Blooming Obsession

  Copyright

  Pink Horn Press

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  BLOOMING OBSESSION

  Alpha Auction: I

  Copyright © 2019 Keiryn L. MacClain

  Cover Art Copyright © 2019 Keiryn L. MacClain

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  ASIN: B07YYQVQLV

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  Edited by Keiryn L. MacClain

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  eBook License Notes

  You may not use, reproduce, or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

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  Warnings for Sensitive Readers

  Please note that this book contains graphic sex. This manuscript is intended for readers who are eighteen (18) years of age or older. Please note that themes of sex and unequal relationships are explored. Sex in this volume includes masturbation, anal penetration, rough sex, knotting, alpha/beta/omega (ABO) dynamics, and more. If any of these themes may be disturbing to you, the author encourages you not to continue reading.

  Other Books by Keiryn L. MacClain

  The Demon's Daddy

  Billionaire's Debt (available now on Amazon)

  A Sinful Gamble (available now on Amazon)

  A Demon Scorned (available now on Amazon)

  Trial by Fire (coming soon)

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  The Demon's Daddy Extended Universe

  His Wicked Lust (available now on Amazon)

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  Sunchaser

  Sunchaser: Part One (available now on Amazon)

  Sunchaser: Part Two (available now on Amazon)

  Sunchaser: Part Three (coming soon)

  Sunchaser: Part Four (coming soon)

  Sunchaser: Part Five (coming soon)

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  Alpha Auction

  Raine & Gerik

  Blooming Obsession (available now on Amazon)

  Budding Omega (coming soon)

  Blossoming Onward (coming soon)

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  Where Casts are Forged

  A Cast for Your Heart (coming March 31, 2020)

  Dedication

  For my husband.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Blooming Obsession

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  What's Next?

  Blooming Obsession

  This was . . . well, it wasn't going to be the best end to his day. Raine was sure of that much. But at least he'd get to meet up with some friends, and after the week he'd been having, he really needed some time out of his home. Wanted? Not really. Needed? Probably. He had to look at it in a positive light, or he'd hole up in his house and refuse to go anywhere but work.

  Time around other people might help him work through some of the things the doctor had said when they'd met earlier that afternoon, too. Even though all he wanted to do was curl up in his nest and sob, he had to make himself continue forward. He had to push onward with his life.

  Still, doing just that much was going to be so, so hard.

  "How many heats have you spent with a rutting alpha?" Dr. Fisk, an omega like Raine, had asked him. He was an older man, tall for an omega, with pudge around his middle and thin, graying hair atop his head. Despite his age, though, he didn't wear glasses, and he carried himself with pride.

  Of course he would, Raine remembered thinking. He makes more money than I do. "Seven."

  Dr. Fisk had made a derisive sound, unimpressed. "You should have conceived by now."

  "Yeah," he had whispered, twiddling with the ends of his long-sleeved shirt. Inspirational posters lined the walls, as did reproductive charts. Models of omega reproductive organs covered the counters, and Raine wanted to scream. He hated the way they seemed to stare at him. I should have.

  His doctor had peered over the clipboard at him, frowning. "The tests we've run have all come back normal. No issues. You have eggs, and they're very likely fertile. We haven't seen any abnormalities in their development, and your heats and periods are consistent and on-schedule, from what you've told us. You should be able to conceive."

  The entire time Dr. Fisk spoke, Raine couldn't help wondering whom we referred to. Was there more than one doctor? Was there a whole team looking at his eggs? He didn't know.

  "Omega males have been shown to have a more difficult time reproducing," the doctor had continued.

  Yeah, Raine knew that.

  It was one reason he'd started seeing Dr. Fisk—a fertility specialist—five years ago. This was the only way he was going to get pregnant. He'd done everything his doctor had told him to, though, and still no pups. Nothing had worked so far. Spending heats with rutting, unmated alphas—generally frowned upon, but not uncommon—hadn't worked. He should have gotten pregnant after the first attempt, but he hadn't, so he'd tried again and again and again. He'd tried for almost two years.

  He wasn't the only omega attempting to get pregnant without actually having a mate, but he was one of the few who hadn't succeeded. The Internet was absolutely full of happy, single omegas praising the alpha compound's Potential Unclaimed Parents program, or PUP.

  "Do . . . you think I have any chance?"

  His doctor had exhaled through his nose. That had been one of the heaviest sighs Raine had ever heard in his life. "Possibly. An alpha prime would be ideal, likely your best chance, but if ruts aren't working, you'll want to consider being claimed. Fertility has been shown to increase for claimed omega males."

  That was the note the doctor had left him on, and he hated it. He hated the thought of having to be filled with cum in an artificial environment only to have the semen not take yet again. Dr. Fisk was right about one thing, though. Being claimed, having a mate . . . that would help him.

  And he knew deep down that he wanted a mate. He just hadn't wanted to deal with the auctions yet. But it wasn't like he was getting any younger. At thirty-one, he was guaranteed to be a few years older than most of the alphas being shown.

  But if he decided to avoid the auctions and stay unclaimed any longer, he would need to get access to alpha prime semen—if he could even get it at his age. Alpha primes were rare, and worse still, their semen was very, very expensive. Alpha prime semen might work in an induction, but . . .

  Raine knew from previous discussions with his doctor that he was too old. No insurance company would authorize the potential waste of such premiere semen on him, especially since he'd proven in the past that he struggled to get pregnant. Sure, he could liquidate his assets and buy some outright, but without a claiming bond, what was the point? There was no way to tell if he would become pregnant from just the semen without a bond.

  It wasn't worth the hoops he'd have to go through, either, and by the time he was approved, he might not even be able to conceive from age alone.

  Long-term, he wanted someone with him, to help him raise his pups. He knew that deep down. Mating with the rutting alphas had been his attempt to figure out if he could even get pregnant, and had proven he couldn't. Not without a true mate and a claiming bond.

  Raine exhaled slowly as he worked through the problem in his head. Logically, he knew it would be cheaper to just try and get his hands on alpha prime semen, but his heart screamed that he wanted more than just a pup without an alpha. He wanted a mate.

  So . . .

  Auctions it is.

  The decision was enough to make him lean against his dresser, eyes closed. He'd decided. Somehow, that seemed to help. The burden felt lifted from his shoulders. Regardless of what happened next, he'd fight. He'd do everything in his power to build the family he'd wanted his entire life.

  Raine lifted his head and inhaled slowly, following his therapist's suggestion at fighting off rising anxiety.

  A family . . .

  The first step was just finding the right mate. Then he could explain his circumstances and go from there.

  For now, though, he needed to get going. Ashlynn and the others wouldn't wait for him all night.

  He adjusted his gray cashmere sweater and fiddled with his curly blonde hair for a few seconds, delaying the inevitable. Leaving the house wasn't a problem, but Ashlynn was recently claimed and bonded.

  She had won her alpha's affections at an auction the previous month, and the two of them had spent a great deal of the time afterward forging and strengthening the claiming bond. They had very likely spent most of that time having sex, which meant . . .

  Raine wasn't envious, not really. He knew he would make a wonderful mate for the right alpha. The issue, though . . .

  He rested his hand over his lower stomach, over where his womb was.

  After a deep, shaking breath, he squared his shoulders, grabbed his gray pea coat and black scarf, and headed out into the biting winter night.

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  The restaurant they were meeting at allowed families of all types, and in a society that segregated alphas from the rest of the population the majority of the time, that was rare. A notice on the door gave warnings to unwary omegas who might enter. It stated that there was a good chance alphas were inside.

  All alphas in the restaurant, though, were mated. They wouldn't be affected by the overwhelming scent of omegas around them, not if their claiming bond had taken properly.

  The cold wasn't the reason Raine shivered as he stepped into the foyer and inhaled a mixture of ripe, rich odors. Scents clung to the air, thick and warm and inviting. Most were from various omegas, sugary sweet with a healthy underlying current of fertility and purring affection. Okay, well, the odors didn't purr, but the mixture reminded Raine of when he'd been a child and snuggled close to his best friends and how they would all purr and coo at one another.

  They all used to curl up on the couch under a bunch of blankets. It had been a sort of makeshift nest. None of them had really been able to scent well back then, but that didn't matter. Content with their mishmash of scents, they had purred until they fell asleep while their parents talked shop or made connections with important people. He longed for the pack he'd grown up with, but more and more, packs were frowned on among older omegas. They weren't illegal, but as an adult, it was expected that he wouldn't need a pack anymore.

  That didn't stop him from still wanting one, though. His omega whined quietly at the need for someone else to share his space, and Raine reminded it that, yes, they would have a mate soon. Not a pack, but a mate.

  The reminder helped.

  Among the rich, warm stream of omega scents in the restaurant, though, he caught a hint of spice and something sharper, something more aggressive and bitter. It stood out like a stubbed toe.

  He huffed softly, the shiver the scent caused tugging goose bumps up along his arms and the back of his neck. The shiver rolled further, over his scalp and down his temples to his jaw and throat. His scent glands even seemed to feel it, and he drew his coat tighter, glad for its warmth as the door behind him opened. A group of omegas and betas walked in and stomped a light dusting of snow from their boots.

  Raine swallowed as he approached the maître d' and said, "I, uh, have a reservation. Under Ashlynn Charlston."

  The maître d' hummed and flipped through his reservation booklet, likely for show, since the restaurant wasn't all that crowded. The group at Raine's back chatted idly, their voices and rough laughter carrying.

  "Ah, yes. The other members of your party are waiting. Right this way," he said, grabbing a menu and a pamphlet of the specials before leading Raine through a maze of tables covered in white tablecloths and shimmering silverware.

  Wine glasses glittered under the dim light from the chandeliers overhead, and Raine rubbed his arm absently as he was led to the back, where a large group was seated around an enormous round table. A few chairs were still open, signaling that he wasn't the last to arrive.

  Among the usual group, Ashlynn was easy to spot. Her long, dark hair was tightly curled and had fresh highlights, and she wore a lovely pantsuit with soft cream embellishments. Her dark skin practically glowed, and Raine relaxed as he inhaled her familiar coconut scent.

  Ashlynn beamed and stood when she spotted him, opening her arms to pull him into a tight embrace. "Rainy! You made it!"

  He hugged her back, relief washing over him when she scented him lightly to help ease the stress of being around so many people. Raine might have known most of them, but he certainly didn't know all of them.

  Up close, her scent was warm and thick, reminding him of the beach and a pina colada. Fruity with a hint of coconut and, oddly, lime. It was a refreshing scent tinged with the sweetest flavor of all: excitement and pride.

  This wasn't just any dinner, after all. She had invited all of her friends out to introduce them to her new mate.

  Raine pulled away and beamed at her, clutching her hands. "Congrats, Ash!"

  "Thank you," she replied, grinning so wide her face had to ache, but she was practically vibrating from excitement.

  Ashlynn was a little taller than him with a welcoming personality. Her eyes were a lovely shade of pale brown, almost gold, and Raine couldn't help but smile at how radiantly her skin glowed.

  Of course it glowed.

  She'd just spent the last month being claimed and knotted by her new alpha.

  And that wasn't all.

  He smelled it before she announced it, though he was sure the others all smelled it on her as well. Maybe not the betas in their group, but the omegas definitely would. He'd have to be scent-blind not to notice.

  Pregnancy.

  He squeezed her hand again, and Ashlynn beamed before she turned toward the table. "I've ordered some appetizers and drinks already. Did you want something other than tea and water?"

  "Nah." He usually didn't drink, especially not before heat.

  Raine released her hand and waved to the others as he headed toward his seat.

  A few of the others raised their glasses in greeting. He recognized the majority of them. Omegas like Glen, Harold, and Sophie were interspersed with a few betas he'd met before, Alan, Richard, Elliot, and Jace. Of the group, there were only three people he didn't recognize: two omegas and one hulking alpha.

  The alpha smiled from where he sat. Unlike the omegas Raine knew, he didn't stand or offer his hand, just gave a calm, wordless greeting. He had red hair and brilliant hazel eyes rimmed in green. Tortoiseshell glasses smoothed the sharp lines of his face a little. Like most alphas, he was broad in the chest and shoulders. Patches covered his scent glands, and Raine forced himself to look away.

  Staring was impolite.

  He'd met other alphas before, of course. This wasn't even the first time he'd had dinner with one. The difference was, not many of their omega mates had been pregnant yet. Even though he was genuinely happy for her, Ashlynn's pregnancy was like a slap in the face. The turmoil of emotions inside him was difficult to reconcile. He wanted to be thoroughly happy for her, not have the moment tinged by his own burning envy.

  Raine found a seat far from the alpha, trying to keep his distance for his own sanity. He loved Ashlynn, and he found her new mate—Aden—to be rather charming and funny, but he just . . . needed the space. Being close to an alpha like that . . .

  He wasn't sure how well he could handle it with the fertility boosters he was on. He wore scent patches made for alphas, just as a precaution. The drugs he was on enhanced his scent, and the last thing he wanted to do was seem like he was trying to woo the alpha. Even though it was very likely that Aden was entirely obsessed with Ashlynn, there was no guarantee. Claiming bonds were strong, but they weren't flawless.

  Once everyone had arrived, the waiter, a beta, came by to take orders and remove menus. Talk at the table was, of course, mostly focused on Ashlynn and her mate. That wasn't unusual, and Raine enjoyed celebrating with his friends.

  Glen bumped his shoulder and gave him a small smile as the conversation broke into smaller groups. He was tall for an omega with dark hair cropped short and rich brown eyes. His skin was rich and warm, and he smelled like apple cider on a warm night. Tonight, he was dressed in gray slacks and a deep blue sweater.

  "Haven't seen you in a while."

  "Yeah," he admitted with a weak laugh. "Things have been busy at work."

  As a nurse anesthesiologist, he worked odd hours. He worked in the ER, so a lot of his cases came in whenever there was a major accident or a shooting. His phone was on him at all times, and he touched it idly as he tried not to think of being called into work.

  This wouldn't be the first time a social event was interrupted by his job, but that was just part of doing what he did. He made good money, and he was confident in his abilities. Raine loved his job. He enjoyed the high-pace environment, the challenge, and the fact that it was always different, so the odd hours had never really bothered him all that much.

  "Yeah, isn't that the way of it?" asked Glen with a soft sigh. "How are things otherwise? Any luck?"

  "No, not yet," he said, glancing away. Raine was in his early thirties and one of the few unmated omegas at the table. Most of the others had families, too, which only made the pang in his heart worse.