Page 17

TALIUS

Irian was turning 19 soon. In the shifter world, this meant anyone could then lay claim to him. They couldn’t mate him in a binding union, until the mating age of 22, of course, but if a claim was made in the absence of other offers, the claim could be processed and formally accepted by the Council. It was then a binding agreement, along the lines of a legal contract.

After the debacle that was Christmas, I was convinced Alpha definitely had plans for a union between Marius and Irian, and although we hadn’t managed to confirm whether an unofficial arrangement had already been entered into between the two families, I knew that Irian’s parents supported the concept of arranged unions. They were political animals, after all.

Irian could refuse any arrangement made on his behalf, despite being an omega, since the rules on that changed some time ago. But there would likely be a lot of pressure applied by his parents. They might even disown him. He was a very stubborn, independent-minded guy for an omega, but I wasn’t sure if even he could stand up to his parents. I remembered the compulsion incident the first year we met. In a moment of horrified clarity, I realized it could happen again.

And while I hadn’t spoken to Irian about this yet because by tradition I was supposed to speak to his Alpha dad or mum first, with the connection we had, surely he knew this is where we were heading.

I didn’t want to wait any longer. I couldn’t wait for Christmas to come, because it could all be settled by then. Irian might get mad at me for not speaking to him first, but I decided I’d rather risk that, than risk losing him altogether.

I waited impatiently for a day when it was crazy busy around the pack compound and I slipped unobtrusively out the side gate. I had my key in the ignition of my battered old car and the engine humming before anyone could accidentally stumble upon me in the carpark and I left a trail of dust behind as I took off down the driveway.

No-one could find an excuse to stop me now.

Over time, I had obtained enough information from Irian to locate the Mensen’s excessively large home. It dominated the local surrounds from where it sat atop a hill, surrounded by an unreasonable amount of land for this close to the city, and a formidable-looking security wall. The houses outside the wallseemed to cower in its shadow, clearly not up to standard.

Fuck.

After some argument, I convinced the security guard to allow me to pass. My old vehicle felt conspicuous and out of place as it made its way along the embarrassingly long driveway. The driveway seemed designed to give visitors enough time to rethink their decision to come here and turn around before bothering anyone.

I pulled to a stop – eventually – on a large gravel turnaround in front of the house. The house – mansion, really - was imposing. Two stories high, white-washed walls, floor to ceiling windows, balconies off all the upper levels, and oh my Goddess, fucking marble steps. I sighed, took a deep breath, and after undoing the seatbelt, got out of the car. The gravel crunched loudly under my feet, the house looming cold and indifferent, as I make my way to the ridiculous steps and up to the front door.

Even the doors were imposing, made of beautiful cedar and glistening in the sunlight, the varnish perfect.

Zzzzt, Zzzzt. The electronic bell sounded oddly cheap, a sharp contrast with the rest of the house. I snickered to myself, then slowly and steadily inhaled a lungful of air deep into my chest, reminding myself I was an alpha and had every right to come here to claim my omega.

Unsurprisingly, given the opulence of the premises, Alpha Mensen did not answer the door himself. An older wizened beta dressed in formal attire, opened the door, and I was immediately extremely grateful I’d decided to wear my only suit despite the heat.

“Good morning, I’ve come to visit Alpha Mensen. Is he at home?” According to Irian, he spent every morning in his office and was out on official business in the afternoons and evenings, so he should be there.

“Alpha is in residence,” the beta said tonelessly. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I don’t.”

The corner of the man’s lips twitched, a slight furrow appearing across his brow.

“I see. Well, come in,” he ushered me through, closing the door behind me. “I’ll see if Alpha will see you without an appointment . Who shall I say would like to see him?”

I wasn’t sure Irian’s father would give me the time of day if he knew who was here to see him, but he was unlikely to know my last name.

“Alpha Braden.”

The beta nodded. “Wait here, please Alpha,” he said before disappearing down a dim hallway off to our right.

Within minutes he returned, but not before my palms had begun to grow damp and clammy. Unobtrusively, I ran them down the fabric of my trousers.

“Alpha will see you, Alpha Braden,” the beta said graciously, indicating the way. “This way please.”

When we stopped outside a pair of ornate gold-filigreed double doors, I pursed my lips together tightly to trap the hiss of absolute disgust at the pompous display.

Rap! Rap! The golden doorknocker was just another piece of ostentatiousness in a place – could you really call it a home? – that was already way over the top.

In the face of this obvious and excessive wealth, I tried not to feel inadequate, but the truth was, it was difficult. I didn’t know how Irian had turned out so down to earth when this was what he’d come from.

“Come,” a sonorous voice intoned.

The beta opened the door, and I stepped through.

“Your guest, Alpha,” he said, before retreating and closing the door behind him with a faint click.

Irian’s father was seated at an old-fashioned desk on the far side of the room. Beyond him, a window looked out onto hectares of rolling hills. I wondered vaguely how much of the land was his. I shuddered. There was no doubt I was in the presence of a powerful man, and with his wife on the Council, he was doubly so. And doubly dangerous if he chose to be.

He remained silent, waiting for me to approach the desk. The plush carpet silently absorbed each footfall, and I felt my heart thudding in my chest. I hoped he couldn’t hear how nervous I was. A trickle of perspiration slid down my sides.

It struck me that the desk was intentionally placed, designed to discomfort and disadvantage anyone who came petitioning the alpha, because by the time I stood in front of it, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

He still hadn’t said a word.

“Alpha.” I inclined my head. My stupid fringe fell across my eye as I submissively lowered my eyes. At moments like these I wished I were more sophisticated. I hadn’t realized Irian’s family were as well off, both financially and socially, as they clearly were. It was likely they would have high expectations of anyone who wanted to mate their son.

The silence drew out. I could hear my heart beating, fluttering like a trapped bird desperate to free itself. Moisture gathered under my fringe. A drop rolled down the side of my face, my skin itched and I wanted to rub it, but I dared not move. I had to be strong in front of my future father-in-law. The urge to rock from foot to foot was hard to resist, but I did. I stood perfectly still, waiting for the man to tell me I might speak.

As an alpha, this submission annoyed me, making me restless, but I bit down on my lip until it hurt, trying not to show my irritation.

ou“Who are you? You look familiar but I can’t place you, and I don’t believe we had an appointment?” He glared at me as he spoke. Clearly, I had been too inconsequential for him to have paid me any mind.

I straightened, pushed my shoulders back and lifted my head. It wouldn’t do to show fear now.

“My name is Talius, sir, and no, we don’t have an appointment. I’m a friend of your son, Irian.”

“Irian,” he drawled the name slowly and pensively, as though he were scrolling through his memories to check if he had a son of that name, or perhaps he was trying decipher a motive for my presence in front of him. That was easy, I’d tell him as soon as he gave me permission to state my purpose.

There was another long silence.

“I remember you now,” he said, a note of condescension in his voice. “You’re from Alpha Moray’s pack, aren’t you? One of the youngsters.”

“Yes, Alpha. Although I’ve passed my majority now.”

“And why are you here now, Talius, friend of Irian?” he mocked me. “I don’t suppose my son has come to visit me too?”

“No, sir, he’s not here. I wanted to speak to you privately.”

“Well, you’re here. And I’m already interrupted,” he said, not very encouragingly. “So go on and be quick about it. I don’t have all day.”

I swallowed. The pounding in my chest was unbearable, so loud I wondered if he might be able to hear it. I hoped not. That would do nothing for my image as a strong, fearless protector sfor his son. I inhaled deeply, standing as tall as I could stretch myself.

“I’m aware that Irian is shortly to turn 19. I wanted to inform you that I will be making a claim for him.”

Mocking laughter rang out across the distance between us. My ears burned, and my cheeks flamed. Why was he laughing? I was doing this the way it was supposed to be done.

“You do know that we are one of the forming families, don’t you, young man?” Alpha Mensen said. The note of condescension in his voice was irksome.

“Yes, sir, I do.”

“What could you possibly have to offer our son?”

That was easy.

“Myself.” I had to force myself not to cringe. Even to my ears, that didn’t sound very persuasive. Maybe I hadn’t thought this through far enough. I had prepared a whole speech but for the life of me I couldn’t remember it.

“And how do you propose to provide for my son? Are you a pack Alpha?”

No, obviously I was not. I was too young to have attained that status. And he knew it.

“No, I…”

He cut me off.

“Are you perhaps a CEO?”

“No, sir, I… ”

“A lawyer or a surgeon, perhaps?”

I shook my head, frustrated. Why wasn’t he letting me explain? I had the feeling he was pushing me into a corner and then he’d attack.

“Then what qualification do you have?”

This was a game. There was no way I was old enough to have my qualification yet, and he knew it. He was playing with me. But I kept my cool. He was just making me more determined to stay in control of myself.

This time he let me answer.

“I’m in my third year of a double degree in Business and Sustainable Agriculture.”

His brows raised. A scowl crossed his face, pinching his cheeks and creating dark hollows under his eyes. Beady black eyes speared me through narrowed eyelids.

“A farmer,” he sighed, shaking his head. “That’s not very encouraging… Well come back to see me when you’ve got your degree,” he continued. “Not before. As I see it, you don’t have anything to offer right now. And I’m not sure you will after either,” he finished disdainfully.

I lifted my head up, pushed out my chest and stood tall. I was done with submission. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I love your son,” I told him coldly. “I just wanted you to know.”

“We’ll talk about it when you’ve got something to offer him,” the Alpha returned calmly, beady eyes narrowed, “in the meantime, I forbid you to mention it to him, do you hear?”

“I hear you,” I replied through gritted teeth. I hear you, but I’m sure as hell not going to comply.

“Then I think we’re done here.” He picked up an old-fashioned brass bell from his desk. It made a dreadful clanging sound, and seconds later the beta who had shown me in, opened the door. He stood stiffly, awaiting the Alpha’s instructions.

“Our meeting has concluded. Show the boy out.”

Alpha Mensen picked up a document from his desk and began perusing it, humming to himself. He picked up a pen and made a few notes on the paper. He didn’t look up. I was dismissed. Clearly, he didn’t take me seriously. And he didn’t intend to.

Seething, I turned on my heel and without another word, stalked out.

◆◆◆

As humiliatingly badly as my first semi-official act as a fully mature alpha had gone, it was tempting to say nothing about it. But I didn’t feel right keeping my visit a secret, despite Alpha Mensen’s clear warning not to talk to Irian about it. His instruction to return when I ‘had something to offer’ his son, suggested that maybe there was no plan to make arrangements for him, that perhaps there was more time than we thought. Yet still I felt uneasy.

Regardless, if I wanted Irian as my mate, then my first loyalty was to him, and secrets could bring us undone. I would have preferred to talk to him in person, but as that opportunity might not arise until Christmas, I waited until the household was asleep and crept down to the living room where our wallphone was located.

"Hey," Irian answered the call, not sounding in the least bit sleepy despite the late hour.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm studying... we've got exams coming up soon. There are expectations, y'know, got to keep the folks happy."

I snorted. I think I could say for a fact that Irian was not doing it for his parents' sake. He was so competitive and driven, something which had revealed itself over time, despite being quite submissive with me... well, sometimes anyway. He was not afraid to voice his opinion to me or any of the other alphas either.

"Oh hey!" Irian chimed in excitedly, "I'm glad you rang, I've got news... I'm coming for the holidays - the next holidays! We don't have to wait for Christmas this year."

"Wow! That's unusual. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love that we'll be able to see each other sooner, but what brought this on?"

"Dunno. The folks just mentioned it at dinner tonight."

"When do the holidays start for you?" I asked, re-thinking my plan to tell him tonight about my meeting with his father. If I was going to be seeing him soon, it could wait.

"Next week," Irian told me. I could literally hear his grin in his voice.

"Perfect," I said, "I've got something I wanted to tell you but it's best done in person. It's all good, don't worry, well, mostly good, you'll see," I amended, suddenly realizing how that might sound.

"Ooh, I'm intrigued," Irian said, coaxingly.

"Yeah, well that was why I rang, but now I know you're coming to visit, it can wait until then."

"I could call off the visit," Irian suggested.

"Nah, you won't," I replied, and I couldn't help the smile that teased my lips. "You're a ballsy omega, but you're not crazy. I'll see you in a week, okay? I'll tell you everything then."

We talked some more until finally I heard a heavy yawn on the other end of the call.

"I gotta get some sleep," mumbled Irian. "I've got classes tomorrow."

We said our good nights. Irian had one more attempt at getting me to tell him why I'd called, and then we ended the call.

I stood in the darkness beside the phone for some time. Although I was looking forward to seeing Irian sooner than I'd anticipated, it worried me that the pattern was changing... I was suspicious that his parents might be getting ready for Marius to make a claim. There was nothing I could do, however, other than be alert. And make my claim on the day of his birthday.

One week later, as he'd told me, Irian arrived at the pack.

He'd arrived in the morning, and although officially he was supposed to stay at Alpha’s house, he’d moved his things into the dormitory again and headed straight down to my house for lunch. Strangely Marius hadn’t objected. In practice, he wouldn’t be staying in the dormitory. My family had grown used to him being present for breakfasts and seemed to expect it now. I wondered if our friendship caused my family problems within the pack, but no-one ever said anything.

I chose a moment when we were alone. Everyone else had wandered off and Irian and I were cleaning up in the kitchen. The noise from the TV in the next room provided the perfect cover for a private conversation.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Irian flashed me a smile, his cheeks rosy and plump from the heat of the washing up water, his brown eyes twinkling. His soft pink lower lip was folded under a row of snowy white teeth.

I lean against the kitchen bench, admiring him, tea-towel in hand. For a moment I was distracted, but I came out of it when he cocked his head at me inquiringly.

“Oh, I have something I need to tell you.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“I went to see your dad.”

Irian’s eyes flared in surprise. “You did? Why?”

My lower lip stung, the metallic taste bitter on my tongue. Suddenly I wasn’t feeling as cocky as I had been. After all, I hadn’t asked him. Maybe I should have asked him first.

“I went to see him to tell him I would be making a claim for you once you turned 19. I’m sorry, I know I should have spoken to you first, but I wanted to make sure they couldn’t force you into something you didn’t want… I hope that’s…” I didn’t finish before the dishmop splashed into the sink, water and suds flying into the air.

Irian stood stock still, a speckle of soapy bubble on his nose, hands gripping the edge of the sink, eyes locked on mine. He opened his mouth, closed it again. When he opened it again, a strangled sound come out. He swallowed hard, my eyes fixating on the bobbing of his Adam’s apple as I wondered if I’d overstepped.

“Really?” he squeaked, when he finally found his voice. “Are you seriously claiming me?”

“Y-yes. If you want it. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is!” My arms were suddenly full of excited wriggling omega as he threw himself at me, thrusting his face up against my chest and wrapping his arms around me. In his excitement, he was squeezing the air out of me, and I had to gently loosen his grip. He was surprisingly strong. I tentatively dropped a soft kiss on the top of his silky head, not sure if that was okay or not.

“Alpha!” he wailed, bursting into loud hiccup-y sobs.

I tightened my arms around him, confused by his outburst. I thought he was happy, but he was crying. I tried to push reassurance his way. I’d never sought to actively use my pheromones before, but I knew we reacted strongly to each other, so I concentrated on sending him reassurance, mentally straining to push it out through my very pores.

He shuddered in my arms, drawing in a ragged breath. One of his small hands came up and rested on my chest, over my heart, as he sucked in a deep breath and then another… and went quiet against me. It was our first real moment as omega and protective alpha, and it demonstrated the way in which our relationship was changing. I was surprised by the tender feelings I had for this feisty but gentle omega.

Now that he was calm, I continued.

“I know you’re still too young, but I got worried,” I said, “because if they lodged a claim with no others in sight, they could force it through, make it official. I had to tell your dad I was making a claim. They can’t finalize anything if there are more than one claiming you. Even if you don’t choose me, it gives you options. It means you don’t have to decide now, you can wait until you’re ready to mate.”

“Thank you, Talius,” the words were a warm whisper across my tear-damp T-shirt. “How did he take it?”

I huffed. “Not well. He told me to come back when I had something to offer. I think he’s hoping I don’t tell you I’ve made a claim, then he can push through with whatever plans he and Alpha have made together. He told me not to say anything to you.”

Irian sniffed. “Thank you, for doing this. And for telling me.”

I bit my lip again. He hadn’t said he’d accept my claim but I thought he would. He was mine, always had been since I found him under the tree that Christmas Eve. Of course, maybe I was just another arrogant alpha. I sighed.

“Of course I’d tell you. I’m not going to take your agency away from you. I’m not that sort of alpha. At least, I’m trying not to be.”

My chest vibrated, setting up a strange sensation through my body, then I realized he was humming. I thought it meant he was happy.