18
Halo
I prayed to every fucking god in existence that Kass understood my intent.
When he flipped out and I saw the pure anger erupt on his face, I knew it was real. For a moment hereallythought our daughter was dead, and that I’d failed to tell him. I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or stung.
At the very least, it sold the lie. Zenon bought it. He didn’t send Silas out scouting for Angel, or her body.
Miserably, I knew he had no reason to - Angel as an individual was of no consequence to him with what he was planning for me, and unfortunately I had a very good idea of what it could be. I didn’t know why, or what the purpose was, but my best guess was that Zenon intended to mate with me. To breed me.
I shuddered.
“Cold?” Silas asked.
He was stationed outside my cage, for whatever reason. It wasn’t like I could go anywhere with my shackled hands and the literal cage surrounding me. But Silas was under strict rules not to harm me. As far as I could tell, he wasn’t even allowed to lay a finger on me. That “kindness” also extended into keeping me safe, and fed, and warm. Comfortable.
As comfortable as one could be while kidnapped in a cage, I guess.
“No,” I muttered. “Just thinking about how disgusted I am.”
Silas narrowed his eyes. He held his tongue, since Zenon was out of earshot but still in the caverns. At one point Silas had mentioned that his master retreated in the afternoons to eat in the privacy of his own den. Of course, he never hunted on his own - Silas was responsible for gathering all the food for all three of us.
From what I could tell, Silas held a genuine fondness for his master, and as much as he hated me, he couldn’t openly announce it anymore for fear of… What? Inciting jealousy because Zenon liked me more than him?
With nothing better to do, I asked, “What’s your deal, anyway?”
“What are you talking about, omega?”
“Why are you so obsessed with Zenon?”
I could tell from the nasty look on his face he wanted to berate me but I didn’t dare. That was one smug pleasure I got to indulge in, at least.
“You wouldn’t understand my love for my master,” Silas muttered.
I sat cross-legged on the cage floor. After Kass left and the three of us were alone, Silas was instructed to make itcozier. He dumped a bunch of blankets and pillows in the cage, so I currently snuggled up in one as best I could with my bound hands.
“No, I don’t understand,” I said. “So explain.”
“It’s not any of your business!” Silas snapped.
His nasty remarks no longer meant anything to me. If he wasn’t allowed to hurt me in any way, I was going to make the most out of it by verbally poking and prodding him.
“Come on, man.” I sighed dramatically. “I’m bored out of my skull here. And it’s not like I’m gonna run off and tell everyone your big secret, okay? So just tell me.”
Silas scowled. He glanced distantly at the torch’s light. In a lower, genuine voice, he finally said, “I’m notobsessedwith him. I love him.”
“Huh?”
“What part of that don’t you understand?” Silas growled.
“Uh - no, I understand, I’m just… surprised, I guess.”
“I could say the same about Kassius and you,” Silas replied, rolling his eyes. He added in a low mutter, “I’ll never understand what everyone sees in you. Kassius and Zenon both.”
I bit my tongue when I wanted to argue that Kass still loved me, since Silas wasn’t supposed to know, and that Zenon didn’t lovemeso much as love the concept of what I was to him - an omega baby-making machine.
“What’s there to like about Zenon, anyway?” I muttered. “And aren’t you an alpha dragon, too? What’s he have that you don’t?”
