15. Orcus

Alina sits on the couch—theone I spent last night tossing and turning on—and tucks her legs under her. She's still dressed in just an oversized shirt, which is driving my inner Alpha wild. Because I'm pretty sure she's not wearing anything under it.

I settle beside her but leave a few inches between us to ensure her comfort. I also put on a pair of pants and a T-shirt prior to exiting the bedroom, as did Reaper and Flame.

All three of us would have been fine staying in our boxers, but it seemed our intended mate was overwhelmed—and a little turned on—by all the skin on display.

I would be more pleased with that if our conversation hadn't ventured into painful territory.

Flame hands me a cup of black coffee before sitting in the chair catty-corner to the sofa. Reaper is still in the kitchen working on his own drink, as well as one for Alina. He's into the fancy shit and said he wanted to make something special for "our girl" when we entered the living area.

I'm guessing it's one of his famous cappuccinos. It's a good thing the room came with the right equipment—a full coffee machine in the kitchen—or Reaper might have gone on a rampage searching for one.

I take a sip of my coffee, needing the scalding liquid to help anchor me in the moment. This is not going to be a fun conversation, but it's a necessary one. Especially if she's what I think she is.

After another burning swallow, I clear my throat and set my cup down on the coffee table before us. "Right, so, I guess I'll start by explaining fae kind."

"Professor Orcus, ladies and gentlemen," Reaper interjects from the kitchen.

I ignore the jokester and continue.

"There are over a hundred fae realms in our world. Each realm is unique, meaning they're typically inhabited by a specific fae type. And there's a variety of fae, including vampires, shifters, elementals, dragons, and so many more. In short, it's a vast universe of supernaturals."

"There's also a Human Realm," Flame adds softly. "It's similar to your world, except it's a little more current."

"And they don't know supernaturals exist," Reaper says as he appears in front of Alina.

She doesn't jump at his teleportation antics, just blinks up at him. Almost like she knew to expect him. And maybe she did after he startled her in the bedroom.

Reaper hands her a mug, his lips curling. "I drew you a present."

Her brow furrows, causing me to glance over and see the foamy skull decorating her cappuccino. "Er, thank you," she tells him.

Reaper practically preens in response. "Now try it. Tell me it's amazing. Because I know it is."

Alina looks from the cup to him and back again. Rather than reply, she takes a sip. After a beat, she takes a second sip and her eyes jump up to his once more. "This is good." She sounds surprised, suggesting her reaction is genuine.

"Obviously," Reaper drawls. Then he disappears, leaving her smiling against her cup.

It's a pretty smile, one I hope to see more of.

But I doubt I'll earn many happy moments throughout our conversation. It's too serious for that.

"So, as I was saying," I begin again. "There are lots of fae types and fae realms. And within those realms, there are kingdoms with even more potential variations."

That last bit is new information, but she nods, listening while sipping her cappuccino.

"We live in the Netherworld Kingdom," I go on. "And that's in the Hell Fae Realm."

Her nose scrunches, like she's considering the information. But she doesn't comment.

"The Hell Fae Realm is home to those of mixed fae origins. For example, Flame has a Shifter Fae mother and a Corpse Fae father, so he's a mixed breed. Which, by definition, actually makes him a Hell Fae."

"But I prefer to be called a Shifter Fae because my animal half is much more dominant than my corpse half," Flame inserts before setting his coffee mug down. "The fae lore is complicated enough. Basically, just understand that there are several variations of our kind."

Alina remains silent, but I can tell she's a little overwhelmed by all the definitions.

So I back up a little.

"As I said, we're from the Netherworld Kingdom. It's basically where all the Death Fae and Corpse Fae live."

She nods a little. "Okay. What about your kind?"

"Mythos Fae have their own realm," I tell her. "But over the last few thousand years, we've drifted away from it. Nowadays, most Mythos Fae choose to live in other realms," I explain.

Her brow crinkles. "They do? Why?"

"Because our Omegas died."

Or that's what many of my kind believe, anyway.

But I'll get to that in a second.

"Without Omegas, Alphas like me can't properly procreate," I go on, trying to help her understand. "We also can't take a non-Omega mate. And eternity is a long time to live alone. So most of my kind have ventured to other realms to stave off boredom."

She stares at me, her cappuccino no longer seeming to interest her at all.

I can't really blame her. It's a heavy topic.

"However, there are some of my kind who believe the Omegas are not really dead," I inform her softly. "And those Alphas haven't stopped searching the realms for traces of their existence."

Reaper chooses that moment to return to the living area, his own cup carefully cradled in one hand. But he doesn't attempt to speak or draw attention to himself. He simply sits on the floor across from us, his expression serious.

He might be the reckless one of our trio, but he understands how important this is. And he's respecting my right to explain my history to Alina.

"My brother and I are among the Alphas who believe our Omegas are still alive somewhere. We've been hunting for over a thousand years, scouring realms and searching for alternate dimensions. Our powers are creation-like in nature, providing us with the opportunity to traverse worlds in a way few others can."

I pause, waiting for her to react to that information.

She doesn't. Perhaps because she hasn't realized that if I possess this ability, then she might as well.

If she's a real Mythos Fae Omega, that is.

She certainly fucking smells like one, I think, recalling her arousal from earlier.

The urge to throw her on the bed and taste her nearly knocked me on my ass. But millennia of discipline afforded me a moment of much-needed control.

Alina isn't ready for my knot.

But if I'm right about her Omega soul, then she might be soon. Very soon.

I clear my throat for what feels like the thousandth time today—the fire burning in my soul is fucking dehydrating my insides—and force myself to stay on track.

Where was I?

Dimension travel.

Portals.

Right.

"The, uh, reason we ventured into your world is because my brother found something while scouring dimensions via a portal window. That something was an Omega presence."

Her eyes widen a little. "M-me?"

I shake my head. "No. He thought he sensed our mother, who is also an Omega. But I think he may have just picked up on the presence of Omega souls. I won't know until we properly hunt each aura."

She shivers, the term hunt having caused her nostrils to flare. "More potential mates?"

My lips almost curl.

She probably doesn't realize it, but a hint of annoyance colored those words.

Omegas are notoriously possessive of their Alphas, and they do not like competition.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, but I'm almost positive that her Omega soul forced that question to leave her mouth.

She's testing me.

And my Alpha spirit very much welcomes the challenge.

"Potential mates for other Mythos Fae," I tell her. "Not for me. I've already found my intended."

"Our intended," Reaper corrects with a growl. "She's my mate, too."

I glance at him, somewhat surprised by his bold claim. He's never been the settling down type, but I suppose it only makes sense for him to feel a connection to my Omega. I've been bonded to Reaper for a long time, our friendship a natural one that has grown over the last one thousand years.

Flame, too.

The three of us are basically brothers.

So of course we're all drawn to the same female.

We'll create an extremely powerful circle together, with Alina being our center.

Although, she's currently frozen in her seat, her eyes wide. "M-mate?"

"Intended mate," Flame interjects, his voice soft. "It means that we intend to court you, Alina. Nothing more. You won't be forced. You don't have to feel the same way. We're simply laying out our intentions because none of us believe in hiding our natures."

"But you barely know me," she rushes out, her cappuccino cup rattling in her hand. "I… But… Oh." She blanches. "Monsters Night. Mates. I…"

I take the cup from her before she can drop it, and gently set it down on the table. "Alina?—"

"No, I get it. Monsters Night is all about brides and grooms. But it happens… so fast? I just… I didn't…"

"We didn't attend Monsters Night to hunt for a mate," I tell her.

Her brow creases. "What?" she asks, like she didn't hear me.

So I repeat my statement before adding, "We used Monsters Night as a cover to sneak into this realm. We didn't come here to find a mate; we came here to find the essence my brother originally detected in this realm. But then my soul sensed you…"

"We also saw you briefly before we even came here, almost like Orcus's dimension power was locked on to you when creating the portal window," Flame adds.

I nod. "Yes. I found you easily a second time, too." Something Flame and Reaper just learned last night.

Fortunately, neither of them gave me too hard a time about it.

"My soul has been drawn to yours from the moment I first saw you," I go on, wanting her to know the full truth. "I suspected you might be an Omega then, but I thought it was impossible. Then we arrived and I immediately felt your presence. I also… sensed your distress."

It'd been in her scent. A slightly sour note to an otherwise beautiful bouquet. My inner predator had roared, furious that something or someone was harming our ideal mate.

"All thoughts of our mission fled the moment I scented you. I had no choice but to find you. However, none of us originally came here with the goal of taking a mate. And like Flame already said, we're merely speaking our intentions. That doesn't mean we expect you to instantly accept us."

"We're more than happy to work for it," Flame adds with a smile. "Trust takes time."

Reaper snorts. "One night in bed with us and she'll be begging for eternity. I personally think that's a quicker solution to the whole courting scenario, but fine. Delayed gratification has its perks."

Rather than wait around for a reply, he blinks out of sight and reappears in the kitchen.

Alina's cup seems to have magically gone with him.

If she cares, she doesn't show it. Instead, she's too busy gaping at me, and then at Flame, and then me again.

"What if I'm not really an Omega?" she finally asks. "What if…? What if it's just a fluke or something? I'm human. I was born in a village. I have human parents. I… I can't be a… a fae."

I'm pleased that she's referring to our kind as fae now, not monsters.

"It could be a genetic manipulation," Flame tells her. "From what we've gathered, the humans in your realm have been, well, altered, for lack of a better term, to suit supernaturals."

"What does that even mean?" she demands, her voice going up an octave at the end. "Altered how?"

"We don't know," I interject. "But when I meet with the Monster City Queen, I plan to ask her about that, and Chicago."

Alina stares at me like she did the first time I mentioned my plans for talking to the Monster City Queen about Chicago. It's a look that says she still can't believe I plan to ask about that. But beneath the surprise, there's a hint of hope.

She wants to trust me.

She just isn't sure if she can.

If I'm right about her being an Omega, her soul already has faith in me to protect her unequivocally. Because that's what Alphas do—they protect Omegas.

Which is why so many of my kind have lost themselves in other fae realms. We failed. Our Omegas are gone. Our purpose left with them. Now, we're forced to survive without our other halves. Live in a world where our Alpha souls are starved for a connection that doesn't exist.

Only, my salvation is seated beside me.

Watching me.

Studying my eyes.

Swallowing.

My Omega. My purpose. My heart.

"If I'm right about you"—which I have to hope that I am—"then your Omega instincts will likely start to show themselves now that you've found a compatible Alpha."

Her soul would have been in hiding, locked in self-preservation mode. But now that she's with me, her inner Omega should feel safe enough to come out and play.

"We'll know in the next few days," I tell her. "It could be small things, like feeling possessive over me"—something I think she's already shown some evidence of, but that could also be chalked up to wishful thinking—"or the urge to nest."

"Or going into heat," Reaper calls from the kitchen. "Personally, I'm looking forward to that part."

Alina glances at him, then back at me. "What does that mean?" she asks in a whisper.

"That you're going to be horny as fuck and beg us all to satisfy you for days," Reaper answers, having appeared right behind the couch, his lips near her ear.

She jumps, then squirms in an adorable way that betrays her flustered state. "Stop doing that," she scolds him.

"But I brought you another treat," he tells her, holding out a cupcake.

"Where the fuck did you get that?" I ask him. Reaper can conjure weapons of every kind, his sole purpose in life being to kill. "That better not have poison in it." Because that would be the only type of food he should be able to magically produce.

He gives me an affronted look. "I would never hurt our pet. What kind of Death Fae do you think I am?"

"A psychotic one," I tell him.

His lips curl. "True. But no, this isn't poisoned. I simply stole it from the kitchen downstairs."

"When did you…?" Flame trails off. "You know what? Never mind. I don't even want to know how you found a kitchen or when you managed to sneak off there."

Reaper simply shrugs. "Our pet is hungry so I went hunting. Cupcake?" he offers her again. "It's strawberry. Reminds me of you." The Death Fae has literal hearts in his eyes, creeping me out a little.

"Um." Alina gingerly takes the cupcake from his long fingers. "Thank you?"

He smiles. "You can thank me properly later."

"Reaper," I growl.

"What?" he asks me. "You have your way of wooing her; I have mine. And if I do say so myself, my way is much more direct."

He vanishes again, leaving me rolling my eyes in his wake.

Reaper's completely gone now, suggesting he's shadowed off to explore the kitchen in more depth. Hopefully, he doesn't make too much trouble. We still need to meet with the Monster City Queen, and I would prefer we not piss anyone off before that happens.

I run a hand over my face and blow out a breath. "I should try to follow up with that Emissary about when the Queen might be available to meet."

"Try phoning the concierge," Flame suggests. "They've been uncharacteristically helpful for a Human Realm hotel."

"Probably because it's run by supernaturals, not mortals," I reply before looking at Alina once more. "Are there any other questions you want me to answer before I make this call?" We've already discussed a lot. But I want to make sure she's okay before I step away.

She's still studying the cupcake Reaper gifted her, her tongue peeking out to lick her bottom lip. "I… I have a lot to think about."

"Yes," I agree. "And you can ask any questions you want, anytime you want. We'll always answer truthfully."

She nods, but I can see that she's retreated a bit into her own mind, her eyes still on the pink icing.

I glance at Flame, asking him with my gaze to keep an eye on her.

He dips his chin, his quiet way of saying, On it.

There's still a lot for us to go over—such as what a heat means, as well as other Omega traits—but we'll broach those topics later.

When Alina is ready.

For now, she can enjoy Reaper's treat.

And I'll focus on the Monster City Queen.