Chapter One
Aden
The sound of grunting men around me made it hard to concentrate, but I only had one more rep. I wrapped my hands around the barbell, flattened my back, and pulled with everything I had in me. A cry of sheer will escaped my mouth as I jerked the weight up and locked out a new personal record.
I dropped the bar and every eye in the room turned to me. My dead lift was getting close to setting records, and I could tell that it made more than a few of the men in the Camp’s gym a little bit envious. I was muscular, but I wasn’t jacked up like them, and it confused their brains that I could pull so much weight. The secret was that I needed it more than they did. It was all part of the ruse that kept me in my job.
All of the half-dressed, snarling men around me were Alphas. What they didn’t know was that I wasn’t. The problem I was having in that moment was that it had been too long since my last treatment. I needed to get ahold of my dealer.
The scent of the Alphas around me began to get to me in a way I hadn’t expected. My heart raced, and I could feel a new line of sweat break out on my back. It was a good thing that I was already soaked.
I left the weight room quickly and headed up to the smoothie bar. If I hadn’t, I would have had some explaining to do, but I was able to get myself under control once I got to the café area. It was a good thing that I wasn’t really attracted to any of the men around me beyond being able to appreciate their bodies. Why?
Because I wasn’t supposed to be there. Omegas weren’t allowed in Special Forces, and I’d had to lie and take black-market suppressants to get there. I’d risked dishonorable discharge if anyone found out who I really was.
“Hey, Aden. What’ll it be today?” Markus, the cutie twink who worked the counter asked. He had no idea that he was barking up the wrong tree flirting and shaking his little round ass at me, but he always put on a show when I came up to order my post-workout smoothie.
“You know me, Markus. I’ll have the large Fat Elvis.”
One of the great things about being a fake Alpha is that I need twice as many calories to maintain my size. The Fat Elvis has one scoop of chocolate cream protein powder, one scoop of marshmallow dream protein powder, a banana, two huge scoops of peanut butter, and whole milk. It’s a weight gainer shake for sure and another reason that some of the Alphas hate me. They have to watch every calorie that goes into their mouths to keep their cut physiques, and I drink a Fat Elvis after every workout.
“I can’t help but notice you’re still unbonded,” Markus said as he handed me my shake. His fingers brushed mine in an obviously intentional way, and I swear to god he licked his bottom lip too.
“Yes, that’s true. This isn’t the kind of life where bonding is a priority. My job is my mate.” It’s the best I could come up with on such short notice.
“Well, surely a stud like yourself can take the time to bond for one night.” Markus winked at me.
Just as I was about to attempt to let him down gently, Tony Riker from Gamma Squad walked by. He signaled to me that I needed to follow him, and I could tell he was headed toward the grappling mats. Tony loved to challenge every other Alpha as often as possible.
He acted tough, but it was obvious to everyone but him that he was insecure. Or maybe that was only obvious to me. I sometimes forgot that my omega status occasionally made me more sensitive to emotions. Perhaps all of the Alphas really thought Tony was a complete badass, and I alone picked up on the scared little Tony that lived on the inside. That wasn’t very Alpha at all, but I was almost one hundred percent sure that he wasn’t secretly an omega. I’d know.
“I gotta go. We’ll pick this conversation up later,” I said and gave Markus a flirtatious wink.
I gritted my teeth when I turned away. I’d intended to let him down gently, but instead I flirted. I wasn’t even attracted to him at all because he was a fellow omega. I knew that, someday, my flirtatious nature was going to land me in hot water, but I couldn’t stop. I guess it was a good thing, though. My trifles with the surrounding omegas sold the lie that I was an Alpha better than all of the dead lifts in the world.
“Saw that dead lift, Aden,” Tony said when I stepped into the grappling room. “Why don’t you come top it off on the mat?” He said and beckoned to me with two fingers.
“Do you really need to roll around on the mat with me to make you feel like a man, Tony?” I asked.
I could tell my words hit their mark. Tony wasn’t sure if I was taunting him or flirting. “What are you trying to do, Aden?” Tony tried to sound like he wasn’t interested.
“Hey, man, a little Alpha on Alpha fun never hurt anyone. We’re not bonded, so why not do a little manly bonding?” I asked as I took my place on the mat.
“The only thing I’m interested in doing with you is kicking your ass.” Tony said, but I could hear the questioning in his voice.
I tried not to flirt with the other Alphas, but I couldn’t help it. Even with the suppressants, I was naturally drawn to them. Since Alpha on Alpha fun was pretty common, no one suspected anything. They all just thought I was a hopeless flirt who would never bond.
“I doubt you can kick my ass, Tony. You’re big, but I’m agile and flexible.” Wait, was I actually taunting him, or was I still flirting?
Tony joined me on the mat. “I’m agile enough to whoop you.”
“Let’s do this then,” I said and took starting position crouched down on the balls of my feet with my hands helping me balance.
Tony had his hands splayed flat when he took position, but I was just using the tips of my fingers. That’s how I knew I was going to win. He could bluster about how agile he was all he wanted; he lacked the finesse and grace that I naturally possessed.
Because I was an omega.
Delta wasn’t open to omegas because the military thought we were too delicate to be included in Special Forces. But it was the omega in me that made me able to defeat these guys every time. The hilarious part was that they had no idea how I did it. They just thought I was some sort of super Alpha.
Tony lunged at me, and I deftly moved to the side. He was caught off guard when his body didn’t make contact with anything and he slid across the mat.
While he was attempting to get back up and into position, I pounced. Tony was pinned to the ground, and I chuckled as I watched him struggle to buck me off. Every time he would almost free himself, I’d shift my weight and pin him again. I would have kept him like that until he exhausted himself completely if it weren’t for the fact that I’d worn myself out with my weight lifting already, and he was completely fresh. Tony hadn’t even started his workout yet, but I was still besting him.
Until he got a leg free. Tony wasn’t able to pin me, but we wrestled furiously for the top position until someone came into the room with us. There were several people watching already, but this was someone who I couldn’t help but pay attention to, even though I was clearly busy.
Captain Zane Mayfield’s presence almost gave Tony the upper hand. He just about had me when the captain spoke. “Alright, you two. Break it up. I need to speak with Sergeant Chandler.”
He needed to talk to me. Oh no. The thought of being near him long enough to have a conversation made my heart beat twice as hard, and it made my knot swell. I was too close to heat for this, but I couldn’t tell him no.
Then it hit me. What if he was there to tell me I was relieved of duty? They could have found out who I was, and I was about to be dishonorably discharged.
“Do I have time for a shower, sir?” I asked as I rose from the mat.
The captain was always impeccably dressed and groomed, and it made me feel self-conscious because I was a sweaty mess. I was also concerned that my scent was getting too strong and that he’d pick up on it if I didn’t disguise it with some bodywash and a heavy application of strong scented deodorant.
“Later, Sergeant. This will only take a minute. Follow me please.”
As I walked down the hall behind him, my mind drifted to what it would be like for the captain to bite my bonding site. After the abuse I’d suffered from my Alpha twin brother, I’d never wanted to be bonded to anyone. Being a lone omega couldn’t be the worst thing in the world. At least I’d always belong to myself.
“Wait here,” Zane said when we arrived at his office door.
“Sir,” I responded. I was glad I didn’t have to go through the torture of being alone in the room with him. I needed to get back to my bunk and take a dose of my suppressants. I was one whiff of Zane’s Alpha scent away from bending over and begging him to knot me.
He came back out of his office moments later and handed me a single piece of paper. “We have new orders. There is a meeting in the squad conference room at sixteen hundred. Dismissed.”
“Sir,” I said, saluted, and then walked away as fast as I could while trying to look casual.
Captain Zane Mayfield was dangerously close to ending my military career, and I wasn’t sure if I cared anymore. If there was going to be an Alpha I would bond with, it would be Zane Mayfield.