Myron dropped onto his bed and stared up at the chandelier hanging over it. It was crystal, and not the cheap kind either. It seemed a bit excessive and he was going to be worrying about it crashing down on him all night, but the place was swank from top to bottom and the bedroom was no exception. There were no corners cut, and no reason to believe the chains suspending the chandelier above him were unstable—there were no creaky cupboards, no value washcloths, and a shower that probably had more controls than the jet that had flown him in. He could see half of London from his bedroom window, and while the skyline was as picturesque as he’d imagined, it was going to take some getting used to that he was surrounded by humans.

Not that he was notably different from them. Myron was an unmated omega, and while it was becoming more common for the especially strong willed among their kind to be able to shift prior to meeting a destined mate, he’d yet to experience even a moment as a wolf. He wasn’t in any hurry to meet his beast self, either. If he never met an Alpha who imprinted on him and never found out what it was like to have his skin explode into fur and fury, that was more than alright with him. He had no intentions of giving up his independence or affinity for omegas in exchange for a mating mark and a belly bump.

He yawned, still feeling the effects of the trip as he rolled over to check his phone. There were a million texts from Avery and Nicholas, and a call from his mother. Out of the three of them, his brother-in-law was the only one he had the energy to talk to. Avery could always be counted on to keep everyone else in the loop without Myron needing to expend energy he didn’t have on conversations that would only serve to frustrate him.

“Myron!” the other omega cried excitedly. “How did it go?”

“I guess that depends on whether you think me getting the job is a good thing.” Avery’s silence clued him in to the need to clarify his sarcasm. “I got it.”

Avery made a joyous sound that made the phone vibrate. Myron winced, holding it away from his ear. “Congrats! Not that I’m surprised. I knew Charles would take a liking to you,” he said in a confident tone.

“I’m not sure the guy likes anything that doesn’t grow in a petri dish,” Myron remarked, twirling a short clump of hair around his finger. “While we’re on the subject of congratulations, nice job on making a person. Hopefully she takes after you.”

Avery huffed. “From what my mother tells me, I didn’t let her and daddy sleep for the first year of my life, so she probably does. When are we going to see you again?”

“I don’t know. I’ve gotta stay in England for the foreseeable future, so it could be a while. Charles says you guys can visit, though.”

“You’re staying there? He didn’t mention anything about that.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Myron hesitated. “Sorry I won’t be around for a while.”

“I understand. We both do,” Avery said softly. “I know it’s hard for you, with Inara—“

“Please,” Myron winced. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I just kind of want to pretend like I never met her.’

“Okay. I get it.” The sympathy in Avery’s voice was all the confirmation he needed to know that moving was the right thing. It had been one thing when his family had been disjointed and confrontational, but Avery and Nicholas’ union had banded them all together in unexpected ways. Myron was relieved in one sense, but the lack of drama in the Myer household meant that all eyes were suddenly on the one remaining dysfunctional member. It was bad enough that his little brother saw him as a project to fix. “I just hope you’ll tell us if you need anything.”

“I will, but I won’t. Well, there is one thing. Can you tell everyone I got in okay? I’ve got some forms to sign and I wanna get at least a few hours before training.”

“Consider it done. We love you, Myron.”

“Love you, too, Ave.” He hung up and set his phone aside, rubbing his eyes. Maybe the pile of contracts could wait for a little while. If he stayed up for much longer, he was going to fall back into the dangerous cycle of checking social media and “happening” upon Inara’s page, which would lead to him emptying the bar in the apartment and hating himself even more come morning.

Not that sleep was much better. He saw her every time he closed his eyes, and while he tried desperately to view her as the monster she’d turned out to be, the truth was that she was even more perfect in reality than in the visions that haunted his dreams.

* * *

After five pitiful hours of sleep, Myron made himself as presentable as he had the energy for and hastily signed every one of the documents Charles had given him. Hopefully none of them required the sale of his soul.

Then again, who was he kidding? Charles could probably do more with it than he was.

One of the few papers he had bothered to read was an itinerary for the first week of training, and to his relief, it looked like they wouldn’t be leaving the building much. He was supposed to meet Charles upstairs in twenty minutes, so he decided to get there a bit early and at least pretend to be an eager new hire.

Maybe if he faked it long enough, he’d eventually feel it. According to Inara, that was the strategy that had worked for her for a few years.

The rest of the building was less extravagant than the living quarters. When Myron reached his floor, he felt a bit like he was trespassing in some government lab. A pretty-boy omega in a suit approached him as soon as he got off the elevator and the ID card hanging from a Futurus lanyard around his neck looked all kinds of official.

“You must be Myron,” he said brightly, his dark eyes showing none of the half-dead exhaustion anyone human would have felt at that hour. Everything about him was polished and professional, from his neat black hair to the custom dress shoes that had been recently shined. He wasn’t the first Futurus employee Myron had met, but everyone in the building seemed to run on caffeine and smiles. Either he’d landed in a cult or the company was actually a decent place to work.

“And you must be the person they meant to hire instead of me,” he said without thinking. When he saw the confusion on the other man’s face, he added, “Can’t imagine they’d want me as the face of the company when yours is an option.”

The other omega’s cheeks turned a becoming shade of plum. “I’m Andy Zhao, Mr. Metcalf’s administrative liaison.”

Myron told himself he needed to break his habit of hitting on every attractive omega he came in contact with, since he was supposed to be the poster boy for good old-fashioned Alpha-omega relations. But hell, he had to keep himself sane somehow, didn’t he? Besides, he almost exclusively preferred women and Andy was male. That was totally different.

“It’s a pleasure, Andy,” he said, shaking the other omega’s hand with a pseudo-apologetic smile. “I’ll try to stay out of your hair.” Until he got him into his bed. Then he was going to have all sorts of fun with those luscious raven strands.

“Mr. Metcalf has asked me to give you the tour,” Andy said, still clearly flustered as he turned to lead Myron down the hall. “He’ll be taking over after lunch. This is the administrative floor, where you’ll find everything from HR to marketing. Of course, you’ll be working most closely with them as the representative for the breeding program.”

Andy paused to look Myron over, and Myron couldn’t help but feel like his tour guide was every bit as perplexed by their boss’ decision as everyone else had to be. But once Myron had seen how many zeros were at the end of his first paycheck, he’d stopped caring. Not that he gave a particular shit about the money itself. He was more interested in the idea of rubbing Inara’s face in it, and a new fling wouldn’t be too shabby in the game of revenge, either.

In the beginning, all he’d wanted was to get her back and he knew it was only delusion that allowed him to say he wouldn’t have taken her back if she’d come crawling. Still, he was reasonable enough to know there was no chance of that, and making her regret her treachery was the next best thing. If he couldn’t have her, he could at least make her jealous.

“About that. I don’t actually have to, you know… take part in the program, do I?”

Andy arched an eyebrow. “All unmated employees of Futurus are required to enroll in the matching database, for appearance’s sake. We can’t expect the packs to sign up if we aren’t willing to put our money where our mouths are.”

“I guess not,” Myron said with a forced smile.

“Don’t worry. You’re top-level personnel, which means your chances of being matched while you’re actively working are extremely low. After what happened with your brother-in-law, we’re trying to avoid any more complications.”

“Right. Well, that’s good.” In a world where birth rates had been too low to replace their dying population until recently, the idea of holding out for a fated mate had become an inconvenience. If Myron hadn’t had his own vendetta against the idea, he might’ve had a moral qualm about working for Futurus, but he didn’t. As far as he was concerned, destiny could go fuck itself. He was tired of being its booty call of choice and was confident he could weasel his way out of a matchup.

“Not a fan of Alphas?” Andy asked dryly.

“When the alternative is so much more enticing?” he shot back. “Not really.”

Andy blushed again, coming to a stop in front of a door with Charles’ name on it. “To each their own, I suppose. If you have your papers, I’ll drop them off and we can finish the tour.”

“Looking forward to it,” Myron said, intentionally brushing Andy’s hand as he gave him the stack of forms.

For the next few hours, he let Andy lead him around the building, pointing out the different departments like a tour guide. He tried to pay attention even though his mind was on other things. He was a week away from heat, maybe a few days, and screwing around with another omega had always been a far more effective means of maintaining his dignity than taking heat suppressants. It didn’t make him violently ill, either.

“And this is research and development,” Andy announced once they stepped off the elevator on the top floor. Myron realized he hadn’t heard a word Andy had said in the last five minutes, but the top floor was everything he’d expected from the way people went on about Futurus’ cutting edge and often controversial research team. “When they print your badge, you’ll have access as long as you’re escorted by security. Or Mr. Metcalf, of course.”

“Fancy,” Myron said, looking around the laboratory. A few of the scientists stopped to look at them but most of them seemed far more interested in their research. There were more cubicles than he would have expected. “Is it true what they say about this place?”

“That depends on what they say,” Andy remarked.

“That you’re working on cloning, for one thing.” That got the attention of a nerd in a lab coat. Myron nodded at him. “It’s okay, I signed the NDA.”

The researcher rolled his eyes and went back to his microscope slide.

Andy sighed. “That is one of the avenues of research we’re exploring in regard to population management, yes, but it would be better to speak with Mr. Metcalf about it. That’s his area of interest, not mine. He’s quite brilliant.”

“So I’ve heard.” Myron had worked with his share of brilliant Alphas as a teacher, and as far as he was concerned, intelligence was wasted on their kind. The hubris always negated it. An omega or a beta could be twice as gifted and work ten times as hard only for the focus of the organization to shift on any Alpha who had a lick of brains and talent and was willing to “lower himself” to an academic position.

“Well, that about covers the tour,” Andy said, looking at his watch. “We should probably head to lunch. Mr. Metcalf will be out of his meeting in an hour.”

Half a day on the job and Myron was already getting tired of hearing his boss’ name. He nodded agreeably and followed Andy back downstairs.

“Oh, shoot,” Andy said suddenly. “I was supposed to take your acquisition form to HR. Would you mind if we stop in Charles’ office to grab it?”

“Not at all.” Myron was less interested in using his lunch break for its intended purpose and more interested in making his move. When Andy unlocked the office for them, he saw his chance.

“It’s here somewhere,” Andy muttered, leaning over the desk to shuffle through the papers.

Myron peered over his shoulder, pulling one he recognized from the night before out of the file. “Is this it?”

“Oh,” Andy said, his eyes widening in surprise as he took it from him. “Yes, thank you. I…” He trailed off, staring up at Myron. “I’m always losing things.”

“You have a demanding job,” Myron murmured. He could smell the other omega’s desire and it was echoed in his warm brown eyes. “I wonder if he appreciates everything you do.”

Andy wet his lips and didn’t seem aware of it. “Well…he’s a genius. He’s always off in his own world.”

“He must be if he doesn’t notice a man like you right in front of him,” Myron purred, fighting a smile as he realized Andy didn’t seem to be aware of the fact that he’d stepped closer to him, either.

Andy blushed again, looking away. Myron let his hand brush the other man’s on the desk. The contact lacked the spark he’d felt from the moment he’d first touched Inara, but he wasn’t interested in love or destiny, for that matter. All he wanted was a beautiful distraction, and the liaison was as perfect as they came. “Mr. Myer —“

“Please, call me Myron.”

Andy pursed his lips. “Alright, Myron. You’re a very charming man and I can certainly see why he chose you.”

“Can you?” He grinned. “You’ve been with the company a long time. I’d understand if you wanted to vet me for yourself.”

Andy’s eyes widened in surprise at his candor, but the smile that graced his lips told Myron it was far from unwelcome. “I’ve never been with another omega.”

“No? That’s a shame,” he said, brushing his fingers over the back of Andy’s hand and feeling a surge of heat to his core as the other omega shivered at his touch. He loved the way they all responded regardless of gender. What mattered most was the deep emotions the touch of another omega stirred in him, even if it was only for a night. There was no fear of chemical attachment or accidental pregnancy, even if that had come back to bite him in the ass when he’d finally found one he wanted to stick around.

“You… do this often?” Andy asked doubtfully.

“This?” Myron asked innocently.

The omega’s blush deepened. “I… I don’t know why I said that,” he mumbled, playing with his collar.

“To answer your question, yes. I only sleep with other omegas,” he said huskily, resting his hand on Andy’s hip. The omega was already leaning back against Charles’ desk, his lips parted to gasp.

“Why?” Andy asked breathlessly, resting his hands on Myron’s chest. His lips were so close Myron could taste him and decided making an exception from his usual preference for women was just what he needed to get his mind off Inara. Andy was new and fresh and entirely captivating.

“Well,” Myron said, snaking his hands around the other man’s trim waist, “I could say it’s because being with another omega is the most sensually and emotionally intense experience you can have, or that only an omega knows how to truly please another, but it would be so much easier if I just showed you.”

Andy’s thick lashes fluttered as he let Myron push him up against the desk and wrapped his arms around the sturdier omega’s neck. “Oh,” he breathed. “I never thought I’d do this, but you’re so…” He trailed off, biting his lip. “Different.”

Myron smiled, knowing the game was won. Inside, those words killed him because they were so close to the ones Inara had spoken when she’d decided to “give him a chance.”

“If it wasn’t for your scent, I would’ve thought you were an Alpha. You’re not like any omega I’ve ever met.”

But he wasn’t an Alpha. Different or not, he was still an omega and he’d learned his lesson. No matter how he was wired to desire only his own kind, he would never be anything more than a distraction to any one of them. A temporary amusement, a fling to piss off their parents, an edgy political statement to grow out of when it came time to settle down and “get serious.”

When it came right down to it, he was a joke. Well, so was life. Might as well learn to savor the punchline.

As he took Andy into his arms and showed him the benefits of giving up his body to the claim of another omega, even if it was only for a quick screw, he told himself this was all he’d ever need.