Chapter 9

This was a fucking mistake. A huge fucking mistake, and he was at his wit’s fucking end.

Every day, from breakfast until dinner, spent with Gabriella Santorini. She would ask questions, shift through papers, look at folders, take notes. He would just sit there, moving stacks of things out of her way, answering. The first day had been alright, thanks to the burn off from his rut but even with the injections, which were double his normal dosage, he was losing control.

She made his skin itchy, his soul, even his nose. She had him on edge, his foot tapping and hands shaking, and sometimes, she would look up at him through her lashes and laugh or smile or just exist . It was agonizing.

The minute he got back to the Alpha Compound, he beat the shit out of Alessandro in the ring, while begging his second to take his spot the next day. Only then he would sleep and dream of her smile, her scent, and her heartbeat. He would wake up and be gone, not giving anyone else the chance to ask if he was sure he wanted to return to her side.

It had been four fucking days of agony, only for a day of relief to come and, somehow, turn out fucking worse.

Worse because Alessandro had been white-knuckled the entire fucking drive because Gabriella was putting him on edge. Worse because, rather than the wrap dresses, which hugged her frame normally, she wore form-fitting pants and what looked to be a sports bra, with her hair in a ponytail, exposing her neck. Worse because he was in an even smaller room with her, thinking about what it would look like for her tiny hands to be wrapped around his gun.

He was ready to shoot himself in the foot for a reason to get away from her, leave the lesson to Alessandro and drown in whatever the fuck they were injecting into his veins. Because being around her was already torture. But since having found where her glands were hidden under the skin and the softness of her sides and her belly...

Alessandro was a goddamn traitor on top of it because, when they had entered, Alessandro had stayed behind in the vehicle, leaving Matthew alone with the woman he was becoming obsessed with. His attraction to her verged on destructive. How apt that he was an Alpha struggling to keep his nature at bay and his designation under wraps.

Because if he wasn’t careful, he was going to slam headfirst into another rut a few days after leaving the previous one and drag her straight into her heat while he was at it.

Was it normal for an Alpha to have ruts so close together? No but his body didn’t seem to fucking get that, and whatever drugs they had him on were clearly no longer fucking working. At least, not while in proximity to her .

And she was somehow completely oblivious as she loaded the magazine. He had already shown her how to disassemble then reassemble the Glock, and she had watched every motion before he mentioned she would likely never have to do that for herself. He would always be there, and it wasn’t her responsibility to worry about cleaning her weapon. Her job was to know how to shoot the damn thing and only shoot people she actually wanted to shoot.

She had smirked, and he thought about all the ones she casually threatened. Maybe he should have specified people she wanted to shoot while knowing there might be consequences.

Then came loading the magazine. That was easy enough , she had said until he set empty magazines and a box of rounds in front of her. If the day ever came when she was in need, where someone was coming for her, and she needed to defend herself, he didn’t want her to struggle with loading the rounds. She needed to know how to do it efficiently.

Shit, fuck, he needed to get his head off this track. If anyone ever came for her, Matthew would destroy them. He would never be far from her, and all of this would be for nothing. She would never need to shoot a gun to defend herself so long as he was around. He wouldn’t fail her like that, ever. All of this was pointless.

Except—

She was an unmated Omega, heir to the Santorini Syndicate, and would, one day, take her place as head of the most notorious crime family in the city. Maybe even this side of the country, given that no one else had an army of Alpha enforcers behind them. She was always going to be a target regardless, but as a woman and an Omega, whose strength so many doubted, she would be easy prey.

She was right to want to learn how to defend herself.

Maybe he should give her another box of rounds for practice.

Fuck, she was so beautiful, even with the militaristic white lights shining on her. She nearly glowed, surrounded by the metallic gray of everything, and he longed to soak himself in her presence, to wrap around her so her heart would beat against his skin. Shit, he was about to be wrapping his arms around her as he helped her get in position and aim, but all he wanted was to cradle her in his arms and wrap his fingers around her hair while kissing her. He had to focus on what needed to be done, rather than what he desired. Had to focus on getting her hands positioned on the gun—his gun—and pulling the trigger.

He would blow his load just as soon as she did.

“Alright, done.” She slid the last round into place and looked up at him. “And don’t you dare get another box of rounds. If we manage to shoot these all, you can load them while I keep shooting.”

She was too fucking smart. Smarter than he could have ever imagined. Smarter than her father even realized. Smarter than Alessandro had guessed. She was so fucking smart she would have this shit figured out before anyone else ever even tried to play a hand. He didn’t know what she was going to do, but she was ruthless. She would tolerate no one who stood against her.

He really hoped they were both wrong about her father. Because, eventually, Gabriella would figure out she was an Omega, and when she did, she would be demanding answers from her father. And given how he was trying to pair her off with Alphas from around his inner circle, Matthew knew it wouldn’t bode well. Gabriella didn’t seem the sort of woman any man could ever try to manipulate.

It was all going to come crashing down eventually. It was a good thing his friend had warned him to not tell her the truth about herself. They had plausible deniability—she didn’t really smell like an Omega, and they all thought they were losing it. Because if they had told her their suspicions, she wouldn’t believe them. It was crazy—because who would think they could hide an Omega in plain sight? Who could think an Omega even could be suppressed like that?

She was going to figure it out on her own and, when she did...

Lines were going to be drawn. If they were lucky, Gabriella would keep her rage in house between herself and her father, with the Alphas standing behind her. If they were truly lucky, it would come out that the boss only wanted the best for her—or something like that—and that was the only secret he was keeping from his daughter. But if it turned out to be something more?

She would need to use the gun he was about to put in her hands.

Matthew picked up a magazine and inspected it, as though he wasn’t already aware she had done it perfectly. He nodded before inserting the magazine into place and releasing the slide. He turned to aim, then looked toward his right, ready to warn her about putting the earmuffs on, but she stepped around behind him. Turning back to look at the target, he aimed and fired.

Almost immediately, he could smell the sweet scent of arousal, but he kept firing, trying to ignore her and the scent until the magazine was empty and there was a full set of holes in the paper target. Most of them had been dead center, while a few went around the very edge of the circle in the middle. He would teach her later how to aim for certain parts of the body, but for now, it was important she got comfortable pulling the trigger, feeling the recoil, and growing used to the sound.

Matthew took a deep breath, ready to remove the empty magazine and offer the weapon to her, when realization suddenly hit him.

Arousal.

She was turned on while watching him shoot a gun. It was not the scent of an Omega’s arousal, either. That was all woman.

She, the woman, Gabriella, was aroused by the sight of him shooting a gun. That had to mean something, something more than the biological need of an Alpha and an Omega, even if she didn’t know she was an Omega.

Fuck, he needed to adjust the front of his pants.

“My turn,” she announced.

Not asked. Told.

A strong woman who knew what she wanted was so goddamn attractive. He wouldn’t stand a chance, even if they were both Betas.

Matthew removed the empty cartridge before setting it and the gun down on the counter and stepped to the side. When he turned to show her how to slide the magazine into place and release it, she had the gun loaded, her arms raised, and fired.

One, two, three, over and over. He watched, eyes wide and senses on fire, as she easily unloaded the gun. With a practiced ease that told him she more than knew her way around it, she released the empty clip, then loaded it. He was frozen, watching as she shot with no hesitation before emptying another full round. Every single one was on the target, although some hit the top, where a head would go if it weren’t a circular target, and many hit near the middle. An alarming amount hit at the bottom, right where she would aim if she was going for a very long and painful death.

There was no question about her shots. They were all well aimed, with practice. He had questions.

And he was uncomfortably aroused, his cock hard and heart racing. She was fucking beautiful, holding his gun and shooting like she knew what she was doing. No, not as though she knew what she was doing. She was good, fucking amazing. There hadn’t been a single flinch. She could load, shoot, do the things he had been ready to teach her.

The next step, the next lesson, would mean touching her. Putting his hands on her body. And if he did that, his last bit of resolve would fall apart all around them.

He stepped back as she returned his weapon to the counter, then removed the earmuffs. When she took a deep breath, he took one of his own. Even with whatever weirdness was going on with her, he knew she would be able to smell his Alpha pheromones, which were thick and flowing off of him. He was turned on because of her, and she was turned on because of him, and they were in an enclosed space alone.

Anything she asked of him in this moment, he would say yes. Immediately.

“Well, fuck,” he muttered, shaking his head. She was absurdly proud of herself, smirking at him. He wanted to give them more distance, but if he did that, she would ask why, and there was no way in hell he could explain himself. “So, you can already shoot.”

“My father is the head of one of the biggest crime syndicates in the city. Of course I know how to shoot, not that has he any idea.” Gabriella crossed her arms. “I decided, when I went to graduate school, that I wouldn’t be a weakness. I know I’m automatically a target but if someone’s shooting at me, I want to be able to shoot back.”

“That’s my job.” He took a step toward her, his voice going low. “If someone is shooting at you, your job is to get behind me and stay down.”

His Alpha side was rising, with the desire to protect her becoming demanding, but he couldn’t force it back down even if he tried.

“And what about when you’re not there?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “Like all the dates I’ve been on. You’ve been there for none of them.”

He didn’t like that look. It was too bratty.

“Then—you get behind—” He was sputtering, trying to find an excuse. “Fine. Should you have another date, I’ll be there, and if anyone shoots at you, you stand behind me. Understood?”

She was right. He had been on none of her recent dates. Of course, if she knew the truth, knew how he had been fighting his very nature to keep from ripping out the throats of everyone around him and would have likely murdered every single one of her dates... Actually, she would probably be even more annoyed he had been skipping them.

The smirk she gave him told him she had just won a game he hadn’t even realized he was playing.

“Understood. Hide behind the nearest Alpha if anyone shoots at me.”

“No. Behind me. Because I’m the biggest Alpha and I won’t have you catching a stray bullet just because you’re hiding behind Tommy’s skinny ass!”

“He’s not skinny!” Gabriella said with a gasp. “That’s so mean!”

Why were they talking about Tommy’s body all of a sudden?

“That’s not mean! Alphas come in two sizes. They’re either big and mean or lean and mean, and he’s—”

“A perfectly fine size!”

“The size you prefer?”

“What?”

“What?”

They were staring at one another, neither speaking.

Realization slammed into Matthew a half second before Gabriella laughed, and he tried to find something to say, but she shook her head as she picked up his gun. Fuck, had he really just asked her if she preferred Tommy’s lean body? And of course that would be in comparison to his own, since he had been telling her to get behind him, being the biggest. What was she even thinking right now? Was she laughing at him or with him?

“I’m going to pick up this gun and start shooting to save you from yourself,” Gabriella announced before loading the gun. She pushed the button on the wall to fetch a fresh target. “And while I’m doing that, you’re going to think of a way to convince my father that I should be allowed to not only have my own gun but also carry it with me. Understood?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer before she resumed shooting once more, which was good.

He had nothing fucking useful to say anyway.

She was too damn smart for her own good because, at this rate, she was going to get him into trouble. A trouble that had consequences, that would pull her down deep into his hell.

A gun. She wanted him to convince her father that she should be allowed to not only have a gun but also carry?

Shit. Why didn’t she already have one? Why was she only just now being taught how to use a gun? Most of the other guys had all been shooting from a younger age than her, and he knew that most of the sons of the heads of family all carried as well. It made no sense for her to not have a weapon. It was normal to pack a little heat. Their business was a dangerous one. So, why the fuck didn’t she already have a weapon?

Gabriella finished shooting, but before she could go again, he stepped forward. “Why don’t you already have a gun? And, why the secrecy in learning how to shoot?”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, then turned back to stare at the target. “I already own a gun, Matthew. My father simply doesn’t know about it.”

“No, that’s what I mean.” He moved to take the gun from her. “Why doesn’t your father already know? Why didn’t he teach you? Why haven’t you been allowed to have one before?”

She stared at him with a look that told him he was stupid, but... she was the heir! Or at least the boss was telling people that she was. To leave her unprepared, unable to defend herself, that was madness. So, why?

“In case you missed it, I was born a girl and for some odd reason, that means I can’t get my hands dirty.”

Or was it because she was an Omega?

“He’s always said that he wanted to protect me from this life because others won’t take me seriously but I call bullshit on that. He’s the one who thinks I can’t do this. It’s part of why he wants me to find a husband so badly so that the other heads of the family can look to my husband as the heir. He has this whole idea about me secretly pulling the strings behind but, I don’t know if I can trust him anymore.”

She sounded sad, and he wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t really know what to say. If he said too much, he might give it all away, and he could barely keep his shit together as it was.

“Do you like what you do?” She looked up at him, her brow wrinkling. He stared down at her, unable to form words. “I mean, the whole shooting-and-fighting-and-taking-bullets-and-working-for-the-mafia thing. Do you enjoy it?”

“Uhh...” He didn’t know what to say—more like he didn’t know how much to give away. “I mean, I don’t think I could do anything else.”

“No before you joined, were you going to college? Working? What did you want to do with your life before you realized you were an Alpha?”

He didn’t want her to fear him but, she had never shied away from blood before.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to find the right words. “I was a fighter. A boxer, I guess. That’s how I fell in with the family. I was asked to throw matches for a guy, couldn’t do it, he tried to take me down but I... well, I nearly fucking killed him. Killed another guy with him, though.”

He wasn’t remorseful about it in the slightest. The piece of shit had been using him, setting him up, and he had deserved the punishment he got, but he wasn’t sure how Gabriella would react.

Except she simply stared up at him, waiting for him to continue.

“I like fighting. I like punching people. I’m good at it, too. I’m good at shooting. Good at blocking it all out when I kill. So, yeah, I guess I like what I do. Does that bother you?”

Gabriella shrugged immediately, and he blanked, confusion running through him. She didn’t care in the slightest that he killed people and somewhat enjoyed it?

“Why did you just shrug?” he asked, wanting to know more. “Does the killing not bother you? The crime and everything? I mean, you’re about to be in charge of it all, eventually. Is it going to bother you, giving those commands?”

Gabriella laughed as she set the gun back on the table and leaned against a partition. “Are you serious? I mean, okay, yes, I guess I care a little bit about the killing sometimes but these things are going to happen with or without me. I was born into this, without a choice. And, I can either be in charge of it and make the decisions that will protect the most people and those around me I care about, or I could let it go unchecked. I mean, if you remove the crimes the families in this city commit, there’s hardly any other crime because we take care of it. We take care of the corruption in the city that doesn’t do as we choose. We care for the hungry and the homeless, we provide jobs, and so long as people are loyal, we take care of our own. And when I’m head of this family, I’m going to bring the other families in check.”

“Oh, you are, are you?” He leaned back against the other partition.

He was enjoying this, hearing more of her plans. In the past few days, she had been ingesting information rather than sharing it. This was new, to know of her strategies.

“Yes, I am,” she confirmed, lifting her chin. “They all started as part of this family, back a few generations ago but petty squabbles caused fractures along the way. Everyone will be brought back into the fold. Common goals. If everyone is receiving a piece of the pie, then maybe we can stop fighting over it. I mean, we have bigger issues with other families up North and not to mention the other side of the country. If we can settle our issues here in this city, who’s to say we won’t lock in our control of the whole state?”

“And how are you going to do this?” he asked, very intrigued. “The Alphas?”

She stared at him, then nodded. Her gaze shifted, and she walked away from him, clearly thinking about something.

Why had bringing up the Alphas caused such a response?

“What? What is it? Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t like it,” she said, still turned away from him. “I don’t like the idea that the injections are taking away your very nature. I mean, I don’t understand all of it but there’s something wrong with Alphas being unable to have a choice.”

“Really? A crime boss with morals? Wanting people to have a choice?”

“A designation is something beyond picking sides with betting or being forced to work for the Mafia. You can’t change your designation. It’s who you are and to alter it, it’s going against nature. I mean, there has to be something wrong with the program, since my father hasn’t made it more widespread. How long has this been going on? Five years? Six? And it’s still hush hush? So, it makes me wonder, as well, how many people are already getting the injections? Why not get this government and health department approved, unless it’s possibly doing some sort of damage? I mean, my father could be making a killing, more money than God, if he had the ability to control an Alpha’s presentation, right? So why is it a family secret? Why is no one talking about it?”

He didn’t like this.

Why was it a secret? Some of the best money in the world was spent on building and reinforcing safe spaces for the Alphas born to wealthy, important people so they could lose their shit there rather than on the streets. It was a big fucking deal when they found their Omega mate because the risk of destroying themselves was gone. So, why wasn’t it widespread? Why wasn’t he making money from it?

Why wasn’t Boss Santorini standing on the rooftops, telling everyone about his success?

Maybe he had a very important reason to keep it a secret. Like his daughter.

Because Matthew knew the research was older than five or six years, as Gabriella thought. It was more like twenty-five years, with almost two decades of failure before any success. Maybe even thirty, which was about how long Boss Santorini had known he had an Omega child.

“I don’t know,” Matthew answered, shaking his head. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen anyone else getting injections in the compound, if that’s what you’re asking, save for other enforcers.”

She inhaled before turning to look at him, and a pit deep grew in his stomach. She was about to tell him what he didn’t want to hear. Something she feared. Something that would be bad. Very bad.

“I think he’s giving injections to the guys he’s setting me up on dates with,” she whispered. She looked scared about it. Nervous. “I mean, would an Alpha truly be okay with marrying a Beta, unless they had some way to keep from going into rut? Of course not. You have to have your Omega, right? So, why risk it all on me? I know I come with power but they won’t be allowed to set me aside for an Omega and I won’t tolerate a husband who has an Omega on the side. I mean, would that even work? So, why risk it, unless they have a way to keep from losing to their base nature? Which means, how many others are receiving the injections and it’s still quiet?”

They wouldn’t risk it, even for the injections. An Alpha wanted nothing more than an Omega to sink his cock into and lock onto his knot. It was a part of their being. Their driving force. Shit, even with all the meds in his system keeping him from being able to find true pleasure, he was ready to give up anything for an Omega. Anything for her .

Which meant that every one of them had to know she was an Omega as well. How deep did this go? How many knew? And how many more suspected?

“I don’t know,” he answered again, shaking his head. “But we’ll figure it out.”

He should have been telling her to ask her father, but until they knew more, he would lie. He had been living with a lie for years.

Gabriella was a prize for every Alpha the boss was setting her up with, and she had no idea.

He could tell she was stressed, both by the clench of her jaw, and her scent, but he wasn’t going to point it out.

“I’m going to shoot some things now,” Gabriella announced, breezing past him. “Oh, and remember your promise from earlier? About always being there, so I can hide behind you?”

Yeah. He remembered.

And now that the Alphas probably all knew she was an Omega... it was a promise he would gladly keep.

“You better keep that promise. I have another date tomorrow night.”

Fuck.