I close my eyes, feeling again the regret and pain of this forced choice.
They help me into my suite in the castle. We can’t get out of this nightmare, but we’ll be safe in here. Alley, my father’s favourite housekeeper, slips into the room with a couple of girls who bring a mountain of food and water.
I dive on the water, drinking until my stomach aches.
“I am so sorry, Kerrick, we don’t know what’s happened to him. He’s always been a bit strange, but after you left, he got obsessed with his legacy. He’s taking a bride.”
I wince.
“She’s just turned twenty-one, and when she tried to refuse, he threatened to kill her family.”
I put my head in my hands. “I’ll take care of it.” Another life to protect, another person whose existence relies on me.
“No, nuh-uh, we have to go get our omega,” Riot growls. “It’s been five months, Khaos; we need to find her.”
“I can’t,” I say flatly, sitting heavily on the massive king-sized bed. The four wooden posts are carved with wolves and have been in the family forever. These walls…they have been home for so long. They don’t feel like it anymore.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Riot explodes.
“I mean, I can’t. He forbade it.” My voice is soft, but it hits all of them harder than a punch.
Riot stops mid-stride. Hazard lets out a soft, mournful cry. Angel turns away. Wrath flinches as if he’s been struck.
“There are only two people who can fight his commands, and they are in this room, but I can’t fight this one; it’s the strongest command he’s ever placed on me.”
“Alpha, please,” Hazard whispers. “Please, she needs us.”
I consider him for a long moment. I turn back to Alley; she’s on her knees.
“Help us,” she begs. “Help us all, Alpha. Please don’t forsake us.”
I inhale sharply.
“Is it that bad for everyone?” I whisper.
“He’s raised taxes; he’s looking at bringing back abolished laws. He’s the worst thing that’s happened to us. Please, Alpha, you are the only one who can fix this.” Her voice is rushed, filled with fear and panic.
No one says out loud what I have to do.
But we all know it.
I eat and drink and sleep. Alley makes sure we get everything we need. No one leaves my rooms, and no one comes in. My father has forgotten about us.
A week later, at full strength, I walk down into the hall, interrupting my father’s wedding, and I challenge him for the alpha mantle.
When I’m sitting in his blood, weeping, my pack gathers around me in silence, holding me together while I fall apart.
But the command stopping me from going to my omega is gone.
Riot
I’m dragged and droppedinto a pit. The walls are massive, but the crowd screams. I let out a snarl that is echoed from the dark by something feral and very angry in a dark cage in the shadows. It doesn’t sound human or wolf.
Getting caught was a deliberate calculation and decision to get me in here and get eyes on her if I can before the pack invades. They got some good cheap knocks in, but I’ve had worse.
All of me is completely attuned to the omega that is mine. Where is she? I can smell lilac in the air, but it smells burnt; her rage saturates everything. My mouth waters, I just want to see her, to kiss her. A touch, a taste. It’s been too long. Inside, my wolf has turned deadly.
The only thing more dangerous than an omega is her alphas when she’s in danger. Right now, everything is a threat.
