Page 2

Chapter 2

Dante

Holy fuck, what a woman.

Betas don’t usually do it for me. I’m an Omega guy, through and through. Call me a typical Alpha but I know what I want and I don’t like to settle for anything.

Yet that woman… that Beta…

Her scent was enticing. Sweet lilac and warm vanilla, and something else that I couldn’t manage to name before she took off. I want to know what it is. I need to know what it is.

It wasn’t just her scent, either. She’s beautiful. Small, but the height difference doesn’t bother me. It just means I could pick her up easily and carry her, press her against the wall to feel more of her soft, curvy body against mine.

Her eyes and hair are both a rich dark color, her hair tumbling down her back and framing her delicate face while her eyes are the highlight. Even though I only got a short look at her before she ran off, I know that I’m not going to forget that face. It’s burned into my memory now.

I could go after her and ask for her number. My pack remains without an Omega, something that I know weighs on all of us even though we try to remain upbeat. We don’t settle for anything less than the best. Call me a perfectionist, call me a romantic, but I want that spark. I want that Omega that will drive us all crazy and satisfy us in ways we couldn’t even imagine. Until we find that Omega, we’re not settling.

But I have had Betas in my bed. Just for a night, of course. Nothing wrong with having a little fun. It helps to ease my needs so I can focus on work without going crazy. Especially when heats hit.

I could get her number. I’m sure she felt something when we collided, from the way her eyes sparkled up at me. I’ve been told my scent’s intoxicating even to Betas. And there was definitely something intoxicating about her.

No .

I shake my head, clearing that idea from my mind. I need to get work done, and I can’t let myself be distracted.

When I get to the office for NexusTech Enterprises, I head right for the penthouse offices on the top floor. My pack mates and I built this company together, pioneering smart tech on devices like sunglasses and watches, and now we have the top floor all for ourselves.

It’s the perfect situation for us to provide for an Omega, if we can ever find one.

“You look like you got hit by a bus,” Ethan informs me.

“Oh, so how you usually look?” I tease him right back.

People have mistaken Ethan and me for brothers occasionally, since we have somewhat similar facial features, although my eyes are gray and his are green. But the sad truth is, Ethan was an only child who lost his parents young.

I know he wants an Omega, a family , more than any of us. And I’m determined to give him one. I lead this pack and that means it’s my job as top Alpha to look after my pack mates.

We haven’t officially gone looking for an Omega yet, but that’s okay. I know we’ll find one when the time is right. I’m not going to settle for anything less than the best for myself and my pack mates.

Ethan grins and lobs a soft, squishy mini basketball at me. It’s one of the ones we use to play with the mini net hanging over the back of the office door. I immediately catch it and pivot to toss it into the net.

“And the crowd goes wild,” Ethan proclaims as I bow.

I see Garrett roll his eyes from over at his desk and I grin, sliding over to him. “What’s ruffling your fur?”

“You,” Garrett replies.

Something’s always ruffling Garrett. He’s gruff, but frankly, he’s the guy I trust most in the world to have my back. He’ll do anything to protect his pack. I think sometimes people don’t appreciate him because they think he’s too stereotypical for an Alpha, all bite and no bark, not great with words, just ‘muscle.’ But I know there’s a soft heart and a deep protective streak.

“Guys,” Caleb interjects, before I can get down to properly teasing Garrett. “This is due on Friday.”

Ah, right. “Thanks, Caleb. Can you outline what our next steps are?”

We all sit down at the table in the center of the office as Caleb starts in. Caleb’s quiet unless you want him to talk about something nerdy. Then he’s the expert. He can talk for hours about tech. Ethan’s more of our front guy, our best salesman, and I’m the CEO. I run the office. But Caleb is our techie.

Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking Caleb is insecure because he’s so quiet. Garrett never has a problem speaking his mind, Ethan wouldn’t know how to keep a thought to himself if you paid him, and I’m pretty damn opinionated myself. But Caleb’s silence isn’t a lack of confidence. Far from it. He just knows the value of waiting for just the right thing to say.

“I think that we need to do another round of testing,” he begins. “I know that we had success…”

“You always do this,” Garrett points out. “The watches work. It’ll help keep Omegas so much safer if they can track—”

“We know what’s at stake,” I say calmly. “That’s why Caleb wants us to be sure about everything.”

Caleb shoots me a grateful smile. “Look, if we put this on the market and it turns out that there are some faults in the system, we’re going to look like another one of those mumbo-jumbo assholes who want to take advantage of Omegas.”

“Tracking heat cycles is notoriously difficult,” Ethan chimes in. “Caleb’s concerns are valid. I think it’s worth taking another look to see how it can handle Omegas who’ve been on suppressants for a long time.”

Heats can be miserable for an unmated Omega. The very idea that our own future Omega could be out there somewhere suffering through a heat when we could be taking care of her makes my Alpha blood boil and my skin itch.

While all Omegas are required to register with the ORD, it can take time to find them the right mate, and so many go on suppressants in the meantime to avoid unwanted attention from random Alphas or to avoid dealing with heats alone. There are even Omegas who are mated who might be on suppressants or blockers for health or job reasons.

“Not even doctors can tell you for sure how taking suppressants long-term can affect your heat cycle,” Garrett replies gruffly. “How are we supposed to know?”

“I’m not saying we need to know the effects for certain,” Caleb replies evenly. “But we do need to be able to have the watches know the math . It’s about math. If we test them on Omegas who’ve been on suppressants for a certain number of years and are now off them, then we can teach the watch to calculate based on things like heart rate…”

He goes on, stuff that’s way over my head. I’m no slouch, but I’m not nearly the tech genius that Caleb is.

The memory of that pretty Beta floats into my mind… her dark hair… what was that third part of her scent…?

“Dante?” Ethan snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Dante. Dante, it’s Virgil calling!”

I blink and come back to myself. Fuck. I got distracted daydreaming about that Beta. “That joke wasn’t funny the first time you told it.”

“It’s funny every time I tell it.” Ethan winks at me and then gestures to the table, where I see Caleb’s laying out schematics. “You care to join us?”

“Right. Of course.” I focus back in on work and put that Beta out of my mind. She was lovely, but it was just a chance encounter. And I have a business to run.

Besides, it’s time we found a proper Omega mate for our pack. I can’t waste any more time on Beta hookups, no matter how pretty, or sweet-smelling, they might be.