Omega's Deception

by Lillian Sable

  Legion prided himself on existing outside the reaches of the Central Command and it caused no small amount of displeasure that he needed the Undersecretary’s aid to access confidential medical data.

  Being the most powerful cartel boss in the city had its benefits, but no man was all-powerful.

  Barnard cleared his throat. “I assume that you were otherwise satisfied with your trip to Eros House…”

  The man trailed off as Legion stared him down.

  Eros House, that bastion of petty desire and base mediocrity. Others had encouraged him to taste their offerings for years and he had resisted until recently. Barnard had assured him that the real draw was the women, most of whom toiled in the lower levels so a handful of credits was enough for them to agree to almost anything. But Legion had never been interested in paying for sex, it was offered often enough for free that there was simply no need.

  What had finally changed his mind about Eros House was the assurances of the Undersecretary, who was the highest ranking government official that Legion had in his pocket. He spoke of Beta females that looked and acted so similarly to an Omega that an Alpha wouldn’t know the difference until the moment he knotted her.

  Legion didn’t fuck Beta women, he’d experienced knotting a true Omega often enough in the past that he wouldn’t tolerate a lesser experience. But he would engage in other activities, mostly for his own pleasure although he didn’t begrudge them theirs. And the Undersecretary had insisted that the Betas found in Eros House were of the highest quality.

  And to his surprise, he had not been disappointed.

  Still, a niggling doubt remained. The little Beta female had been good, far superior to any other he had experienced, but her responses had not seemed like the playacting he had imagined. She had reacted to the painful pleasure he inflicted on her in a way that no other Beta ever had, seeming even to surprise herself.

  She had responded like an Omega.

  But he had been assured, repeatedly, by both the quivering Undersecretary and the proprietor of Eros House, that the girl had been tested and confirmed as Beta. So why did these doubts remain?

  Legion was a man who was always sure of himself. That instinct was what led him to become one of the most powerful Alphas in the Astropolis, what kept the government officials under his thumb and not the other way around and why he had destroyed every challenge ever put to him. All of which is what made this particular issue so impossible to let go. Legion was unused to being wrong, about anything.

  “Is there any further assistance that I can offer?”

  Lost to his thoughts, Legion had nearly forgotten that the Undersecretary still stood across from his desk, and had been waiting there in silence for the last several minutes.

  “No that’s all I have for you, at the moment.” Legion grasped the stack of neatly typed pages. Confidential records were kept on paper to prevent just this sort of illicit disclosure. It was an antiquated practice but would have been effective against anyone with less power than he held. “You’re dismissed.”

  The Undersecretary’s shoulders practically sagged in relief. He turned smartly on his heel and strode toward the door as quickly as he could without breaking out into a run.

  “Wait.”

  Barnard froze in his tracks and turned back, expression grim. “Sir?”

  “Alert the Crown that I haven’t yet received payment for this month. And I dislike being kept waiting.”

  The warning in his voice was unmistakable.

  Barnard bowed low. “Of course, sir. I will attend to the issue immediately.”

  Legion finally let the pitiful man go, his disgust still permeating the air. He waited until the door had slid shut before opening the large file folder and thumbing through the pages.

  His interest, and he refused to acknowledge any other term for it, was strong but likely fleeting. He had not expected to find a Beta woman who seemed such a match for his desires. He simply wanted to assuage his curiosity before letting her slide back into the mud of whatever slum that Eros House had found her in.

  But Betas just did not respond in the way that she had, even the ones schooled in faking a response that did not come naturally. And the girl had clearly not been trained in any meaningful way, her reactions were too hesitant for that.

  The file opened to a picture of the girl’s face. She was lovely, but not the most beautiful that he had ever seen. Although it was not her visual appeal that had him so caught, that had forced him to ask a favor of the Undersecretary and endure the man’s stink in his office.

  It had been her scent. Not as full-blown as the overwhelming pheromones contained in Omega slick, but softer as if it had been carried from afar on the wind. And that small hint, of something deeper and more profound, kept him fascinated.

  It was no secret that he had little patience for the bootlicking and status obsession of government types. Unfortunately, he needed them almost as much as they needed him. It was government funds that made up the pile of credits that his empire was currently sitting on.

  He had built the factory that supplied most of the air purifiers to the Astropolis. The devices were all that kept the atmosphere breathable in a place that would have otherwise been a polluted wasteland. And not only did Legion control the manufacture and installation of the air purifiers, but also their maintenance and continued functioning.

  The first missed payment and Legion could easily cut off the flow of purified air to key parts of the sky towers in the Astropolis, including those in the palace. He could start with the apartments of government officials and work his way down the chain of command. The newly appointed officials taking the place of their dead superiors would be more amenable to Legion’s terms.

  It would not be the first time that he had been forced to make his intentions clear. If memory served, Undersecretary Barnard had his current position because the previous occupant had been unwilling to do business with him.

  Legion’s second-in-command, a green-eyed Beta male named Adrian, slipped silently into the room and waited by the door. Although Adrian wasn’t an Alpha, he had earned his place at Legion’s side through a ruthlessness and desire for power that nearly rivaled Legion’s own.

  “Is the Undersecretary gone?” Legion asked as he flipped the file closed. “I can never tell, his fear stinks so strongly that I can smell it in here for days.”

  Adrian crossed his arms behind his back as a sneer twisted his thin lips. “I accompanied him to the skycar personally.”

  Legion pushed the file across the desk. “Have you seen the report?”

  Adrian did not move from his spot by the door. “I reviewed pertinent information prior to bringing the Undersecretary in to meet with you.”

  “And?”

  “I do not understand the question.”

  Legion was under no illusions about his second’s disapproval. Adrian had made it clear that he saw no purpose in devoting any energy to a random woman from the slums.

  “You confirmed that the information was correct?”

  Adrian shifted, causing the weapons slung on both hips to squeak in their holsters. “Only because you ordered it.”

  Legion smiled, but it was completely without humor. “Have you thought about visiting Eros House yourself, the selection was better than I imagined.”

  Smart enough not to rise to the bait and inadvertently insult his boss, Adrian responded without inflection. “I think yours may have been the exception.”

  “Speaking of my selection…” Legion leaned back in his armchair and surveyed the unobstructed view of the sky revealed by the large window that rose from the floor to the ceiling. They were much too far above the lower levels to even see any of the people who lived below, but he looked down and imagined them crawling through the dirt, like a child squatting over an anthill. “I want you to follow the girl, find out anything about her that might be missing from the government report.”

  “With all due respect—“

  Legion cut
him off with a low growl. “I do not want your respect, just your obedience.”

  Adrian’s nostrils flared, and he made a clear effort to control his mounting anger. He strode forward to stand over the desk where Legion sat. “And what is to become of my other duties while I am babysitting a slum rat?”

  “Mind your tongue.” The cold stare that Legion leveled at his second was more frightening than even his growl could be, making the other man stood up a little straighter. “It won’t be for long. I want confirmation that my instincts are incorrect, although they never have been before. Then you can forget all about her.”

  “Even a moment spent swallowing poisoned air in the slums is too much.”

  Both of them found the lower levels distasteful, each for their own reasons. And it was not an exaggeration that the air grew more toxic as you moved closer to the ground. Heavy pollution settled over the wildlife and killed the vegetation. Even plants couldn’t grow in the slums, all the agriculture was hydroponic and farmed exclusively in the middle levels. The people in the slums weren’t living, just dying slowly enough that the government could get away with not paying attention.

  Dark eyes turned back from the window to survey his second-in-command. “Award yourself hazard pay and stop complaining before I tear out your throat.”

  Adrian appeared unbothered by the threat as he picked up a page with a grainy picture printed on it. “What is it about this girl that you find so fascinating?”

  The corner of his lip curled in a silent snarl. “That’s what I want you to find out.”

  The possibility that the girl could be Omega was barely worth contemplating. And yet, he found no other ready explanation for what made it so difficult to push her from his thoughts. Women served limited utility in his world and had become mostly interchangeable. But this girl remained in his thoughts despite his best efforts to forget her, and he needed to know why.

  “I could just drag her back here by her hair and save us all of this trouble.”

  For a moment, Legion considered it. But no, the uproar that would result from a kidnapping, even one in the slums, would be more than he wanted to deal with. As much as it rankled, Legion recognized that he wasn’t entirely above the law.

  At least, not for now.

  “You have your orders, Adrian.” Legion swiped up on the desk’s surface to activate his terminal, his mind already moving onto other things. “Do not disappoint me.”

  Adrian gave a slight bow and left the room.

  Feeds from a dozen cameras appeared on his screen. They had conquered the encryption on the government surveillance units a long time ago and he often used them to monitor areas where it would be too suspicious to venture in person. He called up the block where the girl’s home address was located and flipped through the feeds.

  He had not bothered to inform his second-in-command of it, but he had watched her before — leaving and entering her shit-hole of an apartment, walking to the public cafeteria where she worked. None of it was particularly fascinating, but he found himself returning to the feeds and zooming in on her face, which always seemed pinched with worry and fear.

  “What are you hiding, little girl?”

  Chapter Seven

  Ianthe jerked awake in a cold sweat, aftershocks still wracking her body. Her fingers bunched in the thin blanket as she willed her frantic heartbeat to slow to a more normal rhythm.

  The dreams had come each and every time she slept since the night at Eros House. Over seven cycles had passed and, instead of diminishing with time, the dreams had only grown more intense. It was becoming difficult to remember that they were only fantasy and not reality.

  She didn’t want to think about how many times she had woken in the last week with her frantic fingers buried between her legs.

  Thankfully, she was alone in the apartment. Circe had gone to the market, wearing the protective scarf that covered her disfigured face, and Eaon still attended the compulsory education program during the day. He liked to call it government-sponsored indoctrination. But they forced him to go, without completing primary schooling it was nearly impossible to get a work certificate.

  Her sister had already remarked on the loud moans that came from her room each night. She had grown tired of trying to explain it away. She already knew there was something very wrong with her and she didn’t need another reminder.

  Ianthe rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom, stumbling as her brain struggled to fully wake. The tile floor was cold beneath her feet as she worked at the faucet with trembling fingers.

  Her twin moved with her as a reflection in the dingy mirror. The bruises on her thighs and back were mostly gone, with only a handful of small black and purple smudges in the shape of fingerprints remaining, but the memory persisted as strong as ever.

  She felt a pang at the thought that soon the marks would disappear completely. She would miss the physical reminder, it was the only reassurance that the entire thing hadn’t been a figment of her imagination.

  The Procurer had not contacted her again since that night. She couldn’t decide whether to be disappointed or relieved. She didn’t want to carry this desire to see the Alpha again, but it was difficult to ignore.

  And there was danger in obsession, it could lead her to a place that she wouldn’t come back from.

  Ianthe dressed for work in the drab gray jumpsuit that marked her as a service provider in the lower sector. She had more important things to think about than the Alpha that she would never see again.

  It was a slow day at the cafeteria.

  She stood behind the payment counter, topping off bottles of condiments and surveying the expanse of empty tables. Like most employees in the service sector, she earned a portion of the day’s proceeds as wages, so no customers meant no credits in her pocket.

  “Another day in paradise, huh?”

  Ianthe turned to glance at the woman working next to her. Miranda was a more senior employee and seemed to derive particular pleasure from being difficult to work with. She also liked to ask the kind of questions that Ianthe preferred not to answer.

  “Looks like it,” Ianthe replied, returning her attention to organizing the items on the shelf in front of her. “Hopefully, it picks up soon.”

  Miranda picked up a rag and sidled closer to where Ianthe stood, swiping haphazardly at the counter. “Did you get your hair done?”

  Ianthe resisted the urge to put a hand to the tumultuous brown waves on her head that had not changed by so much as a curl. “No.”

  “There’s something different about you. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  “If you say so.”

  Ianthe moved to the fill station where food orders were processed and began stacking the clean trays. Miranda followed her, buzzing in her ear like a stubborn fly.

  “How’s your brother, does he still have the coughing sickness?”

  Ianthe sighed and turned to face the other woman, who clearly wouldn’t allow her to escape the conversation.

  “Yes, and he’s about to get kicked out of primary for missing too many days of school.” Ianthe slid the trays back on the rack despite an overwhelming urge to throw it at someone. “This is the lower levels. Things are never good.”

  The other woman smirked. “Did I tell you that my daughter was just pair-bonded to a guardian Alpha from the middle levels? Her mate said I can move in with them once they’re settled.”

  “How nice that would be for you.” She kept the sarcasm at bay, but only with an effort.

  “It was a beautiful ceremony.”

  It was no secret that many families in the slums hoped to unite their daughters with well-placed Alphas or Betas who lived in the higher levels with hopes it would raise their own position. If Ianthe still had parents, perhaps they would have done the same thing although she liked to think that they would have left the choice of mate up to her.

  Although she clearly wasn’t above trading her body for money and comfort.

  Disg
usted with both herself and Miranda, Ianthe turned back to her station, swiping at the counter with hard strokes of a rag. “I’ve never been to a bonding ceremony.”

  “It was lovely.” Miranda cast her a triumphant smile. “He paid for it all, of course. A proper Alpha always does, you know.”

  Ianthe had no desire to ever see a bonding ceremony. The practice was barbaric, but very fashionable among the citizens of the middle and upper levels who had the credits to make a spectacle of themselves.

  The pair bond was a mysterious thing and something she had only read about while searching the CommNet. Only Alphas were capable of initiating a true pair-bond, forging a literal soul connection to their mate that moved beyond the physical and into the spiritual. It was said that a pair bond connected two people to their very souls.

  Ianthe didn’t believe in souls, or that they could be tied together in some metaphysical way. But pair-bonding ceremonies were popular. The male would bite his mate, while a crowd of their friends and family watched, and then rut her in front of the assembled crowd. Ianthe considered the whole thing to be completely barbaric and disgusting. As far as she was concerned, the pair-bonding ceremony was just an excuse that Alphas used to make a public show out of claiming their mates. There was no such thing as a soul connection between two people.

  The door chimed, shaking Ianthe from her reverie. She realized that she had been wiping the same spot on the counter for the past several minutes.

  She looked up to find Miranda still watching her, expression smug. “Why don’t you take this one, honey? It looks like you could use the distraction.”

  “Thanks,” Ianthe murmured. She wanted to add for nothing but resisted the urge.

  Ianthe pushed off the counter, wiping her hands on the apron that was part of the required uniform. She turned to face the service station, a fake smile already half-plastered on her face.

  Then she came face to face with the Procurer.

  She froze, mouth working uselessly as she tried to no avail to produce coherent sounds.