31- The Temptation of the Omega
POV Edric Eldoria:
"And now? What do you intend to do?"
I shrugged. "Nothing. Lunara is a burden I’ll have to carry."
"As your wife?" he asked, arching a suggestive brow.
"As... just a mated companion."
I was still figuring out how I would handle it in the distant future. But for now, I just wanted to pretend she didn’t exist, though it was nearly impossible.
He laughed and took a sip of his drink.
"This will be... interesting."
I scoffed.
The doors opened. I turned immediately as Viktor entered the feast.
"What a surprise, he shows up to fuck but not for the council meeting," Aldren mocked.
Viktor walked into the room as if he owned the place. Wearing clothes that hadn’t been in fashion for ages, made of dark velvet and brocade that contrasted with the paleness of his skin, he strode with confidence, his arrogance palpable.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, with lean muscles. His short, thick hair was a mahogany shade. A hard face, thick brows furrowed over black eyes.
The alpha of the Averwyn pack was reclusive and solitary. He came to the feasts to fuck and sate himself, entertaining several females throughout the night. Then he left, speaking to no one and keeping no contact beyond what was necessary.
"He’s been reclusive for so many years, he hasn’t even noticed time passing," I mocked, pointing my chin in his direction. He wore a black overcoat, gloves, dark pants, and boots. Beneath, a wine velvet vest with a double row of silver buttons and a white shirt.
He stopped midway, pulling a female who stared at him with lust, then another two, before heading to one of the rooms without saying a word.
On the other side, farther away, was Sullivan, alone. Some females approached him, offering themselves to the alpha, but he rejected them. Sullivan spent the feasts drinking and watching everything, without getting involved with anyone.
Of us all, he was the one who enjoyed it the least.
Konrad stood near the entrance doors, talking with some wolves, laughing and drinking. Whether he fucked someone at these feasts, I couldn’t say. Whenever I saw him, he was interacting with someone, but never amorously.
I turned back to the counter, filling my glass with whiskey again and taking a long, slow sip.
"Viktor is... complicated," Aldren said, releasing an exasperated sigh.
Aldren managed to maintain a respectful relationship with all alphas. Being the only one who possessed the heat herbs, he kept good ties with the others. Viktor was the most reclusive of us.
I didn’t answer, swirling the liquor in my glass with my fingertips, watching the liquid spin inside.
I felt the warmth of a presence approaching, followed by the unfamiliar scent of omegas. I cast a sideways glance, watching the she-wolves approaching Aldren. One of them smiled, twirling a strand of brown hair around her finger, scanning him up and down, while the other remained two steps behind, waiting.
"Do you want company for tonight?" asked the closest one.
Aldren agreed, extending his arm and touching her face with the tips of his fingers.
"I can’t refuse such a... pleasant company."
I arched an eyebrow and looked around.
"I thought your predilections included two wolves from your pack," I mocked, staring at the females on the other side of the hall, who never took their eyes off him.
Aldren looked at them and shrugged.
"They need some time to cool off, they were becoming too... insistent."
"Insistent?" I laughed.
"Jealous, thinking they meant more to me than they really do."
My friend was a fan of a true orgy, with plenty of she-wolves available for him.
"Well, I’ll enjoy the night," he said, wrapping an arm around the female’s waist. "See you later," he said goodbye, heading toward one of the rooms with two females, one on each side, making sure to pass right in front of his former lovers.
A hand slid under my arm, rubbing its fingers across my chest. I inhaled, recognizing Thalira’s scent.
"I was waiting for your friend to leave so I could come closer," she whispered, biting my earlobe.
I grabbed her palm and pulled her aside, placing her in front of me.
"And since when has shyness been part of your personality?"
She shrugged.
"I just didn’t want to interrupt your meeting or meddle in your business." She winked, looking at me through her dark lashes. "I already told you I would be the perfect companion for you. The omega the pack deserves as queen."
I laughed, lifting the glass to my lips and emptying it. I shoved Thalira aside and stood, striding quickly toward the corridor on the left, where there were more rooms available.
"That’s a fact even you can’t deny," she said, following me.
"The thing is, Thalira, I’m already mated. And that’s another fact you can’t deny either."
An alpha and an omega could only mate once in their lifetime. If I tried to mate with another female, I would end up killing her in the process. My bite, instead of being pleasurable, would be lethal.
She let out an irritated laugh, laid a hand on my shoulder, and pushed me against the wall, stopping right in front of me.
"Is that so? And does your mated companion know which bed you’ve been sleeping in for the past two days?" she teased, licking her lips. "Does she know how her mate almost fucked me this morning?"
I felt my muscles tighten. I said nothing, so she continued, bursting into laughter.
"Oh, of course she doesn’t know that her male has been sharing a bed with me, that he prefers to spend his time by my side rather than hers. Because only I know how to cure your grief, only I can satisfy you, only I can replace Catalina."
I grabbed her by the nape, closing my hand around her hair, pulling her toward me. I leaned in, breathing heavily.
"Shut the fuck up, Thalira!" I growled. "You know there is no replacement. There isn’t even a comparison."
"Still, I’m your favorite, the only one who can understand your dark side."
My chest rose and fell in rapid successions, my heart pounding wildly.
"Fuck me, Edric. Continue what you didn’t want to finish this morning. You want it, and so do I."
"Thalira," I threatened in a deep growl.
"I know you hate having marked Lunara, that you betrayed the image of sweet, beloved Catalina..." she murmured, sliding her hand down and grabbing my cock over my pants, pressing her fingers tightly around it.