“What the fuck is his problem!” I growl as I throw myself down onto the bed. Fitz’s scent rises up from the sheets and calms me a little. Last night I got to sleep with him in my arms all night. Because we are imprisoned by the Council and he was literally locked in with me. I scowl.
“His problem is you,” says Fitz calmly, as he stands by the bed and looks down at me.
“What?”
I don’t want the Grand Master to have a problem with me. I don’t want to be trapped in this huge underground maze that is the Council Chamber. I was just finally getting my act together and getting somewhere with Fitz. All I want to be doing is courting him and working towards making him my mate. Then I want us to have a long boring life. I don’t want to be dealing with any of this shit. It’s not fair.
“I’ve never done anything to him,” I grumble.
Okay, I’ve been a bit rude, but that is hardly the crime of the century. I’m sure a necromancer can handle a bit of rudeness. Especially from an alpha. We are kind of known for it.
“You are an alpha and a magic weaver, that’s rare isn’t it?”
I nod. What’s that got to do with anything? I’m not getting Fitz’s point at all.
Fitz sighs as if I’m being stupid. “The Grand Master is an omega.”
“Yes, I know that.”
“You scare him.”
I blink at Fitz. I cannot have heard him correctly. Silas Darkstar, afraid of me? It’s ridiculous. My powers are no match for his own.
Fitz gives me a long, level look. “I know I don’t know much, but I get the idea that omegas aren’t always treated as well as you and the pack have treated me.”
A thousand stories and examples flow through my mind. The most recent one being Fallon and what I suspect happened to him. It makes my heart feel heavy. I’ve been trying to convince Fitz that shifters aren’t monsters, that we are the good guys. It’s hard to admit that it isn’t always true. We can be just as cruel as humans.
And I’ve treated Fitz abysmally. Not well. I hate that in his world, my behavior counts as nice. I wasn’t kind, nurturing and caring. I was mean. Mean and horny. But I’ve never done a thing to Silas Darkstar.
“I suspect the Grand Master has reasons to dislike alphas, and most he can squish like a bug. But you have magic. You are a threat.”
I stare at Fitz. He really is a clever little shit. Frightfully perceptive, if he has figured all this out. I wonder if he can read me just as fluently. It’s an unsettling thought. I want him to like me, not see all my flaws laid out before him like a menu.
“And I’m pretty sure the Grand Master usually eliminates anything that threatens him,” continues Fitz.
Now my blood feels like ice and my guts are flipping over. I thought Fitz was the one in danger. But he is quite likely right. It’s me who is in jeopardy. Not that I care, it’s just if something happens to me, Fitz will be all alone.
“What do you suggest?” I ask. He seems to have figured this all out.
“You stay here and let me see him alone.”
“But…”
“Like you said Jake, I coped with hunters all my life. I can cope with the Grand Master and whatever he throws at me.”
I don’t know what to say to that. I want to protect him, I need to protect him. But if my presence is making things worse, then I’m not doing my job. And Fitz is no wilting wallflower. I’m probably insulting him by my insistence on accompanying him. He has probably just been humoring me this whole time.
Thinking about it, my little rant at the Grand Master wasn’t the most flattering. I wince and look up at Fitz. I hope my apology is clear in my eyes because I have no idea how to find words for it.
Fitz gives me a soft smile that steals my heart completely. His ability to enchant me is a magic all of its own. This omega who is not always omega-like, has somehow gone from being my nemesis who kept trying to kill me, to someone I would gladly die for.
“I like it when you stand up for me,” he says. “It’s romantic.”
A beautiful flush spreads across his pale cheeks. How can he be so gorgeous? I reach out with my cuffed hands and pull him down onto the bed with me. Arranging him as the little spoon and slotting him through my bound arms. I snuffle his hair and sigh happily. Having him here in my arms eases my wolf. It feels like I am keeping him safe, and he belongs in my embrace. It just feels right, in a way that nothing else ever has.
Fitz and I are like two jagged puzzle pieces. Somehow we fit together. I only wish I had seen it sooner.
“Okay,” I say. “We will do it your way.”
