Page 204 of Labor of Love

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PROLOGUE

TIM

"Where did you get that?" I hissed at my best friend, Martin, with wide eyes. He extended a tube of scent blocker towards me; a heavily monitored substance in shiftercircles, given that it was often used for nefarious reasons.

Quickly shifting my gaze from side to side, I grabbed his wrist, tugging him around the corner of the barn. "Why do you even need blockers anyway? You're a beta!"

Martin rolled his eyes. "There's an Unlocking party happening at Frat House tonight. You should come."

My heart rateincreased. "Are youcrazy? Omegas aren't allowed at those things."

Ever since our pack's dragons rediscovered the old magics which held the key to releasing a person's potential —or hidden— alphaside, the parties had slowly become a routine event. Shifters and humans from around the country visited our once-sleepy little town in droves, all hoping that they might unknowingly be an alpha.

Rumor had it that magic and fate favored us here in Shifters Sanctuary. That we were going to restore balance to the world, or something.

I didn’t know how much of that I believed, but I did know that our scientists-slash-magic-wielders had cracked the code on bringing alphas back into the world. Hence the influx of visitors.

Eric, our head scientist and doctor (and one of the four dragon shifters who lived in our pack), preferred to handle each case individually, making appointments at his specialized clinic. However, with the sheer number of people involved, Eric's brother, Sage, invented the concept of Alpha Unlocking parties at the house where many potential alphas lived. We called it FratHouse affectionately, but since the parties started, it felt more appropriate than ever.

The parties, I’d heard from friends, were borderline orgies — the very reason omegas were not allowed to attend. Once the magic kicked in, it sent anyone with a hidden alpha side into a rut, and they didn't fully unlock their alpha abilities until after they had popped a knot. If omegas were thrown into the equation, the likelihood of spontaneous heats, matings, and even bondings was too high.

So, the parties were for betas and humans only.

As an omega, I was kind of jealous...but not enough to put myself at risk.

Martin huffed and wiggled the chemicals in front of my face. "You won'tbean omega, though. At least, you won’t scent as one. You’ll pass as a beta with this baby."

I knew better than to go along with his harebrained scheme. I did. However, I’d spent my whole life making bad decisions by following his lead. This was going to end the same way.

He grinned because he knew it, too. "You're holding onto your V-card like it's going out of style. Live a little, Timmy."

My fox bristled at the implication that waiting for our fated mate was a bad thing.

"I don't want my first time to be in the middle of an orgy," I said, knowing he’d call me a romantic and a prude, "and I don't want some alpha to accidentally knock me up."

At barely twenty-two, Ihoped for more time before I had kids.

"So don't have sex," Martin shrugged. "It's all consensual. You don't have to join the really fun stuff if you don't want. Just come drink and dance and let loose with us."

A bunch of the guys who lived at Frat House also worked on my family's farm. I didn't need them telling my parents —inadvertently or otherwise— that I’d broken the rules and attended an Unlocking party. I said as much, and Martin’s grin widened again. In that moment, helooked so much like his raccoonform that I almostbelieved he was shifting in front of me.

"It's a costumey-masqueradeyparty," he explained excitedly. "It's held in the pitch dark. Everyone masks their scents. It's all as anonymous as possible."

I was confused. "If it's held in the dark, why bother with masks?"

"Because some of us can still see in the dark." He scrunched his nose. "You're a fox. Don't you have killer night vision?"

"Well...yeah, okay, that makes sense."

"And," he smirked, "the bedrooms all have mandatory eye-maskrules. So, if youdohookup, it's completely anonymous."

"But...we can still scent each other?" I still had no plans to lose my virginity at an Unlocking party, but I also got hung up on little details like that.

Martin sighed, giving me one of those 'you're a dumbass' looks again. "Scent blocker,” he repeated, wiggling the vial again. "Everyone uses it. It makes the parties so much wilder when you don't know who you're grinding up on."

"Everyone uses it? Even the potential alphas?"

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