Page 25 of Coveted

Chapter Fourteen

Vax

Alana’s pupils flexed, the green ring expanding as a hint of fear entered her scent.

She was sugar and blossoms, slightly citrusy, but the fear gave her a burnt edge Vax didn’t like.

She was more beautiful in person, and his cock kicked in his pants, demanding he take her right there and lay his claim on her. The trembling beauty in front of him couldn’t be allowed to get away, and there was no way he could let her near any other alpha until she was marked and bound to him forever.

“Mine.”

He growled the word aloud before he could stop himself, her pupils growing again until there was barely a hint of green in her eyes, but the burnt smell of fear thickened as well.

“W—what?”

Taking hold of his instincts, he forced himself to step back and swallow the urge to purr for her until she melted into a content puddle at his feet.

“Hello, I’m Vax.”

He thrust his hand into the space between them, unsure what else to do. Suri shuffled at Alana’s side, reminding him of herpresence and that their interaction was being watched. He had to behave.

Alana blinked at his hand for a moment before seeming to shake herself. She placed her fingers against his palm, her pale skin a contrast to his as he raised them to his lips. He couldn’t resist dragging in her scent as his tongue slipped out to flick her knuckles amidst the seemingly polite kiss.

Her quiet gasp made him smile, and he let her yank her hand away. Her pretty pink lips were parted in shock, and his cock twitched again. For a moment he forgot that he’d told himself he needed to wait, and he got lost imagining those lips wrapped around him.

“Alana’s only just arrived, so why don’t we take a seat and you can chat for a bit.”

Vax almost growled at the other omega’s interruption. He didn’t want to sit, and he didn’t want to chat. He wanted to drop to his knees and see what Alana had on beneath that green dress before finding out if her slick tasted as sweet as it smelled.

Because she couldn’t hide her reaction to him. The flame of color on her cheeks may add to her innocent look, but he could scent her, and he knew exactly how the touch of his tongue had affected her.

Lips quirking, he took another step back before turning and rounding the table to where he’d been sitting. He’d been checking a contract when Suri opened the door, but the details were forgotten now, and he had no interest in reading through it again.

Alana hesitated in front of the door, but when Suri pulled back one of the chairs opposite him, she finally stepped forward and claimed the other. They sat in silence for a moment, Vax devouring her with his eyes, before Suri spoke up again.

“Vax, why don’t you tell us about you? How did you get to where you are now?”

“I killed the previous Chancellor.”

Alana’s gasp was louder that time, her pale skin losing the flush she’d had moments before as Vax grinned at her. There was no reason to delude the woman about who he was. He wasn’t the polished politician she was likely expecting, and she needed to know that.

His gaze tipped to Suri for a second, taking in her frown before sliding back to Alana. He didn’t care what Suri thought. She wasn’t his omega.

“My father was a miner on Farcon 1. I grew up in the Camps before taking my place in the mines as soon as I was big enough, which was around ten. Started out hauling bags of dirt, then rocks, then slowly moved up until I was trusted to do the mining itself.

“Did that for over a dozen years before turning pirate with a friend who wanted to help the other miners as much as I did. The previous Chancellor had a problem with aliens, saw them as nothing more than cheap labor to use and abuse, and I was sick of seeing my friends and family hurt, and worse, because of his neglect.

“We kidnapped his son’s omega on her way to Farcon 1, though we didn’t know it was her at the time. Got us imprisoned and tortured until the servants staged a revolt as his omega broke us out of the dungeon. You could say it was a ‘right place at the right time’ kind of thing. I was able to step in and offer the structure they needed when the dust settled, and they knew I wasn’t going to be like the Osmels.”

Vax shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid. He wasn’t even sure what more hecouldsay, the time since then tangled in a blur of constant work that wouldn’t matter to the two women.

Suri still had a crease between her brows, though she’d smoothed her lips into something less severe than a frown, and Alana’s expression was unreadable.

“Your turn, Princess.”

The term slipped out without conscious thought, and fresh color rose in Alana’s cheeks, though her eyebrows twitched like she wanted to refute him. She remained silent for a moment before swallowing and opening her mouth to speak.

“My father has led Libeqor since before I was born, so I grew up taking classes and studying the things he thought I needed to know.”

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