Alpha Osamu was lying through his teeth. They weren’t in some sort of relationship, not like the elder was saying. Oh, they had one. Osamu enjoyed torturing people, and Xias was the object of his perverse desires.
Xias didn’t know whether to point out the lies Osamu had told now or let this farce continue.
“What papers?” he asked, curious to see where this was going.
“The papers agreeing to be registered as an omega with Alpha Osamu’s clan.”
“But I haven’t agreed to anything.”
Nor would he.
“Darling,” Osamu said as he walked forward with a confident stride, “is all of this really necessary? Just sign the papers so we can get our cubs and go home.”
When Osamu tried to grab his arm, Xias took a hasty step backward. “Don’t touch me!” He knew he’d have bruises the second Osamu touched him. He’d had enough of them over the years.
“Xias!”
Xias had no idea where his bravery was coming from, maybe his fear, but he refused to be cowed by the man who had tormented him almost every day of his life. “I have to be here because they said I do, but you have nothing to say that I want to hear.”
Osamu’s eyes narrowed. “Darling, I have no idea who filled your head with such hatred, but if you would just give me a chance, I’m sure we can settle whatever it is that has you so upset, and then we can go home.”
Xias knew most of this was for show, but he was done playing games. “I will never go home with you. There is nothing you can say that will convince me. I’d rather spend the rest of my life locked up at council headquarters than go anywhere with you.”
When Osamu started for him again, Xias ran around the large wooden table, putting it between them. “Here’s your answer, Alpha Osamu. I will not join your clan. I will never join your clan. And as an omega’s cubs belong to him, my cubs will never join your clan.”
Osamu’s face turned red with rage. “Those are my cubs!”
“Actually, they’re mine. Shifter law.” Xias knew his smirk was disrespectful, but it felt so damn good. “And if you think I’m going to let you anywhere near them, you’re more delusional than I thought you were.”
Having been under Osamu’s thumb since he shifted for the very first time, and having watched the temperamental alpha ever since, he had learned a lot. He knew every tic in Osamu’s face, every tightening of his muscles, and he knew what it meant when the man’s hands fisted and he bared his teeth.
“He’s shifting, Zhuang,”Xias shouted through the mate bond as he ran for the door, desperate to get away.
He didn’t make it.
Xias screamed as he was grabbed from behind and tossed through the air. He felt something snap in his chest when he hit the wall and then crashed to the floor. The pain that ripped through his chest stole what little air there was in his lungs.
He lifted his head when he heard a gurgling sound to see Osamu’s claws sinking into the elder’s throat. It was obvious from the amount of blood staining the man’s shirt that it was a killing blow.
“I’m on my way, Xias.”
Xias wasn’t sure his mate would get here in time. Osamu threw Elder Yang aside as if he weighed next to nothing. Xias scrambled to get to his feet when the man turned in his direction. His hands slid across the marble floor as if they were coated in butter. He grew frantic. If Osamu got ahold of him, he was going to die. He just knew it.
“I want my cub!” Osamu shouted as he grabbed Xias and yanked him to his feet.
Xias cried out when Osamu slammed him into the wall. His head smacked it hard, sending shards of pain all the way to the base of his skull.
“Where is my son?”
Xias blinked up at Osamu. “My cub.”
This time when Osamu threw him, he went sailing over the large wooden table and crashed into one of the couches in the seating area. It wasn’t as soft of a landing as he would have hoped when hitting a couch, but it was better than the floor.
Xias panted heavily as he lay there on the marble tile, trying to catch his breath. He was pretty sure something was broken. Breathing hurt. If he didn’t figure out how to get away from Osamu, there’d be a whole lot more hurting. The alpha had no mercy when someone defied him.
A loud growl echoed through the air. Xias opened his eyes to see Osamu standing on the far side of the room. The man’s angry red-rimmed eyes were pinned on him. When Osamu started for him, Xias shifted, then fought to get out of his clothes. He slipped on the slick marble floor again, but he had to keep trying. Four feet had to be better than two.
When someone grabbed him, he yipped in terror and started snapping his teeth.
