Page 2

Sin

“Y ou will mate with a female omega by the Ceremony or we will disown you!” Caspian’s mother’s yell was rather drowned out by the sound of the bone china teacup shattering against my chest.

She stood across from us, impeded from further chaos by a wide coffee table, and I was glad for the divide.

Zania Risler reigned over us in a pearled silk dress, whose elegance was a jarring contrast to the rage that marred her twisted face. Fifty years of spite never made for graceful aging.

A snarl tore from my right, along with the heady scent of salted caramel. I gently lowered my gloved hand to rest carefully on Caspian’s curled fist hidden between our thighs. With myself on his left, and our omega, Kai, gleefully digging his fingers into our mate’s leg on his right, it was enough to keep him down.

Kai’s black skirt and red silk shirt helped create an illusion of professionalism, even though his thin body shook beneath it. His amaretto scent held a bite that only appeared when he was truly angry.

We each took deep breaths as Caspian’s gaze snapped to the stain spreading over my pressed lapel as I neatly brushed the shards from my lap.

I instantly sent both of them as much love as I could muster through our pack bond, attempting to soothe them, albeit unsuccessfully.

As their pack leader, I needed them to be more composed. This was nothing unusual. It was simply that we were far more tense with Kai so close to his heat.

Yet another strained start to our already-worn routine. The first of the month had become the most dreaded day on my pack’s calendar.

Though the drama was to be expected. Tea with Caspian’s parents was a lesson in civility.

Even compared to my own parents, they grossly overestimated their own value and used that belief to subjugate others. Which included squeezing our male omega into a box they had specifically crafted in their own minds.

I withheld my forthcoming sigh as I pulled a handkerchief from my breast pocket to dab the Earl Grey from my neck.

Zania wouldn’t dare throw anything at her precious Caspian, her only alpha son; the consequences were too severe. But I wasn’t the only alpha she bullied.

I glanced to my family for potential support, though all eyes remained glued to Zania. They wouldn’t dare go against her when she was hellbent on controlling the situation.

Myself and Caspian's parents had helpfully divided themselves into two camps.

My parents presented a united front by cramming themselves onto a lone sofa on our right, my mother and sister perched between my two fathers. Whereas Caspian's parents were led by Zania, the true queen of us all. She lowered herself back onto the dappled green cushions that made up her centre stage. Her four alphas, Caspian’s fathers, lined up behind the sofa like soldiers. They were so familiar with her behaviour that one had already stepped forward to bequeath her with a fresh cup.

“I’ve had enough of your nonsense,” Zania continued, clearing her throat with faux politeness. “You have a month until the Selection Ceremony. That’s plenty of time for you to find a replacement omega.”

She made no attempt to hide her sneer as she flicked a disapproving glare at Kai before returning to me, the ‘reasonable one’ of our pack. Her pinkie finger extended as she daintily brought the cup to her lips as if that had somehow solved the matter.

We hadn’t had to attend a Selection Ceremony since we bonded with Kai five years ago, but this year there were extenuating circumstances.

The east living room of the Risler mansion was its own brand of distasteful, though I would never say it outright. It was one thing to subtly allude to your wealth with expensive art, fine architecture, and stylised interiors. It was quite another to stuff so much into a room that a single ray of sunlight could blind you from the sheer volume of gold that hung from every wall and drowned each surface. Gold-plated furniture, gold wall hangings, three golden fireplaces, and large golden picture frames sporting full-sized portraits of each individual member of Zania’s pack lined the wall behind her—as if we would somehow forget Caspian’s parents’ grandeur in the short seconds it took our eyes to drop from the ghastly portraits and onto them.

It was the fresco in the domed arch above us that truly finished the room.

But we were used to it now. Instead of admiring the obscene wealth poured into the space, our attention oscillated between Caspian’s mother and my own, Vivian. She tightened her arm around my sister, Camille, who perched next to her, both of them trembling at the slightest sign of aggression.

Camille’s only accomplice was her honey-scented bodyguard, who stood rigidly behind the sofa, doing a poor job of concealing his rage.

Zania sighed lightly as she placed her teacup onto its saucer and fixed her hawkish glare on us.

“I don’t care to repeat myself,” she said, her tone considerably less irked. Earl Grey worked wonders, both for throwing and for drinking. “Either choose from the omegas on the list, or we will follow through on our promise to mate Camille to the Hiscox pack. And, as I said, disown you.”

My sister flinched, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders. I held back my frown; while Caspian scowled enough for the three of us.

Camille was weak as it was, but forcing her to travel from Kensington to Mayfair when she had had an episode last night was deeply unfair. Even the London air could be too much for her on a good day.

Though we were both pale, my sister was painfully pallid at the best of times, with shakes in her hands and permanent bags topping hollowed cheeks. But it was no wonder she was bedridden when she had to endure our families nearly every day.

I gently circled my thumb over the back of Caspian’s hand, asking him to relax. If he exploded now, there would be no saving the situation.

Kai followed suit, his hand shifting from Caspian’s thigh to cup his alpha’s knee. Zania instantly picked up the movement, and sneered at the sight. I had made Kai promise not to taunt Zania, despite it being one of his favourite hobbies. This meeting was far too delicate for us to play games.

Camille glanced at Caspian, but he refused to look at her.

He clenched his jaw as his poorly honed anger surged through our bond. Kai and I shared every aching emotion that freely blazed through him, along with his physical sensations, thanks to the pack bond connecting our bodies and hearts. We could either fuel or calm his fire in return. And I had to send a pulse of energy to my omega down the bond as a warning not to stoke it.

“Disown us as well?” I echoed, tilting my head, finally replying to her. “That is a new one.”

We had already been arguing for half an hour, all boiling down to Zania’s current outburst.

“Well, it’s much easier than creating two separate dramas!” My mother cut in with her shrill tone that said she was desperate for us not to fight. “We can address all the nasty issues together, rather than dragging it all out.” She smiled in that way of hers that made it seem like each word that dropped from her mouth seeped with innocence.

“You can’t disown us when we run some of your biggest businesses,” Caspian replied stiffly.

“And think of the fallout,” Kai said. “What would the media say if there was such a sudden change?”

Though we were all perfectly capable of running our own businesses, our mothers could ruin us with one word if they wished.

Silence drenched the room as malice ran through our parents. No matter their disagreements between each other, they all agreed on one thing: my omega was not welcome in this family. And, any attempts he made to speak up were met with total contempt.

I needed to change the direction of the conversation or they’d distract us from the real issue at hand.

I drew in another slow breath, my nostrils flaring as I turned to my family. “Mother, surely you cannot be serious. You know what the Hiscoxes will do to her.”

The Hiscox pack was notorious for their treatment of omegas. Though they were praised for the medical advancements achieved by their pharmaceutical companies and laboratories, that did not erase the fact that all three of their omegas in the past four years had died from 'unexplained circumstances’ months after bites.

If anything ever happened to Camille, our worlds would end, and there would be nothing to prevent Caspian and I from serving justice for the suffering our families had brought on all of their children and their mates.

Camille leant forward to contribute, but was quickly silenced with a sharp hiss from our mother.

I would not have caught the way Camille’s wiry bodyguard tightened if we had not met eyes in that moment. I sent him a warning look, to which he instantly responded. His entire body eased until no one, not even Camille, would guess what had just happened.

It had been clear from the day Flint stepped into her room that he was her scent match, but it was too dangerous for the pair to envision a life together. Not only because Zania or Mother might have him killed, but because of Camille’s condition.

“We already have an omega,” Caspian growled, finally calm enough to join the conversation. “We aren’t bringing another one into our pack.”

My sister’s gaze fastened to the carpet, and both Kai and I felt Caspian’s wince of pain in response.

My sister and Caspian stopped being lovers nearly a decade ago, yet they still insisted on entertaining their feelings despite the fact they both had mates.

Zania’s upper lip curled at the barest mention of Kai, our actual omega.

“You can hardly say you have an omega. What right does he have to call himself that when he can’t even give you children?” She turned her nose up at him as she took another sip before her attention swung to me.

Like female alphas, male omegas were born infertile, and shunned by many in society simply because they didn’t perform the primary function of an omega: bearing children.

“Sin, dear, you understand we must have an heir. Both myself and Vivian no longer have heat cycles. Lily is a complete failure, so either you and Caspian, or Camille must take the mantle.”

In a way, I was glad Caspian’s sister, Lily, was unable to bear children. It took the pressure off of at least one of the four children of the two packs.

Caspian advanced from twitching to shaking as Kai softly brushed his omega aura out over our mate to calm him. It wouldn’t do for all three of us to reach the peak of anger so soon. We usually endured at least an hour of their bitterness before Caspian surrendered to his instincts, namely the ones that told him to protect his pack.

“So, you are satisfied sacrificing Camille’s life and happiness in exchange for grandchildren?” I asked, my eyes fixed on my mother. It wasn’t a question for Zania to answer. The two might have been friends since birth, but Camille was her daughter, no matter how Zania insisted she knew best.

Mother paused, hesitating, glancing at Zania before she nodded. “Correct. Camille has wanted a pack for years. And it’s impossible to find a young pack who will accept her in her condition.” She frowned, her gaze dipping to my sister, who immediately bowed her head to avoid scrutiny. “This way, she will at least have a chance at a normal life.”

The problem was, only six out of the thirteen people in the room knew what Camille’s ‘normal’ entailed.

I pressed my lips firmly together, shifting my fingers from Caspian’s fist, reaching backwards to instead massage his lower back.

Zania twitched at the sight. According to their skewed ideology, alphas were supposed to be strong and handle themselves, and omegas were the ones that took on emotional burdens. The idea of alphas relying on each other was laughable to them. It was why I was also holding back my aura and my scent.

“It is your obligation to give us grandchildren,” my mother continued. “We did not raise you both to live a life without a real omega—without children.”

“He is a real omega,” Caspian snapped. A crack rang through our bond as Caspian made to jump from the sofa. My hand sped down to grip his waistband. Along with a harsh squeeze on his thigh and a quick thrill from Kai, it kept Caspian secured to the seat. Kai rarely spoke when all the family was gathered, but he was bubbling away with the potential fight that may arise should Zania continue her nonsense.

“Conceptually, yes,” Zania said, one brow raised, unimpressed. “But our business associates and sponsors have grown tired of your little rebellion. You’ve clearly made your point, but it’s time for you to grow up.”

I slowly closed my eyes, swallowing the sharp sting that pierced all three of us.

“We don’t want a female in our pack. We are fine as we are,” Caspian growled on a strained breath.

“You say that now, but what happens when you realise you want children? And your…your…pet.” She scowled, spitting out the word as if she was exorcising herself. “You still believe you ‘love’ him, but he can’t give you what you want.”

I pushed away my mate’s storming emotions as they dominated the bond, cluttering my concentration with their flares of sensitivity.

“Then, if our desires change, we can adopt,” I replied coldly. “We have no need for a female omega. If we must, adoption would appear much better for our family publicly than the addition of yet another young, white, wealthy omega.”

Caspian and I didn’t want to subject a child to the insanity of our lifestyle and blood relations, and Kai resolutely said no to children whenever I’d asked. In the end, it was our omega’s decision. I refused to force him into an undesirable situation ever again.

“No, I am sick of making excuses to our associates as to why I have no grandchildren.” Zania lifted her hand, and another of Caspian’s interchangeable fathers magicked a black folder and neatly presented it to her.

She whipped it away without a glance. “We’ve come up with ten eligible candidates, all from good families, all tested and perfectly fertile.” She slid the folder across the table, aiming for me.

“They may come with conditions.” Her thin lips pinched closed as she returned, straight-backed, to her crowning position, just in time for her to once again scowl at my omega. “Such as what to do with him .”

We could only hold back Caspian to a degree. Whenever she descended into another session of hate towards our omega, we were far less inclined to help. The last time she pushed them both, it resulted in Caspian’s rogue state dominating him just enough for him to leap for Zania. It ended with his fathers tackling him to the ground while Zania and Kai watched in amusement.

In rare cases, highly strung alphas and omegas were subject to frenzied states where they would submit to their most primal instincts, attacking anything in the vicinity they could in a mad fit of rage. For alphas, it was a rogue state, and omegas would go feral. And the result was permanent physical and mental damage, which made them more prone to violence in the future.

A state that Kai was all too happy to encourage in Caspian.

Zania sighed as everyone else hung in silence. “We have just over a month until the Selection Ceremony. I’ve arranged several parties, starting next week. You can assess who would be best suited for you. Though I have made notes beside each of the benefits it would bring our family should you choose them.”

It was impossible to hear thoughts through a pack bond, but I was certain there were cries of NoNoNoNo coming from both my mates.

Since Kai joined our pack, we had been fighting to stop exactly what was happening now. We had our omega, we had our sisters, and we had our friends. We needed nothing else. Including disapproving family members.

My mother sniffed as she raised her nose. “It’s either pick a lady from the list, or watch Camille join the Hiscox pack.” She held my gaze, the weight of her words holding greater meaning than Zania’s. If Mother thought the Hiscoxes could help with Camille’s condition, then she was deeply mistaken. One pack had already tried to restrain her, and failed spectacularly.

I blinked, breaking away from her manipulative gaze. “Kai’s heat is due, so there’s no guarantee we can attend,” I said as I swiped the folder from the table. It was better to remove it. Camille stared at it with wide eyes as Caspian resolutely ignored it, while Kai was seconds from stealing forward to rip it apart with his teeth.

“Then make it a guarantee,” she sniffed. “There are replacement alphas you can hire for him if you’re busy. I’m sure he’s cheaper to service than a female.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kai whispered, but it was drowned out by Caspian’s low growl.

Kai’s pain at Zania’s barb quickly morphed, and his desire for revenge raged. Laughter bubbled within him, and he was close to biting back at her, even though I asked him before every meeting to hold himself until we had left.

“The first party will be in eight days,” Zania continued with a satisfied smirk. “That is definitely enough time for you to prepare. Though it would be best if you left Kai. We wouldn’t want to turn the ladies off before you’ve even begun a conversation.”

A snarl ripped from Caspian as he surged upwards, and I lost my grip.

The dainty cups floating amongst platters of untouched biscuits rattled as his aura sailed from him with a burst of well-honed precision, and Camille shook along with them. A tidal wave of energy poured from him, dragging oxygen from the room in his rush of fury.

Our auras were fields of energy that surrounded the bodies of alphas and omegas, and could be controlled depending on one’s skills and mental stability.

We could take any abuse our parents hurled at us, under any pretext, but insults to Kai or Camille were an entirely different matter.

The silk sleeve of Kai’s shirt slipped to his elbow as he tugged on Caspian’s hand in full view of the room. My omega gave a harsh growl, eclipsed by another snarl from Caspian.

“Say that again!” Caspian shouted as my hand dropped like a stone to clench the hard muscle of his flexing thigh.

“Caspian, don’t worry about it,” Kai pushed to be heard over the relative chaos. “You know I’m never going to miss a chance to spend time with your lovely mum.”

My omega’s voice danced with playful warning. His widening grin found Zania as he quirked a brow.

“That is the very opposite of what I was suggesting,” she responded with obvious disgust. “Who knows what kind of disease I might contract around such filth?”

Kai’s amusement and her disdain were thick with equal measure.

“Mother!” Caspian choked out. Caspian was too close to losing control, and Zania wouldn’t stop simply because her son was distressed. Antagonisation was her forte, after all.

Our uselessness was apparent as Caspian wrenched himself from Kai’s grasp. We didn’t need him to snap “Get off me,” but he still flattered us with his effort.

Caspian’s head shot downwards, glaring at Camille with wild eyes, as if to blame her for the ridiculous situation. She was no more responsible than we were. Less, even. It was her whimper of fear that pushed Caspian to the edge.

He swept his arm, knocking me away as he turned on one foot and tore out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Kai’s pain shattered through our bond, and Zania’s chuckle made his shards of resentment that much sharper.

“You are taking this too far. You may control this situation with Camille, but we have our limits,” I said.

With Caspian rapidly leaving the circumference of our bond, it was easier to find my own unique anger at the futility of our situation. Caspian tended to take himself and his rage to the boundary of the Risler estate and vent his usually repressed emotions out there.

“It’s not too far if it is true,” Zania replied with the slightest shrug, as if she was blameless. My mother snorted at the ‘joke’ as the rest of our families looked on with smug smiles.

“Is that everything?” I asked. I refrained from scowling. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. “I believe you’ve made your points, so we’ll take our leave.” I instantly reached for Kai, looping my hand through his.

He was a jumble of emotions that could not be sorted, like tangled wires that had been left twisted for too long. They could never regain their original shape, and that was our fault for biting him before considering the consequences.

We needed to leave. I regretted abandoning my sister, but they would not provoke her when they were alone. We were always the targets.

“For now,” Zania sighed as if she carried the weight of London high society on her shoulders. “I’ve included samples of the ladies’ scents in the list, so you and Caspian can decide which suits your particular tastes.”

Kai was our absolute perfect taste. His amaretto blended so well with my vanilla and Caspian’s caramel that my mouth watered whenever I was in our pack house. And when Kai was in heat, I couldn’t get enough of it. We didn’t need any other scent added to our pack.

“Understood,” I forced out as I took the folder from her. I’d rather have her believe we had reconsidered than have to sit there for another second of her hate. “We’ll take all your sage suggestions into consideration. You can expect a positive answer, given your conditions.”

Kai sucked in a harsh breath. If we left with the impression that we would protect Camille over Kai, it would settle them for long enough that we could plan.

“Good.” She nodded, lifting her teacup again. “I’ve arranged them by usefulness. You’ll find Lady Montague at the front. Do study her closely.”

“Naturally,” I replied smoothly. “Because the omega we choose must be beneficial to the family.”

“Exactly.” She nodded. “I’m so glad we’re still on the same page.”

I didn’t deign to answer her. Anything I said would only make the situation worse.

As we turned to leave, Zania unwisely chose to continue.

“Sin, dear, do remember you’re always welcome to visit,” she said with a small smile.

“Of course, Zania. Thank you again.” I bowed, tucking the folder under my arm and stepping in behind Kai, making it very clear who was leading who.

The moment I pulled the door to, with just an inch to go, nearly free from their twisted words, Zania glared at my mother.

“Really, I don’t know why they insist on bringing that thing here,” she sighed, instantly ripping a gasp from my omega.

I slammed the door as hard as I could, informing her we had heard every drop of poison that spilled from her.

I instantly rounded on Kai, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and pulling him to my side.

“I am so sorry,” I murmured, kissing his hair, taking in his almond scent that was my home.

I couldn’t bring him to my chest. The tea had cooled but, no matter how much I wanted to hold him properly, it would ruin his makeup.

“I really just wish you’d let me at her,” he grumbled against my chest. “You know I could take that stuck-up bitch one-handed.” His grin carried in his voice as he flung his arms around my back, rubbing his scent across my arm, solidly marking me as his.

His hair only just scraped my chin, but it made it easier for him to snuggle into me at night.

He was a tough omega, but even he could not step away from an interaction with my mother and Zania unharmed.

I bent to nuzzle my nose against his neck and scent mark him in return. “You could burn this entire mansion to the ground and I would love you for it. But we must keep the peace until Camille is safe.”

He stilled, barely hiding his flicker of hurt, but I still caught it. I knew he hated how we held him back, but it was for everyone’s sake. We couldn’t take any risks, not when Camille was so fragile.

“Oh, man, that’s still number one on my bucket list,” he laughed, tipping his head to beam up at me. “We need to go and find Cas.”

I straightened, returning to business as I adjusted the folder under my other arm. “Are you sure you want to come?” I asked him.

“Er, yeah. Duh. There’s no way I’m missing out on furious Cas. That’s my favourite Cas, apart from horny Cas.” The fact he could joke helped ease the darkness swirling through our bond. But it wasn’t over yet.

“When we get back, I want you to knot me so hard we all forget all about this,” he said, lifting on the tips of his toes.

“I’m sure that can be arranged.” I dipped my head so he could kiss me more easily, as his smile lit his eyes.

“Now, come on, our mate is waiting.” He smirked.

He reached out a hand, guiding me through the familiar route to the front doors of the Risler mansion. Gravel crunched under our feet as we parted with the house of nightmares until we arrived at the lawn that circled it.

We promptly sailed past the “Do Not Step on the Grass” sign, following Caspian’s dew-heavy footprints that stormed off towards the woods that ringed the estate.

We stopped at the edge of sprawling oaks and beeches, and I prepared myself as Kai shifted from foot to foot, already itching to find our mate.