I want more of whatever he’s doing to me. “You’re my mate.”
He kisses me right where my ear meets my cheek. “AndI’llbe your new home.”
Then he shoves my chin to face the opposite way, and I gasp out as his teeth sink right into my scent gland, something warm on my neck. A broken, but real tether forms between us, as if our chests that are pressed against each other share the same beating of hearts. My eyes widen. “You… Is it a dark bond?”
“No,” he gently answers, moving my chin so I’m looking into his eyes now, my blood on his lips.
Now we’re just fucking staring at each other, and he’s bitten me. His knot is inside of me, the tattoo of Dominion on his chest pressed against my own, where a new connection hums.
“You will never have to fear for anything, do you understand? I will take care of you, Diana.”
My eyes widen, those words pulsing between us throughsomething that makes it like I can actually discern what he’s feeling; a literal bond. And those words… Can he feel how addicting they are for me to hear? I think he does, because the way his eyesfinallypeel back a hardened layer, it seems like he’s almost relieved to feel my appreciation.
“Why did you bite me?” I ask, still too stunned for any reaction. Maybe not stunned… I think I’m more stunned at thebond.
“Because you’re mine. I don’t want you to have to keep questioning if I’m truthful in that statement.”
The omega in me purrs, but I snuff out the sentiment before Iactuallypurr. He has to earn that, if he will ever hear it.
Judge repositions us so I’m now lying on his chest, pulling a blanket over us. There’s nothing else to do but rest my head on his chest, which I have done countless times before. Usually, a deep sleep would hit me, but my mind can’t turn off now, not with this invasion of masculine energy inside my body, as if I have another person living there. I can’t feel his thoughts, but I can read his mood.
The alpha purrs, and the way he’s still knotted in me, chest to chest, tether to tether, my eyes close. He forced his way into the hole in my heart that craved an alpha’s protection, and one way or another, it’s soothing.
That space no longer feels empty, even if only on a technicality.
At some point after drifting off to sleep, I wake up to him sliding out of me and moving me to my side. He kisses the side of my head. “I have to tend to a man who is to face punishment for something he has done. He will be killed down in those grounds,” he motions to the window. “So watch at your own discretion. I’ll return afterward. I only tell you because it will be loud. It might be best not to watch.”
I want to ask questions, to know more about what that person did. But I can’t do anything about it, so it would be a waste of stress. I nod my head and tuck myself into thewarmth of the covers, still trying to understand what just happened.
I can sense his masculine, alpha energy inside my own body, feel the pride and possessiveness as he must be pleased. I hear him dress, then leave through one of the doors.
My hand moves from my collarbone to between my breasts. A few tears form, not directly out of anything negative, but rather from the overwhelming nature of it all.
It’s nearly impossible to process when it still feels like I might just be dreaming.
The hardest part to process?
That this doesn’t feelwrong.
JUDGE
This connectionto an omega is a thing of decadence. The way the tether ties me to her, threads through my chest, and hums whenever I breathe. She’s mine. The bond hums with proof. It’s safe to want her in all manners now—to evenneedher. It’ll be safe to share details sheneedsto know.
She’ll believe me, now.
The fates have given her to me like a holy force. It means one way or another, she will love me the way an omega is meant to love their alpha. And in return, I will give her whatever she wants, except for her freedom from me. She will never have that.
The tether hums again, faint and distant. She’s awake, probably. The sensation is low in my sternum, like a pulse that isn’t mine. I can sense confusion and unsettlement. She will adjust to the idea of us in time, especially if Scarlett Offering is enacted sooner rather than later.
She will be allowed around Dominion once Titan is dealt with. Even wear my patch, and befriend the other mated omegas. They will enjoy Diana, I have no doubt. There’s a soft, gentle side to her that makes it hard not to.
Until then, I might spend more time in that attic space. Perhaps each day we can share something new about each other. I could locate an old television and give her movies. That’s a luxury very few have in this world right now.
Fate has finally granted me something worth keeping, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep her safe and happy.
DIANA
I stare blanklyat myself in the mirror and clean up the small mark on my neck. A meek little laugh escapes at the thought of my soul being intertwined withJudge.
