16. Apollo

Ileant against the back wall of the theatre, standing above the crowd of seated alphas, all waiting for the big show. The main lights were still on, and the excited chattering and bantering between the guests created an easy atmosphere that would be ruined the moment they dimmed and the pink stage curtains opened.

Though the cleaners had been thorough last night, Candy had been performing here long enough that even the walls smelled like bubblegum.

A scent we only had weeks left to savour.

Zeus's nightmares had been growing steadily worse, especially around her heats. We kept hoping they would subside, but they had become a mix of losing us and losing Candy, and the three of us were exhausted. We could barely hold ourselves together. I was still against leaving, but Odin insisted and, no matter how desperately Zeus protested, part of him just wanted to sleep.

It cut deep that I couldn't help him in the way he needed most. I might be his mate, but I could never be his omega.

It was going to be heart-breaking after fighting for her for years. We'd reject her, sever our bond to her, and leave.

I should have been more careful, talked to her about it after the show instead, though there was nowhere else I could talk to her seriously without raising flags with the security team.

The three of us were only here to watch the crowd. Candy had a way of messing with alphas—I got a buzz out of it, but I hated having to deal with it, too.

I folded my arms as the lights dimmed and the chattering settled. Alphas adjusted themselves in their seats and tension rose as the anticipation reached its peak.

The curtains opened, and Candy stood there in all her terrible glory. The bright light behind her cast her silhouette, an arm high in the air, wrist bent, the other resting on her popped hip. With one knee raised, the sharpness of her heels I had been stroking only half an hour ago glinted as the stage light swept away and revealed her to the cheering crowd. Clad in a tasteful champagne-pink dress that was feathered at the bottom to show glimpses of her thighs as she danced, her hair coiffed and studded with pearls, she looked like a classic pin-up model with a touch more grace. The pièce de résistance was the pink feather boa draped across her shoulders, which had become the star of my fantasies since the 1920s theme began.

The opening notes of ‘Fever' boomed around the theatre. She bounced her shoulders, then her hips, until she opened her arms, and the first rush of perfume rolled over the crowd.

Silence descended as every single alpha in the room drew in a deep breath, myself included.

She was like crack—one hit of her sweet scent and I was begging for more. If I hadn't guarded her for two years, I would be leaping on the stage and dragging her away. Instead, I was like all the other alphas in the room, already edging closer, some on the very edges of their seats just to luxuriate in her scent.

Candy had quickly risen to the top spot since her first heat, and she was now the most sought-after omega at the club—which showed from the size of the crowd she drew every night. On a weekend, she could fill the entire theatre, bringing in three hundred people. But she preferred a more personal show, with fifty alphas attending, all ready to bid on her at the end of the night.

She perfected the art of seduction way before Michael started selling her, and it showed. She moved through her performance so effortlessly that Zeus was already wavering. We shouldn't have put him right below the stage. He promised he would be fine, but he had a front-row seat to her pussy, and she was hard to resist.

Odin was on standby, rigid on the opposite side of the stage. I was at the back of the room by the exit, and a few more of the club security team ringed the room.

I sent Zeus calming waves through our bond, and he shot me a grateful nod. Odin's rock-solid energy kept us grounded, and the three of us working together stopped us from going into rut the second she stepped on stage. We practised almost every night and were fluent in the art of holding our shit together after years of guarding her.

And we needed a break. It had been two years of struggle. We could only stand by for so long and watch as our omega was purchased night after night, especially when we had to see her flirting with them as she brought them into her boudoir. She insisted we be the ones to guard her, and it lessened her physical pain to know we were near her when she worked. Plus, if we found out anything had happened to her, and we weren't there to protect her, we'd never forgive ourselves.

Candy stood at the front of the stage as she ended the song, keeping away from the square microphone standing straight in the middle. That was for later.

"It's just so hot in here!" she cooed, fanning her face. "What do you think, alphas? Should Candy take off some of these clothes?"

Shouts came from the crowd as she wiggled her hips, and all the scent blocking spray in the world couldn't dampen the flood of bubblegum she pushed out, adding to the already heavy musk of horny alphas that blanketed the room.

The strip tease was upon us. This was where we had to pay attention. It wasn't unusual for alphas to snap the moment she showed her breasts; we had firsthand experience of that.

She notched her thumb under the spaghetti straps of her dress, a cheeky smile lighting her face. "I'm going to start with this! Unless you have any other suggestions?"

She paused, beaming at the crowd in delight as comments flew in from every angle.

Anger burst through the bond as Zeus clenched the taser at his hip. We were only allowed to act if someone tried to attack Candy, but if anyone even touched the line between the audience and the stage, he'd be on them in seconds.

"Okay!" She laughed, throwing the crowd a wink. One quick flick from her hands and her dress dropped in a flurry of glitter and silk, revealing her curves, clad in the skimpiest, pink fur-lined negligee she could find. It barely hid her nipples as her feather boa slipped down her spine.

The dress pooled around her shoes, and Odin and Zeus stepped forward as the alphas in the crowd began to pant.

To make it worse, she kicked her dress high, and it landed right in the centre of the crowd. She watched with sparkling eyes as they descended into madness, fighting over the prize.

"Oh, no!" she said, exaggerating every word. "Wherever has my dress gone!"

Everyone froze mid-snarl as they looked up, captured by her, waiting for her next move.

"I hope no one steals it! That would be just awful." Her hands fluttered to her chest as she gasped.

Candy moaned, sending out a soft wave of perfume that instantly sent them into a frenzy. She could be a monster.

She gave them time to fight, waiting until an alpha landed a punch before she cut in.

"Since you're all misbehaving…" Candy simpered, pressing the tips of her fingers to pouted lips. "I guess I'll have to…." she sighed dramatically, "go and change."

Then she turned around, giving us a lovely view of her plump ass, caged only by the thin line of her negligee, and the hot pink G-string riding her tailbone.

My lips curled. I loved how she played, though the sight of the G-string creasing her ass was hell for us, and all those alphas craving her. At least they had a chance to be with her for a night.

Guests yelled in protest, jumping up from their chairs, some even moving towards the stage before menacing glares from Zeus and Odin kept them back.

Despite the fact it had been seven years since they'd won the title of World's Strongest Alpha, my mates hadn't lost their edge. Besides, working out and training kept us distracted from the endless riot of emotions that hounded us every day we were with her, but couldn't touch her—not how we wanted to, anyway.

"Hmm…This isn't very chivalrous." Candy gave them an over-the-top frown, her hands on her hips.

"Will you be good alphas and behave for poor little Candy? Or do I need to leave until everyone's calmed down?"

There were more hurried shouts before the alphas glued themselves to their seats like little boys in school. Though I noticed the alpha holding her dress stuffed it under him before he sat, hiding his treasure.

If I couldn't scent her every day, I would do the same.

She grinned as she stepped towards the standing microphone at the front of the stage.

"Well…" Another finger to her lips, a slight pout, a cock of her hips, breasts forward as Candy wrapped her fingers along the stand of the microphone and pumped.

Once. Twice. Three times with a sultry purr, and every alpha, including me, replied with a groan.

Every night she held the room, and every night I had to keep myself from capturing her as soon as she left the stage, taking her as hard as I could against the wall. Preferably as my pack watched, along with whoever won her for the night, so they knew who she really belonged to.

Endless thoughts like those were another reason we decided to leave.

Candy drew in a deep breath, lifted her arms above her head, her pink nails flourishing as the feather boa slipped around her neck, bouncing off her breasts.

"Ooooooh… I put a spell on you…" The entire room was fixed on her as her elbows bent forward, her hands stroked her ears, curving to frame her chin, down her neck, and reaching the feather boa.

Gathering the strands in her hand, she tugged, letting her back arch as her sweet lips caressed the microphone. "And now you're miiiiine."

She loved drawing out the songs, making the alphas pant and beg for her.

She had four songs left, but it only got worse.

First the negligee, then she bent over to unbuckle her shoes for the longest two minutes of my life, especially as I'd been stroking her right there less than an hour ago.

She kicked them off and rose, turning back to us. Now all that was left was her G-string, and that bloody feather boa.

It didn't take long.

As the negligee travelled into the salivating crowd, the alphas still caught by their promise to be good, she hid her breasts with her feather boa. The song ended and she kept dancing, spinning fast enough for the boa to drift upwards before she stopped in front of the microphone.

Then she giggled, her baby blues scanning the crowd. "I guess that's it for now." She grabbed both ends of the boa, pink feathers bunching around her fists as she lifted it enough to hint at her soft pink nipples underneath.

Nipples I knew the taste of. Nipples I could never taste again.

I couldn't look away. My contract wouldn't allow it.

The already taught tension of the room rose as my alpha instincts grew, preparing to battle for dominance, fighting for her as she bathed in adoration from the crowd.

"What do you want?" Her gaze crashed into mine as she simpered. She could have been looking at any one of the fifty alphas in here, but I knew it was me from the way she licked her lips. She only ever made that face for us.

Cheers from various alphas went up around the room. The general consensus was the same: she needed to remove that feather boa before someone ripped it from her.

"Now," she purred, "what does Candy always say?"

She hunched her shoulders, squeezing her eyes and fists, jumping in excitement as they called back. "That's right!" She laughed as she spun on the spot before stopping to face the audience. "A day without a cock in me is a day wasted!"

Another collective groan rippled through the hall as every single one of us felt it.

Rage spiralled through the bond as the three of us sucked in breaths. I loathed that phrase more than anything else. I wish she hadn't adopted it. It was fun to watch her prance about on stage, but then she said things like that, breaking my thin fantasy with a stark reminder of what was coming.

This was where we needed to stay alert.

I sent a pulse of energy through the bond, bringing back our focus, and the three of us turned our attention to the crowd.

Odin and Zeus had their tasers ready for anyone who acted out, and there were three extra guards behind the stage. The 1920s theme seemed to bring out the worst in the crowd, which was probably why Michael ran it twice a year.

Candy flounced, gasping as the boa rippled over her body.

Standing below a speaker, I couldn't escape her moan as she pushed her hands to her stomach, the boa taut as she fed the ends down to her pussy.

"Oh, dear," she exclaimed as she bent at the hip, her ass back, her breasts forward, keeping us all completely fixed on her.

My lips thinned, pressing so hard they went numb as I forced myself to stay still. If I wasn't careful, I'd tear through the crowd to reach her.

But Zeus was in a worse state. His chest was already heaving, his stress hiking with every move she made. He'd been in rut two months ago—and nearly wiped me out with his desperate fucking—but it didn't make a difference. When it came to Candy, he was always nearly bursting.

Odin threw me a warning look, and I nodded, concentrating on sending Zeus calming energy through our bond while Odin glared at the crowd.

Zeus swore he wouldn't lose it, and I wanted to give him a chance, though we shouldn't really have taken the risk. I was supposed to keep him level. I failed all those years ago, and I didn't think we'd ever recover from the loss, not truly. We let him guard her every night, but only because it would be even worse for him if he didn't.

Candy straightened, lifting the boa over her head and curved it against her body. She kept one hand on her chest, which barely hid her breasts, while the other hand slid to her stomach, the crowd leaning forward.

So close now. Just a little further.

She let out a gasp as her hand left her stomach, and the entire room held their breaths. Time slowed as the boa fell, caressing her left hip, leaving her G-string on display.

She perfumed, her moan caught by the microphone, shuddering over us.

"Oh! My!" Her hands fluttered to her mouth, elbows hiding her breasts.

A low growl rumbled through me as I tightened my fists. I tried not to laugh at how strongly she was affecting me. It had been two years of watching her do this, but part of me couldn't get used to it. That's what made it more excruciating, because we were constantly aware of her.

It was the same almost every night. No matter how much they altered the show, she would always end up in the tiniest G-string and nothing else.

It was as if I was starving, and every night I had to stand in front of my favourite dessert, knowing exactly what it tasted like, but never allowed a single lick.

She perfumed again, dropping her hands to cup her breasts, pretending to cover herself while rubbing her nipples.

Odin was still firm, but Zeus was vibrating. He used to be able to fully control himself and could get through a night without too much stress, but now every show was a strain, and he was close to snapping. We shouldn't have put him by the stage, but there were times where I wasn't enough if a giant alpha in rut jumped for her, even with my taser.

As the show went on, Candy ran through the remaining songs, and my mates kept scanning the crowd, looking for any alpha who might fall into rut, or even just someone getting ideas.

There was an alpha near the front who was already shaking. I could see from the way his lips were drawn back over his teeth that he was growing protective. I wasn't near enough to help, so I signalled to Odin and Zeus, sending a pulse of awareness through the bond, and their attention went straight to him.

I didn't know what was worse, an alpha launching himself at Candy, or one who turned on the other alphas in the crowd and started a fight.

He was overweight, wearing a sickly pastel pink suit that made him easy to spot among the palette of navy"s and dark greys.

"Ooooh," she moaned into the microphone, pinching her nipples. "Candy is just sooo tired. I would so love to go to bed. What do you think?"

Which was her signal to end the show and the bidding could begin.

One of the club comperes waited in the wings to come out and manage the bidding war that always broke out every night she performed.

Guests were cheering and shouting, some of them already calling out bids. The three of us had our eyes fixed on the man at the front, who rose from his chair along with the other guests. He was keeping himself restrained but, when a beta brought out a high stool from the left of the stage, it was over for him.

Candy thanked the beta attendant, sweeping her fingers down his arm with a mischievous smile before twisting and plopping her ass on the stool. She spread her legs, groaning as she leant back and perfumed for the crowd with a giggle and wink. It took two seconds for the alpha to glimpse her pussy, and he erupted.

"Candy!" he roared over the baying crowd. "You're mine now!"

Frothing at the mouth, he leapt towards the stage, but Zeus was on it. The alpha made two steps before my mate slammed into him, throwing him to the ground. More guests were cheering him on, yelling at Zeus to knock him out, but that wasn't our style.

"I'm going to own you!" he kept shouting from underneath Zeus. "You'll see. I'm your real alpha!"

Zeus rammed his taser into the alpha's neck to subdue him. It was better that the other guests saw what would happen if they lost it, too.

Zeus was heavy enough to keep him pinned down as the alpha struggled against him, legs kicking, beating his fists on Zeus's chest, though it wouldn't make a difference. Zeus was built of pure steel, and it was sexy as fuck when he took charge. Another wave of perfume wafted from the stage as Candy let out a whine.

Zeus froze, his eyes shooting upwards to meet her hungry gaze. He pulled in a shuddering breath, and I could see he was walking the thin line between duty and desire. And he was close to releasing the crazed alpha and going for her instead.

Odin was there instantly, leaning forward to mutter to Zeus, bringing him back into the moment.

Sadness crossed her face for the briefest second, and she looked up to me over the crowd. My heart throbbed, the same pain reflected in me, sharing a dash of sympathy between us before she resumed her persona.

"Oh, dear." Candy put a hand over her mouth, grinning at the crowd. "That puts a real damper on things, doesn't it?" Her hand fell to her lap, and she simpered as she peered at the alpha. "Candy doesn't like it when alphas don't play nice."

"You'll be mine, bitch! Just you wait! I'll have you one day!" he yelled as Zeus forced him to stand, pinning his arms behind his back and dragging him up the aisle towards me. The alpha barely fit under my mate's chin, and his designer suit stretched over his belly.

"Promises, promises," Candy tutted as she turned back to the crowd. "I only like guests who keep their word. Is there anyone who wants to keep their word to me tonight?" She giggled again, and the rest of the performance faded away as I opened the door for Zeus, and we heaved the rutting alpha out of the room.

"Get the fuck off me!" the alpha shouted as he wrestled my mate. "I have to get back there! I need to win her! I'm going to win her!"

He fought every step of the way, but Zeus wouldn't let him go. He kept the alpha held tight as we took him to the sealed room next door that we used for exactly this purpose.

I grabbed a key from my back pocket and unlocked the door as the alpha kept at it.

"You'll pay for this! Don't you know who my father is?"

"Nope, not a clue," Zeus growled, just as the alpha took another swing at him. Zeus snorted, raising his brows before he threw the alpha inside. He fell to the floor with a heavy thump, his skin bright red with rage. We'd shut him in there until he calmed down.

"You can't do this to me!" He banged against the door as Zeus locked it. "I'm Gordon Roberts! Gordon fucking Roberts. The Prime Minister's son! What do you think will happen if I report you?"

"I really don't care," Zeus said, throwing him a wink through the small square window. Any alpha who thought he could take on Michael was welcome to try, even the Prime Minister.

It was a good room, with everything he needed to mellow out, apart from Candy. We'd call him a car and send him on his way later tonight, free of charge. It was incredibly generous of Michael, considering the shitstorm an alpha in rut could cause, but it prevented the evening from ending with a sour taste. I was surprised Michael didn't offer them another host because he could definitely make more money. But he never condoned bad behaviour unless it was agreed upon beforehand.

"It's safer if you stay this time," I said to Zeus.

He let out a short breath through his nose, his discontent rumbling between us, but he knew I was right.

I stroked the back of my fingers over his arm, smiling up at him. "I'll be back before you know it,"

"You better. I'm hungry after all that effort, and your ass is looking particularly fantastic in that suit."

I laughed, the heat in his eyes going straight to my cock.

Lifting myself up on the balls of my feet, I pulled him down for a rough kiss. "Or maybe I'll be fucking you tonight."

"You are terrible," he groaned, quickly dropping to my lips again.

Quickly, because, if I stayed, there was only one direction we were going.

"You love it," I purred before slipping out of his arms, lust pulsing between us as I ran back to the theatre.

It was better this way, anyway. We all hated watching guests bid on her, and I"d protect Zeus any way I could. The way they fought over her, how she teased and flirted with the bidders, it sickened me, and what came after was even worse.

Because the only people she should be spreading her legs for was us.