Page 11 of Gold Sector

Yet I don’t even know his name.

I can’t trust him.

But I also don’t want to risk him thinking poorly of my father.

I need the Drakonian Alphas to accept me as a potential mate and provide my father with a handsome reward.So he can survive in the nomad lands.

Or maybe even… be allowed to stay here. With me.

Clearing my throat, I try to answer this Alpha’s question by saying, “My father wants what’s best for me.”

Those golden eyes flare while he stares down at me, his touch leaving my chin as his hand falls to his side. I suddenly feel a bit cold despite the cloak covering my bodyfrom neck to toe.Why did he do that?I wonder, still surprised by the gesture. The fabric is warm and smells like burning embers,like Alpha.

It has my wolf purring inside, content to be surrounded by such a soothing cologne.

Only my father has ever made me feel safe like this. Strange that an Alpha I barely know has the same impact.

“And what did your father say is best for you?” the Alpha asks.

I chew on my cheek, considering how to respond to that.

“The truth, Taliana. I need to understand why you’re really here.”

My brow furrows.What kind of statement is that?He knows why I’m here—to be evaluated for a mate.

Unless…

“Were you not at the assembly today?” I ask, confusion coloring my tone. “Wait, who are you?” Should he even be in here with me? “You’re not the doctor…” I don’t phrase it as a question, but as a statement.

He said something about the doctor before, asking where the doctor was, but his voice and presence distracted me from considering what that meant. Or considering the relevance at all. But now?—

His palm circles my throat, the touch hot and demanding against my flesh and capturing every ounce of my attention.

“Breathe, Omega,” he demands, his thumb running up and down the column of my neck. “Inhale.”

I shudder as his order rolls through me, forcing me to obey, to supplicate, to… to…Oh.My eyes nearly fall shut when sweet relief hits my senses as air fills my lungs.

“Good girl. Now exhale for me,” he says, his voicewarming my skin, his nearness something my wolf welcomes more than she should.

My limbs tingle from following his command, my insides seeming to calm.

At some point… I… I began to panic. Which isn’t like me. I survived Obsidian Sector and the nomad lands. What makes Gold Sector so different?

Why am I so nervous here?

Because I know they’re going to judge me for being a wolf.

Then they won’t accept me as an Omega mate.

And I’ll be forced back into the nomad lands…without suppressants.

“My name is Oros,” the Alpha says, his tongue rolling over therof his name to give it a sensual appeal. “And yes, I attended theassembly, as you called it. And no, I am not the doctor. I’m here as your guardian. Nothing more.”

I blink at him.Guardian?That… that seems like a strange term. Yet rather than questioning it, I find myself asking, “Is ‘Oros’ Greek?”

His lips curl, causing the defined features of his too-handsome face to melt from aristocratic in nature to an expression of pure amusement. “No, little diamond. It’s Romanian.”

“Oh.” I’m not quite sure where Romanian comes from. My knowledge of previous countries and locations is limited to what my father has shared with me.