Chapter 7 CHAPTER 007

In the blink of an eye, a week runs by and Soren barely catches up with time. He wakes up with a knock on the door. He jerks up straight on the living room sofa, which he had slept on the previous night.

He blinks away the sleep as he tries to listen for where the sound is coming from, with locks of red hair covering his vision, and when the knocks come again, he realizes it's from his door.

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath, getting off the sofa and dragging his feets to the door and when he opens it, he finds a man in a suit.

“Who are you? what do you want?” Soren asks through a sleepy gaze but the blur suddenly vanishes when Reign Montgomery suddenly comes into view, coming to stand in front of the man Soren now recognizes as Mr. Montgomery’s secretary.

Soren's eyes widen, and immediately, he runs his fingers through his messy hair to straighten it out. “Mr. Montgomery, what are you doing here?” He quickly wears a smile.

“Can I come in?” Reign asks, standing tall with his suit, large coat and hands in his pocket.

“Sure, sure, come in.”

The moment Soren invites the man into his home, Soren wishes he didn't, as he finally realizes the state of the space.

There are dirty clothes everywhere, with empty bottles of alcohol that are obviously his mother's handiwork, mixed with the awful smell of sweat and something else, and don't even get him started on the peeling paint on the wall and torn curtains.

Soren swallows. He has never been so ashamed of where he lived till now.

Reign steps inside anyway, unbothered. His eyes move slowly around the space, taking everything in without comment while his secretary stays by the door.

“Sorry,” Soren mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. “I wasn’t expecting—”

“I know,” Reign says calmly.

That somehow makes it worse. Soren shifts awkwardly, then gestures vaguely. “Do you want to… sit?”

Reign doesn’t. He remains standing, tall and composed, like the room isn’t worthy of him. His presence alone makes the walls feel tighter.

“You had a week.”

Soren almost face-palms. Shit. He completely forgot about that. “I-I’m ready. W-what should I do?” He stammers.

Reign glances at his watch. “Pack.”

Soren blinks. “Now?”

“Yes.”

Soren's heart tightened. He doesn't know what is in store for him but he feels like he has sold his soul to the devil. “D-do you want to sit while I p-pack?”

Soren has made himself a tough and fearsome Beta that even Alphas are unnerved by him but everytime he stands before the Enigma, he's a stuttering mess. It's as if his brain stopped working and everything is just falling apart. Maybe because his secret is on the line and Reign isn't an Alpha, he can tell Soren is lying even from a twitch and Soren lies for a living.

The enigma's eyes unnerved him more than he likes to admit.

“You have ten minutes.”

And that's all Reign says before he turns and walks out the door with his secretary, leaving Soren standing there like a fish out of water as he gapes.

What the hell has he gotten himself into?

~

In exactly ten minutes, Soren walks out of his shitty apartment with nothing but a black backpack over his shoulder. He finds Reign‘s Secretary waiting by a black, shiny SUV and when he's close enough, the secretary opens the back seat door, but Mr. Montgomery is nowhere in sight. Soren frowns.

“Mr. Montgomery will meet you shortly. I was given orders to take care of you,” the secretary reads the confusion on his face as he says.

With a shrug, Soren slips into the car and in the next moment, the car hits the road.

Bored, Soren pops a cigar into his mouth and lights it up, running a hand through his hair. “So, where are we headed?”

“To get you dressed up for the party?” The secretary answers from the driver's seat.

Soren frowns deeply. “What party?”

“Oh, it's a party of the elite. It's going to be your first public appearance with Mr Montgomery and he expects you to look your very best.”

Soren curses his luck as he rests back in his seat, taking a drag of his cigarette before throwing it out the window. He knows nothing about parties, especially ones that are going to contain all the important people in the city.

His life can't get any worse.

~~*

Soren rarely feels beautiful. From the very moment he knew right from wrong, he decided that he's just an ugly Omega who's going to play a Beta for the rest of his life but right now, he can barely recognize himself in the mirror.

The suit fits him like it was made for his body alone. It's pink and clean, with sharp lines that hide nothing, along with a cut on his upper back that displays his skin.

His shoulders look broader and his waist narrower as the fabric clings around the right places and his face is touched with makeup, while his red hair is brushed against his forehead neatly.

Soren is too different; he doesn't recognize himself. All he can see is a stranger in the mirror; his bruises are not showing, with no obvious scars and no signs of the rough life he’s lived.

He looks… expensive.

“You look nothing like a Beta; you have the body of an Omega,” the stylist says beside him, awed at the sight of him but the words make Soren's heart skip a dangerous beat.

His suppressants sit heavy in his pocket. He made sure to take a higher and stronger dose before leaving. His scent is locked down tight, buried so deep even he can’t feel it but still, her words make anxiety and fear crawl under his skin.

“You're so pretty,” the stylist continues to purr. “I'm a Beta like you but I'm so jealous.”

If only she knew. Soren gives her a flat smile but just then, the door opens.

Soren feels Reigns' presence before he sees him through the mirror, and instantly, his spine straightens automatically, while his heart kicks hard against his ribs.

Reign stops a few steps behind him, eyes meeting Soren’s reflection in the mirror. For a moment, he says nothing, and then he does.

“Turn around.”

Soren does and Reign’s gaze moves over him slowly, deliberately, like he’s inspecting something he owns now.

He takes a dangerous step forward, hooking his finger under Soren's face and lifting it up. “You look pretty, like an Omega, Mr. Fox.”

Soren gulps. If he didn't know better, he would have thought the Enigma knew his secret, but Soren knows he wouldn't be here if he did. Soren would probably be jailed for being the world's biggest liar.

“I'm a Beta and I'm not pretty; I'm a boxer,” he retorts, keeping his voice as steady as he can while he's shaking inside.

Reign leans his face closer and Soren is overwhelmed by his strong Enigma scent, making his knees weak. Soren is on the verge of holding something to brace himself as he holds his breath instead.

Reign’s eyes flicker, dark and unreadable, as if Soren’s words amuse him more than they should.

“A boxer,” he repeats quietly, his breath fanning softly against Soren's face while his thumb presses just a little harder under his jaw, forcing his chin up another fraction. “You're no longer that. From now on, you are my fiancé. You are mine and tonight, the whole world is going to know that. Do you understand, Mr. Fox?”

Soren swallows the lump in his throat and nods. “I understand.”

Reign’s eyes glint. “Good.”