“You were busy murdering Duke Dumbfucker,” she grumbled. “He danced with me last night before that handsy bastard.”
“Before the one I took care of?”
“Yeah. Anyway, he’s leaving tomorrow.”
“Oh. One of the Mirrenese shitheads?”
“He’s a Mirrenese prince,” she admitted. “But not an asshole one.”
“An Alpha?” I asked, trying to remember who she’d danced with, before I’d turned the ballroom into a bloody killing field. “I saw you with a… Fuck’s sake, you’ve got a crush on the younger brother of the crown prince of all Mirren? He’ssixteen.”
“I’m twelve!” she yelled back. “Or close enough!”
“We don’t know that! We don’t know how old you really are.” We were both standing now, staring into each other’s face. “I can’t keep you safe if you start throwing yourself after Mirrenese princes.”
“You don’t need to keep me safe. I can do that on my own.” She held up the knife. “You forget I’ve stabbed Alphas, just like you have.”
“No,” I muttered. “Not just like that. You’re young, and vulnerable, and I’m not leaving you. Damn it all, I’ll tell the boss to eat shit. I’m staying.”
Her face went pale. “You’re leaving?”
Fuck.
RATTER
Ahalf hour later, I’d finished telling my sister the whole story, and Verity and I sat in the middle of one of the unused nesting rooms. It smelled awful, but it was quiet. The younger children—six girls, ranging from four years old to fourteen, and two younger boys who had been born inside these walls—knew to stay away when I asked. Four of the eight women who lived here had made us a meal. Two of those were Omegas, who needed to be hidden for more than one reason. They were rare, of course, and Alpha males would want them for breeding and to help soothe their violent natures. But one of our Omegas loved one of the women, a rare female Alpha.
Winna, the other Omega, had fled her Alpha husband with her infant daughter Gertie five years ago. He’d kept Winna hidden in a basement for half her life until a midwife had helped her escape, and she was the unspoken leader of the group. She sat near enough to eavesdrop on our conversation, but I didn’t mind; she needed to hear this as much as Verity.
“Winna, I’ll need you to tell the other women something for me, soon. I’m leaving Turino.” She gasped. “And there’s more.” Raising an eyebrow, she set aside the sock she’d been darning. “There’s news they’re planning to tear this building down.”
Her hands trembled on her lap, and I knew she understood why I was here, and how tricky things could get. With a nod, she curled her shaking fingers into fists. “Thank you, Ratter. We’ll manage somehow.” She knew as well as I did that was a lie. Almost all the women here were on the run. Not all of them would be recognized by the people of Turino, but some would. Being seen was not an option for many of these refugees.
“I’ll find you another place,” I promised. “But you’ll have to move soon, within the week. This will be my last Solstice Eve here. I’m being sent to study in Verdan. I leave the day after the Solstice.”
Winna stood, and the rich scent of roses that always surrounded her like a cloud of expensive perfume almost overwhelmed the odor of the cooking cabbage. “Then we’ll need to make this year’s Solstice Eve celebration very special. And don’t worry about us. You’re a good lass, the finest I’ve ever met. But not even the Great Ratter of Rimholt can solve every problem.”
“I can try,” I protested, but she forced a smile and waved us out the door.
“Go on, sweet girl. I’ll tell the others. You need to get home before you’re missed.”
I hugged her, and Verity followed me out the door, both of us promising to come back the day before Solstice, with candies and some of our mother Haven’s famous cinnamon rolls.
Back home, Haven and Graham were still teaching their newest crop of students in the larger downstairs schoolroom. I snuck past them and up to the room I shared with my sisters, locking the door behind me. When I had first come to live here, a shared room felt like a luxury. But now, with me, seven of my crew, our four parents, and the three new children they’d added to the household, an entire house felt cramped. It wouldn’t be for long, though, not with so many of us growing up. Leaving.
I stood at the bedside table Tracks—now Trevor—had made for me when he became an apprentice at the woodcarver’s. It had been hard, realizing my younger siblings were going out in the world. I was so proud of them all. So happy, though once I would never have thought such a word could describe me.
Hungry, though. I’d been hungry my whole life. For food. Then power, when I was powerless. Then knowledge.
I was excited about leaving Rimholt. I just needed to make sure the vulnerable people who counted on me were protected once I was gone.
My crew and my family didn’t need anything. There were enough of them to keep eyes on the queen’s children, which was the job Vilkurn had given us years before.
But the women and children in the warehouse didn’t trust Alphas. They wouldn’t even let Robert deliver the cloth and threads for the embroidery the women did anymore, now that he had a distinctive scent. They’d been too abused and traumatized by Alphas to live normal lives, where they might come in contact with them.
Before my Aunt Cilla left with her mates for Mirren, I’d begged the women for permission to bring in an outside Omega, to talk to them. One of the only Omegas the world knew existed, Cilla had been sneaking in to teach them some needlework so they could learn a trade.
But not even Winna, the bravest of the group, would take the risk of starting up her own shop, and running into an Alpha. I’d seen her freeze and go into shock when she’d smelled my dads’ scents on my damned cloak, and they were the most placid Alphas in existence.
