Snow frowned. “What was the reason?”
Vor scrubbed his face with one hand. “I callously beat a beta outside an alehouse for the crime of… laughing at and disrespecting me.”
Snow shook his head. “That’s not the man I know.”
“I was an entitled,angryyoung man. No one respected me… because my father ignored my very presence. Looking back, perhaps he saw what I really was and hated what he saw. Then, I blamed him for everything. I drank and fucked away most of my days.” Vor inhaled deeply and met Snow’s gaze again. “During a particular wild night of debauchery, a beta walked into me in a pub and spilled his ale over my tunic. When I demanded he apologize… on his knees, kissing my feet… he refused as he rightfully should have. I told him who I was, and he laughed in my face. Something broke within me, and I demanded he face me outside. When he refused, I dragged him out and I beat him mercilessly. I wasn’t as big as I am now… but I was still quite a bit larger than him. I was a bully, even before that night, but I was probably something far worse than that. Had the wizard not intervened on the beta’s behalf, I might’ve killed him.”
Snow searched Vor’s face and saw remorse there. “What happened after the wizard intervened?”
Vor chuckled, but there was no mirth in it. “I was belligerent, of course. Angry to have been stopped. The wizard saw me for whatI was and eviscerated me with his cruel tongue. All I could think was ‘how dare a weak, old, little omega speak to me like that?’ I cursed and belittled him right back. He laughed, which only enraged me more. I stormed closer, ready to make it physical. The next thing I knew, I woke up in that accursed meadow, incensed and confused. It took me years to recognize that I had put myself in that prison, not the wizard. My entitlement… my cruelty…theywere the shackles on my wrists.”
“You said you were imprisoned for hunger.”
Vor winced. “Hunger for power. Hunger for unearned respect. Hunger to have more than my fair share because of a title my father carried.” Vor cleared his throat. “Hunger to have others feel more pain than I did.” He looked down at his hands. “That’s not who I am now, but I can’t deny that’s who I once was.”
“You sound as if you’ve seen the error of your ways,” Snow murmured.“Have you?”
“I don’t know that I have,” Vor said. “I killed my jailor, the only person to ever hold me accountable for my sins.”
“Your jailorwas trying to kill me.”
“I know,” Vor said. “I just… my first instinct was once again violence.Yes,it was to protect you, but it makes me fear I’ve not changed as much as I thought I had.”
“I daresay your doubt shows youhavechanged. The fact you question if you’re a good man proves to me that you are.”
“Does it, though?” Vor asked.
“Even if it didn’t, you were imprisoned for fourteen years, Vor. You gave your life to save mine.” Snow brushed back a lock of Vor’s silky hair and tucked it behind one ear. “I believe you’vepaid a price for the sins of your youth and now it’s time to see how far you’ve come.”
“What if I haven’t changed? What if I fall back on bad habits? What if I hurt—” Tears shone in Vor’s eyes. “If I ever hurt you… I couldneverforgive myself.”
“You have been nothing but tender and gentle with me,” Snow said.
“Have I really?”
“Yes. You have. But if it makes you feel better, we have Shen, Hwa, and Owan here to ensure you remain on your best behavior.”
Vor’s lipsalmosttwisted into a smile.
“One wrong move and Hwa would behappyto teach you a little respect. I’ve heard him say as much,” Snow said, wrapping his arms back around Vor’s neck.
“Will your father allow them to remain here with us if we mate?” Vor asked.
“I’ll demand it,” Snow said. “And given that one day I’ll be king, I believe I have the right to choose who sleeps in my bed and who doesn’t.”
Vor held his gaze. “Are yousureyou want me in it?”
Snow had lost Vor once. He wasn’t going to lose him again. But what if Vor didn’t want to be kept?
“Do you not wish to mate me?”
“Of course I do,” Vor said. “Even if we weren’t bound, I’d be a fool not to see how amazing you are, Snow.”
“Then why are you fighting this so hard? First it was your prison and now you’re not good enough. What will it be next?”
“I’ve never felt that I was good enough for you.”
“Youare,”Snow whispered. Snow slid from Vor’s lap and tugged him into bed. “You’re mine. Iwon’tlet you go.Thisis where you belong.”
