His Defiant Omega's Secret Double Life

Anahi Vargas POV:

"Anahi, the Simon family raised you, and now our Pack is on the verge of bankruptcy. You must go to room 3208 and beg your 'husband', Carson Conley, for his help. I don't care if you have to kneel at his feet, just get his investment! If the Pack falls, the blood is on your hands. Don't be an ungrateful wretch!"

The heavy, guilt-tripping text message from my father, Arthur Simon, glared on my phone screen.

I am Arthur's biological daughter, but my stepmother, Eleanor, despised me. She poured all her love into her own daughter, my stepsister Bridgette, and convinced my father to publicly announce me as a mere adopted orphan to elevate Bridgette's status. Three years ago, terrified of Alpha Carson Conley's ruthless reputation, Bridgette refused their arranged marriage. My family used their so-called "upbringing" to morally blackmail me into taking her place. A secret marking ceremony bound me to a man I never saw again.

Now, they were doing it again. Using the Pack's survival to force me to beg a stranger for mercy.

The metal edge of the keycard dug into my palm. It was cold, unforgiving.

I looked up at the dark, solid wood of the door. Room 3208.

I forced down the humiliation, the resistance coiling in my gut. For the Pack, for the father who only used me, I had no other choice.

I raised my hand and swiped the card.

The lock clicked open with a soft beep.

I pushed the door and stepped inside. The room was pitch black.

A scent hit me like a physical blow.

It was overwhelmingly potent, a dominant Alpha scent that was both sharp and intoxicating. Cedarwood and whiskey. It belonged to Carson Conley, but it was more aggressive than I remembered.

And there was something else woven into it, something unnaturally sweet and scorching hot.

My Omega instincts flared to life. My legs went weak, a fire igniting deep inside me. This wasn't right. The smell was like a chemically induced Heat.

My first instinct was to back out, to run.

But a soft click sounded behind me. The door, caught by a draft, had swung shut and locked.

A tall figure shifted in the darkness, rising unsteadily from a sofa. His breathing was a harsh, ragged sound in the silent room, thick with repressed pain.

He started walking toward me.

Each heavy footstep seemed to land directly on my frantic heartbeat. I could feel his inner wolf, out of control, and it was calling to the Omega in me with a fatal resonance.

"Who?" his voice was a raw rasp, thick and slurred. He was clearly not in his right mind.

Panic seized me. I stumbled backward until my back hit the cold wall. There was nowhere else to go. I couldn't let him know it was me. Our relationship was already fragile. If he found me here, like this, he would see me as nothing more than a despicable tool my father had sent to appease him.

He was in front of me now, his scorching breath fanning across my cheek. His eyes, usually as sharp and piercing as an eagle's, were clouded with a disoriented haze of desire. Ice-blue and lost in a fever.

He didn't recognize me.

Three years, the dim light, and the drugs coursing through his system had completely erased the connection between me and the name on a contract.

My body trembled, caught between fear and the primal pull he was exerting. I lifted my hands to push him away.

The moment my palms made contact with his burning chest, a powerful jolt shot through my entire body. It was the mate bond. My Omega body betrayed my mind instantly. I wanted to resist, to push him away, but his slightest touch sent violent shivers of pleasure down my spine. We were a perfect, terrifying fit.

He let out a low growl, the contact shattering his last thread of resistance. His wolf had taken over.

He lowered his head, not for my lips, but for the curve of my neck. He inhaled my scent, a desperate, frantic action. It was the most primitive way for a wolf to identify its mate.

"Your scent..." he murmured, his voice thick with confusion. "So familiar. Makes me calm."

My heart hammered against my ribs. I was terrified he would recognize me in the next second. I turned my head, trying to bury my face in the shadows, letting my hair fall to hide my profile.

My scent. Jasmine and rain-washed grass.

As his mate, it should have been his antidote. But tonight, it was only fuel for the drug-induced fire.

He stopped speaking. His hot, large hand clamped around the back of my neck, forcing me to bear the weight of his out-of-control kiss.

My mind went blank.

All my struggles were useless against his absolute power and the heightened instincts the drug had unleashed.

His rough hands mapped my curves, and to my absolute horror, I found myself arching into his touch. I was whimpering not just in fear, but in a shameful, intoxicating enjoyment. My body was singing under his possession.

The temperature in the room skyrocketed. Two Heats, both violently forced to their peak, intertwined and burned all reason to ash.

He lifted me into his arms. I could hear his inner wolf let out a satisfied rumble, while mine whimpered in terror and desire.

I gave up.

I closed my eyes as a single tear escaped, disappearing into the darkness.

Only one thought remained.

I had to be gone before sunrise.

He could never know that the star of this humiliating night was his "wife," Anahi Vargas.

As my consciousness blurred, I felt the hard band on his left wrist press against my skin. It was the black wristband that symbolized his supreme, sovereign power.

He seemed to sense my discomfort, even in his haze. With his other hand, he shifted his arm, moving the band away from me.

That small, unconscious act of gentleness made my tense body relax for a fraction of a second.

But that brief moment was swallowed by a more ferocious wave. I lost all control of my own body.

I could only pray. Pray that whoever drugged him would never be found. Because if they were, I would be dragged down with them.

Outside, the city lights sparkled. But inside this presidential suite, a tangled mess of conspiracy and instinct was pushing two people who should have been the closest into a deeper, unknown abyss.