Page 14 of Coveted

This was her fresh start, and she planned to leave the quiet, obedient Alana behind.

Chapter Eight

Vax

He’d obsessed over the auction, keeping the browser open and propping the tablet where he could watch the time tick down as he worked. New bids had come in every few hours before his, then they stopped.

He’d bid thirty thousand credits more than the previous offer. An insane jump when the others were only increasing by a thousand or two, and it was all that he had, but if it won him Alana, it didn’t matter.

Vax hadn’t bothered trying to sleep. It would have been pointless. The nerves would have kept him tossing and turning and checking the tablet over and over anyway, so he spent the time trying to find out more about Alana and Libeqor. There wasn’t much available about the planet besides the news of its acceptance into the Federation and coverage of the welcoming ball, and there was even less about Alana. He found one picture of her at the celebration with a mention of her dancing the night away, and that was it.

His grip had tightened on the tablet, the materials protesting and warning he was about to do major damage to the electronic. Vax had forced his fingers to unclench but hadn’t been able tostop the growl that flowed from him at the sight of Chancellor Eegat’s hands onhisomega.

And she was definitely his.

The last few minutes of the auction had sent him into a frenzy of panic, a new bid popping up with only a minute left on the timer. They’d only offered a hundred credits more, and with the seconds ticking away Vax had bid another five thousand higher to be safe, waiting to hit submit until he was sure there would be no time left for anyone else to take it from him.

Even seeing his bid as the last on the tracker didn’t ease the tension coiled through his frame. He glared at the screen, refreshing his messages repeatedly until the one he wanted finally appeared.

You placed the winning bid.

There were paragraphs of information after that sentence, but it was the only one that mattered.

Alana was his.

Vax moved the extra credits into his account, a momentary pang halting his fingers before he pushed on. He didn’t like taking more than he felt he deserved, but he rationalized it by figuring he would have spent at least five thousand credits on an instructor. He was getting more value for the credits, and he could always cut his payments back until he’d made up for what he took.

Relaxing into his pillows, he set the tablet aside, exhaustion pulling at him. It was time for him to shower and dress for the day, but he took a moment to savor the feeling of triumph. He knew all the reasons this had been a bad decision would plague him until it was proven otherwise, but for a few minutes he let himself forget he was responsible for an entire planet and just absorb the knowledge that he was going to have an omega of his own.

He was calling Leir before he was conscious of the action, the other alpha’s voice sounding gruff when he answered, and Vax winced at the time.

“Did I wake you?”

Leir grunted and Vax heard him moving, the click of a door closing in the background before he spoke again.

“Not really. Not sure I’ve slept yet.”

Vax winced again, but Leir continued before he could apologize.

“What’s up? Did something happen?”

Grinning up at the ceiling, Vax shook his head despite knowing his friend couldn’t see. The excitement thrumming through him had him feeling young again.

“I did it.”

He heard Leir’s huff as another door beeped. Vax could picture him striding into the chow hall and heading for the coffee machine. Originally from Earth, the addictive substance had spread through the known universe along with the cocoa bean. Earth wasn’t the largest producer anymore, but they still offered more varieties than most, and Leir always made a point of stopping there to collect fresh beans.

“Did what?”

“Bid on an omega.”

His grin widened as he heard Leir sputter.

“Yeah? The Chancellor’s daughter?”

Chuckling, Vax levered himself upright, picking up the tablet again to stare down at the picture of Alana. Those green eyes sucked him in, making his heart pound as he pictured her looking up at him as she really sucked him between those plush, pink lips.

“Yeah. Might have knocked Elise from the highest bid.”

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