My parents chatted about who they expected to see, which alliances needed renewing, which rivals to avoid. I tried to pay attention, but my body had other concerns.
The fever spiked as we neared the estate. I dug my nails into my palms hard enough to leave crescents, using the pain to stay focused. Whatever illness plagued me chose the worst possible timing. I counted my breaths, a meditation technique learned years ago, and forced my body to obey my will. In through the nose, hold for four, out through the mouth. Again. And again.
But each breath brought new torture. The scents grew stronger as we approached the main entrance. Alpha scents. Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds. All gathered in one place for the ceremony. My body responded like I’d been struck by lightning, every cell suddenly alive and screaming.
“Here we are,” my father announced as we joined the line of vehicles waiting to discharge passengers at the main entrance. “Remember, we enter through the omega entrance on the side. I’ll go ahead to meet with the other spokespersons. You two follow when ready.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice. Through the window, I could see the grand entrance where alphas and their families swept inside. The separate omega entrance was smaller, less grand, but no less busy. We knew our place in the hierarchy. Separate but essential. Less than the others, but necessary.
“Rhea?” My mother’s voice seemed to come from very far away. “Rhea, you’re breathing strangely.”
I was. Quick, shallow pants that did nothing to satisfy my body’s sudden desperate need for oxygen. Or maybe it wasn’t oxygen I needed. Maybe it was...
As our car entered the main gates, my entire body flushed with heat so intense I gasped. The sound escaped before I could stop it, my spine arching as wave after wave of liquid fire raced through my veins. This wasn’t an illness. Wasn’t stress or anxiety or any normal response to a high-pressure situation.
I was going into heat. Here. Now. Surrounded by every unmated alpha in the territory.
My mother’s eyes widened as understanding dawned. The scent would be subtle still, but growing stronger with each passing second. Soon every alpha within fifty feet would know. Would scent an unmated omega in heat and respond accordingly.
“Oh, Rhea,” she breathed, and for the first time in my life, I heard fear in my mother’s voice. “What have you done?”
But I hadn’t done anything. My body had chosen this moment, this worst possible moment, to remind me exactly what I was beneath all the careful politics and practiced smiles.
An omega. In heat. And completely, utterly fucked.
2
— • —
Rhea
The assault on my senses nearly dropped me to my knees the second we crossed the threshold. Three layers of suppressants, applied with shaking hands in the car, might as well have been water for all the good they did.
Crystal chandeliers scattered light like broken glass across the crowd. I counted the pack colors automatically, a nervous habit from years of these events. Twelve territories at least. The kind of gathering that happened maybe once a decade. Everyone who mattered had come to see Damon Kildare officially recognized as the Lycan King.
The parking structure had been a preview of what awaited inside. My father’s modest Toyota looked like a toy between the Lamborghinis and limited edition McLarens. I’d spotteda Bugatti that probably cost more than Alpha Carter’s entire estate, its owner’s territory insignia gleaming on custom plates.
“I’ll find you later,” my mother murmured, already moving toward her battlefield, the mate’s auxiliary committee where real alliances were forged over champagne and carefully worded invitations. My father headed the opposite direction, toward the omega section where his twenty years of careful relationship building would either pay off or crumble tonight.
I aimed for neutral ground. The bar stretched along the far wall, staffed by humans who wouldn’t notice or care that my skin felt too tight, that every breath brought new waves of that strange ache. The emerald dress had seemed like armor in my bedroom. Now it felt like a target, drawing glances I couldn’t afford. Not tonight. Not with whatever was happening to my body.
My heels clicked against marble floors polished to mirror perfection. Each step required concentration when my muscles wanted to tremble.Just get to the bar. Order something strong. Find a corner to disappear into until this passes.
“Rhea Thornback, stealing breath as always.”
The voice at my elbow made me freeze. Laziel Kildare materialized from the crowd like smoke, all easy smiles and calculated charm. The younger Kildare brother had perfected the art of appearing harmless. It was a lie, of course. No Kildare was harmless.
“Laziel, you’re too kind.” The response came automatically while my mind raced. His scent hit differently tonight, where it usually just made me want to step back, now it made me want to lean in, and that terrified me more than any political maneuvering.
“Kindness has nothing to do with it.” He signaled the bartender without asking what I wanted. Whiskey appeared in crystal tumblers, his fingers brushing mine as he handed me the glass. “You look beautiful. Though I have to say, you seem a little flushed. Not nervous about my brother’s big night, are you?”
I sipped the whiskey to buy time, letting it burn down my throat. “Change always makes people nervous.”
“Does it?” He moved closer, casual to any observer but calculated to put him between me and the easy exit route. “I find change exciting. New possibilities. New opportunities.”
The heat that had been building all day suddenly spiked. Not just warmth but actual fire racing under my skin. The whiskey glass trembled in my grip. Every alpha in the vicinity suddenly smelled sharper, more distinct. More appealing in ways that made zero sense.
“Speaking of my brother,” Laziel continued, oblivious to my internal crisis, “he’s been asking about your father. Something about the quarterly reports. You know how Damon is about his numbers.”
