Now, he had her curious, even if it was mixed with her disgust.
She wassoangry.
Had probably never felt that emotion fully before, not when she’d been mentally balanced and could truly savor it. Not after withdrawal from Beta Suppressants, not after forced pair-bonds, not after extensive separation sickness.Now, she was awake. Her brain was functioning, her body healthy.
Shivering with anger that made her eyes so very pretty.
And he was about to piss her off even more. “Georges flew the ship. He has returned to Bernard Dome.”
“No!” Brenya advanced, her footsteps decisive as she marched closer, shouting, and looking like she fought the temptation to strangle him. “He wouldn’t do something like that! He would never hurt women that way!”
Wrapping her in his thoughts while Brenya was too distracted in her fury to notice, Jules drew her closer to his will, cradling her mental storm and adoring the flames that burned bright at the heart of her.
He couldn’t physically touch her yet, so he made his words petal-soft. A mere whisper. “But he did.”
Brenya snarled at him, so deeply protective of her friend that Jules felt instant, deep jealousy he had to check or ruin their important moment. A seduction of a different sort.
How beautiful she was in that hideous jumpsuit, covered in his dried blood, his scent, his affection. How fierce and pretty as she leveled a finger in his direction. “If anything happens to Georges, I will make you regret it, Havel! He is my friend, and you cannot have him!”
Havel? That was new, and very charming. It even left Jules smirking, the love in his eyes real. “Brenya, angel, he came here, willingly, to help you. He brought something very important.”
“You’re not listening to me!” Her breath was steady, her color good, all great signs that she was well. That Jacques had done his meager part that morning. That this was worth it, even if she might hate him now and then. Even if she might spit things like, “Georges wouldneverdo that to a female. He wouldn’t! He isn’t like you!”
“Are you sure?” The three most evil words Jules knew. Words that could unmake dynasties. Or enlighten someone lost. “Are you sure he wouldneverdo that, Brenya? He would have been there as the ship was loaded. Accounted for the weight. Heard them talking for hours in the cargo hold during the flight. He’s a soldier now, my love. And he’s your friend. He wants to protect Bernard Dome and keep his loved ones safe. And before you judge,youwere ready to lead ten pregnant Omegas into Central through an access hatch just this afternoon to save their sisters. To cut off Central’s light, their power, to flood it, and freeze it. Did you think no one would get hurt? Georges’s motivation is no different.”
That got her, the shame in Brenya’s heart sour in the link, caressed by Jules as he eased closer and set comforting hands on her shoulders.
Now, she would not get away. Now, they would talk.
“You know what an aroused, feral Alpha can do. You’ve lived it. What do you think would have happened to you? To them? Lucia and her ladies cannot navigate that kind of violence. They are pregnant, weak. Most importantly, you know exactly what will happen to everyone in this Dome if you die.” Disappointment in Jules’s voice, he laid the lesson on thick. “You cannot put yourself in danger, Brenya. No climbing through hatches. No heroics. Let me handle what needs doing.”
The virus inside her had not crossed her mind when it should have. And she would have put everyone in the Dome in danger. “I… hadn’t thought….”
That won her a loving smile, Jules nothing if not forgiving. “I know. You’re still processing, still recovering. So let this be a gentle reminder that your choices have consequences. To help them all, you must keep yourself safe.”
His leash on her. For her own good.
“And you did help. Sitting with them was deeply kind.” A purr, a warm smile. “The Dome is unstable. There will be moments you will want to get involved. The best way to help is to listen, to be with your people. Not to flood or freeze or… burn.”
Her cheeks went scarlet, because he’d guessed exactly where her thoughts had gone earlier that day. To the most natural place when it came to quashing resistance. And then resentment bubbled up on her end of the link, also dread, fear of herself, as she admitted, “I had some dark thoughts.”
Caressing her shoulder, his eyes admired the beautifully exposed claiming mark on her throat as Jules murmured, “Lay the responsibility for them at my feet. And understand, you are not every thought that passes through your beautiful head. Don’t feel any burden for an impulse you witnessed and chose not to engage with. They are normal. At least for humans who were not raised drugged into a high-functioning stupor.” Tapping her nose, teasing, Jules added, “And I have dark thoughts myself. But rarely, and only when necessary, do I act on them.”
Her glare saidliar. And his responding smirk was cheeky.
Then Jules got to business. “As I said, there was something important on that ship, necessary to avert a larger crisis. Her name is Maryanne, an Alpha female penetration and control specialist. A genius at unraveling systems.”
It was jealousy, a flicker so bright in his mate that Jules had to suppress a smile at Brenya’s response to Maryanne’s description. Instantly offering comfort, his touch slipped higher, the side of his thumb tracing the claiming mark on her neck. The Omega’s response was instant. Her shoulders eased away fromher ears, Jules drawing her just a little closer. “A coup was set to begin this afternoon, one that would have sequestered sections of the Dome under the expectation I would release the virus in response. They were willing to sacrifice however many citizens it took to overthrow my rule. I would have kept my word to you. So long as you remained in the Dome, I would not release the virus.
“Which means we would have been captured and most likely killed. Not every insurrectionist wants Jacques back in power. Many desire power only for themselves. Making you worthless in their eyes. Making Betas fodder. You understand that if anyone knows I won’t release the virus, I’m powerless. That’s why you cannevertell.
“And if they killed you…” The virus would be released anyway. Jules needed her to deeply understand that.
Male fingers traveled to the nape of her neck, to massage and toy with the new short waves. To play as he drew her a tiny step nearer. “Maryanne came here to save your people when she could no longer help from afar. Abandoned her life in Greth. And she needs Georges’s support. He knows the lay of the land. No one would look for him, or count him as missing. Find it in your heart to be grateful for all they did. Without them, there would have been war today. Fire, murder, chaos in the streets. Instead, there were one hundred unmated Omegas joining our population. And when all is said and done, Lucia’s idea for a registry and medical attention will be seen to. But… do not, under any circumstances, try to enter Central, Brenya. Even Lucia, who desperately wants to help her sisters, knows that is a death sentence. Those Omegas have Alphas now. It is an Alpha’s duty to protect their females. The natural order will play itself out.”
“But you’re a Beta.” Defensively spoken, because Brenya was not a fool who subscribed to Alpha superiority. Because deep down, she knew her Beta mate was far superior to her Alpha one.
Juleswas, and he knew it. Vastly superior.
