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‘’Alpha, won’t you join us?’’ Beta Miss Dorea Black entreated. “Lord and Lady Potter have invited us to enjoy the rest of the evening in the upstairs' parlour and relax a bit before leaving. I believe Charlus would like another game of Gobstones with you.”
Alpha Lord Arcturus Sirius Black shook his head with a lazy smile; pulling Dorea into the crook of his shoulder so she could have another whiff of his comforting scent before she followed after her Mate.
Those who considered Betas merely a leftover designation with no sharp scents or instincts were completely erroneous.
Betas were the balance between Alphas and Omegas and what held the Pack together.
A Black Beta, in particular, was powerful and vicious and only a fool would underestimate one of the three Betas Mother Magic bestowed upon his family; Dorea, Cassiopeia and Lycoris.
“Why would I go through the trouble I when we know the outcome? Your Charlus will lose no matter how much he tries.” Smugness dripped from every word that left his lips.
Alpha Arcturus wasn’t conceited, but he knew his worth. No one could beat him when it came to strategy.
He watched with amusement as Dorea rolled her eyes but rubbed her cheek against his neck scent gland anyway.
As the Alpha Lord of the Black Pack, it was his duty to fortify the Bond regularly and remind every stranger of the dire consequences that would befall them if they harboured the absurd thought of harming a member of his Pack.
Dorea tossed her head back and grinned idly, reminding him once again why she was his favourite cousin. “Are you perhaps looking for a chance to corner the lovely Lady Peverell?”
Arcturus raised a brow coolly. “For a Beta, you are way too curious my dear cousin. I see that you started developing some of the Potters’ main traits after finding your Mate among them.”
Dorea bared her neck and tried to look suitably chastened by her Alpha. The glint in her silver-grey gaze, however, told another story. “I would never do something as wicked as probing you, My Alpha,” she said demurely. “As your Beta, it’s my privilege to look after you.”
Arcturus rumbled and tightened his hold.
Getting to meet Omega Lady Peverell was the main reason he left the Black Pack Manor and insisted to accompany Dorea to this dinner invitation.
He knew that the Potters would never harm Dorea now that she was part of their Pack. Her Bonding Ceremony with Charlus would take place in seven days during the Full Moon and his Mating Bite would mark her neck for all to see.
Even though it saddened him to see her leave the Pack, he found comfort in the knowledge that she would be cherished and loved till the end of time.
The love of a Mate was what every Wixen yearned for since they presented at the tender age of fourteen.
Dorea was a highly skilled Healer. She had been trained by his mother, Omega Lady Hesper Gamp Black since she showed her interest in the noble art.
She had established herself as one of the best in St Mungo’s and he expected many great achievements from her in the future.
It was what led to the first meeting with her Mate, Beta Master Charlus Potter.
After an unfortunate accident during a Quidditch match, he was ushered to St Mungo’s to receive the appropriate medical care.
There, he met Beta Dorea, his fated Mate.
It was where he met his as well.
Arcturus was back from a trip to France. He visited the members of his Pack that resided there to make sure they were faring well and renew the Bond with them.
Being chosen as the new Alpha since the age of seventeen—an exception among the most blessed Wixen—he had always taken his duty seriously.
When he presented earlier than his peers, his father, Alpha Lord Sirius Phineas Black knew that his successor was remarkable.
After he reached his Magical Maturity, his inner wolf rebelled against the notion of submitting to another.
Sirius understood that it was time for him to step down and let the younger Alpha handle Pack’s matters.
Everything in Arcturus’ life was going smoothly as it gravitated around his Pack’s wellbeing...Everything except the smell of an Omega he couldn’t take out of his mind despite never meeting her before.
The day he visited Dorea in St Mungo’s after his long absence was the day he found what he had been missing all his life.
He growled, barely able to keep his fangs in his gums, as her scent teased his senses and filled him with pure, molten longing.
It was the prized, desirable scent for so long unsought presented to him at last and making his inner animal taste home.
A shock of memories went through him, the sounds of a little, helpless Omega pouring her heart out to him as she mewled pitifully while tears of mourning and despair ran down her alabaster cheeks.
He knew her, he remembered her from another time…
As the haze of the scent that wrenched a chuff—a sound typically reserved for Pack members—from his throat subsided, he was confronted with her delicate form silhouetted against the glow of light coming from the large windows.
His intent gaze slid to her neck, where her most potent scent gland was hidden carefully under layers of fine, Mulberry Silk he resented with passion and a new tension invaded the muscles of his arms and chest as if he was struggling with an impulse too powerful to resist.
His inner animal wanted her too much for anything else to matter.
Embered need spread inside him for the first time, as if his bloodstream had been filled with sparks when he recognized his imprint in her.
Somehow, their scents had merged.
It did not make sense at all, but Arcturus knew that he choose her even before they met.
She had always been his, although for how long he did not know.
The ethereal creature was the Omega his creature wanted; the only female who would carry his bite and his pups.
That afternoon, in the most unexpected of places, Alpha Lord Arcturus Black met his Omega.
What he did not foresee, though, was how elusive and willful she would be.
Omega Lady Hollis Peverell compelled him to pursue her for months using every opportunity and every trick to torture him.
He had to trail her scent and sustain himself with the knobs she offered.
However, it wasn’t enough, not even close.
As an Omega, she was to be doted on and cared for at all times. But as Omega Peverell, she had every right to demand reverence and respect.
No one had heard a whisper from the oldest magical family in Britain until Omega Hollis appeared one day and introduced herself as The Potters' cousin.
Of course, no one dared question her claim. One look at her Ladyship ring was sufficient.
To Alpha Arcturus, it made little difference.
He would have wanted her no matter which family she belonged to as long as her smell called to his creature for he would never settle for anything less than a True Mate.
The months he spent pursuing her helped him weave multiple theories that elucidated the desire that poured upon his heart, the visceral need to have her by his side.
It explained why he felt his chest tighten at the mere whiff of her extravagant scent.
Because they had met before, they were always meant to cross paths again.
A small smile twisted Alpha Arcturus' lips as the chimes of the cloak reminded him of what he intended to do.
He clasped his gloved hands behind his back and walked lazily toward the open balcony, taking the stairs leading to the garden.
The night breeze carried her scent faithfully and somehow, he knew she was waiting for him.
He navigated the shadows of the exotic trees Beta Lady Euphemia Potter seemed so fond of.
By the time he reached the water fountain at the heart of the garden, her scent had driven him to the brink of insanity and beyond.
Only his ingrained self-control helped him hold on to his composure.
He had no idea how much time had passed as his hungry eyes took their fill of her, luxuriating in the soft keening that left her throat.
No wonder she had noticed him for he knew that his scent was filling the air.
She was beautiful the way fire and sunlight were beautiful: warm and glowing and sweet.
The sight of her dealt him a famished, hollow feeling.
She was everything he had missed in his life, every hope and every need.
Unknowingly, he took his gloves off and let them drop to the soft grass, baring yet another scent gland and making his intention clear.
“Omega Hollis,’’ he growled. “Aren’t you tired of this chase?”
Her face was pink, her lips slightly puffed as she adjusted the soft scarf around her mating gland with a trembling hand, letting it slid an inch lower.
“Alpha Arcturus,” she purred. “Yet again, you found me.”
He tried to imagine what his life would be with this subtle, incandescent creature and came short.
He filled his lungs with air and exhaled slowly. “I would never let go of you, Omega. You are all that I want,” he rumbled without hesitation, taking another step closer.
Omega Hollis lifted her eyes to him and he read the longing and resignation in the verdant depths.
“Even more than the Omega you chose in your past life?” With adroit grace, she ducked beneath a branch and wandered two steps further.
The flirtatious reprimand caused his pulse to leap.
His Omega wanted to play and who was he to deny her some pleasure?
Captivated and inflamed, he followed at her heels as she walked between rows of orchids.
‘’You know the answer to that,” he laced his voice with the will and power only an Alpha could channel. “Our past life didn’t treat us fairly. You are here now and you are mine. It’s all that matters.”
Amusement curled through her voice as she took her scarf down, not paying any heed to his hungry growl. “Are you mine as well, then?” she purred and he caught her from behind, lowering his mouth to her neck without touching the sweet-scented skin.
“Do you have any doubt, Omega?” he said gruffly and grazed her skin with the tips of his protruding fangs.
She arched a little, leaning back against him and giving him full access to her swan-like neck, her flesh fully yielding to him.
He could feel the yearning in her, the way she shivered at his touch as the scent filled him to the bone.
His heart ached for the day she would wear his Mating Bite and sleep in his arms…
The day she would belong only to him.
Closing his eyes, he pressed his jaw gently against her dainty ear.
A half minute passed before he could find his voice. “Is my wait over, Omega Hollis? I gave you all the time you needed to adjust and regroup. Be mine. Be my Omega.”
He pulled her against him and she pressed her cheek against the exposed part of his neck, where his scent glad throbbed.
Feeling the way she trembled, he cuddled her closer. “You are safe now. You will always be safe with your Alpha.”
She chirped against his chest and one of his hands cupped the sides of her face.
A needy purr escaped her lips as his lips strayed down her throat, nuzzling against her mating gland.
He worked his way down her neck, seeking the frantic throb of her pulse.
His broad, hard palms slid up and down her arms, soothing gooseflesh, while his teeth closed gently against the tender skin without breaking the surface.
The tip of his tongue touched it lightly, soothing and lessening the shock to her senses.
“We will celebrate Dorea and Charlus’ bonding first and the next Full Moon, you will wear my mark, my Omega.” His voice brokered no argument as he buried his face into her neck.
His stomach turned light as if he was on a garden swing, soaring a little too high when she ran her cheek against his, rubbing their skins together and making their scents one.
At that moment, the world was nothing but silvery moonlight and sanctified stars and heavenly perfumes carried by his Omega.