Page 45 of The Alpha's Fake Mate

I quickly followed Orion up the wide, long steps to the second floor. Down a wide hall, I saw at least six doors. He opened the first.

“This is my room,” he said, leaving the door open and going to the next.

When he opened the second door, he said, “This is your room.”

I glanced at the servant, realizing we weren’t playing our claim game too well. Orion saw my nervous glance.

“It is yours to decorate and do with as you please. Your personal space. But of course you will be sleeping in my room.”

It sounded all wrong but a tingle ran up my spine at the statement.

“Sir, where would you like your personal items?” the servant asked me.

Orion replied before I could answer. “For now, put them in Holland’s room, please.”

The servant entered and put the box on a table by a huge window leading to a balcony. “May I help you unpack?” he asked, again looking down, never at my face.

“No.”

“Thank you, Alston,” Orion said to him. “You can go.”

I stood in the center of the room looking at the bed. It had a dark blue canopy. The walls and curtains were a paler blue, and the plush rug at my feet was black. As I looked about, I saw a door leading to a bathroom. I could see the dark marble counter and gold faucet at the sink with big mirrors along the wall. Another door, still closed, I assumed led to a closet.

Orion approached the window and slid it back a bit, letting in fresh air.

I could see the balcony beyond it. It was one of the two twin balconies that jutted from the front of the house. He turned to me.

“You may do as you please here. If you want to decorate, you may. You’ll have, of course, an unlimited budget. And it’s not because I’m trying to buy you. It’s simply that if you decide to re-do the room, I would like it done right, with the best of materials.”

“I don’t know anything about decorating,” I said.

“Hire help.”

“Alpha help,” I said.

“Not everything on the outside is Alpha run. Well, most everything is. But some Alphas run businesses with their Omega mates. It’s done. Hire a couple to come in. A mated couple would never be a danger to you.”

Danger. That was always on my mind. “That reminds me, I meant to ask you about your servants. You said you would guarantee my safety. But they are all Alphas.”

“Yes, and they are all mated. Happily. I assure you.”

I hadn’t thought of that. No single Alphas worked here, then. I would be safe. The only unmated Alpha was Orion himself.

“My servants are instructed to treat you as they would me. With utmost respect.”

“Already? I’ve only just arrived and you already instructed them?”

“I had a lot of time on the drive to Zilly’s to message them all as to the new addition to my household.”

“Before you even knew I’d say yes?” I quipped. “Thorough.”

“Always,” he answered almost curtly. “They understand I have made a claim.”

“A fake claim,” I muttered.

“No one will ever have to know that part of it.”

He lowered his eyelids and gazed out the window. The view was spectacular: rolling lawns and big trees, a gazebo, and yes there was a pool off to the side. My pool now, for this was to be my home.