Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Alexandros

The break in Sharon's routine was the signal I'd been waiting for, and a quick sniff beside her car brought a smile to my face. My little omega was smart, but the lack of scent was just as telling as if I'd breathed in a lungful of her pheromones.

It was time.

Most people would have thought that sitting outside someone's apartment for a week would have been boring, frustrating even, but there had been a peace in knowing I was watching over my future mate. She might not have known I was there, making sure she made it from the diner to her car safely, then from her car to her home without being bothered, but watching over her had been soothing to the base part of me that was impatient to take her already. An omega could be claimed at any time after their first heat, but I knew waiting would make everything better.

I took the stairs up to the third floor slowly, testing the air for signs of anything unusual. It was a Friday night so there had been more activity outside than the previous days, but none had gone to her floor or lingered outside too long. It was late enough that anyone who was going out had already left, but early enough that no one had returned yet.

Gazing out over the parking lot below, I made sure there wasn't anyone to see as I stopped at her door, sucking in a lungful of air. She'd done a good job of covering her scent, but I thought I caught a trace of it. Not enough to stop someone passing by, but enough to harden my cock as I imagined what was going on inside the apartment. Her light had gone out over an hour ago, and by now my omega was likely buried in her meager nest.

It had been nothing to break into her apartment while she was gone to see what type of things she liked. I'd been careful not to touch anything until I spotted the skirt she'd worn when I'd fucked her peeking from beneath her pillow. Knowing she was sleeping with my scent only confirmed that she was mine, and it had barely taken a minute of stroking with the fabric wrapped around my cock to spill fresh seed for her. I'd tucked it back beneath her pillow and left with a grin I couldn't shake the rest of the day as I worked on her surprise.

Moving on from her door, I stood outside her bedroom window, pressing my ear to the glass. I didn't have to worry about a shadow alerting her because the inside was covered with thick drapes that blocked out all light.

I thought I heard a whimper, but with the wind rattling the railing behind me it was hard to tell. It took everything I had not to go inside and take her right then, but she still wouldn't be ready. I'd questioned Ilias and Roderic about an omega's cycle, and considering she'd seemed fine, if a bit snappish, at work, she was still in the beginning stages. Every omega was different, but she'd have to go through nesting and cramps before moving on to the stage where she was receptive to an alpha. I wanted her deep into the need when I came for her.

I'd been envisioning exactly what I planned to do all week as I waited, altering it until it was perfect. I'd built her a lavish nest in my bedroom, marking each piece of fabric added to it with my scent, but getting her to my home once she was in heat without having the authorities called had been a complication. There were too many neighbors who would hear if she put up a fuss about being parted from her nest here, so I'd been left with no choice but to drug her.

The syringe sat heavy in my pocket, a comforting weight as I heard a faint moan. My cock throbbed, begging me to go to her, and I squeezed myself through my pants to hold back. I'd hoped to be able to take her at night, but there was no way I could wait that long, so I'd have to delay until most of her neighbors left for work in the morning. After watching for a week, I knew their schedules well enough to hope I could sneak her out without being seen.

Reluctantly, I pulled back from the glass, glancing around to be sure no one had come while I was distracted.

Patience.

Just a little more patience, and then I'd have my prize.

And once I got her home, I could do all the things that had been running through my mind throughout the week. I'd custom-built a new bed in record time, just for her, and I was excited to use the special features. My omega would have no choice but to accept me as her alpha, and she wouldn't be able to regret it after I gave her every bit of pleasure she was capable of feeling.

***

The night passed slowly, my tension rising the longer I sat in my car and stared up at her dark window. My omega was in there, likely in pain, possibly trying to tend to herself, while I sat here and did nothing.

The inside of my Audi echoed with a growl I couldn't keep in, the sound spiking each time another person appeared near her building. I hated holding myself back and almost lost control at one point when it seemed like an alpha was going to her floor. I had opened my door to race up there when he'd appeared on the next landing, and I'd withdrawn my foot from the pavement.

Color crept across the sky, but I remained in the shadow of her building, my car parked on the street outside her parking lot. Another black car didn't draw any attention parked between others, and I needed to be able to make a fast getaway.

The neighbor to her left emerged, walking down to the bus stop as he had last Saturday. He was too small to be a threat, a beta, and easily dismissed as my hands curled into fists on my steering wheel.

Not much longer.

Each beath seemed to take an hour as I waited for the woman who lived on the other side of Sharon to leave. Another beta, but being female, more likely to cause problems if she caught me in the middle of what I planned to do.

I bared my teeth when she finally came out, the expression too feral to call a smile. There were plenty of other apartments whose tenants hadn't left yet, but the ones I'd seen each morning were already gone, and I could finally make my move.

For all the time it had taken to get to that point, the amount it took to reach her front door was barely a blink. My lockpick slipped into the knob, a quick twist releasing it before I moved on to the deadbolt. It took a breath longer, but I'd already learned its particular needs, and pulled the door firmly against the jam until I heard the click.

I was in her apartment with no more of a pause than what it took for her to unlock it each night with the key, breathing deep the heady scent of her. There was a new richness to the smell, an earthy musk that had my already hard shaft leaking in response.

A deep rumble left my chest as I moved through the room, ignoring all the things that had held my attention the first time I passed through. Now nothing mattered but the feminine whines coming from the doorway to the left, and I was past the point of waiting.

The sight that met me when I strode into Sharon's bedroom had my steps faltering, my growl stuttering before dipping into a purr. Ass in the air, hands between her naked thighs, she plunged a thick pink dildo into her weeping cunt as she worked her clit, the silicone and her flesh glossed with slick.

The noise must have alerted her that someone was there, because her clenched eyes popped open, her hands stilling as she saw my looming form standing in the doorway.

"What the—Who are you? How did you get in here?"

She dropped the dildo and scrambled to the head of the bed, pressing her naked body against the wall as her scent took on a sour note. I let my lips curl in a smile as I took a step closer, but she held up her hand, pointing at the door.

"G—Get out! You're not supposed to be here!"

I was surprised she could focus enough to give orders, but it didn't matter. It wouldn't change the outcome.

"I'm not leaving without you, kitten."

Her eyes widened as I stepped into the dim light spilling from her bathroom door, and her jaw dropped. Her pupils had completely swallowed the caramel of her irises, and I scented fresh slick as I moved to the end of her bed.

"You're mine now."

Her chest rose with the breath she drew in to scream, but she didn't have the chance to release it. The needle slipped through her skin into her thigh as my palm landed over her mouth, the plunger delivering the sedative before she could start thrashing. She tried to push me away, but her meager strength was nothing compared to an alphas', and even her teeth digging into the flesh of my palm couldn't get me to remove my hand.

"Hush, kitten. It'll all be better soon."