Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Simon

I wasn't anything like my brother, Hayden. That went without saying. Hayden was bold, sassy, and irreverent. He went after the things he wanted from life and didn't care what anyone, especially our parents, thought. He'd been part of the Dark Fantasies Club for years and had enjoyed all sorts of outrageous and, to my thinking, borderline dangerous sexual fantasies to get his jollies. How did an omega even do that in this day and age?

How indeed. Because after a year of Hayden poking fun at me and badgering me to sign up for the app and indulge in a little fantasy play of my own, I'd actually gone ahead and done it.

Oh God, I'd done it!

I honestly wasn't serious about it at first. The only reason I downloaded the Dark Fantasies Club app and created a profile was because Hayden had been driving me up a wall with his and Mason's wedding plans. In a moment of frustration about his nagging, and desperation to get away from our parents' constant barbs about how "we never thought Hayden would be the first of you to get married," and "Simon is so sweet and docile we were certain he'd catch a suitable alpha's eye and settle down before now," I went ahead and did it.

I would have deleted the app as soon as I calmed down and started to think rationally again, but that was when I stumbled across Victor Woodbury's profile.

Oh my God, Victor Woodbury.

I'd met him once, at Hayden and Mason's housewarming party a few months ago. I hadn't even met him, really, I'd just seen him. Seen him and had every omega sense within me pinging in an instant. I was on the fence about whether I thought omegas really had a second sense for a compatible alpha when they saw one, but just a glance at Victor Woodbury as he'd spoken to Hayden and Mason, apologizing for his uncle's part in Hayden's brief kidnapping several months before, and my insides were buzzing.

Not gonna lie, my hole started fluttering and I might have leaked a little bit of slick, too. But could you blame me? Victor was tall with broad shoulders and a dusky, dangerous look. He had strong cheekbones and piercing blue eyes that seemed to be a huge contrast to his dark hair. Most importantly, he was wearing a suit.

How could I resist an alpha like that? Hayden teased me about having a suit fetish, but alphas just looked so commanding and powerful in a suit.

Okay, maybe I did have a suit fetish.

Spotting Victor Woodbury's profile on the Dark Fantasies app immediately made me switch from deleting the app and all my personal data to filling out the section detailing exactly what sort of fantasy I wanted to indulge in, down to minute details.

I was honest, and I didn't pull any punches. It was embarrassing, but I'd always wanted to feel what it would be like to be, well, basically a sex slave for a powerful alpha. My hands shook a bit as I ticked off the boxes on that part of the website for degradation, humiliation, and consensual non-consent.

I didn't really expect anything to happen. I mean, I wasn't na?ve enough to believe I wouldn't get a dozen requests from alphas to play with me. As much as I struggled with my fantasies, I knew there were a heck of a lot of alphas out there who craved a deeply submissive omega to play with.

That was part of the problem, really. In the modern world, omegas weren't supposed to want to be submissive. Omegas had won so many rights since my grandparents' generation. We were supposed to be proud and ambitious, to want jobs instead of families, and to stand up for ourselves all the time. We were supposed to be like Hayden.

I had a job, although it was working as a paralegal for my parents' law firm. I preferred art and music and gentle activities, though. I tried constantly to be brave and assertive, like Hayden and my papa. But I also got off to porn with omegas being "put in their place" and fucked mercilessly and forcibly bred during heat.

It was humiliating. I wasn't supposed to like those things, let alone crave them.

And then, amidst the dozens of expressions of interest I got on the Dark Fantasies app, Victor Woodbury clicked on me.

Now, here I was, packing a small overnight bag, hands trembling, stomach in knots, as I prepared for my first ever slave fantasy with an alpha who made me want to drop to my knees just thinking about him.

I couldn't believe I'd actually agreed to this. I couldn't believe I was really doing it, or that Victor Woodbury would be the alpha playing with me. I couldn't believe I was that brave.

Really, I wasn't.

Case in point, as I carried my overnight bag down to the kitchen of my family's house—and the fact that I still lived at home with my parents at age twenty-four should have been a dead giveaway to my nature—intending to walk through to the garage and my car, only to find Hayden standing by the fridge, Junior in his arms, raiding our parents' food, had me jumping out of my skin.

"Hayden!" I nearly shouted in my shock. "What are you doing here?"

"We decided to stop by to say hello to Granddad and Grandpa, but they don't seem to be here," Hayden said, backing out of the fridge with a smile.

Hayden held one of the gourmet sausages our parents had picked up at a country farm stand last weekend in one hand as he bounced Junior against his shoulder with the other. It seemed only fitting that Hayden had a sausage in his hand. And a baby to show for it.

"Dad and Papa aren't here," I said, shifting my overnight bag subtly behind my back. "They've gone off to what they say is a legal retreat for the weekend."

"Ah, so they're off bonking each other's brains out," Hayden said with a serious nod.

My face flushed. I hated it when Hayden talked about sex and our parents in the same sentence.

Hayden noticed my overnight bag at that point and broke into a smile.

"Where are you off to?" he asked slyly. "Didn't you just finish your heat two months ago?"

I flushed even hotter. "I'm taking a week's vacation," I mumbled, not quite able to meet his eyes.

That was probably what gave me away.

"A week's vacation ?" Hayden asked, moving away from the fridge and biting into the sausage with a salacious look. When he finished chewing, he went on with, "Is this a sexy vacation?"

I huffed a sigh, trying to pretend like he was being ridiculous.

Hayden's eyes went wider. "This is a sexy vacation!" He gasped as he figured things out, and said, "You signed up for the Dark Fantasies Club, didn't you."

"I don't want to talk about it," I mumbled.

"You did!" Hayden put the sausage on the counter and rushed right up to me. "You're doing a Dark Fantasies fantasy!"

He was way more excited about it than I wanted him to be.

"Should you really be talking about things like that in front of your infant?" I asked.

"Junior is seven months old. He doesn't know what we're talking about," Hayden said. "And besides which, I want him to grow up with a healthy and realistic attitude towards sexual relations, particularly since we're certain he's an alpha."

My brow went up at that. Outside of the unnecessarily expensive testing process, when a baby was born, it was impossible to tell at first whether they were an alpha, an omega, or a beta. Usually, it became obvious before a child's first birthday, especially to the parents. Neither Hayden nor Mason had mentioned anything to me about Junior yet, though I wasn't surprised.

"Are you going to tell Dad and Papa? I bet Papa will be pleased," I said.

Hayden shook his head. "Stop changing the subject. You're off to do dirty, dirty things with an alpha you've never met." He grinned wickedly at me, but also like he approved.

I went back to flushing red-hot. Hayden wasn't going to stop pestering me unless I told him everything, although there was no way I was going to tell him everything .

"Yes, I signed up for the club and made a profile on the app," I murmured, not able to look him in the eyes. "Yes, I'm going off to have my first fantasy."

Hayden's eyes went wide and his face pinked with delight. "This is amazing! I'm so happy for you and so proud of you."

He grew serious a moment later, shifted Junior to his other shoulder, then asked, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why didn't you ask me to be your second? Do you have a second? You do know how the whole thing works, right?"

I sighed, shifting nervously. This was exactly why I hadn't told Hayden anything.

"I called up your friend Ari, and he's acting as my second," I said. Hayden opened his mouth, but before he could blurt his disappointment and indignation, I went on with, "You're my brother, Hayden. My little brother. And even though you're a thousand times better than me?—"

"I am not," Hayden interrupted.

"—I don't want you as part of my sex life," I continued, ignoring his interruption.

"But it's so much fun to swap nasty stories," Hayden objected with a big grin.

I sighed again. "It's private," I said. "I…I feel awkward enough about things as it is. I don't need you to make me feel any weirder about…about my inclinations."

Hayden stared flatly at me. "Simon. I'm your brother. I met my husband through the Dark Fantasies app. I like having alphas I don't know kidnap me and force-fuck me."

My whole body went so hot with embarrassment that I thought I would melt the kitchen and all its appliances.

"Well, that's what I used to like," Hayden said, his grin turning heated and adoring. "Now, all I want is Mace. Although we definitely still keep things spicy in the bedroom."

"I don't want to know," I said, gripping my bag tighter and marching past him to the garage door. "I don't want to know about your love life any more than I want you to know about mine."

"Aw, that's no fun," Hayden said, following me into the garage.

I hit the button to open the garage door, then crossed to my car, tossed my bag into the backseat of my car, then opened the driver's side door. I couldn't just walk out on the brother I loved and who had introduced me to the Dark Fantasies Club, though.

"I'm sorry that I'm no fun," I said, head and shoulders lowered a bit. "I'm just not ready to talk about my sex life yet. I want things that are…."

I didn't know how to finish that thought, although by the look Hayden gave me in return, he understood, at least in part.

"Look, when I get back from this, if it went well and I feel like I need to process with someone, you're the first person I'll come to, alright?" I went on.

"Absolutely," Hayden said, walking over to me, then squeezing my shoulder. "I know how conflicting these wants we have can be. And I know you better than almost anyone except Mace. This is a huge thing for you. I am absolutely here for you if you want to talk about it after."

I smiled gratefully, feeling a smidge better about things. "Thanks, Hayden."

I leaned in to give him a one-arm hug, then kissed Junior's head as he began to fuss. It didn't make me feel any more right about the shocking thing I was about to do, but knowing that Hayden understood made it…better.

Hayden had to rush back into the house to take care of a fussy Junior, and I needed to make the long drive out to Norwalk by a certain time, so I left without saying anything more.

I'd specifically stated that I did not want to play out a fantasy in Barrington. I wasn't sure what would happen, since I'd requested a week-long fantasy in order to get the full effect of servility, but whatever it was, I didn't want even the possibility of running into anyone I knew. Apparently, Victor had those same thoughts and feelings, because in the emails we'd exchanged discussing what we wanted out of the experience, he mentioned he had an entire "set-up", whatever that meant, in Norwalk.

The drive to Norwalk took about four hours when traffic was good. The highway wound through the mountains to the west of Barrington before shifting south to follow the Herring River, which cut through Norwalk.

It felt like the drive took a century. My nerves were so raw that I had to stop halfway to pee, and I nearly threw up in the restroom. I couldn't believe I was doing this. More than that, I couldn't believe that I was anxiously looking forward to having a stranger alpha use me in humiliating ways.

Not any alpha, Victor Woodbury.

As I drove the last few miles to Norwalk, to the nondescript building that housed the offices for the Dark Fantasies Club, I wondered whether Victor had noticed me at Hayden and Mason's pool party the way I'd noticed him. He'd looked at me at one point, but he'd looked at a lot of people that afternoon. He hadn't given me any indication that he'd thought I was anything special, or that he wanted me.

God, what would I do if we started our playtime and it turned out he didn't want me?

That thought pretty much wrecked me as I parked in the designated lot at the Dark Fantasies building, then grabbed my bag and headed, terrified, inside.

"I'm Simon Kipling?" I told the friendly-looking beta at the front desk in a shaky voice. "I'm here for, um, er…."

"Yes, Mr. Kipling, welcome," the beta said, his smile warm and understanding. "We've been expecting you."

Why that simple statement filled me with so much dread, I had no idea.

Actually, yes, I did. It meant this whole thing was real.

The beta got up and gestured for me to follow him through a door and down a side corridor. The whole place looked much more like an office building than the staging area for God only knew how many dark sexual encounters.

"Since this is your first time with us, Mr. Kuhl, one of our founders, will meet with you to explain how your fantasy will proceed. Since you've opted for a slavery fantasy, he'll also be acting as the broker for that scene as well."

I nodded, but my throat had squeezed up and my mouth had gone dry. What did you say to someone who spoke so casually about your visceral desire to be owned and controlled?

"Here we are," the beta said as we reached a small room halfway down the hall with a number four on the door. "Mr. Kuhl will be with you in just a minute."

"Thanks," I croaked, then stepped into the room.

It felt like being escorted to an examination room at the doctor's. I had a feeling there were people out there, alphas and omegas, and betas, too, who probably had just as many fantasies as alphas and omegas, who indulged in doctor fantasies. This room looked more like a therapist's office, complete with comfy sofas, benign artwork on the walls, and a desk in the corner.

It felt so weird. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking, even when I gripped the handle of my overnight bag tighter. I couldn't catch a deep breath either. Was this the worst idea ever? What would happen if Victor, and everyone else involved in the Dark Fantasies Club, didn't follow the rules? Had I just put myself in a dangerous situation?

I jumped at the soft knock on the door, then as the door opened and a handsome alpha, probably in his late thirties, stepped into the room. He had golden blond hair and eyes that were almost honey-colored. His smile was confident and reassuring. He gave me the same feeling that suits did, but he was wearing jeans and a polo shirt.

"Mr. Kipling, hello. I'm Caden Kuhl," he said, extending a hand to me. "I'm one of the co-inventors and owners of the Dark Fantasies Club, and I'll be helping to facilitate your fantasy today."

"H-hi," I squeaked, taking his large, firm hand in my shaking one.

Mr. Kuhl smiled at me. "Don't worry, almost every first-timer is just as nervous as you are. It's all perfectly normal. Your fantasies and desires are absolutely normal as well, make no mistake. It's going to be okay."

It was uncanny how much better the man made me feel, just with his presence alone. I would have thought that someone who invented something like the Dark Fantasies Club would be rough and terrifying, but I got a good vibe from Mr. Kuhl.

"Your fantasy is that of being a sex slave for a powerful alpha, and the club member you've matched with is Victor, correct?" Mr. Kuhl asked.

Only first names were used on the app. Some people, like Hayden and Mason, invented names for playing. I'd used my real name, and Victor had used his, but no last names. The only reason I knew Victor's last name was because I knew who he was. I wasn't sure if the same was true for him about me.

I nodded tightly a few times before I summoned the courage to speak. "That's right."

"And you and Victor have corresponded through the app's email to set up the parameters of your fantasy?" Mr. Kuhl went on.

"We have," I said, feeling a little sick.

"You have your seconds in place and everything ready to go?"

"Yes."

I'd called Ari from the car just before making the turn off the highway into Norwalk. He was on stand-by for the next few days.

Mr. Kuhl smiled. "It sounds like you have everything all ready to go, then. Victor is here waiting for you, so we can get started right away."

I sucked in a breath, panic almost getting the better of me. "Just like that?" I asked.

Mr. Kuhl gave me another of his reassuring smiles. "Just like that. Part of your fantasy was the backstory that you've been abducted off the street and brought to this ‘secret location' to be purchased by the man who had you snatched. We'll start out by me binding your hands and feet and blindfolding you, as if you'd been taken that way. I'll bring Victor into the room, we'll engage in some dialog about the purchase, and from there Victor will take you to his pre-approved and vetted play space for the duration of your fantasy."

My knees almost buckled. It was so real now. I knew, from reading every last word of the extensive contract everyone had to sign before playing out a fantasy, that I could stop things at any time. So could Victor. But it all felt so, so real.

I nodded. "I'm ready," I said, barely able to form the words.

"Good," Mr. Kuhl said, still radiating calm and reassurance. "If you'd like to give me your bag, I'll make certain Victor takes that with you when you go."

"Okay."

I handed over my overnight bag, still shaking like a leaf.

"And now, I'm just going to bind your hands and feet lightly with rope," Mr. Kuhl said as he placed my bag on the desk, then took some rope and what looked like a piece of black silk from one of the desk drawers. "Then I'll have you sit on the couch before I blindfold you."

It was all so pedestrian. I voluntarily clasped my hands behind my back, then tried not to hyperventilate as Mr. Kuhl bound them. He tied my ankles together like he was making coffee or doing some other mundane task that he did every day. Once I was seated on the couch, he gently wrapped the blindfold around my eyes and tied it behind my head.

"I'll just be a minute," he said as he walked toward the door. "Feel free to position yourself however you'd like for the fantasy. You can lie on the couch or the floor or bend over the desk. Whatever helps you get into character. I'll just go fetch Victor."

I heard the door open then shut, then all I heard was the sound of my tight, shallow breathing. I was really doing this. I was really putting myself at the mercy of Victor Woodbury in playtime. And I desperately hoped that he would use me and violate me like the omegas in all the porn I watched. Worse than that, even.

Something was seriously wrong with me.