The Bachelor: Beta Edition, A Gay Romance (Book 2) (Win an Alpha) Read online

  Raging Passions Books

  The Bachelor: Beta Edition © April 2016 by Jane Perky

  All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

  THE BACHELOR: BETA EDITION

  In the game of life, nothing is certain.

  Down on his luck with love and life, Omega wolf shifter Will Navarro entered his name in a dating game show on a whim. A shy virgin Omega who never quite fit in with the rest of the pack, Will never won anything in his life…until now.

  Werewolf Beta Kristofer Prince is everything Will had ever dreamed of in a mate. Kris terrifies Will and excites him at the same time. Will doesn’t understand why he wants to offer his throat and roll on his belly for the domineering Beta. The mere sight of Kris sends his heart thumping and his body ablaze, but Kris demands more than Will’s purity.

  Can Will give up his heart to a sexy stranger?

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  The Bachelor: Beta Edition

  By Jane Perky

  Chapter One

  I will not panic, nervousness won’t get me anywhere. No matter how many times Willton Navarro repeated the words in his head, they refused to sink in. He stood stiffly, unable to relax like the three other Omegas in the pack.

  At twenty-three, Will was the oldest, yet he still had his purity intact. As an Omega capable of giving birth, Will was a rare commodity in the shifter world. Any Alpha or pack leader would jump at the chance to have a fertile male Omega for a mate…too bad Will didn’t have the entire package.

  Unlike Ned and Elliot, the younger and more out-going Omegas on examination for the visiting Alpha, Will was awkward and shy. His mother often told him he’d never get any mate this way, but a person couldn’t change what he was. Will had always been socially awkward all his life. He preferred the company of books to leering, dominant shifters who looked at him like some kind of breeding machine.

  So far, Will disappointed every visiting Alpha looking for a mate and he’d do the same to this one too. Scarred and burly, the Alpha continued talking to their pack Gamma. Will and the others were too far to hear their voices, but he was used to being talked about like some kind of merchandise on display.

  “Well then, let’s get to it,” said Fletcher the Gamma.

  Will stood up straight, ignoring Elliot’s snigger. He schooled his face to blankness and wondered why he endured this humiliation time and time again. For the sake of bringing honor to his pack and for his happiness—no, those were his mother’s reasons because Will never felt like he belonged in his mother’s pack. Will always stuck out like a sore thumb and the wolves stopped sniffing him the moment they decided he wasn’t mate material.

  Why pick him, when Ned and Elliot were handsome, young and awesome in the sack—according to the rumors anyway. Will didn’t have much experience when it came to the bedroom, but God knew he tried to date, to do the normal things to get a mate.

  All of those attempts exploded in his face. Maybe that was the reason Will kept returning to these showings. No one wants to end up alone and all werewolves were built in pairs. Somewhere out there was his mate and damn it, Will will never stop trying.

  The visiting Alpha and Fletcher neared them now. Will held his breath, especially when the Alpha, whose name he didn’t even know, spared him a look. One look, for a couple of seconds, and that was all the time he had for Will.

  “Not this one,” the Alpha said with a dismissive wave.

  Will’s stomach dropped. Tears blurred at the corner of his eyes. Normally, he was stronger than this. Hell, Will was used to rejection all his life, but they’d accumulated over the years. Will had enough. Not caring it was improper decorum, he turned his heel. Will didn’t run, he walked, ignoring Ned calling after him.

  “Jesus. Going to these things has been killing me, bit-by-bit,” Will muttered.

  His cell phone vibrated, but Will ignored it. Will knew exactly who was calling. It was probably his mother, alerted by Fletcher.

  “Fuck this,” Will muttered, reaching the car park of the pack house.

  He got in and was about to drive straight home to his apartment. Curling into a ball and hoping he’d disappear from this world sounded like a fine plan, except he changed direction and headed to the town park instead. His mom and God forbid, his friends might be waiting at his apartment, hoping to stage an intervention like before. Will knew they meant well, but he couldn’t stand looking at the same pity and sympathy in their eyes.

  After parking the car by the curb of the park, Will walked to his favorite spot. Away from the usual path taken by runners and cyclists, no one would bother Will by his bench. He sat down with a heavy sigh, loosening the tie he wore for the stupid occasion. Will recalled how he spent hours getting ready that morning. He made sure not a hair was out of place and there were no creases on his clothes.

  “And he only spared me a couple of seconds,” Will muttered angrily under his breath.

  Couldn’t the Alpha have asked him some questions or learned to get to know him better? Who the hell judged people based on first sight alone? Plenty apparently. Will had been rejected by scores of dominant wolves who found him lacking, insufficient. What did the other Omegas possessed that he didn’t?

  Will angrily balled his hands into fists. He wanted to destroy something, punch the lights of some poor object. Next to him sat an abandoned newspaper. Fine. It would do. Will began to tear the paper to shreds when an ad caught his eye. He spread the piece of paper, licking his lips.

  “The Bachelor: Beta Edition, only unmated and single shifters need apply,” he read out loud.

  Will let out a mirthless laugh. He didn’t use to believe in stuff like this. Thought of it as a scam, but a week ago, the winners of the Win-An-Alpha lottery sponsored by the same company came on live TV. Will remembered the program because the happy Omega didn’t look like anyone special next to the gorgeous Alpha who became his mate. Seeing them look so happy made Will envious.

  He read the rules, barely skimming the words with his eyes. Will finally found the ‘how to apply section’. He grimaced.

  “Send a video of yourself and why you deserve to be a contestant.” Will cursed under his breath, and he never swore. A video? Seriously? Will could barely stand to appear in a crowd, but hundreds of people will be able to view his introduction.

  Will began to pussy out, but he thought of his latest embarrassing moment and made a decision, there and then. He’d been ridiculed and laughed at all his life. What was one more? Besides, the chances of him being a contestant was damn laughable. Will never won anything in his life, not even lucky draws where there were only five names to pick from.

  D
amn it. Will had enough of being last. He took out his cell phone and ignored the missed calls and texts. After he’d done this foolhardy yet satisfyingly idiotic and brave dare, he’d ring up his mom and friends. Tell them he was fine, like always.

  Will opened his video recording app and swallowed. He hated taking pictures. Well, Will took photos of places, food and other people, except himself. He’d never been photogenic, but he could do this. Breathing in and out, Will stared at the camera and cleared his throat.

  “I’m Willton Navarro, Will to my friends, a twenty-three-year-old virgin Omega.” Will looked away from the camera, debating whether he should end this silly task, but gritted his teeth and soldiered on. “To date, I’ve been rejected by twenty-seven visiting Alphas. As you can see, there’s nothing special about me, at first glance anyway. If you give me a chance, you won’t regret it.”

  Will said a few more things. Hell, he practically bared his soul on camera. He ended the recording, heart thumping hard against his chest. God, that was the hardest thing he’d ever done.

  “Not hard, because I haven’t uploaded it yet.”

  Will’s finger hesitated on the ‘delete’ button. Screw this. He needed some courage. Will headed to the nearest convenience store and bought a six-pack. He guzzled each one until he started to feel the effects of the alcohol. By the time he arrived home, the apartment was empty, but he could smell the lingering scent of his friends.

  Relieved he’d missed the intervention, Will locked the door behind him and slumped against it. He took out his phone again and this time managed to press the upload button to his YouTube account.

  Tomorrow, he’d probably come to regret this. But it didn’t matter. Will wouldn’t be picked anyway, like always. He’d get some good laughs, get over this ridiculous episode and life would go on. Will tugged his knees to his chest.

  “Why am I still hoping for the impossible?” Will whispered to his empty apartment, but it never answered him.

  * * * *

  Werewolf Beta Kristofer Prince was about to call up the game show sponsor and tell them he wanted to quit. Crazy of him to enter a dating game show anyway, but he’d grown tired of one-night stands and random hook-ups. Ever since he saw the Win-An-Alpha winners on TV, Kris had turned sentimental. After all, what use was casual sex when it had gotten old?

  Kris left his parent’s pack the moment he turned eighteen. He got on his second-hand Harley, and never looked back. Kris’ rebellious younger self believed true love and mates were for wussies. Look at him, two decades later. At thirty-eight, Kris had neither a home nor a mate to dote on him.

  God. That damn happy couple on TV pissed him off. Angered Kris because he wanted that too.

  He wanted a mate to love, a home they could build together, and fuck it, even cute adorable little pups.

  Kris wanted it all.

  Still, going through a dating game show? Kris wasn’t that crazy. He still had some measure of self-dignity, especially since he learned he was the grand prize.

  Kris changed his mind when he saw one of the videos a potential contestant uploaded. The other Omega contestants looked the same, like cut-outs from some shifter dating website. They were all fake smiles and scripted answers, but this one though, was all heart.

  The Omega looked nothing out of the ordinary, at least not someone Kris would pick up in a bar, but something about him made Kris keep watching. Perhaps it was the sincerity in his face, the desperation in his voice. This Omega didn’t just want another body to bang, and somehow he’d preserved his virginity too—an added bonus, given male Omegas were always in demand by any pack.

  Kris finally put a finger on why this Omega called out to him and his wolf. Looking beyond appearances, Kris saw a soul, longing for love as much as he was. Luck decided the show though. Kris wouldn’t be able to see the contestants. The host would ask questions and the Omegas would answer, their voices disguised. Kris would have to pick based on their answers alone.

  Grinning, Kris played the video again and memorized the Omega’s cute features in his head. He has never backed away from a challenge, and he wasn’t going to start now. Kris saw the number of ‘likes’ beside the Omega’s video. Pretty soon, the video would go viral and for sure, this Omega would be picked by the organizers simply for being so honest and different from the rest.

  “Hold on to your horses, baby. Pretty soon, you’re going to be mine.”

  Kris widened his smile. He didn’t know a thing about this Omega, but he knew, just at first glance, what the words ‘love at first sight’ finally meant. Whistling under his breath, Kris settled in bed and played the video again. He knew he was acting like a man obsessed, but he couldn’t wipe away the image from his mind.

  “Give me a chance”, the Omega on the video pleaded, but Kris would do more than that. That nameless Omega was about to become his sooner or later and he wouldn’t be able to see Kris coming.

  Chapter Two

  “Contestant number three, tell us about your ideal date?” the announcer asked.

  Will nervously rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans. He needed to pinch himself to remind himself that this was really happening. Will’s gaze slipped to the audience watching them.

  God. How did Will ever get himself into this position?

  He knew he should focus on giving honest answers. Lying had never been an option, given he was terrible at making things up and dominant wolves could usually smell a lie from a mile away. Besides, even if Will got himself all tangled up in this ridiculous dating game show, he still had a good chance of winning. Given there were only three contestants, that wasn’t much of a relief.

  Still, despite being televised and watched by over a hundred people live, Will wanted the Beta behind the mirror to know bits and pieces of Will’s real self.

  “Contestant three?” the host prodded.

  Will blinked and nervously fiddled with his hands. “A nice dinner and maybe a show after, or we can go back to his place—”

  The audience ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’. The host gave him a wink and finally showed interest in him. “And…?”

  “Or we could find something on Netflix and cuddle on the couch with popcorn.”

  The crowd ‘booed’ him, the two other contestants looked at Will like he was some kind of alien from outer space and the host pretended to yawn.

  “How nice. Now, contestant number two…”

  Will didn’t hear the rest. His heart thundered against his chest. Jesus Christ. Did he just royally screw up his one chance at love?

  Wait. Love? Where the hell did that come from? For crying out loud, Will was in a dating game show, for the amusement of the crowd. Did he really think he’d find his mate here? Why did he continue torturing himself when he could bow out now and scurry out, tail between his legs?

  That would be cowardly, plus, Will had the full view of the bachelor Beta behind the one-way mirror dividing them. Dark-haired, brown eyes and six-foot plus of rough and hard sexiness looked back at Will. The Beta wasn’t prince-charming handsome, but there was no denying his roguish appeal. The Omega wolf in Will wanted to clamber up his lap and offer the Beta his neck.

  Heck. Will could imagine the Beta wrapping those muscular yummy inked arms around his waist, holding him steady—powerful arms capable of tearing another man apart, but Will knew the Beta would never hurt him.

  Will could feel the Beta’s gaze, burning holes through the glass and searing his soul, but that was beyond ridiculous, a product of his imagination. The Beta couldn’t see any of them. Will slapped at his face, the sound making the two other Omegas jump. He needed to focus. Win his man, but Will didn’t want to win by deceit. If this hunk of a Beta really wanted Will, he’d choose Will because he would’ve liked what he’d heard so far.

  Pure heart. That was what the organizers said when they picked him for the show. They said Will’s video was raw and gritty. Will didn’t even know how his entry had gone viral, but everyone suddenly knew, even his pack. He thought h
is mother and Fletcher, pack Gamma cum match-making expert, would laugh at his face or even worse, show disappointment. Instead, they slapped him on the back and congratulated him.

  They didn’t seem to understand the battle hadn’t begun. Screw this. Will might have lost the last battle about the date question, but by hook or by crook, he’d win this war.

  “Contestant three, how do you see yourself and your mate in five year’s time?” the host asked.

  Finally, a question he could answer because Will had been planning since he was a kid.

  Will didn’t hesitate, didn’t look at the host or anyone else but the clueless Beta beyond the glass. He hoped his words would reach that Beta’s heart. “I see us happily married, living in a single-story house with five pups—”

  “Five?” the host choked.

  Will continued. “Despite the kids and problems of our everyday lives, it’s his face I look forward to seeing every morning and his cock buried in me before I sleep, reminding me who my heart and body belongs to.”

  The audience fell silent. The host looked at Will like he’d never seen him before and the other two Omegas’ mouths hung open.

  “Did you get that from some gay werewolf novel?” the first Omega hissed.

  For the first time since the show started airing, the mysterious man-candy Beta spoke, “That’s him.”

  “Excuse me? Can you elaborate, Beta?” the host asked, clearly unnerved the show went off the expected path. The people behind the camera signaled to the Beta and one held out a sign that read he shouldn’t be speaking, but the Beta ignored them and stared right at Will.

  “Him. Mine. I knew from the moment I saw your video. I nearly called the producers to tell them I quit.”

  Will found himself rising from the stool and approaching the mirror.

  “Should we cut?” the host whispered to his microphone.