Page 3 of Collateral Omega

Holi scrunched his nose. The articles he’d read about aggressive alphas were true. The alpha was literally dominating Holi with his scent, leaving him no room to breathe.

The alpha frowned as his nostrils flared.

Holi froze.

Was he sniffing him? What the fuck?

“Let go,” Holi said.

The alpha’s grip tightened. His eyes darkened as they narrowed on him. His right thumb moved in circles over Holi’s pulse point, sending a jolt of electricity through him. Holi’s breath hitched as his body blazed from the mere touch.

What was he doing? Holi asked himself, panicking. He’d never been this close to an alpha before. His father would have a heart attack if he found him standing so close to the alpha.

“I said let go,” Holi repeated, pulling harder. But it was like he was shackled to a wall. The alpha’s hold was tight, though he wasn’t hurting him.

“Master Xaine?” someone said behind Holi, making the alpha flinch. Xaine dropped his hands so fast, Holi stumbled. The newcomer wrapped his arms around Holi to steady him.

“Be careful,” he said, stepping away from him to stand between him and the alpha. The beta gave him a warm smile, soothing Holi’s shot nerves. “Please forgive my master. He doesn’t like strangers in his house. May I help you with something?”

He had to be kidding. Holi’s eyes drifted to the alpha, aghast. That was not an excuse for manhandling him. There were close to fifty guests in the house at the moment. What did he have to say about that?

Instead of unloading his frustration on the alpha and beta, Holi turned and walked back the way he came. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw his father in the party hall. Holi rushed to him.

“Where have you been?” his father asked, grasping Holi’s arm. “Come. I want to introduce you to a few alphas.”

“Okay,” Holi said, taking a deep breath. He prayed he didn’t panic like he did before.

***

Xaine

Rubbing his fingers together as if to savour the feeling, Xaine stared down the hallway, transfixed.

Who was that?

The omega had appeared out of nowhere and slammed into him. For five precious seconds, Xaine had felt the omega’s slim body sink into his before he tottered on his feet. Xaine’s fingers twitched as he remembered the feel of his skin. And the omega’s scent… an alluring woodsy scent with a heady blend of something that had intrigued him.

“Master Xaine, here,” Klane said, handing him a disinfectant spray. Klane knew him well. Xaine hated touching people because he could smell them long after they were gone. A side effect of his nature. Scents triggered the alpha inside him. A normal encounter with a stranger could turn into a fight or an unhealthy fixation. That’s why he hated being around strangers. He was more wolf than man.

But why wasn’t he reaching for the disinfectant now?

Balling his right hand into a fist, he frowned at his behaviour. He couldn’t be obsessing over the omega already.

“Master Xaine?” Klane slowly stepped close to him, not too close to make him feel like he was challenging him. The beta’s scent swirled around him. Xaine took a deep breath of Klane’s scent, and he felt less tense. “You know you won’t function if we don’t take care of that.” He pointed to his balled right hand. “You’re going to obsess over it until you hunt down that poor omega, and you’re going to hate yourself afterwards because the omega is not going to like it.”

Fuck, that was true. They didn’t call him the devil for no reason. Once he was on a trail, nothing could dissuade him until he won his prize.

Xaine held out his hand and Klane sprayed it with the disinfectant. He rubbed his hands together before he smoothed them over his chest just in case the omega’s scent soaked into his clothes.

The chemical smell of the disinfectant filled his nose, cutting through the omega’s scent, bringing him back to his senses. He looked up and down the hallway, and then remembered why he was there. His dad commanded him to come home for some stupid party. Xaine wouldn’t have come, but his dad had threatened to bring the party to him. And since his dad was still the alpha and head of his family, he had no choice but to submit to him even though it offended his wolf to no end.

His relationship with his dad was tumultuous, to say the least.

“Your dad is in his office,” Klane announced. The beta led the way and whispered ‘good luck’ as soon as they reached his dad’s office.

Xaine didn’t need luck.

He needed to go back to his sanctuary in the mountains. The capital was beautiful and all, but he preferred the mountains. He loved the wild scents of the forest and the openness of the land. Plus, while he was there, there was less chance for him to lock heads with his dad.

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