Chapter 3

Ariadne is counting under her breath. It takes her a long time to calm down, as Alpha Victor drives over to Head Quarters.

“One hundred and eleven, one hundred and twelve…,” Ariadne mutters.

Victor is already over the blood and guts. What he’s fixated on, is how the Omega is doing. This is Ariadne's first kill. It means something. There’s a light that goes out from the eyes at the first kill. Victor only wishes he could turn back the clock and take Omega’s place. The Alpha remembers his first kill, but certainly not his one-hundred-and-twenty-seventh.

“One hundred and twenty-eight,” Ariadne continues.

“I’ll take you home,” Victor suddenly says. Maybe Head Quarters can wait until tomorrow. Ariadne seems too traumatized to meet the rest of the pack. They can wait.

“I don’t have a home,” Ariadne answers, eyes glittering as the street lights pass overhead.

Ariadne’s scent is hitting Victor in waves, simultaneously making him worried, and calming him down. The Alpha has encountered many Omegas in his life. Scientifically, their scent is supposed to pacify aggressive Alphas. So far, Victor has chalked it up to nonsense.

But Ariadne’s scent does exactly what the textbooks say, and more. The mint is damn near overwhelming, and Victor has half a mind to pull the car over, and just hold Aria until she’s alright. So this is what an Omega in distress does to him. It’s fucking potent.

“You live with me now,” Victor says through gritted teeth, “That’s your home.”

“I don’t want to go home,” Ariadne says softly. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

“I can’t just leave you on the street,” Victor frowns, “You’re in danger. You just killed a pack’s Alpha. You need a safety net. That’s why I want you to meet my betas. In case you need a body gu-”

Victor realizes that he’s said too much, revealed too much of himself. Ariadne stares at him with wide, confused eyes. The Alpha is tense under scrutiny. But after a long moment, it passes.

“Okay,” Ariadne grumbles, “I’ll meet your pack, tonight. But I’m tired, so drive fast.”

Victor smiles, some of the more scrappy Ariadne has returned. The Omega recovered fairly quickly, or maybe she’s organized it. The Alpha inwardly scolds himself. It’s not as if Ariadne’s life has been a box of chocolates. The Omega is probably used to trauma.

But that thought makes Victor even more uneasy.

The two of them arrive at the Head Quarters in record time. Ariadne looks unimpressed, as per usual. The Head Quarters entrance isn’t supposed to be impressive anyway. It’s supposed to be covert. It’s nothing but a pair of metal doors on the cement, leading down to a basement.

Ariadne shoots him a questionable look, “You’re not killing me here are you?”

It’s a fair assessment given the scummy street they’re currently standing on.

“I’m not killing you here,” Victor frowns, “That’s so cliche!”

The thought of harming Ariadne in any way makes the Alpha nauseous. He’s also hyper-aware and moderately alarmed of how fond he’s grown off the Omega in the past 24 hours. He’s only known her for 24 hours. This is a problem.

But it can be dealt with later.

Victor pulls open the doors, “After you.”

Suddenly Ariadne chuckles. The sight of an actual smile on his Omega, damn, not his, the Omega, makes Victor flustered.

“To think that Alpha Victor Erichson’s Head Quarters is the basement of some butcher’s shop,” Ariadne says.

That smile could save Victor's trash-covered life. He tries his best not to react.

“T-That’s exactly why,” Victor puffs out his chest.

A voice calls from below, belonging to a face half lit up by blue neon lights, “Boss? Is that you? I thought we had a talk about killing our associates.”

It’s Waylon. He, expectedly, does not sound pleased.

Ariadne and Victor walk down the flight of stairs. Another disembodied voice greets them.

“This is not good for business. Arlo's pack is already out for your blood,” Calvin calls.

Ariadne’s whole body tenses up suddenly. She looks frightened.

“What’s wrong,” Victor pauses on the steps, not pushing the Omega one inch more.

The pale woman shakes her head, “Sorry, it’s nothing.”

“Don’t worry,” Victor gives the Omega an encouraging smile. Ariadne turns her head away, expression panicked. Shee really must not want to be here.

“Let me guess,” Ariadne grumbles, “They’re harmless.”

No, definitely not.

“They won’t hurt you,” Victor says seriously, “They won’t even touch you without permission. They know better.”

Ariadne seems passably reassured as she makes her way to the bottom of the staircase. The Betas are at attention at once. There’s a half-played game of pool on the table, and one stick still set for the strike. Victor is ticked that they’re slacking off, but he’ll discipline them when Ariadne is not there to watch.

“This is my first Beta,” Victor introduces, “Waylon.”

Waylon nods. Victor fills the room with his scent, rubbing his hand against his glands. It’s sending his two Betas into high alert. Everything is as it should be.

“Hello,” Ariadne's eyes are on the floor.

“Where did you find this one?” Waylon exclaims. Alpha Victor can tell the Beta is excited, but he keeps his distance. What Ariadne is, is extremely rare. Waylon is in the business of sales and acquisitions. Victor can see the Beta running numbers in his head already.

“Aria is not for sale,” Victor frowns, “As of now, she’s part of our pack. You-”

“No, I’m not,” Ariadne protests.

The Alpha knew that Ariadne would say something like that.

“You are for now,” Victor nearly snarls, “There are people after you. You want to live, don’t you?”

A shudder runs through Ariadne’s body. She looks frightened. Is she finally realizing how much danger she’s in? Victor considers this. She has always been in danger, being what she is. So why?

“It’s the growling,” Calvin offers, reading Victor’s confusion, “Omegas, they don’t like it.”

Victor makes a mental note not to do it again. Seeing how frightened Ariadne was, made the Alpha’s heart twist.

“Sorry,” Victor says, trying to keep his voice soothing.

Ariadne shrugs noncommittally, her disdainful look returning, “Whatever.”

Victor continues, “This is my second Beta, Calvin.”

After a moment of standing, Waylon extends his hand first, close to Ariadne’s face. The Omega does not want to be initiated. She makes a point of saying so.

“Fuck off.”

“It’s only for now,” Victor says softly, “You need protection. You killed Arlo. You’re in danger.”

“Holy shit,” Calvin gasps, “She killed Arlo? Her?”

“I’ll kill you too, motherf*cker,” Ariadne hisses, “Try me.”

The Beta takes a step back, a submissive whine escapes his mouth.

“Be nice,” Victor sighs, “Come on.”

Ariadne folds her arms, taps her heel in frustration, but ultimately she leans in and sniffs at Waylon's hand. She does the same to Calvin, only quicker. Ariadne stalls on the giveback, biting her lip nervously.

“They won’t hurt you,” Victor says, “I’m waiting.”

Ariadne lifts her hand, and the Beta’s both take a long whiff. Waylon lingers a little too much for Victor’s liking.

“Get back to work,” He barks.

The Betas straighten out and get back to the books. He watches for a moment until he hears paper scratches.

Victor is ready to take Ariadne home when he sees the Omega resetting the pool table.

“You play?” Victor asks. Ariadne doesn’t answer.

His two Betas are pretending to work, a little tense, a little curious. Victor has just added a new pack member. It’s in their DNA to understand the new dynamic. It’s survival. Exactly how high is Ariadne on the food chain?

Victor has placed her at the very top. The Alpha has to. He doesn’t even know why. There’s no way that Victor can discipline Ariadne. Even if she’s being disrespectful. In fact, Victor loves that Ariadne’s disrespectful. It sets his belly aflame.

“Play with me,” Victor smirks.

There’s no response again. More disrespect. Only Ariadne flushes pink at his suggestive words.

“How about this,” the Alpha continues, “If you win, I’ll let you have tomorrow off. If I win, you’ll give me a kiss.”

“Does it have to be on the mouth?” Ariadne frowns.

“No,” Victor laughs, “It can be on my d**k too. I’ll let you decide.”

Ariadne decides. Her blue eyes are alight as she considers her various options. Then she nods, “I could use a day off. You can break. I’ll give you that.”

“Overconfidence is a dangerous slope,” Victor says as he opens the set, sending two striped balls into pockets. He follows up by putting the third ball in, securing his lead.

“You should take your own advice, Alpha,” Ariadne responds.

Alpha?

Victor misses the shot, badly. The man’s body is insanely hot all of the sudden.

Ariadne fits the pool stick in between her fingers. She makes shot after shot. Her eyes dart around the table as if she can see something Victor can't. She jumps balls into arcs, does devil shots into opposite pockets. She’s not only good, but she’s also the best Victor has ever seen.

“I win,” Ariadne says, as the black rolls into the corner pocket.

Victor realizes that he never had a chance.