Chapter Three: Bribed

"Ow... gently, Maya."

I fuss at my younger sister as she holds my head to examine the bandages tied tightly.

"What the hell were you doing? How did you get this banged up? You are good at fighting, aren't you?"

She asks, her brows furrowed so low that a crease forms against her make-up.

My forefinger presses between her eyebrows to smoothen her expression.

“You’ll get wrinkles, Maya. Then you’ll never get married.”

I say with an exaggerated sigh.

“Ow-!”

I cry when her fingers pinch the flesh on my arm at my joke before she turns to me with a solemn expression.

“Luci…what happened?”

With a low sigh, I let my body rest on the raised bed before clearing my throat.

Of course, I am good at fighting; otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have in my career. I just didn't realise that fighting a dominant alpha as an omega would be that much different from fighting a recessive alpha.

Dominant Alphas and Omegas are at the pinnacle of society; even if they are poor at birth, there is a high likelihood they will die rich. Dominant omegas have the most alluring pheromones, fertile bodies, and frail builds, whether male or female dominant omegas, while dominant alphas are almost superhuman, with the most suppressive pheromones, sturdy builds and ironically enough, most studied dominant alphas show traits of being a genius in one aspect of life.

The advantages are unfair when placed back-to-back with their recessive counterparts. Recessive alphas and omegas are only a fraction of what the dominants are, yet we all experience ruts and heat.

There are only twenty known dominant Alphas in Ferndale alone, and Niklaus Heinrich is one of them; that is why I was so happy the day he got engaged to my little sister Maya.

My eyes lower to her left hand; on her ring finger lies a shiny diamond engagement ring from Heinrich; she is still in love with that bastard even after everything, yet he…

Recalling the feeling of him pressed against me, I let out a disgusted scoff.

“Isn't it time you take off the ring? It’s been eight years, Maya.”

Her delicate fingers curl into a fist, gripping the white sheets of the infirmary unit tightly.

“I asked you what happened. Do you not want to answer so badly that you are picking me apart?”

“It's been eight years.”

“And I still…love him.”

She whispers the words ‘love him’ as if they hurt to speak.

“He is a bastard! I almost died because of him! our parents-”

I hastily seal my mouth to keep from saying, ‘Our parents died because of him’, but there are some things little sisters shouldn’t know.

“Our parents what?”

“Wouldn’t…want you with someone who hurt me.”

“Hah… way to make this about yourself, you think he didn’t hurt me? And after everything, I still love him! I will handle my feelings when he comes back, and you need to come to terms with whatever choice I make.”

When he comes back? Excuse me? He broke your engagement…with a post-it!

“May-”

“I can’t change my heart!”

She says as she raises her hand defensively to stop the bubbling argument.

I want to scream, ‘he pressed his erection against me; he isn’t sane!’ but again, little sisters shouldn’t have to hear such things, so instead, I click my tongue in my mouth in frustration before turning my head away from her frame.

“I am… I am glad you are okay, Luci.”

She says, her voice trembling as if she is in tears. If I face her, I'll most likely apologise, even though I mean it. It's been eight years—toss the ring already.

 “I’ll head out; I’ll see you at home tomorrow when they give you a break from whatever did this to you.”

I bite my lip and wince at the sharp pain from the still raw wound on the side of my lip.

It is only after the sound of the door closing echoes that I let out the breath I did not even realise I was holding.

 “Ahhh!!! I want to smoke…”

Another perk of manifesting from beta to omega is that I feel nauseous when I smoke what used to be my favourite pack. It's been eight years since I manifested, and I still can't get used to it.

Before I can let my mind wander, the door to my room flies open, and the chief, frazzled and covered in sweat, unlike his usual self, stumbles in as he rushes towards me.

His hands, cold and large—much like any alpha’s, slide to my revealed neck. I love the feel of his cold hands against my hot skin, but…why is he touching me like this?

“Are you okay, Luci?”

“Not even by a dream, chief”

I respond, forgetting about the hand caressing me because it’s the only thing that feels good right now.

“That bastard, Heinrich, he recognised me in an instant; it's been eight years, I thought… maybe the deputy commissioner was right, rather I hoped. Kicked the shit out of me, I don’t want to fight a dominant Alpha again.”

I confess and let out a sigh as I wait for his reply, but instead, he leans forward, sniffs the air around me and instantly gags before stepping back, his hand also dropping from my neck in the process.

“Okay…screw my feelings, right?”

I ask as I sniff myself, but I can't smell anything but blood and a little sweat. Just.. a little. Okay, so I smell sweaty, but it's not enough to make anyone gag.

“No, not you. That bastard left his pheromones on you.”

The chief says as his expression grows paler.

“Ugh…”

He groans again and turns to the window. It's late at night, not to mention cold, but he opens them wide as if he were the patient.

What does he mean Heinrich left his pheromones on me? Why can’t I smell them?

Before the questions can slip from my lips, the door opens again, and two officers walk in, standing on either end of the room before the deputy commissioner walks in with a smile.

Bile rises in my throat at his site; it's never a good sign when he smiles.

The smile on his face drops when he smells something in the air, but rather than make a disgusted face like Chief Owen, he steps away from me and remains next to the wall as another frame enters through the door.

The man with skin as pale as a vampire’s, hair that is a shining platinum blonde with a set jawline and long blonde lashes that sweep gently and protectively over light blue pupils stops by the door.

Niklaus Heinrich?

Wait, no! Maya!

Did Maya see him?

“Agent Sinclair… how long have you been back in the country?”

Niklaus Heinrich asks as he slides his hands into his pocket.

“Hell must be freezing over; why the hell is a known arms dealer questioning someone on the right side of the law.”

“Agent Sinclair!”

The deputy commissioner calls loudly.

“Pay your respects to the Director and CEO of Heinrich Electronics.”

Hah… this b*stard has been bribed.