Page 3 of Omega's Fever

The courtroom door opens again. I hear footsteps on polished wood, quick and purposeful. I don’t turn to look. Whoever my new lawyer is, they’ll be just like all the others: overworked, underpaid, and counting the minutes until they can dump my case on someone else.

But then the scent hits me.

Every nerve in my body goes electric. My nostrils flare involuntarily, drawing in more of that incredible smell. Clean soap and expensive cologne, but underneath... something warm and sweet and utterly perfect. Something that makes my chest tighten and my pulse hammer against my ribs.

Omega.

Not just any omega. This one calls to something deep in my hindbrain, some primal recognition that bypasses rational thought entirely. My muscles tense. My hands clench into fists behind my back. Heat spreads through my body like I’ve been dosed with adrenaline.

I turn.

He’s younger than I expected. Mid-twenties, maybe. Honey-brown hair styled with expensive precision. Sharp blue eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. Tailored gray suit that fits him perfectly. He’s beautiful in that polished, untouchable way that screams money and breeding.

He’s also looking at me with an expression of pure horror.

Our eyes meet across the courtroom. His pupils dilate. His pale skin flushes pink from collar to hairline. His briefcase trembles in his grip.

The scent intensifies. Arousal now, sharp and unmistakable beneath the sweetness. My mouth waters. Every instinct I possess roars to life, demanding I claim what’s clearly meant for me.

Mine.

The thought hits with brutal clarity. This perfect, terrified omega belongs to me.

2

Milo

“You’re going to wear out the buttons on that thing,” Kao says from behind me.

I glance over my shoulder at my best friend and office mate. His dark hair sticks up at impossible angles, and there’s a crease mark pressed into his left cheek. The mark is too deep to be from a pillow. He didn’t go home last night.

“Some of us don’t sleep at our desks.”

“Some of us worked until three AM on the Pemberton merger.” Kao stretches, joints popping audibly. “Coffee smells good though.”

The machine finally produces something resembling decent espresso. I pour it into a mug with the law firm’s embossed logo.

“Speaking of late nights,” Kao says, taking a seat with his own mug of whatever cheap instant coffee he prefers, “Andrews called in sick.”

I pause with the cup halfway to my lips. “Again?”

“Yep. Which means someone else is going to have to take his defense case.” Kao grins at me over the rim of his mug. “Not it.”

I suppress a sigh. Pro bono work is a necessary evil at our firm. All the junior associates are expected to participate, but criminal defense isn’t exactly my specialty. Or my preference.

“What kind of case?” I ask, though I’m already dreading the answer.

Kao shrugs. “Some gang thing. I don’t know. Some alpha arrested for running drugs or something equally charming.”

Great. Just what I need to advance my career: defending athug who’ll plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence, assuming he even shows up to court sober.

“Milo?” Anne’s voice cuts through my internal grumbling. She pokes her head around the corner of the break room. “Could I have a word?”

Kao’s grin widens and makes finger guns at me. “You’re it.”

My mentor’s office is gorgeous, big and spacious with floor to ceiling windows that look out over downtown. It smells like the jasmine tea she drinks constantly. One day this is going to be my office.

Anne Spencer has been my guiding light since I started at the firm two years ago. She’s everything I aspire to be: successful, respected, feared by opposing counsel. The fact that she managed all this as an omega in a field dominated by alphas makes her achievements even more impressive. Anne is the reason I applied to work here.