Ianthe worked as if her mind was outside of her body. She placed plates piled high with chicken heavy under cream sauce and freshly picked vegetables just lightly steamed. She recognized herself to be in a haze, with only enough awareness of her surroundings to perform the most basic of tasks. Luckily, that was all that was required of her.

She retrieved the empty plate from in front of a man who did not even bother to look at her as he demanded his wine glass be refilled. She complied, face empty and placid, as the feedback from a microphone going live came from a nearby speaker.

When Ianthe’s gaze moved to the podium at the front of the pavilion, the same Alpha woman she had met earlier was standing at the podium.

“Thank you all for being here this evening. My name is Adriana Hathaway and I am the chairwoman of the Astropolis Children’s Hospital Foundation. As you all know, the proceeds from tonight’s event will support the expansion of the Center for Genetic Disease on the hospital’s campus.”

The Alpha female waited for the polite applause to die down before continuing.

“I would like to bring to the stage the man responsible for the foundation’s continued success. He is our most generous benefactor and a true advocate for the children of this city. Please welcome Legion Aristophus.”

The plate in her hand slipped from fingers gone limp and crashed to the floor as the man that Ianthe hoped to never meet again took the stage. Any sound from the shattering porcelain could not be heard over the robust applause that progressed to a standing ovation. None of the people sitting at the table nearest her appeared to have noticed the shaking girl with a broken plate at her feet.

But he must have heard. Golden eyes met hers despite the crowd surrounding her. His gaze was intense and hyper-focused as if they were the only people in the room. A wave of nauseating heat rolled over her, practically bringing her to her knees. Heavy brows descended on eyes gone the color of an electric sunset as he tilted his head back and appeared to scent the air.

She lurched around, stumbling toward the nearest exit. Shocks of electricity shot through her body with each step that she took. Ianthe’s awareness was centered wholly on the fact that she had to get away.

Ianthe pushed blindly through the crowd, weaving around tables with no conscious idea of where she was headed. She just wanted to get away as fast as she possibly could.

She made it out of the pavilion through a side door and ended up in an unfamiliar service corridor. A patch of light at the far end was lit up like a lifeline. Her heart pounded so loudly in her chest that it seemed to echo off of the metal walls. Alternating waves of heat and cold rolled over her, sending her into feverish tremors. Her vision swam and twisted as she stumbled down the hallway, her arm against the nearest wall for support. If she could just make it outside, then this nightmare would be over.

A spasm clenched deep in her belly, nearly doubling her over. She felt a surge of wetness soak the crotch of her uniform and looked down to see the seep of fluid darkening the fabric covering her thighs.

It couldn’t be. She had been taking the alterants in the same doses that she always had, save for during the nights at Eros House. It had been years and never once had she felt even the slightest stirring of a heat cycle.

And yet here she was, about to enter full-blown estrous.

She had to get out of there, somehow make it home without broadcasting her scent to every male in attendance. Alphas, even ones with some trace of self-awareness, would be hard-pressed not to respond to an Omega in heat by falling into a rut. She would be mated multiple times by multiple males if she were lucky. Otherwise, she would be torn apart in a frenzy.

Ianthe searched for a place to hide, but she was only met with an expanse of smooth walls.

Another cramp rocked her insides at the thought of an Alpha knot, desire and repulsion both twisting inside of her. She stumbled toward the end of the corridor and closer to the open door that represented her only escape. She just had to keep moving and pray that this would not be the end of her.

Through the haze of her quickly narrowing vision, Ianthe saw a shadow emerge from the darkness to block her one meager source of light. An imposing figure rose to stand in her path as the door was slammed shut, plunging them into near darkness.

Legion’s face reflected harshly in the red emergency lights that blinked along the ceiling as he regarded her.

“Hello, little one.”

“No…” There was no getting past him. Not that it mattered as her knees trembled and gave out beneath her.

Arms nearly the size of tree trunks came up to steady her as hands bigger than the dinner plates she had just been picking up held her hips, gripping too hard for comfort. The scent of potent Alpha nearly overwhelmed her. Nostrils flared as she inhaled in harsh breaths, a small pink tongue lolling out of her mouth to taste the powerful hormones filling the air.

Dazed, she looked up into eyes that glowed with a nearly manic light. She could not see it but her own pupils had blown so huge that only a small ring of color surrounded a large circle of black.

Before she could react, Legion turned with her in his arms and shoved her back against the metal wall, hard enough that a shock of brief pain rocked her. The back of her head hit steel with a hard knock and stars danced across her vision.

“Little Omega.” Lips pressed against the tender shell of her ear as the male let out a growl that shook her to the bone. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you?”

She indulged the instinct to resist him, to fight what had already become an inevitability. He allowed her to grapple with him for a moment before subduing her easily. When he growled again, her body seized as another wave of liquid spilled from her womb and saturated her uniform.

Her mouth fell open on a silent scream as his hand slid up to grip her throat, not hard enough to choke her but with enough pressure to rob her of the ability to speak.

“Did you really think that I wouldn’t recognize the smell of Omega, even one full of enough alterants to sterilize a true Beta? I knew you from the first, girl.”

“Please…” she choked out the word past the rising pressure in her chest, even as her throat pushed against his hand with each breath that she took.

His thigh moved between her legs so she straddled it and the apex of her sex pressed against him. The sensation sent her reeling, even as she fought the rising tide of desire.

“It’s your own fault, really. This could have happened differently, with proper preparations and a place for you to build your nest. But circumstances are what they are, now.”

She didn’t respond to that, eyes gone wide and dark as his face swam in and out of focus.

One thumb stroked her bottom lip, his expression tender even as the calculation did not leave his gaze. “But I’m not a monster, so I’ll offer you the choice.”

Her body sagged against the wall, more from despair than submission. She understood the choice that he offered her and it wasn’t a real one.

But still, she tried. “Please just let me go.”

“That is one option,” he said slowly as if lecturing a recalcitrant child. “If you don’t want me, then you can simply walk away. Of course, there are a hundred other males between you and any place that might offer safety.”

His threat was clear. There were dozens of males within range of her scent who would fall on her at the earliest opportunity without reason or restraint. She could already hear the shouts and raised voices just on the other side of the wall. Others in the pavilion had already caught her scent They were moments from being discovered.

And part of her wanted nothing more than to be filled so completely that it tore her apart, regardless of the consequences.

Ianthe ground her body against his thigh, but the light friction wasn’t enough to slake the fire burning in her. She needed something that only an Alpha could provide.

The aroma of their combined scents had saturated the air. And the smell of him made her feel crazed, it was like the most delicious meal, the sweetest perfume and the headiest intoxicant all rolled into one.

His hot mouth pressed against the delicate skin of her throat, with just the slightest press of teeth as he spoke. “Decide.”

She had no strength left to fight him as every cell in her body screamed for his knot.

A moan slipped from her lips. “Please help me.”

The sound of ripping fabric hit her delirium-clouded senses just before she felt the rush of cold air as her body was exposed. Even as she urged him on with frantic rolls of her hips and fingernails digging into his back, his movements were not frenzied.

As she begged, his hands moved methodically over her body as he removed scraps of shredded fabric and forced her legs to part impossibly wide. Her back arched into his touch as his hand pushed between their bodies to tease at her opening.

She jerked and moaned as a large finger breached her. He growled again and his hands caught the gush of slick that exploded from her cunt. He brought his fingers to her mouth and forced them inside, nearly choking her on her own scent.

Buttons clattered to the floor as he worked at the fly of his slacks, freeing himself. That same hand caught both her wrists and raised them high above her head, forcing her body to arch into him as the bulbous head of his member teased at her entrance.

Her head turned so her cheek could rest against the metal wall behind her, the cold a slight balm to the fever burning her skin. He nipped at her chin and spoke growling words against her skin, urging her to open for her Alpha and take all that he had to give her. Nether lips burned as they stretched to accommodate an organ that was much too large for the place it breached.

With one harsh stroke, he seated himself completely inside of her. Ianthe screamed as a dark purr rumbled against her chest from the growling Alpha. With an effort, he held himself back for a moment, allowing her to somewhat adjust to his invasion.

But then he began to fuck her in earnest and she became overwhelmed by the demands of the rut. He stood between her spread legs, each thrust becoming more frantic as they both lost themselves and became one.

“Oh gods…”

She felt an answering smile against her skin as his teeth grazed her neck. “Just Legion.”

Somehow, the impressive length inside of her grew thicker as the rapid approach of his knot threatened. His thrusts grew more shallow as he filled her, each inch hard-won as her inner muscles gripped him tighter, marking her own approaching orgasm.

He pressed forward, even further than her body wanted to allow. She screamed in response and the sound echoed off of the metal walls, loud enough that the entire pavilion was likely to hear them.

Legion growled low as he felt the impending swell of flesh that would tie them together. The report had not lied when it stated she was likely to be untouched. If her channel was any tighter, he could not mount her without causing damage. Her legs rose of their own volition to tie around his waist, opening her more.

Liquid shone on her thighs and dripped down to form a puddle on the floor. Each jerk of his hips made a sluicing wet and entirely carnal sound as he shoved through a veritable river of wetness. No one spilled like an Omega and he practically reveled in it. With every low growl that rumbled out of his throat, more fluid spilled, practically enough to swim in.

His knot expanded within her, irritating already sensitive nerves until her inner muscle clenched in answering spasm. She clawed at him and moaned, delirious in the pleasure as she ground down against the expanding flesh. The stretch was more amazing than anything else she had ever experienced before and almost too much to comprehend.

When the ball of turgid flesh bottomed out inside her, hooking them together, it was finally enough to send her over the edge. As raw nerves reacted to the pressure, her inner muscles clenched down hard, milking his knot so spurts of hot cum bathed her womb.

But Ianthe was too lost to the pleasure to recognize the danger she had placed herself in. His harshly whispered words were her only warning before sharp teeth closed on the thin skin where the bend of her neck met her shoulder.

“You are mine!”

Still in the midst of orgasm, she screamed as her flesh tore and the sharp scent of blood joined slick and cum to taint the air. When she tried to pull away, his jaw clamped down even harder sending a shock of pain through her down to the very bone.

She screamed in pain even as her climax continued to squeeze more frothy bursts of sperm from his knot. There was no escape from him, their flesh linked from mouth to loins. Sinew and bone ground between his clenching jaw as he viciously tore into the skin, marking her in a way that would permanently scar.

When his teeth finally released their hold on his flesh, his tongue lapped at the trickles of blood from the wound. She faded in and out of consciousness as golden eyes swam in her vision. But even in her delirious state, she felt a mounting horror at what he had done. A feeling that could only increase in intensity as the full impact of his actions eventually settled over her.

The beast had claimed her, connected them together down to their very souls in a way that was inescapable, save for death. He owned her completely and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it.

One thick finger strummed her clit, producing another clenching spasm that nearly sent his eyes rolling in the back of his head as he regarded her in satisfaction.

“I am never letting you go, Omega.”

Her last thought before slipping completely into unconsciousness was of how much she hated him — almost as much as she hated herself.