A/N: The events in this story happen about one year after "Rise Above."

You don't have to read "Rise Above" to read this story but there WILL be spoilers, especially concerning Markus+Dallas because they work in the same office as Bill, so you have been warned.

And now, enjoy! :D

Chapter One

The image downright refused to leave his brain.

Dallas Crane pinned to the wall by Marcus Rowan's small frame, the omega trembling, soft lips parted as he stared down at the alpha like he hung the fucking moon. Marcus had one strong thigh in-between the omega's legs and it wasn't hard to imagine what was happening, not hard to imagine what exactly the alpha had been whispering into the air between them, his voice soft and full of command.

Bill Anderson's hand clenched so hard around his glass it nearly cracked as he seethed with rage.

He hated Dallas Crane's guts so fucking much.

"Jeez, man, what did the drink ever do to you?"

Bill startled, glancing up at the owner of the voice that had just spoken to him. The bar had fallen silent while he'd gotten lost in his thoughts, but now, the noise returned full force; music blaring obnoxiously from loud speakers and weres screaming to be heard over the noise.

The man that had spoken to him was extremely tall, with broad shoulders and a splattering of moles across his entire face, making it look like someone had sprayed dark ink all over his face in messy tiny splotches. A light polite sniff told Bill that this guy was an alpha and he unconsciously sat up straighter, his hand tightening imperceptibly around his glass.

He managed a crooked smile at the guy, "Just had a rough day, is all."

"May I?" the dark haired man asked, nodding at the bar stool beside Bill.

Bill nodded and turned back to his drink, suddenly very interested in the ice floating in the golden liquid.

"Work is tough, eh?" the alpha asked jovially, playfully nudging Bill in the shoulder.

Bill couldn't help his smile, still not looking at the alpha. "Yeah. It's fucking bullshit."

The other man laughed and from the sound of his voice, he was probably taking a look around the bar, "Do you come here often?"

Bill swallowed, ignoring the sudden racing of his heartbeat. "Not really. Only every other day."

The alpha laughed again, finally turning his full attention on Bill. "Yeah? The name's Stanley by the way."

"Bill."

"So how's this joint, Bill? You look like a guy who knows his stuff," Stanley winked.

Despite himself, Bill felt his cheeks heat and immediately turned to face his glass, picking it up and taking a huge gulp, nearly choking as the strong liquid rushed down his throat too fast.

He turned back to face the other alpha, his voice a croak when he blurted, "Oh, it's alright." He coughed, blushing harder in embarrassment while Stanley smiled at him like he was the most fascinating creature in the world, "The food's okay. The music's shit. The people – eh."

Stanley chuckled, grinning widely at Bill, "Is it, now?" he laughed, "I'm just looking for a good time, you know? Get away from everything for a while."

"Yeah," Bill responded quietly. "Me too."

"Give me a second, I'll be right back," Stanley grinned before disappearing from the bar stool beside him.

Bill stared hard at his glass, trying not to get excited. It was stupid to get excited. He waited for a minute at best before trying to casually scan his eyes over the room, wondering where his alpha – fuck, no – wondering where Stanley had went.

He felt his good mood come crashing down on him like a caved ceiling and didn't even notice that he'd shattered the glass in his hands when he spotted Stanley across the room with an omega.

Stanley had one hand propped against the wall, his chest puffed up as big as it could get, dopey grin wide on his face, obviously posturing for the pretty little thing in front of him, a gorgeous strawberry blonde woman who was batting her eyelashes yet at the same time seeming to be rejecting his advances.

The sight of her alone made his blood boil. She was so tiny and pretty and so fucking omegan it made Bill's insides positively boil.

Fucking omegas. They fucking ruined everything.

As he watched with barely concealed fury, another bigger alpha with a shirt that was obviously at least two sizes too small walked up to them, growling out something at Stanley. Stanley looked at the other alpha, eyes wide with surprise and hands raised in surrender as he slowly backed away. The bigger alpha roughly grabbed the omega by her waist, shoving her against his chest possessively before growling out something again at Stanley.

Stanley stammered something and then walked off quickly, obviously not wanting to start any trouble.

"Sheesh, is it just me or is everyone taken?" Stanley laughed as he plopped back into the seat beside Bill, lifting a hand to wave down the bartender. "Oh shit, what happened to your hand?"

"Nothing," Bill growled through clenched teeth, shoving back from his chair so quickly the stool toppled over, landing on the floor hard and cracking one of its legs.

"Whoa, are you okay, man?"

Bill ignored the alpha and made his way blindly to the bathroom, the pain in his right hand only hitting him when he finally got to the sinks. He swallowed, lifting his hand up and picking out the glass so the skin could heal properly. When he was sure he had every piece out, he shoved his hand underneath the taps, wincing a little as the cold water hit his rapidly healing cuts, watching the blood drain into the sink.

He didn't know what suddenly possessed him at that moment.

Maybe a cell in his brain finally snapped. Maybe he'd finally lost whatever was left of his sanity.

He walked out of the bathroom with pure intent, his eyes immediately zeroing in on the pretty omega, who was alone again. For someone with such a possessive mate you'd think the guy would be hovering over her twenty-four seven.

He didn't slow down, practically stalking up to the female and crowding her space, trying not to wrinkle his nose when her scent hit him – something really strong, like chemically processed pomegranates, the kind they put in washing or bathing soaps. It was a little revolting. Why would anyone – let alone an alpha that looked at good as her mate – even want her?

Her small palm on his chest prevented him from moving further and he glared down at her pretty face.

She frowned at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

His lips curled into a predatory smirk. "Oh, I'll be alright. As soon as I get my knot in you."

Her eyes grew wide with shock and she took a step back, her cheeks flushing at his crudeness. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, omega," he spat the word out like it was vile, practically leering at her before rudely grabbing his crotch in one hand, smirk intensifying, "know what this is?" he asked rhetorically, yanking at his bulge, "Thoroughbred, through and through. I'll knot you so good you'll forget your name."

"What the fuck?" the omega gasped, recoiling away from him, her entire frame reeking of hate, fear and revulsion.

Bill was only a little surprised at the huge hand that suddenly grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around so he was face to face with the female's mate.

Holy fuck, he was huge.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, mate?" the guy growled, his grip tightening on Bill's shoulder.

Bill felt his heart start racing a mile a minute, stomach flipping uncomfortably.

"Is there a problem here?" Bill goaded, "I was talking to the baby maker over there and I don't think it's any of your business."

"What the fuck did you just call her?" the guy bellowed with rage, his entire frame seeming to grow two sizes in the blink of an eye, biceps bulging in his tiny shirt.

Bill crossed his arms, feeling like he was about to hyperventilate – he was breathing so hard – and he felt like his heart was going to pump right out of his chest and make a run for it. "A baby maker," he spat, "I mean, isn't that what she is?"

The guy inhaled and grew even bigger and all Bill could think of was; Hit me. Hit me. Fucking hit me you big piece of shit.

The hand left his shoulder and it was almost a relief to feel that fist crushing against his face before everything went dark.