The servant’s door in the back of the prince’s chambers creaked open. Two royal guards stepped inside, flanking a figure who looked out of place amid the grandeur of the room. The young man’s dark hair was still damp from his bath. He stood barefoot on the plush rug, covered only by a simple robe that hung loosely off his shoulders. His cheeks were flushed, his pupils dilated, and a faint sheen of sweat glistened on his skin – a clear sign of his heat.

  The Omega swayed slightly, blinking slowly as his heat-addled mind struggled to process his surroundings. He glanced around the opulent room, his gaze lingering on the tall, imposing figure standing near the bed. He had no idea who the man was, but the air of self-importance that surrounded him was impossible to miss.

  “Where am I?” he demanded, his voice slurring slightly. “Who do you think you are, kidnapping someone like this?”

  Edess raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed over his chest as he regarded the Omega with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. He was used to them being docile and eager to please while in heat, especially when faced with someone of his status. This one, however, was clearly too impaired to fully grasp the situation he was in.

  “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” the prince asked, his voice low and smooth.

  The Omega frowned, his brow furrowing as he tried to focus. His hands rode down the front of his robe, pulling the sides over each other so his body was fully covered. “I don’t care who you are or how much money you have. You can’t just take people off the street like this. That’s kidnapping!”

  Edess’s lips turned up into a smirk, though his eyes remained cold. He took a step closer, his towering presence making the Omega instinctively take a step back, though he quickly swayed forward again as though drawn by invisible strings. The prince tilted his head, studying the Omega’s flushed face and trembling form.

  “I am Prince Edess of the Kingdom of Soura,” he said. “And you would do well to watch your tone.”

  The Omega froze, his eyes widening as the words sank in. His mouth opened and closed several times, struggling to form a coherent response before he dropped to his knees, bowing so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the floor.

  “Your Highness!” he gasped. “Forgive me! I – I didn’t realize – I beg you, please forgive my rudeness!”

  The prince stared down at the Omega huddled at his feet, letting the frantic apologies hang in the air before finally speaking.

  “Stand up.”

  The Omega hesitated, glancing up at him with wide, fearful eyes. “I – Your Highness, I –”

  “Stand,” Edess repeated, his voice icier.

  The Omega scrambled to his feet, though his legs were shaky, and he swayed as he stood. He kept his flushed face bowed, his hands clutching at his robe. When his heat had started the previous day, he had become especially sensitive to the pheromones in the air, and this man, claiming to be the prince, had a suffocating, sweet scent. Even if he wasn’t lying about his identity, he was no ordinary Alpha.

  “You aren’t taking any suppressants,” the prince said, his tone almost conversational though his gaze was piercing.

  The Omega’s face flushed even redder. He nodded again, his voice barely above a whisper as he said, “No, Your Highness.”

  Edess smiled, though there was no warmth to the expression. “Don’t worry. I’ll see to it that you’re supplied with a suppressant tonic to help you.”

  The Omega’s head shot up, his eyes wide with surprise and cautious hope. “You… you will?” he asked, his voice trembling. “Thank you, Your Highness! I – I don’t know how –”

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  “Stay quiet until I permit you to speak,” the prince ordered as he grabbed the Omega’s arm and pulled him toward the bed.

  The Omega let out a startled gasp, his free hand coming up to clutch at the large robe that had slipped off one shoulder. “Your Highness!” he said, but the words died in his throat as he was pushed onto the bed, the soft mattress sinking beneath him.

  Edess loomed over him, his eyes dark as he reached out to brush the robe aside, exposing the Omega’s neck and shoulder. The Omega’s breath caught in his throat, his body trembling as the intoxicating pheromones of his heat filled the air, mingling with Edess’s powerful Alpha scent.

  “You’ll repay me by being mine,” the prince said, his voice low and possessive. He leaned down, his lips brushing against the Omega’s neck before brushing down to his shoulder. He sank his teeth into the soft flesh, relishing the instinctive action – he would rather to bite the Omega’s neck, but he didn’t want to waste the effort on marking the inferior man.

  The Omega cried out, his body arching against the prince’s as the pain of the bite was quickly overtaken by the overwhelming pleasure of the Alpha’s touch. He clung to the prince, his fingers tangling in the fabric of his shirt, ignoring his own robe falling open. The world around him blurred into a haze of scent, heat, and sensation.

  The prince savored it. He pressed harder on the Omega, who arched against the touch. A frantic, desperate moan escaping his mouth. His head fell back, exposing the fragile column of his throat, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

  Edess leaned in, burying his face in the Omega's neck and savoring the raw essence of his heat. The desperation was a potent drug.

  “So impatient,” the prince scoffed, though his own breath was growing ragged. The Omega's scent was making his head spin, the powerful pheromones of his heat dulling his empathy. “No wonder you were on the street.”

  The Omega swallowed hard. “Y-yes, Your H-highness. Please… help me…. I-I’m desperate f-for you….”

  “Just as you should be.”

  Edess pressed himself down onto the other man. A choked scream tore from the Omega’s throat, a primal sound of delightful pain and delicious fulfillment as his instincts relished the attention from the prince that night.

  The first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the heavy curtains, casting a soft glow over the prince’s chambers. The Omega stirred, his mind still foggy from his fading heat. His body ached but not nearly as badly as the previous day, his Omega urges sated by the Alpha prince. He became acutely aware of the prince’s presence beside him, the weight of the Alpha’s arm draped possessively over his waist and his sweet pheromones drowning out any other scent.

  He shifted his head to look around the elegant chambers in the brighter light. It was easily the size of his orphanage, and it was all for this single Alpha. Being permitted to even view such a luxurious room, to be welcomed by the Alpha seeking to help him in his time of need – he could hardly believe it. Masha certainly wouldn’t believe it when he told him.

  The man behind him stirred, withdrawing his arm and standing from the bed. The Omega watched him go to a small table by the window and pick up a pile of fabric and an object. The prince tossed them on the bed, a small vial rolling onto the blankets near his legs.

  “Take your suppressant,” the prince ordered.

  The Omega sat up straight, snatching the bottle and uncorking it. “Y-yes, thank you, Your Highness.”

  He drank the small amount in a single gulp. The horrendous taste was worth knowing that the rest of his heat would be minimized, and he had months until he had to worry about getting more. It vanished down his throat faster than the previous amounts ever had.

  “Oh, that’s less than I remembered,” he said to himself.

  “It’s enough,” the prince said. “I want to keep you manageable.”

  “Your Highness?”

  The prince looked him up and down. The gaze made the Omega uneasy.

  “Um, I-I would be glad to return during my next heat,” he stuttered. “If that’s what His Highness would like.”

  He wanted to put his clothing back on and leave the castle, fast. He needed to get breakfast started for the other children.

  “My Omega.” The prince leaned down and smiled at him. “You are exactly where you need to be.”

  The Omega stared at him, his mind reeling. He wanted to protest, but the weight of the prince’s authority kept him silent. He lowered his gaze, clutching the empty vial in his hands.

  “Your room is down the hall,” the prince went on, waving a hand toward the servant’s door. “I will call for you when I want you. The other servants will tell you what you need to know.”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” he said quietly, his voice barely audible.

  “Get up and wash. You smell.”

  The Omega nodded. He pushed off the blankets and grabbed the discarded robe, covering himself while the prince returned to his bed. He clutched the clothes the prince had tossed at him close to his chest and cautiously approached the small door in the back of the chambers, hesitating with his hand on the knob. The Omega glanced back over his shoulder. The prince had his back to him, seemingly returning to sleep without someone else crowding him in his bed.

  Part of him wanted the prince to call him back to the bed and ask him to sleep a little more, or even to hold the Omega underneath him again. He swallowed his pride and entered the small hallway, preparing himself for his new life.

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