I was stunned. I’d never had a human apologize for missing the social cues of being a wolf. There were things one observed in the areas of business and law enforcement across cultures, and the list for lupines was as accessible as any other, but more often than not, simple things—like don’t wear heavy perfume to a deposition with your lupine attorney—were ignored. But Wade made immediate amends once his misstep was pointed out. “Of course,” I replied sincerely.
His smile was tentative. “My TO, when I was a rookie, told me that you never step between an alpha and their mate. She said it’s not only rude, but if the lupines in question are newly mated, it’s extremely fuckin’ dangerous.”
It was. Even potentially lethal.
“I swear I’ll be more careful in the future. I’m usually the guy that’s on top of this kinda stuff. I wouldn’t want you stepping between me and my wife someday, so yeah, I get it. And look, I know you’re sick of answering questions about the omegas, but that whole scene is really eating at me.”
“Right now you’re worried the omegas have no choice in their current state.”
“Yes.”
“To an extent, you’re right, but only insofar as, once they begin, they can’t stop until the heat is over.”
“But what if something goes wrong and nobody helps them or––”
“Oh, I see,” I rushed out, as annoyed at myself as he’d been moments ago, because I had missed something too. “I understand the source of your concern now. You’re worried that scene might devolve into something––”
“Like rape, or a gang rape,” Wade croaked out. “I’m thinking about, what if the omegas want to stop and no one will listen, and I don’t see how I can leave, knowing I could prevent something like that from happening.”
“I apologize for the disconnect,” I apprised him. “I was attempting to explain to you what will happen based on pheromones, et cetera, and your concern is with their physical safety.”
“Yes.” His shoulders relaxed, and he exhaled in obvious relief that we’d finally got to the heart of his concerns.
“Then let me ease your mind and tell you that by lupine law, the alpha who agreed to throw the sampling party is personally responsible for the safety of every single one of those omegas. He may take on the fun of putting them into heat, but he’ll pay with his life if anything nonconsensual were to occur.”
Wade’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as he stared at me. “Really?”
“I give you my word. As I’m sure Avery explained to you, if an alpha has sex with an omega without benefit of a contract, that’s considered theft. The alpha in this case has had sex, or allowed another to have sex by proxy, with all the omegas in that club. That was done without benefit of a bonding, and that’s irrefutable, as they’re all clearly in heat. One can only conclude that if ruining one omega can have you sanctioned and reported to the Maion council, then more than one…you forfeit your life.”
“And the alpha is aware of that?”
“It’s what he agrees to when he accepts the request to throw the sampling party.”
“Then why would anyone ever agree to do that? As a cyne, you could just walk in there and bust them, and that would be it for that alpha, right?”
“But it’s understood that it’s what the omegas want.”
“That seems shady,” Wade replied. “An alpha who’s with an omega, one on one, things get outta control and they end up having sex; if that alpha says it was just for fun, he’s screwed. He has to make an offer for that omega or he’s sanctioned.”
“Yes.”
“But the alpha who throws a sampling party, he gets to have sex with all the omegas and he just skates by?” Wade was squinting at me. “Explain the logic to me in that.”
“In your example, the alpha chose the omega he wanted to spend time with, and then, when they were alone, he and the omega had sex. The difference with these sampling parties is that the alpha doesn’t choose. A number of omegas come to him, mostly those who made their debut years ago, and ask him to host the function. Typically, the alpha has had no previous contact with any of the omegas, and so there’s no issue that, beyond being approached, the alpha has done anything wrong.”
“That’s really thin,” Wade assured me. “There’s no way that stands up in court.”