The Alpha’s Omega

Chapter Sixteen: First Claim

Fernanda’s breath caught as Ace pressed her back against the wall, his body towering over hers, his scent wrapping around her like a heated cage. The air between them was charged—heavy with need, heavy with the weight of something she had been told her whole life she couldn’t have.

The bond pulsed like a living thing, an invisible tether pulling them closer until resisting felt like holding back the tide with bare hands.

“You keep looking at me like you’re waiting for something,” Ace murmured, his thumb brushing the corner of her mouth. “Tell me what it is, Fernanda.”

Her lips trembled. “You know what it is…”

His jaw clenched, the Alpha in him rising to the surface. “Say it. I need to hear it from you before I take it.”

Her Omega instincts screamed at her to submit, to give him what he wanted—what she wanted—but her pride fought back. “You want me to say I’m yours?” she asked, trying for defiance but failing when her voice cracked.

Ace’s mouth curved into a wicked smile. “No, sweetheart. I want you to admit you’ve been mine from the moment you saw me.”

Before she could respond, he leaned in, his lips brushing hers in the lightest of touches—infuriating, teasing, setting her nerve endings alight. She gripped his shirt, intending to push him back, but instead pulled him closer.

That was all the permission he needed.

The kiss that followed was nothing soft or sweet—it was a claim. His lips demanded, his tongue tasting her like he had every right to. Fernanda melted against him, a desperate sound escaping her throat before she could stop it.

Ace’s hands roamed, one settling on her hip, the other splaying across her lower back to hold her flush against him. She could feel him—hard, hot, straining against his jeans—and it sent a shiver down her spine.

“You feel that?” he growled against her lips. “That’s what you do to me. No one else. Just you, Omega.”

She gasped when he lifted her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around his waist on instinct. The movement brought their bodies even closer, the heat between them almost unbearable.

“Ace…” Her voice was breathless, needy.

His eyes darkened further, flashing with Alpha dominance. “Say it.”

Her pride crumbled under the weight of the bond and the burning ache in her core. “I’m yours,” she whispered, barely audible.

“That’s right,” he rumbled, pressing his forehead to hers. “Mine to protect. Mine to touch. Mine to claim.”

His lips crashed back onto hers, fiercer now, his hands gripping her thighs as if anchoring her in place. She arched into him, the friction sending sparks through her every nerve.

And then—he did it. The soft bite at her neck, right over the spot where an Alpha’s claim would mark an Omega forever. It wasn’t a full mark yet, but it was a promise. A warning to the world.

Her breath hitched, a whimper escaping as heat flooded her body, every Omega instinct surrendering under the pressure of his dominance.

“You feel that, Fernanda?” Ace’s voice was low, almost a growl. “That’s the beginning of forever.”

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t. All she could do was cling to him, heart pounding, body trembling, knowing deep down that the first claim had just been made—whether she was ready or not.

HFernanda’s heart was pounding so loud she swore Ace could hear it. His breath was warm against her ear, his deep voice curling around her like a possessive hand.

“You don’t even know what you’ve done to me, Omega,” he murmured, the word Omega rolling off his tongue like something forbidden yet sacred.

Her fingers fisted in his shirt. “You think I’m not feeling this too?”

That dark, dangerous smirk spread across his face. “Oh, I know you feel it. I can smell it on you.” His nose brushed the line of her jaw, inhaling deeply, and her knees almost buckled.

Before she could form a reply, Ace’s hand slid from her hip, trailing over the curve of her waist before gripping firmly just above the swell of her backside. It was intimate, proprietary, sending heat pooling low in her belly.

“Ace…” she warned, though it came out as more of a needy plea.

He growled softly, the sound vibrating against her skin. “You’ve been looking at me all day like you’re waiting for me to devour you. So tell me—do you want me to stop pretending I’m not about to?”

Her throat went dry. She didn’t answer—couldn’t. That silence was all the answer he needed.

In one swift move, he pressed her tighter against the wall, his thigh sliding between hers. The friction made her gasp, her nails digging into his shoulders.

“You’re shaking,” he whispered. “Let me make it worse.”

His lips captured hers again, this time rougher, hungrier. His kiss left her breathless, her body arching into his without thought. He swallowed every sound she made, as though claiming not just her body, but every gasp, every moan, every part of her.

When he finally broke the kiss, his mouth traveled down her neck, each press of his lips lower, hotter, more dangerous. And then—his teeth grazed the sensitive skin at the junction of her shoulder and neck.

Her back arched instinctively, her Omega instincts roaring to the surface. “Ace…”

His grip tightened on her thigh, his voice deep and primal. “I’m not marking you tonight, but make no mistake, Fernanda—this is mine.”

The soft bite that followed was pure electricity, sending a shudder through her. She could feel the claim even if it wasn’t permanent yet, the promise of it lingering in her blood.

Ace pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes, his expression somewhere between reverence and raw hunger. “Run from me if you want, Omega. I’ll still find you.”

Her lips parted, but no words came. She was caught—body, mind, and soul—between the heat of his touch and the terrifying knowledge that she’d already let him in.

And as she stood there, her pulse racing, her body still pressed against his, Fernanda realized the truth—this was only the beginning.