Page 17 of Born to be Broken

Claire did not seem happy to see him. In fact, she didn’t seem herself at all. “I found that boy alone in an alley, Corday… forgotten.”

Once the dead child lay safely upon the ground, Corday pulled her against his chest. Warmth of his cheek against hers, stubble scratching, he breathed, “Nona came for me. I know what you did.”

After the atrocities Claire had seen in the city, the attack on the Undercroft… facing Shepherd, seemed to have happened in another life. “The city’s become a horrible place. I saw things… What’s happening to us?”

Existential talk on the human condition could happen later. Tugging her towards the Omegas’ fire, Corday urged, “You’re freezing, Claire. Sit.”

Nona ran over at first sight of her friend, the older woman throwing herself around her. “Your mother would be proud. You know that, my girl?”

Claire didn’t want accolades, she just wanted to collapse.

There was no shyness. Corday ignored the watching women and tugged Claire down to rest between his thighs. Arms and legs wrapped around the girl’s shivering frame, he put his chest to her back and purred.

The Omegas were openly confused by the state of their hero. Where was the confident deliverer who’d faced down an army? Why was she letting a Beta male hold her in an intimate embrace?

Why wasn’t she speaking?

Nona smoothed the hair off Claire’s forehead, watched her young friend close her eyes, and waited until Claire’s breath became steady in sleep. Only then did she sniff.

Cautious not to wake her friend, Nona mouthed the words, “She smells pregnant.”

Corday nodded and whispered, “She is.”

It should not have been possible—not when Claire’s last cycle had come the day she’d entered the Citadel.

Pressing her thin-lipped mouth in a frown, Nona’s heart broke. “Shepherd has done this to Claire. This is….”

Corday cut her off. “I know,” he tightened his hold, “but she won’t be alone.”

Nona’s severity lessened, she even smiled at the boy. “You care for her.”

Corday did. “Swear to me you won’t let her leave when I’m gone. Swear you will keep her safe.”

The inevitable was unstoppable. “She is pregnant and pair-bonded, Corday. Even if you tend her constantly, she won’t be able to stay for long.”

Looking Nona dead in the eye, Corday chewed out each word. “Shepherd damaged the pair-bond. It has no bearing now.”

Older and wiser, Nona spoke as gently as she could. “That is not possible… what he damaged was Claire.”

“So you’ll just let her wander back to Shepherd?” Corday would be damned first.

“You are not an Omega. You can’t possibly understand the finality of a pair-bond.” Nona began to smooth Claire’s hair, looking at her friend with pity. “The only way for Claire to be free, is with Shepherd’s death or hers. I guarantee she knows that, no matter what she may say.”

“But…” Corday chose denial. “Claire told me…”

Her friend had always had misplaced altruism. “She would want you to have faith.” In a hushed voice, Nona confessed, “I know better than to give you false hope. But know this, so long as she is pregnant, she is precious to Shepherd. That makes her safe.”

Corday pulled down the scarf around Claire’s neck. Nasty bruises sat on display. “Would you call this something treated as precious?”

Nona took in the marks, tears gathering in her eyes. Words were difficult. “It’s more than just the pair-bond. Everyone here knows she is mated to Shepherd. They will not trust her. They will drive her off.”

Corday glared at the collection of women stealing glances in their direction. “Claire saved their lives.”

“Listen to me, boy,” Nona urged, fervently whispering. “That does not mean every Omega in this room deserved it. It would only take one to bring us all down again.”

Had the Omegas not learned? “The women who turned her in last time were hanged by Shepherd. I watched their executions myself.”

“You and I both know that fear makes people do very stupid things.”