And together with his fated,hearts so warm,
The two assumed the truth of their forms,
With a womb full, a gait on all fours,
The two fated mates were together forevermore.
The booknearly fell from my hands before I gripped it hard, white-knuckled, then stuffed it into my jacket.
I needed to find Rourke.
18
Rourke
After a fitful night of dozing on and off, I finally gave up and committed myself to being awake. I had no idea what time it was since the kennel lacked natural light, though judging by the pang of hunger in my gut, I figured it was past breakfast. My mouth was dry, too. I hadn’t drank anything since yesterday.
This is even worse than living at the market,I thought bitterly.
At the sound of the kennel’s front gate groaning open, all the dogs leapt to attention. I winced as the sound of barking echoed through the concrete slab of a building. My stomach twisted into knots, unsure of whether to be excited or despairing. Was it Elian and Cecil? Sebastian?
My heart sank when I heard a single set of heavy, clodding footsteps. Not the two younger omegas, and definitely not Sebastian.
As the footsteps approached, all the dogs went silent, but it was a sudden quiet, not the way they had fallen into a hush when Cecil asked them to. The Tax dog across the aisle from me balked and backed away from the fence, its ears flicking back with unease.
The dog keeper beta from yesterday, Melchom, stood in front of my kennel with a severe expression. My guard went up immediately. I stood and relished in the fact that I towered over him. Even though it was an empty display because of the heavy fence between us, it helped me keep a scrap of my pride.
“Progress?” Melchom asked.
“What?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Have you decided to listen to your master?”
My blood boiled. Who did this guy think he was? The argument between me and Sebastian had nothing to do with him, and I hated that he was inserting himself in the middle.
“Fuck off,” I said.
Melchom clicked his tongue, like my outburst didn’t particularly surprise him. I noticed he was holding something behind his back.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Water,” he said with a slight smile.
I was suddenly hyper aware of my parched mouth. I swallowed and it felt like sandpaper in my throat.
“But I don’t think you deserve it,” Melchom said, shrugging. “You obviously have a lot more thinking to do.”
Outrage coursed through my veins. “Wait, that’s not what Sebastian said! He said water but no food!”
“And you continue to dare speak his name,” Melchom muttered. “You’ll need more breaking than I thought.”
It took everything in my power not to lunge at the fence. “Give me the water.”
He smirked, obviously amused at my plight. I wanted to rip his face off.
“If I get sick and die from dehydration, Sebastian will have your head,” I warned him.
He let out a one-note laugh. “Oh, please. I’ve broken more difficult beasts than you. I’m a master at this. I know how to keep you alive for as long as I need to.”
