Page 27 of Your Wild Omega (The Feral Actress #2)

Chapter twenty-one

Rickon

I’ve been to many red-carpet events as an actor’s manager, but this is completely different. I would have been perfectly happy to shadow Red and watch her shine, but instead she pulled me to her side in the spotlight.

And I didn’t recognize how much I wanted to be acknowledged until this moment.

Charisma. It’s a trait that can’t be taught, and Red has it by the truckload. She’s someone who’s hard to look away from on a regular day, and now she’s dolled up with a stunning dress hugging every curve, transforming her into a blazing sun. I’m certain hearts are being lost by the dozens.

Which makes me glow with pride because she’s mine. And Red looks so happy. She deserves every second of this.

But the finicky actress across the parquetry flooring looks like she wants to destroy this precious moment of ours.

It would be naive of me to think Red wouldn’t face any conflict. I know better. The only people who love rising stars are directors. Otherwise, it’s a cliquey world full of fake smiles and knives in the back.

I steer my omega in the other direction. Red walks slowly, taking her time and enjoying the scene, careful not to rush Zack.

The wild alpha vibrates with a silent growl, his nose twitching as he takes in the scent medley.

Despite neutralizers working overtime, perfumes mix with alpha and omega pheromones to create a potent cocktail.

I’ve done everything possible to shield Red’s nose, using scent blockers and hiding neutralizing patches in her hair, but Zack still detects alpha threats.

This might be the most crowded place we’ve taken him, and I’d hate to mar Red’s night with an incident.

“Rickon Jones!” Lyra steps into our path and points at Red. “Why is this woman wearing my dress?” Since the fuming actress makes no attempt to mask her voice, the crowd around us all turn to watch the drama.

I swallow down a sigh. “This isn’t your dress, Lyra. You had the opportunity to wear it to a previous event, but you declined.”

She scoffs and scans Red up and down, eyes narrowing. “So you thought you could pass it along to some third-rate strumpet without my permission?”

I straighten, rumbling with anger. When I open my mouth to blast her, Red steps forward, resting one hand on my arm.

She beams. “You must be Lyra Gray?”

“Of course.” Lyra turns her neck, preening in her own fame.

Red nods and hums intently. “Right, there’s only one actress in Ommywood famous for being a sourpuss, so with that face, it must be you.”

Lyra twitches. “I beg your pardon?”

“Forgiven, since I’m in a good mood.” Red looks coy as she drags on my arm, turning us away from the shocked drama-llama.

“You did not just turn your back on me,” Lyra hisses, indignant.

Red pauses and looks over her shoulder. “Oh? But it should be a pretty view.”

Lyra’s sneer turns dark. “Why? Because you’ve practiced shaking your ass to get here?”

“Sounds like you know all about it,” Red shoots back. She acts cool and calm, but a tremor runs through her hand.

Lyra glances at the crowd and then lifts her nose. “I want my dress back.”

“Your dress?” Red cocks a brow and turns to me. “Rickon, sweetheart, who paid for this dress?”

I smirk, my confidence lifting. “I did.” Lyra always made me feel like a worm, but with Red here, it’s like I’m standing beside a queen.

“I see.” Red touches her fingers to her throat. “And who signed a contract with Hannah Sorentito to represent her brand?” Her voice rises, and I know it’s no accident. Fight fire with fire.

“That would be you, Red Jones,” I reply. The moment I say her name, whispers run around the watching crowd, linking her to Valencio Yun’s film.

Our exchange only makes Lyra madder. “So what? I had a contract under my name first, and don’t you know the one with the earlier appointment gets served first?”

“You never paid for it,” I say, resisting the urge to slap her. Really, I’m not a violent person, but Lyra tests my limits.

The bitter actress curls her hands up, as if she’s got the same idea to hit me. “We had an arrangement,” she tells me haughtily. “Not my fault you were fired for inappropriate behavior on the job.”

Red laughs. “What a strange world I’ve entered.

” She passes me Zack’s leash, and then twirls, taking in our audience with spread hands.

“A woman who never paid for a dress and didn’t have the balls to wear it in the first place now wants to steal it off another woman’s back.

” She chuckles and approaches Lyra. “Dear little girl, since you’ve suddenly changed your mind, I can be generous, but only if you prove you have the guts to wear a Sorentito preview. Here and now.”

“What do you mean?” Lyra asks, looking around desperately.

The first inkling of trouble enters her shifting gaze. But she walked herself into this situation with her own two stilettos. Red doesn’t have the same notions of social propriety as others. She’s leading her alpha around on a leash, for pity’s sake.

My omega holds out her hand imperiously, and I take it. “Unzip me,” she declares.

A chill settles in my fingers as I release the metal tag and draw it slowly down the tracks on the closed side of the dress. How far will she take this charade? No matter which way the press spins the story, Lyra can’t come out looking like an angel.

“Red,” I implore in a whisper as the zipper reaches the bottom. I hold the two pieces together, the boning doing the rest of the work to keep the garment perfectly shaped.

She ignores me and slides her fingers along the edge of her breast, unsticking the invisible tape.

“Are you crazy?” Lyra scoffs, looking around frantically. “We’re in public,” she hisses as Red loosens the scalloped bodice.

“You p ublicly demanded I give the dress back, didn’t you?” Red asks, smiling. “So here it is.”

The gown billows outward as she drops it, the layers of cream gauze twinkling with mother-of-pearl hues as it falls.

A hot flush runs through me at the sight of my omega standing in her heels, a G-string, and nipple stickers in the middle of a pool of fabric surrounded by Ommywood’s best and brightest. They all murmur in shock.

Glorious.

My omega holds herself without a single sign of self-consciousness, as if to tell Lyra that in this war, nothing will remain unexposed.

I want to take a photo to capture the moment, but that would be too obvious.

In the crowd, I see plenty of cameras out.

My gaze locks with Aileen, Donna Feraski’s manager, as she holds up her phone to get a better view.

At least there should be evidence of how Lyra provoked her.

Lyra glances around at the crowd, as if suddenly conscious of how large our audience is. She leaps forward, grabbing Red’s wrist. “Are you an idiot? This stunt won’t—”

An ominous rumble slices through the air like thunder. Lyra’s gasp fills the following silence. None of us see Zack move, but the next moment he stands in front of Red, holding Lyra dangling by her upper arm. My hands burn, registering the pull of the leather leash handle across my skin.

The feral alpha’s scent floods the room, smelling like charred bread with honey. His alpha presence sets my neck hair on end.

Heat flushes through my loins. Bugger me; the pair of them are firecracker-hot, standing there together. A whimper slides through me, swallowed down at the last moment, but not quick enough to escape Red's notice. Her gaze slides my way from the corner of her eye.

The OCB agents step closer warily, weighing their options.

“Zack, put it down,” Red orders, as if he held a toy or a stick.

He growls, quivering with barely-suppressed rage. I’ve grown so comfortable with Zack that I’ve gotten used to his powerful presence, but now the air ripples with the alpha’s intensity, affecting everyone within a dozen yards. His killing instinct seems but a breath away.

“Zack,” Red repeats, a warning in her tone.

Zack shakes Lyra once and then drops her without ceremony. She lands on her feet but staggers, gasping in fear.

Red strokes Zack’s cheek. “Well done,” she says.

Lyra nurses her arm as she backs up. She whips around to face the crowd, the whites of her eyes glinting. “He’s dangerous. You all saw that, right?”

“Saw you grab my omega first? Yes, that’s what we all saw,” I reply.

I dig out my wallet and draw Callisto’s business card.

“Here’s our lawyer’s details, if you want to discuss how you defamed Red Jones, demanded her dress, and then assaulted her.

” I hold the card out to her with two fingers.

“After that, we’ll be happy to discuss her bodyguard stepping in for defense. ”

Lyra trembles in equal parts fear and fury, glaring at us. Then she spins on her heel and stalks away.

I watch her stiff back disappear into the crowd, feeling light as a feather. No one’s ever stood up to Lyra like that. Finally, after an entire year of belittling me, I got to see her humbled—all thanks to my beloved omega.

A rush of complex emotion swells inside me, stealing my energy.

The weakness makes my knees wobble, and I reach out to grab Zack’s arm.

His muscles flex as he takes my weight, the faint simmer of his anger vibrating through my touch.

I didn’t even realize Lyra still had a hold over me until Red severed my last connection to the difficult actress. Free at last.

“Rickon?” Red asks, concern in her gaze.

I stare into her blue-gray eyes. “You’re amazing,” I murmur.

Her radiant smile gives me courage, and I release Zack and bend down to glide her dress up her body. After securing the zip, I run my hands around her ribs and chest to re-stick the tape. The silkiness of her mounded breasts sends new hot flushes boiling through me.

“I can’t decide which way you look more beautiful,” I murmur into her ear. “But I know which one I don’t want others seeing.”

She chuckles. “Greedy?”

I drop a kiss onto her shoulder, over Zack’s bite scar. “Very.”

She turns her head just enough for our cheeks to brush. “Did I do good?”

The yearning in her voice eats at me. Red’s such a beautiful mix of strength and fragility.

“Yes. That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.

No one’s stood up for me like that since I became an adult.

” Not since the days Callisto protected me in school have I felt like someone has my back. “You were perfect, Red.”

She nods and sucks in a deep breath. “And now my naked butt’s going to be all over the news.”

“You wouldn’t have done it if you weren’t prepared for that,” I tell her, squeezing her shoulders. “It’s not a problem.”

Red laughs. “Because it’s a cute butt?”

“Damn right. I want to lick it all over right now to claim it.”

Passion flares in her gaze. I’m not the only one turned on, because from this angle I can see Zack’s pants straining. I bet others in the crowd are too. Red has made her splash on Ommywood in the most daring way possible.

Zack steps in and wraps his arms around us, making me laugh. He doesn’t want to be left out of any fun.

When I’m sure Red’s securely tucked back inside the dress, I step away and flag a waiter with a tray of drinks. I pass a tall flute to Red, and we hold our glasses up. “Cheers to your red-carpet debut,” I say.

Red’s cheeks flush and she clinks her glass to mine. "Hereafter known as the carpet in the buff." She chuckles and drinks.

I try not to choke from laughing.

When I calm down, Zack drops his nose to my glass. “None for you,” I say sternly, pushing his face away. Hate to think what an intoxicated wild alpha might do.

He grumbles under his breath.

“You can have some later,” I promise, and he settles, an odd expression on his face. Is that a smile?

“Rickon?”

I swivel at the familiar feminine voice coming from behind me.

Actress Donna Feraski approaches, beaming at me. “That was entertaining. Will you introduce me to your fearless actress, Rickon?” Of course she’s happy about anything that puts Lyra in her place.

“It would be my pleasure. Red, this is—”

“Donna Feraski,” Red interrupts, eyes lighting up. “I’m a big fan of Crime Scene Squad . You’ll never know how much the show means to me.”

I stare at my omega as she and Donna chat like they’re old friends, the pieces clicking together in my brain. This is why Red lives and breathes movies: they literally taught her about the world, like a child learning to count from Sunday morning cartoons.

No ordinary person could dream up a plan to raid an Alpha Lodgings prison, just like no ordinary person could break out of the Omega Center.

Only someone who had studied heists, the law enforcement system, and countless documentaries and trained her mind to run through scenarios even when her body was held captive could pull off that feat.

Donna turns to me, breaking my train of thought. “I’m glad to see you’re not with Lyra anymore.” She offers a lopsided smile. “Hope you don’t hold a grudge from the last time we met.”

I scan the beautiful dress wrapped around Red, and grin. “It all worked out fine in the end.”

The actress nods. “True. Well, lovely to meet you, Red Jones, and congratulations on becoming a Sorentito’s representative. That’s no minor achievement.”

Her assistant, Aileen, tilts her head my way, and I step to the side. She offers me her phone. “Give me your number,” she says without preamble.

I type in my digits and save them under my name.

Aileen takes the phone back, and photo and video files arrive on my phone a moment later. All of the events at the gala tonight captured in detail.

“Thanks,” I say.

She shrugs. “Felt like I owed you one. I doubt Lyra will dare raise her head after that display, but in case she tries something in private, you have everything.”

I grin, delighted. “Appreciate it, Aileen. Really.”

Aileen nods and trails after her client.

I turn to find a bunch of people wanting to speak to my actress. Red has arrived on the Ommywood scene.