There had to be some kind of award for one’s drive to stay up late in the office every single night.

It could be called the Best in Overtime award.

Heck, it could even be the I Have No Life Outside of Work award. As an omega, I was expected to simply raise babies and be subservient to my alpha, but I wanted other things from life. However, I was finding out what being a “Go-getter” felt like. If I was truly honest with myself, I did want to find my fated alpha and have babies, but it just didn’t seem realistic with my current career situation. This was something I often wrestled with internally, because I didn’t have forever to wait for the perfect opportunity, but it wasn’t as if Mr. Perfect Alpha was just about to fall out from the sky.

My inner sarcasm was on a roll. Gritting my teeth, I tried to set it aside and get back to work, typing one word after another until the sentences formed on the screen, and my article came to life. This was my last article for the month before I was done with my deadlines—and knowing my dad, AKA my boss, he’d be furious if he found out his son was among the late submissions. Especially due it being so close to the holidays, when meeting deadlines felt like a matter of life or death.

My dad had high standards for me. I was also never really early for stuff—including this last article. Go figure.

Twenty minutes later, I was finally done. I breathed a sigh of relief and went ahead and hit send, then sat back on my chair and checked my phone. There wasn’t any text yet from Max, the alpha I was seeing. But I knew where he was headed to, because we’d already whispered about it in the office closet before I’d cancelled plans with him at the last minute. He’d be there for sure with his friends, because Max never let a little cancellation ruin his plans of partying.

That was something I liked about him. Max never let the negative things in life get to him, and that included my rain check.

Of course, his make-out skills weren’t so bad, either. Plus, he was dependable.

My dad’s so-called high standards included not dating anyone in the office—and fortunately for him, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. My dad was pretty old fashioned in some ways, and had said on a number of occasions that if I didn’t find my fated mate, he’d arrange a mate for me. I was an omega of the twenty-first century, so that was definitely not something I was cool with!

By the time I was in a taxi and on my way to the bar, my mood had already lifted and I was smiling. Being broody was already part of my omega genetic makeup when it came to article submissions, but that was only because I hated it if I submitted anything less than stellar. I was a perfectionist when it came to that part of my life—one of the very few things in my life I actually had control over.

Ten minutes later, I was already inside the bar and looking around. It was dim everywhere, with electric lights dotting the ceiling and flashing laser points all over the floor. Apparently, this bar was also some sort of dance club, something I was surprised about because Max never mentioned it earlier.

It looked like I wasn’t appropriately dressed. Most of the other omegas were wearing some of the skimpiest “come-fuck-me” outfits known I’d ever seen, whereas I was wearing my office attire, with my plain white shirt replaced by a black tank top. It was the best I could do on short notice.

It took me a few minutes to wiggle my way through the crowd. It took me another few minutes to finally locate Max’s friends. I headed over in their direction, grinning.

“Hey, guys!”

The guy who spotted me first, Francis, choked on his drink at the sight of me. Then he looked in a certain direction and paled, right before his gaze swiftly shifted back to me.

“Uh…hey…Leo….”

But I was no longer listening. Instead, I turned my head to the spot he was previously looking at, squinting my eyes in the semi-darkness.

The grin disappeared from my mouth.

Max was dancing. He was grooving to the upbeat tempo of the song that was currently blasting on speakers, graceful and sexy at the same time.

He wasn’t dancing alone.

There was a redhead omega in front of him, wearing skinny jeans that hugged his every curve. The redhead omega was grinding his ass against Max’s crotch—and Max was grinding his crotch back into the redhead’s ass.

The idiots were practically dry humping on the dance floor.

If that wasn’t incriminating enough, I didn’t know what was. Max’s hands were also squeezing the omegas ass when they weren’t firmly planted on his hips, while the redhead just giggled encouragingly at Max.

Okay, enough.

I wasn’t going to torture myself watching this for a second longer. I glanced back at Francis.

“Tell Max to have a phenomenal time,” I said sweetly, as I rolled my eyes.

Then I was out of there before Max could spot me or Francis could say another word.

* * *

The truth was, I wasn’t even hurt.

Sure, seeing Max there clearly cheating on me had been a blow to my ego, particularly since we were still supposed to be in our honeymoon stage—you know, that stage where you were too focused on each other to look at anyone else, when it’s supposed to be new and exciting. I didn’t expect for the honeymoon stage of our relationship to end for Max this soon, and for him to not have the gall to tell me. If I hadn’t caught them, would he still pretend he was into me and whisper those sweet nothings to me in the office? Have a secret make-out session or two? Heck, I had already decided to go third base with him… maybe even the full run. I figured he’d be trustworthy and wouldn’t babble, and certainly wouldn’t two-time me if I was a good little omega and did what he asked. But he still cheated.

And that pissed me off. What an Alphahole!

I didn’t want to go home pissed. So, I went to the nearest hotel and sat on the long bar, ordering a martini for myself and brooding over it. My apartment suddenly seemed too lonely to go back to, and I realized I didn’t even want to go home tonight feeling dejected. Maybe I could check in here for the night and just binge watch some movies, then order room service. I could also drink lots of wine to help take my mind off the betrayal I was feeling.

My thoughts were interrupted by giggling at my side. I glanced in that direction and found a knockout of a blonde omega with his hand on the thigh of a mysterious alpha. My eyes then focused on the thigh encased in jeans. It was as wide as a log and looked hard as a rock, and I found myself suddenly fascinated.

My gaze trailed up, wondering if the alphas arms were as hard-looking as his thighs. They were. The short-sleeved white shirt couldn’t quite hide the tattoo swirling down his bulging arm. I squinted, curious about the design. It was a black and white design that I hadn’t seen before, almost tribal. It suited his tanned skin perfectly.

Now fully curious, I let myself look further, trailing up to find broad shoulders, a thick neck and a perfectly square jaw. His hair was black as ink, slightly messy, but thick. He had lips that were both sensual and firm, bringing to mind the idea that he probably used it to insult those he disliked perfectly—and to have omegas moaning as he used that mouth on them, I bet.

Something inside me stirred at the thought of his lips on my body. I dismissed it and kept looking.

Blue eyes completed his features. They were a stormy kind of blue, and the blue-gray combination only made him look even more compelling. He had the looks of a bad boy, with an air of arrogance and a smirk that only had one thing popping in my mind right now: a big, fat no, thank you.

Bad boys just weren’t my type. They were unstable and dangerous—plus they were often too full of themselves. I liked dating alphas who were reliable and pleasant, because I liked my life planned out and without any nasty surprises.

Yeah, like Max. And look where that got me.

The thought of the alpha I was dating—ex-dating now—had me scowling. I really should stop thinking about him. Because I was still looking in the direction of the flirting couple, my scowl was turned in that direction.

As if the timing couldn’t be any worse, the alpha glanced up. His eyes met mine. My hand froze on the glass I was gripping at the intensity of that single gaze.

And then it was broken before I knew it, and he was back to entertaining the omega in front of him, whispering in a low, deep tone. I bet he was whispering the same sweet bull-crap that all alphaholes whispered to oblivious omegas—like me.

Realizing I didn’t want to witness any more of it, I ordered a bottle of red wine. Then I decided to go ahead with my plan and booked a room for the night. A movie marathon and some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream to drown my sorrows sounded like a pretty good plan right about now. Smiling to myself at the thought of treating myself after being on my diet for so long, I headed straight inside, bypassing the main hall and slipping in a smaller one where the staff elevator was located. I knew this hotel enough to know that the regular elevators were usually crowded at this time of the night, and it would be just my luck if someone recognized me and initiated conversation.

I just wasn’t in the mood.

The first thing I was going to do was take a long, hot bubble bath. Then I was going to — A loud bang came all of a sudden. I stepped back in shock at the impact, almost stumbling off my feet. The bottle I gripped in my hand stayed unscathed, with only the already loose cork popping off.

Unfortunately, judging from the crash of glass on the floor and some spilled wine, something else wasn’t.

I looked down and found what seemed to be pieces of crystals shattered all over the floor. I recognized the piece it surrounded, all those metallic details…

A watch, I realized.

A Rolex. One of the most expensive, exclusive watches ever made. Oh, my God.

“I’m so sorry,” I spouted off in a rush. “I didn’t see anyone. Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah. You can start by paying for that.”

The voice was deep and raspy. It also sounded weirdly familiar. I looked up.

And I found stormy blue eyes looking back at me.