Chapter 45 CHAPTER 045
Soren almost throws his phone against the wall as it rings for the tenth time. He groans as he snatches it off the table beside the bed and answers the call, and immediately, his mother’s voice comes from the other side.
“Soren!” his mother’s voice screeches through the phone, loud enough to make him pull it slightly away from his ear. “Have you suddenly gone deaf, or are you now too important to answer my calls?”
Soren runs a hand down through his red hair. “What do you want, Mother?”
“What do I want?” she lets out a harsh, mocking laugh. His jaw tightens. He already knows where this is going.
“I need money,” she snaps, her tone shifting from dramatic to demanding in an instant. “And don’t start with your excuses this time. I’m not in the mood for it.”
Soren sits up slowly, his back resting against the headboard as irritation begins to simmer beneath his skin. “I sent you money last week.”
“And it’s gone!” she fires back immediately. “Do you think things are cheap here? Or do you think I’m living some luxurious life? You barely send anything, Soren, barely enough to survive, and I have to take care of Iris. Send more money, Soren; don’t make me ask again.”
She doesn’t give Soren the chance to protest as the call ends with a loud beep in his ear. Instantly, Soren checks his account balance and rubs his temple as a headache begins to creep in from the low balance. Soren doesn’t have money. He’s been living off Reign so much that he forgets what his account even looks like until moments like this.
Poking his inner cheek in annoyance, Soren gets off the bed and walks out of his bedroom barefoot. If he has to beg for money from Reign, so be it. He would do anything to keep his mother off his throat. Besides, that’s why he signed his soul away: for the money.
Money first, pride later.
Soren walks down the hallway that leads to the Enigma’s office because he knows the man got off work early and has remained locked up in his private office, not that Soren minds; it saves him the internal terror of seeing the man after the night they had. It’s bad that Soren is going to find him now.
Minutes later, he pauses outside the Enigma’s office, hand hovering over the doorknob, but the moment he touches it, the door slightly cracks open, and instantly, the strongest scent ever nearly knocks the breath out of his lungs.
Soren's eyes widen, and he immediately freezes, his hands twitching as he realizes he can’t move. Something inside of him stirs violently, restlessly, awake and aware; it’s his dormant omega, surging to life in a way it hasn’t in a long time, reacting instinctively to the overwhelming pheromones that invade his nostrils.
Before Soren can even process it, something warm trickles down his nose. He unfreezes abruptly, his hand flying up to wipe at it, and his breath catches when he sees the smear of red across his fingers.
Blood.
Instantly, his heart begins to pound harder, while his body gets caught between panic and something that makes his knees feel weak, and his chest tightens. With shaky hands, Soren slowly lets go of the doorknob and takes a step back. If he stays here any longer, his omega might stir back to life; no suppressant or blocker will keep his scent hidden while he leaks with slick.
Soren's heart races as he realizes it’s the strongest the Enigma’s pheromones have ever been around him, and Soren has barely entered the room. He can’t begin to imagine what would have happened if he had entered. He would have gone into heat, and his secret would be over.
Soren has to get out of here. Swiftly, he turns to escape until a voice comes from behind him, causing him to pause abruptly.
“Mr. Fox,”
Soren swallows the lump in his throat, and slowly, he turns with sweaty hands clenching at the sides of his pants to hide how much they shake. He forces on a smile when he sees Reign’s beta secretary standing there with an N95 mask on.
“Mr. Fox, are you alright? You’re bleeding!”
Soren doesn’t even realize he’s bleeding from the nose again until the beta points it out. His hands go to clasp his nose while the secretary hands out a handkerchief, which Soren immediately accepts.
“I’m sorry you had to go through this, Mr. Fox. Mr. Montgomery is going through an unexpected rut.”
The words hit Soren like a bucket of cold water.
Rut. That explains the unbearable pheromones.
His fingers tighten around the handkerchief as he presses it harder against his nose, trying to stop the bleeding while his pulse races, his body still too aware, too sensitive. “I… see,” Soren manages, though his voice comes out strained.
“It was unexpected. Mr. Montgomery has already isolated himself, but his pheromones are… difficult to contain completely,” the secretary continues.
Soren lets out a dry, shaky laugh. “Yeah, I can tell.”
Soren is barely breathing properly.
Now, Soren understands why Reign doesn’t like omegas. An omega wouldn’t survive his full pheromones, let alone his rut. The only reason Soren hasn’t collapsed yet is because of his suppressant.
“Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Fox?”
Once again, Soren swallows. “I just needed money,” he mutters under his breath.
The beta secretary nods in understanding, and he shoves his hand into his pocket and then stretches out a black card. “Mr. Montgomery will spend his rut in his private villa; he won’t be available for a few days. If there’s anything else that you need, do inform me, Mr. Fox.”
Soren doesn't hesitate as he snatches the card from the beta’s hand and quickly turns to leave, but pauses when a thought crosses his mind. He turns back to the beta. “Will he spend it alone? I mean his rut."
Soren doesn’t know why he asks, but there’s a feeling curling in his stomach as she waits for the answer, and then something inside of him snaps when the Beta shakes his head.
“No, Mr. Montgomery does not spend his rut alone. His rut partners are booked ahead of time,” the secretary replies without thinking, and the words land harder than they should as Soren’s fingers tighten around the black card. For a split second, something inside him drops sharply.
Of course. Someone as powerful as Reign will have rut partners. What the hell is Soren thinking, and what is that feeling of hurt and disappointment curling in his stomach? This is ridiculous, he thinks, yet his gaze goes over to the door behind the beta’s shoulders, and a sense of longing surges through his veins, but he immediately shakes the feeling off.
“Right… of course," he tells the beta with a flat smile that the beta barely sees because of the handkerchief Soren has over his nose.
The beta doesn’t seem to notice anything off, simply nodding once. “It is the most efficient arrangement.”
Soren nods. “Makes sense. I-I’m gonna leave now," he tells the secretary, and he doesn’t stay there a second longer as he quickly turns and runs back to his bedroom, dismissing every feeling curling in his stomach.
He shouldn’t care… but he does, and he hates it.