Chapter Three

Her heart had dropped when she first saw him yesterday and confirmed he was an Alpha. She’d wanted to run away, but she’d managed to stay and stake her claim. Maya was still nervous about working with him today, but he was clearly competent, and the day had gone faster. He’d respected her boundaries, and with the suppressant doing its job, he’d never know she was an Omega. As long as she didn’t seem like anything special to him, he was likely to leave her alone.

It didn’t keep her from arming herself with a laser pistol and a taser, just to be on the safe side. They would be working together inside the ship and in closer quarters today, and she intended to make sure she could protect herself if the need arose.

She knew how it would go for her if she ended up shooting an Alpha, since it had happened to her brother, but she wasn’t going to be passive and not defend herself as the need arose. She was still trembling slightly when she drank her morning coffee, and Swish jumped onto the table with her, rubbing against her arm in a soothing fashion.

She had no doubt Swish had all the knowledge of her past history, since the CAP interfaced with the computer and had access to records. They were programmed to do so, in order to become better companions, so she assumed Swish knew everything and understood why she was nervous. “Am I doing the right thing?”

“You’re doing the sensible thing. You work well with him, and I believe you were more productive than usual.”

Maya nodded at the CAP’s assessment. “Yeah, I was.” She’d had to concede that when she got back to her cargo hold yesterday and realized she had recovered ten percent more than she had guesstimated based on her previous efforts. “He’s an Alpha.”

“He seems like a nice one.”

Maya gripped her coffee cup hard for a moment before managing to relax her grip and take a deep breath. “Yeah, he does, if there’s such thing as a nice Alpha. He doesn’t know what I am though.”

“Maybe he won’t care if he finds out.” Swish turned her head in a curious fashion. “Is that a possibility? You’ve interacted with Alphas before.”

“Thanks to the suppressant.” Feeling paranoid, Maya took a moment to run another diagnostic on it to ensure it was working properly before returning her dishes to the washer so the ship could clean and put them away. After that, there was nothing left to do except don her E-suit, hop on the skid, and fly it out to meet Remy where he was waiting for her at the Helena.

When she arrived, she managed a smile, which wasn’t hard to do, since he was beaming at her. He seemed pleased to see her, and she couldn’t deny she was happy to see him as well. Maybe she was a little lonelier than she would admit to herself out here in space with just Swish for company. She had to be if she was considering an Alpha a viable working companion.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Fine.” She moved the skid closer to the breach in the hull. “And you?”

“Very well.” There was a hint of smokiness in his tone, and for a moment, his eyes gleamed with pure male appreciation.

It made her nervous, and she quickly looked away. “It seems like there might be some atmosphere aboard.”

“That’s what my sensors tell me. I suggest we go to Maintenance first to see if we can get atmosphere online, along with gravity. If we get those to work, it will make salvaging easier.”

Maya was agreeable, and it would’ve been her first stop even if she was salvaging alone. She couldn’t always repair such things, but sometimes she’d managed in the past. It was always easier to do her job when she didn’t have to wear the E-suit and could rely on light from the ship rather than light she brought herself.

They parked their skids side-by-side, and he held out a hand to assist her inside the hole in the side of the hull. Maya gasped softly when she took his hand, doing her best to hide any reaction. She shouldn’t feel any flair of heat with both of them in E-suits, which made pheromones impossible to detect, but her heartrate definitely increased. She touched her hip almost subconsciously, patting the pump there.

He followed behind her, and Swish jumped in last. Maya allowed Remy to take the lead, understanding he would naturally want to as an Alpha. His nature would be to protect, which sounded good, but she didn’t want to be smothered by a possessive Alpha. Nor did she want to be used like a toy to be discarded or taken advantage of during estrus, which lowered her inhibitions. It was far safer to live on the suppressant as her mother had done.

They had to clear some debris to get through the corridor but soon found the maintenance deck, and working together, had the internal atmosphere running a short time later. Lights came on, and a heavy sensation dragged down on her as the ship restored gravity. Maya used her wrist comm to disengage the gravity from her E-suit, so she felt normal again.

“We don’t have much oxygen in this room, but it appears once we get past this section and seal the area, we can remove our E-suits.”

“Or at least the helmet.” Maya smiled at him as she said that, glad to be rid of the thing. It was confining, and though it had excellent airflow, she sometimes still felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack when she’d worn it for too long.

They proceeded down a corridor that was also strewn with debris from the wreck, identifying several points of asteroid entry. The ship must’ve been battered by several asteroids from the belt, though the latter half of it appeared to be mostly intact. Unfortunately for the people aboard, the asteroids had damaged critical systems that left it a drifting derelict.

A few minutes later, her wrist comm beeped to indicate they had atmosphere, and she nodded to Remy as he closed the section behind them, sealing off that part of the hull and leaving them in a self-contained space. After another moment to allow for oxygen to reach full capacity, she reached up to undo the thin helmet, pulling it back and taking in a deep breath.

The room smelled musty, but she wasn’t surprised. It had been floating for at least thirty years, and it was a miracle some of the systems still worked.

When she breathed deeply, she caught another scent over the old mustiness. It was the delicious aroma of an Alpha, and she shuddered as his pheromones hit her. It took everything she had to remain upright and not moan. Instead, she slumped partially against the wall to support herself for a moment as his enticing aroma wafted over her.

The suppressant filtered out most of its impact, thankfully dulling her senses, but it was still enough to make her weak in the knees. She was unaccustomed to reacting that way to any Alpha, and she sent him a look filled with curiosity and a little fear. What was so different about this Alpha?

He was eyeing her and sniffing, at first with a gleam in his eyes that slowly faded. His shoulders slumped forward a moment later, and he appeared disappointed. It was only a guess, but Maya assumed his reaction was because he didn’t detect her as an Omega, and she had to bite hard on her tongue to resist revealing her secret. It was safer for everyone if she maintained the charade of being a Beta. No matter how good he smelled, he was still an Alpha. She knew how they could be, and she wanted no part of that.

Clearing her throat, she said, “Shall we get on with it then?”

He nodded his agreement, once again leading the way with the schematics from his wrists comm.

Maya followed behind him, ensuring his coordinates and path matched the one her ship’s A.I. had mapped out as well, soon satisfied he was going the right way. That led them through a series of twists and turns before they reached the ionocore. Once again, they both put on their helmets before entering, just as a precaution against any contaminants that might be leaking. The ship had been sitting for thirty years, so it was better to be prudent.

She was impressed with how quickly he disassembled the core. He didn’t bother trying to take the whole thing, of course. He was only after the ionocore that powered the ship’s system. She assisted him a little, but mostly she spent her time salvaging other parts of the room and adding them to the bag she’d removed from her back.

She admired from a distance as his muscles bulged even through the E-suit, which fit him like a glove. He was certainly an impressive specimen, and more than once, her gaze dropped to his cock, though she was ashamed of herself for the curiosity.

She knew having an Alpha take her would be nothing but pain, so she couldn’t understand her uncharacteristic curiosity about his length or speculation about how it would feel to have him inside her. She must be approaching estrus, but that made no sense either. The pump would automatically adjust the dose to counter the increase in hormones and pheromones that accompanied it. No, there was something about the man himself and had nothing to do with her pump malfunctioning.

For the briefest moment, she entertained the idea that he might be her true Alpha, one that was an ideal match for her. It was mostly a fairytale that she believed Alphas told themselves as they searched for their Omegas, and it allowed Omegas to believe they were more than a commodity for the right Alpha. She held no stock in it, and she shook her head to dismiss the naïve theory almost as soon as it came to her mind.

A few minutes later, he asked, “Will you help me lift this?”

With a nod, she moved over, grasping one side of the core as he took the other. It was relatively small, but dense and heavy. With a grunt, she lifted her part, and he lifted the lion’s share. Together, they managed to get it in the bag he’d brought. He sealed it inside, and she was pleased to see he’d brought a shielded sack to protect them from possible contaminant leakage. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

Would that expertise carry through to the bedroom? She shook her head at the thought, disgusted with herself and frowning.

He looked up then, his expression confused. “Is something wrong?”

She cleared her throat. “I…uh… No. Why?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “You seemed upset for a moment. Are you certain you don’t want to claim half the value of the ionocore? I’m sure we can find a way to split the proceeds.”

Maya made herself smile. “No, I don’t care about it. You did most of the work, and I’m happy with what I’ve managed to scrounge from this room. However, there is a terilalium source that I’d like to go after a few decks up.”

He looked surprised. “Terilalium? My analysis shows none.”

She shrugged. “Perhaps I have better A.I.” She could guarantee it, considering the cost of her program, which she kept up to date at all times.

“It sounds like it, but why would terilalium be on the ship?”

She shrugged. “It’s located in an area designated as quarters, so I assume it belonged to a rich passenger aboard. It’s likely some necklace or bauble, and it should provide fuel for at least half a solar cycle.”

He grinned. “In that case, I don’t feel so bad about taking the ionocore.”

She frowned. “I plan to cut it in half and share it.”

He waved a hand. “No, whatever terilalium we find is yours.”

She was pleased by that, finding him thoughtful and protective. He was everything an Alpha should be, or he appeared to be, but she knew how deceptive they could be. She couldn’t afford to lower her guard or trust any of them, even when he seemed like the decent sort, such as Remy.

They moved through the ship, soon diverting to a conduit. “We don’t have any choice but to climb. The main route is blocked with debris and a sealed hull door to keep the hull breach from affecting the area.” He delivered the report as he read his wrist comm.

Her E-suit gave similar results, and she nodded. “I’ll go first.”

He growled low in his throat. “I’ll go first.”

She rolled her eyes as she fastened her helmet again for added protection. “I have a smaller build than you, and I can wiggle through debris if needed easier than you can.” Without waiting for his agreement, she grasped the rungs of the ladder and started climbing the conduit. She heard him mutter low in his throat and issue a very Alpha-like growl as she passed by him, climbing upward, but he didn’t argue. He was soon following behind her, close enough to be a reassuring presence, but not so close that she was afraid she would step on his hand or inadvertently brush against him in the dark.

The area wasn’t completely dark, but the dim lighting provided by the ship’s auxiliary power for the section was hardly what she called illuminating. It provided enough light to ensure that everyone on the ladder was there, and it also revealed a section of debris above. She groaned as she reached for her cutting tool, analyzing the positioning for a moment, and discerning she could cut a path through for them if she got the right angle.

“What are you doing?” asked Remy through the headset built into his E-suit.

“Just removing some of this debris.” She blocked him out for a moment as she focused on obtaining the proper angle, starting to cut through the metal above her. The tool sliced through relatively easily, but she must’ve miscalculated, because as the two pieces started the split, one of them shifted and fell downward, rushing right for her.

She recoiled, pulling herself into a ball and covering her head as the metal crashed around her, hitting her in the side and sending her sliding down several rungs. She would’ve fallen hard if Remy hadn’t reached out and grasped her arm, pulling her against him.

For a moment, she forgot all about anything else except the feel of the Alpha’s arms around her. She stared up at him uncertainly, licking her lips. He groaned in response, and if it hadn’t been for the debris crashing to the ground beneath them distracting them, they might’ve stayed like that indefinitely.

Clearing her throat, she reached out to grasp a rung with her other hand. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “No problem. Do we need to turn back?”

She looked at her wrist comm as she climbed again. “No, I think we can squeeze through.” A second later, she emerged onto the next deck, kicking aside the debris she had cut so he could have enough room to push through too. She quickly moved on to the next ladder, taking that conduit all the way to the area from where the terilalium pinged on her scanner. Once safely out of the conduit, she unfastened her helmet.

The quarters were lit with auxiliary power too, so the lighting was dimmer, which made it a little harder to find their way. She nearly tripped on something, but his hand on her shoulder from behind kept her steady.

At that point, he moved around in front of her, shielding her from harm from the front. They reached the pertinent quarters a moment later, and he made short work of opening the door with a prybar and a sonic disruptor that loosened the bond of the molecules in the metal. The door slid open with a tortured groan, and he stepped inside.

Maya followed behind him, nearly overwhelmed when he took off his helmet again. His pheromones flooded through her, and she could smell him much sharper than she had before. She gasped as he turned to her, and rings around his irises were starting to glow silver. She took a step back, colliding with the wall behind her as he bore down on her.

“Your eyes are ringed,” he said in a rough growl.

Maya gasped as she reached up to touch her face automatically. The rings only appeared when an Omega went into estrus, and she dropped her hand to her pump to check it. Without even scanning it, she could tell there was something wrong. Frantically, she unzipped her suit and reached inside, feeling broken metal. The pump had been damaged when the debris fell.

Panicked, she had only one thought, which was to get back to her ship and inject the suppressant before what remained in her system completely wore off. Already, she could feel herself going into estrus, which was completely normal. The longer an Omega used a suppressant, the faster estrus came on when they stopped using it. She’d been on it continuously for almost five years, along with most of her life from age ten, aside from those few fateful days following her mother’s death.

He was growling now, sniffing her, and leaning closer. Part of Maya wanted to submit to him, to lean in and enjoy his embrace. The impulse scared her, and all it took was the memory of Thane holding her against the wall as he stole her innocence with the crowd surrounding them, uncaring and not doing anything to stop it, to remember exactly why Alphas were so dangerous. With a little bleat of terror, she darted under his arm and started running.

She was no match for him, especially if he was entering a rut, and she feared her estrus was starting him down that path. She made it as far she could but was only a few feeble steps out of the quarters before he caught up with her, reaching out to jerk her back against him and drag her back into the room.

He was frantic in his need as he peeled the E-suit from her before disrobing of his own after tossing her on the bed. Maya was afraid, but her own nature was starting to take over as well. She whimpered in fear as he dropped atop her, but when he buried his mouth against the scent gland in her neck and started licking, her whimper of fear turned to pleasure. She’d never felt anything like it. Heat suffused her body, along with an unfamiliar sense of well-being and an incredible amount of desire she could barely process.

“Omega,” he said with a growl. He was harder and bigger than he had been, confirming he was entering rut.

Since Maya was rapidly reaching the pinnacle of estrus, her fear was fading now. As he started to undress her, she brought up her hands to help strip off the jumpsuit she wore underneath. She was soon naked before him, and while she was vulnerable, she also shivered with anticipation. She was afraid, but she was also certain he would protect her. That was her Alpha’s job. She belonged to him, and in return, he cared for her and met her needs.

Part of Maya realized her thoughts were all inspired by the biological imperative of an Omega, and she would think differently of it once she was freed from the mind-altering effects of estrus, but the rational part of her was rapidly fading. Instead, she was responding to the proximity of an Alpha. Her Alpha. She grasped his shoulders, pulling her toward him. He was eager to comply, and his mouth touched hers a moment later.

Theirs was no simple kiss. It was like the ignition of an atom bomb, and intense warmth filled her. It was the fever that accompanied estrus, and if she didn’t come soon, it could leave her physically damaged, so she sank into his arms, enjoying his touch and looking forward to the moment when he was inside her.

He kissed her with confident mastery, tongue blazing a trail to her mouth where no Alpha had been before. No one had ever kissed her like this. Before realizing so abruptly that she was an Omega, she’d had one Beta boyfriend as a teenager, but they’d mostly fumbled around with each other, and it had been a tepid experience at best. This kiss was the standard against which she would all measure all future kisses, and she was certain she would find any other wanting unless it came from the Alpha holding her.

He pulled away for a moment, but just to finish removing his clothes. During the brief time he was away from her, Maya’s brain tried to reassert itself, reminding her why this was a bad idea, but she was lost in the throes of estrus and helpless to resist her desire. When he returned to her, he spent a moment licking her nipples and sucking them, making her toss her head.

She was flooded with slick, her thighs positively drenched with it. She’d never experienced anything like it before, and for a moment, she reveled in the experience. She’d spent all her life denying this side of her, physically suppressing it, and it struck her as entirely wrong to have done so. Lost as she was in the haze of being with her Alpha during estrus, she couldn’t imagine ever returning to the suppressants.

“Sorry to be so fast, but I have to be inside you.” As he spoke, Remy reached between her thighs, two of his fingers pushing inside her insistently. He was clearly stretching her in preparation for his huge cock, and she appreciated it even as she grinded against him, wanting more. “Please, Alpha, I need you. Take me.”

“Omega.” The word sounded like a purr coming from him as he parted her thighs wider, giving himself maximum space before the head of his cock nudged against her opening.

Maya reached up, frantically grasping the dilapidated headboard of the bed that was starting to squeak. It was probably structurally unsound, but she couldn’t bring herself to worry too much about it crashing under them. She was certain they would continue to fuck amid the debris if that happened.

He entered her suddenly, joining their bodies with a decisiveness that made her cry out from a combination of pleasure and a little discomfort. He was big, and it took her body a moment to adjust. Even though she was an Omega and made for this, it was still an intrusion that she had to adapt to before she could relax.

As soon as the discomfort faded, pleasure started to take over. He was filling her in a satisfying way she couldn’t describe. Maya clutched his shoulders and strained against him as he grasped her hips, burying himself fully inside her to the hilt before pulling back to do it all again.

Over and over, he filled her, his cockhead striking against that special gland under her clit that contributed to her desire and spurred her need for pleasure. It released her scent as well, and it was almost as sensitive as her clit. The way he was thrusting into her provided maximum stimulation, and she screamed as she started coming around him.

He continued to pump into her, clearly not yet close to his zenith. From what she understood of a proper mating, that wasn’t uncommon. Her sole experience had been with Thane, and her brother had shot him before he could finish coming inside her and knot to breed her. For a moment, the terrifying scene returned to her mind, making her freeze and shudder.

The Alpha above her instantly responded, his expression growing concerned. “Am I hurting you?”

She shook her head frantically, not willing to explain now. She didn’t want to remember that time in the past and have it risk tainting this moment with Remy. She’d never expected to mate with an Alpha voluntarily, but now that she was in the moment, she wanted to fully appreciate and embrace it, to have memories to savor in the future.

At her reassurance, he increased his thrusts even more, practically pounding her into the bed. She was straining back against him with equal vigor, her fingernails digging into his shoulders until she felt the wetness of his blood around them. She tried to ease her touch, but she couldn’t seem to make herself do so.

She was lost in the animalistic throes of passion, coming once more around his shaft. This time, when her sheath contracted around his cock, it started him twitching as well, and he swelled inside her. He filled her almost uncomfortably, but then he started to release his seed, and he briefly diminished in size as he spurted cum into her in several waves. As his cock finished contracting, the knot at the base formed, keeping him sealed to her, and she orgasmed once more.

She’d never known such ecstasy, and it left her fuzzyheaded. She was almost too unaware to realize he was frantically licking the scent gland at her neck, and it was only as his teeth scraped it that she realized his intent. “No.” She shouted the word forcefully, making him jerk in response.

He pulled back, lifting up so he could look down at her, though their bodies remained joined. “No?” He still appeared somewhat bestial, though his rut seemed to be fading.

She shook her head. “Please don’t bite me and claim me. I don’t want to be any Alpha’s Omega. I’ll be trapped. Do you understand?”

He made a mewling sound as he looked at her throat with obvious desire before his brown eyes closed. He seemed to be gradually regaining control, and when he turned his head away, she breathed a shaky sigh of relief. They were still joined by necessity because of his knot, but at least he hadn’t bitten her. She was still free.

The thought was unexpectedly disconcerting rather than pleasing. For a moment, she entertained the idea of how life would be if she surrendered to him, allowing Remy to make a claim on her and take her as his Omega. She was certain her life would be filled with passionate moments like this, but it would also entail being submissive to him and considered little more than his property. She couldn’t abide the thought.

As soon as his cock softened enough to allow him to start to pull away, she was pushing against him, wanting her freedom. Part of her wanted to remain, to stay locked with him until they were both ready to mate again, but she was afraid to give in to that temptation.

He allowed her to pull away, but he didn’t allow her to leave. Instead, with a very Alpha-like growl of possessiveness, he pulled her into his arms and held her against him. She tried to remain stiff, but his nose buried against her neck, continuously sniffing her, was having a drugging effect in its own right, and she was afraid if she didn’t escape soon, she would lose herself in estrus again.

Fortunately, such frantic mating took a lot out of both of them, and the Alpha was soon asleep behind her, snoring softly. Maya resisted the pull of exhaustion and the desire to stay with him, gradually escaping his hold over the next few minutes as she made small moves to avoid waking him.

When she was free, she quickly dressed and donned her E-suit again. She ran from the room down the corridor, finding Swish waiting for her near the conduit tubes. The CAP showed only concern in her expression and made no snarky comments. She rubbed against Maya’s leg in a reassuring fashion for a moment before Maya got into the conduit.

She didn’t bother taking time to climb the rungs. She simply put her hands and feet on the outside and slid down them quickly, pausing only long enough to navigate through the debris that had blocked them before when she reached that conduit. Moments later, she was back on her skid and then back in the sanctuary of Eve’s Sacrifice.

She was trembling as she rushed to her quarters, digging through the nightstand until she found a syringe kit and one of the bottles of suppressant. Normally, she used it to infuse the pump with more when it needed replacing, but this time, she took a dose, drew it up quickly, and stabbed herself in the thigh to administer it. Part of the quick, painful dispensing of medication was desperation to suppress the estrus that she could feel rising again and part was punishment for having surrendered all her principles in the throes of animalistic passion.

Abruptly, she realized his seed was still inside her, and if she were in estrus, she would be fertile. Maya shuddered at the thought, knowing if she bore his child, he would never let her escape. He would claim her as his Omega, and that would be the end of her life. She would be his slave rather than her own person, and that was intolerable.

She moved to the computer, calling up options for emergency birth control. Fortunately, the computer had the components on hand to synthesize a remedy for her, and she swallowed it a few minutes later. It would kill all his sperm well before it reached her egg, thus preventing this lapse in control from ruining her life.

It was only after she had consumed the medication and curled up on the bed for a few minutes to recover from the experience that she allowed herself a moment of sadness for doing so. She couldn’t help picturing what a child with her Alpha would look like, how it would be to hold and nurse him, to see him grow into a fine Alpha in his own right. Of course, he could be a Beta, but she had a difficult time imagining an Alpha like Remy fathering a Beta child.

It was just as likely to be an Omega girl, and she immediately rejected that thought. She refused to consign a child to live the kind of life she lived, and what she had done was for the best.

She had no doubt if her mother had the same option twenty-five years ago when she found herself mated by three Alphas when too vulnerable to refuse and left carrying the offspring of one, she would’ve done the very same. Maya could find no resentment at the idea if her mother had prevented the pregnancy from ever happening, though it would’ve meant Chase and herself would’ve never been born.

How she wished she could talk to her mother now, but Eve had been gone five years. The day of her mother’s memorial had also been the day Maya learned the hard way she was an Omega, though her mother had done her the kindness of suppressing that for her since before puberty.

If only she’d warned her ahead of time, but Eve’s passing had been unexpected when she was crushed under a load that had fallen off a skid at the warehouse where she worked. There had been no time to warn Maya, and the letter her mother had written for in such an event hadn’t reached her until a couple of days later, when she was still recovering from Thane’s attack in the hospital.

With a sigh, she sat up, knowing she’d done the right thing and pushing back any hint of regret. While Remy gave every appearance of being a fine man and a good Alpha, she still didn’t want to be tied to him.

She left her quarters and went to the flight deck, quickly strapping herself into the pilot’s seat. She hadn’t gotten the terilalium jewelry from the Helena, and she was leaving with her cargo hold less than half-full, but it couldn’t be helped. At least she’d earned enough to pay for her fuel passage back to the planets closer to the hub of the Coalition, and she would work on rebuilding her savings to try the Antares Belt again in the future.

She programmed her coordinates into the computer and was about to take off when she heard a thump. She looked up through the cockpit window and saw Remy on his skid blocking her path. If she moved forward, she would knock him off and likely leave him adrift if his thrusters’ orientation system couldn’t adapt and reorient him. She could back up and go around him, but something in his gaze was compelling, keeping her hand hovering on the shifter without engaging.

“Don’t leave. Let’s talk, please.” His voice came through her cockpit via channel eight-seven-two. He sounded desperate, almost imploring, and she found her hand gradually dropping away from the shifter.

Feeling like a fool, she slowly engaged “Hover” again and lowered the bay door so he could enter. She braced herself to face him, unsure why she was giving him a chance, and why she wasn’t doing the smart thing by running away when she had the opportunity.