Working Title: Breeding the Omega (Logan’s story) (will be changed)

Category: NonHuman/Wolf shifter Erotic MMMF Dark Romance

Publication date: Summer 2023

Book cover: Picture from Depositphoto/Design: Ada Stuart (will be changed)

Latest update:

April 10th 2023: At last! The 1.draft is complete and thanks to the outline method I used, I have actually written a complete story of about 60k words. And since this method worked so well I plan to follow every step, which means that I will put the story away for a month before I read it and start rewriting it into the 2.draft. At this stage I usually consult my favourite beta reader and she always finds a ton of errors so you don’t have to. After that, the editing starts, which means that I run it through ProWritingAid and Grammarly, before begging my kind editor to have a look at it. Sometimes I wish AI was more advanced, lol. It’s no wonder it takes me 1,5 years to write these books

Status Feb 2023: Typically enough, this story went really well until the ideas suddenly stopped coming. It’s one of the major drawbacks when I develop my stories while I write them. Typical pantser, some would call it. Anyway, I’ve recently started to use outlines and try to plan my longer stories before writing them. Well, it takes time to learn something new, but I have a good feeling that in the long run, this method will prevent me from rewriting my stories about 5 times – like I have done with this one. Note: I’ve added 3 new excerpts below, but none of them has been fully edited yet.

Status July 23rd 2022: After weeks of editing Jacob’s story, I suddenly had this idea of turning Logan’s story in a much darker direction. And suddenly, the friendly doctor Logan revealed a more dominant behaviour than I anticipated. But I like it so much that I’ve already written 15k or 54 pages, so I’ve a good feeling I would be able to finish this one a lot sooner than Jacob’s story. I’ve included a few new excerpts (apologies for the terribly rough editing – at this stage, I’m more concerned about nailing the plot).

Status Mar 11th 2022: It’s still early, but it feels more right to give Logan a story of his own.

Brief summary:

Not ready yet

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Excerpt 1:

“You will be safe here,” an older woman called Elenor told them as she showed them their new quarters. Apparently she was to be their hostess as her house had enough room to fit several of the omegas from Anya’s pack. The woman seemed friendly enough, but Anya knew from experience that looks could be deceiving. But it was better to play along if her plan was to work.

“Thank you, Elenor,” Anya said smoothly while she helped one of the small omega girls up the stairs.

She watched at Elenor and a few other women guided the omegas to their new rooms, handing out clean clothes. The scent of soap filled the air and Anya glanced quickly to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

“I can’t wait to get a shower,” her best friend Celia said beside her. Small tears were in her eyes.

“Me too,” Anya said and felt a strange contentment of having a full belly for once.

“We made it, didn’t we?” Celia said as if she still wondered if she was dreaming.

“Yes,” Anya said, trying to offer as much comfort as she could. “We really made it.”

But it was impossible to forget all those that hadn’t made it. Those that starved to death. She’d sometimes considered it do be better to have a quick death instead of the gradual decrease of your muscles and body. After their old Alpha had been murdered, their pack had ended up in complete chaos. With no clear descendent, the strongest Alphas started fighting to gain power, leaving the rest of them to fend for themselves while the need for power overruled any other need. Crops were ruined, houses burned down. Only the strongest were able to eat properly before they themselves were killed by outlaws invading their territory.

Eventually, the chaos has transferred to the neighbouring packs and they had turned from pack members to refugees. The survivors had been divided between several packs, but Mooncrest pack had offered to take omegas and beta but no alphas. Families had to make impossible choices about which pack to join.

Anya knew they should be grateful for the offer. The pack was large and prosperous. But she suspected there was a strong reason why they preferred omegas. Not because they feared they would take over the pack, but as breeding vessels. She’d heard rumours that the Mooncrest pack had too many alphas. And judging by what she’d seen so far, the alphas outnumbered them ten to one.

“We have to stick together,” Anya said to the other omegas later in the evening when they were left alone. “No one is allowed to go out alone. You get that?”

“What makes you say that?” Celia said.

“There’s too many alphas in this pack.”

“I like alphas,” one of the younger women said.

“Me too,” another toned in. “I want to settled down and have my own house. This pack is much richer than our old one. They even got their own hospital.”

“They also have a reputation for forcing omegas into reverse harems,” Anya pointed out.

“What’s that?”

Celia gave her a slight nudge. “More than one alpha in your bed, silly.”

The younger one blushed. “Really?”

“I think I would like that. Some of those enforcers are just yummy in my opinion,” one of the older ones toned in, caused a lot of giggles.

Anya couldn’t help smiling. It was good to hear them laughing again. There hadn’t been much time to fun and laughter in the last few months.

“Let’s get some meat on our bones before we start flirting with the guards, alright? Anya said evenly. She didn’t have to add the obvious. ‘Eat while you can.’ Before the Mooncrest Pack changed their mind and kicked them out.

Every woman in the room knew what it meant to starve. To carefully split the food between the family members while spending hours as a wolf to search for prey or anything to eat. Usually the omegas wouldn’t be expected to hunt because of the dangers lurking. But when times were desperate, the danger of being raped or abducted were less than starving to death.

Only six months ago, her life had been quite different. Working in her father’s medical office and talking to patients. She’d been bored and wished for freedom. Their Alpha had been firm and brutal, making everybody fear him. But at least he would ignore you as long as you kept your head down and followed orders.

Until a young man had entered their premises and ended up killing their Alpha before the young man disappeared without a trace. She’d since learned that the young man belonged to the Mooncrest Pack and his name was Jacob. And she also knew that his actions had kick-started a revolt that had been building for a time. Like a kettle about to overheat and the water start spilling to the floor.

Many innocent lives had been lost because of Jacob’s action. Including her father. He’d died protecting her. Giving her the time to run away when a group of rogue alphas had invaded their house. She still heard the scream he’d made as they killed him. It would forever haunt her that she had ran away instead of dying with him. Even if she was only an omega and weaker than the alpha rogues, she might have done some damage to them. She took a deep breath, trying to keep silent as tears ran down her face. It did her no good to cry. No good at all.

“Come here,” Celia said and hugged her. “We made, alright? We survived.”

“Yes. We did,” Anya said and took comfort in her best friends words. After her father’s death, Celia had been the one to bring her back. To keep her level when everything felt as if it went to pieces. To the outsider, Anya seemed like the strongest of them. But in reality, Celia was the strongest, despite her calm exterior.

One of the older women gave them both a comforting hand on their shoulders.

The Mooncrest Pack had been the obvious choice to their weakest omegas. A place where they could prosper and maybe find their mate. But Anya had a different reason for choosing them. A reason she didn’t want to share with anyone else. Not even Celia. She would not understand why Anya felt the need to avenge her father. Avenge what had happened to her pack. It was better that they didn’t know what part the Mooncrest had in their demise.

“What are you thinking about?” Celia asked as if she could read Anya’s mind.

“Nothing. I’m just trying to get my head around how quickly things change.”

“I know. I miss my old room and even the sourly Mrs Jenkins next door.”

Anya laughed. Mrs Jenkins had always had a bad day, particularly when she caught the young ones sneaking into her garden to climb her apple tree.

“We need to focus on what lies ahead, not behind us. I know we will be happy here,” Celia said.

“I hope you’re right.”

Celia gave her a nudge. “Of course I’m right. I always am.”

Anya giggled. “So you try to tell me.”

She hoped it would become a reality. Her friend deserved to be happy. To find a mate and settled down. It was one of the reasons why Anya didn’t want to ruin it for her by giving her information that would ruin her hope. She was on her own in her quest for revenge against the Mooncrest Pack. Jacob had been just the tool. It wouldn’t make a difference to kill him. She wanted the entire pack to suffer. It was a fitting revenge than to only lose one member. But how? She would have to live among them long enough to discover where was their weakest link. What would make them all suffer.

Using Jacob’s tricks to go undercover and live among them to get the justice that they deserved. It was a tasty revenge and right now it was the only thing that kept her going. Kept her moving when it was easier to give up. Still, the end result would make it worth everything. Worth every false smile and thank you that she had to utter as she showed them the image they wanted to see of a grateful but weak omega.

***

Excerpt 2:

Weeks passed. They were fed well and clothed. And two female doctors had examined every one of them and healed their aches. Some of the worst injured had even met the head doctor, Logan, but usually only the female doctors attended to them. Judging by those who’d met him, this Logan sounded like a medical genius. Apart from that they hadn’t met many of the pack’s members. There were guards posted around the exists and all of them were male betas. Occasionally they got a glimpse of an alpha as he gave his orders to the betas.

Most of them had settled down and sat chatting and knitting while the gossip went. The group was a lot more cheerful compared to how they had looked when they arrived. The Mooncrest pack had treated them better than Anya had expected. They had even arranged for them to shift and run as wolves while the beats looked after them.

The biggest excitement these days was what everyone should wear on the upcoming summer festival. Rumours had it that it was a large barbecue and the best place to meet unmated alphas. Anya knew that may of her group also saw it as a chance to find a mate and settle down. She envied them the chance to dream. To believe in a future. It wasn’t a day when she wanted to be like them. To be normal. But she wasn’t. No alpha would want her once they learned of her disabilities.

“Mind if I join you, dear?” Elenor asked beside her, pushing away the negative thoughts Anya was about to enter.

“Please do,” Anya said and slipped sideways to give Elenor room to sit down on the stairs in front of the house.

“Feeling bored again?” Elenor asked and gave her a broad smile.

“Yes. I’m not used to sit around doing nothing all day long.”

“Why don’t you take the chance and get to know the young men?”

“I’m not interested in that,” Anya said with more honesty than she should. But there was no way she wanted to fool the kind woman.

“Is it true that you used to work in an office?”

“Yes. My father always needed help with the computers and the paperwork.”

“Then I might have something that will get you away from your boredom. I’ve checked around and there’s a vacancy over at the enforcer headquarters. They need someone to assist after one of the leading secretaries had to take some time off. Her parents are ill from what I gather.”

“Enforcers? You mean alphas?”

“Is that a problem? They would normally ask for a beta but frankly, I don’t think any of your betas have the spine for it.”

Anya chuckled. “You might have a point there.”

“But you, my dear, remind me of my daughter, Leah. I think you would be perfect for this position.”

“Working alongside alphas. Yeah right.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that. I know your boss really well. Brandon is the eldest son of one of my best friends. one He’s one of the best men we have. He knows how to treat an omega with the utmost respect.”

“He’s mated?” Anya asked hopefully.

“Not any more. He’s a widower. His mate died from a blood infection while pregnant. The child also died. We thought we might loose Brandon too, but our Alpha put him to work as an enforcer and now he’s the boss of the lot. He’s the ultimate gentleman toward omegas. I think you would be safer over there than running across our parking lot.”

“Right. But you said they were looking for a beta?”

“Old-fashioned nonsense. He needs someone who can do the job and stop worrying about omegas or betas. So shall I give him a call?”

“Sure. I would love to give it a try. Besides, Anya knew she would have to stick her head out if she was going to learn what made this pack tick. And what would be the weakest area. Landing her a job in the enforcer headquarters sounded like the perfect spot to gather intelligence.

She heard Elenor’s phone ring twice before someone answered. “Brandon. I have the perfect candidate for you. Shall I send her over?”

“Her?” Anya heard a male voice ask.

“You can never have too many women in your life, Brandon,” Elenor said with a wink in her eyes.

“Sure, Mrs E,” Anya heard him chuckle. “Just send her over in half an hour. My 2 o’clock appointment just found something better to do.”

Elenor nodded at Anya. “I’ll make sure she’s there in half an hour. Thanks, Brandon.”

After she hung up she smiled broadly at Anya. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“I’m not hired yet.”

“But you will be. Why don’t you get yourself ready while I find someone to drive you?”

“Sure. Thanks, Elenor.”

Ten minutes later, Anya hurried out the front door and jumped down the last two steps. Only to come to a complete standstill before she crashed into the large alpha standing beside Elenor.

“Whoa there,” he said as he held on to her shoulder.

Anya quickly stepped back and glared at him, hating the fact that she had to tilt her head far back in order to meet his eyes.

It made his smile broadened even more.

Elenor didn’t seem to notice. “Anya, meet Darius. He will take you to the headquarters.”

“Nice to meet you, Anya,” Darius said in a deep voice that matched his bulk to perfection. But his words contradicted the teasing in his eyes.

Was he trying to flirt with her? Anya hated that every alpha behaved as if they was constantly prowling for their next meal or their next conquest.

“I would agree if he keeps his paws to himself,” Anya said icily.

Darius burst into laughter. “As I recall, you tried to run me down. Not that I disapprove or anything.” He gave her a wink that only confirmed that he was used to women throwing themselves after him.

“Alright. I promise not to knock you down if you can get me to my interview.”

Darius chuckled. “The car awaits, my lady.”

Elenor smiled at Anya and gave her a hug. “I knew you will be perfect to deal with the alphas over at Brandon’s place. Now, don’t let Brandon talk you out of taking the job, okay? He’s very protective about omegas so you just give him hell.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Anya said feeling encouraged by Elenor’s words.

“You will be working at HQ?” Darius asked while they sat in the car.

“If I get the job, yes.”

“I might have to start attending the meetings from now on.”

“Why is that?”

“So I can see you more often.”

“You can stop flirting now, Mr Darius. It won’t lead you anywhere.”

“Is that so?”

“Positive.”

He chuckled softly as he parked in front of a large building. “Just ask for Brandon at the reception. I’ll pick you up later.”

Anya felt more nervous than ever. She slid her hands down her pants as she tried to remove any wrinkles. Then she took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Anya?” She heard Darius call from behind her. She turned.

“Let me know if he doesn’t hire you. I’ll knock some sense into the old man.”

Anya couldn’t repress a small laughter. “Thanks, Darius,” she said. “But I don’t think that would be necessary.”

****

Excerpt 3:

The friendly receptionist directed Anya to the department leader, Mr Brandon. She didn’t know it if was his first name or last name. Most shifters didn’t bother with last names. And this pack was no exception to the rule.

Anya checked the nameplate on the door before she knocked. A handsome and dark haired man in his thirties looked up from his papers and turned his eyes to her. Could this really be the ‘old man’ that Darius had referred to? He didn’t look old at all.

“Mr Brandon?” Anya asked not quite sure she had come to the right office.

“Just call me Brandon,” the alpha said and got up from his chair. Strolling toward her she felt an instant need to back off as she realised just how much taller and broader he was compared to her. He wasn’t as tall as Darius, but still he towered over her. The look in his eyes told her quite clearly that this alpha wasn’t someone you wanted to cross.

Anya forced herself to remain standing, keeping her fear at bay so he wouldn’t smell how nervous she was.

The smile he gave her was one that was meant to calm and reassure an omega that he meant no harm. It was strange how any alpha could ooze the confidence that made her omega wolf want to snuggle against him.

Anya took a deep breath and lifted her eyes and met his. He looked surprised and intrigued that she dared to face him, an alpha. A normal omega would never dare to look directly on an alpha unless he was her mate.

Brandon’s smile broadened. “What can I do for you?”

“Elenor sent me. She said you needed someone with office experience.”

“You’re Anya?” He looked surprised as he combined her name with her person.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“She forgot to mention that you’re an omega.”

“Does it matter?”

“I’m an alpha.”

She wanted to snort at his unnecessary statement. As if there was any doubt in her mind about what he was. She lifted her eyebrows as she took in how his shirt clung to his biceps as he ran his fingers through his dark thick hair. It was almost like the shirt was about to rip apart.

Anya nodded even if he was stating the obvious. “Yes, I’m aware of that.”

“We can’t work together.”

“Of course we can,” Anya said firmly. “Elenor said you would be overprotective of an omega but my skills are what matters.”

Brandon sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It looked like something he usually did when he was frustrated.

“No, we can’t, Miss. Look, I’m an… unmated alpha. As are most of my staff and the enforcers we deal with every day. You know what will happen when you go into heat. It wouldn’t be safe for you around here.”

He seemed to wait for her to understand without him needing to spell it out. Great. So much for keeping a low profile. It looked like she would have to tell him why she was safe to hire, or he would never offer her the job. Besides, she had known she would eventually have to give them the truth.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I won’t go into heat.”

He chuckled. “Don’t give me that. I will smell you a mile away, and so will the rest of my alphas.”

Anya sighed, realising there was no other alternative if she wanted the job. She lowered her gaze, pretending to be embarrassed about what she was about to reveal.

“Look, Mr Brandon. I have a… medical disorder. I can’t have heats.” She glanced at him quickly to see if he had heard her.

Brandon stared at her as if her words sounded just as ridiculous to him as they did to her. How many times hadn’t she wished to be completely normal? To join in the conversation with the other omegas when they complained about their heats and how horny it made them. It made her feel asexual. Like a gigantic freak. She’d quickly discovered that the less she said about her lack of heats, the easier it was. She would just nod at the right place and let everyone else have their say about it. Most of them knew about her deficiencies but they rarely mentioned it. It was like it was too embarrassing to bring up in case someone else caught her illness.

“You don’t?”

She shook her head. Wondering if the Mooncrest pack would have kicked her out if they knew from the start. It was one of the reasons that she hadn’t mentioned it when they offered refuge. Without her heat, she wasn’t an asset to any pack. No one knew if she would ever be able to have children since the heats increased the chances of becoming pregnant, leaving her practically barren. Her father had always told her that it might change when she met her fated mate, but she figured he only said so to keep her from disparing. Even if she didn’t want a mate and children right now she still wanted to have it one time in the future. For an omega, that meant she was more a liability than as asset.

“Never?”

Anya knew she looked just as embarrassed as she felt. She didn’t want to spill her medical deficiencies to her future boss, but for once it could work in her favour.

“I’ve never had one, no. And I’m 22, so it’s not because I’m too young. My father was a doctor, but even he couldn’t figure it out.”

She glanced at him. His eyes showed compassion she didn’t want. Didn’t ask for. In fact, she hated when people considered her weak because she could never fulfil the one purpose every omega was supposed to do. Her father had invested hours upon hours to find a solution to her problem, but even he had come up blank. Except for his theory about her fated mate.

Brandon cleared his throat as if his thoughts had went places she didn’t want to them go. Many alphas considered her fair game and an sex toy when they realised she was barren. Despite his handsome appearance she had no intention of giving him anything more than her what any other co-worker would.

Brandon cleared his throat again. “Have you asked Doctor Logan?”

“No.”

“He’s something of an expert in the medical field particularly about omegas. I can get you an appointment if you want.”

“Thanks, but I’ve come to terms with never having children. I’ve accepted it. But since I can’t contribute as a usual omega, I want to do what I can do. That’s why I would really like this job.”

Brandon eyes seemed to turn sad, as if her words reminded him of something he wanted to forget. Then she remembered Elenor’s words about the loss of his mate and his unborn child. She hoped he would be more understanding about why she really wanted a job. Needed it. Anything would do to let her take her thoughts away from other things in her life. Things that could never be fixed no matter how much she wished for them.

“Anya. You don’t have to work. We all know what your pack went through. No one will think twice if you want to stay with the other refugees and build your strength.” Despite the compassion in his voice he was being up front with what everybody thought about them. What everybody wanted to ask but never did.

He didn’t use the term ‘Omega house’, but he might as well. Everyone knew that was what they called them. The unfortunate. The ones that had been taken in and shown mercy just because they were considered too weak to prove a problem to them.

She stiffened even if she knew the question was to be expected. She had to sound sincere. “I can’t mate, so I want to contribute to the pack by working. To do something useful instead of wallowing in old history.”

“Do you have any prior experience with office work?” Brandon asked finally turning the conversation into safer territories.

“Yes. I’ve worked at my father’s office for years. I’m familiar with both spreadsheets and accounting. Whatever was needed to keep his office floating.”

“Sounds good. Most of the omegas trying to get a job here only want to snatch the next alpha. How can I know you won’t do that?”

“I don’t like alphas.”

“You don’t?” He seemed to smile at her words.

“Pardon my upfront approach, but I don’t need an alpha to rule my life. I want to earn my own money and save so I can live of the interest when I become too old to work.”

“You don’t want to find a mate?”

“You can’t survive on dreams. I know what it means to starve, to lose everything. I never want to go back there.” She knew she was more up front than was wise but it was important that he understood how important this job was to her. How much she needed the independence. The security.

“Alright. I have a feeling that I might regret this, but you’re hired.”

“You won’t regret it.”

“That remains to be seen. But if I ever sniff the faintest trace of heat you’re staying at home until it passes. You got that?”

His voice was so commanding. Her omega wolf made her lower her gaze as she felt a shiver of anticipation inside her. He was a typical alpha. Making common words sound like commands. She loved it and hated it at the same time.

“Yes, Mr Brandon.”

“Good. Remember that, or I’ll personally kick you off the premises. We have a large number of alphas working in the building, and an omega in heat will cause mayhem.”

“I won’t cause any problems,” Anya assured him. He really had no idea how useless it was to warn her. There was no reason why her body would suddenly change no matter how many handsome alphas were near.

He chuckled, looking even more handsome as his face turned into a smile. “I hear you, but I’m not entirely convinced. You just let me know if any of the other alphas are bothering you.”

“I will, Sir.”

“Since you claim to not like alphas I should perhaps warn you that most of our staff are in fact alphas.”

“I can deal with that.”

“How do you plan to get here?”

“I can walk. It’s not far.”

“It’s not safe enough. I’ll have someone pick you up around 8 tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

He walked around the desk and Anya jumped up from the chair. She noticed how his eyes moved down her figure as if he was weighting her chances of survival.

She lifted her chin in a defiant stare, wondering if he was testing her. Had he already changed his mind about hiring her?

“You’ll do,” he said and gave her a slight nod. “Let’s do a small tour while I explain your tasks.”

She followed him as he escorted her around the premises. Greeting all the colleagues that they met while he gave her a quick introduction. Anya tried to keep up but the amount of details was soon a lot more than she could take in. Luckily most of the regular tasks were known by several of the other staff members and a beta called Susie was given the task to tutor her.

Later as Brandon escorted her to the front desk he looked around as if in doubt of who to hand her over to.

“Where’s Elenor? I thought she was waiting for you.”

Anya recognised Darius coming toward them. “She delegated the task to this gentleman.”

“Brandon,” Darius said and grinned. “I thought you would never let her go.”

“You’re her guide?” Brandon looked as if he’d tasted something sour. “Elenor is too trustful these days.”

Darius laughed. “I’m completely tame and Elenor knows it. Besides, Anya has already made it clear that she’s the boss.”

“Has she now?” Brandon said as he glanced at Anya as if he tried to figure her out. “Tomorrow, one of the betas will drive you, Anya. I will make sure of it.”

“You don’t trust me, Brandon?” Darius asked with a grin.

“I know you. She doesn’t.”

Anya didn’t bother to ask what Brandon meant. An alpha was always an alpha. Hunting and conquering everything in sight. It was their nature, and it made her no good to forget it.

“Good luck with your job,” Darius said as he dropped her off.

“Thanks, Darius,” she said as she caught the wink in his eyes. He could flirt until his face turned blue. It wouldn’t do him any good. But the job would provide her the cover she needed to get on with her assignment. The Mooncrest pack had no idea that they had invited the enemy to live among them. But they would learn soon.

To be continued…