Tough Cute Omega Read online

  And thank god for that extra income.

  Hurrying through the empty Academy corridors, he reached the alphas’ wing and showing the magical card to yet another guard, he entered and took the fancy elevator to Tiberius’ floor.

  Black spots swam in his eyes as he exited into the carpeted hallway. Leaning for a moment against the wall, he took some deep breaths until his sight cleared.

  Then he walked to number five and knocked on the door.

  Waiting for the alpha’s beauty and power to punch him in the gut, like every time.

  ***

  “Come sit with me,” Tiberius said, grabbing the bag from Reese’s hand and hauling him into the room. “We have an argument we need resolved.”

  “An argument?”

  “A question.”

  Reese had no choice but to hurry after Tiberius, his hand engulfed in the alpha’s bigger one. He stumbled a little as they entered the sitting area, seeing the amount of bottles already on the low table, and Marcus and Nero sprawled on the sofas, bare-chested, big muscles gleaming.

  Thinking about it, Tiberius was bare-chested, too, and oh god, his smell...

  There went the punch to Reese’s gut, getting his dick hard and his hole slick. Sometimes he doubted he spent any time not aroused anymore.

  The so-called “room” was actually a suite, a small apartment with a living room and kitchenette, as well as a bedroom and bathroom. Heavy drapes hid French doors that opened onto a small balcony overlooking the lake.

  The drapes were open tonight, letting in the cool breeze, but it was still warm. Reese’s light tunic stuck to his skin, wet with sweat, and as Tiberius plunked him down on the huge sofa, he felt his throat closing as all three heated alpha gazes fell on him.

  God, but all three of them were so handsome.

  None like Tiberius, though. As the powerful alpha sat down beside him, Reese felt heat radiating through him.

  Attraction. Arousal. Desire. Need. Craving.

  Sweat dripped from Reese’s temples, soaked the back of his head, the space between his lean thighs. His cock leaked, same as his hole.

  And Tiberius was looking at him with that fire in his dark eyes that Reese couldn’t interpret. Was he angry with Reese? Or was he thinking of something else?

  “So here is the argument...” Tiberius said.

  Right. The argument! That was what the alpha was thinking, not Reese.

  God, damn, Reese, you’re an idiot. Why would an alpha like this one want a pathetic poor omega like you? These guys could have any beta or omega they wanted—guys from the best, richest clans with a dowry of estates and companies. Not like you.

  Clan Saber was proud and known for its courage, not its money. Fortunes changed with the wind. Reese’s uncle would probably be horrified to know that Reese was now a Boi for an alpha. But pride can’t feed you, sadly. Neither can past acts of courage. Nobody remembers tournament winners, or even heroes.

  Memory is fickle.

  Hunger is the devil.

  “So what do you think?” Tiberius was saying, and Reese blinked.

  Oh shit. He’d missed what Tiberius had said, and all three alphas were looking at him, obviously waiting for a reply.

  What to do?

  Um... “No,” Reese said.

  Three pairs of eyes blinked owlishly at him.

  “Really?” Nero muttered. “Huh. Who would’ve thought.”

  “Not me,” Marcus said, pouring himself amber liquid from a bottle. Whiskey from the smell of it. “You sure, Reese?”

  “Um. Yeah.” Reese was starting to feel real uneasy about this conversation. “Why?”

  “Oh, no reason.”

  Tiberius was still staring at Reese. It was starting to freak him out. What had he said no to? Why was it so bad?

  “Well...” Tiberius finally said, unscrewing one bottle and raising it in a toast. “Good for you.”

  God damn it. Reese watched the alpha take a long swig directly from the bottle, his unease mounting. What the hell had happened?

  “I should go,” Reese said. “Leave you to it.”

  “Don’t go yet,” Tiberius said and reached for him, tangling his fingers in Reese’s hair. “Just... fuck.” He leaned toward Reese, eyes closing. “God damn, you smell good.”

  Heat seeped into Reese’s face. Did Tiberius mean it? “But...”

  “Go,” Tiberius said, drawing his hand away and shaking his head. “Shit, go. I don’t need you anymore tonight. Scram, shrimp.”

  Reese scrambled off the sofa and was out of the room as quickly as his feet could carry him, his heart pounding.

  What had that been all about?

  Chapter Three: Tiberius

  Tiberius couldn’t keep his mind off the omega.

  Reese.

  His name was a breeze running through his thoughts, his dreams. He kept waking up in the middle of the night with his fist wrapped around his hard cock, pumping and stroking. He kept finding himself daydreaming that he was kissing him, fucking him.

  Holding him.

  Such a weird thing. He wasn’t used to lusting after someone like that. Wanting them so much. Dying to taste their mouth, their skin.

  “You’re really gone, aren’t you?” Marcus muttered in wonder, flicking a wadded-up piece of paper at Tiberius’s face from his desk. It hit true, stinging his cheek.

  Tiberius grunted.

  “Fucking gone,” Marcus went on. “Over a cute omega. Fucking hell.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Just stick your dick in him and be done with that. Or better still, stick it in someone else and get over Reese.”

  “I’m not a manwhore like you,” Tiberius muttered sullenly.

  “Maybe you should try it. Now is the time to have fun, my friend, before family obligations drag us down and we are forced to start producing brats and spending the nights at home watching reruns on TV.”

  Tiberius flinched and bowed his head over his folded arms. “Fuck...”

  A silence followed, in which the droning of the professor’s voice was the only sound.

  Then Marcus said, his voice different: “I touched a nerve, huh? Was that what happened the other day? Did your old man lecture you about getting married again? Christ, he needs to back off until you finish the Academy, at least.”

  “Why don’t you go and tell him that then. God knows I tried.”

  “So it was that. Give you an ultimatum, did he?”

  “He sure did.”

  “He didn’t threaten to disown you?” Marcus asked.

  “Not in so many words.”

  “Fuck...”

  “Exactly what I said.” Tiberius closed his eyes, drowning out the sounds of the classroom. He needed to escape, even for a while, and while drinking was fine, but what he really needed... apart from fucking Reese, that was... “I need to shift. Go running with me tonight?”

  “Sure...”

  “In the park, though, no driving out of town. You know it’s not safe to venture outside anymore.”

  “You seriously believe the propaganda against the witches?”

  So typical of Marcus, to disagree with everyone else. “You know it’s not propaganda, Marcus. The witches are challenging the shifter rule. There have been attacks on unsuspecting shifters, and you seem to forget the siege in the north.”

  “And you think the media are free of propaganda? Have you ever heard any reports about the Fae or the Vampires? It’s all witches, all the fucking time.”

  Tiberius groaned in his arms. “Whatever, Marcus. Are you coming or not?”

  Marcus nodded. Fine. In the city. I’ll tell Nero. Hey, is that—?”

  Tiberius lifted his head, nostrils flaring, instantly alert. “Reese.”

  “Well, what do you know? You’re right,” Marcus drawled.

  The door of the classroom had opened and there stood his omega.

  And since when was Reese his omega, damn it? His Boi. That was what he meant, of course. What was he doing there?


  “Reese, come on in!” the professor called out, and Tiberius struggled with a pinch of jealousy in his chest, because the professor knew Reese by name.

  God, he was fucked.

  “New student,” whispers went around Tiberius. “Transferred a couple of weeks ago. Omega.”

  Yeah, Tiberius knew all that. But why hadn’t he come to class sooner? Tiberius had never seen him here before. In fact, he hadn’t seen him in any class.

  “All caught up?” the professor asked, all smiles, and Tiberius gritted his teeth. Why was the old man gazing at Reese like they were good friends? “Think you can follow now?”

  “Yes, I think so.” Reese gave the professor an uncertain smile that got Tiberius instantly hard, and shifted his backpack on one shoulder. “I think it’s better if I gave it a try.”

  “Then, by all means, take a seat. Class, enough chattering. Pay attention, we still have a lot of ground to cover today.”

  “God, I hate economics,” Marcus said with feeling, but Tiberius barely paid him any heed.

  That scent... Reese’s scent. It was all around him, flooding his senses, curling in his gut, inexorably getting him harder and harder. Christ. Had it been that strong before?

  “Marcus,” Tiberius hissed.

  “What is it? Your face has gone red. You okay?”

  “Can’t...” The scent seemed to pulse, synchronizing with his racing heartbeat, going through his body like the sound of a giant gong, sending pulses of desire. “I have to get out.”

  “Ty!”

  But Tiberius was already on his feet, grabbing his notebooks and stuffing them in his backpack.

  “Mr. Tiberius de Crescent,” the professor said, exasperation in his voice as he turned around from the whiteboard. “What is it now?”

  “Excuse me,” Tiberius said hoarsely and made his way out of the classroom.

  He had to jack off or he would die of acute arousal. And wouldn’t that be embarrassing. Not exactly what a good Crescent son would do for his family name.

  ***

  “Ty. Ty, open the door!”

  “Go away, Marcus.” Tiberius panted, stroking his rigid, aching cock, one hand braced against the wall of his bathroom.

  “I’m breaking his door down if you don’t open up. You know I will. You know I can.”

  Of course he could. He was an alpha werewolf, like Tiberius.

  “Fuck off,” he gritted, jacking off harder, his hand a blur over his cock. “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t sound fucking fine.” Marcus sighed. “I’m giving you five minutes, then I’m coming in.”

  Fucker.

  Tiberius widened his stance, bowed his head, and tried to imagine he was fucking someone. Fucking someone’s mouth, maybe that blond omega Marcus smiled at so much, or...

  No, this wasn’t working.

  What if he imagined he was fucking the omega from behind, Tiberius’s cock sinking deep into that wet hole, in and out...

  His cock jolted. Yeah, this was better. Fucking him hard, holding those narrow hips, bending over to inhale that sweet smell, to bite the smooth skin of the omega’s shoulder, brushing away silky dark hair...

  Oh fuck...

  The omega turned his head in the fantasy and breathed Tiberius’s name. It was Reese, his blue long-lashed eyes dazed with lust, his hole clenching around Tiberius’s cock. Reese was begging him to fuck him harder, to knot him and fill him up, Reese was moaning...

  “Ooh shit...” Tiberius’s body jerked at the same time as his cock, and a thick stream of cum sprayed the tiled wall. His balls tightened again, and another wave of pleasure shook him. He shot another load of cum, and another, shuddering.

  And after he was done, he found he was still hard.

  What the fuck, right?

  Could lust kill you?

  Something was niggling the back of his mind, something about this that seemed familiar, like he’d heard of such a case before, but he couldn’t pinpoint the information.

  And then Marcus broke the door of the bathroom and stood panting at the opening, the worry in his gaze turning into fury, and then back to concern. What the hell, Ty? he demanded, eyes going to the still hard cock in Tiberius’s hand, and the cum covering the wall. What’s going on?

  Tiberius wished he knew...

  ***

  “So you don’t wanna talk about it? Is that it? Discussion is over, just like that?” Marcus glared at Tiberius who was buttoning up his jeans by the French doors, staring out at the lake.

  “That’s right.”

  “Don’t you wanna know what’s happening to you?” Marcus arches his brows.

  “I’m horny. A condition you’re well familiar with.”

  “Don’t, Ty. Don’t play that card with me.”

  Tiberius scowled. “Then leave me the hell alone.”

  The jeans were damn uncomfortable, constricting his hard-on, trapping it in an awkward angle, and he was confused and annoyed. He had enough on his head with his old man’s threats without being in a rut over a random omega and Marcus on his case.

  “That omega... he smells good, doesn’t he?” Marcus muttered.

  Nope, Marcus wasn’t leaving him alone. “Shit. You noticed.”

  “If he’s going into heat...”

  Tiberius shook his head. “It didn’t affect you like it did me.”

  “So that’s what happened, is it? It affected you?”

  “Fuck you, Marcus.”

  His friend came to stand beside him, shooting him an unapologetic look. “Just trying to figure this out. Maybe I’ll ask him if he needs suppressants.”

  “I’ll do it. Keep out of it.”

  “Possessive.” Marcus tsked and grinned. “Like I said before: interesting.”

  With a growl, Tiberius ran his fingers through his wild hair. “Have I asked for your opinion?”

  “But you want it anyway.” He shrugged. “Face it, Ty. You don’t have that many people around who can stand you.”

  It made Tiberius grin. “You really are an asshole.”

  “I have to be to like you, you bastard.”

  Tiberius snorted.

  “Are we still going for that shift and run later?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good,” Marcus said. “Get your ass back in class, and we’ll talk later. We’ll fix this.”

  Tiberius just wasn’t sure how. The only thing that seemed paramount was talking to Reese, though what exactly he’d tell the omega, he had no clue...

  Chapter Four: Reese

  What was wrong with him? Reese felt really weird, and not in a good way. It felt like his heat was coming on, but that couldn’t be. He was using suppressants, and anyway, he didn’t remember the symptoms ever being this strong. His head was pounding, his sense of balance was off, and worst of all was the lust. How were you supposed to focus on studying when you ran around with a hard-on and this throbbing deep inside?

  Ran around doing errands for the object of your desire, every whiff of his spice and every look at him making you harder and wetter for him?

  This had to be what hell was like. Desire and need, unfulfilled, burning you to the point of pain. Damn shifters and their heat cycles, their primal urges that took over their lives. Although things had changed a lot since the first shifters appeared in history, and a lot had changed, this split into alphas, betas and omegas often seemed so unfair. Betas, at least, had a measure of independence. Not fertile, they were freer to pursue whatever career they wanted, form families without any expectations of offspring and none of the discomfort of heat cycles and having babies. In a world where women couldn’t bear children anymore, omegas had taken that role.

  Not that Reese had any babies. Or would have any. The thought of getting pregnant by some random, violent alpha and then having to submit to him and marry him was just terrifying.

  Anyway...

  Stop complaining, Reese. Remember you need the money. You need the certificate. An omega without money and without a job is a f
ree meal for the wolves.

  No pun intended.

  And yeah, he knew. Sometimes knowing what you had to do didn’t make it any easier.

  Like, he had resigned himself to the fact that being around Tiberius meant he’d be aching for him every minute he spent in his presence—but then consoled himself with the thought that at least in class he wouldn’t be, and therefore could focus on the class.

  Until he found out they shared a class. More than one, in fact. They shared two classes every day.

  And though Tiberius often skipped class, for some reason, or found excuses to leave the classroom when Reese entered—why the hell would he do that, anyway?—it was still more than enough hours in the day and night that Reese had to spend in Tiberius’s glorious, sexy presence.

  He both craved it and hated it with equal passion.

  Like now, hurrying to procure for his alpha a starched white shirt because of some social function Tiberius had to attend, apparently—he rarely told Reese why he needed anything, though most of the time it was pretty clear, as in the case of booze—and black socks.

  Who runs out of socks, honestly? Who depends on a Boi to run in the late afternoon and plead with shop owners not to close just yet so he can purchase for his alpha shirt and socks?

  Tiberius de Crescent. That’s who.

  Which found Reese jogging back into the Academy as the night fell and the sky darkened, panting and sweating, determined not to let Tiberius down and lose his job. His uncle Ailey had written to him only the previous day to let him know that the little monthly sum he’d promised wouldn’t be possible, as loan sharks had closed in and demanded every last penny Ailey had or they’d have him thrown into prison.

  No choice. If Tiberius wanted shirts and socks, hell, if he wanted Reese to buy him a whole closet full of clothes or bring him the bells from the cathedral, Reese had to make it happen.

  Damn spoilt alpha. Everyone at his feet, doing his bidding, not even asking questions. Spending his money like it was nothing, throwing it down the drain.

  Damn him.

  Dragging his feet, Reese made it to the alpha’s building just as his phone rang, Tiberius’s number flashing.

  Shit.

  He considered not replying, but that would only piss the alpha off more.