Page 3 of Bubblegum Pop
I was plumping my blonde bob in the large mirror above a waist-high cabinet when I heard footsteps climb the stairs to the room.
Two sets, and a strange tapping noise I couldn’t figure out as I listened closer.
Stevie was chattering away, which I’d never heard him do.
Even if Johnny hadn’t told me it was the rich alpha, I would have known from the powerful energy that seeped through the thin walls. It was the same kind that curled around me when I was on stage.
“This way, please,” Stevie said as they reached the landing. The door swung open, and Stevie stepped back to let him inside.
The rich alpha stood in the doorway, filling the space. Even though he was at least a foot smaller than Stevie, he still dwarfed him with his raw energy. There was nothing about Stevie that could measure up to him; the alpha was above him in every single way. And not only because Stevie was hunched over, his sweaty vest and blue jeans so skinny it was clear he used to be a junkie, especially when he was fidgeting. We called him a rat for a reason.
My breath caught in the back of my throat as I met the eyes of the alpha.
Pure dominance radiated from him, sweeping over me, catching me. My heart froze, veins wired, every sense in my body telling me to fucking run. My hands tightened into balls as his lips curved into a smile, hair rising on my arms at the force of him.
He must have been at least fifty, dressed head-to-toe in black. A fancy suit, a thick wool jacket, black tie, black shoes, black gloves, and a black bowler hat. His cane passed hands, the silver point tapping on the floor, the high sound echoing around the room as Stevie flinched, backing away from him onto the landing while I raised a brow.
All alphas and omegas had auras. It was part of our nature, like a ball of energy that surrounded us. A combination of good genes and training determined how powerful someone was. Alphas used the energy of their aura to suppress or dominate omegas and other alphas, depending on their strength. Omegas could only use theirs to calm alphas, and that was after a bite. Like a biological insurance policy for when alphas went off the rails.
The alpha’s aura grew stronger as he watched me, his energy slowly thickening around the room, like he was testing us to see how much we could take. Stevie lifted a shaking hand to his throat, choking at the force of him, but I didn’t show him anything. I hated when alphas flexed like that.
Maybe my knees shook, my lungs burning, too. He’d fixed his attention on me, expecting me to react, and I wasn’t falling for it.
That’s when my natural talent came into play. Because I was good, better than I let on. The girls knew I could perfume on command, but they didn’t know I used my aura to make the alphas who bought me snap, and they couldn’t control me like they could with the other girls.
Which made the fact I knew I couldn’t escape this man if he chose to hunt me down even more electric.
Ideally, alphas and omegas blended their energy within a pack bond to create a perfect, balanced existence. Though I’d never met an alpha who gave a shit about that.
Omegas with packs, normal omegas, didn’t have to deal with alphas trying to control or manipulate them.
The rich alpha’s presence shook around him like a mirage, smothering everything else. The best thing was, I could feel he was only showing us a fraction of his real strength. And the idea he might release himself on me made my mouth water. Because most of the alphas who came to fuck me, the ones I was actually interested in, only had their brute strength going for them.
I’d never seen such a small alpha, either. I just made five feet, and I swear he only had an inch or two on me. The hat threw me off.
“That will be all, thank you,” the alpha said, his voice washing over me like a warm breeze.
Stevie sneered at me over the alpha’s shoulder. “You better make sure you—”
“I said leave.”
A rush of power suddenly swept the room, strangling us both. Stevie yelled out in shock, the colour vanishing from his skin as I fell backwards. A cry ripped from me as fear plunged deep into my stomach. I thumped against the edge of the cabinet, my other hand firm on my stomach to stop the bile rising in my throat.
What the hell was that?
The alpha twisted his head, his smile gone as he flicked Stevie a look. Ramrod straight, Stevie lurched forward, panic beating from him, his footsteps growing lighter as he shot down the stairs.
Eyes wide, I stared at the alpha. He was too close to the door for me to run, and I wasn’t going to risk fighting him with an aura like that. If I had a knife, maybe I could try it, but the only thing in the room I could use as a weapon was the lamp, and it was too far away for me to get there in time.
I just had to pretend. Keep pretending everything was okay and maybe I could get out of this alive.
Biting my lip, I straightened and pressed my ass and tits out, appearing like I wanted him as I sniffed the air, trying to get a better read on him. But there was nothing there.
Everyone had a scent. It didn’t matter whether they were alphas, betas, or omegas, it was part of our biology. Betas couldn’t usually smell alphas and omegas, though there were lots of stories around about ones who could scent their mates.
Scent blockers weren’t rare, but alphas didn’t really use them. And they proved years ago that long-term use caused cancer. Though, like cigarettes, it didn’t stop people from using them.
Though I didn’t catch the slight powdery tang that scent blockers gave off. There was nothing, which made me even more interested in him, despite the urge to run.