His past stolen by the Market, Jesi is finally ready to forge a future as…Blair.
Grant Harris is many things—student, landscaper—but not ORT. He works, studies and hangs out with his best mate, Chase. Storming in, guns blazing, kicking down doors and arresting the bad guys are not in his future.
Jesi spent years within the Omega Market—bought and sold, stripped of everything that mattered, name, identity, dignity—and escaped on his own merits. He’s built a life worth living, spending his days fighting for justice, freeing trapped omegas, and he has no intention of engaging in mate nonsense with arrogant alphas who only want to possess him.
The problem? Grant has known they’re mates for long enough that, if he waits any longer to tell Jesi, he could accidentally spark a heat. When Jesi shows no sign of wanting any bond, never mind one with him, Grant does the only thing he can, he tells Jesi to break the bond. It will hurt, but at least they’ll both be free.
When Grant finds a group of trafficked omegas at a landscaping site and becomes the focus of the prominent broker Tomlinson, they’re left with no choice but to work as a team. Together, they could bring down the Omega Market from the inside, and not even Jesi can pass up that opportunity.
An explosion is inevitable. The only question is whether they’ll survive the flames or burn to ash.
Reader advisory: This book contains mention of off-page child kidnap, experimentation, drug testing, abuse and sexual assault, trauma, slavery, branding, brainwashing, trafficking and experimentation. There are mentions of infertility, forced drug use and violence, as well as male pregnancy, and PTSD.
General Release Date: 18th August 2026
Chase had always been an anomaly, but as Grant listened to him talk about Pip and how his parents had abandoned him, he’d never been prouder to call him a friend. He might be a twat, with a tendency to run headlong into the fire without thinking about the consequences, but he was a decent guy and knew when to do right by those he loved.
Grant had always admired him for that. Chase and his strong convictions were one of the things that had kept them best friends for most of their lives. That, and his kickass omega mother, who could freeze an alpha’s balls with a look from twenty paces.
Standing in front of a group of strangers, all experienced ORTa Omega Rescue Taskforce agents, he’d never seen Chase so unsure yet laidback. He was comfortable by Ford’s side, but held back as if he wanted everyone to believe that Lucky belonged to Ford, saying nothing of their true mate bond. Like he wasn’t an equal part of the bond, despite spending weeks bonding with his alpha and omega.
When Kain clasped his arm and moved closer, unusually intimidated by the group of alphas, Grant almost stepped away to get the party started. Then a tiny, five-foot, feisty omega shoved between the alphas, and he was frozen.
Captivated by the redhead, he didn’t even register the sarcastic warnings the omega gave the ORTa who blatantly intimidated the new omegas. He looked stunning, in a simple band T-shirt and denim shorts frayed at the edges, like he’d cut them himself, freckles on his nose and cheeks that made his pale skin stand out. His hair was closely shaved around his neck and longer on top, styled into effortless waves.
“Amazing. I’ve been on your team for years and none of you drool over me with the disrespect you’re showing these omegas.” He made deliberate eye contact with each ORTa, who shrank under his anger. “These underage omegas, on Heatwave, who are about to meet the badass ORT for the first time, and be surrounded by a group of adult alphas they’ve never met. Never mind their comfort if that means bolstering your ego and giving you fresh meat to ogle.”
This must be the omega agent Lucky had mentioned, practically Ford’s only family. As usual, he barely got to finish his rant before Lucky stepped in to hug the omega, who froze, wide eyes finding Ford in the crowd. Lucky had clearly startled the omega, but somehow smoothed over the potential insult.
“I’m Lucky. I know we met before, but you’re honestly a bit of a blur. I’m so happy to meet you again.”
The omega sagged, as though giving in to the inevitable. He patted Lucky’s back until he broke the hug. “I’m glad you’ve fully recovered.”
So…this was Jesi.
* * * *
When they left the ORTa to find a drink, Grant expected Jesi to stay behind. He was twenty-three already, and probably didn’t want to mingle with a bunch of underage omegas and twenty-ish alphas. Lucky dragged Neko and the others to the bonfire, leaving his two mates to deal with the alpha ORTa.
Grant took a bottle of beer from Neko, contemplating whether to rescue Chase. Before he could decide, his world whittled down to a hand drifting obscenely close to Lucky’s ass.
Grabbing the wrist of an older alpha, an ORTa at that, wasn’t something he thought he’d ever do. But Grant didn’t hesitate to twist and pull the man to the side so Lucky didn’t notice his unwanted attention.
Even when two alphas stepped into his space, Grant didn’t let go. “You need to unclog your nose, dipshit,” he warned in a low whisper. “That omega is claimed…by one of your own. If you don’t want to lose your dick to a bullet from Ford King, I suggest you back. The Fuck. Off. The underage omega.”
A hand covered his, smaller than those of the two uncertain alphas deciding whether to push back. Jesi silently supported his act, fingers wrapping around Grant’s while glaring at the two blockheads.
“Flaming Omha, you lot are full of your own self-importance tonight,” Jesi said, disgust dripping from his tone. “No omega is safe around you.”
Grant should have said something, but Chase had been wrong. Sensing the true mate bond wasn’t like being shot. It was like being hit by a hundred thousand volts of electricity. He couldn’t have said anything if he wanted to. They were lucky he was still standing.
“Jesi!” Lucky bounded over, full of oblivious innocence, and took a second to clock the situation. His mouth pinched, but he eased his hand over Jesi’s. “Let’s not tell Ford.”
Jesi was visibly surprised by Lucky’s resilience and awareness.
Grant cleared his throat and slid his hand out from Jesi’s, who presumably hadn’t felt the bond the way Lucky had with Chase. “There’s no need to tell Chase or Ford about something that never happened,” he agreed, not wanting to ruin Chase’s night. Though Lucky nodded with obvious relief, Jesi spun to stare at him. “We’ll tell Ford later. Just not tonight. He can decide what to do about his workmates.”
It took a second, then Jesi nodded, clearly reluctant to agree.
“Besides, who’d ever believe the big bad ORTa are hornier than a bunch of college alphas trapped by Override?” he said, aiming for flirty or teasing, just to test the waters.
Jesi smiled, more exasperated than amused, but it was a start.
Hopefully, the start of something great.
Elaine White is an aro-ace author, who strives to create captivating, emotional stories of love and romance, exploring a variety of sub-genres, from paranormal to contemporary.
An avid reader, she gets easily distracted by dogs and books. Her passion in life is to be surrounded by both...but, for now, she'll settle for one boisterous pup and an ever-growing TBR pile.
When not reading or writing, you can find Elaine getting sucked into the latest K-Pop comeback by her favourite artists and succumbing to a hopeless addicted to Asian dramas.
The Winner of two Watty Awards – Collector's Dream (An Unpredictable Life) and Hidden Gem (Faithfully) – and an Honourable Mention in 2016's Rainbow Awards (A Royal Craving) Elaine is a self-professed geek, reading addict, and a romantic at heart.
Find Elaine at her website and blog, on Instagram, Bluesky, Bookbub and Wattpad.
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