Page 1 of Their Alpha

CHAPTER ONE

Artemis

It was the day I’d been looking forward to for ages, the day I took back my life. And yes, that might have sounded dramatic, but after ten years of working for Victory Holdings during the dubious reign of Vincent Woodbury, then struggling through the battlefield of the last year under Vivien Woodbury’s management, I finally had a way out.

I leaned back in my chair and smiled at my computer screen. The email was simple, congratulating me for advancing past the first round of interviews for Arise Financial and letting me know that the founder and CEO of the company, Justice Goode, would contact me shortly to arrange an in-person interview.

I breathed out an actual sigh of relief. Arise Financial was a solid company with a long history of doing good things for Barrington and the entire East Coast. The executiveposition they had open was a perfect fit for my skill set and my interests. But most of all, it would get me out of the contentious environment that Victory Holdings had become and on to a steadier life.

That was all I wanted, really, a steady, contented life. I might have been a successful alpha with all the genes and features that entailed, but I wasn’t ambitious or aggressive, like most other alphas. Sometimes, I was downright tame and domestic.

Like when it came to how I liked to spend my leisure time, for example.

I picked up my phone and tapped to open it, then checked the Dark Fantasies Club app one more time. The message sitting there was like the icing on the cake of everything going my way. I had an appointment to meet up with an omega to discuss the parameters of a fantasy over our lunch breaks. It had been ages since I’d engaged in a fantasy with someone from the Dark Fantasies Club, and I was more than ready for it.

Ironically, as I sat there staring at the message with the details of when and where Mr. Fletcher Battersea, the omega whose request for a fantasy I’d replied to, and I would be meeting, my phone flashed with an incoming call from one of my best friends, Victor Woodbury.

I tapped to answer and held the phone to my ear with a smile, saying, “Victor. I was just thinking about you.”

“Really?” Victor answered, a smile in his voice. “I didn’t think you were into other alphas like that.”

It was a sign of just how good a mood I was in that I laughed loudly. “Not like that. I have an appointment to meet up with the omega I matched with for a fantasy on the app in about an hour.”

Victor was also a member of the Dark Fantasies Club. In fact, that was how he’d met his husband and sub, Simon.

“I take it you asked me to give you a call because you want me to be your second?” Victor asked.

There was just a hint of strain in his voice, and I heard something shift on his end of the call. I could only assume from those two clues that wherever Victor was, he had Simon on his knees between his legs, holding his cock in his mouth while Victor went about his business.

It was a special thing between the two of them that brought them closer together. The thought of cock-warming made my blood pump faster and my trousers tighten, but in my version of that particular fantasy, I would be on my knees for an omega, holding his cock while he?—

“You still there?” Victor asked.

I laughed. “Yeah, I just let my thoughts run away from me for a second. I really need this fantasy to scratch an itch and help me focus again.”

“You know I’m always happy to be your second,” Victor said. “You did so much for me and Simon last year. We’re both happy to do whatever you need us to.” He added a soft, “Yes, sweetheart. Good boy,” for Simon in a sweet and tender voice.

As sadistic a Dom as Victor was, he adored Simon to a degree that would give most people tooth decay.

“I appreciate it,” I said, their happiness making me happy. “I’ll have more details for you as soon as I meet up with the omega for lunch.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Victor said. “It’s always a good sign when you have a partner who wants to meet up and hash out all the details before you start playing. Definitely not a newbie.”

“Not really,” I said, pinching my brow a little. “He hasa few previous playtimes logged on the app, but he’s not a super prolific player. I have to admit, though, I like that attention to detail. You know how I like things.”

Victor huffed a laugh. “You’re an omega dominant’s dream, Artemis. There aren’t many alphas who like to submit out there.”

“Only in playtime,” I said, glad that I had a friend I trusted enough to discuss these things with.

“Is that why you asked me to call?” Victor asked. “To be your second?”

“Actually, no.” I shifted, sitting forward. “This is strictly between you and me. Not a word gets out to your cousin Vivien or anyone else at the company.”

“Of course,” Victor said seriously. “I’m not really in contact with Vivien much these days anyhow.”

I nodded, took a breath, then said, “I have an in-person interview with Justice Goode at Arise Financial for their open Chief Financial Officer position.”

“That’s amazing!” Victor said, genuinely happy for me. “You totally deserve a position like that.”

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