Page 10 of Omega's Faith

Nice. The guy is here under duress. Just like me. What a wonderful marriage we’ll have.

"Mr. Colborne? Mr. Wells?" A smartly-dressed beta appears holding a clipboard. "I'm David Sun. I'll be facilitating your initial meeting."

I push to my feet, trying not to sway. Jonah nods, smooth and graceful, still not looking at me. His scent hits me: pure honey. It makes my mouth water and my cock take immediate interest.

Not now, I tell my dick firmly.We're hungover and this is already a disaster.

"If the guardians could wait here," Sun says, gesturing to the plastic chairs. "This first meeting should be just between the matched pair."

Diana's fingers dig into my arm. "Behave," she hisses.

"When don't I?"

Her look could strip paint.

Ricky gives me a subtle thumbs up as I follow Sun and Jonah down a hallway. Jonah walks ahead of me, spine straight as a ruler. Even from behind, he's devastating. That ass in those dress pants—

Stop it.

Sun leads us into a small cosily decorated room. There is a sofa, armchairs, a small table and in the corner, a set of bean bags as if they tried to make every seating option available. The lighting is soft and subdued. I suppose it helps makes a good first impression, but I’m just glad the light is no longer hurting my eyes.

"Please, sit." Sun gestures to chairs across from each other. "This initial meeting is just to establish contact, go over basic compatibility markers and discuss next steps."

I drop into my chair with zero grace. Jonah sits like he's in church—knees together, hands folded, eyes still downcast. Up close, I can see the flutter of his pulse in his throat. He'snervous. Or maybe that's just the omega reaction to being near a compatible alpha.

Sun launches into some spiel about the matching process. I tune him out, too busy staring at Jonah. Those eyelashes are criminal. The slight flush on his cheeks. The way he breathes so carefully, like he's counting each inhale.

"Do you have any questions before I give you some privacy?" Sun asks.

"All good here," I manage.

"No, sir." Jonah's voice is quiet, respectful. He still hasn't looked at me.

Sun leaves, and the silence that follows is suffocating. The vanilla-honey scent grows stronger, mixing with the sharp tang of Jonah's anxiety. I want to lean across the table and breathe him in. I want to touch that spot where his collar meets his neck. I want—

"So…" My voice cracks. I clear my throat, try again. "This is weird, right? Like Bureau-mandated arranged marriage weird?"

"Yes, Alpha."

"You can call me Alex."

"Yes, Alex."

I bite back frustration. "Look, I know this isn't what either of us wanted—"

Finally,finally, he looks up. Those whiskey eyes meet mine and the world tilts. But it’s not desire I see there. He looks equally terrified and furious.

Which, fair. I probably smell like a distillery.

"Okay." I lean back, trying for casual despite my body screaming to get closer to him. I need to get to know this guy. We’re going to be stuck together for life. Or at least until we get divorced. "What do you want from a marriage?"

This time he keeps up eye contact. "A good alpha. A family. Children." Each word precise, like he's reciting from a manual."A godly life."

A godly life.With me. The snarky little shit. He knows what he’s saying. The humor of it makes me laugh out loud, which makes my head throb.

The words make him sound like he’s oh-so-sweet-and-pure, but the look he’s giving me with it? The pure fucking disdain?

"Godly isn't exactly my brand."