Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60378 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
His mother sighed, but she was smiling. Rounding his desk, she leaned in and hugged him gently. “Anthony is a very lucky man. I’m very proud of you. You’re being very brave.”
Michael smiled wryly. “Mostly I’m just being selfish. I want him too much to give him up.”
“That takes bravery too,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “Giving your heart to someone is always scary.”
Michael’s breath caught in his throat. He opened his mouth to deny that, but he found that he couldn’t.
It was true. And it was scary.
He couldn’t shake the underlying fear that he was just a passing fancy to Ant, that Anthony didn’t actually see him as mate material. There was also an underlying fear that Anthony didn’t actually see him as a real omega, that Michael was lacking in some way compared to born omegas. It was ridiculous, because at the same time he was scared that Anthony saw him as lesser now that he wasn’t an alpha any longer. He was made of fears now, some of them clashing, all of them exhausting.
There was understanding in his mother’s eyes as she kissed him on the forehead. “You’re a catch, whether you’re an alpha or an omega: beautiful, smart, kind. Never doubt yourself.” She smiled mischievously. “I bet we’ll be beating suitors off with sticks once people find out you’re an omega.”
Michael snorted. “I doubt it.”
“I don’t,” she said with a smile. “For years, you’ve been one of the top dogs, the main competition for other alphas. They resented you for your looks and wealth, they admired you, and they envied you. The moment they find out they can suddenly have you...” She smiled. “Anthony will have to do much better than a ‘sort-of’ confession if he wants you to be his mate.”
Michael’s stomach clenched. He couldn’t deny there was a certain appeal in that, in being chased by Anthony and making him suffer with jealousy. Ant had always been too confident, too certain of his appeal. He’d never had to lift a finger to earn anyone’s favor.
“I don’t know,” he said, his face warm as he imagined Anthony on his knees in front of him, blue eyes fixed on him hungrily as he begged Michael for the privilege of having him.
“You’ll see,” his mother said confidently.
Chapter 26
When Anthony woke that morning, his phone was full of text notifications and missed calls.
He opened the message from Michael.
I’ve decided to come out as an omega.
That was all. A short, impersonal message that told Anthony exactly nothing about how Michael felt or what he thought about Anthony’s proposal.
Frowning, he scrolled through the rest of his messages. Most were from family and friends. All of them were a variation of the message sent by Jules: What the fuck, Ant? Did you know about it? Michael apparently got infected by some alien virus that turned him into an omega!
Jules had included a link to the article—an interview Michael had given to the biggest website on the planet.
Michael’s gorgeous face stared at him from the picture. He looked as confident as ever as he shook the journalist’s hand.
Tearing his gaze away from his face, Anthony skimmed the article. Jules had gotten the gist right: Michael had claimed that he had been bitten by an alien animal, and its venom had unknown properties that triggered a powerful chemical reaction in his body, destabilizing his designation markers and turning him into an omega. There was no mention of Anthony at all.
So that was the story Michael was going with.
Anthony forced himself to unclench his jaw. It was a valid strategy, probably suggested to Michael by his publicist. It was the least humiliating way to announce a designation change. Mentioning another alpha would have just made people speculate if Anthony had anything to do with it. Alpha bitching might not be talked about in polite company, but the concept was certainly known.
This way Michael would not be a subject of ridicule to the extent he would have been if people suspected that he’d been bitched by another alpha.
It was a good thing. It made things easier for Anthony too, absolving him of any blame, even if he had been incoherent during the deed.
It didn’t mean he liked it.
Anthony tried to make sense of why he felt this way, but his emotions were too tangled, too complex to unravel.
There was one emotion impossible not to recognize: possessiveness. A dark, ugly possessiveness. Part of him wanted everyone to know what Michael had done for him, to save his life. He didn’t want other alphas getting ideas that Michael was available.
Because he wasn’t.
Or was he?
There wasn’t any mention of Michael being taken in the article. In fact, the interview ended with the cheeky statement from the journalist, “While I’m sure the news will upset every omega in the country, the same can’t be said for alphas.” And Michael had just smiled in response.