Rebel & Her Knights, page 8
“Mischief?” I gasp. “And no straightening out.” I twirl, and my skirt flutters out like the wings of a butterfly. “Look, I’m fine. Wow, so you were worried about me.”
Warmth floods me. It’s a nice feeling.
Scott holds up his finger and thumb, mimicking my earlier gesture. “A little bit.”
I laugh. “Do you want to dance?”
I love the idea of a Reject dancing amongst the elite Alphas.
Scott sighs. “I can’t now. Duty calls. But can we meet up later, afterward?”
My face falls. “Of course. You’re guarding Fu—”
I catch myself just in time.
Shit, that was close.
I should kick Lucian’s ass for inventing the whole Fucking Falcon thing.
Scott ducks his head, quizzically. “Senator Knight.”
“Ehm, yep.”
“Do you want me to introduce you later?”
I shiver, and my heart speeds up.
I can do this.
Yet my throat is too tight to answer.
Am I ready to meet him?
I promised Lucian and Angel that I’d take this opportunity. It’s probably the best way that we’ll ever get to gain information. Yet this whole night is terrifying.
I’m alone here and surrounded by people who buy Omegas from the Institute and oppose the Reform Bill.
Facing Falcon, before the resistance has triumphed and forced him to grovel and make amends, makes my heart feel like it’ll beat out of my chest.
I swallow convulsively.
Then I force myself to squeak, “Uh-huh.”
“Great, then I’ll find you later. I know you’re unbonded, but you’re entirely safe on this Estate. Each Beta server is also trained as a guard and is an official Omega chaperone. I wouldn’t risk you.” Scott leans closer, and I take a deep breath of his delicious scent. “Have fun.”
I nuzzle at his neck, pushing his collar down.
I can feel his lips, curved in a smile on the top of my head.
My own lips press closer to his scent gland but then they graze something: the scars of a bite.
Two bites.
He’s bonded.
I wrench away from Scott in panic, staring up at him wildly. “You’re a bonded Beta.”
He blinks. “I’m aware.”
“You asked me on a date. You allowed me to get all snuggly. My scent is all over you. Again.”
“Again, I’m not oblivious.”
“Are you playing with me?” I growl.
Why are all the good guys bonded?
I can feel the burn of tears but refuse to let them fall.
Scott’s expression gentles. “I thought you knew. I’m sorry that I didn’t make it clearer. But my pack aren’t controlling dicks. They won’t give me flak for liking a new Omega. We’re open to bringing in new pack members and bonding, if we all get on.” He bites his lip. “I didn’t want to tell you like this… We have romantic music and champagne, but this is still not the setting that I’d have chosen… But my pack would love a female Omega to join us.”
I huff, shaking my Rej bracelet; it’s the only ugly thing in a room of beauty. “Sure. They’ll love your choice of a Reject that you met like a stray on the street.”
His gaze hardens. “They’ll respect my choice. Period. Will you meet them?”
It’s so fucking tempting.
Yet they’d only be meeting half of me. I can’t share my resistance identity.
It wouldn’t be fair. But I want it so much that it hurts.
“Maybe,” I hedge.
I can’t bear to crush Scott completely.
His eyes light up. “Stay in the ballroom, and I’ll find you later. Try the mini chocolate éclair things. I made sure that they were ordered just for you.”
My eyes widen.
Did Scott truly request a chocolate treat to be added to the catering, simply because he knew that I’d like it?
Why the hell does he have to be so thoughtful? Come on, think of one flaw that could make walking away from him not feel like my heart is being ripped from my chest.
I already have that with Prince.
I mean, there’s the being bodyguard to my enemy thing. That’s a biggie.
I force myself to smile. “Seduction by chocolate. Smart.”
“I excel at strategy.” Scott gives me a jaunty salute, before disappearing back into the crowd.
I sag, letting out a despairing whine. I can’t keep my mask up any longer.
Determined, I weave through the crowds toward a quiet spot at the back of the ballroom, which is screened by velvet drapes. There are lines of chairs for people to rest in, when they’ve exhausted themselves with dancing. It hasn’t yet reached that time in the evening for anyone else yet.
It appears that I’m the only one who no longer feels in the mood.
I sink down, holding my head in my hands. Sweat drips down my neck.
The sooner the storm breaks, the better.
My nose wrinkles. Suddenly, I can smell the scent of two Alphas like black coffee: it’s overpowering.
The scent of Alphas about to battle.
I pant in distress, toppling off the chair onto the floor. Instinctively, I scramble to the shadowy corner, making myself as small as possible.
What if I’ve been found out? Are these Alphas here to take me to the Institute?
I clamp my hands over my mouth to keep myself as silent and still as possible.
Yet deep down, I know that they’ll smell me in my distress.
One of the first things that my pack taught me was that no matter how instinctive it is to back away and hide from an Alpha, they’re biologically built to hunt and track Omegas.
Yet I can just as easily hunt and track Alphas.
When the Alphas sweep behind the drapes, however, they appear so distracted that they don’t even glance at me. In fact, the elder Alpha looks to have hunted and caught the younger Alpha and is dragging him here to…what?
And the younger Alpha is Senator Falcon Knight.
Transfixed, I stare at Falcon.
How is it possible that he’s even more gorgeous in person than in his photos?
I can’t look away from him.
Falcon’s dressed in a dark, hunter green tuxedo with classic silver cufflinks. His green eyes gleam with an intensity that takes away my breath. His skin is even paler and more ethereal than it looks seen through a screen. He’s tall and broad shouldered; more Alpha than any Alpha that I’ve seen so far tonight.
Apart from the older Alpha who is tugging him roughly to the back of the room.
This rough Alpha is broader than Falcon with salt-and-pepper hair, which is cut closely to his head. His face looks like it’s set in a permanent snarl.
He has the same green eyes as Falcon.
I wish that I didn’t recognize him but after all those YouTube 13 Awesome Secrets You Need to Know About Senator Knight clips, sadly I do.
General Knight, Falcon’s dad and Head Alpha of his pack.
The General slams Falcon against the wall, and I’m impressed that Falcon doesn’t flinch.
“I’ve been patient but I’m now done with your romantic nonsense,” the General growls. “Pick an Omega from this ball, lord knows there are enough silly girls out there who are desperate for your knot. By the end of the night, you’ll announce your new Omega. Then you have until the end of the week to bond.”
Wow, this Emerald Ball is kind of like Cinderella then?
Falcon’s the Alpha Prince Charming, and all these Omegas are here, hopeful to be the one to leave the glass slipper and be given his knot.
Idiots.
I only just stop myself from snorting.
I’m shocked, however, that Falcon doesn’t.
“Or what, Father?” His voice is cold and commanding.
The General’s eyes narrow, before he slams his hand to the side of Falcon’s head. I jump, but Falcon doesn’t like he was expecting it or is used to it.
I should be glad about that but I’m not.
I’ll never be happy about anyone being mistreated. Plus, no one should be forced into bonding, even the entitled, arrogant Senator.
“Or I’ll choose an Omega out of the Institute for you, taking the decision out of your hands,” the General replies. “You’re Chief Alpha within the Knight Estate, but I’m Head Alpha still over the entire pack. Do you forget up in Washington that I’m the one with the real power and control? If I give you the order to bond an Omega, then it’s absolute.”
“You wouldn’t,” Falcon hisses.
“Try me.”
I’ve seen Falcon in over fifteen hours of video clips and interviews. I’ve watched him be charming, commanding, serious, playful and occasionally, allowing the slightest vulnerability to show.
I’m pretty sure all of it was an act.
I’ve never seen his eyes glint with panic, and his hands ball into fists.
He’s defenseless, in the way that Omegas so often are.
This is the exact type of weakness that Lucian wanted me to reveal.
So, why are my guts churning with misery, rather than excitement?
“I’ve told you,” Falcon says, speaking slowly and carefully like it’s a great effort to control his temper, “I’ll never buy an Omega.”
The General pats Falcon’s cheek. “Then you’d better dance with a lot of Omegas tonight and make sure that you choose one, hadn’t you?” His expression becomes severer. “Bare your neck.”
I draw in a breath at the same time as Falcon does.
Baring your neck between Alphas is an ancient sign of submission. Only the most traditional of packs still use it, usually to humiliate young Alphas who have stepped out of line and challenged those above them.
Never…in my wildest dreams…have I imagined watching Falcon baring his neck to another Alpha.
I admit that it makes me tingly to see something that I’ve imagined him doing for me.
Falcon seems to be fighting an internal battle with himself for a moment, before he turns his head sharply to the side, presenting his neck to his dad.
I lick my lips, watching such extreme vulnerability, which is an invitation for another Alpha to decide if they want to rip out their throat.
Although, only in ritual. To attack a submitting Alpha is considered the worst brutality.
If Falcon wasn’t such a knothead, I’d be craving to nuzzle against his pale skin, which looks delicious, sucking dark hickies into it and marking him in a good way.
After a long, excruciating moment, the General nods. “Enough.”
Pink tints Falcon’s cheeks, as he turns back to the General. “I have things to do. Can I return to my own ball now?”
“As long as you’re returning to choose a proper Omega who won’t shame our pack any longer. I don’t know what possessed you to take on a defective Reject.”
So, Falcon’s mystery Omega is a Rej 1.
Lucian is going to be impressed with what I’ve found out tonight. But why would the great Falcon have taken on a Rej?
To my surprise, Falcon’s eyes flash with fury, and he pushes past his dad, storming to the drapes. “Say what you like to criticize my character. I no longer care what you think about me. But don’t ever criticize my Omega. I desire a female Omega, you know that, but it’s not because of any failing in my current Omega or whether he can have kids or not. I cherish him, and he’s loved. Precious. Hurt me but not him.”
The General snarls, as he stalks after Falcon. “Sentimental fool. Haven’t I raised you better than that? I’m trying to help you. Now, do your duty, or do you wish to make a scene? I assure you, it’ll humiliate you, more than it will me.”
The General pushes his son back toward the dance floor.
I sit in shock on the marble floor.
I knew that Falcon’s Omega was spoiled, but to hear Falcon defend him like that to his strict dad is a revelation.
Plus, the General would win the Worst Dad of the Year Award, if mine hadn’t already won it…for life.
Shaken, I push myself to my feet.
I need to get out there and watch to see what poor Omega is chosen by Falcon. If he ends up with the Omegas who claim to be his Number One Fans, however, then maybe it’s poor Falcon.
I smirk, edging back around the velvet drapes and toward the dance floor.
Then I chuckle, as I see that Falcon has already been surrounded by his Knight Hopefuls. He looks lost, even though he’s plastered on a fake smile.
“Something funny?” A rich, musical voice asks.
I twirl and find myself looking up at a seductive Alpha with caramel skin and dark, bedroom eyes. He’s dressed in a flamboyant burgundy tuxedo. I don’t think he’s the type who likes to go unnoticed. He’s also one of the younger Alphas; he’s only a couple of years older than me.
He follows the direction of my gaze and then he laughs too. “It’s tragic. I’d go on a rescue mission but I’m no soldier. Plus, this sexy ass,” to my shock, he wiggles it, “is too dangerous a weapon to ever let loose, even on those psycho Omegas.”
I stifle my giggle. I’ve never heard an Alpha talk like this before.
He’s strange but the good type of strange. He smells like delicious, warm brandy. It’s intoxicating. I want to get drunk on him.
He smells like an Alpha but is he really one?
I can’t help the glance down at his dick that’s far from small in his tight pants.
With a giant dick like that, he’s definitely an Alpha.
When he catches me looking, I blush.
“Ah, you want to know why I’m not deploying my knot to save the Senator?” He winks. “I keep that for when I want to ruin Omegas who’ve been very, very good.”
A shiver runs down my spine, and my skin prickles.
Is he really dirty talking in the middle of this crowd of strangers?
I should scold him or walk away.
I should.
But I like this bratty Alpha, and sometimes, it’s fun to spar.
“And I have something that I use to ruin Alphas who’ve been very, very bad,” I whisper back.
His eyes widen, and then he blushes.
“I think that since we’re at the competitive dirty talking stage, we should introduce ourselves.” His silky, raven hair tumbles over his face, as he sketches me a bow. “I’m delighted to meet you. I’m…”
“So, we’re all formal now.” I nudge his shoulder with mine. I haven’t felt this relaxed with an Alpha who isn’t my brother…ever. “I’m Rebel.”
“Xavier.”
When I glance around me, I notice that we’ve drawn a small crowd of onlookers. Xavier is gorgeous and not one to be invisible. Perhaps, he has admirers.
Or maybe they’re wondering why an Alpha like Xavier is wasting his time on a Rej.
He could be a visiting prince for all I know.
I shrink in on myself. “So, what do you do?”
“I thought we weren’t going for formal?” Xavier asks. “Can’t we chat about something more interesting?”
“Your job’s not interesting?”
“I love it.” Xavier’s face glows like he’s imagining it, and instantly, I’m fascinated. I feel like that with my own Omega Society; it’s not work, it’s a calling. “I set up my own tech firm. But who wants to hear about that?”
“I do.”
He glances at me, surprised. “Then you’d be the first.”
“Would I have heard of it?”
He shifts from foot to foot. “Do you own a computer?”
I nod.
“Then yes. Can we leave it at that? Okay, what would your perfect morning look like?”
I blink. “Huh?”
He shrugs, and it’s as sexy as the rest of him. “I read that in “Ten Questions to Ask an Omega”. Don’t tell me April Devere led me astray again.”
He looks distraught for a moment, and I stroke his arm reassuringly.
Then his smile breaks through, and I almost smack his ass.
Shit, what would that look like? An Omega spanking an Alpha?
“Dick,” I mutter.
“But I have such a gorgeous one.” He nudges me. “Go on, your perfect morning.”
I tilt my head in thought.
Can I tell him? It’s only a fantasy, right?
“Honestly? Waking up with my pack in a nest, cuddled together. Loved and loving in turn. Then being made pancakes with blueberries and chocolate sauce for breakfast.”
He gives me a long look. “A girl after my own heart. I choose pancakes every time as well. Plus, the cuddling.” He leans forward and whispers, “I’m a cuddler.”
I redden.
Then he draws back and offers his arm. “So, Miss Pancakes and Cuddles, want to dance?”
It’s one thing flirting with this gorgeous Alpha and dreaming of a pack…fantasy…that I can’t have. At least, not yet. But it’s another to dance with him.
I know Scott said to have fun, but I still don’t want to hurt him.
I shake my head. “Sorry.”
Immediately, ripples of shocked whispers spread through the crowds.
Xavier glances around himself, squaring his shoulders as if he’s not affected. But I can tell that he is.
Have I just screwed-up his reputation?
Is rejecting him such a major thing for traditionalists?
Xavier’s smile freezes, but he leans closer again. “What if I said that I’m being pursued by a psycho Omega like the ones after the Senator and I need your help?”
I glance around us.
There’s a new type of tension now.
The danger is directed at both Xavier and me.
We could truly be ruined.
I touch the back of Xavier’s hand lightly. “What kind of knight would I be, if I didn’t save an Alpha in need?”
Xavier gives a startled laugh, and there are titters in the crowd around us.
What did I say?
Xavier gives a wide grin that’s like sunshine. “My hero.”
For a moment, it’s like no one exists but him. He’s bright enough to burn me up.
