by Emma Knox
I laced my fingers together and sighed. “How so ?”
“Well, I don’t know how this happened, but single unmated Omegas have been booking at the Alpha Lodge Inn side of the hotel and have been getting rooms. They’ve bypassed us somehow. There is a new surge of virgin Omegas and the heat for Omegas in general has been getting more…heady ?”
“Damn it,” I growled. Unmated Omegas in the Alpha’s side of the Lodge screamed trouble in ungodly amounts .
“I will handle this .”
A loud shriek emanated from my doors. My inner wolf said it was coming from the Omega side of the hotel. Damn all these hormones to hell .
“Stay here,” Tom said to Aiden .
Both Tom and I shifted into our wolf forms and bolted for the Omega Lodge .
*
I t was a mess. Omegas naked in the courtyard. Alphas kissing and making out with more than one Omega. Did someone drug these people ?
I stood and shifted into my human form .
When people saw me and the displeased look on my face, they faltered and skittered away. No one wanted to hear me roar .
Unfortunately someone was .
I marched through the courtyards, spiking fear into the wild acting Alphas and Omegas. They bowed their heads and returned to their rooms. Now all I had to do was address this booking problem .
When I opened the door, I was greeted by one more weird scene. An Omega in the display cut out of our ceiling, with only tight boxer briefs on. The Alphas were literally barking and flexing their muscles to see who’d get this virgin Omega .
“Sir!” Ethan called out. “I don’t know how to fix this one, I’m glad you came down .”
“Alphas, what say you? Why must you frighten this Omega?” I bellowed .
They turned their heads to me and stopped trying to show how macho they were. “Alpha Gryther, I think I speak for all when we say we’re pleased to meet you. But this Omega here has a scent that’s driving us wild. He’s got to pick a mate .”
I walked toward them, watching the shaking Omega tuck himself into the cut in the wall that was close to the ceiling .
“Stand back, Alphas, you need to give him room.” I turned back to the Omega and lifted my hand out. “Come down, they will not harm you .”
He stared at my hand for a couple of moments and grabbed it to jump down .
“Now, you’re causing quite a stir. Do you sense a mate, Omega ?”
He looked at the three Alphas staring him down like dinner. He scooted behind me and blushed wildly. “Well, I do see him. But…but .”
“Why do you not go to him ?”
He looked up at me with worried eyes. “What if I make the others mad? I don’t want the others to hurt my mate !”
“Choose him, for I will make sure the others will not harm him .”
The frail Omega lifted his arm up and pointed to the Alpha on the far right. He lit up and ran to his mate, sweeping him up and kissing him .
“My love!” he shouted. Then he turned to me. “Thank you, Alpha Gryther, the words on the street do you no justice .”
“Pleasure is all mine .”
“And it’s going to be mine in a few minutes,” his Omega purred .
“Yes, mate. It’ll be both of ours.” He carried his mate out of the office and the other two Alphas made themselves scarce. They knew not to bug anyone in my town .
Consequences would be dire .
“Sir,” Ethan spoke. He was the Omega in charge of the Omega Lodge Inn. “The site keeps letting people over book and the Omega and Alpha verification is glitched. May I have your permission to take it down ?”
“Immediately, Ethan!” I instructed .
“Now about the other problems…” he began while his fingers hit the keyboard with lightning speed .
“I’ve heard. The unmated Omegas in the Alpha wing .”
“Yes, sir.” Ethan struck the enter button a couple of times. “Done. Site is taken down .”
“I’ll handle that problem. But do begin a refund process for overbooked rooms immediately .”
Ethan smiled and pushed out his chest. “Yes, sir.” Accounting was his game. He enjoyed it and the accuracy in our profits and such reflected that .
I strode out to the Alpha wing and knew exactly how to solve the problem of Omegas in the Alpha wing .
Unmated ones were not allowed in the Alpha wing for reasons of disturbance .
I ripped off my shirt and concentrated on my scent. It began to pour out of my Alpha glands and filled the hallways .
Doors began to creak open in various amounts. I began to walk up the hall toward another exit, and if I had calculated my thoughts right, every unmated Omega would be following me .
And would not be allowed back inside .
A swath of Omegas swept out of their rooms and followed me in a silent breathless line. Some cooed, some moaned. But it was a silent march of fired up pheromones. I stopped and looked behind me. The Omegas stopped too, staring at my every movement. Once I was pleased at the number of Omegas following behind, I headed straight out of the door .
“Follow, dear Omegas,” I demanded in a husky Alpha voice .
They loved dominance as if it were a drug. They bathed in submission and never turned down the request of their Alpha, or in this case, any Alpha since they were unmated .
I gathered them into the courtyard and Tom got the cue to start locking the doors so they couldn’t find their way back in. Aiden was on Tom’s heels to record the rooms that were vacated so their keys wouldn’t work either .
“Dear Omegas, I have a request of each one of you .”
“Yes, Alpha?” they said in eerie unison .
“Please, if you are unmated, please don’t sneak into the Alpha’s wing of our hotel. It causes a huge disruption,” I explained .
One Omega stepped up. “And if we do, do we get a treat? Compensation for not being around those knot heavy Alphas?” he asked, lust threading his voice .
They all had their eyes on me. They could tell I was unmated as well .
Yet none of them were my mate .
“A refund indeed. Expedited,” I said .
The Omegas sighed and looked at each other. It wasn’t until they looked back at me with a deviousness that made my inner wolf whimper .
*Oh shit,* my inner wolf let out .
The Omegas began to strip their clothes and run toward me .
“Take us, Alpha Gryther, let us pay you back for all the dirty trouble we caused!” they cried, running to me .
I ran away heading toward the door where Ethan was motioning me to run. My inner wolf kicked in and I got away from the Omegas .
My only concern was them breaking through .
“Ethan! Move out of the way, they might break through !”
“Not a problem .”
He disobeyed me and walked out with a tiny spray in his hands. After he had misted the air, the Omegas halted in their tracks and backed up .
“Oh damn it! Where did my heat go!” cried one Omega .
Ethan then ran back inside with me and closed the doors .
“There we go,” he said, tucking the bottle away .
“Ethan, is that what I think it is?” I asked .
He placed a finger up to his mouth. “Shh, it’s illegal to have this, but it comes in handy,” he whispered .
“You deserve a good vacation for this .”
“Don’t worry about it. I love my job,” he said, walking back to the check in desk of the Omega wing .
“It shows .”
Chapter 3
Steven
C ats didn’t like being wet .
And even in human form, if it wasn’t swimming or bathing, I couldn’t stand the touch of anything wet. It was troublesome and unnatural .
Sweat poured down my head since it was hot and the sun had decided to shine brighter than usual today. Almost at the entrance, the weirdest scene walked right past me .
Omegas, all in t
he nude. Stark nude, butt ass naked, walked by me, sighing and groaning. For some reason I didn’t smell a heat, but looking at them you could tell they had to have been in heat at one point or another .
Omegas didn’t do extreme things like that unless an Alpha was around and their pheromones were blasted on level twenty .
I was now at the entrance of the Omega lodge Inn and tugged the door open so I could flop myself in. I had to remove that weird image out of my memory, but it proved that it was etched in stone .
Lord help me .
There was a line of about five Omegas. One stomped past me, livid. Too bad I wasn’t here earlier to get the details .
The other Omegas were told to wait, but I didn’t know why, so I went to the front of the line .
“What’s going on? Are you checking people in now ?”
The Beta male at the desk shook his head no. “Sorry, I’m not the clerk and have no access to the computers. You’ll have to wait for Ethan to come back to begin that process. Please,” he said, motioning to a nice sitting area with snacks and drinks, “make yourself at home .”
I begrudgingly dragged myself over and gave this Ethan character a mental five minute deadline to arrive. This cat was starved, hungry, and tired. I even had to plan for tonight’s meeting. Too much to do and little fucking time .
I puffed and pouted, playing on my phone to see if I could calm my nerves. The snacks were a helpful distraction too until my phone rang. Great, human interaction .
“Hello?”
“Hey, Steven! It’s Sam,” he said in his usual TV voice. “Hate to break it to ya, but we had to postpone our meeting for two days. So don’t leave just yet, but you’ll be stuck there for seven days instead of five. We’ll cover the hotel bill as usual .”
“Wow. Yippee,” I said, lackluster .
“What’s wrong? Don’t enjoy the room?” he asked, concerned .
“More like waiting for it,” I chided .
“What? They usually do early checkins for our reservations .”
“I’ll ask this Ethan character once he returns.” This sofa chair was really comfortable, but with all these Alphas stalking around, my ass wasn’t gonna go to sleep all out in the open. “Ah, I think that’s him. Email me more information, okay ?”
“Gotcha!”
I hung up and went up to the counter. “Ethan ?”
He looked stressed as hell. “Phew. Yes, how may I help you?” He smiled and rested his hands on the table below the counter .
“I have a reservation. Steven Purr .”
Ethan’s face twisted. Typing into his computer, he took a long hard look at the monitor and shook his head. Sucking his teeth, he said, “I’m sorry, we’re all sold out and overbooked.” He ran a hand through his hair at the disappointment .
No.
Mother.
Fucking.
Way.
This pussy cat was going to shred someone up .
“Excuse me? My paid reservation was sold?” I began to hiss .
“I’m sorry — ”
“Bet your unlucky ass you’re sorry! Where’s the manager, I want a room! I don’t care how you get it, even if you have to pull it out your ass!” I leaned in and hissed, “Get it !”
“I’m really sorry, but — ”
“But my ass! I work for the Relion Corporation, they book here every goddamn time. Do I need to tell them to take their fucking money elsewhere? I had a two day journey cramped in a train. Give me my room,” I growled .
My inner cat had flames shooting out its ears. Fuck this. Fuck all of this. I wanted my room and my rest. I didn’t trust any other hotel to have the level of cleanliness over this one .
Hell no .
“I want the owner down here right now!” I blared .
This Ethan dude was an Omega too. He backed up and sighed. He understood my anger .
“Just a second .”
The other people here in the lobby cut a wide berth around me, giving me my space. I could suck all the oxygen in this lobby and it wouldn’t be enough to quench my anger .
I dug my claws into the granite of their counter, waiting to be accommodated .
First the damn Uber .
Second the tazer .
Third the damn meeting .
And now what? The room too ?
Heh, this town could go straight to hell now. What kind of Alpha was this? The poor Beta was left alone while Ethan went to fetch his boss .
I waited .
Every minute, every second was grating. I tapped my elongated claws on the granite, leaving tiny permanent marks .
“Would you like to sit down?” the Beta asked .
The instant death glare I shot him had him back down .
I wasn’t usually this mean or pissed. But this day was the weirdest, most irritating day I’d had in a while. Punctuality was peace. None of today was punctual. Even the damn train was late .
My inner cat begged me to calm down, and I listened. To an extent .
“What’s taking so long?” I sang in a low threatening tone .
Soon Ethan came back with a tall Alpha .
“Hello, my clerk tells me you’re with Relion and that you wanted to see me ?”
I scanned him from the chest to waist. Yeah, he was an Alpha. But not the Alpha .
Not the owner .
“You’re not the owner…” I growled .
“I’m the mana — ”
I hissed, spitting like a real cat. My shifter abilities got the best of me and I drew back. I wasn’t feral .
“Ahem, excuse me. But I’m not leaving until the real owner comes down here. I know he’s here. Alphas never leave their properties for long .”
I could feel where my pupils had reverted to the sharp oval shape of my cat form. They did that when I was pissed for a certain amount of time .
Ethan spoke up. An Omega acting in charge, how interesting. I would’ve been amused if I weren’t bat shit angry right now. “I’m very sorry, your workplace is one of our best customers. We’d love to put you on the Alpha side, but you’re not mated and we cannot — ”
“Bull shit,” I cut him off .
“Find a room or else I’ll make sure my workplace and others never use this place again. We don’t have time for stupid errors. If there are people who came here and didn’t have a reservation, then find them and make room.” I inhaled and exhaled. Anger wasn’t good for my mental mojo. “My meeting has been canceled for two days, I’m here for seven. I cannot simply turn around .”
Ethan frowned and looked up at the Alpha playing manager .
“Let me go find Drake,” he whispered to the Alpha .
Me being a cat meant that whispering didn’t go unheard; these cat ears picked up everything. Even the sound of a cotton ball hitting the carpet .
I went to sit down on the sofa chair and closed my eyes. My inner cat kept pulling at me to not lose my cool too much .
Understanding was just as important as punctuality. Evidently they had a hard time this week with the heat season in full effect .
I still wanted my room, but it was a shame I’d have to put up such a fuss .
An odd drowsiness overtook me and I lulled off to sleep .
*
A warm hand shook me awake. The scent of an Alpha, a head Alpha made me snap into action. Jumping out my chair I took out my claws. I hated when Alphas touched me .
“What do you want?” I hissed .
“Put those back in, you’re going to hurt someone .”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think they’re out ?”
The big hulky Alpha with a nine o’clock shadow and hero/warrior-esque jaw backed up and huffed. Damn this sucker was huge. This was the owner. I felt the connection to him and this very land .
Head Alphas were like that. They didn’t send mixed symbols .
“Pray tell. Not for me, I hope,” he said in a low chuckle. “Are you Steven Purr?” he asked. His demeanor was stoic, like a wall. Y
et he had a touch of gentleness and kindness .
Hmph, weird for an Alpha. Maybe he was in some sort of Alpha denial mode where he wanted to be an Omega or some shit .
“Yes I am.” I decided to put away the claws and threw my hands on my hips. “I suppose you’re here to accommodate me — ”
The worst thing happened .
There was a small snap of the air around me, and my scent flooded out as if someone broke the Hoover Dam. Oh shit. Not good, not with this huge Alpha standing right in front of the full frontal assault of my scent .
His eyes widened. “You …”
“No, don’t you think about it!” I brought the claws back. “I’m not some piece of Omega meat up for grabs!” I hissed. Alphas, always wanting to lay some hot Omega. Or any Omega for that matter .
He lifted his hands up and inched over to me. What? The claws weren’t scaring him anymore ?”
The crook of my neck where my scent glands were began to throb with an ache. Putting my claws back in, I held onto my neck and winced .
“Ah damn, I hate medicine .”
“Why on earth would you hide such a graceful scent?” the Alpha asked, wonder in his eyes .
“Because do you see all the Alphas here? Everyone’s horned out, and I’m sleepy.” The pain throbbed in my neck again. “So, where’s my room ?”
“Please, follow me.” He held his hand out, and I froze .
I…on impulse, almost took it. Grabbing the small bag I came with, I walked around him and motioned with my head for him to lead the way .
*
“W hat is your name, Alpha?” I asked him as I followed him down a winding hall. It was a bit drafty, yet still comfortable. The heat and air was on simultaneously, creating a delicious harmony of temperature .
“I am Drake Gryther of Wrendall Town and the Gryther Pack. How about you? Dear Omega?” His eyes fell onto mine like snowflakes. Soft and delicate, afraid to make too much of a sound. His presence alone was loud enough .
My cheeks flushed with warmth the way he looked at me. God, as soon as I got to my room I was going to douse myself with medicine. It was just the hormones talking .
“You know my name,” I said, rubbing my arm .
“I mean, do you belong to a pack ?”
His steps were long and kept at a leisurely pace so I could keep up .
