Page 3

CAMbrY

I 'd been told to expect the barest of amenities in the Mating Hall room.

I prepared myself for a cold, sharp-edged room done up in black, white and gray, with blackout blinds on the windows.

Instead, flowers in a crystal vase greeted me on a table set with two chairs.

Golden light filtered through lavender curtains.

There was a soft fuzzy rug at the foot of the bed, and the bed itself was draped with a yellow and green flower print comforter that looked brand new.

A small countertop with several low drawers took up about six feet of wall space left of the bed, and a white refrigerator completed the decor. Everything smelled spring fresh and new.

I walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. Inside it was stocked with bottles of fresh water, various juices, a bowl of fruit, bread, cold cuts, along with various dressings. I'd been taught that some Alphas didn't eat at all during their Burns. Others built up voracious appetites.

Soon, I would learn what the one I was servicing preferred.

I paced around the room, my body unable to stay still.

Images of Angell kept flashing before my eyes.

We had a bond, but it wasn’t the type where we could read each other’s minds.

Yet. I wondered, was he okay? He’d told me he would be fine.

We’d talked and reasoned and agreed together.

My duty as an Omega was important. Plus, I would earn tips.

I could buy my true lover the gifts I’d always wanted to give him.

“See?” I said to myself. “There are plusses to this job.”

I turned abruptly at a knock on the door. The handle jiggled. The door opened.

An Alpha walked in. He wore a dark suit, no tie, and had neatly cropped dark hair. My client.

My heart flipped over in my chest. This was it. This was the man I would be servicing.

I looked him up and down, my skin prickling and fear.

He was very tall, as most Alphas were, with broad shoulders.

His sharp cheekbones and ominously slanted eyebrows shouted villain.

But he really wasn't scary once I looked into his liquid dark eyes.

I expected a hard coldness there, but no.

They were warm and soft, the muscles drawn slightly downward.

His full mouth gave him a youthful look, though I guessed he was at least forty.

Most intriguing of all, he was not in any state of Burn fury as I expected.

I knew looks didn't tell everyone’s story, but right now it was all I had to go on. We’d been taught in our Omega sexuality classes how to read and assess body language. If I was reading him right, he was quite calm.

The Alpha turned to face me. “My name is Niro. And yours?”

“Uh, um, Cambrey.”

“Nice to meet you.” He cleared his throat but remained by the door. “Are you nervous?”

“A little.” My senses were on overload. I didn't think about lying to him or reassuring him.

“Are you truly a virgin?”

My cheeks immediately heated. I did and didn't expect him to be so forward.

I didn't know Alphas. Their behaviors were a mystery to me.

Now I had to think hard. What did virgin mean to him?

Untouched? Or unbreached? Angell and I had done everything but penetration.

Quickly, I decided he didn't need to know about Angell at all.

That was my private life. My Omega secret.

“What? I mean—yes, I am.” I took a deep breath, gathering all my courage. “Does it matter?”

“Not for reasons you might think. I've been coming here for eighteen years. The Mating Hall monitors know me well. I’m often chosen to take on the virgin Omegas during my Burns because I don’t overwhelm them with demands.

My Burns have always been light even if somewhat of an annoyance.

I have no biological drive for a mate or children.

This makes it easy on Omega virgins because I don't mate in fury or extraordinary need. I have few demands. But if you have any, do let me know.”

“Me?” I shook my head.

We learned in class about the fury of Alphas.

About the way the Burn could blind them to selfish desire with a focused intent that left their partner almost invisible to them in all but tactile sensation.

We'd also learned that our bodies were made to accommodate that.

Our drive would match theirs in need and desire both as a way of self-preservation and pleasure.

But that was not to be, I guessed, for my first time.

“Did Warden Chirl assign you to me?”

“I don't know.” He gently closed the door behind him. “The hall monitors here may have a say in which room they place Omega servants.”

I didn't know, either. As he took a few steps closer to me, my skin warmed all over. He smelled of distant chimney smoke and fallen leaves. I loved fall so maybe I was responding to that.

Niro started to approach me, then passed me by and went straight to the fridge, opening it.

He took out two cold bottles of water, turned to me and held one out.

He had a way of moving that enticed me. Slow.

Graceful. Like a kind of dance I'd never seen before. His cropped hair had me thinking he was old. But now, as I looked at him, I saw a smoothness there that belied that. Alphas could live long lives. As long as two hundred years. He could have been younger than the forty years I’d assumed he was.

I realized I was staring and looked down at the bottle of water as if I didn't know what it was.

Niro dropped his hand and held it loosely now. “Do you require something stronger? There is a nice white wine in the side door.”

Did he want to get me drunk? Slowly, I shook my head.

Niro set the extra water on the table next to the window. He spoke and behaved as if in total control, yet my own body was going through all sorts of weird new feelings. My limbs felt liquidy and warm. I was quite suddenly aware of my balls growing heavy. My hole clenched.

This arousal was different from what I felt with Angell.

I had no attachment to it. From one moment to the next, I was simply horny.

What a relief. This new realization helped me.

Even though Angell and I had talked about it a lot, I wanted all my touches of desire and longing to be only for him.

I was sexually responding to Niro, but it wasn't longing.

My love remained with Angell. Now I realized this job would be easier than I thought.

“Would you like to sit?” Niro asked.

Still having trouble finding my voice, I nodded. I backed up one step until my thigh hit the foot of the bed and sat.

Niro brought his water bottle over to the nightstand and set it down before sitting on the side of the mattress.

His weight bumped me up a little as I turned to look at him.

I was lucky. Gazing at him closer up, I realized he was quite handsome with full, dark pink lips and a soft, shaved chin.

Some Alphas wanted to kiss, I'd been taught, and some did not.

If he wanted that, it would not be a too much of a hardship.

Something fizzy and warm squirmed from my chest to my stomach and down to my cock.

I knew I'd be okay. My body was responding as I'd been taught it would.

As long as this continued, it would be an easy time.

Maybe even nice. Would I tell Angell about that last part? I wasn't sure yet. I'd see how it went.

Wanting to get to it so I didn’t have to think anymore, I spoke. “Do you want me to take off my clothes now?”

Niro raised one sleek eyebrow. “I see. You’re quite prepared?”

I nodded. I thought that was how it was supposed to be. Omegas prepared themselves for just about anything before entering the Mating Hall. “I was told to prepare beforehand.”

“Of course.” The corners of his lips turned up slightly. “I’m used to the efficient obedience of your kind here at the farm. Most are uncomfortable and don't want to talk.”

“It's not that,” I said. “But you said you aren't interested in more... um, extras.”

“Did I?”

“Well, you said that your drive isn't for a mate. I thought that meant you wouldn't want to talk or get to know me.”

“We'll be spending the next two days together. I'd at least like to understand what makes you most comfortable. It's my way.”

“Okay….” But I didn't know. Being with Angell was very comfortable and felt natural and right. This was different. “Do you want to ask me questions?”

“Are you shy? Would you prefer to be under the covers or to leave your top on? These are things I like to know. Or we can find out as we go.”

I didn't expect that from him. I thought he would be the kind of Alpha who just took charge and told me what to do right away. I hadn't prepared myself for anyone looking after my body or my needs.

Again, I thought about Angell. It was so easy with him. We'd been such good friends first. Later, when we'd felt more for each other, we had nothing to hide. My breath quivered in my lungs. Did I tell him what I thought he might want to hear? Or should I be upfront?

“I don't know if I'm shy, exactly. Maybe? But for me, talking is sort of… intimate.”

He nodded as if he knew me well. “I understand. Sensitive Omegas don't want too many feelings to pile up inside them. Few are comfortable talking with me, but I always ask the question.”

I cleared my throat. “But if it's a turn on for you then you should have what you want. That's what I'm here for.” My mouth went dry. Was I saying too much? I wanted the experience to be good, but feelings made me think of Angell. And maybe that wouldn't be so great.

Angell had signed to me just last night, knowing I’d be gone in less than twenty-four hours, “It would hurt me if you held back for my sake. You should enjoy the job.”

“But I would feel like I was betraying our own sanctity.”

He’d wrapped his legs around me, signing right in my face. “No, Cambry. No.”

“Please explain it to me.”

“It would be far worse if I knew you hated it. If I thought you were suffering because you had to do the job.”

“That’s it, though. It’s just a job.”

“I know. But that’s why you should try to enjoy it even more. Fuck expectations. We are slaves here, but our minds don’t have to be caged. If you service Alphas because you have to, even if you don’t like it, I would feel terrible. I know you like sex. You’ve proven it to me.”

“With you it’s making love, though,” I insisted.

His hands flew fast in the bedroom light. “But it’s like this. You love pancakes, right? And you always wait for me to join you at breakfast before taking your first bite. But if I couldn’t be there, I’d still want you to have the pancakes and enjoy them.”

I did understand what he was saying, but I wasn’t sure I agreed.

I tried not to be mixed up about it all.

But one thing I was certain of, sometimes I thought I didn’t deserve him.

Angell was a gift. I would never ever want him to hurt because of me.

He had given me permission to do my job well enough that I could take pleasure for myself.

In doing that, he’d given me the most generous part of his heart.

Without strings or any indication that I should feel guilt or remorse.

Niro said, breaking me from my inner thoughts, “If my partner doesn’t want it, it is not a turn on for me.”

“Oh. I didn’t think about it that way.”

“Well, now you can.”

“So I get to choose.”

He nodded. “If you don’t like something, you can say so. I’ll stop. It’s okay.”

“You can do that while in the Burn?”

“As I said, I’m not like many other Alphas out there. My Burns are light. I’ve gone without a partner many times and functioned pretty normally. But I like Zilly’s, so I come here to chase the pleasure the Burn demands.”

I bowed my head and looked at my hands. They were folded tightly in my lap.

Now I understood. Niro was special. I realized I’d been given a gift by whoever had chosen him to be my first Alpha.

It could be good. The time would go by fast. And then I could go back to Angell and pledge my heart to him over and over as we made love for real. Neither of us would be hurt.

“That makes sense,” I said, breathing out slowly.

“How about if I take charge and you tell me what you like and don’t like. We’ll have some fun and that will ease my Burn and give you your first experience.”

“Yes. I’d like that.”

He held out his arms. “Come here, then. Stand before me and take off your clothes. Slowly, please.”