Desired by Alpha Mate

Part 1

Ahana's hand lingered over the wine-coloured one-shoulder gown with a mid-thigh slit featuring uneven vines & embroidery, enjoying the feeling of soft material that rested in between her fingers. The long evening gown clung to her and made it appear glove-like, enhancing her curves.

However, the omega was hit with a pang of sadness, remembering the last time she had worn was two years ago, when the divorce had been finalized. Twisting her lips, she thought about tossing it back into the dresser and finding something else—preferably one she hadn't worn in a long time.

A sigh escaped her lips. It was an important event. That's what her manager had stressed several times as he pointedly stared at her. They were all asked to come dressed in their best outfit as the new owner would be taking over the reins.

Fortunately, there haven't been any discussions about changing the staff or replacing the old ones or recruiting new ones. If the rumours were to be believed, their new owner, some Italian businessman lent a hefty amount of loan for the construction of the resort. The old owner did not pay him back so he finally took charge of the resort and thus the welcome party for him.

The sound of her phone buzzing broke her reverie. She hastily headed out the door, taking one glance in the mirror that hung above the dresser, one last time, making sure she and everything on her looked presentable. When the omega felt completely satisfied, she was about to turn and leave, when something caught her eye and made her pivot on heels.

The white pill bottle stared back at her, almost judgmentally -another reminder of the suffering she had endured. Ahana slowly walked over, reaching her hand out to grab it. She stared down at it, rolling it back and forth in the palm.

Take one tablet a day as directed by the pack doctor. Do not take or mix with alcohol.

She made a face at the instructions, running her thumb over the smooth, shiny labelling. The omega had every intention to peel it off—throw it away as if it never existed at all. 12 months. That's how long Ahana has been taking medicines, one every day and sometimes two if the pain intensifies.

The more she thought about the past few months of her life, her breath started getting shorter. She untwisted the cap hastily and shook a pill into the palm of her hand, tossing them back into her mouth and swallowing them dry.

Ahana made sure to double bolt lock the door, slamming it shut, before rushing up the concrete steps onto the sidewalk outside, shuddering from the cold.

Usually, the staff working in the resort preferred to stay in assigned quarters. Not her. She could not put her colleagues through it especially since her episodes started turning bizarre. That's why Ahana decided to rent a studio apartment six months ago, a minute's walk from her workplace.

Starting at her watch, she let out a curse. Not again. The omega would be late to their resort event.

The omega looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see a cab in the distance toward her direction, about a block down. She thought it might have been fate or possibly the moon goddess taking mercy on her for the first time in a year. Ahana eagerly stuck her hand out, waving it around in the air, hopeful the cabbie would see her.

"Here! Taxi!"

The cab drove right past her, the driver not even taking a second to stop and glance at her form.

"Of course!" She muttered to herself, his breath outlined in white amidst the cold air. However, she was not completely surprised.

From the chattering of her colleagues during one of their breaks, Ahana managed to gather that it was one of the biggest events ever in the resort. There are roughly around four hundred people invited. She doesn't even recall the last time they had these many people in the same room.

After dragging her feet in those treacherous heels for thirty minutes, it took her an extra ten minutes with all the wind whipping past her she managed to make it.

***

Taking a step inside, Ahana was greeted with lights glinting off the finest glassware and the most expensive linens brought out to cover the furniture. The Blue Moon branding was everywhere, in the signs flanking the podium set up on the stage, in the centrepieces on the tables, and stitched onto the cloth napkins.

"Ah! Finally. Look who's here everybody." The manager emerged out of the staff kitchen, sarcastically clapping his hand. Richard was a divorced Alpha in his late thirties who, for some reason had a problem with her and did not bother to hide it. It might have stemmed from the very first week of her job when she refused to go out with him.

Ahana rolled her eyes. It didn't affect her anymore. She's used to it.

"Hello, Richard. Good evening to you too."

"You are late."

"I am sorry—" She peeked over the shoulder, watching as the guests were still filling the room, body sagging.

"Are you...."

"Sir! The guests are looking for you. You need to go." A familiar voice interrupted and the omega breathed a huge sigh of relief, immediately shooting a wink to Arthur. At the age of sixty, he was one of the oldest doormen in the resort and her confidant.

"This is not over!" Richard gave her a look before storming out.

"You, Arthur are a lifesaver."

"It's what I do." He did an invisible hat-tipping pose making her giggle when Ahana saw Nina rushing in my direction, mouth stuffed with cannoli and holding a champagne flute in one hand.

"Enjoying the party, Nina?"

"Hmph...Nothing beats..." Her words were muffled as she tried to swallow the cannoli, sheepishly smiling at Arthur. "I meant nothing beats the food. I love these cannolis I could eat them for the rest of my life."

"Oh really? You should send the compliments to our pastry chef. He will appreciate it for sure." Ahana elbowed her, careful to not touch her glass. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to spill the expensive alcohol on the freshly cleaned carpet.

Nina scoffed. She had a bit of a history with the pastry chef—Andy.

"Whatever! They are not that good. Anyways let's go. The party has started already."

***

The omega froze in her place, her face turning pale at the sight in front of her.

Lucas was deep in conversation with an elderly woman, clutching a full glass of red wine in his right hand. His attention was laser-focused on her, his brows furrowed. She has been on the other side of this gaze many times before; she does not doubt that the woman feels like the most important person in the room having captured his full attention. Then again Lucas was always so good at these things, charming and networking his way through a party.

Ahana took the opportunity to stare at her ex-husband, cataloguing all the little differences between the man she once loved and the man who stood before her. He's completely the same yet altogether different all at once.

The Alpha was so confident that it infuriated her. The way he held himself differently now, his spine straight and his shoulders squared, emanating confidence and poise. Upon staring at him for a long minute, she realised his face had gotten more angular with age, his jaw sharp and defined. He's dressed for the occasion, the dark suit with crisp white shirt, and matching pants making him stand out in the room. No, that's not what made her gawk at him.

It was the symbol. A crescent moon pinned at the lapel, shiny and bright represents his pack's name. Once upon a time hers as well.

At his sudden laughter, she blinked noticing that he cut his hair short, the long mane of curls that she loved long gone. Lucas still got some length on top though, his hair artfully tousled with a hint of curl coming through in a few pieces of hair flopping by his cheekbone. The Alpha was so into the conversation, grinning at something the woman quipped and the sight of his dimples carving made her stomach flip.

That's the one thing that hasn't changed about Lucas. He's still the most attractive man in the room.

Ahana was so lost in his thoughts that she didn't see his attention shifting until it was too late.

The Alpha stilled in place as their gazes locked, his green eyes going wide with recognition and then pure shock. His jaw dropped, lips forming a perfectly rounded 'o' as the colour drained from his face; the grip on the stem of glass tightening.

All the noise in the room suddenly flooded her senses, from the tittering of the people in her immediate vicinity to the person on the other side of the room.

Before she could take any step further away from him, there was a sharp tug at her arm. Nina kept motioning towards her right, a timid look on her face. Upon following her line of vision, she was met with Richard who had few more people following him.

"Do not say a word unless spoken to, got it?" Their manager reminded sharply before motioning them to follow him. Why was he heading towards Lucas? She clenched her eyes shut, head bowed down as they started walking towards the stairs.

"Mr Costa it's so nice to meet you. I have heard so many things about you." Richard kept gesturing with his hands, a wide grin stretched across his lips. "This is my talented team who works for the resort. I know the official introductions will be done later but I simply thought..."

Lucas hummed, "Yes, Mr?"

"Richard."

"Mr. Richard I would love to meet the team."

It's the sound of his deep, honeyed-whiskey voice that snapped the omega out of her trance, adrenaline rushes through her veins, heart pounding. Blinking she raked her eyes around the room, trying to find the nearest way out.

"Ahana!" She was startled as someone touched her exposed hand; the cold touch made her shiver. It's Richard. Of course. "This is our concierge for VIP members and is one of the members managing the Presidential suites."

"Ahana..." Lucas managed to choke out, and the omega wasn't ready for the feeling that washed over her upon hearing his voice for the first time in two years. It's horrible. It's unbearably, and her first instinct was to run away, but unfortunately, she cannot do that. Firstly it was a business setting and also because Ahana can't let him know that she's still hurt and upset by their broken bond and marriage. It's embarrassing.

So, Ahana plastered the smile right back on, and with wobbly legs and a shaky voice, stepped forward into the room and tried to sound unaffected as she spoke.

"Welcome to Blue Moon Resort."

The omega felt her knees buckle as Lucas stared at her, a situation so familiar yet so foreign, she gulped like it was second nature, provoking his smirk to come back in full force.

"It is quite a welcome." The Alpha whispered to her like it was a secret they didn't know, closing the gap between them. She could certainly feel his scent surround her, the omega inside her preening at familiar firewood and vanilla.

The Alpha forwarded his hand, a challenging look taking over as if he were asking her to get out of it. She looked at Richards whose grin had dimmed, a furrow between his brows. The last thing Ahana wanted was for people around her to start and spectacle if something happened between them. Hesitantly she took his hand, feeling the rough callous of his palm against her, ignoring the tingling sensation shooting down her spine.

"Lovely dress by the way." The Alpha added with a cheeky wink before letting go of her hand.

***