Page 1 of Outlaw's Omega
Chapter One
Bree
It was a strange thing seeing my father so nervous. He was always such a calm stoic man and it was that more than the mention of any name that made me pause. My hand reached for him instinctively. For a second he didn’t even look at me, he just carried on staring at the papers on the antique desk like he would find the answers to some unanswered questions there. The stained glass from the lampshades was throwing weird green shadows over his wrinkled hands.
“Papa?” My voice came out soft but insistent and finally, he lifted his head to look at me. His smile was weak. Like he was trying to reassure himself as much as me. The hand that had come to a stop when I had touched his arm started moving again. Tapping a tune out on the polished wood.
“Papa talk to me.” I hated seeing him like this. All pent up nervous energy. “What is going on? Maybe..” my voice faltered. “Maybe if you tell me what’s going on I can help?” That’s what I was hoping anyway because he was freaking me out. We had had dozens of these dinners since I had come out as an Omega at Fifteen. That meant dozens of alphas who had eaten at our table and none of them had caused my father to look so troubled. It was always a risk, I knew that but our family was protected. I was protected by my father's position as scribe and historian. No alpha could just take me on a whim. I knew how lucky I was. There weren’t many Omega’s who had that privilege. One day I would have to mate. But at least I would get to choose the alpha to whom I would tie myself too. Many others didn’t.
Not that I would ever complain. Being an omega was an advantage. I would marry well. And no doubt live a prosperous life. One that I was accustomed to. The beta women always seemed to have it much harder. Sure they could marry for love but they would always be stuck right where they were. Nothing more than worker bees. There to serve our alpha lords and masters.
“Its nothing, I am sure Alpha Kaelan….” he shook his head again. As if he was trying to shake the creeping thoughts back out of his head. “I am sure he will be on his best behaviour.” His lined eyes swept over my body. He didn’t need to elaborate. It was pretty obvious what he was nervous about. Me.
“I am sure he will be.”
“Of course.” He nodded his head vigorously. “I worry too much, don’t I? It’s just because you are of the right age now and I worry. I am sure there must be a reason why people call him Outlaw.”
“Outlaw?” I had led a sheltered life, a comfortable one but even I had heard of the Outlaw. The infamous alpha who had risen from the slums of London Town, he would have died there if he hadn’t have been an alpha. As it was he had forged himself an empire. A deadly blood-soaked empire.
The name Outlaw suited him.
“The Outlaw is coming here?” I couldn’t keep the nervousness out of my voice.
“Yes, he wants his story told and he wants me to be the one that writes it.” There was no note of pride in my father’s voice.
“Of course he does.” Leaning down I pressed my lips to his cheek. “You are the best at what you do Papa. Of course, he wants you. And I am sure the stories are exaggerated.” At least I was hoping that they were. Otherwise, the days he spent in our home were going to be the most dangerous of my life.
“Of course.” He agreed with me quickly, almost too quickly. We were trying to talk ourselves into believing our own lies.
Having the Outlaw here was going to be a disaster, and we both knew it.
“Maybe.” I chewed on my bottom lip thoughtfully. “Maybe it would be for the best if I made myself scarce when he is here? Maybe that would be for the best?”
For several long seconds, he just stared at me. And I had never seen anything like the fear in them that I was seeing now. His sigh was loud in the quiet room, even the ticking of the clock on the wall was suddenly silent.
“I think it would be but….” his eyes slowly closed. “He has asked that my family be present. He asked that you be present.”
My father’s words rocked me to my core. There was no way my father could say no to an alphas request. He was only a beta after all. If the Outlaw wanted me present then I would have to be present. There would be no getting out of it.
One way or another I would be sitting down to dinner with the most feared Alpha on the British Isles.
And it terrified me.
***
Maybe it was childish, staring down at the men in the foyer from my hiding place on the first floor, but I didn’t care. I wanted to see this man everyone feared for myself before I faced him over dinner.
And so far I couldn’t see anything particularly special about him. Or the guards that flanked him. If anything he was short for an alpha. Wide through the shoulders but definitely not as tall as I was expecting.
He didn’t look so fearsome. With his sandy blond hair and smooth face.
My eyes swept over the group again, as coats were passed over and greetings exchanged. But it wasn’t the Outlaw that grabbed my attention. It was one of the guards.
He commanded the space around him with an air of superiority that was hard to ignore. He didn’t just look dangerous, he felt it. The very sight of him caused the hairs to stand on end at the back of my neck and over my arms.
Leaning forward further I studied him more closely. My lips falling open. There was just something about him that captured my attention. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling.
His face turned sharply like he could feel my eyes on him, and his chin tilted up as he studied the shadows were I was hiding.
