WIP Spotlight: Neko

I’ve been scrolling through my current Works in Progress, to see what I might be able to share with you. Some of these are WIPs in the broadest sense, in that I haven’t started writing them yet, but they’re part of a series currently in the works.

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NEKO RELGA learned as a young child not to rely on romance or true mates. He’s watched his parents trade hatred and lawsuits his entire life, and seen how happy his mother is with his step-alpha. Romance is overrated, so when his beloved Grandpa Mateo’s will stipulates that Neko has to accept an arranged mating to gain his inheritance, he’s happy to agree. Even if he doesn’t have the first clue what the family business actually does.

RIVER ADAN is the oddball in his family. He’s the one who cares about the family business, who despises the rich and famous world they belong to, and hates his own twin with a burning passion. Dyed hair, eccentric style, piercings and Omha sigils all over his body have become ways to express himself and separate himself from his identical twin. Along with his anxiety and depression, they’re the things that push him to the outside and leave everyone disappointed in him…until Neko comes along.

What starts as an arranged mating quickly develops into more. For the first time in his life, River is seen. For the first time in his life, Neko believes in love. And for the third time in history, Dale Venton – notorious sadistic killer – is about to lead the ORT on a merry chase that can only end in bloodshed and death.

River and Neko are about to be pulled into one of the most complex and dangerous cases in recent ORT history. Can they defy all odds and survive unscathed, or will Dale’s violent resurrection change their lives irrevocably?

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Extract

Chapter 1

early-July: Friday

NEKO

When Agatha said they needed to talk, he knew something was wrong, but he didn’t expect this.

Neko stared at the Last Will and Testament of his grandfather, his omega’s father, in bewilderment. Apparently his evil bitch of a birth-alpha had kept the will in testate for the last year, since his grandfather died, all because of ambiguous wording in the will. Some line where it said ‘my beloved daughter and her wonderful alpha’ were to inherit his vast fortune and the family business, which none of them had been involved in before. Neko wasn’t even sure he understood what the business did.

As usual, Sergeant Juniper had tried to ruin everything by insisting she was the alpha mentioned in the will. Yeah, right. The only wonderful thing about her was watching her backside walk out the door when she left them. It had taken a year of trying to deal with her lawyer before Agatha filed a petition to take it to court, where the judge took one look at the date the will was written―two months before Grandpa Mateo died―and the date that Juniper filed the willing disillusionment of her bond with Freysa then threw the entire case out.

Neko couldn’t believe the audacity of the woman, thinking she had a claim to anything of theirs. She’d been the one to leave, to not want him, and treat an omega as sweet as Freysa like a whore. She had no right.

“Sorry, what did you say I was to look at?” he asked, glancing up at Agatha as he realised he’d let himself get distracted by his anger.

Agatha smiled, leaning in to point out a paragraph halfway down the page. “He left this passage for you,” she said, with a weighted stare that made him wonder what worried her so much.

Eyeing the paragraph warily, he had to read it three times before it made sense.

To my grandson, Nekolitis, I leave my legacy. While Freysa deserves all the happiness in the world, I wish to keep the family company in the hands of my grandson, that he can carry on the Relga name.

I leave him the following, with my blessings that he have a long-lived, beautiful future with his mate: the Relga Inc. company in its entirety, a savings account of three million that he may do with what he pleases at any point after he claims access. My hope is that he can live a full life of adventure, perhaps travel, and spoil his mate, while keeping the company thriving in whatever way he sees fit. I have left a letter, to help him in that endeavour.

My final gift is an arranged mating. Nekolitis has never been romantic, a fault that I fear originates with me, so I hope he can forgive me for depriving him of his true mate in the understanding that it is for the best. Details of his chosen mate are within my letter to him.

Finally, I have authorised my bank and estate agent to see that Nekolitis gets whatever house and land he desires, whenever he decides to purchase it. There is no limit to cost, and I hope he will fill it with many grandchildren for my Freysa.

The only stipulation I put on his inheritance is as followed – he must accept the mate I have chosen and provide a child within the year (barring medical reasons that may prevent this). Once the first stipulation is met, he will be given access to the company and the money. I appoint Freysa as the judge to confirm a pregnancy or accept legitimate medical exemption, upon which time Nekolitis will be free to choose his living accommodations.

I do not add these stipulations as a way to control him. I simply wish to secure the future of this family, the company we have worked hard for two generations to build, and to make sure he has a bright, happy future ahead.

Nekolitis is free to break all stipulations by accepting his true mate, as long as he accepts the consequences of doing so.

“Shit.” Neko blinked back tears, realising what his grandfather had done. He was right about Neko not being romantic; he’d lost faith in the true mate concept after Juniper left them, when she’d accused his omega of lying about who his alpha was. It was insulting to question a true mate and suggest she’d cheated when Juniper was the lying bitch.

Still, having it all arranged was a bit much.

“So…where’s the letter?” he asked, glancing up at Agatha, who seemed to be leading this…revelation? Intervention? He wasn’t sure what it was, just that his omega was sitting there, nibbling on her fingernails like she didn’t like having any part of this.

Agatha glanced at Freysa, as if expecting her to react, and rolled her eyes when she didn’t even notice. “Here, darling.” She handed him an envelope from the coffee table between them.

Neko stared at his grandfather’s familiar handwriting on the front, smiling at the way he refused to shorten his name to Neko, even just when talking about him. He missed Mateo more than anything, but trusted his judgement. He might not know what to do with the company, but he could honour his last wishes and do what was right. Mateo deserved that much.

Opening the envelope, he found six pages, and boggled at the amount of information it contained, because Mateo always wrote small. Pulling the paper close, he began reading the warm, sweet greeting and smiled at the use of balme, the old word for dearest one. His grandfather had been calling him that for most of his life and his heart ached to see it again.

My sweetest balme,

As soon as I realised I was sick, I knew that my legacy would need to be passed onto your shoulders. I know you are capable and understand the honour of such a decision, though I regret the weight it will place upon you.

I hope you will not be displeased with the choice of mate I have made for you. This young man has been such a help to me in my old age and his family have been grooming him to take over their business for years. He will be your greatest asset in taking over the company, and will hopefully help you shoulder the burden.

River Adan was the grandson of my neighbour, once upon a time, and you used to play with him during the summer. I’m sorry to say that he didn’t make the best impression on you, as he became quickly infatuated, insisting that you would one day be his mate. You refused, claiming you would only accept your true mate. It was harmless and adorable, at the time.

I’m not sure if you remember him, but River would visit his grandparents often until he was twelve. They discovered he had an illness and travel was not good for him. A year later, his grandparents moved to be closer to him, but we stayed in touch. They kept their property next door, renting it out over the years to carefully vetted and lovely families. In the last three years, River has become responsible for the upkeep of the property while it sat unoccupied. He would often check on me, sit to share stories, and tend the garden. I believe he’s the reason I lived so long, after the diagnosis.

I remember watching him talk about you, while we sat flipping through photo albums one day, and I remembered his wish to be mated to you. Perhaps it was selfish, but I never mentioned this to him and instead approached his parents and grandparents to ask if they would approve. They were happy that their youngest son would have such a secure future with an alpha who would never put a strain on his health condition.

I am proud to say that we arranged this mating amicably and it has remained a surprise for him, as it has been for you. I leave the revelation of your match to you. You may break the news however you wish.

Neko shook his head, wondering how he was going to explain this to River. He could barely remember the kid, but he was there in some very old memories. Short, red-headed with freckles all over his face and a large birthmark on his shoulder. He vaguely remembered them playing Cops and Criminals, when Neko would say that birthmark was the site of a deadly poison that had killed him in a previous life.

He’d been talking shit, but he kind of remembered River being proud and insisting that no poison would kill him. Then Neko would chase him towards the poison ivy, asking if they should test the theory.

He smiled at the memory, as distant as it was. It was one of the few good memories he had of his childhood friends. Some had been real assholes, making fun of him because Neko was the shortest alpha they knew. He’d had a late growth spurt, waiting until he was fifteen before he matched the average height for an alpha. River was the only one who had been smaller than him and never teased him.

He wondered what River was doing now, apart from befriending lonely old men.

Overleaf, I have explained a little about the company, what we do and what will be expected of you. There is already a Board of Trustees who are aware of my wishes and that you are to be guided but never dictated to. I trust you will do whatever is in the best interest of the business, so if they do not agree, you have been given full authority to overrule them.

I know that you dream of becoming an ORT agent, and that makes me so proud, having raised a vulnerable omega myself. I would never want to encroach on that future. I have stipulated that you are in control from the moment of my death, but that if you are happy with the current running of the company remaining in your mother’s hands for a year, then you have such time to prepare yourself for taking control. Though I hope you will come to love the work, I understand that you had different dreams. I only ask that you focus on the company for at least a year, to familiarise yourself with the staff and running of such a company. Then you may appoint your mate, or another trusted employee, to handle the main running of the company while you train for a life of action and adventure.

I have listed a group of twenty employees who I believe will be suited to this task, when you are ready to appoint them. This is at your discretion, as I understand you may wish to interview them or meet them first.

As always, you are my precious balme and I love you dearly. I hope you and River can be happy together, no matter what the future holds or what decisions you make.

Have a wonderful future, my balme. I will miss you.

Neko wiped at his eyes as the outpouring of love overwhelmed him. He’d been so lucky to have Mateo in his life, to be the only grandchild so that he was spoiled rotten. He folded the letter, intending to study it later, when he was less emotional.

“Are you okay, darling?” Freysa reached out to touch his arm and he forced a smile for her.

“Yeah, ma. I’m okay.” He lay his hand on top of hers and gave them a brief rundown of what the letter entailed. “He wants me to mate with River Adan.” Neko brushed at his cheeks while they soaked in that information. He was surprised that Agatha looked worried.

Freysa glanced up at her bonded and smiled, reaching for her hand, briefly connecting them. “I know. They’re a very influential family and we’ve tried hard to keep you away from feeling the kind of pressure your grandfather grew up with,” she said, facing Neko with compassionate eye. “He said you could refuse the terms, but I know that you were close and that’s a decision only you can make.”

Neko nodded, standing and walking around the table to kiss them both on the cheek. “Thank you for doing this with me. I’ll have to read this more closely and think about it,” he said, needing time to consider the repercussions of agreeing and the consequences of refusing his grandfather’s wishes. He had a feeling he knew what he would do, but he had to be smart about it, because it wasn’t only his life on the line. This would affect River too, and that wasn’t something he could jump into lightly. “I’ll call you both tomorrow.”

Agatha walked him out, though he hadn’t expected her to. At the front door, she paused and stepped out into the cold evening with him. “I don’t know much about River, but I know that he has a brother and that his parents are very…influential. Pushy, some might say,” she said, an amused twinkle in her eye that said she was understating it.

“Okay.” He wasn’t sure why that mattered. Mateo had mingled with the rich and famous, so of course he’d picked someone who could have business ties and would help the company grow. Knowing him, he’d probably picked a rival company, intending for their mating to create the merger of the century.

“Rumour has it that one of the sons―and no one has said which―is a nightmare,” Agatha admitted, probably hoping to warn him in advance. “They’re high maintenance, have OCD, anxiety and bout of depression. They, apparently, have quite the temper and make life miserable for the staff at their own company, though I don’t know what position they hold.”

“I see.” Neko smiled and hugged her, because he appreciated the warning, but he would still give River a chance to prove the rumours wrong. Or right. Maybe it wouldn’t matter, or maybe he’d decide that he’d rather secure his grandfather’s legacy without the mating, forfeiting the money and prestige that was being offered.

Only time would tell what he’d do, but River deserved the chance to know about the arrangement before Neko decided whether to accept or reject his grandfather’s terms.