Omega On Contract

Chapter Three - Her Omega

His pheromones, fruity and calming, traveled into the kitchen before his footsteps came tapering down the wooden stairs. Resounding and slow, his usual way of walking as if time answered to him. Never in a rush, never too eager to be anywhere or do anything. I became winded by his pheromones like I always did in the mornings when I first smelt them.

I hadn’t touched my husband in two years. I hadn’t held him, kissed him, knotted him. He was my omega, marked and bonded to me in life and death, sealed by the vows of our marriage. He belonged to me. Soul and flesh. But we were strangers. Strangers who lived under the same roof, but never exchanged more than a few sentences, or glances. Never slept in the same bed. Never ate the same meal or at the same time. Strangers. It was how it had to be.

I had grown deficient of him. My heart had. My body had. The smell of his pheromones always left me winded, as if a single whiff overpowered my state of being. Ironic, seeing as only two years prior, his scent was addictive, it was damn near impossible for me to go a whole day without craving him. His laughter, his warmth, his eyes. I carried a handkerchief smeared with his pheromones everywhere to keep me calm until we were reunited by day’s end, but that same handkerchief now smelt of laundry detergent and rested folded at the bottom of my wardrobe.

“Good Morning,” he greeted, strolling into the kitchen, still dressed in his pajamas. Like most writers Phoenix could spend an entire day in his pajamas sitting in front of his computer. He called them his priced possessions, they were indeed the most expensive things he spent money on.

“Good morning,” I replied, keeping my eyes on my tea cup until his back was to me, then and only then did I take my time to appraise him and take in the firm contour of his body, a smile pinching the side of my lips. “I saw in the morning paper you’re receiving Hazalu’s Literature Award this year. Congratulations.”

He nodded, his back still to me. “Thank you. I also read about your recent acquisition.” He turned to face me and I averted my gaze back to the teacup, my eyes momentarily catching a glimpse of his wedding ring. “You’ve wanted to buy that company for a very long time. Congratulations.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

We both sipped our tea and then it was silent for a few seconds before he started toward the door. “Have a good day.”

“You, too.”

And that was it. That was how it always was between my husband and me.

Through the ride to work, I reminisced about our morning. It was the most conversation we had shared in a week and the longest time I had managed to steal a look at his wedding ring in three days. I missed kissing it right before I kissed him. I played back the contours of his back in my mind, remembering what it was like to hug him from behind, his little whimper when I playfully bit down on the bond mark I inflicted on his shoulder on our wedding night, his gentle laughter when I kissed his ear and whispered, “Mine.”

I sighed, leaning back into my seat. I left my gaze out the window, the city, a background to the memories of how we used to be that came flooding back. Him on my lap, our evening walks around the mansion, cooking dinner together while getting slightly drunk, showering together, running late to work because he needed me during his heat circles the most. Nix kept me exhausted for weeks on end during his circle, making me knot him until neither of us could keep our eyes open. I terribly missed the exhaustion, the responsibility of his needs weighing on me.

My body vibrated with a sensation I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in months and without trying, I released my pheromones, filling every corner of the car.

“Sorry about that, James,” I apologized to my driver, though I knew my pheromones would barely have any effects on him. James was a beta, his life was simple.

“No worries, ma’am.” He switched on the air cleaner.

I was thankful it didn’t happen at home, every day I fought long and hard to make sure my pheromones never slipped so it’d be easier on Nix in whatever little way. I knew he was taking suppressants, but I was still his alpha, releasing my pheromones carelessly around the house increased the risk of sending him into a heat frenzy, and we both could not have that.

“Drop me off up front today.”

“Are you sure about that, Ma’am? It’s against your security protocol.”

“I’m aware. But if I sit in this car any longer, I might implode.”

“Everything okay?” asked James. He had been my driver for well over a decade and I suppose our relationship was more than just that of boss and employee. He was a friend and we often regarded each other with care in a non-work manner.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Difficult morning?”

I exhaled. “He was in the kitchen today. We spoke. He congratulated me on the new acquisition after I congratulated him on his new literary award. Very formal, like two business associates.”

“Sounds better than most mornings.”

“Yes. And that is why it was a terrible morning. When we are like that, I find myself wanting to make the conversations stretch. Stupid of me.”

James pulled in front of the building and parked. “When are you going to stop punishing yourself?”

“It’s not a punishment if it keeps him alive,” I answered. One of the guards opened the door and I patted James on the shoulder. “Thank you for worrying, but you don’t need to. See you later.”

“Later, ma’am.”

I alighted from the car, bracing myself as the winter storm brushed against my skin, internally cursing the vampires for it. Hazalu was not always a cold kingdom, not when incubi and succubi ran the economy. But since vampires took over, they manipulated the weather to make it colder and everyone else had to suffer for it, especially omega’s whose bodies were not made for the cold.

A loud crash dragged my attention toward the left and I stopped in my tracks, watching the small figure struggle against the littering of cartons surrounding her. Some security personnel ran to assist, her situation appeared handled and I began to turn away when a familiar fruity scent hit my nose, forcing my heart to skip a few beats.

How was he here? What had brought him? My eyes frantically searched for him as the wind rustled my hair. I followed the trail of what I believed was the scent of his pheromones until I arrived in front of the struggling girl and the guard helping her gather the boxes.

My brows furrowed.

Phoenix’s pheromone was unique. In some ways, all omega’s had unique scents tailored to their body’s microbiome. But the pheromone of my husband was a striking scent I had never encountered in the years before we met. It was the first thing that struck me the first time we met. Cedar and pineapple. But in that moment, there was no mistaking it was from her. The small dark-skin girl on the ground. It was stronger now I was closer.

“Everything okay?” I asked, nearing with a few more footsteps and a fierce sensation ripped through my gut, the tip of my d**k pulsing embarrassingly. “I’ll get that.” I lifted the crate to a stand, the security personnel urging me to let them take over.

Now standing so close to the omega, her pheromones were even more intoxicating, as though she was unleashing all of it on purpose. It wouldn’t have been the first time an omega had unleashed their pheromones on me as a way to seduce and extract a reaction out of me, growing up wealthy put a target on my back and I could always tell when an omega was desperate for my attention, at first it was endearing, perhaps even flattering. The years wizened me, and soon it became irritating.

Nix never cared, he didn’t even know who I was until our first kiss.

“Hello, there, need help standing?” I stretched out a hand to her and the little figure sprang to her feet, jittery and unbalanced, her eyes frantically shooting everywhere except in my direction. It was not desperation making her unleash her pheromones, it was nervousness, and upon realizing that, I smiled.

“Thank you,” she said, keeping her eyes low.

“You’re welcome…” My gaze trailed down to the ID hanging around her neck. She was one of my employees. I had to bend over to get a clear reading of her name. “Wonderful.” I passed her another smile and began to back away. “Keep up the good work.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she stuttered.

Walking away did ease the tension her pheromones had stirred in my gut. Stepping into the elevator, I undid the button of my jacket and leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves. I blamed the tension on my elongated conversation with Nix that morning, his pheromones have stayed with me, and that must have been the only reason why she smelt so much like him. I was mixing things up, my deficiency was messing with my head.

I found a sense of calm after the first meeting of the day. The meeting provided a distraction and my body did not shiver as much when I was surrounded by tens of people. But the minute I was back in my office, alone and focused on work, the aches returned, the quivering, the soft throbbing. I reminded myself why it was there and why it didn’t matter and kept on with work, burrowing deeper and deeper until nothing else could occupy my thoughts.