Page 12 of Gold Sector

The Alpha—Oros—strokes my neck once more, then removes his touch. “Are you here willingly, Taliana? Or is your father forcing you to take a mate?” His voice is soft again, but his gold irises glitter with knowledge. Intensity.Power.

He’s muting his energy somehow, allowing me tocontinue meeting his gaze, but I can sense the vitality swirling around him.

This is no ordinary Alpha.

Of course, he’s a dragon shifter. And not just any dragon shifter, aDrakonian. Just like my father. Only, Oros puts my father’s energy to shame. Which is saying a lot, given how powerful my father is in beast form.

“My father arranged this meeting so I can find a mate. He’s not forcing me to be here, but I also don’t have a choice,” I tell Oros, the truth just sort of falling from my mouth. “I’m an Omega living in the nomad lands. I… I need a mate.”

“For protection,” Oros says, nodding. “I see.” He glances over me. “How old are you, Taliana?”

“Twenty-one.”

His eyebrows lift slightly. “You survived three years of estrous cycles… without a knot?”

Moons, I’ve said too much. Yet I’ve barely said anything at all, and he’s already driving straight to the heart of why I’m really here.I ran out of suppressants, and now my heat is imminent. So I don’t have a choice. I need a mate.

But I… I can’t tell him the suppressant part. It’s forbidden to use medication to stall an Omega’s heat. The Drakon Alphas won’t approve. They’ll probably shun me for it.

And I’m already going to suffer their ire when they realize I don’t have an inner dragon.

“You claimed you’re untouched,” Oros presses. “That means you’ve never been knotted, yes?”

“Yes,” I whisper. “But I’m an Omega. I can take one. However, I know you’ll need to… to confirm that.”

“I already said I don’t fuck unwilling women, Taliana,” he says, folding his arms over his mostly bare chest.

I… I didn’t notice before, too lost in his gaze and presence to really admire his Alpha form, but he’s quite chiseled. He’s also adorned in a unique golden armor that appears to be glued to his skin.

His chest moves on a slow exhale, the motion highlighting the contours of his pectorals and biceps.

Yes, this is a very good-looking Alpha.

“All right.” His tongue twirls across therlike it did when he told me his name, causing my focus to go to his mouth. “Let’s start over, okay?”

“Start over?” I echo, meeting his gaze again.

“Yes. Today’s exam isn’t about your ability to take a knot. It’s an evaluation of your overall health. A lot of Omegas come to us in an injured state. All Doctor Taylor is going to do is administer a health-related exam. Not aknottingexam.”

“Oh.” I swallow, my brow furrowing. “Okay…”

“You sound uncertain.”

“Well, yes. I… I’ve been told by other Omegas about the evaluations, and they never mentioned health-related exams?” It comes out as a question because I’m still not sure what that means. I’m a hybrid wolf-dragon mix. I don’t really get hurt. What’s the point of evaluating my health? “Do you mean fertility?”

That would make more sense.

Or… or something to do with… with labs.

Oh, moons. Maybe?—

“No. I mean your actual health,” he interjects before my mind can wander. “Your physical and mental health, Taliana.”

I blink at him.Mental health?“You think there’s something mentally wrong with me?”

Because he can sense my hybrid state?I wonder, swallowing.

He chuckles. “No. Actually, I think you’re quite refreshing, little diamond. But as I said, we take in a lot ofOmegas in various states of distress. So our doctors typically evaluate each case to determine if any medical intervention is needed.”