The weekly obstetrician’s appointment had run long, all you wanted was to go home, curl up on the couch that smelled of Dagon, and wait for your alpha to finish his workday.

A familiar, cloyingly sweet scent like rotting gardenias, hit your nostrils a second before the voice did.

“Well, look at you. The little omega incubator, all alone.”

You didn’t need to turn around. Jay. Your bodyguard, Leo, took a half-step forward, his presence a solid, silent wall at your back.

“I’m not alone, Jay.” you said, your voice even, refusing to give him the reaction he so desperately craved. You continued to look out at the street, willing Dagon’s black town car to turn the corner.

Jay moved into your line of sight, his pretty face arranged into a pout that didn’t reach his cold, envious eyes. “Where is your mighty alpha, anyway? Too busy running his empire to care for his pregnant mate?”

“He cares enough to ensure I’m never truly alone with the likes of you.” you shot back, the ‘likes of you’ dripping with contempt. The two years of his relentless, obsessive attempts to drive a wedge between you and Dagon, the whispered rumors, the ‘accidental’ spills of coffee that were always aimed at your stomach—it had all built a fortress of pure loathing within you.

Jay’s smile was sharp and brittle. “Dagon is a busy man. An important man. He needs an omega who understands that, not one who needs constant coddling. Like me.”

“He loves me.” you stated, the truth of it a shield. “Something you will never be able to comprehend or experience.”

His scent spiked with fury, the rotten sweetness becoming overwhelming. “He’s bound to you by a biological mistake! A fleeting scent match! He deserves more, not some… fragile breeder.” His eyes dropped to your stomach, a flash of pure, unadulterated hatred in their depths.

“It’s a shame that… condition of yours seems to be progressing. So many things can go wrong, even this late.”

The blatant reference to his wishes for you to lose the pups sent a cold shiver down your spine, but you stood your ground. “Stay away from me, Jay. And stay away from my family.”

“Your family?” he laughed, a hollow, nasty sound. “Let’s talk about family. Did he tell you? He came to see me last week. Comforting me after my presentation. He’s so… attentive when I’m vulnerable.”

You knew it was a lie. A pathetic, transparent lie. Dagon’s schedule was meticulously documented, and every second of his time was accounted for, most of it spent with you. He loathed Jay, and was fiercely cautious of him.

“You invent little fantasies because the reality is that alpha will never be yours. He is mine. His mark is on my neck, his bond is in my soul, and his pups are in my womb. Nothing you do or say will ever change that.”

The mask on Jay’s face shattered, revealing the snarling, jealous omega beneath. “We’ll see about that.” he hissed, taking a step closer.

It was at that exact moment that a sleek, familiar black car turned the corner at the far end of the street. Your heart leaped. Dagon.

Jay saw it too. His eyes flickered toward the approaching car, and a new, terrifying calculation flashed in them. “You think you’ve won?” he whispered, his voice venomous.

“Let’s see how protective he is when he sees you fall.”

Jay lunged forward, to shove against your shoulders with a surprising, vicious strength.

A gasp was torn from your lips as your balance vanished. The hard, concrete edge of the stairs leading down to the sidewalk yawned behind you. Your arms flailed, your only thought the precious, vulnerable life you carried. A name tore from your throat, a desperate scream.

"DAGON!"

The passenger door of the town car was flung open before the vehicle had even fully stopped. A blur of motion, a flash of red hair, and a roar of pure, unadulterated rage.

Dagon bolted from the car, his face a terrifying mask of fury and fear, his crimson eyes locked on you. Your hand reached out into nothingness, a frantic, hopeless gesture.

"OMEGA-!"