The alarm on my wrist chimed softly as I strode through the dimly lit maintenance corridor of Deck 7. Another routine sweep. Another night where nothing ever happened aboard the Stellar Dominion. Or so I told myself.
The luxury interstellar cruise ship was quiet at this cycle—most passengers asleep in their lavish suites, the crew on minimal night shift. Perfect time to check the lower decks for stowaways, glitches, or anything that could disrupt the pristine order I demanded.
My boots barely made a sound on the grated floor, the artificial gravity humming steadily beneath me. I inhaled deeply, letting the filtered ship air fill my lungs. Clean. Sterile. Exactly as it should be.
Until it wasn't.
A faint scent hit me like a plasma bolt—sweet, wild, and impossibly warm. Like sun-ripened berries crushed underfoot mixed with something darker, something that made my pulse spike and my alpha instincts flare to life. My nostrils flared. My jaw tightened.
Omega.
Suppressed, but not well enough. The scent was leaking through cheap blockers, curling around the cold metal walls and straight into my blood.
I stopped dead, hand instinctively dropping to the stun baton at my hip. My voice came out low, controlled, the way it always did when I was seconds from losing it.
"Show yourself."
Silence.
Then a soft scrape—barely audible—came from behind a stack of emergency supply crates. I moved fast, zero-gravity training making my steps silent even in full gravity. In one fluid motion I yanked the top crate aside.
There he was.
Crouched low, silver-white hair messy and falling into wide violet eyes, a torn black jacket hanging off one slim shoulder. He couldn't have been more than twenty-two, twenty-three. Lean, almost delicate build that screamed Omega even before the scent slammed into me again, stronger now.
His breath hitched when our eyes met. Defiance flashed across his flushed face, but beneath it… fear. And something else. Something that made my rut stir dangerously at the base of my spine.
"Captain Vael Korren," I said, voice dropping into a growl I couldn't quite suppress. "And you are trespassing on my ship, little stowaway."
He scrambled backward, pressing against the bulkhead, but there was nowhere to run in the narrow corridor. "I'm not hurting anyone," he snapped, voice surprisingly steady for someone caught red-handed. "Just… passing through. I'll be gone before anyone notices."
Another wave of his scent washed over me—sweeter, warmer, with an undercurrent of slick that made my mouth water. My cock twitched hard against the confines of my uniform pants. Fuck. He was going into heat. Soon.
I stepped closer, towering over him, the alpha in me roaring to pin him down right here and find out exactly how sweet he tasted. My hand shot out, gripping his chin firmly but not painfully, forcing those defiant violet eyes up to meet mine.
"You smell like trouble," I murmured, thumb brushing his lower lip. His skin was fever-hot. "And you're leaking pheromones all over my ship. Suppressants failing already?"
His breath stuttered. A tiny whimper escaped before he could bite it back. The sound went straight to my knot, making it throb with the sudden, violent need to swell and lock inside him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, but his pupils were already dilating, body instinctively leaning into my touch even as his words fought it.
I leaned in until our faces were inches apart, my breath ghosting over his ear. "Liar. I can smell how wet you're getting for me already. Tell me your name, Omega… before I decide to find out exactly how badly you need an Alpha's knot to fix that little problem."
He shivered hard, a fresh wave of slick-scent flooding the air between us. His voice came out small, trembling with a mix of fear and unwanted arousal.
"…Lirien."
I smiled slowly, dark satisfaction curling in my chest as my grip on his chin tightened just enough to stake my claim.
"Welcome aboard, Lirien. You're mine now."