The Artist

Chapter 7

Cass-

I had been prepared for tears. Our first mating had taken me by surprise with its intensity. It had been stellar, epic. Those were not the reasons for Henley’s tears. Even with my knot deeply anchored in her womb, and my claim staked, she tried to reject me. Quietly sobbing as she internally reached for an Alpha, that was not me. It hurt, a cold reception after the intense heat was simply unacceptable. Especially knowing she’d enjoyed it as well. I pulled her body closer to mine. Petting and purring as I spoke softly to her. Henley didn’t reciprocate. She only tried to pull further away. There was only so much disrespect I was willing to take from my mate.

“You are mine, Henley.” I reminded her as I looked down at her neck. The newly marred flesh needed cleaning. “You will accept me as your rightful mate,” I told her as I tried to soothe her.

“You’re a thief and a devil.” Henley whispered, “you stole another’s claim. You’re nothing to me.” I bristled at her accusation, immediately defensive and angry by her low opinion of me.

“I took you by right, Omega.” I barked at her. The sound alone should have made her subdued. Instead, Henley stiffened, her will intended to challenge me.

“Your claim is bullshit, and you know it.” She hurled her venomous words at me.

“I know my knot is buried deep in your body. I know it’s the first your tight cunt has ever had.” I said as I pushed my hips deeper, reminding her of that fact. “And I know you wanted it, all of it Omega. So, my claim is not only valid; it is solidified. You are mine forever.” Henley meant to lie, to deny the truth and facts. I simply would not have it. I growled as she struggled. The instinct she intended to reject peaked in her core, sending its manna flowing around my hard shaft, seeping around me as I called her a liar. The smell and feel of her response to me, her Alpha, set the beast of my instinct wild. With my first knot finally shrinking, I rolled my rebellious mate to her back, pinning and posturing over her. Her damming blue eyes were full of hatred. But they were outshined by lust. And when I called her body again, she lost the fight, briefly. Henley came hard each time I took her. She was unable to fight the need to mate, or the pleasure I gave her. But the second she came down from her pinnacle, the emotional barrier was right back up. Blocking and stonewalling me. Even as my seed and bond flowed in her body, she reached for another. I spent two full days and nights, reminding her that I was the Alpha in her life, that I was her mate.

When she cried herself to sleep again, the morning of day three, I left our tainted nest, and her — finding solace in the bathroom. I cherished her marks on my body, tracing the scratches that I could see — feeling the nail marks on my back, hips, and thighs. The hot water and soap made me aware of every one of them. The red-haired hellcat had taken me with enthusiasm. The memory alone had me hard. I could easily spend another day, balls deep in her physical perfection. I could, however, not take any more of her bitter resentment. The little Omega truly felt that I had stolen her. She believed it with everything she was.

I walked into my office, not surprised to find Jamison in there.

“Damn, you look like shit.” My second said — no trace of humor in his voice or eyes.

“Worth every minute,” I said. “What do you know?” I asked as I sat down at my desk. Jaime chuckled at me. He walked to the far side of the room, retrieving a file from his satchel.

“Ms. Allred is just the way you wanted her. Financially destitute and completely dependent on you.” He said. “She liquidated everything she owned. Gifted them to her assistant and her partner.” I bristled at the mention of the imposter. “She had a back-up plan in case her dynamic was ever correctly identified.” He said, handing me the file. “She’s smart.” He gave her props.

“How so?”

“Besides the fact that she had the perfect cover?” He asked. “She lived as a Beta, publicly, for years. Probably would have died living as one too. Yet the second she’s discovered she gives her entire life’s savings away. Doing it as a gift. Government can’t touch it, neither can you.” Jamie added.

"Meaning?”

“You have no legal rights to any of her assets. Ms. Allred has been identified as Beta. To fight for power of attorney, you would have to prove she is Omega.” I thought about this.

He was right. I only had a legal claim to Henley’s property and assets if she was Omega. She’d lived her entire life as a Beta, had been medically declared one at birth. All her government documents stated she was Beta. I would have a shit storm to fight. Not to mention the fact that Henley would be arrested for perjury. It would appear that Henley would win this battle. We were momentarily interrupted by my housekeeper.

“Good morning, Cass.” The friendly greeting from one of my most loyal staff made me smile.

“Good morning, Inna.” I returned the smile.

“What would you like for breakfast this morning?” She asked as she handed me my coffee.

“I don’t care as long as you have a lot of it.” Inna laughed. I was starving.

“And you?” She questioned Jaime. “Are you ready for more than nuts and fruit?” Jamison’s peculiar eating habits worried the older woman.

“Thank you, Inna, but unlike Cass, I have been up for hours. I ate breakfast when the sun first came up.” My second teased me.

“Was it an actual meal?”

“Yes, ma’am, eggs and milk were involved.” Jaime appeased Inna. She just chuckled as she turned to leave. “Should I expect an extra guest for dinner tonight?” The woman was tactful when it came to my lovers.

“This quest will not be leaving Inna.” I could not stop the surge of pride. The look of surprise was endearing. “I am hoping you can help Henley get accustomed to living here.”

“Henley, that is a beautiful name.” Inna smiled at me.

“She is a beautiful woman. See that she gets checked on this afternoon.”

“Of course, I will call you when breakfast is ready.” She said as she hurried from the room.

I spent the morning catching up on work that I had left unfinished while I tended to Henley. Work that I would have gladly left to slip right back into her body. And while I knew she needed to rest. As did I, the hellcat had left me just as sore as I had her. Even now, she continued to jab at me in her sleep. My pride was taking huge body shots as the little Omega called to the imposter. My bond in Henley’s body had given me interesting and painful access into a mind that was not mine. A fluttering of a thought that was here and gone before I could focus. Unless it was a memory of an Alpha, I disliked immensely. Those thoughts Henley had no problems holding on to. Clear and bright, she spent her time thinking lovingly of him, making me insanely jealous and edgy.

I grabbed the file that Jamison had left on my desk — working my way through the papers. Not entirely sure what I was even looking for. There it was in black and white. The strike my Omega mate had made as she relinquished her body to me. Gifting a small fortune to her friend and ”partner.” The Alpha she’d known most of her life. The one who verbalized his love for an Omega he tried to claim in my home. The bastard had brazenly taken Henley’s neck with his teeth. Desperately trying to anchor a claim, he could not possibly hold without rutting her. Akita Harper, his name, left me seething. The fact that Henley’s obsessive thoughts did not help. I rifled through the information, looking for a loophole, anything, I may be able to use to hurt him.

Unfortunately, Henley was far more intelligent than I gave her credit. She had effectively pinned me into a corner I could not fight my way out of. I erupted out of my chair, heading straight for my home gym. A quick change of clothing found me beating the shit of the heavy bag. Kicking and punching at it with fury. Henley’s transition would not have been entirely smooth. But her misplaced feelings for the inferior Alpha would only make it worse. She would only struggle harder to find her designated station in our world. Even though Henley was fully aware of the laws, living as a Beta had blinded her to the facts. Reminding her would need to be done firmly and promptly. I had waited for years to find an Omega. I would have her settled and pregnant within weeks. I worked out until I was exhausted. Henley’s scratches stung from my sweat. It was an awkward sensation, the marks on my flesh.

She wasn’t the first of my lovers to leave them. It was just the realization that hers meant so much more. I wore them proudly. I’d earned them, and her. I showered and re-dressed, heading back to the main living quarters. I knew Henley was awake. I’d felt her, noting an immediate increase in her foulness. She was restless, angry, and sad — the very opposite of what she should be feeling. I headed back into my office, having already instructed Inna on caring for my mate. I would let the older woman’s gentle attentions soften Henley before I took a far more aggressive approach. Time past as I worked, returning calls, e-mails, and texts. Focusing on things that I had control over. The clock neared five, and I was ready to put this workday to bed. The last of my e-mails were sent, I closed my laptop and headed to the bar for a drink. It was a whiskey day.

“Keep that glass full; you’re going to need it,” Jamison warned as he rushed into my office with a distraught Inna following him.

“What do you mean you are quitting?” I was astonished to hear my faithful housekeeper say this to me.

“I… can’t?” Inna lowered her eyes, looking at the floor. As if she was ashamed of me. “She doesn’t want to be here.” The response her words freed was unavoidable. I turned on a woman I loved like family.

I slammed my fist on the desk. “She does not get that choice. She is Omega.” I snapped. Inna shook, her small body buckled under my outburst.

“We all have the right to choose Mr. Castillo. Mine is to leave. I will not help you victimize that woman.” Inna tried to sound brave, but all I heard was judgment and disappointment. The fact that Inna was addressing me formally was insulting. She hadn’t down this in years.

“She was unclaimed. It is my legal right to take her as my mate.” I bitterly reminded her. “What did Henley tell you?” I demanded.

“Nothing, Mr. Castillo. She doesn’t need to. I saw enough to know I want no part of this.” Inna turned, leaving me holding her apron. I followed her to the door of her quarters. Pissed off and shocked.

“I have broken no laws, Inna. I claimed her as my mate. She will be cared for here.” My housekeeper ignored my truths. The only reply was the sound of items being shoved into a bag, minutes of strange noise as I waited for her to open the door. When it flew open, I was stunned to see Inna in her present state. Utterly and genuinely livid.

“As I am no longer an employee, let me tell you something,” Inna said, shouldering a duffle bag that was bigger than her. “My sister was an Omega. Beautiful, young, and talented. She went through all the requirements, obeyed the laws, all of them. She was allowed to attend college for two years. Two years, that’s all she would be given. After that short time, she was forced into a pair-bond. The agency picked her mate. She didn’t even get a say in who she would be forced to bond with. Do you know what happened to my precious sister, Mr. Castillo?” Inna really wasn’t asking. She was expounding. “She hung herself. Thirty days after she was forced to nest with an Alpha, she felt nothing for. Do you know what her letter said?” Inna’s fire turned to pain, clouding her eyes with her tears. “I would rather die than go through estrous and give him a child I would not love. How could she love a child she’d been forced to bond to?” She bent down to pick up the suitcase. “You have taken something you should have not. That Omega in there is special, she was meant for much more than your unjust rights.” Inna marched to the apartment door. Dropping her heavy load, she walking down the hall to my room. She knocked softly before pushing the door open.

“Ma’am… I… am very sorry for your situation. Please forgive me, If I had known the truth…I.” Inna was crying as she spoke to my Omega.

“What is your name?” Henley ragged voice called to Inna from somewhere in the darkened room.

“Inna Hill.”

“Inna Hill, I have no issue with you. I will leave you uncursed.” Henley assured her.

“Be strong and brave, Omega.” Inna’s tears turned to sobs as she closed the door and ran for her belongings, slamming the front door loudly. I stood there holding an apron looking at Jamie as if I was in a real-life twilight zone. By the look, Jamie gave me he was there with me. What the fuck had just happened? I chucked the apron to my second and barged into my room, finding the Omega sitting on the floor, staring blankly out the darkened windows. She didn’t even have the courtesy to look my way.

“What the fuck did you say to Inna?” I demanded, aware that Jamison had come in as well.

“Henley!” I called her name loudly. She responded, turning hate-filled eyes to burn my skin.

“Nothing master.” She hissed. I was appalled by everything. I growled my disapproval. My claim had taken hold in her being. The sound forced Henley up, resistant, and begrudgingly. She was still naked, turning to face me, us. I trembled at the sight. I’d been rough with her. Henley had forced me to do so. Her will had been too strong. I was unaware of the strength I had used.

“Rape me and be done with it.” She said, showing us her badly bruised body.

“Cass, what the fuck have you done?” My second was appalled by Henley’s physical state. I bristled, embarrassed that my legal claim had been viewed as a crime. Henley would have been ashamed of her nudity if she wasn’t trying to make a point. She wanted him to see her. She tried to make me look like the villain she accused me of being. Henley looked bravely at Jamison.

“Would you like to watch dog; would you like to watch your master use my body? It’s quite a show.” Henley said as she walked to the bed. “He calls to my Omega. She gives him what he wants.” Henley told him coldly. “She takes his knot while he talks to her like a whore. Call to your whore, master. Show your dog what a powerful Alpha you are.”

I blew, roaring my outrage, shaking the room and those in it. Henley’s body trembled as the sound took her being. Muscles locked up as her breathing turned shallow. I was at her side, dominating and reminding her of who I was. “You dare to make me look like a monster in front of my second, and my staff?” I yelled at her. Henley’s scent and nearness sent me wild.

“You are a monster and a thief.” Even with desire taking control of her body, she lashed out at me. My hands moved on their own, taking Henley forcefully, I tossed her on the bed. “Get out.” I snarled at my second, not even waiting for the door to close before I was naked. I pried her legs apart, even though she struggled, running my nose across her bruised and sore flesh. Growling as I breathed in the scent of my claim, and seed that marked her as mine. Henley whimpered as her slick raced towards me. “It’s not theft if you give it to me freely, Omega, remember that.” I did not wait for her words to cut me. I took her hard.