stings as soon as I hold the knob, causing me to groan and take several steps back."What the hell, why is it hot?"The door swings open with a heavy force before the answer can even form in my mind. Two men in full gear step in, their black rifles raised and aimed directly at me.My breath catches in my throat.Contrary to my instinct to stand still and raise my arms in submission, my legs turn back towards the steps.Niklaus looked up at me. But the angle, he couldn’t have seen me, could he?No, no way, even if he did, I shot immediately, so… fuck.How?My mind races as I calcul
I can feel my chest heave from the burning anger at his words, but fighting him like this when I have never won a physical fight with him is pointless."Don't touch me."I say as I slap his hand away from my hair."How long?"He asks as he steps away from me, pressing his hand to his nose as if inhaling it, but I don't have a scent, so maybe he is rubbing his nose."What?""How long until you make a move on me, Luci."By move, does he mean how long until I try to kill him?Hah...this lunatic."Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long."**“What’s this?”Niklaus asks, gesturing to the pillows I set up in the middle of the bed as he dries his dripping wet hair with a damp towel.As if tired, he tosses the towel aside and pulls the one on his waist off, exposing himself to me.Why…why the fuck is he hard?I groan inwardly as I turn my gaze away from him.“Turn off the lights when you are done.”I say, before switching off the lamp by my side.After a bit of shuffling around, the pillo
"There, dinner."I say as I place a bowl of burnt pasta in front of Niklaus."You should be a chef...""I thought I wasn't allowed to work."I answer cooly as I walk to my seat."I was under the impression that spaghetti is prepared by boiling. How did you manage to burn it? That shows talent that shouldn't be ignored.""Oh, haha..."Without smelling or waiting for the steam to fade, Niklaus pokes his fork into the charred mess, spins the charred white strings covered in red sauce on his fork, and eats it.If it had poison, I'd be as good as done now...But something about what Anna said makes me doubtful of poison as a means to kill him.She mentioned being immune; is Niklaus the same?"So, where did you go?"Niklaus asks as he wipes his lips with the napkin, his lips obviously twisted in disgust."Out. Are you not going to finish your meal?""It's not poisoned, is it? Since it's not, there is no need for me to finish it. It's disgusting; hire a chef, honey."I groan at the word ‘hon
"Don't touch me."I growl the words when Niklaus’s hands wrap around my waist as we leave the car.Of course, he doesn't listen, leading me to push his hand off my frame."I'm meeting Anna Stone tomorrow for coffee.""Coffee? That's funny. Why is my husband meeting another woman?”“We aren’t married yet.”“Three days isn’t long, Lucien.”“You are rushing this. I told you that for this to be believable, we need at least six months.”Niklaus shrugs.“I don’t care about believability; I am not selling a story; I am tying you to me, permanently. And about meeting Anastasia tomorrow…hmm, it might not be possible.”He adds casually.“Why not?”To my question, Niklaus places his hand on my waist and pushes me towards the house, but rather than the sight of the staff welcoming us back home most of them have suitcases.“What’s going on?”“Well, you are the new madam of the house, so you get to redesign this place, from the staff to the artwork.”“Are you- Did you fire them?”“Yes, they were se
Revenge with a baby is messy.Dear God, am I really going down as someone who murdered my child’s father?Well, they don’t have to know. I don’t mind being a tragic widower as long as we’re rich. But what kind of life is that? Hah… I don’t want to resemble this bastard.“There is no need for the surgery.”I whisper the words, but the stillness in the room means they heard me.“Pardon my interruption, but without pheromones-”“Beta women give birth fine.”I counter.“Yes, beta women, not men. The male omega faculties are regulated by their ability to flow and receive pheromones. That is why morning sickness is worse without the child’s father and-” “Fine, fine.”I say, waving my hands in the air.“It’s fine; I will just not keep it, so there is no need to continue with the explanations.”Even as I say the words, my hand still strokes my belly, as if I were talking about a situation that doesn’t concern me.Deathly silence follows my confession.“By ‘it’, you mean…”The doctor prods as
Niklaus rose abruptly from his seat. His force pushed my chair back slightly, making me realise he had never locked it in place."A recessive omega? I never said the type you were."His lips curl into a lethal smile."It- it was obvious from our agreement that you sleep with a dominant omega during your rut."The blood rushing in my veins at the word ‘pregnant’ warms my skin.I can feel my muscles tense as thoughts of running fill my head, but the bastard's large build blocks me.Is that why he stood?"Right...Right, our Luci sure is sharp. I bet your little head is racing right now.""Can w-we stay on topic?"Niklaus strides slowly towards me like a predator. His large hand cups my collarbone before he moves behind my chair.I half expect him to push it, but something clicks into place, jolting me—the lock."Wha-"My words halt in my throat when his hand slides down my collar and lifts the hospital shirt, exposing my chest."What are you-"Before I can express my outrage, both of Nik