Page 88 of Shared Omega

“Kane, I used to feel the same as you when it came to Outsiders.”

“That’s clearly changed,” I respond a little too quickly and angrily.

When Hasker was bound to Lily, his Outsider omega, I assumed that it was against his will. I assumed he was being forced into it by Addom, his pack leader.

But then, over the following months, on those rare occasions when I would return to the central ruins, I saw the love he felt for her. It was written all over his features. Hell, if anything, he was even more protective of his little Outsider omega than his pack brothers were. Maybe even more protective than any Alpha I had ever seen.

I couldn’t understand it.

“Kane,” Hasker goes on, “we only see the worst of the Outsiders among those who invade our lands and kill our people. But they are not all that way. It took Lily for me to see that. And I sense the same goodness in Sloane. She is courageous and determined.”

I remain silent.

Still, I can’t disagree with what he said about Sloane. He’s right. She is courageous and determined—more than any omega I’ve ever seen. Perhaps that is why I feel so drawn to her.

But that doesn’t change the fact that she is still an Outsider.

My inner turmoil rises and boils over.

“I guess it’s not as easy for me to forget what happened to my sister,” I hiss.

As soon as I have spoken the words, I regret them. I sense Hasker tense up beside me, and his fist resting on my shoulder clenches tighter. For a moment, I think he may even attack me. I wouldn’t blame him if he did.

But he doesn’t.

The truth is, I know that the death of Talia—my sister and his old mate—at the hands of the Outsiders hurt us both equally. For years the wound burned in his heart, and I know it still burns there. An Alpha who loses his mate never fully recovers. But the new happiness that he has found with Lily has been a salve for his emotional wound.

I used to think I resented him for that happiness. But the truth is, I envy it.

“Talia would want you to be happy,” he whispers.

Hearing my dear sister’s name spoken aloud nearly brings me to tears. I stare off toward the darkening horizon. Hasker reads the troubled expression on my face.

“Kane, you are a warrior through and through, to the very marrow of your bones. Of all the Alphas, you are the strongest fighter. There is none that would dare stand against you in battle, not even myself.”

He laughs, and I can’t help but smile too. But after a moment his face grows serious and his smile disappears inside his beard.

“But you can’t fight Fate, brother,” he says. “It’s like quicksand in a morass. The more you struggle against it, the more firmly it will hold you fast. Instead, you must learn to surrender.”

I gaze up at the sky, where the last of the light is draining away like blood.

“Surrender,” Hasker says, “It’s a bitter word in the mouth of a warrior like yourself, old friend. Believe me, I know. But you cannot fight Fate. You cannot fight the Will of the Source.”

And with that, his fist disappears from my shoulder, and the grizzled Alpha slips away as silent as a cat, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

So many thoughts.

I stand there on the ledge for some time, watching the stars multiply in the purple sky as I think about the things to come. The ceremony. The coming excursion beyond the wall. What may happen if it fails, and what may happen if it succeeds.

But more than anything, I find myself thinking of the Outsider.

The omega.

Sloane.

CHAPTER 27: SLOANE

The anticipation is pure torture.