Blooming Obsession Read online

  He'd give anything to have a family.

  Glen was one of the few people in their group who knew what Raine was going through. The other omega was smart enough not to say anything outright, though. Instead, he leaned closer and murmured, "Are things still . . .?"

  Raine nodded, glancing away and shifting uncomfortably. Just because Glen knew didn't mean he was comfortable talking about it right that minute. The ache from the doctor's visit was still fresh, and not just physically, where he'd been checked. That didn't bother him as much, but the emotional blow of finding out that mating an alpha—specifically, an alpha prime—was his only real hope was hard to come to terms with.

  His friend sighed and shook his head, pulling away. For once, though, he didn't seem sad or pitying, just thoughtful. After a little bit, he said, "You know, there's an auction coming up."

  "Yeah, I know. I'm just . . . not sure if it's fair to attend if I can't . . ." Raine trailed off, refusing the say the words outright.

  "Well . . ." Glen pulled out his phone and scrolled through. "I can't go this time, which sucks, but my friend sent me this." He shoved the glowing screen in front of Raine's face.

  Raine wrinkled his freckled nose and peered down at the text message.

  His black eyes widened, and he glanced over at Glen before grabbing the phone, hands shaking. "Is this . . . are you serious? This isn't a joke?"

  "Nope," he replied, grinning. His small canines poked his bottom lip. "I can introduce you two and get you his contact info, if you want. He might be able to give you more information about it. They're more virile, so maybe it would be worth going?"

  Raine nodded, distracted, heart racing.

  The text said that an alpha prime was going to be at the next auction, the auction Raine had been debating attending.

  An alpha prime . . . It was his only chance. Even the fertility doctor had said as much. I can finally have a family.

  First, though, he needed to do some research to see if he even had a chance at winning the auction. If he didn't, there'd be no point. Raine exhaled a trembling breath before finally giving Glen his phone back. He didn't want to separate from it, but for the first time in a long, long time, Raine actually felt hopeful.

  He actually felt like he might have a chance.

  *

  Raine absolutely didn't have a chance.

  He stared at the numbers on the screen, heart sinking.

  The last alpha prime who had gone to auction had been sold for almost one and a half million dollars, and that had been almost five years ago. He couldn't afford that.

  His savings account wasn't empty, but it sure as hell didn't have that much cash in it. He rubbed his hands over his face and closed his eyes, trying to figure out if he had any assets he could liquidate or any cash stashed away somewhere in stocks.

  After a few seconds of thinking, he pulled up his various accounts and started writing out what he could get for everything if he sold it all. If he could get close enough, he stood a small chance of winning the auction.

  "If I could just meet him," he whispered as he scratched away. "I'm . . . I'm sure he'd want to at least talk."

  He wasn't stupid. Raine wasn't a virgin, and a lot of alphas preferred their mates untouched. He'd have to tell the alpha prime, of course, but maybe he wouldn't care. Maybe—

  The scratching of his pen stopped, and he closed his eyes. "Stop it. You're getting ahead of yourself. See what you have first, and then figure the rest out."

  He turned his attention back to the numbers on the screen. Without liquidating his investments, he had about two hundred thousand in savings. He'd been working hard, and he made a good wage. Since he lived alone, most of the money he made was just . . . left untouched. He didn't really need much aside from groceries and stuff for his hobbies. Games, computer upgrades, the like. Everything else either went into savings or investments.

  Some part of him had been saving just in case he decided to attend an auction to find a mate. He'd been putting it off, uncertain how to approach an auction—or an alpha—if he couldn't bear pups.

  But now . . . Now he had a chance.

  It was essentially his only chance, and he had to take it.

  Raine shifted over to his other assets again to check what he could get away with dissolving.

  He frowned. Even if he sold off all his investments, he'd only barely be able to hit the nine hundred thousand mark. He still needed more than that, but it was a start. Most of his investments had been pretty lucrative, which was nice. It just wasn't enough. Not if the numbers he'd seen before were accurate.

  "And that doesn't even account for inflation," he muttered, rubbing his hands over his face, folded knee bouncing.

  Banks rarely gave loans for alpha auctions. Some offices offered loans, but he was leery of getting involved with the wrong crowd—or having to pay back the loans, plus interest. He could always borrow from friends, but even then, he doubted he'd get enough to help him win. His friends were well-off for the most part, but he made the most out of all of them by far. They'd likely gawk at him if he asked.

  He was short almost six hundred thousand dollars if he was just aiming for a million and a half, and there was no way he was going to be able to make that sort of money in the next few weeks. Not without some help, and not without making some serious sacrifices.

  Raine rested his hand over his stomach, thinking.

  He did know someone who could help, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go to his mother. After all, he hadn't spoken to her in months, and asking his mother for money . . . even though she had it, he wasn't sure he'd get it on the terms he wanted.

  His stomach knotted and he leaned back on his bed, staring up at the pale gray ceiling. Asking his mom wasn't exactly what he wanted to do. She could be . . . a lot. Difficult in the best of times. Demanding and abrasive and cruel in the worst of them. She never meant to be, he was sure of it, but she was . . . different from him. They'd never really gotten alone. Raine was more like his father, one of the many, many alphas his mother kept in her harem.

  Still, it was better to try and see what happened.

  He exhaled a shaking breath. "She'll know what to do. I have to ask."

  Hell, maybe his mother would be willing to lend him the money without any strings.

  Maybe, but very unlikely.

  Raine swallowed his pride and grabbed his phone. He dialed the familiar number, one he hadn't ever bothered saving in his contacts list. The dark numbers stared back at him from the screen, and he closed his eyes, trying to come up with any other way to get the money he needed to win the auction.

  Anything else would do.

  Anything.

  Short of going to a loan shark, he couldn't think of any. Crowdfunding for alpha auctions was illegal, and borrowing from his friends was absolutely out of the question.

  "Guess it's you, Mom."

  Fine.

  He'd do this and just owe her. He could manage that. The bitch would probably be dead before Raine ever repaid her, anyway.

  He didn't mean that. Not really. But it helped.

  With a long, weighted exhale, he pressed the call button and turned the phone onto speaker. One thing he despised about making phone calls was holding the phone next to his ear. This way, he felt less invaded, less like the people on the other end of the line were talking directly into his head. It was stupid and probably a bit crazy, but it was the only way he could stand to make phone calls.

  The line rang once, twice, three times, and then a soft click followed by, "Hello?"

  "Hey, Mom," he said, trying to hide the tremble in his voice. "Um, h-how are you?"

  "Which one are you?" she asked, voice hard.

  "Ouch," he muttered, picking at the blanket strewn half across his lap. "Mom, it's Raine. Marik's youngest."

  "Oh, yes. Of course. Well, what is it you want, then?"

  Fertility god Ome, this was not what he wanted to deal with.

  Raine rested his free hand on his stomach and closed his eyes. For our future. I have to ask.

  While he'd shared his difficulty getting pregnant with Glen, he'd never actually told his mother. He spoke to her now and again, less often than with his father, anyway, but he'd never really . . . trusted her. Not the way he should.

  He was one of about a dozen pups, most from different alphas. To her, he was a number—and a disappointment.

  He shoved aside the lies and manipulation, the way she'd tried to force him into a claim bond at eighteen when he just wanted to move on with his life and get the hell out of their house. For my future. For my pups.

  For the only mate who might be able to help him.

  "What is it, child?" she asked, sounding distracted. "No, Marla, not that tile. That's hideous! Do you want me to go blind, you dumb bitch?"

  He shouldn't have been surprised that she was upgrading something and had a contractor with her. His mother was always thinking of her business, after all. Buying alphas, arranging marriages, and selling the alphas to their new spouses for a hefty profit. It wasn't illegal, since she was considered a private auctioneer and had a license to do business. It was rare for her to ever be alone.

  Still, this was not something he wanted to talk about with other people around.

  "Could you, um . . . go to a different room? Where you're alone?"

  "I'm quite in the middle of something."

  Of course. Because Raine could never catch a break. His needs were always less than the needs of his mother. It was how life had always been.

  He ground his teeth together. "Mom. Another room. Please."

  "Don't beg," she replied, sounding put out by his conversation. "And if you're calling just to be so demanding, I have half a mind to hang up on you."

  "Mom. This isn't something I want everyone to know!"

  "Oh, please. Marla can't hear a thing. Poor beta's half-deaf, anyway, and it's not as though your petty little problems are worth anything to her."

  Okay, ouch.

  He rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, trying to keep his voice even, "I need to borrow some money."

  "Why am I not surprised?" she asked, judgment hanging from every pitched word. "That's the only reason you ever call, anyway. Just take, take, take. You know, you might consider calling to ask how I'm doing, or even just to chat about something other than money. I have feelings too, you know."

  "Mom," he growled out, blinking back the sharp tears in his eyes. She always did this. Why does she always do this to me? "Please. I—I just need—"

  "You need?" A heavy sigh rushed through the phone. "Fine, fine. How much do you need this time?"

  It wasn't like he asked for money all that often. He barely ever bothered. Owing his mother wasn't at the top of his priority list, but . . . this was the only chance he had.

  And he knew—he knew—deep down that if his mom found out why he needed so much, she would demand unlimited access to her grandchild if he did manage to get pregnant by the prime. If he even managed to win the auction.

  He inhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down further. It wasn't easy. He only needed seven hundred, but if he had a little more, that would just increase his chances, right? "Eight . . . eight hundred thousand."

  There it was.

  He'd said it.

  "Oh? Is that all?"

  Sarcasm. Lovely.

  "Quite the amount. What are you planning?" she asked, voice chirping at the end as Marla did something she didn't like. "No, no! I said—look at it! It looks like a whore house!"

  For a long few seconds, the call was muffled as his mother ran off to straighten out whatever was happening on the other end of the line.

  His mother was an omega, a rather beautiful one. She had made her fortune by purchasing alphas at auctions and distributing them to homes for arranged marriages. At any given time, she had between five and fifteen alphas in her care. Generally, she held long meetings and courtships between alphas and omegas. Her business was tailored to omegas seeking to get to know a prospective mate before actually being claimed.

  Her business had another level, too.

  She dealt in alpha breeding.

  Raine tried not to think about the implications of that and what would have probably happened to him had he been born an alpha instead of, in her words, a disappointment of a common omega.

  "Not even a prime," she'd uttered, annoyed. She said it often when he was a child, and Raine remembered hating that he wasn't the right type of omega.

  Omega primes were exceedingly rare, far rarer than alpha primes. If Raine had been born an omega prime, he could have fetched a pretty penny with the right alpha mate. Their pups . . .

  Well, there was a reason he didn't want to tell his mother why he needed the money.

  "Now, child, what do you need this for?"

  His first instinct was to tell her to mind her own business, but of course, he was asking for nearly a million from her. She was a billionaire, could afford it without blinking, but he knew better than to be short with her.

  "I . . . I'm gonna go to an auction," he said, keeping his voice steady. "Thought it was time to find someone."

  Better to be honest, especially since she'd probably find out through the auctioneers that one of her sons had participated.

  "An auction? Child, eight hundred thousand won't get you much of a good mate." She hesitated. "Unless . . . are you talking about that prime who's going to be on the circuit?"

  He cleared his throat. This was getting dangerously close to his reason for needing the money. "Don't buy him," he pleaded. "Please, Mom."

  She sighed, sounding frustrated. "A prime would earn me a lot of money."

  "Yeah," he whispered, fisting his shirt. Fuck. He really hadn't wanted to go here. He really didn't . . . but . . . "I'm . . . Mom, I need him. Please." He's my last chance. With how he spoke, the tremble in his voice, the soft breath hitching in his chest as the words tumbled free, he might as well have told her right out, I can't get pregnant any other way.

  Silence.

  Then, finally, "I don't care about being repaid, but I want unlimited access to the pups. If they're good stock—" meaning if they were alpha primes or omega primes "—then you will use my services when they come of age. I refuse to send my grandchildren to a compound. They will be housed here, on my campus, and taught everything they need."

  Tears stung his eyes. He blinked them back, lips quivering. "Mom, please . . . just this once, can't you just . . . be a mother?"

  She clicked her tongue at him, chiding him over the phone as if he were being stupid. "I will ensure you win the auction, but those are my terms."

  She'd give him more than the eight hundred thousand, she meant. She'd give him whatever he asked for, but he had to give her access to his pups. He had to let her arrange their marriages and their futures.

  Raine closed his eyes, tears tailing down his face, cold and bitter. The weight settling over his heart was frigid and so, so heavy. It was like she had decided to wrap his chest in ice, and the only way to free it was to give up the one thing he'd always wanted.

  He was desperate, but he wasn't that desperate.

  After swallowing hard, he said, "Drop dead, Mom."

  Raine hung up and collapsed onto the bed, gawking down at the phone in his hands. Cold tear tracks stained his freckled cheeks.

  While he'd never been on the best terms with his parents, he'd never actually told his mom to drop dead.

  Maybe he'd gone too far.

  His phone vibrated, the ring jolting him from his thoughts. His mother's number popped up on the screen, and Raine immediately swiped down to send her to voicemail. A few seconds later, his phone rang again, and after sending his mother to voicemail once more, he turned his phone off so he wouldn't have to deal with her.

  A shiver rolled down his spine as he tossed the phone aside.

  He rubbed his upper arms and sniffled, trying to figure out what to do next. His mother's price had been too high. It wasn't a cost he was willing to pay. Whatever pups he had were his, not hers. Like hell would he ever, ever let her condition them and sell them to other families just to breed.

  Raine had a lot of feelings about the alpha auctions.

  The majority of the population was comprised of betas, and after that, omegas made up a good thirty percent of the population. Normal alphas only accounted for about eighteen percent, and then alpha primes were less than half a percent.

  With so few alphas left, breeding stock was falling rapidly. While betas could impregnate omegas—and very often did—having an alpha mate was a sign of wealth. Unlike betas and omegas, alphas were rare enough that they were considered trophies of sorts, a prize worth having and paying for. They were kept separate from the rest of the population, trained in how to fulfill their role in society and how to please their omega once they were claim bound.

  Once an alpha presented, they were taken to compounds where and raised in luxury. Alphas were granted access to their families during adolescence and through their late teens. They were given everything they wanted, and on their twentieth birthday, they were given the option to join the auction circuit. Parents and siblings could still visit after an alpha presented, but it couldn't be near rut, and the visits were always supervised.

  Not all alphas wanted pups, and those alphas were asked to donate sperm or participate in the PUP program to help ease the stress of such a limited alpha population. In return, they were allowed to remain in the compound they'd been moved to and were treated like gods. They didn't take part in the auctions, and their days were filled with whatever they desired—art, history, films. Their access to anything they could want was unlimited.

  Raine didn't necessarily agree with the laws behind such segregation, but he understood them. With alphas being so rare, it was more logical to keep them apart from those who might try and force a rut or a claim bond. Omegas could, and if given the chance, did, force ruts to get their way—and to get their hands on an alpha.

  He hated it.

  He couldn't change society, though. Not on his own. The best he could do was try and move forward with his life, find a prospective mate, and attempt to have a family. The rest . . .