Omega's Gamble on Alphas

CHAPTER 2

The cabaret girls had bounced their way off stage to thunderous applause, and the portly man with the mustache and top hat had returned. He waited for the raucous crowd to get quiet before speaking.

“The Full Moon Dancing Girls! Weren’t they beautiful? But that was only a small taste to whet your craving. Ladies and gentlemen, let us move on now to the main course for the night… the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf!”

“What the hell?” someone in the crowd shouted. “I ain’t paying to hear no kids’ fairy tales!”

A few other audience members shouted in agreement, and the man on stage held up his gloved hands in a placating gesture.

“Patience, my good sirs, patience! Our version of this page-old tale is a little different from the one your mothers told you. I guarantee you shall find it most entertaining…” He arched his eyebrow again. “And most instructive!”

The man scurried off the stage, and a painted backdrop slid into place, a stylized depiction of a dark forest. The organ music became low and ominous.

Then Red Riding Hood stepped onto the stage.

The woman lived buxom and curvy in her scarlet corset and matching tights. A red hooligan was draped over her dark hair, and a wicker basket hung from the robber of her arm. She strode across the stage, and the throng broke into whoops and whistles.

Not Tanner McBain, though. He remained silent.

Unexpectedly, a dark figure hopped out from the other side of the stage, and the not-so-little Red Riding Hood sniffed. It was a tall and heavily muscled man outfitted in a primitive fur loincloth and a wolf’s skin draped over his head and shoulders.

Gaille noticed a flicker of gold on the man’s chest, and she felt a tingle at the nape of her neck.

The man was an alpha.

The gold was his sign.

“Well, well, well,” the alpha in wolfskins growled. He circled Red Riding Hood, making a big show of running his eyes up and down her body. “Now what is a sweet little thing like you doing in these woods all by yourself?”

“I’m going to Granny’s house,” Red Riding Hood answered in a flirtatious voice, lifting the basket. “I’m taking her peach cobbler and milk.”

The alpha in wolfskins ran his eyes down the woman’s body, pausing dramatically at her breasts, and again between her legs. He grinned wickedly.

“Well I do declare, little lady, I’d surely like to have a taste of your peaches and cream!”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

“I’m sorry,” Red Riding Hood answered coyly, “but I only brought enough for Granny.”

“Alright then. Just be careful, little lady. There are many dangerous beasts in these woods…”

Red Riding Hood sashayed off the stage, and the curtain closed on the wolfman, who was still grinning as he watched her go.

“This is ridiculous,” Gaille whispered. “Mr. McBain, please tell me what your third—”

McBain cut her off with a low, threatening growl. “Hush woman. I have a feeling this story’s just getting interesting.”

Gaille’s face flushed with anger. She had half a mind to bid the man good night and look for help somewhere else. But where would she go? Virtually everyone at Rosie’s was in the auditorium now, and if she went glimpsing for aid at one of the other saloons in Lamentation, there’d be no way for her to understand who she could trust.

She sighed and turned her awareness back to the scene.

The curtain yanked back to uncover a new scene. The ground was painted like the interior of a country cottage, and the stage was furnished with a rustic wooden table and a huge brass bed. The figure hiding under the covers looked way too big to be Granny.

Red Riding Hood flounced back onto the stage, and her reappearance was greeted by more enthusiastic shouts and whistles from the crowd. She waited for the men to settle down again before speaking her lines.

“Granny, I’ve brought some milk and cobbler for you.”

“Put them on the table, little lady,” a deep voice answered from the bed, eliciting a peal of laughter from the crowd. “You must be cold from your journey through the woods. Come get into bed with me, my darling girl.”

Red Riding Hood set her basket on the table and walked toward the bed, but just as she was about to pull back the covers, “Granny’s” voice rumbled again.

“Hold it right there, little lady. You ain’t going to get into bed with all your clothes on, now are you?”

“Oh, how silly of me!” the woman said in a breathy voice.

The organ music changed course to a sultry tune, and Red Riding Hood began to dance seductively as she slowly and gradually disrobed.

The crowd screeched with excitement, and a few small scuffles broke out as men tried to push past each other to get a closer look. By the time the dance was over, the only thing the woman had on was her red hood and cape. She gave a twirl, and the cape lifted, giving the crowd a glimpse of her bare bottom.

Something glimmered on her lower back—a shining, spiral-shaped emblem, like a golden tattoo.

The woman had a sign too.

She was an omega!

Gaille’s heart skipped. This whole situation had just become incredibly precarious. Most of the men in the crowd were betas, but there were some alphas down there too, and there was no telling what they might do when they caught the omega actress’ scent.

“Don’t worry,” Tanner McBain whispered, apparently sensing Gaille’s anxiety. “She’s been marked, see?”

The actress pulled off her scarlet hood and tossed it out into the crowd, and now Gaille could see what Tanner was talking about. Someone had done a good job of covering it with makeup, but they hadn’t hidden it completely—a crescent-shaped bite mark on the skin between her neck and her shoulder.

It must have been put there by the alpha playing the wolf. He must have been her mate.