A male fingertip came to her chin, turning her toward his bright eyes, but her gaze remained locked on the wall, fixated on a crack in the wood, as she mentally berated herself.
She could not face this Beta beast whose blood was smeared across her mouth.
The one who set her free, placing her tingling feet to the floor as he rocked her back and forth, holding her close. Taking her hand in his, he brought her palm to the bulge in his black trousers. “I’m not hard because I enjoy your rage or fear. It’s a natural response to your scent. And I’m not going to rape you.”
Yanking her hand back, honey eyes cut to his, burning with warning that she would fight if he tried.
But she had just fought… and she’d lost.
She’d even torn into his shoulder, the male’s blood smeared all over her lips and chin.
And as quickly as her bravado had come, it diminished.
“Omega anger is a useful emotion, but it will affect those around you in ways you do not anticipate. It alters your scent to warn your mate that you need immediate tending. It also fills the air with pheromones that urge a male to rut—to calm you, you see. With purrs, touch… an Alpha would growl and potentially force an upset female to take his knot. When you rage around Jacques, he will desperately want to fuck you. We both know he lacks the self-awareness to resist. If you could take five breaths and slow down, it will help.”
Stomach revolting, she felt her mouth sour and swallowed down the flood of saliva. The taste of his blood thick in her mouth.
Iron. Copper.
Salt.
A slow drizzle of vibrant red ran over his pectoral muscle, Brenya instantly mesmerized by it. Hating how distracting it was.
“A bite is a very intimate act an Omega performs for her lover. A mark on her mate that mirrors the mark he left on her. It is… precious. Thank you, Brenya.”
“No!” She wanted to argue, to explain that it was not her purpose, but Brenya found herself caught in the openness of his gaze, his ocean parting so she could see deeper, to the place she should never, ever look, but had not yet been able to turn away from.
To the monster within that was so very pleased to be near her, that was so grateful she cared enough to hurt him.
“I’m not?—”
“You have every right to be angry.” Catching her fingers again, he held them in his palm, warmed them, as he said, “About Jacques… about all of it. And I have every right to ensure that you stop taking risks that could harm you.You are too intelligent and too adept—in the best sense—for me to secure your safety any other way.” A flood of his death-like tranquility was offered to her, the Beta at peace with all of it, as he straightened her jumpsuit and soothed her aching elbow, careless of spreading his blood on her gray jumpsuit. “I have seen what you are capable of.”
He looked so fucking proud of her that she could scream, his shoulder an oozing mess.
But she couldn’t. No one could ever know the unspeakable secret he’d whispered in her ear.Ever.
“You lie. You deceive! You promised to keep me away from Jacques.” Voice low, a growl that warned she was moments from biting again, she snarled, barely above a whisper, “I let you…. You misled me.” But she couldn’t stop there. Not when a greater evil had been committed against her. “You hid the virus insidemy body!”
“I did.” Not one flicker of regret came from his rather active sea, Jules running the back of his fingers over her heart. “Tucked away where no one but I could ever remove it.”
Brenya wanted to rip her hair out. Violated, frustrated, outraged that he’d clipped her wings in every possible way while he’d claimed he was trying to teach her to fly. “If my heart stops, everyone in my Dome will die!”
“Yes.” How could he smile at her like that, with such regard and admiration? “It’s true. The containment will detonate should your heart stop beating. Don’t die.”
“How could you do this to me?” If anyone knew, everyone would fear her. And if they destroyed her to destroy the virus, Jules would rip the Dome apart. Frantic, she shoved at his chest. “How could you be so heartless? You said you loved me!”
“Oh so much, Brenya.” He snatched at her fingers to press her bloodied palm to his heart, more of his infectious calm working into the cracks of her thinking. “Here. I love you here. Do you feel that?”
“You made me the greatest threat to the Dome… and then you made me swear never to leave.” Her eyes welled, angry tears falling down her jagged scar, mixing with the red mess smeared around her lips. “Take it out… please.”
“No.” Spoken with so much kindness she hardly recognized the man. The Beta killer. The terrorist. “I told you this was an invasion—my target, Bernard Dome’s control of the satellite network. Jacques was a known authoritarian, yet left your Dome’s most valuable resource in the control of a mainframe. Your network was easy to access. Which means we are not the only ones doing so. I saw things. Troubling things.” His resolve openly hardened. “Brenya, it takes a great deal to trouble me.”
It seemed so horribly reasonable, so diabolical, as he explained in calm tones, pressing her fluttering fingers to his bloody chest, and wrapped an arm around her back to pullher closer. How he swayed with her again, making her shift her weight from right foot to left and back, a light rocking, a rhythm that slowed her breath. “I volunteered for the mission, because it was that vital. It couldnotfail. And I needed leverage. Brenya, there is no greater leverage than fear of the Red Consumption. Jacques didn’t know my Followers possessed the virus, though perhaps he suspected, but Bernard Dome’s Alphas were desperate for Omegas. Forten women, he letmein.
“I needed to make sure no one could take my weapon from me if my ship was destroyed upon landing. I needed to make sure that if I was killed, the takeover would be successful regardless. So, I designed the implant myself, and it was surgically installed the night I left Greth. It’s been inside me all this time… until I put it in you.”
She had seen every inch of his body, the man covered in scars, just as he was covered in those black markings. And none of them seemed fresh. Maybe… just maybe… he was lying?
